[SUDS] Journeymon: Blackout

[Saraibre Ryu]

Based on the comic concept by Sabi.

The world of Pokémon. You know it, and I know it. Safe to say everyone knows about it. You live in it after all as someone who trains, breeds, interacts with Pokémon. Everyone has a different fancy, but what all keeps a shared commonplace is that Pokémon are involved. You partake in Contests, you work for a ribbon, go to festivals, and prove your finesse and grace. You breed Pokémon and maintain their prime form, you know the ins and outs of a Pokémon, how to keep them at their peak and know how to help others. You battle with them, you travel, go on a league challenge and battle other trainers, avoiding a loss to avoid that terrible black out.

But what if one day… someone didn’t wake up from that black out?

Several cases of comatose trainers abruptly exploded out of the blue, unknown cause and unknown origin. A black stain on their skin was the only sign, and the amount of testing, healing, medicine could not get rid of it. Pokémon were affected in a different way to this mystery infection, though showed no black stains. Pokémon that fell in battle, rather than go temporarily still in a form of mock fainting, nearly died. Accusations of attempted murder were on the rise as more and more cases of trainers were growing ill. There were no symptoms, no clear way of infection or how it was being spread around. Soon those who weren’t trainers began to fall ill, however had no cases of temporary comatose or near fatal conditions, they just held the stain. Battling was strictly prohibited until the cause and a cure could be found. One relation had been found though while patients were under study: Pokémon prevented the advancement of the infection.

Pokémon though, seemed to be the cause of it as well. Soon the majority of the population was marked with what was given the nickname, ‘Blackout Infection’. Half of the human population was affected by it, and numbers were growing stronger. Soon cases of trainers being found dead next to their partner’s bodies began to pile up all over the world. Autopsies proved that murder wasn’t the cause, and it wasn’t poisoning or suicide. It was the Blackout. Studies over the years yielded no cure, only a second link that Pokémon gave off a natural preventative, as long as said Pokémon were alive, and in the presence of those they bonded with. They claimed the effect was pheromones, naturally occurring chemicals in various Pokémon species, but there was no pin point factor in finding a vaccine. There was an international wide ban on battling until a cure was to be found for the Blackout.

And then in the next five years the human population dropped by a massive 65%.

Massive riots caused an influx of conflicts where many people were caught in crossfires of battling and criminal take over. People and Pokémon alike died in the largest massacre on the planet. Many people fled to rural areas, leaving large cities abandoned and the majority of regions looking nothing more than an abandoned ghost town. There was no law anymore, no government and no society.

The riots happened six years ago. Nature has begun to overtake some of its old land back, society is in shambles and everything of the old world is gone. Technology is minimal, limited to Pokeballs and whatever you can make run if you strike a miracle by finding a generator. If you’re found by a small group, the only group known to have some form of law abidance to them called BOA, they will send you to a quarantine to test for the effects of the Blackout in order to find a cure. They have little technology, but far more than anyone else. Pokémon are scarce, and some of the hardest places to traverse are seen as taboo locations due to a high chance of death.

Out of everything, one thing is for certain.

If your team, dies, you die. If you die, then your team does as well.

Why does this sound like a Nuzlocke…?
Congrats, you’ve figured out what this is. Yes, it’s a Nuzlocke RP. Only that you have no gyms to face, no Elite Four, you need to survive in an empty Pokémon world on survival skills and wits. Everyone has Blackout, your character has it too. You’re at the mercy of the GM, who may grace or gild your performance. You’re a victim of dice rolls, critique and maybe even your fellow players. There are NPC’s to help you along the way, and should you make some friends, they may be able to save you should you be lucky enough.

How does this work?
You play it out like a typical Role Play. How you RP will yield you certain rewards, or certain consequences. What are these rewards and consequences? Well the rewards are of many types and it’d be no fun to tell you… though we all know the consequences for performing badly in a Nuzlocke.

Pokémon Capture:
When you enter a new area, you may request a capture session from myself, or another person who may be helping me with Co-GM duties. Since changing areas in the Pokémon world doesn’t happen often, requesting a session will happen and you will find a Pokémon. What that Pokémon is, what they know, their nature and ability, and when you find it though, could happen at any time you’re in that area. We’ll keep close to the species of each area based on the games but we may deviate some surprises here and there.

Training:
Of course you’re going to run into Pokémon to battle and train. I wouldn’t be a fearful RPM/GM if I didn’t send a swarm of Beedrill after you! No wait, that’s cliché. Golbat. Yeah Golbat. Anyway, successfully figuring out how to beat Pokémon will earn you rewards. If I feel you’ve had a Pokémon for long enough and it has performed well, you can request for an Evolution. Like asking for a Pokémon, this could happen at any time, though in a less random amount of time as Pokémon. Also as in Pokémon anime, they have four moves, and you can request a move change as well. You may pick which move it is and how you will obtain it, or work towards trying to get a certain move and wait on an approval.

Battling other NPC’s:
Yeah this isn’t avoidable, I mean, I gotta throw in the chance of death somewhere right? This is Nuzlocke! Sometimes you will get challenged by the odd wandering trainer. Usually they are out to steal your stuff by hindering your lifespan and killing one Pokémon, and then doing a hit and run. Others are out for blood. Some just want to test you, and aren’t out to get you. How do you know which one is which? You don’t, that’s the fun part. Not only that, but players can battle each other to help each other train, or if you really don’t like Amy-Lee’s character for slapping your character’s crushes’ rear end, then you can give them a lesson too. Successfully battling or training also yields rewards. Or death, that’s an option too.

How do I know if I’m winning or losing a battle?
Mostly based on my judgement and a little of RNG, because who doesn’t love some RNG. Okay maybe a bit more than a little RNG. I’ll make notes about how you/your Pokémon is doing in a battle should I be controlling the NPC. If you are battling with another RPer, I will mention notes in either the SUDS thread or PM’s. Yes, I will roll for attack crits, secondary move effects and all that jazz. If you see a Ratatta, you better be scared. Those things are killers.

Saving Grace:
These are points you can accumulate through the RP by completing hard tasks. It’s basically a get out of jail free card. If you believe you are in imminent danger and have no way of getting out alive, you may use one of these grace points and one of the befriended NPC’s may come to your rescue. Yes I said may. It’s not guaranteed but if you’re gonna die, might as well die trying. These points are few and far between but not impossible to get. You can work on saving each other if people so desire, but that is if you run into anyone else. SG points also come in the form of one of your Pokémon evolving mid-battle, an act of karma or a brand new NPC coming into the mix.

NPC’s:
These are characters played by myself and another person who is co-GM. No I’m not gonna tell you who because that adds to my the fun. NPC’s that show up will be listed in an NPC information post, and updated as you find out more information about them. This includes some of their personality, their team and bits of background information. Paying attention to the info also may help you improve your chances should you use a saving grace.

Rewards and Consequences:
Yes I mentioned these before, however I'll make it clear once again. Rewards may be found if you have your character looking for something. If your character finds something, I will post it as an Inventory Update in the SUDS thread. If not, nothing will be posted. If a post contains a character finding something not mentioned in a story update, consequences will happen. Consequences also happen if your character makes a poor choice, or repeated poor choices. It all depends on how you play the game.

Rules:

• Typical RP rules apply. This is a T rated RP so you may use mild swearing.
• No cheating and no modding. Yes these are part of typical RP rules but I will reiterate them.
• No legendaries. They have a purpose for later on in the RP.
• As GM what goes on goes on. I’m not really that mean, but I am creative…
• Please do not evolve Pokémon without following the game rules, same with moves. This will be seen as cheating and I will ban-jo you out of my RP 
• If one of your Pokémon dies, it dies. Remember this is a Nuzlocke oriented RP and loss is a part of a Nuzlocke. Play your best! Deaths will be decided based on performance with some luck. I don’t randomly go ‘kay now u dead’ because I’m feeling like an ass.
• Have fun!

SU sheet:

Name:
Gender:
Age:
Appearance:

Pokémon: You start with one Pokémon of your choosing, any one you want. May be shiny or alternately coloured. Does not have to be basic. Add all new Pokemon you obtain here!
Name:
Gender:
Nature:
Ability: [DW is allowed]
Moves: [Up to 4, can be anything it learns according to its Veekun page]

Inventory: [Right now this is empty, and is for keeping track of your rewards. Please keep your SU's up to date with rewards and link the posts you get them from. You have typical Trainer gear, but if you feel the need to have anything special, feel free to mention it here.]

What? That’s it for an SU? Its so small!
Yes this is what I like to call a Blind Character SU. You’re basically posting only the information that people may know of immediately. Personality, backstory/history, other characters don’t know that, so that’s just information for you to keep an eye on. Adds to the drama and fun I say.

Feel free to ask any questions in this thread.