[RP] 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!

Grassy_Aggron, Velocity, Phantasm.Angel and Sieses will start scattered in various corners of Rustboro City. Their current objectives is to find some basic supplies and communication. Whether you want your characters to meet is up to you.

Death's Spook, DesperadoBRT, SpinelWolf and The Operator will start scattered across Slateport City. Their current objective is to also find some basic supplies, and some form of transportation, either via water or land. Whether you want your characters to meet is up to you.

Remember everyone is scattered at the moment and has some distance between yourselves and them. If a character finds an item, I will post in the SUDS thread for rewards and consequences that I cannot put into story. Objectives will be updated in the SUDS thread as well.


I will post events and NPC interactions at... some point. Maybe~ I'm evil like that.

[[Desolate Divine]]

Jacob
Slateport Shipyard>Slateport Market
Affected RPers: none

I put my forefinger up to my lips. The gesture for silence. Shruikan knew the meaning of it. We lived in rough times, and precautions had to be taken. The streets of Slateport City were dark, and dangerous to be found in. There was a time when law existed. But not now.

Shruikan and I edged along the buildings, moving slowly with the shadows. Though the sound of waves crashing against the southern and eastern borders of the city masked most of the noise we made, we weren't taking any chances of being found. After an hour, we had found our way to the street that used to be the Slateport market. I had heard off the person I used to live with that it was run by criminals now, any supplies that were there are owned by gangs. I have never been here before. But we need to survive. And to do that we need to take any supplies we can find, but even more so, we must stay hidden.

[Metal Gear Snivy]

Quinn
Slateport City - Beach
Affected RPers: N/A

'It seems there's nothing here,' Quinn thought to himself. He was looking out at the ocean that connected Slateport, Dewford, and Petalburg. Well, technically, the Route after Petalburg, but still Petalburg. He missed being able to just go outside and look out at the sea with the calming waves all day. But, ever since the Blackout, it was rare to be able to look out at the waves like this. Everything was downgrading, just like before civilization.

"Wiggly!" Custard cried out. She was getting a little impatient with Quinn about terms of items. Even though they were on an island (That's actually pretty big.), there were still supplies. Quinn groaned at the thought of having to get into a scrap with hoarders for items, or thieves, or gangs, or anything threatening. Though...some hoarders could be nice, but it's not worth trying to see if they are. But...supply gathering is supply gathering, be it for basic survival or getting off of the land--Oh. Quinn and his pink ball of fluff (IT'S SO FLUFFY I'M GONNA DIE) set off to the actual town to get some survival needs...

[Dragotech]

Kyle
Slateport Behind the museum>Mart
Affected RPers: not yet

Kyle peered around the corner of the Museum in Slateport. The area ahead seemed open. He eyed this area distrustfully. His Rampardos nudged at his side affectionately. He looked back at her. "Getting hungry, Gaia?" The Rampardos nodded. "Yeah me too Gaia, me too." He coughed from behind his scarf. Gaia cocked her head with a worried expression. "I'm fine, Gaia." The Rampardos grinned. He took a look around the corner again. He could see the Pokémon Mart from his position. He hoped there was some food or something to be found there. He glanced around. He could see nothing moving in the shadows. He advanced to a nearby bush. He lowered his profile as much as he could. He began to crawl toward the position he picked next to get closer to the Mart. He took a look behind him. His faithful Rampardos followed standing tall and proud. He thought to himself, "Silly thing, she is going to give us away." He whispered to her, "Down." Gaia lowered herself as instructed and laid on her belly. Kyle stared at his Pokémon. There was no way she would be able to crawl like that. "Crawl," he whispered. The Rampardos eyed him. She didn't really want to crawl but she moved up enough and began her awkward crawl. He looked from behind his cover which was little more than what may have been part of a car. It was dented and destroyed but he could lie behind it. He examined the mart. He was only slightly closer. He couldn't see any suitable cover. He instructed his Pokémon to stand. "Okay, we are going to run there," he pointed to the building. "We have to be fast and quiet." Gaia nodded. "Ready on three, one... two... thr, Gaia..." Kyle didn't have time to finish. He was running behind Gaia.

Once they made it to the Mart Kyle looked around. "Okay, we may be goo..." He was broken off by a cough. Gaia nudged him again. She seemed concerned. "Really, I'm okay." He honestly didn't believe himself. He peered around. "Okay, we will move to the front door." Once they positioned themselves. Kyle nodded to Gaia who prepared to knock down the door or fight whichever was necessary.
Kyle placed a hand on a door handle.

[SpinelWolf]

Spinel
Slateport City - Poké Mart
ARPers: Dragotech

Looking through the old shelves of the run down Poké Mart a young woman wasn't finding much. At least nothing she could use. It looked like others had the same idea she had and already took everything of value. Or the stuff that was visible at a first glance that is. There could be some hidden supplies around, but it would require some work. With a heavy sigh she leaned against an empty shelving unit on her left side, resting her eyes for a moment. She then felt a nudge against her exposed side, and in response the brunette cracked open one violet eyes to make sure it was what she thought. Sure enough the gentle nudge was from her Typhlosion. She raised one hand to place on his head, just above the scarring on his face. A massive area of his face was scarred, looking much like a bandit's mask with jagged edges. The injury that caused the sight also made him completely blind, but not incapable of battle. But that's for another time.

"Guess you haven't found anything either," the young trainer said softly, running her finger tips through the dark blue fur.

"Sadly no," the fire-type replied, his voice deep and calming. "But that does not mean that this place is completely bare. There should at least be some scrap material we could find some use for. If we can't find anything still then our next target is the Center."

"Sounds about right. I'm sure most of the medicine has been taken though, if not all of it. However it can't hurt to look."

A lot has happened in such a short amount of time. She was glad now for her expierences before now, even if some had more permanent affects she'd rather live without. Her hand moved from the Typhlosion's head to grab at her pant leg, though if one looked carefully they could see she was holding onto something that was hidden under the material. With another affectionate nudge the brunette was brought out of her reminiscing of bad memories. She gave him another pat before once again standing fully.

Suddenly the fire-type's ears twitched and he quickly turned his head to the front entrance. When the pair originally entered the door was unlocked, and once examining it they found the door they found that the lock had been broken. At the time it hadn't bothered either of them for they had not seen traces of any other trainers or Pokémon in the area, so without a second thought they simply closed the door behind them and started looking around. It would appear as though their assumption was incorrect and there were others in the city. However it has yet to be seen if they were friendly or hostile.

"We should become hidden," the trainer spoke, getting a nod in response from her Pokémon companion. With a quick look around the two noticed that the front counter was more or less intact and would at least hide them from sight to anyone entering the building. If worse came to pass they'd fight, but perhaps they could wait it out and whoever was trying to enter would see that nothing was to be seen when first looking around and not look any further. With haste the two went behind the counter and ducked down. Now was the waiting game.

[Death's Spook]

Derek Chase
Slateport Beach
ARPers: Desperado (Quinn)

A smug, self satisfied voice told him, "We aren't alone here. Excellent.".

Derek Chase did something relatively rare for him, and looked down to talk to someone. Athena the Azumarill's ears were twitching, and her grin was becoming wider by the second. On most Pokemon of her species, the sight would have been quite cute. But when Derek saw Athena casually playing with the intestines of a Mightyena pack once, 'cute' went out the window for him in terms of adjectives he'd use to describe her.

Athena rocked back and forth on her heels, the grin on her face getting more viciously anticipatory by the instant. Derek shook his head and chided,"Athena, we aren't going to fight people just because we can. It's wasteful and wrong, especially because making allies to watch our backs could in no way hurt."

Athena gave him a pleading look with big, soft brown eyes. The effect was ruined by the fact that she was using them to beg for the green light to commit a homicide.

"Stay in the water. If–if–these guys show hostility, take them out as quickly as possible. All right?"

Athena sighed, but she slipped silently into the water, no one the wiser. Derek smiled, the expression much kinder and more natural on his face than on the Azumarill's.

As he walked across the beach, Derek saw a trainer walking toward the city. Although Derek's last few experiences with trainers ended with a rather nauseating front seat to Athena's idea of "art", his face still brightened upon seeing another human being. Back before Blackout, Derek had been quite drawn to people, making friends easily and without effort. Now, he had to overcome natural suspicions while simultaneously being cautious of any potential assaults on his person. It was a rather good thing, in his opinion, that Athena was such a fighter. Sometimes, Derek could circumvent fatalities completely when someone saw just how screwed up in the head his friend was.

As Derek walked, he spread his arms out, palms face up. His voice was kind with an undercurrent of excitement as he said to the trainer,"Hi! I'm Derek. Are you looking for something? Maybe I can help."

[Sieses]

Alexei Stratos
Rustboro City - Pokémon Trainer School
Affected RPers: N/A

A lone girl slunk around the shadows of a park, which lay behind the building which was once known as the Pokémon Trainer’s School. She had to scoff at the very idea; it wasn’t possible to learn to be a trainer from anything but experience, and anybody stupid enough to try otherwise was better off dead.

Still, a building meant supplies, and supplies were good in Alex’s opinion.

The young girl was over to the back window of the building before anybody - at least if there were anybody to witness it - could have noticed a thing. Not caring about the status of the building (and never really caring about stealth), the girl was quick to shatter the top of the window with a rock. It was simple, then, to unlock it and crawl in, for her small frame was good for something.

With a brisk flick of her wrist she activated her Pokéball, and Killer stood by her side. The hellhound looked around the room eagerly, for he took his name quite seriously, and whined when he saw they were alone.

“I know, boy,” Alex said, patting the dog on the head. “Trust me, I want to kill somebody just as much as you do, but there’s still nobody around. Plus, even if there was, we can’t kill everybody. You know that.”

The Pokémon seemed to be mollified by that statement and, understanding his second purpose, let a small fire lick at his maw, lighting up the room. Alex smiled at her companion, and the two immediately began to comb the building for usable goods, praying that they hadn’t been beaten there by anybody else.

[Dragotech]

Kyle
Outside the Slateport Mart>Inside the Mart
Arpers: SpinelWolf

Kyle slowly opened the door sliding it left. It felt as if it had been breached at least once before. He examined the inside of the Mart. He couldn't see much more than near bare shelves. He moved in closing the door behind him and looked for nearby cover. Gaia followed him in and took a long look as well. Kyle nearly expected an ambush. He moved around cautiously checking between rows a shelves. It seemed almost like they were alone. Gaia searched shelves disappointed by the lack of supplies. The Rampardos thought she heard something. She took a moment and put her hands on the counter. She slowly peered over the counter. Seeing what she saw she cocked her head to the side. A human hiding with a Typhlosion was an unusual sight to her. Unsure of what to do, she looked over towards Kyle and gave off a calm call. Kyle looked up. "Found something girl?" Kyle continued to look around checking to see if it was clear. Gaia called once again impatiently. Satisfied that they were alone Kyle turned over to his Rampardos. "Okay, okay, I'm coming." He wondered what she found that was so important. "What is it, Gaia?" He raised an eyebrow as she peered over the counter again.

[Kentucky Fried Torchic]

Perry Sterling
Rustboro City, Devon Company Ruins

Perry awoke with a jolt, literally. His Pachirisu Chloe had been serving as his alarm even before everything went to hell, and today's small burst of electricity was the same as any day before. That was the only constant in his life, everything else was in constant flux. Like his sleeping arrangements. A few days ago, Perry had been sleeping on the ground, half-halfheartedly squeezed into bushes in a vain attempt to hide himself should any predator come lurking around. But now he was on a very comfortable couch, ripped a little, but comfortable all the same. The trainer looked around the room and tried to refresh himself with where he was. A quick scan reaffirmed that he was still in the remains of the Devon Company headquarters he had stumbled into last night.

The couch was the only piece of furniture left in the office he had made his own. Everything else had either been dragged down the stairs by looters or pushed out the window by the rioters that had preceded them. With it's bulk and weight, the couch had stood alone against the collapse of order. The rest of the room was hardly in better shape. There were a series of pictures dotting the walls, but each had suffered some form of vandalism, whether it be paint or knives stuck into the canvas. Signs of frustration from angry folks who had been too late to kill Mr. Stone before he had fled to who-knew-where.

Perry shuddered. When he had been drop-dead tired, the room had seemed like an oasis in the desert, but in the light of day, it was just another monument to how bad things had gotten. Eager to leave, the trainer wordlessly gathered his meager belongings, let Chloe jump on his shoulder, and headed down the stairs.

He looked for each supplies on each floor, but everything that wasn't nailed down was either gone or smashed to pieces. The remains of computers didn't interest Perry, not nearly as much as more practical matters. Three floors down from the office he had slept in, the trainer stepped into a break room, hoping to find some long-lasting snack cakes that hadn't expired, but only found a frayed rope hanging from the ceiling. He left before he could see what had been hanging from it before it broke.

Mercifully, a distraction came in the form of Chloe who was perched on one of the shattered windows and chattering excitedly. Perry thought that the electric rodent had found something, but instead she gestured down the street at the hollow remains of the Rustboro Trainer School. "You heard something?" the trainer asked.

A quick explanation whetted Perry's curiosity. But although he acquiesced to his Pachirisu's desire to investigate, Perry was reluctant to approach the noise. He was eager to find other people, yes, because he wanted there to be some semblance of order, of civilization. But when it came to rebuilding society, Perry knew he wasn't anyone's first pick. He had seen the depths that people sunk to when chaos gave them a free hand, and it scared him. So, Perry decided to approach this unknown force cautiously, holding back for a while to see what new developments arose.

[VeloJello]

Jade Araceli.
Rustboro -> Rustboro Pokemon Center.
ARPers: None.

Chilly wind played with the ends of black hair as Jade Araceli walked through the ruins of Rustboro City. She shivered within her brown jacket and watched the sky, appreciating the colors as the sun bled out into the horizon. Rustboro's crumbled brick streets and dilapidated masonry buildings were no longer beautiful, but the sky still retained its majesty. As did the elegant white figure that she could see swooping down out of the clouds - Asteria, Jade's favorite Togekiss.

The downy white avian fluttered to a graceful halt on the road beside Jade and looked up at her with a smile. Jade ran a hand down the feathery neck, rubbing between her friend's wings. "So, did you see anything?"

Asteria nodded, smiling appreciatively at the scratches. "I couldn't see many signs of life," she reported. "There were a few humans milling around; however, I didn't see any near the Pokemon Center. We should be relatively safe. As safe as we can be in such a cramped area, anyway."

With a nod and a final pat of Asteria's head, Jade set off down the road at a brisk pace. The Togekiss took to the air with a flutter of her wings, gliding along beside Jade. Before long, the two of them reached a largish white building with stains where the red 'P' sign had been before some maniac carried it off. The door had long been broken down, and there was some very unfriendly graffiti sprayed on one of the windows. Seeing it made Jade burn with cold anger. "I'm going to head in," she said, holding up Asteria's Pokeball. "I'll call on you if I need you." She returned Asteria to the little capsule and picked her way over the broken glass, pausing to check for old snacks in the vending machine - no cigar - before moving with a familiar confidence into the Center's storage area to hunt for medicines and, with luck, the dried food rations sometimes kept there for emergencies.