[PXFIRE] [SU/DS] PXFIRE Roleplay - A Game of Storms

[Neo Emolga]

http://i.imgur.com/DtYUuVx.png

The PXFIRE RP is a roleplay section that is part of the PXFIRE Forum event. For more details about the competition as a whole, you can find all those goodies right here! (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?13967-PXFIRE-Welcome-to-your-summer-event-POKEMON-CROSSFIRE!) To join in this, you have to be in a PXFIRE team.

Note that this thread is for sign ups and discussion only. The actual role play will take place in another thread to make sure things aren't cramped together. But this is also the best spot to ask questions, get advice, resolve out of context role play conflicts, and stuff like that.

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PXFIRE RP: A GAME OF STORMS

THERE IS A WORLD...

Throughout the universe, there are many prosperous, colorful, and lively worlds of peaceful Pokémon that live well and work well together in harmony.

Xia is not one of those worlds.

Like many others, Xia is a world where only Pokémon live and humans are the myths of fairytales like the stories humans tell of mermaids and centaurs. But unlike many other worlds of only Pokémon, Xia is ravaged, corrupted, and dirty. Throughout most of the world, cities are bathed in oppression and violence. Crime is culture and treachery is tradition. While Xia's technology is more advanced than most other Pokémon worlds and is somewhat similar in nature to what modern day humans have, it owes that to the loose and lax regulations regarding pollution, greed, and endless industrial creations. Most cities are bathed in dark smog while trashcan fires and flashing, imposing neon signs fill their streets with a hellish glow. Meanwhile, massive motorized vehicles stampede their way through the streets, adding to the noise and smog that surround these dark cities.

Upon Xia, there is a small, southwestern continent named Liao. And it is here where a new development is arising.

For fifteen years, the Black Lotus Empire has ruled throughout the hot, arid continent, but it shares its dark and ravaging culture with the rest of the world. Under the rule of Queen Taiya the Lilligant, Black Lotus has shown no compassion for the weak or the poor. Taiya's elite officers, known as the Onyx Circle, serve Taiya and the Black Lotus cause as commanding officers, legionnaires, and centurions. Some of them are infamous for their strength, cruelty, and cunning while others remain in the shadows as only rumors and enigmas. Despite her protection and sworn bodyguards, Taiya is quite a lethal fighter herself, having killed four assassins all on her own and taunts her opposition to send her a fifth to provide her with more entertainment.

Rebellion groups that have opposed Queen Taiya's rule have only met crippling defeat so far. Meanwhile, there is word that Black Lotus hides a powerful secret that explains why their troops and forces seem stronger than other Pokémon. It wasn't until recently that the name "Ante" had surfaced from the shadows, but for now, the name is all that outsiders seem to know about this mysterious force of power.

A FESTIVAL OF BLOODSHED

Today marks the beginning and opening of the fiftieth annual Tempest Festival, a violent tradition of blood sports and mortality games that leave many of their participants dead or crippled for life just for the chance of power, fame, and extreme wealth. These globally-televised events capture the attention of millions of sadistic Pokémon craving these destructive death games. As the 50th anniversary of these hellish games, the next month of events and games promise to be deadlier, bloodier, and more destructive than ever before to celebrate this dark anniversary. Black Lotus has their own highly-trained and prepared team of battle-hardened Pokémon more than ready to slaughter every last adversary Pokémon in every competition. The mass grave pits are already prepared and are simply waiting to be filled while the betting machines are at the ready, just itching for greed and lavish desires to seize the impulses of many gambling Pokémon.

Meanwhile, their competition, like many years before, consists of captured innocents, insurgents, rebels, resistance soldiers, and anyone brave or foolish enough to put their life on the line to challenge Black Lotus at their own blood games. But like a flame battered by Black Lotus's hurricane of violence and madness, their hope of winning is pale, though still possible. Like gold dangled on a string before them, they are driven by their own impulses and fight with little left to lose.

This year, however, there is a twist to maximize the size and scale of these bloody competitions and the hellish circus anarchy.

The grand prize for the team, country, or faction accumulating the most points and thus, winning the 50th annual Tempest Festival, will be presented with the Master Blaze Jewel. A white-silver gemstone relic that grants the holder the ability to evolve well beyond what should be possible for what that Pokémon can evolve naturally. Offering this incredible relic is none other than Blacklocke Arms, a weapons manufacturer given exclusive rights to supply a large portion of the weaponry in this year's games and have plenty of advertising presence. It is unknown how they got the Master Blaze Jewel in their possession, but it remains as the most coveted prize out of all the hundreds of offerings Tempest Festival sponsors are providing this year.

The Master Blaze Jewel is rumored to hold strong, incredible power of allowing Pokémon to evolve even beyond their normal forms as a kind of skeleton key for evolution stones and evolution sources. It is believed that if Black Lotus wins the Blaze Jewel, Queen Taiya, in conjunction with her mysterious force of Ante, may become unstoppable in unnerving, unpredictable ways that has most of her adversaries deeply concerned, forcing rebellion and opposition groups to have to take part to prevent Black Lotus from getting it. Meanwhile, though many of the other competitors are hoping to win lessened prison sentences, cash prizes, and other lavish desires, the Master Blaze Jewel is by far the most coveted relic.

Your team and allies have the chance to use these games as a leverage to potentially overthrow Black Lotus and build a better, more peaceful Xia with the Master Blaze Jewel under your control. Or, you may simply decide to replace Black Lotus as the new ruling authority. The problem is you're not alone in your objectives. Other teams and Pokémon seek the Master Blaze Jewel, the glory, all the other prizes, and the better life that comes from winning what promises to be the most brutal of Tempest Festivals as it celebrates fifty years of bloody carnage and ferocious combat. You and your team have been preparing hard for these games. Unlike many others who are entering, you are better prepared with your own armor, weaponry, vehicles, and training. Black Lotus may have the advantage, but this year the stakes are higher and the competition is more ready and ever before.

War may never change, but this time it's on television and under the classification of "entertainment."

YOUR TEAM'S ROLE

Whether your team is a band of freedom fighters, scoundrels, thieves, pirates, covert heroes, smugglers, or what have you, this is your chance at furthering your team's agenda. All members of your team have plenty of supporters and you are a known threat to Black Lotus, but you have survived, endured, or evaded their oppression. As far as you and the rest of your team are convinced, they may say the land you have claimed for yourself is theirs, but you refuse to acknowledge it.

Your team has many NPC supporters and is well-funded to be a considerable nuisance to Black Lotus. You and your teammates are better prepared than most entering these dark and violence arenas and competitions. In the grizzly events, your team has a budget big enough to enter with considerably tough vehicles and hardened armor and weaponry (the Pokémon-only options mainly apply to other poor but aspiring NPC contestants that you will be engaged with during the ferocious events). Meanwhile, there are spots on the map that will be under your team's control, even though you're still considered to be in Black Lotus's borders. The situations between your team and Black Lotus are on the brink of revolution like a pile of fireworks sitting on burning ashes.

It's your choice. It's up to you whether to enter these vicious and savage games as gladiators, or simply find a way to sabotage them from the outside or inside. You can use the media attention to build your own agenda, or use the whole Tempest Festival as a distraction to work within the shadows where eyes won't be watching.

The only restriction is that you cannot be allied with Black Lotus (I'm controlling all of them by myself). Beyond that, everything is fair game.

THE GRACIDEA ORDER

Nestled in the southeastern tropical edge of Liao, The Gracidea Order has had enough with the world diminishing into a polluted cesspool of grime, toxic waste, and filth. As Black Lotus's factories and industries continue to show no respect for the natural world and the aftermath of its continued neglect and care for the environment, The Gracidea Order intends to rebel against the Black Lotus now that they have acquired the resources, following, and the drive to no longer just be a nuisance to Black Lotus. Now they've become a real threat within Black Lotus's own borders. Inspired by its ability to purify the surrounding environment, The Gracidea Order is often resembled by Shaymin and the Gracidea Flower.

What started as a small band of environmentalists quickly turned into a strong faction that is determined to restore natural beauty and cleanliness to the world of Xia, starting with Liao. Factories and power plants that have been especially brutal on the environment have been destroyed by Gracidea Order operatives on multiple accounts. As more Pokémon realize the more comfortable living within The Gracidea Order's territory, their numbers and supporters have grown exponentially. Their capital city of Hana and the neighboring city of Jadeblossom remain as a hardened stronghold that Black Lotus still cannot get to comply with the empire's regulations. And now, further and further, the region further slips away from the grasp of the empire.

Black Lotus regards The Gracidea Order as a band of eco-terrorists hellbent on undoing technological progress for inane reasons. Meanwhile, Gracidea Order operatives mock Black Lotus, claiming their dark colored flower emblem comes from all the filth and pollution.

THE STEEL SCAVENGERS

Located in western Liao, the Steel Scavengers are a band of renegades and traitors that have directly betrayed The Black Lotus Empire and Queen Taiya in one way or another. After the number of rebels, exiles, and blacklisted Pokémon continued to escalate, they began to come together as the Scavengers. After seizing control of Blackbriar City and the neighboring industrial metropolis of Coalrock, a significant portion of Black Lotus's industrial supply lines were permanently cut off. As a result, the Scavengers have gone from being a serious nuisance to a genuine threat that intends to undermine everything Black Lotus seeks to achieve. With a large portion of western Liao's industrial zones now under their control, the Scavengers seek to finish the job and bring the entire empire crashing down and anyone else that intends to get in their way of doing so.

Known to create monstrous juggernaut war machines, brutish weaponry, thickened armor plating, and beastly mechanisms of battle, the Steel Scavengers rely on sheer, mechanized brawn and brutality in combat, intimidating the meek and unprepared. As a faction that has always been deeply-ingrained enemies with Black Lotus since day one, the interaction will be exceptionally bloody.

THE PRANKSTER PLATOON

Located north in the Shadysands Desert and above the Downdune mountains, the Prankster Platoon remains as a faction of anarchists and chaos that absolutely refuse to cooperate with anything the Black Lotus empire does and demands. When it comes to who will be the first to mock and ridicule Black Lotus in open in satirical broadcasts and musical parodies, the Platoon will proudly be the first to do it. Past and recent Black Lotus attempts to retake the northern area have not gone well at all and the Platoon happily reminds them of it at every possible opportunity. Tanks have been disabled all along Highway 1 and Highway 18 only to be turned into colorful piñatas by the Platoon. Meanwhile, Black Lotus officers and infantry have warned others the Platoon is known for finding other nefarious uses for their septic waste.

Combat against the Prankster Platoon is known to be extremely unpredictable and many have died to their tactics hearing maniacal laughter before dying. Many have been warned that while Black Lotus commandeers a relentless and hardened military, there's a good reason why this faction of resilient and blatant chaotic jesters doesn't just survive. They flock like endless, laughing Murkrows on a dead Rattata.

OTHER FACTIONS

Besides the three PXFIRE Teams, there are other NPC-exclusive entities that aren't on good terms with Black Lotus, but they aren't as significant. They will, however, be making appearances throughout the storyline and will be involved in the competitions.

Thundercrash Gang - Thundercrash isn't so much as a thorn in Queen Tayia's side, but more like a pin. They have a small member base of being criminals and smugglers that have stolen and worked directly against Black Lotus, but they're good at dodging scrutiny and they're nomadic, meaning it's very difficult for Black Lotus to track them down and eliminate them. They also don't care if Black Lotus is hosting the Tempest Festival. They want to win all for themselves. The Thundercrash gang welcomes all members, but they have a strong affinity for electric-based weaponry and attacks. They also tend to bend their vehicles and attack tactics on speed rather than muscle and force.

Sentinel Corporation - Mysterious, covert, and shady, these Pokémon don't say very much, but they're specialists in computer crimes, espionage, sabotage, and very James Bond / secret agent work. Meanwhile, they're more of a problem to Black Lotus when it comes to information. They focus mainly on tactics of perception, accuracy, and secrecy and have some of the best snipers in the world. A lot of their vehicles will harbor many secret weapons and a lot of their agents work under cover with strange, enigmatic codenames and call signs. Some of them even only use a series of numbers.

The "Shadow Network" - No one on the outside truly knows what the "Shadow Network" really is. Rumor has it that their name takes many forms and is under a varying branch of entities, but still remains as one. Two Pokémon that may look like enemies on the opposite sides of the spectrum may in fact be sworn blood brothers. Some believe it doesn't actually exist, but there is evidence some kind of underground operation that opposes Black Lotus is working deep within the veins of the continent.

There are other groups, but they are only very minor and will not make a significant impact on the storyline.

BLAZE JEWELS

Upon the Pokémon world of Xia, there are relics called Blaze Jewels. The silver-white Master Blaze Jewel offered as the grand prize is a special one, but there are more common ones throughout Liao and the rest of the world.

Standard Blaze Jewels allow your Pokémon character to change their typing, such as a Raichu using a Fire Blaze Jewel to become a fire type and use any fire type move they'd like. Even something like Sacred Fire which is usually exclusive to Ho-oh. Said Raichu could still use electric-type moves, but as a fire type Pokémon, they wouldn't have as much power as before. Also, said Raichu would look more like a fire type with reddish/orange fur and maybe a flame tail rather than one with a thunderbolt-shaped tip. When using a Blaze Jewel, your character's appearance and features would be changed to resemble the new type they're taking on. With Blaze Jewels, you only need to have it near you (about one meter within) to use it. So even if you're a Pokémon that needs to walk around on all fours, like Umbreon or Luxio, you can still wear it in a pouch or as jewelry to make use of it. Also, you can take off the effect at any time in an instant.

In the world of Xia, Blaze Jewels are rare, but not too rare. They're common enough for your character to start with one and for some other NPCs to have them, but not to the point where everyone and their mother is walking around with dozens of them. Think of it like owning a car. They're also spherical and are about the size of a golf ball and are colored to whatever type they change, such as a fire one being red and an electric one being yellow. They're also perfectly legal to use in these Tempest Festival events, and you will see NPCs using them. You can get others besides the one you start off with. It's not against the rules to pick one up from a dead Pokémon in the middle of an event!

Since the world of Pokémon has dual types, you could use two Blaze Jewels at once to become a dual type based on both of the Jewels you're using. So if you use both a Dragon Blaze Jewel and a Fire Blaze Jewel, you're now a fire/dragon type! But that's your limit. If you acquire a third Blaze Jewel, you're going to have to choose two out of the three typings you have available, but not all three. So if you found say an Electric Blaze Jewel on top of what you already have, you could go either fire/dragon, electric/dragon, or fire/electric as far as dual type possibilities go. But you're free to swap among those forms on the fly! And if you acquire a fourth and so on, it's the same kind of thing. Additional Blaze Jewels will just give you more selections as far as your dual typing selection goes. And if you have multiple Blaze Jewels, you still have the option of using only one at a time, also. Just note than any use of Blaze Jewels will overwrite whatever natural typing your Pokémon character has.

As for the Master Blaze Jewel, it's anyone's guess as to where it came from, but it's definitely confirmed to be authentic. But it does make one wonder. Is that the only "Master" Blaze Jewel out there?

MAP OF LIAO

http://i.imgur.com/2qa4sgl.png

LIST OF TEMPEST FESTIVAL EVENTS

In almost all of these events, victory goes to the last team or individual still alive, though in the past, losers have been able to retreat and flee away from the carnage after the situation looks hopeless to them. There's no punishment or prosecution for running away (besides losing/disqualification) and it's a perfectly acceptable (although humiliating) way to survive, but in most cases, the number of survivors is usually very low.

Expect for NPCs to be dropping like flies in these events, but I totally understand if you don't want your character to be the same way. So, if things are looking grim, bailing out via running/flying away, teleporting, or what have you is possible. It might require some creativity, but it's a possible option. Just note that most participants don't make it out alive, so usually only player-controlled characters will have this kind of safety net available to them. Realistically though, it would make sense for your character to take non-lethal injuries and maybe some of their NPC companions/teammates would be killed in action even if your character escapes from the carnage.

BLOOD PIT ARENA
On ground arena combat event
Location: Blood Pit Arena, Lytala City
Here, Pokémon enter as gladiators in a fight to the death. Entrants are allowed to bring whatever weapons and armor they so choose, but there are no vehicles in this competition. Meanwhile, Blood Pit Arena has several variants. In the "Open" version, there is limited cover and gladiators enter only with that they begin with, while in the "Pillager" version, the arena becomes more like a labyrinth with better weapons and armor hidden within the dark, bloody halls of this bloody, televised deathtrap. Gladiators are free to use whatever Pokémon attacks they have, as well as use whatever weaponry they come ready with or steal from someone else whether they're alive or dead.

DREAD METAL DESTRUCTION DERBY
On ground vehicular combat event
Location: Lotus Den Slums
Much like the Blood Pit Arena, the Dread Metal Destruction Derby is like the Blood Pit Arena, only with vehicles. Contenders are free to work in teams using either a fast and speedy vehicle or the biggest junkyard hulk they can construct. Vehicles can be armed with whatever weaponry the competitors decide to use. Meanwhile, the arena itself consists of an entire urban slum neighborhood to wreck havoc in where collateral damage means nothing. If a competitor's vehicle is disabled or destroyed but they survive, they can still fight on foot, but they'll be at a severe disadvantage.

ROADKILL WARRIOR COMPETITION
On ground vehicular racing combat event
Location: Highway 2, Leaving from Garland City heading north toward Lytala City
For those who want speed and destruction, look no further than this bloody racing event. Roadkill Warriors is vehicle-only, and unlike Dread Metal, it is a racing event with flames, carnage, and mayhem. However, use of weapons or attacks isn't allowed until five minutes into the race (to prevent everyone from killing each other right at the Garland City starting line!). Here, racers need to decide whether to sacrifice speed for more armored protection and weaponry, or go fast but fragile. Meanwhile, like Dread Metal, multiple Pokémon can work together in teams in the same vehicle, but the difference is if your vehicle is disabled, you lose your chance to win, but could definitely still die while rendered helpless on Highway 2.

FIELD OF SCREAMS (credit to Velocity!)
On ground racing obstacle course event
Location: Lytala City
Field of Screams is a footrace but with a twist! Along the way, there are plenty of traps, hazards, and deadly surprises along the way. Pits with spikes, flame jets hidden in the walls, and even deadly audience participation are all threats these racers have to deal with as their finish line will either be at tend end of the race or by the reaper's blade. Attacking your fellow racers is perfectly allowed, but it becomes a battle of keeping the pace, dodging everything else that's flung your way, and fighting back against your competition!

THE DEVIL'S TIDE
Naval combat
Location: Crackwood Sea
Here, the arena situation is similar to the ground events, only this time, it's in the drink, right in the filthy, polluted waters just south of Crackwood City. Combatants need to have a naval craft ready for combat, or take the risky chance of using a water Pokémon (definitely not recommended, no one has ever won with one). Contestants, especially Black Lotus, have been known to enter naval vessels even as large as battleships, though sometimes the bigger they come, the harder they fall. As with the other events, last team standing wins. If you're not ready to win, you'd better be ready to swim!

HEAVENS OF FIRE (credit to Morzone!)
Aerial combat and racing event
Location: Skies above the Lotus Den Slums
If destruction and bloodshed on the ground or in the water isn't your forte, this event has Pokémon using airplanes or flying Pokémon (usually used by those who can't afford planes) to dogfight each other out of the skies. And unlike the ground events, a disabled aircraft will usually result in death. Oh sure, there are parachutes, but gunning a helpless parachuting Pokémon holds a special place in the hearts of the crowds. Usually those that use flying Pokémon need to go light on the armor and weaponry, as unlike planes, most of them can't fly with heavier weapons. They need to rely on speed and maneuvers in those circumstances or it will be over far sooner than you can imagine.

DEADLY FORCE
Situation-based infantry combat event
Location: Lytala City
In this team-based competition, one team is pitted against another instead of the free-for-all like settings of the other competitions. One team is the Assassins while the other team is the Bodyguards. The Bodyguards have to prevent the Assassins from killing the VIP, a unprepared and completely innocent Pokémon yanked off the streets and used as fodder for this bloody competition. The catch with this event is Black Lotus's forces will always take the assassin role. And it's extremely rare for them to lose.

DEATHWISH ENDURANCE
Physical endurance event
Location: Lytala City
Deathwish Endurance has a survivor mode and 1vs1 mode. Here, opposing Pokémon are locked into chambers and exposed to the element they're weakest against. Fire Pokémon are thrown into tanks that will be filled with water. Water Pokémon are hooked up to an electric-chair like device while grass types are put into an incinerator that progressively gets hotter and hotter. How to win? Survive longer than everyone else. This competition remains as the hardest, because somehow Black Lotus stays alive longer and there is suspicion Ante may be involved, but there's absolutely no evidence.

SIGN UP

Sign ups start RIGHT NOW! You don't need to wait until PXFIRE starts to make your characters. You can have them prepared and approved in advance so that you're ready to go opening day. Also, you're free to make as many characters as you'd like, no limit. Furthermore, you're free to make more characters at any time whether it's before PXFIRE, during the PXFIRE event, or even after the whole event concludes!

Name: Your character's name, first and last.
Species: What Pokémon species your character is. No legendaries.
Gender: Male, female, or genderless.
Age: How old your character is. Assume most Pokémon age at the same rate as humans, save for special occasions.
Team: What PXFIRE team your character is a part of.
Description: Describe any details that distinguish your character from others of their own kind. Scars, birthmarks, body physique, and the like can be mentioned here.
Personality: The emotional intelligence and attitude of your character.
Background: The story of your character's life before the events of the role play.
Starting Blaze Jewel: Every character is allowed to start with one Blaze Jewel of their choice.
Other: Anything not mentioned above that you would like to include.

THE CAST

THE GRACIDEA ORDER
Athena Pallas the Decidueye (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251564&viewfull=1#post251564) Played by Noblejanobii <ACCEPTED>
Nora the Lilligant (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251512&viewfull=1#post251512) - Played by The Nonexistent Tazz <ACCEPTED>
Jax the Marowak (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251925&viewfull=1#post251925) - Played by Soups <ACCEPTED>
Levi the Gabite (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=253223&viewfull=1#post253223) - Played by Shruikan <ACCEPTED>

THE STEEL SCAVENGERS
Anthony Carpenter-Weaver the Mimikyu (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251473&viewfull=1#post251473) - Played by Death's Spook <ACCEPTED>
Grand Lady the Tsareena (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251473&viewfull=1#post251473) - Played by Death's Spook <ACCEPTED>
Max Clerk the Klinklang (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251473&viewfull=1#post251473) - Played by Death's Spook <ACCEPTED>
Theo Myrsky the Quilava (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251995&viewfull=1#post251995) - Played by Morzone <ACCEPTED>
Julia the Weavile (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251995&viewfull=1#post251995) - Played by Morzone <ACCEPTED>

THE PRANKSTER PLATOON
Jones Sandstrider the Heliolisk (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251479&viewfull=1#post251479) - Played by Velocity <ACCEPTED>
Laura Bette Kaye the Umbreon (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251481&viewfull=1#post251481) - Played by LKWayvern <ACCEPTED>
Chance Jehenna the Zangoose (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251596&viewfull=1#post251596) - Played by Steel Lunpara <ACCEPTED>
Tina Volts the Pikachu (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251610&viewfull=1#post251610) - Played by Chakramaster[<ACCEPTED>
Marcellus "Mazer" Pratten (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251835&viewfull=1#post251835) - Played by Velocity <ACCEPTED>

[Neo Emolga]

PXFIRE ROLEPLAY GRADING AND RULES

The PXFIRE Roleplay lasts for the entire duration of PXFIRE and beyond! This is pretty much the one PXFIRE section that can keep going even past the final day of the PXFIRE event. Judging will stop on the final day of PXFIRE, but the roleplay storyline doesn't have to!

Judging will occur at the end of each week of PXFIRE. A total of 100 points will be awarded among all participants. How many you get will be based on how good your performance is and how many other people are participating.

GRADING RUBRIC

Here, players will get a letter rating of A++ to F for each of these categories. +s and -s will also be applicable.

A++: This person is a star and an MVP in this area. It's VERY rare to get this.
A+: Awesome, awesome performance. It's near-impossible to ask anything more of this person.
A: Truthfully really great skill here. It would be tough to ask them to do better, but there's a slight window where they could.
A-: Still really good in this area. Not perfect, but still really good.
B+: A solid good effort in this area. They could be better, but I can't complain.
B: Good work here, could be better if they want to shoot for the stars, but it's far from lousy.
B-: Decent job, not bad, but nothing to praise over.
C+: Eh, not stellar, but there's some small qualities here.
C: Pretty much status quo right here. The person kind of did what the bare minimum requirements where and just settled on that.
C-: Not terrible, but still a tinge below average.
D+: Meh, this person kind of got lazy and really didn't care or overlooked a lot of things.
D: Not really thrilled about what the person did here. At this point, they're doing things that have a negative impact on the RP and could be considered a bit disruptive.
D-: Really not great at all. What they've been doing is actually getting a bit annoying or they're just totally ignoring what they should be doing.
F: The person just really missed the mark completely on this. Either they didn't do this at all or they've been doing things very wrong. It could also be where they're doing a lot of negative things that badly affect the RP.

GRADING AREAS

Driving Force - Characters that have more influential impact on the storyline will get heavy points here, whereas a player that just posts background stuff over and over again and keeps to themselves won't get very much. I'm a pretty anti-filler person, so don't make a whole lot of unnecessary background stuff if you don't ever plan on going anywhere with it. I don't want people to hang around the exposition stage for too long. Sure, the first two posts or so are okay, but then it's gotta get going time!

A+ Example: The person is really getting involved with the plot, adding their own subplots, and is getting involved however they can, keeping things evolving and making the RP interesting for everyone without breaking rules.

C Example: The person plays along with the plot, but kind of in a roll-with-the-punches kind of way. Nothing special, but they're at least doing their part.

F Example: The person is totally ignoring the plot, not interacting with the setting, and they're possibly doing things that really aren't applicable.

Written Content - The second big factor to having posts that are interesting to read and really tie well with the character the player has written up. You could completely miss the ball on the Driving Force element, but if the posts are at least intriguing, you'll make up points.

A+ Example: This person's posts are full of interesting and intriguing dialogue, there's great description and emotion, and the posts are colorful with adjectives and emphasis in just the right amounts at just the right times.

C Example: The posts are okay. They're nothing special and I'd read it once and be okay with that and not really be intrigued to read it again and again. They did a passable job and it's acceptable, though it could have been cooler.

F Example: The posts don't make sense, they're confusing, the character interactions are really unrealistic, and they're doing other weird and awkward things that just make the post really difficult to grasp. A person would also get this score if they've been breaking rules like god-modding and bunnying.

RPer Interactions - One of the big advantages of roleplaying is that you get interaction opportunities! This is a big push to get involved and interact with others to get the storyline going and progressing. The more the RPer interacts with others, the more they'll shine in here.

A+ Example: The person has been interacting with other members of their team to implement teamwork, possibly getting involved in battle engagements against the enemy teams, and they've been getting into fights and interactions with Black Lotus, the main adversaries of the RP, which are controlled by me. So they're interacting with me too. That's good stuff.

C Example: Well, the player interacts with another RPer every now and then, but it's nothing super-special. It could be argued that maybe it wasn't even necessary or they just didn't do much beyond a status quo kind of thing.

F Example: The person either isn't interacting with anyone at all, or they're actually being disruptive toward others and doing annoying, pointless, and possibly even spammy kinds of things with them.

Activity Level - Activity level is based on the frequency of posts that person puts in. The first three areas are quality, and yes, this one is quantity-based, but that's why this one comes behind those three. A person who really posts a lot and really puts in a lot of quantifiable effort will get rewarded here.

A+ Example: The person was the top poster here. They're super active in the RP, they're really doing a lot of content for it, and they're committed to making the RP a daily interactive activity.

C Example: The person posts maybe every now and then. It's clear they're still participating, but not really on a lively level. But they're still in it at least.

F Example: The person posted one really short post during the entire week. They were there, but not much else beyond that.

Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar - I'm not a big stickler on this, but I don't really want to see an absolutely horrible job either. So, I would like people to care about how presentable their posts are and to make sure they're clean and tidy.

A+ Example: No errors, no weird grammar, no typos. It's clear the person has been proofreading these things and making sure they're clean and good to go before posting them.

C Example: Here, the posts are a bit rushed. There might be spelling mistakes, maybe a "their" where there should have been a "they're" and things like that. There might also be weird word redundancy or the sentence structure doesn't quite flow right all the time. Here, it's clear that some proofreading would have helped clean up the blemishes if they were just a bit more careful.

F Example: Spammy, chat speak, junk, and weird incoherent stuff that actually reads like what the SPAMbots post or a bad form of Engrish. The posts here are so bad it's hard for anyone to understand them.

RULES

The rules are pretty simple. Nothing too crazy.

CORE ROLEPLAYING RULES

Follow all PXR Rules - But you know that. :P
No Godmodding - Basically don't make your character an immortal god and let them be aware of it. Extreme abuses of power, breaking reality too much, or doing an unrealistic amount of damage and destruction in a very short amount of time with no preparation is rule-breaking. Also, using out of character knowledge falls under this area. You, the player, may be aware of something, but your character wouldn't.
No Bunnying - Basically, no controlling other people's characters.

SETTING AND CONTENT RULES

Considering the darker and grittier nature of the RP and the setting, here's the policy on what's acceptable and what's probably a little too beyond.

Violence and gore - Open season. Go as M-rated as you like in this area. Xia is a nasty and violent world and because there's so many different ways to die, feel free to capture whatever you'd like in whatever detail you can imagine. After all, it is only words and not visual. Plus let's face it, we've all played at least one M-rated game by now.

Sexual Content - I'm okay with things like sex, pornography, prostitution, and rape being implied and given brief mentioning, but I'd rather not see it go too beyond that with heavy and cringe-inducing detail. Keep it touch and go. While there's plenty of this going on in Xia, I want to keep a cap on it and avoid it getting to the point of being distasteful. If you slip a little bit too much on this, I won't chew you out the first time it happens, but I'll drop a note for you to keep it lower.

Swearing - Well, if the swear filter blanks it out, it blanks it out, but you're free to imply it with * marks. Kudos goes to the people who actually make up new swear words as part of Xia's culture. That's creativity!

Alcohol and drug use - Open season. There's plenty of that going on in Xia. Drugs range from steroids, hallucinogens, narcotics, you name it, you got it. Note that the names of these drugs are different in Xia. Xia may not have things like cocaine or crystal meth, but they might have drugs like "Swish" or "Jirachi Dust" that have similar effects to actual drugs but just with different names. Be creative and feel free to conjure up something druggie Pokémon are into!

Gambling - Open season. Another thing that's all over the place. Pokémon are constantly betting on winners in these deadly games. Beyond that, casinos and lotteries are common. Those are all over the place.

Darker Themes - Things like terrorism, genocide, racism, and things like that are fine here. You might have plenty of that going on. Don't take what happens in the RP's storyline too literally and think it's an implication to anything in reality. It's all purely fiction and nothing's implied.

With all that said, good luck, have fun, and enjoy the roleplay!

[Death's Spook]

Three reserves, please!:

Name: Anthony Carpenter-Weaver
Age: 45
Gender: Male
Species: Mimikyu
Team: Steel Scavengers (Leader)
Starting Blaze Jewel: Water
Appearance:

It can be a little difficult to recognize Anthony for what he actually is. His height is average for his species, but his Disguise is decorated completely differently. Instead of looking like a Pikachu, Anthony has opted for a rag reminiscent more of old heraldry. His coat is a silvery color, with navy faux facial features that look carefully painted on more than hastily scrawled. His tail is still made of wood, but instead of being a crooked bludgeon, it is instead shaved down to be a wickedly curved blade. His shadows are spread out, but usually kept hidden, save for one hand.

Personality:

A hero. Anthony is heroic, through and through. He has a deep abiding love for life and an absolute conviction that people can be good. He acts to preserve the innocent, provide succor for the needy, and overall try to make people's lives easier. He is always willing to offer a second chance, to allow those with a less than stellar past atone for it if they're willing. He has an earnest sort of charisma and tends to set people around him at ease, as though they can sense that he has everyone's best interests at heart. This all has a tendency to make people assume he's naïve. But naïveté has a way of being selected against in the land of Xia.

In fact, instead of being easy to fool, Anthony is the exact opposite. He is extremely observant, missing nothing of what's going on around him: the little that he doesn't directly see, sense with his shadows, or hears he can usually indirectly observe through other cues. It is practically impossible to sneak up on him, mundanely or with moves and abilities, much to the sudden, if brief, surprise of multiple would-be assassins. Further, lying to him is equally difficult, and even keeping a secret around him is not simple: his concern for those around him combined with his native observance and perceptiveness mean that even his very presence has an astonishing tendency to bring the truth to light. Furthermore, this means that while he will endeavor to be the most moral he can be and to encourage others to do the same, he is far from inept at considering the practicality of a situation.

But this combination of wanting to do good and also knowing how exactly how much work he has cut out for him means that Anthony has a tendency to run himself ragged. He will neglect his own needs in favor of trying to find some way to help those around him or attempt to plan around what his enemies may be trying to do to him and those under his protection. His fellow Knights frequently have to remind him to eat, sleep, and take time to relax: The Grand Lady, especially, will bluntly make him take a nap if he's getting entirely too little sleep.

History:

Anthony has been operating as a well known knight errant for quite some time now. Before the Black Lotus came into the picture, he was famous for both protecting the innocent and bringing outlaws to justice. His moral code was almost as well known: to protect those who need protecting, and to offer a second chance to those seeking redemption. In fact, in the world of Xia, this behavior originally marked him as an easy target: a victim to be killed or conned at a moment’s leisure. In fact, one particularly deranged Electrode named Kimblee attempted to do both in one shot, pretending to seek redemption so that they could get behind Anthony and kill him for their own sick amusement.

The Shadow Sneak that very publicly bisected Kimblee for making the attempt became a symbol of the fact that Anthony was not an idiot, regardless of his moral code, and people took him a great deal more seriously after that.

As the Black Lotus began to rise to power, Anthony naturally began to oppose them. But while he was quite a powerful Mimikyu, he was still only one person. He struggled to figure out what to do in between assassination attempts, of which there were quite a few, to make some meaningful difference in the lives of others.

He ended up stumbling on his answer upon fighting alongside The Grand Lady. An organized group opposed to The Black Lotus, a resistance of differently talented individuals able to work in concert. He and the Lady were the first members, but it did not take them long to find others. First was a Klinklang with the mind of a scholar and a deep bloodlust and their Sharpedo friend with a propensity for burglary and robbery. Soon after followed a Volcarona who publicly burned her father, a member of the Onyx Circle, to death for his crimes. An absent minded Minior and mute Claydol followed soon after, and together they began to publicly mount a resistance against Queen Taiya, becoming the infamous Seven Knights.

The Knights quickly realized that for all of their power, even they could not hope to singlehandedly war against the Black Lotus and any other competitors for the crown of Xia. The group made significant amounts of progress between stealing slaves and killing key targets, but it was not until they happened on the conflict torn Blackbriar City that they had a way to gain traction. The city before the Knights was a no man's land where the only thing that could be agreed upon was that the Black Lotus should not be listened to. The place was an area of such constant warfare that while Queen Taiya's forces officially claimed as land belonging to the Lotus, they did not bother enforcing many laws because the people who controlled the place, if anyone, kept changing week to week. Anthony and his Knights identified it as a key target to place their capitol, and it took them an impressively short amount of time to coerce, destroy, or bribe the factions of the city into submitting to Anthony's authority. While such a thing was not an unusual occurrence (there would occasionally emerge a temporary ruler of the city), the fact that Anthony claimed authority and then kept it catapulted the Knights from "dangerous group of rebels" to "potential rival nation", a status only further increased when the newly formed Steel Scavengers took the city of Coalrock.

Both Blackbriar and Coalrock are doing better than before: they are still cities of slums and industry that chokes the air, but Anthony's care for the cities' denizens combined with his intelligence have made him a competent ruler. He is in the process of evacuating noncombatants to areas off the war torn continent, not only to protect them but also to keep his resources focused on supporting those who can actually help in the fight against the Black Lotus.

Other: He doesn't advertise it, but Anthony is an extremely competent combatant, though he refuses point blank to engage in any bloodsports.






Name: If asked the question, she will simply tell you “I’ve left my old name.” But she is known as The Grand Lady.
Age: Mid-twneties, but she’s quite ambiguous about the specifics.
Gender: Female
Species: Tsareena
Team: Steel Scavengers
Starting Blaze Jewel: Steel
Appearance:

With thick green hair flowing behind her and a face lovely as the stars, the Lady first appears to be the spitting image of a generic Tsareena. However, there are certain tells that give her away. The scent of blood lingers on her, and faint scars cover her legs and arms. Her hair seems adorned with clips and the like, but a closer look reveals them to deadly blades. And most strangely, instead of a crown on her head, The Lady has a faint scar, clearly faded with time but just as clearly the mark of what was once a grievous wound. On occasion, she can be seen wearing a blue scarf, usually an indication of having been in a particularly bloody situation.

Personality:

The Grand Lady, put kindly, is a jerk. She's an egotistical, petty, bitter jerk who in most cases would just as soon kill you as look at you. She's not sadistic by any means, but cross her and everything you get in return is completely deserved in her eyes. She's arrogant and crass in a refined sort of way, every inch the haughty queen that her species tends to be. She also has no point to prove, being entirely sure of herself: if she wants someone dead, she is equally willing to do it herself as she is to arrange someone else to do it. She has a strong notion of her brand of justice, but mostly it's draconian and frequently hypocritical.

That being said, she does have a stronger self awareness than what she might have had natively. Anthony was particularly helpful in teaching her the virtues of slowing down, thinking through her actions, considering the consequences of her actions, and using her considerable intelligence to think through a situation rather than killing everyone involved and sorting things out later. This did not make her softer so much as it made her more pragmatic. But the presence of the other Knights does reveal a crucial point about The Lady: for all of her faults, all of her temper, cruelty, and pride, The Grand Lady's loyalty is absolute. She is not particularly loyal to the other Scavengers, but cross The Seven Knights and she is quite willing to inflict death and worse for daring to make the attempt. This has not gone unrecognized by the other Knights either: Anthony takes it as a sign that she could learn to be better, and all of them, while they may not completely agree with Anthony, have The Lady's back as much as she has theirs. After all, after someone saves your life repeatedly and you do the same, it becomes significantly easier to forgive personal faults.

History:

The Grand Lady’s origins are a mystery: she refuses to speak of them, even to her fellow Knights. Her crownless head gives some idea: it is a mark of a Tsareena who evolved without consent of their clan and who now wanders the world without one. However, her first introduction to the world at large was a brutal attack on a Black Lotus stronghold. Not absolutely critical, but certainly noticeable enough that when she announced herself as “The Grand Lady”, people took her seriously rather than laughing in her face.

She continued her own work, trying to fight the Black Lotus wherever she could find them, but it was not until she was caught in an assassination plot with Anthony Carpenter-Weaver that she began to find traction.

The Lady was uncertain at first about working with Anthony, but the Mimikyu had noticed and helped prevent an ambush meant to kill them both, so she was willing to give more leeway. Sure, he might have been just a little over concerned with morality, but he was competent and saved her life when no one had previously cared about helping her, so she was willing to forgive his odd fixations a bit. The two of them sought to work together, but realized that the most effect would be achieved with more allies, and sought to form their own group of elite warriors.

The Lady is ambiguous about her and Anthony’s first attempts to form the what would become the Knights, only hinting that it may not have gone smoothly at first. However, it was she who first successfully recruited Knights after she and Anthony started looking for them: she saved the lives of Max Clerk and Arlington the Sharpedo, causing them to join her and Anthony in exchange. She was also the one to suggest recruiting Magenta the Volcorona, though Anthony is the one who ultimately convinced the moth to join. She did not have a hand in recruiting Oort the Minior or Haq the Claydol; in fact, she was quite uncertain about the two of them at first. However, as the Knights began to work together, even the standoffish Lady had to admit the deep trust that developed between them all. It was a trust deep enough that she stood by them as they united Blackbriar City under the banner of the Steel Scavengers, and when Arlington suggested taking Coalrock in his almost casual way, she was instrumental in designing the tactics that would take the city almost completely whole.

But The Grand Lady is confronting an undeniable fact: in the end, it is likely that her friends will die. She might die too, of course, but there are signs that she may not care nearly as much about that. Ultimately however, she knows that none of her surviving friends will know peace if the Lotus is around, and she will do what it takes to remove Queen Taiya and her entourage once and for all.


Other:




Name: Max Clerk
Age: 31
Gender: n/a
Species: Klinklang
Team: Steel Scavengers
Starting Blaze Jewel: Ground
Appearance:

The most remarkable thing about how Max Clerk looks is that they look almost exactly average for their species. Their gears are neither particularly dull nor shiny and their faces look like every single other Klinklang’s. They even play to that appearance most of the time, easily overlooked when they want to be. However, when the situation gets tighter and they need to start fighting, their entire presence changes. There is nothing about their physical appearance that changes so much as their demeanor shifts entirely. Their gears spin more quickly, their voice goes from a inoffensive drawl to a powerful bass, and their presence overall is more intimidating.

Personality:

At first glance, Max Clerk appears to have what one might call a "stereotypical" personality for a Klinklang: they seem calm, intelligent, and generally stoic. Even the turning of their gears is quiet and unobtrusive as they turn the pages of their many books, appearing completely inoffensive. However, certain things place them squarely in the uncanny valley: their poorly concealed interest when they notice violence, their tendency to "fidget"—spin their gears one way, then another, quite quickly—when it's been quiet for a while, and their tendency to quickly suggest what some might call "brutal" actions whenever a situation might call for it hint at their inner nature.

For Max Clerk is a berserker. They love to fight, to revel in violence, to seek powerful opponents, and feel the rage and ecstasy of doing battle. They do not necessarily fight to kill: merely to find a challenge. In the years when they worked for the Lotus, they were a frequent participant in both variations of the Blood Pit Arena, where they were wildly successful. While their face and demeanor made it difficult to show, the pits were an addiction for him, a way to release tension and relax. That being said, they’re a fighter, not a sadist. They seek powerful opponents to do battle against, not victims to torture. They even avoid killing if an opponent is clearly no longer able to give them a challenge, a trait that some might assume is born from cruelty, not disinterest.

History:

Max Clerk does not remember when they first came to be, or even their existence as a Klink. Their first coherent memory is of being a Klang, fiddling with some tools and some kind of device. Perhaps the reason for this memory’s coherence is what happened immediately after: a Blaziken attempted to mug them, and much to her brief surprise, the strange device turned out to be a weapon. Despite the evolutionary and twice over type advantage, the Klang that would become Max Clerk successfully killed the Blaziken.

The display pleased an official from the Black Lotus who happened to be watching. The Mismagius had actually been evaluating the Blaziken for recruitment, but his interest immediately shifted over to the Klang. Little did he know that when he recruited the Klang in question, they would not be some mindless automaton, but rather a brilliant warrior who just got their first taste of heart pounding battle.

The Mismagius was known to the Lotus as Thomas James Clerk, and when he explained the concept of family to the Klang he’d recruited, they very quickly chose the name Max Clerk for themselves. Thomas thought this was a strange quirk, a ghost in the machine, rather than the Klang actually seeking an identity, and he essentially made Max Clerk his own personal weaponsmith with a gladiatorial twist: after all, the Klang proved to be a good fighter, and throwing them into Blood Pit Arena occasionally was a way for Thomas to brag a little. Thomas, however, did something to displease Queen Taiya, and she indulged in a macabre sense of irony by pitting him against his newly evolved Klinklang, who was not loyal enough to Thomas to avoid chewing him up in their gears.

Afterwards, Max Clerk began to work for Queen Taiya’s own weaponsmiths (no sense in discarding someone potentially useful, after all), but they slowly began to realize a growing distaste for the Lotus: fighting and killing was all well and good, but the Lotus was starting to reveal sadism that disquieted them. When Max Clerk found a Ribombee gleefully choking prisoners to death with pollen for no reason other than “because she could”, they had enough and resolved to betray their empire.

Max Clerk’s bloodlust sought the fight immediately, but their reason and intuition told them to wait, to bide their time for the opportunity to do the most damage. And when a Sharpedo barged into the lab, cheerfully informing everyone that he was going to “loot you all to the bedrock”, Max Clerk began to kill everyone in sight other than the Sharpedo in question. The Sharpedo, Arlington, was utterly confused, but went along with it.

After the massacre, Max Clerk was marked as undesirable by the Black Lotus (Arlington was already on that particular list), some of whom were struggling to process the betrayal by what they saw as an object more than a Pokemon. They were a well known combatant (and Arlington was no slouch himself), and so when the Black Lotus tried to kill them both, they sent an entire squadron of soldiers specifically meant to kill them both.

Of course, that meant that when The Grand Lady ambushed the squadron in question, they were utterly unprepared to deal with the extremely powerful Tsareena and got completely demolished. She almost lackadaisically murdered them to a man before offering the two a chance to join her in a little group she was helping to form.

What happened next is something of an unknown, but there is one thing Max Clerk will admit to: they refused to follow a leader who could not best them in combat. Max Clerk challenged Anthony to a fight, supposing their size and type advantage would allow them to best the Mimikyu.

The “fight”, as much as it could be called that, is still a blur to the Klinklang. Suffice to say, not even seven seconds later, they were halfway buried into the ground with Anthony politely standing over them, as though not only not responsible for but completely clueless about how Max Clerk ended up so utterly thrashed.

The Klinklang was completely loyal after that.

Max Clerk and Arlington are a close team even relative to the other Knights, covering each other’s flaws and weaknesses quite well. The two are best friends, and everyone else on the team is loathe to separate them, both from an emotional standpoint and a practical one. They have been instrumental in gathering intelligence for the Knights, as well as being quite capable combatants. Though only time will tell if the dynamic duo (and the Knights they’ve joined) can survive their trials...

Note: There are obviously seven members of the Seven Knights, but only the PCs have Blaze Jewels.

[VeloJello]

Reserving a slot for this fantastic fool!

Name: Jones Sandstrider.
Species: Heliolisk.
Gender: Female.
Age: Twenty-three.
Team: Prankster Platoon.
Description: Among Heliolisks, Jones is quite attractive. Her scales are neat and brightly colored, she's 3’7” - tall for a desert lizard - and her frill is broad. She has a few scars, the largest being an old, ugly gouge across the neck that her frill covers when it lies flat. Her markings seem to change often, which is because she wears face and frill paint most of the time. She always makes sure to give herself natural-looking markings, though, so this doesn’t seem too conspicuous. Rarely seen without her backpack, a somewhat weatherbeaten brown bag which holds her face paints and weaponry. She is sometimes seen with a walking stick, something that she can use as a weapon in a pinch.

Personality: The first and only impression that most people get of Jones is “that is one jumpy lizard”. Jones is restless, erratic, and easily startled, with quick feet and a massive dearth of social skills, to the point where she forgets niceties like ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and has been known to walk away in the middle of a conversation without a word. She tends to try not to get involved in others’ business, varying between thinking that other people aren’t worth her time and fearing that they’ll hurt her. She’s very selfish, thinking of her own safety and self-preservation above absolutely everything - to the point where she’s been known to flee from or attack people who act like they might harm her. She’s also not very charismatic - she’s abrasive and smart-mouthed. Over the years, she’s learned how to lie extremely well, though. She also has very poor impulse control; she never seems to learn how to think things through, and often rushes into foolish plans without thinking - though if someone she thinks has half a brain offers advice, she almost always listens.

That said, she does have a few redeeming qualities. Her wits are ridiculously quick, and she’s a brilliant short-term planner, which is something she's learned from a multitude of poorly-thought out plans forcing her to improvise on the fly. She tends to use a bit more etiquette with people who she believes deserve her respect - people who are strong, smart, and/or genuinely kind to her or people who are similar to her. She doesn’t have much empathy, but she has a strong moral compass and if she sees someone committing evil, she’ll find a way to get them - usually by electrocuting them to death in their sleep, but hey, you don’t get anywhere good in Liao by shouting “Die, villain!” and charging in. Her loyalty is hard to earn, but anyone who manages it has it until the day either they or Jones die.

It’s worth noting that Jones suffers from PTSD related to her upbringing. Much of her anxiety stems from it, particularly her overactive startle and flight responses. Combat with opponents that look or fight like Haxorus can give her flashbacks, and she suffers from intrusive memories and thoughts. It takes her a lot of energy to talk to people, and she’s been known to straight-up dissociate in conversation. That said, she often leverages the disorder - for instance, passing off not listening to a boring person as the result of a dissociative episode, or “accidentally” zapping someone she dislikes because “she was having a flashback”.

Background: While the Black Lotus is powerful on the continent of Liao, everyone knows that the empire has had its fair share of challengers. One of them was a Haxorus from the Southwind Savannah, who specialized in finding - or producing - orphans, adopting them at a young age, and raising them to form his personal army to one day challenge the Black Lotus. One of the children he took was a Helioptile, too young to remember him killing her parents and taking her from her home. Jones - then Samantha - was raised with a lot of other young Pokemon of various ages but all loyal to their warlord “father”, and trained in combat. By the time she was eleven years old, she had killed her fair share of Pokemon, murdering anyone who dared attack her father or her siblings.

However, Jones’s training never completely took. Years of schooling in the ways of destruction hardened her heart, but not enough to prevent her from feeling sympathy for the people her father and siblings targeted. Shortly after her evolution at the age of sixteen, she began to show signs of what her father called “weakness” - a lack of will to kill unless it was necessary. Jones had seen other siblings of hers go down this path; they were pushed to their breaking point, where they either followed their father’s teachings or died, crushed by the pressure. She’d also seen others try to take a third option and escape, but they were all quickly hunted down and slaughtered. Unwilling to die and unable to think of another way out, Jones ended things the one way she knew would work - she murdered her Haxorus “father” in his sleep and ran; no one followed her.

However, unbeknownst to Jones’s father or any of his children, an enforcer of the Onyx Circle had caught wind of the Haxorus’s plot, and had been waiting for the right time at which to swoop in, slaughter the Haxorus to make an example of him for other potential insurgents, and recruit the children for the Black Lotus Empire. This enforcer approached Jones with a small group of Black Lotus footsoldiers; Jones, having been raised to hate the Black Lotus, shocked the officers and fled under the cover of a self-made sandstorm, not knowing or caring that her electric attacks had killed several of their grunts.

Starting Blaze Jewel: Ice. Jones keeps it in her bag; she doesn't use it terribly often, but it's never far from her.

Other:
- Has the ability Sand Veil, if that's applicable to the setting.
- Has used a number of aliases over the years. The one before Jones Sandstrider was Heather “Heath” Elektra. Most of the surnames she’s used are ridiculous and cliche, if quite varied. The oldest name she can remember having is “Samantha”, but given that this was the name her father gave her, she never uses it and will pounce on anyone who does.
- Weapons that she owns include a collapsible metal spear with an edge specialized for cutting through almost anything, a plain knife, and a pistol that’s a bit big for her size bracket - it’s a good gun, though larger opponents will take less damage given that the gun has to be sized down for a ‘mon of her height. She also carries a couple of backup clips for the weapon.
- Her siblings are still around, for the most part, and while Jones doesn’t know it, many of them have been recruited by the Black Lotus Empire. Those who have are aware of Jones’s role in their father’s death and are less than thrilled with that - though there are a select few who escaped with their freedom, who’ve had a chance to form more open-minded perspectives of events.
- Please do not judge actual people with PTSD based on Jones. She's a trash lizard and I found her in a dumpster.

[LKWayvern]

Backstory is incomplete. Will work on it more later.

Name:
Laura Bette Kaye

Species:
Umbreon

Gender:
Female, Asexual Aromantic

Age:
18

Team:
Prankster Platoon

Description:
Laura, like most umbreon, is small, but well-muscled and lithe. She regularly goes for runs, and practices sparring and dodging, and though she isn’t obviously musclebound like a professional battle, it shows enough to distinguish her as someone who could probably hold her own in a fight, at least most than an average citizen. She is perhaps an inch or so shorter than the average umbreon. She lacks scars, which is something she takes much pride in. Most umbreon have crimson eyes, but hers are a silver-blue color. Scattered along her spine are speckles of yellow fur, matching her rings in hue. They tend to glow at the same time and intensity as her rings. Finally, Laura tends to wear a checkered blue and red fluffy winter scarf around her neck, a pin emblazoned with the symbol of the Prankster Platoon proudly adorning it.
She is rarely seen without a gleam in her eye, a smirk on her lips, a spring in her step, and a swish in her tail.

Her Blaze Jewel is Psychic, and that seems to have made one or two changes to her physical appearance. Her eyes and yellow rings/speckles now apparently glow silver when she’s using Psychic typed attacks and powers, and her speckles have altered to become star shaped.

Personality:
When one thinks of the Prankster Platoon, they’ll almost definitely think of Laura Bette Kaye as one of its most prominent members. She’s an actress on many of their broadcasts openly mocking the Black Lotus Empire and encouraging rebellion, her announcements often hijacking televised, advertised announcements from the Black Lotus Empire’s propaganda departments. She has a quick wit, and while she does prefer a script has been known to be rather good at improv.
Laura has a somewhat optimistic personality, enjoying how seeming to never be disheartened unnerves those opposed to her. She’s constantly smirking, or giggling at some in-joke, in an attempt to intimidate those she dislikes. She apparently subscribes to the idea that the best revenge is living well.
Laura is also rather impulsive and emotional. She acts based off of instincts. While that does seem to make her good at improv, it also causes her to be rather rash. She rarely totally thinks through her actions before doing things, and can say what’s on her mind without thinking.
She doesn’t seem to be very good at handling negative emotions. Instead of dealing with them properly, she seems to bottle them up until a total meltdown becomes unavoidable. While in the midst of a meltdown, Laura doesn’t tend to think rationally, though she still retains her impulsive behavior. She tends to get into vicious arguments with those around her. Unfortunately for her, she tends to be rather bad at actually winning arguments when in this state, typically ending in her even more annoyed.
Laura can sometimes be overwhelmed by certain situations. While on a stage on in a studio she has no problems with stage fright-- but while in the midst of a crowd, she is often bothered by the conflicting sounds and scents. For that reason she tries to stay away from crowds or enclosed echoing spaces as often as possible.

She is fully aware that she is neither a sweeper or a tank in battle-- but she is a perfect annoyer. Her style is to stay in the back, dazzling opponents with Flash and deflecting attacks aimed at her with Protect, while firing off Toxics and Confuse Rays at opponents she deems to be most dangerous. If someone seems to have attracted her attention in particular, she may dart in to strike them down with her favorite attack-- Foul Play-- and return to the sidelines just as quickly.

Background:
Laura Bette Kaye was both born and raised in Scheme City, only child of flareon Ferris Kaye and glaceon Lise Kaye. Fights were common in her neighborhood, and she learned quite quickly that she was not a particularly skilled battler, deciding the best way for her to avoid injury was to avoid fighting altogether. At first her strategies were simply to Sand Attack her enemies and abuse her Run Away ability. After some time, however, she discovered that people were less likely to attack you if they found you amusing somehow. She started resorting to her former strategy only if joking around didn’t seem to work, but to her surprise she found she needed to run away less. She started making friends, who would discourage those her humor didn’t work on from attacking her.

Roughly five or so years ago, Laura saw a particular stunt on a televised screening of the Tempest Games-- a Sawsbuck who had won the Field of Screams event had left their award ceremony with quite a bang. Soon after, Laura began hearing rumors of a 'Prankster Platoon' resisting the Black Lotus Empire through unconventional tactics. Laura left home in search of them.

Over time, Laura's knack for humor and improv proved instrumental in spreading advertisements and propaganda supporting the Prankster Platoon. At first Laura only appeared on televised broadcasts, but eventually Laura decided she wanted to do something a bit riskier. She decided she wanted to hold Prankster Platoon rallies in Liao cities decidedly not under the Platoon's jurisdiction. She did intend to bring bodyguards, but she wanted to ensure her own safety even if she was somehow separated by them, so she began working on her battling skills at this point, beyond 'distract and run away.' She incorporated many of the Platoon's strategies of causing chaos and confusion in battle, and though she wasn't an outstanding battler by any means she rose to the level where she could survive a fight relatively unscathed. Mainly because her style allowed her to stay behind Protect barriers and fling Flashes to blind her foes.

The rallies were a hit, perhaps too much of one. The last one was interrupted by a raid from the Black Lotus Empire. Laura did manage to use her new battle skills to escape the conflict, and in the process discovered she enjoyed the rush of adrenaline quite a bit, it was almost like performing for a live audience for her.

Starting Blaze Jewel:
Laura wears a bracelet on her right front leg, holding a Psychic Blaze Jewel. Mostly she uses it to give her telekinesis, apparently-- being a quadruped is hard, sometimes!

Other:

-Is fidgety.
-Could probably use a weapon with telekinesis, but was never officially taught to use one, and so rarely uses them.
-Same goes for driving, vehicles though she'd probably be willing to stick her head out a window and fire Flashes, Confuse Rays, and Toxics at foes.
-Has the ability Synchronize.
-Her favorite move is Foul Play.

[Noblejanobii]

Be sure to reserve me a spot! I'll try to come up with a character tonight or tomorrow!

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

Hopefully this doesn't wind up being too objectionable. Here we go.

Name: Nora is the most recent one.
Species: Lilligant. Thankfully hard to confuse with the other important Lilligant...
Gender: FEMININE
Age: 29
Team: Gracedia Order

Description: Her deviations from the ideal of a Lilligant are outstandingly numerous. Her floral crown remains tightly budded, indicating a severe lack of proper physical care and treatment. Her aroma is laced with a variety of filthy substances to the point where it has been said she might secretly be a poison type. Her eyes are a rather striking orange-red. Finally, and most disconcertingly for some, the massive leaf that could be said to be her hair isn't a singular leaf-it's a multitude of thin, blade-like leaves that, mercifully to most, aren't really sharp.

For most occasions, she's simply in a small red getup with a t-shirt of varying colors and such, and more often than not a certain scandalous scarlet skirt. For more fanciful occasions she has a beautiful ballroom dress in a deep blue but that usually collects dust in her closet. For anything dirty, she switches the scarlet skirt for denim. All-in-all, she's really hard to confuse for the queen. It makes the suggestion that Nora and Queen Tanya are related by blood ridiculous.

Personality: Two words. Wanton Hedonist. She has partaken in nearly every pleasure, legal or otherwise, that anyone could ever conceive of. She doesn't 'stay away' from dangerous drugs, they're simply too impractical for her to get on a continuous basis, or she doesn't actually like those drugs. The only reliable time she's sober is when she drives-and Nora doesn't drive. She uses some of the more convenient technology of the Gracedia order to cover up her considerable usage of all things nicotine, or failing that, air fresheners. And she isn't married-that would make her less appealing for her fellow Pokemon, male, female or otherwise. Her tastes stop at bloodshed-she is not a fan of the Tempest Games. She isn't outright disapproving, she just doesn't find killing others to be very interesting at all, compared to her other viceful actions. All in all, people look at her and see a waste of oxygen.

Most would be surprised that its this hyper-hedonistic 'waste of oxygen' is the top assassin of choice for the Gracedia Order. She doesn't look dangerous in the slightest-a virtue for those who get their hands that dirty. The odds of her being impaired by her vices while she does her work are almost certain-which made her slip by suspicion on the grounds that she was simply too impaired to reasonably do it, and passed up as too obvious, something easily played up. It's precisely for these secretive virtues that she's often deployed for black ops work and has yet to be outright caught for murder. She's been imprisoned for mild offenses here and there, yes, and she's been tried for murder once, but that was before her foray into the world of shadowy contracts and murders. It is also why she finds the bloody killing of others in mortal combat perfectly uninteresting. She's gotten into enough interesting situations already. Comparatively, the televised warfare games are routine slaughterfests that bore.

Her relationship with the Gracedia Order is simple: they pay her, and she does her job well enough to tolerate her eccentricities and intoxication. She's not been outright caught by the Black Lotus, but she's been forced to reconsider her work options after they realized that she had been around the sights where certain high-ranking Black Lotus agents have died of queer 'accidents.' Nora finds their territories a fairly welcome change of pace as well; she's grown used enough to smog and pollution that her experiences within their territories were a very rare kind of pleasure for her, rare enough that she would consider her operations to be somewhat more 'partisan' than what she did before. All-in-all, she would consider herself relatively loyal to the Order.

Background: She doesn't really know herself. She isn't really an amnesiac, it's just that her oldest memory by far is her six-year old self stealing bread from some grocery store. No parents, no home, a dirty orphan girl with no orphanages around-merely some sympathetic hobos she's long since forgotten about. She knew she lived in Lytala city and was likely born there-but that was it. She was taught the lessons of shadow and crime, proving herself an adequate pickpocket and larcenist. In her teenage years, when Queen Tanya took control of Liao, she fancied herself as her long-lost sibling or such in the manner of all teenagers and their changeling fantasies, but her drastic difference in appearance (and income) eventually innured her to the idea, and she found her criminal enterprises fun enough. The precise details are foggy to her, but it was around her younger years that she picked up her bad habits-her attraction to alcahol, nicotine, Swift and other dangerous drugs began roughly in her years.

Her first murder was at the age of fourteen. It was the only murder she was ever caught for. She was deemed not guilty on the grounds of self-defense; her victim was a really filthy piece of work with no political power whatsoever, and a known serial rapist. The legal system the Black Lotus had installed was apathetic to the young Petilil's lack of decent living conditions, but she was basically a free Pokemon. The only reward she got out of it was recognition by some rather shadowy figures. Nora never knew who they were, not even their species, but their jobs were simple enough. Just go to random places, say something semi-inane, pick things up, and drop them off to others without making a bit fuss. No big deal. Her rewards were her favorite drugs, alcahol, money, a Blaze Gem, and eventually a sun stone to evolve. And they weren't too unfriendly.

Then other figures came out. A Charmelelon there, an Aggron here, some cloaked weirdo in-between, clowns to the left, jokers to the right, and here she was, suddenly finding herself being hired as a killer, a spy, a master thief-a professional rogue. Her names (and as she found, she would need more than one) were whispered in shadows blacker than a double midnight, and she started to command respect of the underworld. She found herself 'friendly' with firearms, knives, and her own relatively beguiling appearance (and/or Attract) to perform increasingly dangerous feats of murder, subterfuge and theft, with her adversaries and employers finding themselves increasingly more dangerous by the week. She grew to know the Black Market and all of its intricacies, and she learned, slowly, of fellow names like her own-the names of the masters of crime like herself. It was hard for anyone to say where she made the transition from filthy urchin thief to one of Liao's greatest criminals, but by the time she had suffocated a high-ranking Onyx Circle member just after she secured and copied a dossier about a mole in the Gracedia Order in Jadeblossom, anyone who knew of her knew better than to think she was just some stoner girl-and those who did know were very, very few.

That included the Black Lotus, who started to realize that the rather effective freelance assassin they had often put to use had this uncanny knack for being close-by whenever some of their own were killed in 'accidents' like overdoses or drunken driving. The moves against her were subtle movements-her jobs that weren't from the Black Lotus started drying up and apartments she frequented were suddenly prone to losing and gaining new residents without much warning. They were not competent nor subtle enough, however. Nora quickly realized that living in territory that the Black Lotus had under their own control was no longer feasible, and thus decided that she ought to start considering where she ought to throw in her lot. She would have been right at home in the 'territory' of the Steel Scavengers if she hadn't been behind that sabotage of their efforts to take Petrox city out of Black Lotus hands. She didn't want to risk the idea that they didn't forgive or forget that-or that they could even know. The Prankster Platoon, meanwhile, was filled with the kind of people like herself-the kind that didn't look dangerous but were, which would mean her ability to do the things she would normally do, by simple association, would dry up. Plus, she didn't like chaos for the sake of chaos. She wasn't into painting destroyed tanks into colorful insults. That itself would oust her as not belonging, and in precisely the wrong kind of way to boot.

Her allegiance with the Gracedia Order was ultimately one of convenience. They had been characterized as a bit 'fond' of grass-types due to their eco-friendly agenda. Certainly, a relatively unassuming (if hedonistic) grass-type like herself could easily go for a trip there without raising suspicion. But, more importantly, by sheer coincidence, she hadn't really dealt against them. She hadn't done much for them-discovering that mole in Jadeblossom was about it. But that would certainly make joining them much easier.

Thus, one rather hot summer night, many of her neighbors had found themselves sluggish and sleepy, while she casually checked out of a room, bribed a taxi driver with rather compromising information about his private life, and from there managed to ride Highway 10 all the way to Jadeblossom without a hitch. From there, she-after much hinting that she certainly had no relationship whatsoever with the charming Leafeon that had ousted that Quagsire as a mole for the Black Lotus-managed to ingrain herself within their dirtiest business.

In all of this, she never really thought she would grow attached to the faction. She had no real opinion on all of this green nonsense-or hadn't, until she moved. Most of her work was plied in and around the urban territories of the Black Lotus. Smoggy skies, filthy alleyways, and glaring neon was her world, and she hadn't gone farther from the city than Heledge before. She never felt sick, but she hadn't felt as healthy as she had in her life until she moved. She went back to the bigger cities under Black Lotus control, of course, but she never put much stock into how oddly invigorating the whole place was until she actually went there. She never stopped being a massive hedonist, to the irritation of her newer contacts-but she felt she could really work for them for the long term. And she is, for now.

Starting Blaze Jewel: Normal. She's managed to get a fake tooth just to hide it.

Other: Her ability is Own Tempo; her 'job' means she has versatile experience in various types of firearms and poisons, but she mostly relies upon her moves to do the majority of her work. And no; she knows nothing of Ante beyond what most do. Her jobs haven't gotten that political until she joined the Order, and none of them have been that risky. She hasn't picked up hints of it along the way, either-apart from the fact that Ante doesn't make you immune to poison... If Ante even really exists.

[Chakramaster]

Going to work on a character and get it up asap. Might flex out a different idea or character than usual.

[Noblejanobii]

Not gonna lie, I busted out the Pyrite Town tunes while working out this. *snaps in rhythm*

Name: Athena Pallas
Species: Decidueye
Gender: Female
Age: 29
Team: Gracidea Order
Description: Athena bears the same orange, green, and white feathers that most Decidueye do. However, do to her paternal heritage of a honchkrow, what would normally be brown plumage is black for Athena. She does not mind, though she is often mistaken for a shiny as a result. Her eyes also being bright red, also from her father, do not help matters either. Still, Athena does her best to not get too bogged down in it. The fact that she’s mistaken for a rare beauty of her species from time to time doesn’t hurt the self esteem. Athena takes great pride in keeping a somewhat groomed appearance, so if she looks too disheveled, Athena is known to be a bit… rash when people point it out.

Athena wears a necklace with two feathers and a scale on it that she treasures as her most prized possession, these being the only reminders she has of her family back home. Athena also has lots of long scars from her waist down to the tops of her legs. They serve as reminders and remnants of a past life that Athena dares not speak of to those who don’t need to know about it. Lastly, while generally not visible due to her large black plumage, Athena has a tattoo of a Gracidea flower on her left side the wraps around from her front to her back. It’s not very visible unless you stare at her long enough due to its placement, but it is definitely there if you care to look hard enough. Athena sometimes uses a bag to help obscure it from view.
Personality: Athena is a very serious individual. While she does have her own maternal instincts and caring nature, Athena overall is a very focused person that aims to complete the goals she has set out for herself. As a result, Athena can become very distressed or angry if those around her cause her to be distracted from completing her goals. Athena is not very social though she is very polite, and can be extremely charismatic due to her work in the field of prostitution. She's a tough cookie to crack mentally or emotionally, her only weakness being her necklace and her family.
Background: Athena was born in Hana City within the Gracidea Order’s protection. Born to a Decidueye and Honchkrow, Athena was taught from a very young age about what wonders the environment could bring and why it should be protected. Even as a rowlet, Athena felt a deep connection with the environment around her. Because of this Athena knew she wanted to help protect it when grew older, but it was a long journey that did not come without its challenges.

Athena’s mother, Diana, was one of the main soldiers for the Gracidea Order. A few years after having Athena, Diana was killed in the field of battle. Athena’s father, Marcellus, was distraught over the whole incident for many reasons. Not only did he lose his wife, but the man had suffered from alcoholism since the early years in his life. Since Athena’s birth, Marcellus had done his best to minimize his drinking, but these things took time, and without his wife’s steady income, he had to resort to more drastic measures when it came to providing for himself and Athena. This did not go over well with Gracidea Order authorities and Marcellus was killed when Athena was nineteen after being caught in a drug ring. Athena had not made waste of this time, however.

Having the goal in mind of one day fighting for the order, Athena had trained from a young age on different fighting styles, finding that guerilla warfare was the most suited for her green and black plumage. Getting into street fights quite often as a child, Athena managed to stumble upon a training dojo in Hala City. While not officially endorsed by the Gracidea Order, the dojo did boast teaching many of the future soldiers for the order how to fight. A Dartrix at the time, Athena was determined to get into the dojo. And while tryouts were their own deal, Athena’s main obstacle was money. Given her father’s situation, money was not exactly plentiful for her family. So, Athena did what she had to do. Athena managed to tail one of her father’s contacts to their headquarters and demanded they give her a job as well, and they knew just what fit her. Athena was entered into a prostitution ring, and while she hated the job, it paid the fees she needed to get into the dojo. So by day she would train at the dojo, her skills improving steadily, and at night she worked at the prostitution ring. It was a steady and almost enjoyable schedule until a certain noivern came to visit one night when Athena was twenty-three.

His pseudonym was Bruyverne, a mysterious noivern that had supposedly just sort of showed up one day in the criminal scene. He had no connections, no ties, nothing that could be related back to anyone. Having evolved into a decidueye by that time, Athena’s price was one of the highest on the market, and yet somehow, Bruyverne had enough money to become a regular customer. For months this went on, the two somewhat delving into the details of their personal lives, but never too much. Confidentiality rules did exist for a reason, as did the strict rule that interaction outside the ring was a huge no. And while this had never been a problem for Athena before, with clients that did recognize her often avoiding her if possible for obvious reasons, it did become a problem when a noivern police officer showed up at her dojo one day. Officer Brunswick was investigating a rash of burglaries in the area when he stopped by the dojo to ask the master a few questions. Athena was training privately with the master at the time. Neither did well in masking their surprise at seeing one another. The following Thursday, when Bruyverne’s usual appointment was scheduled, Athena anticipated he wouldn’t show. His cover had been blown to her after all, though she had yet to report it. She was unsure if he was undercover, or utilizing the ring for his own needs, and she wasn’t the type to stir up trouble where none existed. And yet, she predicted incorrectly, with Bruyverne showing up at his usual time. They didn’t do much that night, Athena barely spoke a word as the noivern explained himself. Bruyverne was an undercover police officer, actually named Brunswick, but he was not out to arrest any of the prostitutes. He was attempting to catch the ringmaster, but didn’t yet know who it was to make an official arrest. Athena was perplexed as to why he would convey any of this to her. Not only did Athena know the ringmaster, but this man could not be so stupid as to think she wouldn’t protest against the shutting down of her only source of income. Still, Brunswick persisted, saying he had done some research into Athena’s history, and expressed his wish to set her free from this life. To this day, Athena is unsure what kept her from reporting Brunswick. For a month following, the two resumed their usual schedule, but they rarely spoke anymore. Only casualties and pleasantries were exchanged. It was only a month after the initial proposal that Athena agreed. Within two weeks, the ringleader had been caught, and Athena was out scotch free. Brunswick helped her back into a real job, and despite her sketchy past, with Brunswick’s help, Athena became a prominent fighter within the Gracidea Order, like she had always dreamed as a child.

Athena and Brunswick had their first child when Athena was twenty-four. An accident that was the result of Brunswick’s regular visits while he was undercover, neither really minded, welcoming the noibat named Liliane into the world. Athena and Brunswick were officially married when Athena was twenty-six, and shortly thereafter had another child, a rowlet named Marx.
Starting Blaze Jewel: Athena has a flying blaze jewel. She generally keeps it in her bag, but has been known to bury it in her plumage if a bag was not an option or if she needed to keep other mons on their toes about what weapons she had one her.
Other: Athena’s necklace is her most prized possession, with the only things she values more being her husband and children. Her necklace was a gift from her father, bearing a feather from Athena’s mother and her father. When Athena was married, since it was difficult for her to wear an official ring, she opted to add on of Brunswick’s scales to the necklace instead. She hopes to one day give the necklace to one of her children once they are old enough to treasure its significance.

Athena’s main weapon is her bow. She is very good at sniping enemies with it. However, Athena does know how to use various types of dagger, long and short. She tends to keep a long dagger with her because she prefers the reach, and isn’t above shooting that at enemies rather than her arrows. Athena is able to shoot various kinds of arrows as well. Keeping various powders in her bag, Athena is able to enchant her arrows depending on the gem dust she sprinkles on it. Problem is, the amount of gem dust she has for this is limited, and difficult to apply in the heat of battle, so Athena usually opts for plain arrows if she doesn’t have the time to apply the dust.

Athena’s ability is overgrow. She’s been known to use a more reckless hand to hand combat fighting style in order to make use of this ability more readily. After all, Athena’s mentality is why have an ability if you aren’t making the best use of it.

[Morzone]

I'll write up my 2 characters as soon as I can, but I have a question:

Is there a time limit between our posts? in WAR II we had to wait 48 hours between posts so that people who could be on more didn't overwhelm those who can't. It was also to make judging easier. (though it was a different judging system so who knows if it would actually help)

[Steel Lunpara]

Name: Chance Jehenna

Species: Zangoose

Gender: Male

Age: About 26

Team: Prankster Platoon

Description: Overuse of his blaze jewel has left Chance with underdeveloped claws, but a more tall, lanky stature, especially when compared to other Zangoose. While not particularly bulky, he's got a distinct lean physique, a result of his love of fistfighting. He tends to carry himself loosely, leaning against walls and slouching when he can, but is known to get a little too into fighting, leading to extravagant posing and jumpy, over-the-top movement. As a man who's fully accepted the world around him, he wears classic post-apocalyptic gear: Spiked shoulder pads, an open jacket with no undershirt, badly torn pants, and a belt that holds his Blaze Jewel in the center. He's a heavy smoker, and is almost always seen with a cigarette in his mouth.

Personality: Chance is relatively laid back most of the time, but easily excited, especially in the heat of a fight. Bedlam is his middle name, he lives for recklessly seeding as much confusion as he can, and with a talent for thinking outside the box, he’s gotten pretty good at finding ways to spark that chaos. He lives for the spectacle; it’s not about how well you can fight, it’s about how interesting that fight is. When it comes to that, however, he likes nothing more than good, old fashioned, bare knuckle brawling. Knives are a crutch and guns make you weak, though he’s not stupid enough to be caught without both of those on his person.

Suicidal would certainly be the wrong word to describe Chance, but fear of death is more than a little lacking in his mind. Life, to him, is nothing but the summary of the choices you make, and he’s chosen to do what he want, for no other reason than because he wants to, and paying no mind to what others say or think. People come, people go. Whatever happens, happens. May as well do what you want before death picks you next time.

Background: Chance actually grew up in Gracedia territory, in the city of Jadeblossom. Even back then, he was a little punk, getting himself into trouble for theft and vandalism, and eventually, as he grew older, his antics led him to a girl. She was his age, a real firecracker, and the two quickly started finding trouble together. Their friendship, eventually, grew to become love, and as they left Jadeblossom to find a place more suited to their lifestyle, it began to seem that life might just work out for the two.

Of course, as is all too common in this world, it was only a matter of time before they were separated. Seeking knowledge about the Blaze Jewels, she left Chance behind one day to join in the next Tempest Festival and steal more of them, leaving only an unfulfilled promise that she would return. Death had taken her only a few days into the Festival, and Chance was left alone to pick up the pieces. As time moved on and he grew increasingly bitter about event and the world as a whole, Chance began to seek increasingly dangerous thrills in life. This escalated until he joined the next year’s festival, where he managed to scrape by with his life, thanks to a combination of quick thinking, good fighting, and dumb luck. His ideals began to align more and more with the Prankster’s Platoon, who he eventually joined with and ran raids for. His bravery and quick wit kept him in favor to the group. To this day, he's looking to make the biggest spectacle he can, to make the biggest mark on history, good or bad, until the day it finally leads him to an early grave.

Starting Blaze Jewel: Fighting Type

Other: Nah.

[Neo Emolga]

Death's Spook

Everything for Anthony the Electrode-bisecting Mimikyu is pretty good so far, just need those personality bits, though I already have a pretty good idea of what that is.

History for The Grand Lady is pretty interesting, especially the part about her evolving without her clan's consent. Just needs that personality part, but so far so good. When you're fully done and ready for me to check it out, just make a post about it. :)

Velocity

I really LOVE what you did with the history on Jones! Dang, that's a hell of a rough upbringing, but it does make her a very interesting character with a lot to reflect and touch base on throughout the RP. Everything else with her, including the eccentric personality and description are good bits also!

APPROVED!

LKWayvern

Everything looks great so far! Definitely a lot of nice touches on the personality and all that good stuff. Background is good, but just post when you're all finished and set for me to give it the full checkup.

The Nonexistent Tazz

Dang, that's definitely one sad-looking Lilligant. And yeeeep, I know someone who fits the bill as a "wanton hedonist." NOT a pretty picture. Still, interesting to see what she lacks in appearance, she has in skill. Still, it makes for a very interesting personality that I'm curious to see how it plays out in the RP itself.

Definitely very high on the good, detailed background Nora has. I liked the way you made great use of the map already and really tied it closely with her background. That's great stuff and I'm liking what I see. Enjoy the RP and I'm looking forward to seeing where Nora's path goes.

APPROVED!


Going to work on a character and get it up asap. Might flex out a different idea or character than usual.

Dude! Glad to see you're going to give role playing another try. :3 Hey, try whatever you'd like! If you later decide to stay with something that feels a bit more cozy, that's fine too.


Not gonna lie, I busted out the Pyrite Town tunes while working out this. *snaps in rhythm*

Funny, I usually had this playing in the background. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u9ymiSmtXY) But that Pyrite Town theme works great too. >:3

Decidueye! That's a Pokémon I haven't seen in an RP yet. Definitely AWESOME job with the description and the background, and I would say the only thing barring it from approval is the personality part, but I already have a good idea of what that's like judging from how the background is. And that's a great background that reads like a whole story in itself! Also, it's so RARE to see a character that already has a family with kids and all. That's a nice touch!

Just post a heads up when you're all done! But definitely great work so far!


I'll write up my 2 characters as soon as I can, but I have a question:

Is there a time limit between our posts? in WAR II we had to wait 48 hours between posts so that people who could be on more didn't overwhelm those who can't. It was also to make judging easier. (though it was a different judging system so who knows if it would actually help)

I've been thinking this over and I've been a bit on the fence about it. What I'm going to do is try week 1 with no posting limits. If it seems like things are really crazy, I'll put some kind of limit in for Week 2 and onward, but I want to see what the posting rate is like and then judge what kind of limit, if any, would be needed. WAR II's RP really wasn't that active at all, so I think having the limit in that case might have hurt it.

We'll see how things go, but if it looks like it's really needed, I'll give it consideration based on the levels of posting I'm seeing.

Steel Lunpara

I like Chance's attire. And his name. :3

The personality definitely has a nice spark to it. My kind of style. The background is brief, but it gets the job done and doesn't touch base on more than it needs to. I like how it's tied to the Tempest Festival and that Chance already has some connection to it. This gets my stamp of approval!

APPROVED!

THE CAST

THE GRACIDEA ORDER
Athena Pallas the Decidueye (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251564&viewfull=1#post251564) Played by Noblejanobii <WIP>
Nora the Lilligant (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251512&viewfull=1#post251512) - Played by The Nonexistent Tazz <APPROVED>

THE STEEL SCAVENGERS
Anthony Carpenter-Weaver the Mimikyu (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251473&viewfull=1#post251473) - Played by Death's Spook <WIP>
Grand Lady the Tsareena (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251473&viewfull=1#post251473) - Played by Death's Spook <WIP>
Max Clerk the Klinklang (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251473&viewfull=1#post251473) - Played by Death's Spook <WIP>

THE PRANKSTER PLATOON
Jones Sandstrider the Heliolisk (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251479&viewfull=1#post251479) - Played by Velocity <APPROVED>
Laura Bette Kaye the Umbreon (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251479&viewfull=1#post251479) - Played by LKWayvern <WIP>
Chance Jehenna the Zangoose (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251596&viewfull=1#post251596) - Played by Steel Lunpara <APPROVED>

[Noblejanobii]

Funny, I usually had this playing in the background. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u9ymiSmtXY) But that Pyrite Town theme works great too. >:3

Decidueye! That's a Pokémon I haven't seen in an RP yet. Definitely AWESOME job with the description and the background, and I would say the only thing barring it from approval is the personality part, but I already have a good idea of what that's like judging from how the background is. And that's a great background that reads like a whole story in itself! Also, it's so RARE to see a character that already has a family with kids and all. That's a nice touch!

Just post a heads up when you're all done! But definitely great work so far!

Oh oops, I forgot to fill that out. XD I just added a little blurb in about her personality, sorry for not filling that out initially.

That aside, yeah I can see this song play as well. Fits very well with the atmosphere as well. And thanks! I've been trying to pick pokémon and species I haven't rped or written with before more recently, expanding my horizons and all. I knew I wanted a grass type and when I pulled that into a generator Decidueye was what came out. The story just kind of wrote itself! I'm glad you enjoyed reading it though, hopefully Athena will be an interesting character to work with!

[Chakramaster]

Neo Emolga yup! Gonna try at least. Hopefully works out a bit better this time. I'm aimin towards having the signup out tomorrow, buuuuuut a sudden brick wall hit me today. My computer locked up and I had to reset back to factory settings....again. Sooooo might be a few days before it's back and running. Might have to post it on my mobile phone. Either way, it'll be a different styled character this time. Not exactly as you may think, but different. :)

SIGN UP

Name: Tina Volts

Species: Pikachu

Gender: Female

Age: 23

Team: Prankster Platoon

Description: Tina is a very unique Pokemon, but it's not uncommon to see in these times. She still has a lighter tone to the yellow in her fur from the tip of her ears, to the tips of her feet, even to the ends of her heart shaped tail. Yet, in places, there are darker spots with a hint of red to them that sometimes never seem to come out from her fur. Tina is a little smaller than most Pikachu at their age. She maintains good health and can be seen mostly wearing a smile on her face. Though to a select few, they can not make out whether the smile is that of someone filled with joy and happiness. She wears a very light necklace. Sometimes it gets buried in her fur as to keep it mostly hidden. It's mostly a lighter golden color with a short cyan color a black in the center of it's shape. The fur on her head is slightly longer. Bangs length are below her neckline. Only a slightly thicker look just over the front of her forehead. Not hanging over her eyes.

Personality: Tina is pretty smart when it comes to most situations. She also gets excited in many cases really easily. Although she is female, at times she doesn't act it, though it's quite rare in cases. Though she doesn't even act her age most of the time anyway. Battles have always got Tina excited. Blood can make her quite...happy to see from an enemy. Though she may seem strong willed at times. She is very gentle in nature around some others and can be timid at times. When it comes to fighting. Tina is very talented in battle. She's even great in torture which she has not needed to use often, but will use when it is necessary. She often daydreams of things she's always wanted. Things she's never got to do, see, have, or try in this world. It often gives Tina regret and can tend to make her upset.

Background: Way back, even as a Pichu. Tina had dreams of her own. Which her parents always told her would never come true. Over time, she started to catch on and notice that maybe they were right. The world only seemed to get worse and never better. Deep down she had wanted a better world for Xia, but after many years of so much pain, sadness, and torture. It's gotten to her. Her parents ended up one day disappearing one day. Leaving her all alone before she even evolved. Leaving her to try and fend for herself. She was alone and fending for herself by the age of. One day she made a friend. Another Pokemon, a Ralts. He showed Tina where to find food. Whether it be fruit from bushes or a tree (which are very rare) or stealing from trash. Tina always hated touching or even the smell of food from garbage as she was growing up, but over the years she learned not to care as it was food and she needed to eat something. Sometimes she would even come across money to use. One day, in her mid teens. Tina decided she wanted to try and gamble. To her surprise, she won. She would continue to gamble because of this one victory. Eventually, she caught on to something while playing. A trick. A dirty trick she could use and many more with it to help her win. With this technique, Tina won enough to keep her happy and living well though the rest of her teens. Then, she was knocked out one day. She was attacked by Pokemon which she never caught. It just hit her from behind and made off with all of her money. Even her place she was living was ransacked and looted. With nothing left. She was all alone again. Hungry and living off berries, apples, and garbage. She was just thankful they didn't hurt her, much less rape or kill her. She was glad to still be alive, but scared of what could've happened.

Alone, broke, and nothing left but some scraps of food her and there. Tina could do nothing, but try and survive in a world filled with many evils. So, she did what anyone could do in a world like this. Train. In her mid to early teens she had started training. Learning powerful moves to help defend herself against the wannabe evils of the world. Little did she know just how much she would come to appreciate moves such as Iron Tail or use her Static ability to paralyze an enemy. One day a shadowed figure passed by her. They bumped into her knocking Tina over. She looked back angrily while sparking her cheeks. It looked back only to look scared and rush off with whatever it was holding. Tina made a face as she looked at the ground. Noticing he dropped something. Some kind of jewel which she would come to use over time. A jewel known to a few as the Blazing Jewel. She tries her best to always keep this jewel hidden from anyone.

As time went by as Tina trained over the years. Sometime after she learned of the powers of the jewel. The Pokemon tried to come back for it. He one day saw her out. She went back home not knowing she was being followed. As she crawled into the small opening in the hole in the abandoned bunker she had been living in. This Pokemon and his friends followed her. Breaking through the barricade she had left at the entrance. Frightening her and forcing her to the ground. One had a sharp tool that looked like a razor or some pair of scissors. They used these to try and force the information from her by shaving off the fur in places over her body. Sometimes pressing the sharp tip into her skin. She knew she had to escape. This was the first time she had ever fought for her life. She unleashed a large Discharge. Paralyzing the two that were holding her down. Unable to move, she smirked as she grabbed the razor and slowly moved towards the other Pokemon staring her down. He started shaking and she used Agility to speed behind him. The razor held in her mouth so she could run quick enough using her Agility. Tina smirked as you shocked him. Paralyzing him to the point he could not move. Tina pushed him over onto the ground and sat on top of him as she tortured him and worked her way to the other 2. This would be her first time killing anyone. She got off lucky as she surprised them being far more than just some weak female Pikachu. The blood soaked her fur and the blade she used to cut them. The smirk on her face would leave any sane creature fearful.

Tina over time would learn the powers granted to her with this Jewel and met up with a group that heard of her more fearful side. Now at the age of 23 she has found was to try and keep herself alive. Trying to protect herself and a friend if it's possible to save them. Though she wants to look after any friend. She wants to protect herself too. Making sure she stays alive in the hopes one day her dream may yet still come true, but not holding out to false hopes.

Starting Blaze Jewel: Water

Other: (Just a few small things I will update. Just wanted to get this out asap)

WILL UPDATED

[Neo Emolga]

Oh oops, I forgot to fill that out. XD I just added a little blurb in about her personality, sorry for not filling that out initially.

That aside, yeah I can see this song play as well. Fits very well with the atmosphere as well. And thanks! I've been trying to pick pokémon and species I haven't rped or written with before more recently, expanding my horizons and all. I knew I wanted a grass type and when I pulled that into a generator Decidueye was what came out. The story just kind of wrote itself! I'm glad you enjoyed reading it though, hopefully Athena will be an interesting character to work with!

No worries, I don't always fill stuff out in order either. XD

That little blurb works fine, no problems here. You're good to go and so is she! Enjoy the RP and have a blast!

APPROVED!


Neo Emolga yup! Gonna try at least. Hopefully works out a bit better this time. I'm aimin towards having the signup out tomorrow, buuuuuut a sudden brick wall hit me today. My computer locked up and I had to reset back to factory settings....again. Sooooo might be a few days before it's back and running. Might have to post it on my mobile phone. Either way, it'll be a different styled character this time. Not exactly as you may think, but different. :)

:O What's Tina's gambling trick!? Ha, ha, it's okay if you don't reveal its exact nature.

This is a great sign up! Definitely awesome to see from someone who has only RPed a little! The Background was definitely exceptional stuff, dude. She's cute, cool, but a little disturbing in ways. Heh.

I know you mentioned you needed to update, but what you have here is definitely enough to get approval, so here you go. But if you want to put in extra details, that's cool too. I'd be happy to read those also. http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y109/Ultradyne/Pikachu%20Emotes/smile.gif

APPROVED!

THE CAST

THE GRACIDEA ORDER
Athena Pallas the Decidueye (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251564&viewfull=1#post251564) Played by Noblejanobii <APPROVED>
Nora the Lilligant (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251512&viewfull=1#post251512) - Played by The Nonexistent Tazz <APPROVED>

THE STEEL SCAVENGERS
Anthony Carpenter-Weaver the Mimikyu (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251473&viewfull=1#post251473) - Played by Death's Spook <WIP>
Grand Lady the Tsareena (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251473&viewfull=1#post251473) - Played by Death's Spook <WIP>
Max Clerk the Klinklang (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251473&viewfull=1#post251473) - Played by Death's Spook <WIP>

THE PRANKSTER PLATOON
Jones Sandstrider the Heliolisk (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251479&viewfull=1#post251479) - Played by Velocity <APPROVED>
Laura Bette Kaye the Umbreon (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251479&viewfull=1#post251479) - Played by LKWayvern <WIP>
Chance Jehenna the Zangoose (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251596&viewfull=1#post251596) - Played by Steel Lunpara <APPROVED>
Tina Volts the Pikachu (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251610&viewfull=1#post251610) - Played by Chakramaster[/url] <APPROVED>

[Chakramaster]

:O What's Tina's gambling trick!? Ha, ha, it's okay if you don't reveal its exact nature.

This is a great sign up! Definitely awesome to see from someone who has only RPed a little! The Background was definitely exceptional stuff, dude. She's cute, cool, but a little disturbing in ways. Heh.

I know you mentioned you needed to update, but what you have here is definitely enough to get approval, so here you go. But if you want to put in extra details, that's cool too. I'd be happy to read those also. http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y109/Ultradyne/Pikachu%20Emotes/smile.gif

APPROVED!

It'll just be a bit different playing the role of a female Pikachu. Buuuuut I'm sure it'll be simple enough and I'll get used to it. I maaaay possibly reveal the gambling trick. ;) just not currently. Just in case. Glad to know it came out sorta how I wanted. I meant to make her look cute, smart, and mentally terrifying.

As for the extras it's just stuff to put within the other slot. Few things here and there that's just for future reference most likely.

[VeloJello]

But wait! There's more.

Name: Marcellus “Mazer” Pratten.
Species: Greninja.
Gender: Male.
Age: Thirty-four.
Team: Prankster Platoon.
Description: A well-muscled, tall Greninja of 5’4”, Mazer can appear a bit intimidating at first. However, his constant smiles, genial attitude, and habits of wearing things like glow-sticks, ridiculous fake tattoos, and copious body dye tend to put others at ease. He has several scars from head to toe, everywhere except on his tongue, though none of them are particularly hideous. His skin has a slight iridescent tint, a side-effect of his Blaze Jewel usage. He often wears obnoxiously-colored light jackets.

Personality: At first glance, Mazer doesn’t really seem like a leader of anyone, let alone a faction so powerful and large that it’s proven to be a significant annoyance to the Black Lotus Empire itself. That’s by and large because he isn’t - Mazer doesn’t give eloquent speeches, make rules, host forums, or lead team-building exercises. The Prankster Platoon is a difficult faction to lead, due to their members’ natural tendency toward anarchy, and the fact that they, as a whole, resist harsh laws and strong, explicit leadership. Instead, the Greninja leads by example, relying on his natural charisma and force of will to get others to back him up. Being naturally rebellious himself, he understands others’ misgivings about laws and rulers, and instead has found it much easier to appear as someone that people want to follow, rather than trying to drag them along with him.

That’s not to say that Mazer is out of place among his faction, however; far from it. He's a genuinely goofy guy; he loves to make people laugh and he can turn any situation into a joke - even if the jokes are a bit tasteless, though he always tries to punch up. He has a genuine distaste for oppressive leadership and fights so that others can make their own decisions. He's surprisingly insightful; he's a good long-term planner, and there's more going on behind his froggy eyes than most can see. Generally, he’s good at making people feel welcome and at ease, and he has a knack for allocating people where their talents will be most useful.

Mazer does have his fair share of flaws. He is a vengeful being, and he won’t hesitate to satisfy his hunger for “justice” with escalatory and sadistic retribution. He also comes off as a bit sociopathic, capable of going from cutting off heads with Water Shuriken to laughing at his own jokes within a matter of minutes. While he does have a sense of empathy, time has dulled it somewhat, and he prefers to put up a joking facade to mask the mingled guilt and enjoyment he feels at causing pain. He also has difficulty with taking orders, and chafes against any sort of authority. Furthermore, while he recognizes that he has this trait and tries to correct for it, he has a natural sense of superiority over others, being from a family who took too much pride in their species and genes.

Background: Some kids have parents who force them into band classes or onto the track team when they're little. Mazer’s parents, on the other hand, came from a long line of Tempest Festival competitors (three generations, not counting Mazer, is actually pretty long given the nature of the competition) and made it clear that Mazer was going to follow in their webbed footsteps. He didn’t really mind this for the first few years of his life; the training was intense, but it was all he knew, so he accepted it as part of life. He had been lucky when he was born - fit, healthy, inheriting the Protean ability from his parents, and naturally talented in battle - and he happened to enjoy the dangerous sports his parents threw him into, so why complain?

Disillusionment didn’t take long to set in, though. It started with the death of his grandmother; a match of Devil’s Tide took her away when Mazer was seven years old. It was far, far from the first death he’d ever seen, but it was the first one he witnessed that really impacted him. He hadn’t expected a member of his family - Protean Greninjas, one of the most powerful species of Pokemon in Xia! - to be taken away from him by the Tempest Festival. Mazer’s brother Tyrell, his junior by a couple of years, cried openly when he watched Nanna Belline die - and something about the way their parents rebuked Ty for shedding tears during the Tempest Festival left a sour taste in Mazer’s mouth.

Mazer took part in Tempest Festivals himself for several years, as both a Frogadier and Greninja. He was renowned for his skill at Devil’s Tide, notorious for his abuse of Protean to win Deathwish Endurance, and lauded for his victories in Blood Pit Arena and Field of Screams. He began to see why his parents would enjoy these sports, grisly as they were, and while he sometimes felt bad for the carnage he caused he didn’t really stop to consider why he was doing this until a bad match of Deadly Force left Ty paralyzed in both legs. When Mazer tried to care for his younger brother, their parents shunned both of them - in their minds, Ty had brought shame to the family when he failed so badly in the competition without having the good graces to die in battle. Mazer tried to take care of Ty, but it didn’t take long for the city of Crackwood to claim Ty, in the form of a lung infection resulting from the inaction of his legs. Emboldened by his grief, Mazer decided to take place in one last Tempest Festival. He bribed an official to make sure that he was pitted against his parents in the Blood Pit Arena and attacked them, slicing his father’s arm so badly as to render it unusable, and breaking his mother’s leg while shouting that these were the games that had killed Ty, and that he hoped that they would have fun living with their guilt and their own grievous wounds.

After that, he wasn't really sure what to do with himself. He spent a few years playing bodyguard, and though he had lost his love for the Tempest Festival, he still tuned in whenever it rolled around. One year, he turned it on to find a Sawsbuck positively destroying the Field of Screams. After her victory, the Sawsbuck cheerfully announced that her name was Bella and that running was her favorite activity and also that every single member of the Black Lotus Empire's cruel, oppressive hierarchy could choke to death on their own intestines before filling the air with a Petal Dance and running off under its cover. As Mazer's TV beeped and displayed a "technical difficulties" message, the Greninja felt himself in awe. He had to meet this Sawsbuck; she had amazed him. Fortunately, she came to him - after that televised stunt, even her resourceful, unpredictable self needed protecting. However, just because she wanted to cover her back didn't mean that she wanted to stop her attacks on the Black Lotus. One thing led to another as she took her potshots, and before anyone knew it she had attracted a following that came to be known as the Prankster Platoon. Since then, the Platoon's leadership has changed hooves, paws, hands, and claws several times - the Platoon keeps no elected leader, but rather collectively decides to follow whoever they think will lead them the most successfully. While Bella is still active and bears Mazer and the other leaders that have succeeded her no ill will, she is no longer the leader and Mazer is presently the Pokemon who people believe is worth following into the flames - both metaphorical and literal.

Starting Blaze Jewel: Fairy. He sometimes keeps it in his jacket pockets but will usually just hide it under his tongue. That’s gross, Mazer.

Other:
- Mazer’s Tempest Festival career ended about seven years ago, but he was rather famous during that time and his grand finale left quite the impression. Some people might still recognize him!
- While Mazer is confident in his combat skills, he knows that he's not invincible. The jackets he's fond of are as functional as they are loud - the material isn’t bulletproof, but it provides light protection against many types of attacks. He carries a fancy-looking knife (an old favorite of his brother’s) for close-quarters combat, and often totes various firearms, usually disguised as paintball or squirt guns.
- It took a lot of willpower to not give him the surname “Rackham”. A lot of willpower.

[LKWayvern]

Finished with Laura's form.

[Neo Emolga]

But wait! There's more.

There most certainly is!

Dammmnnnnnn, what a hell of a history on this dude. Definitely a messed up family, but he's a cool character nonetheless! Enjoy, have fun, and rock the RP! You're good to go!

APPROVED!


Finished with Laura's form.

FUNNY how you guys reference the same Sawsbuck. I wonder where you're going with that!

Everything checks out just peachy-like with Laura. Welcome to the madness!

APPROVED!

THE CAST

THE GRACIDEA ORDER
Athena Pallas the Decidueye (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251564&viewfull=1#post251564) Played by Noblejanobii <APPROVED>
Nora the Lilligant (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251512&viewfull=1#post251512) - Played by The Nonexistent Tazz <APPROVED>

THE STEEL SCAVENGERS
Anthony Carpenter-Weaver the Mimikyu (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251473&viewfull=1#post251473) - Played by Death's Spook <WIP>
Grand Lady the Tsareena (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251473&viewfull=1#post251473) - Played by Death's Spook <WIP>
Max Clerk the Klinklang (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251473&viewfull=1#post251473) - Played by Death's Spook <WIP>

THE PRANKSTER PLATOON
Jones Sandstrider the Heliolisk (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251479&viewfull=1#post251479) - Played by Velocity <APPROVED>
Laura Bette Kaye the Umbreon (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251481&viewfull=1#post251481) - Played by LKWayvern <APPROVED>
Chance Jehenna the Zangoose (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251596&viewfull=1#post251596) - Played by Steel Lunpara <APPROVED>
Tina Volts the Pikachu (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251610&viewfull=1#post251610) - Played by Chakramaster[<APPROVED>
Marcellus "Mazer" Pratten (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251835&viewfull=1#post251835) - Played by Velocity <APPROVED>

[LKWayvern]

There most certainly is!

Dammmnnnnnn, what a hell of a history on this dude. Definitely a messed up family, but he's a cool character nonetheless! Enjoy, have fun, and rock the RP! You're good to go!

APPROVED!



FUNNY how you guys reference the same Sawsbuck. I wonder where you're going with that!

Everything checks out just peachy-like with Laura. Welcome to the madness!

APPROVED!

THE CAST

THE GRACIDEA ORDER
Athena Pallas the Decidueye (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251564&viewfull=1#post251564) Played by Noblejanobii <APPROVED>
Nora the Lilligant (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251512&viewfull=1#post251512) - Played by The Nonexistent Tazz <APPROVED>

THE STEEL SCAVENGERS
Anthony Carpenter-Weaver the Mimikyu (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251473&viewfull=1#post251473) - Played by Death's Spook <WIP>
Grand Lady the Tsareena (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251473&viewfull=1#post251473) - Played by Death's Spook <WIP>
Max Clerk the Klinklang (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251473&viewfull=1#post251473) - Played by Death's Spook <WIP>

THE PRANKSTER PLATOON
Jones Sandstrider the Heliolisk (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251479&viewfull=1#post251479) - Played by Velocity <APPROVED>
Laura Bette Kaye the Umbreon (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251481&viewfull=1#post251481) - Played by LKWayvern <APPROVED>
Chance Jehenna the Zangoose (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251596&viewfull=1#post251596) - Played by Steel Lunpara <APPROVED>
Tina Volts the Pikachu (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251610&viewfull=1#post251610) - Played by Chakramaster[<APPROVED>
Marcellus "Mazer" Pratten (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251835&viewfull=1#post251835) - Played by Velocity <APPROVED>

Honestly, I just needed some inspiration for how, precisely, Laura heard about the Prankster Platoon, and that Sawsbuck seemed absolutely perfect for me! XD

[Soups]

Reporting for duty!

Name: Jax
Species: Marowak
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Team: Gracidea Order

Description: Jax doesn't appear to be much different from many other Marowak across Xia, save for a few scars on his left arm and right hip. He's also got some muscle on him, which when you consider his size, is rather impressive. He's a tad darker than most Marowak and his eyes are as well. Jax's skull that he wears, which is no longer worn by choice (Marowak can't take off their skulls after evolution from Cubone), has two painted, black stripes on each side. His bone that he so confidently carries with him is also painted with two strategically placed black stripes. Jax prefers to move without many articles of clothing. He does, however, wear a jet-black handkerchief around his neck.

Personality: Jax is rather quiet and distant than most other Pokemon. He's the furthest from shy, but prefers to listen rather than speak. However, when he does opt to speak, he's often the most intelligent voice in the room. Others listen. Jax's demeanor is one of unspoken dominance. He's a leader of sorts and a damned good one. While he moves best on his own, his ability to connect with others on a personal level and bring out the best in them is second to none. He's one-of-a-kind and he knows it.

Many mistake Jax as some cold, angry Marowak... when in fact, he's the exact opposite. He's a kind soul. He's loving. He's genuine. However, he's about business when it's time to be about business. He's as understanding as he is analytical, and while he can be insanely friendly, he can be equally dangerous. Growing up, Jax always put himself first, but as he grew older and experienced certain things, he quickly learned to put others first.

All in all, Jax is an all-around Marowak. On a great day, he's great. He's not against casual conversation or spending time with those that he's close to. On a bad day, well... he's not to be bothered with. While he may appear to be small in size, he's got a huge heart and there aren't many, if there are any at all, like him.

Background: Jax grew up never knowing his parents. As years passed, he often wondered who they were, what they were like, and what ultimately happened. He would hear rumors from time to time, but nothing ever proved to be fact. He eventually concluded that they either weren't ready for parenthood and found it much simpler to abandon him or they had their lives cut short by the Black Lotus... and he had more belief in the latter. Because of this believe, his disdain for the Black Lotus grew as he grew older. It didn't help that he was witness to their many wrongdoings. That only fueled his hate and ultimately created a fire in him that would be impossible to douse.

Because Jax's parents weren't around, he was raised by a pack of fierce Absol in the Elden Plains. They took him in and cared for him as if he were one of their own. They taught him how to hunt, how to fight, how to treat others, and ultimately, how to love oneself. One particular Absol, Syza, befriended Jax and helped him realized that although he had never had the luxury of knowing his parents, it was still possible to be loved and cared for. For that wisdom, Jax was forever thankful to Syza and the pack of Absol.

When Jax was 21, the Black Lotus attempted to attack a rather large area of the Elden Plains that Jax, Syza, and the pack of Absol resided in. Being the warriors that they were, they were somewhat successful in warding of a small portion of the Black Lotus. However, the Black Lotus was ultimately successful and claimed the Elden Plains, ultimately wiping out more than half of the Absol pack. Jax, by Arceus' grace, was able to escape. However, it wasn't without the help and sacrifice of Syza. The remaining Absol were enslaved, some beat, others tortured. Jax, having no choice but to run as far away as he can, did so...

He eventually ended up in Jadeblossom and joined the Gracidea Order. He recognized the threat that they were toward the Black Lotus and knew that they held his opportunity to seek revenge on the Black Lotus, not only because of Syza's death, but also because he firmly believed that they were responsible for his parents' death. Even if they weren't responsible, he wanted answers and felt like they would have them. As some time passed, he came to realize and fully accept the Gracidea Order's goal: purification. Jax had known how horrific areas outside of the Gracidea Order's territory had looked. He hated it. He wanted the improvement of lives of Pokemon everywhere and would stop at nothing to see that come to fruition.

With the arrival of the Tempest Festival and the promise of the Master Blaze Jewel, Jax understand that his opportunity to destroy the Black Lotus is upon him. He, along with the Gracidea Order, are ready to not only rid of the Black Lotus, but ultimately re-establish what once was: a natural, beautiful world for Pokemon everywhere.

Starting Blaze Jewel: Electric Blaze Jewel

Other: N/A

[Morzone]

This whole shbang starts tomorrow, I should probably finish writing these up.

Name: Theo Myrsky
Species: Quilava
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Team: Steel scavengers
Description: Theo is, for the most part, a normal looking quilava. Roughly 3 things set him apart: On his right fore-paw there is a small birthmark of Pure-white Fur. He keeps his as clean as possible, as he doesn't want the white to become dulled. Theo is almost always wearing his flight goggles, usually on his forehead except for when he's in the air. Finally, he wears a smaller-than-normal Dawn Stone on a chain around his neck. Apart from these he'll have a general air of grime around him from working in Julia's workshop.

Personality: Theo is a reserved pokemon. Originally he was shy, but after growing up in black Lotus' Hellscape of a nation, he generally just avoids opening up to people. Even with Julia he'll try to keep his distance, though she knows him well enough to know all the thin walls. Still, if you do manage to break through, you'll find Theo is actually a rather simple person who hides in his own imagination to get through troubles. There is an optimism buried in him, as well as a burning desire to always do the very best he can and to prove himself to not just be Julia's assistant. He's also rather bright with a desire to learn what he can and understand the things he doesn't.

Background:
Theo was born and raised in Sabinal. For the most part his childhood was "normal." Meaning his parents, a typhlosion and a Luxray, both worked with their heads down, never asking questions and staying out of trouble while working hard to keep Theo and his brother Shawn in check. This was difficult, considering Shawn, A luxio, was always looking to prove his strength in battle and Theo had a habit of going exploring.

The trouble started when Theo was 8. He strayed slightly farther through the city than normal, ending up in a desolate and abandoned park. There he met a Kirlia by the name of Mara. The two talked and became close friends instantly. For About a month the two would continue to meet at the park, Mara never wanted to go outside the place with Theo, and avoided an explanation whenever Theo asked her why. The two grew closer until each had a definite crush on the other. It wasn't until the very end of their time together did Theo learn the Truth. Mara's father, a gallade, was in fact a soldier and Captain working for the Black Lotus. He had Despised Mara's very existence ever since she'd been born a girl and unable to evolve into a gallade like him. She Gave Theo a dawn stone, something she'd had since birth as a reminder of what she should have been, and told Theo when she was with him she could forget about her father.

But that night It all ended. Mara's father, a terrible and horrifically cruel pokemon, barged his way with some of his men into Theo's home, angrily proclaiming the sins Their son Theo had done, and that he had decided the family would pay with their lives for allowing his waste of a daughter some happiness. Both theo's parents were slaughtered by the Gallade, Theo only managing to escape thanks to his good knowledge of the area from all his exploring. Shawn had been late home that night and missed the attack. Theo never knew what became of him, but hoped he was alive.

For about a month Theo wandered alone along the banks of the NorthCrack River, until he neared CoalRock City. That's when he met Julia, A weavile a few years older than him. She seemed to understand him on some level unknown to him, and she took him in to her shabby little shack. The two stuck together, at first out of mutal need to survive, then because their technical skills, something Julia had been quick to try and teach him, became famous in the city. Julia and her assisstant Theo were known to be able to fix anything.

Theo's first excursion into the area of flight came one day during one of his moody flashes, when he was 15. Angry with life in general, Theo hijacked a plane a customer had brought to Julia to repair. Ignoring all Angry shouts of the plane's owner and Julia, Theo took off. And apart from a bit of a shaky start while he got used to the controls, and a less than smooth landing, he flew with great potential. Ever since then Theo studied flight, encouraged by Julia, who would help him to build his ideal aircrafts.

Neither Theo nor Julia remember the exact time Steel Scavengers took over CoalRock, but they were quick to pledge their allegiance to the group. Julia for her own reasons, Theo because deep down he still held a burning desire to discover that Black Lotus Gallade and make him pay for everything.

Starting Blaze Jewel: Dark
Other:

Name: Julia, last name Unknown
Species: Weavile
Gender: Female
Age: 22
Team: Steel Scavengers

Description: Julia is almost Never Clean, always having some amount of soot and grime on her from her work. Her hands look well worn from years of manual work, and she has a burn on her left arm and right side of her chin that discolor her skin slightly. She's almost always found wearing her tool belt, a belt of leather pockets containing Wrenches, screw drivers, hex keys, Nuts and bolts, Duct Tape, hammers, and her Blaze Jewel. She also keeps with her her Lucky 2-sided Crescent Hammer Wrench. It's old looking, but it still works and gives a good lump if you're hit over the head with it.

Personality: Independent is probably the most accurate way to Describe Julia. She does things her way at all times and isn't afraid to make a sharp comment or get in the face of those who annoy her. That said, she's careful not to pick fights she can't win because while she at first seems only to care about what she wants/decides, Julia is actually very protective about things special to her. She doesn't like to admit it, but she has a motherly side to her that comes out only when she thinks no one is watching. Otherwise her sharp smile and glinting eyes stare down life every day, as if daring it to try and give her lemons.

Background: As far as Julia can remember, she'd only ever lived in CoalRock City. She never knew her parents, but her earliest memories include several people calling her "Julia" so it surely must be her name. Living in a small, patchy closet-like shack, Julia only ad one real option if she wanted to make through each day. Learn to use her hands. In the Continent's greatest mining town, your only options were to mine coal, work at a factory, or become a mechanic. Julia opted for the third, spying on any mechanic she could find, snatching and stealing tools when she could, and slowly learning to build and repair machinery.

Slowly her shack improved as she put her new skills to work improving it, and at the same time she began to have a reputation as a mysterious thief mechanic who seemed to know as much about machinery as good as she was at getting away from the black Lotus soldiers who came looking for her whenever she stole from their mechanics.

One day, when she was 14 and collecting driftwood at the river, Julia met a bedraggled and lost looking Quilava. Instantly Julia knew This kid was at least somewhat like her: alone, always on the run, but with a great potential. She brought the id back to her shack and began to teach him the various mechanical skills she's picked up. Theo, as the quilava's name turned out to be, learned fast, but as she taught she found ways to improve techniques, mastering metal working. And with that, she decided she'd had enough running around and thieving. With Theo's help she transformed the shack into a garage and shop where she could work on and fix any machinery brought her way. Word of her skills moved fast and business went well, or at least went well until the black lotus decided to cut her down size every now and again for stealing business.

It wasn't long after She'd met Theo that the Steel Scavengers took over the city, but she knew at once this was an opportunity. Not only was she tired of her tools being broken, her materials smashed, her walls busted holes in by the black lotus, but she knew these people would be able to help her protect Theo, who she cared for like a younger brother. A small bit of light in a very tiring and stressful world. His eventual discovering of his flight skills delighted her, and gave a purpose to see hat else she could put her mechanical skills to work for. She began to build engines, then cars and even monster trucks, delighting in driving large and powerful vehicles while watching Theo;s latest plane soar through the sky.

Starting Blaze Jewel: Steel
Other:

[Neo Emolga]

Honestly, I just needed some inspiration for how, precisely, Laura heard about the Prankster Platoon, and that Sawsbuck seemed absolutely perfect for me! XD

Hey, however you guys want to do it is fine with me! I just thought that was a very interesting precursor plot point that you both decided to share.


Reporting for duty!

Oh my goodness, this guy is so like Batman. He's great though and I'm looking forward to seeing Jax in action! It's also great to see YOU back on the role play front!

ACCEPTED!


This whole shbang starts tomorrow, I should probably finish writing these up.

Yeah, our crew definitely needs more peeps out here!

Wow... Mara's father is quite the evil maggot. I foresee... EXTREME DISMEMBERMENT! No problems here with Theo, everything looks good and he's ready for action.

And hey, I like Julia's personality and she's got great goals to pursue! I see these two working out great together! :)

ACCEPTED x2!

THE CAST

THE GRACIDEA ORDER
Athena Pallas the Decidueye (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251564&viewfull=1#post251564) Played by Noblejanobii <APPROVED>
Nora the Lilligant (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251512&viewfull=1#post251512) - Played by The Nonexistent Tazz <APPROVED>
Jax the Marowak (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251925&viewfull=1#post251925) - Played by Soups <ACCEPTED>

THE STEEL SCAVENGERS
Anthony Carpenter-Weaver the Mimikyu (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251473&viewfull=1#post251473) - Played by Death's Spook <WIP>
Grand Lady the Tsareena (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251473&viewfull=1#post251473) - Played by Death's Spook <WIP>
Max Clerk the Klinklang (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251473&viewfull=1#post251473) - Played by Death's Spook <WIP>
Theo Myrsky the Quilava (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251995&viewfull=1#post251995) - Played by Morzone <ACCEPTED>
Julia the Weavile (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251995&viewfull=1#post251995) - Played by Morzone <ACCEPTED>

THE PRANKSTER PLATOON
Jones Sandstrider the Heliolisk (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251479&viewfull=1#post251479) - Played by Velocity <APPROVED>
Laura Bette Kaye the Umbreon (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251481&viewfull=1#post251481) - Played by LKWayvern <APPROVED>
Chance Jehenna the Zangoose (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251596&viewfull=1#post251596) - Played by Steel Lunpara <APPROVED>
Tina Volts the Pikachu (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251610&viewfull=1#post251610) - Played by Chakramaster[<APPROVED>
Marcellus "Mazer" Pratten (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251835&viewfull=1#post251835) - Played by Velocity <APPROVED>

[Morzone]

Should we assume our characters are already signed up to participate in the festival, or should we start with everyone heading over to the capital from their various stronghold cities to join?

[Neo Emolga]

Should we assume our characters are already signed up to participate in the festival, or should we start with everyone heading over to the capital from their various stronghold cities to join?

You can start wherever you'd like! I also understand if not everyone's character is taking part in the violent festival events. There are some that I get would be working on things from the outside. But if your character is taking part, consider yourself already signed up (although late entrants are fine just as long as they're in the arena or on the track BEFORE the actual first second of the event starts)! Most of those that would be taking part are already in Lytala City.

[Morzone]

Do we have a schedule for which events come first, second and so on?

[Neo Emolga]

Do we have a schedule for which events come first, second and so on?

Hmm, originally I was going to just have things be impromptu. If you think it would be better to have things like that be a little more organized, we could do that, but then I'd have to factor in time duration, what day of the festival it is, and things of that nature, which might get tricky to work around if people are in the middle of something and suddenly having the day change to progress the schedule would mess them up and accelerate time when they needed to do something. That's my only thing.

Here's what I think I'll do.

For now, it's the night of the Opening Ceremony for everyone, but the day after begins the actual games. We'll start with both the Blood Pit Arena and the Dread Metal Destruction Derby events starting. I'll try to whip up a quick and dirty but easy to understand schedule of events and when they're happening. Some of these events might even have rounds and go on for several days.

I'll post mentions to everyone in the RP that the day is winding down and they need to wrap things up. Kind of similar to what Stalkers RPG does. I wouldn't do this in the middle of the events which would result in them getting cut short, but once they've wrapped up and the victors walk off the field and everyone else is deader than dead, then the day will start ending, but still give people a few moments to do a post after the actual event. And then, once Day 1 moves into Day 2, I'll post a mention to everyone. You could still do a "this is what happened the day/night before" as kind of a summary or recap if you need to explain what happened and where your character is now.

Does that sound good?

[Morzone]

Sounds fine to me!

[LKWayvern]

A couple questions me and my team have.
First, how effective is healing in this world? Do things like Reviver Seeds exist? How much of an injury would an oran berry heal? How long would it take a pecha to expel poison? How rare are healing berries? Are there items like Potions?
Second, what are teams allowed to bring into the arena? For example, are healing items, performance enhancing drugs, or berries that provide a resistance to a type(Roseli, Wacan, Haban, etc) be allowed, or would they have to be smuggled? Are there any weapons not allowed in certain events?

[VeloJello]

Yo, Neo, I have a question too! If someone were to RP out a scene with stuff like fast-paced combat or a long conversation, would you be okay with them side-RPing and then posting the finished interaction in one post? Since I'm bad at explaining things, here's an example:


Alice: Howard aimed a kick at Emily's midsection.
Sam: Emily grabbed Howard's foot and parried him aside. "You'll have to do better than that!" she hollered.
Alice: "Darn straight I will!" Howard yelled, readying a punch. He knew that Emily was more experienced than him, but he was confident he could get a blow in.
Sam: Emily grunted as the punch landed; it was a good hit. "Now it's my turn," she said, ready to counter with a punch of her own.

Since these interactions are very short, they don't really seem to deserve their own post, and the whole thing could either be posted by Alice or Sam. I don't want to clutter the whole thread up with posts that consist solely of "X punched Y" or "Z made a witty quip at W".

[Death's Spook]

*is a silly bunny who thought this started tomorrow*

Done

[Neo Emolga]

Sounds fine to me!

Alright, I'll try to cook up something relatively soon. :3


A couple questions me and my team have.
First, how effective is healing in this world? Do things like Reviver Seeds exist? How much of an injury would an oran berry heal? How long would it take a pecha to expel poison? How rare are healing berries? Are there items like Potions?
Second, what are teams allowed to bring into the arena? For example, are healing items, performance enhancing drugs, or berries that provide a resistance to a type(Roseli, Wacan, Haban, etc) be allowed, or would they have to be smuggled? Are there any weapons not allowed in certain events?

Healing with items and stuff like that is just as effective as the games. If struck into a coma or concussion, sure, a Reviver Seed or Revive will help. NOT if you're dead, though. And that's the problem with most of these Tempest Festival games. Getting shot in the head or the heart or getting killed in a vehicle explosion usually doesn't make revival possible. Things like Oran Berries and Potions will heal flesh wounds and stuff like that, but they're not a cure for dismemberment. If you get gored, blown up into pieces, or burnt into ashes, that's a fatal case well beyond what a Reviver Seed or Revive will be able to fix.

When it comes to weapons and items, if you can carry it into the arena or it can be mounted on your vehicle, it's good to go. You can also bring healing items or performance-enhancing drugs into the arena with you. Those healing items are good if you get shot in the shoulder or somewhere in a non-fatal area or if you want to use a drug to give yourself more reaction time or to be numb to pain for a while, they're good for that, but usually they're addictive. You won't be the only ones with these either.


Yo, Neo, I have a question too! If someone were to RP out a scene with stuff like fast-paced combat or a long conversation, would you be okay with them side-RPing and then posting the finished interaction in one post? Since I'm bad at explaining things, here's an example:

Since these interactions are very short, they don't really seem to deserve their own post, and the whole thing could either be posted by Alice or Sam. I don't want to clutter the whole thread up with posts that consist solely of "X punched Y" or "Z made a witty quip at W".

Totally fine with this, but I would just rewrite it to include detail as if you were writing a normal RP post, but just with the bunnying consent of the other person. Don't copy and paste a IM chat is all I'm saying. That would get hit badly on the "Written Content" area and probably on the "Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar" one, also.


*is a silly bunny who thought this started tomorrow*

Done

And silly bunnies are still cute but Trix is for kids.

Anyway, nice job on these! Definitely great backgrounds and I'm looking forward to seeing how these Seven Knights play out in this beasty RP. >:3

ACCEPTED x3!

THE CAST

THE GRACIDEA ORDER
Athena Pallas the Decidueye (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251564&viewfull=1#post251564) Played by Noblejanobii <APPROVED>
Nora the Lilligant (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251512&viewfull=1#post251512) - Played by The Nonexistent Tazz <APPROVED>
Jax the Marowak (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251925&viewfull=1#post251925) - Played by Soups <ACCEPTED>

THE STEEL SCAVENGERS
Anthony Carpenter-Weaver the Mimikyu (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251473&viewfull=1#post251473) - Played by Death's Spook <ACCEPTED>
Grand Lady the Tsareena (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251473&viewfull=1#post251473) - Played by Death's Spook <ACCEPTED>
Max Clerk the Klinklang (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251473&viewfull=1#post251473) - Played by Death's Spook <ACCEPTED>
Theo Myrsky the Quilava (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251995&viewfull=1#post251995) - Played by Morzone <ACCEPTED>
Julia the Weavile (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251995&viewfull=1#post251995) - Played by Morzone <ACCEPTED>

THE PRANKSTER PLATOON
Jones Sandstrider the Heliolisk (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251479&viewfull=1#post251479) - Played by Velocity <APPROVED>
Laura Bette Kaye the Umbreon (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251481&viewfull=1#post251481) - Played by LKWayvern <APPROVED>
Chance Jehenna the Zangoose (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251596&viewfull=1#post251596) - Played by Steel Lunpara <APPROVED>
Tina Volts the Pikachu (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251610&viewfull=1#post251610) - Played by Chakramaster[<APPROVED>
Marcellus "Mazer" Pratten (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251835&viewfull=1#post251835) - Played by Velocity <APPROVED>

[Neo Emolga]

Noblejanobii The Nonexistent Tazz Soups Death's Spook Morzone Velocity LKWayvern Steel Lunpara Chakramaster

It's here!

http://i.imgur.com/wyS6Iee.png

Basically, the only difference is between an Elimination Round and a Final Round is a Final Round is the final battle among whoever survived in the previous Elimination Rounds. But a contender will never have to take part in multiple Elimination Rounds. Only one Elimination Round and then the Final Round if they survive.

For example, in Blood Pit Arena, you would compete on either Day 1 OR Day 2, but not both. Then, the survivors of Day 1's Elimination Round and Day 2's Elimination Round would fight on Day 3's Final Round.

Some events only have a single, final round (usually because they're so huge and brutal like The Devil's Tide). Bring everything you've got for those!

HOW TIMING WILL WORK

It'll work a tiny bit like Stalkers RPG, but if you haven't taken part in that, no worries, I'll explain it.

Basically, you'll see this on top of every one of my posts:

DAY X
Active Events: ABC (Qualifying Round), XYZ (Final Round)

The RP will let the events play out in their entirety (there's no telling how many posts or how much real time that will take, so I'll make judgment calls. Obviously if no player characters are taking part in a particular event, it won't last nearly as long). When they finish, I'll post a mention that the day is winding down and you should begin to think about how you want to end the day for your characters. Then when my next post starts, the new day will begin. You're free to summarize what happened during the night before, but only if you really want to. If not and you feel nothing really eventful happened with your character, it's no biggie.

And if by chance you fall behind, it's not a biggie if you do a quick recap-like thing just to catch up and explain what your character was doing for the past few days or whatnot.

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

Yo, Neo. Just checking with you for a worldbuilding question I hadn't thought of before hard enough. Most of us are definitely older than the Black Lotus regime, if it had only ruled for 15 years, and I can definitely see the Tempest Festival out-dating them. But who came before? I doubt it was anyone popular if the Black Lotus got enough popularity to usurp them, but considering the ages of most of our characters, I would think that most of us would happen to know who had dominion over the land previously.

[Neo Emolga]

Yo, Neo. Just checking with you for a worldbuilding question I hadn't thought of before hard enough. Most of us are definitely older than the Black Lotus regime, if it had only ruled for 15 years, and I can definitely see the Tempest Festival out-dating them. But who came before? I doubt it was anyone popular if the Black Lotus got enough popularity to usurp them, but considering the ages of most of our characters, I would think that most of us would happen to know who had dominion over the land previously.

Nah, you're right, Black Lotus wasn't the original creators and founders of the Tempest Festival. Various dictators, rotten governments, and the like were in action on the continent of Liao before Taiya and Black Lotus overthrew them and took their place. As with most traditions, it started as a suggestion, got tried out, and caught on to the point where it was continued and passed down from one regime to the next, though every regime has hosted different variations of it.

[Morzone]

Yay scores! I'm a little surprised they were posted in the main RP thread rather than in here but oh well, we all see them anyway.

Little bummed I didn't get more, but when you only have 100 points total to give out 11 points really means I did nice and average, which isn't bad. I was worried about the low number of my posts, but I had been hoping for a response from Death to interact with and unfortunately they've been busy. TO be honest though, we actually had our characters interact quite a lot, but it was all on Skype. Mainly when the RP started, we agreed that the boss of the Steel scavengers would have talked to Julia/Theo about joining the festival a good deal before the day before it started. So we did a scene between Anthony and My characters about joining so that we had something to refer back to. (we also set up a reason for Theo and Anthony to interact more closely) If you remember my first post I had Julia worry for a moment about having told Anthony too much about Theo, that was what I had been referring too.

I guess this is what we get for saying so little about it though. We just figured our teams would have known about the festival for a good deal of time and would have gotten participants together before hand. Which is why we started off traveling toward Westfel/the capital, instead of having our characters meet up. (I had also hoped we could interact some in the safe-house but you saw where that went.)

As for the heavy dialogue, I'd say that's partially due to that I feel that how a character talks/acts is a very important part of showing their personality, as thoughts and actions don't always align. The part I'd pin to the fact that I'm not very good at describing things, so I worry that my posts will end up too short and too weak if they are mostly filled with short and to the point descriptions, rather than better elaboration that could shed some light into how a character is feeling and the personality behind the thought process.

Still, I'm quite happy with a bunch of B+'s and thrilled at the A+, even if it only was in grammar. I'll try to be more active this coming week.

I do have a question though, about the events. For the eliminations rounds, how many people move on? Is it a timed thing where anyone still alive may continue, or is there a set number?

[VeloJello]

Oh, Neoooooo~

Are competitors allowed to communicate with others outside of their respective events? EG, if Lisa the Raichu and Frank the Magnezone were both part of the Thundercrash Gang, and Lisa had been setup with a headset or something similar, would Frank be allowed to relay information to Lisa?

[Neo Emolga]

Yay scores! I'm a little surprised they were posted in the main RP thread rather than in here but oh well, we all see them anyway.

Yeah, that's true, I could have posted them here. I guess I went with the main RP thread because this one hasn't been used for a bit, but it works either way. :P


Little bummed I didn't get more, but when you only have 100 points total to give out 11 points really means I did nice and average, which isn't bad. I was worried about the low number of my posts, but I had been hoping for a response from Death to interact with and unfortunately they've been busy. TO be honest though, we actually had our characters interact quite a lot, but it was all on Skype. Mainly when the RP started, we agreed that the boss of the Steel scavengers would have talked to Julia/Theo about joining the festival a good deal before the day before it started. So we did a scene between Anthony and My characters about joining so that we had something to refer back to. (we also set up a reason for Theo and Anthony to interact more closely) If you remember my first post I had Julia worry for a moment about having told Anthony too much about Theo, that was what I had been referring too.

Yeah, it's tricky to distribute scores. It's definitely a much different ballgame than WAR.

Unfortunately... what happens on Skype doesn't count. Everything I graded on was purely in the RP thread. I know firsthand Death likes to work with Skype a lot and will do a lot of plotting and planning there, which is cool and fine, but I just can't grade that.


I guess this is what we get for saying so little about it though. We just figured our teams would have known about the festival for a good deal of time and would have gotten participants together before hand. Which is why we started off traveling toward Westfel/the capital, instead of having our characters meet up. (I had also hoped we could interact some in the safe-house but you saw where that went.)

It kind of sounds like you came close to an interaction, but it just didn't happen. Again, it's not an easy thing to pull off in the beginning and exposition stuff is going on, but even a minor interaction would have been nice to see. You definitely tried to initiate it, though.


As for the heavy dialogue, I'd say that's partially due to that I feel that how a character talks/acts is a very important part of showing their personality, as thoughts and actions don't always align. The part I'd pin to the fact that I'm not very good at describing things, so I worry that my posts will end up too short and too weak if they are mostly filled with short and to the point descriptions, rather than better elaboration that could shed some light into how a character is feeling and the personality behind the thought process.

Oh, that's fine. You did well, though and I think you are pretty well aware of what you need to do to score higher. I honestly don't think you'll have trouble with it.


Still, I'm quite happy with a bunch of B+'s and thrilled at the A+, even if it only was in grammar. I'll try to be more active this coming week.

Yeah, I have a good feeling you'll do even better next time around. It's a whole new grading system and sometimes it just takes a little getting used to the formatting. I also haven't judged RP for a while now. :P


I do have a question though, about the events. For the eliminations rounds, how many people move on? Is it a timed thing where anyone still alive may continue, or is there a set number?

They're a last team standing kind of thing. If it was timed, well, someone could move onto the next round just by being effective at running away.

Remember, you as a player still have the option of surviving by escaping whereas NPCs are way more likely to die than survive. Teleporting, digging your way out of the arena, flying out, or something along those lines are possibilities. Also, you're definitely not graded on if your character wins or escapes from events. In fact, if you capture a clever escape in your posts, you'll actually score higher than someone who just casually won and that was all. Just note that once you leave the arena, you can't come back later and still win.


Oh, Neoooooo~

Are competitors allowed to communicate with others outside of their respective events? EG, if Lisa the Raichu and Frank the Magnezone were both part of the Thundercrash Gang, and Lisa had been setup with a headset or something similar, would Frank be allowed to relay information to Lisa?

Hellooooo :)

Heh, heh, I see what you're trying to do. And yes, you sure can. >:3

And you're not the only ones doing this kind of thing either. >:D

[Morzone]

Wasn't really expecting the skype thing to count, just bemoaning mistakes.

Anyway,

To everyone else, I'm planning to start something up with my character Theo to get our teams interacting with each other, since his event isn't until day 10/11. He's going to get kidnapped in my next post by a Lotus agent. so if anyone has a character who also doesn't have any event for several days and don't know what to do with, or even if you just have a character hanging around the west side of the capital for some reason, I was hoping someone from another team could save him. As such we could introduce our characters and maybe our teams to each other and get some good interactions going.

[Neo Emolga]

Noblejanobii The Nonexistent Tazz Soups Death's Spook Morzone Velocity LKWayvern Steel Lunpara Chakramaster

Okay, I tried to figure this out on my own as I was typing my next post, but I had too much trouble. There's just too many NPCs to track... :P

If you're entering an event with your character, I need to know:

1. What event they're entering
2. Name(s) of any allied NPCs that are part of your character's squad
3. Vehicle name (for Dread Metal)

That's essentially it. Your whole squad is going to appear on a scoreboard, along with everyone else that's in the mayhem. And that also helps everyone track who is still alive in the chaos. XD

[VeloJello]

1. What event they're entering: Dread Metal Derby.
2. Name(s) of any allied NPCs that are part of your character's squad: Tony the Incineroar and Cheshire the Meowstic (both male).
3. Vehicle name (for Dread Metal): Screaming Talon (lightweight but zippy vehicle; main gun manned by Tony, with Cheshire providing protection and a smaller gun position)

[Death's Spook]

Neo Emolga

The Grand Lady is entering the Blood Pit Arena with the following allies:

1. Gloria the Goodra
2. Kaytoo the Toxapex
3. Iolande the Gastrodon
4. An unnamed Manectric
5. Ioseph the Beheeyem
6. Durkon the Clefable

[Morzone]

Julia:

1. What event they're entering: Dread Metal Derby
2. Name(s) of any allied NPCs that are part of your character's squad: Juan the Furret (His motorcycle is called "The Hornet")
3. Vehicle name (for Dread Metal): The Iron Giant


Theo:

1. What event they're entering: heavens of fire
2. Name(s) of any allied NPCs that are part of your character's squad: In the sky he's on his own, though I may have someone on the ground below him, I haven't thought about it yet.
3. Vehicle name: The Valkyrie. (I figured his plane would have a name too)

By the way, I planned out Theo's kidnap/rescue with Velocity, so I'm writing up the post and going to have it in by tonight!

[Noblejanobii]

1. What event? Blood Pit Arena
2. Allied NPCs? Perceval the Serperior, Axiom the Hakamo-o, Shiva the Medicham, Saber the Lurantis, Jackson the Alolan Ninetales, and Masamune the Braviary

[LKWayvern]

Event:
Blood Pit Arena

Allied NPCs:

Xavier Feurra the Luxray
Kirrun Dimei the Claydol
Aria Kantra the Mismagius

[Neo Emolga]

Thank you, guys, I appreciate this immensely. :D

My next post will be up tonight. And yup, party's starting wild and hot.

[Noblejanobii]

When you realize your character's entire motive can be summed up in a meme:

http://i.imgur.com/ZZy5f5B.png

[Morzone]

Hey Neo, I'm still a little confused on how the qualifying/elimination rounds work in terms of who moves on to the finals and who doesn't. When I asked before you said it was a last team standing basis, so I took that as one team/group from each elimination/qualifier would "win" and move on to the finals as the were the only ones left in the arena who hadn't died or escaped. But in LK's posts they mentioned something about qualifying for the finals "Just by being there" and had won even though they had left the arena early, so I was wondering if it was something more along the lines of the last members still alive from each group were allowed to move on. From the way you explained it, it sounded like leaving an arena early in order to survive was similar to disqualifying yourself from moving on. I was just wondering if maybe I had misinterpreted something, or if I had missed some mention that it was lightly different for the blood pit arena for some reason. (I haven't been following the blood pit arena as closely as I'm not in it, so I thought maybe I had overlooked something)

[LKWayvern]

Morzone, I'm pretty sure this is how it works:
There's the Qualifying Rounds, and the Final Round. You qualify for the Final Round just by going to the Qualifying Rounds and surviving. I think it was mentioned you could simply dig, fly, teleport, whatever to get out of the arena in the qualifying rounds.
I'm pretty sure that if you do that in the Final Round, then you're OUT. And whoever the last team left with Pokemon alive is the victor.
...Or I Laura got wrong information and was just kicked out of the Bloodpit Arena.

[Morzone]

LKWayvern
That's what confused me, I thought it was the other way around. "Escape, give up, and survive, or stay in and risk death for a chance to win" I figured that made more sense since the queen is advertising all the death and destruction too come in the festival. Though at the same time the finals would be kind of boring with only 2-3 teams in them.

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

I kind of feel like I'm trapped in terms of RPer interaction-I just don't think I'm in a position wherein I can have my character just talk to someone. I was hoping to catch Athena Pallas as I entered the city to talk with her but she had already hit up the arena, which I pre-stated that Nora wasn't going to compete in on day 1. Everyone nearby me is in the Blood Pit while I am not, except for two of DS's characters, and I'm having a really hard time justifying why Nora might drag in either of them for a chat right now.

Err, any advice, or is this just me waiting for the second day for my turn in the Blood Pit?

Morzone LKWayvern: My two cents on this is that, as Neo said it was a last team standing kind of thing, that it miiiiiiiiiiiight be that anyone who lives can compete in the finals... BUT, as the Black Lotus wouldn't want everyone fleeing in the qualifiers immediately to secure their spot in the finals (which would make it utter hell for the Black Lotus to work against, booby traps or not), there is either some extra stipulation that must be done before you're allowed to flee (most likely actual bodycount) AND bonus prizes/benefits for being the last team alive, OR that the premsie of that is totally wrong and it's whoever the last team standing is, with any 'cowardly kakos' fleeing disqualified from the finals on the spot as if they died. And given the setting, I would almost certainly say that the latter is what Neo meant, thus true-which is why he added the stipulation on needing to flee as if it would be a loss to flee.

I would almost say that only two teams in the finals would be boring but I think that just means that you really *would* have to directly fight against Neo or someone else, should two non-NPC teams make it to the finals, and given that people have gotten excited over less, I'd say that in-and-out of universe that it's perfectly acceptable to have only some 'classic' team deathmatch. That's worked for CoD and Halo, after all.

[LKWayvern]

The Nonexistent Tazz I believe that Chakra's character Tina is also in the stands at the Bloodpit Arena.

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

The Nonexistent Tazz I believe that Chakra's character Tina is also in the stands at the Bloodpit Arena.

That was technically as of yesterday-she was at the opening ceremony, which probably would double as the BPA, but Chakra has been unresponsive this round, so that may be a problem. And I don't think she would be sitting there for a whole day either way.

[Noblejanobii]

I kind of feel like I'm trapped in terms of RPer interaction-I just don't think I'm in a position wherein I can have my character just talk to someone. I was hoping to catch Athena Pallas as I entered the city to talk with her but she had already hit up the arena, which I pre-stated that Nora wasn't going to compete in on day 1. Everyone nearby me is in the Blood Pit while I am not, except for two of DS's characters, and I'm having a really hard time justifying why Nora might drag in either of them for a chat right now.

Ah dude you should've messaged me, I would've held up to have Athena talk to Nora.

Yeah like LK mentioned, Chakra's character is in the stands! Maybe you can somehow move from the cage to the stands to talk to her? Chakra did reply last night or maybe the night before and say Tina was in the stands.

[Death's Spook]

The Nonexistent Tazz Anthony is gonna talk to Nora next post. I just haven't had a lot of time to post and focused on The Lady

[Chakramaster]

That was technically as of yesterday-she was at the opening ceremony, which probably would double as the BPA, but Chakra has been unresponsive this round, so that may be a problem. And I don't think she would be sitting there for a whole day either way.


Ah dude you should've messaged me, I would've held up to have Athena talk to Nora.

Yeah like LK mentioned, Chakra's character is in the stands! Maybe you can somehow move from the cage to the stands to talk to her? Chakra did reply last night or maybe the night before and say Tina was in the stands.

Actually as of yesterday's post she's just behind the stands. So right around the corner pretty much, but yeah. Tina is still there after her interaction with someone random. I meant to get one more post in, but today has been crazy. So I don't know if I can....=(. Any interaction anyone would like to do with me is good though. Never had anyone do it yet. So it'd be a first

[Noblejanobii]

So then maybe all of your characters can meet up somehow for interaction points?

[Chakramaster]

That's one thing. Since I have no big time experience in these I've not got good ideas on how to lead those in without feeling like I'm bunnying a character in a small way. Unless I just go with meeting them through their latest post. Especially meeting characters completely different to my own.

[Noblejanobii]

That's one thing. Since I have no big time experience in these I've not got good ideas on how to lead those in without feeling like I'm bunnying a character in a small way. Unless I just go with meeting them through their latest post. Especially meeting characters completely different to my own.

It can be a bit difficult to not bunny. Try leaving your actions semi-open ended. So if your character approaches Nora, you can have her touch Nora but don't control Nora's response. If you want, you can send me a PM with your reply and I can help you out some.

[LKWayvern]

Huh, wouldja look at that.
After rooting through older posts in the set-up, apparently Prankster Platoon IS disqualified from Bloodpit for fleeing...
...Ah, well. Guess Laura got some wrong information. Or Xavier lied to make her leave. Whatever.
Just means I can move on with some subplots I had ideas for.

[Noblejanobii]

Well let's just get final confirmation. Neo Emolga what's the final result?

[Neo Emolga]

Well let's just get final confirmation. Neo Emolga what's the final result?

I just need a little time to catch up with everything. Plus I have grading to do. XP

This is definitely under my radar and I'll try to address stuff when I can.

[Neo Emolga]

Morzone, LKWayvern, The Nonexistent Tazz, Noblejanobii, Death's Spook, Chakramaster

Okay, after reading everything...

https://s5.postimg.org/8mesvjfif/Emolga_My_Bad.pngWelp.

I'll admit, I kind of rushed to make the schedule. It wasn't actually a part of the original plan and I think as a result, I probably didn't think things through entirely. Usually I give these things 24 hours to think over and as you saw with the whole RP's creation, I've done, redone, modified, and changed stuff constantly, so this is another one of "those things." So... I think I need to whip out my "oops" stamp for this and give it a nice big press.

Ordinarily, running from the Elimination Round wouldn't qualify you for the Final Round. Otherwise, hey, everyone run at the match start and you're good for the final! Yeah, it doesn't quite work. But what also doesn't work is how in a Final Round, you'd only have the surviving remnants of the earlier rounds fighting. It would be like a two on three battle, if even. Not really that exciting. Let's just say the Pokémon of Xia want huge battles and LOTS of carnage.

So on that note, I think things need to be changed...

END VERDICT

I'm doing away with Elimination/Final rounds. All Rounds are the same. If your team (or if you're by yourself) is the last team standing, you get a victory point. Team with the most victory points and the end of the Festival wins the whole thing and tons of loot while runner ups win some cash prizes and stuff like that. Even a single victory point for the whole Festival will net you pretty decent prizes considering how many sponsors are involved. That way, if you're an independent and you just happen to win a particular round and get that one victory point, you'd actually get prizes out of that. That's where the motivation would be. A poor independent competitor just has to win a single round and they would get money out of that which could set them for life and get them out of the slums. They wouldn't care if they didn't win the top grand prizes. With Final Rounds, hurr hurr, heck no. It's just raw suicide for every independent competitor, so this would realistically make WAY more sense.
Running from the stadium disqualifies you and you won't get any victory points, but you survive. You could just join the next round for another shot. It would make sense for a Pokémon that's in a rough situation to just bail and disqualify themselves, such as in Laura's case where her ally is badly wounded or in Dread Metal if someone's vehicle is in really bad shape. You could come back tomorrow with another car or teammate and try again.

Let me know what you guys think, I'm definitely open for discussing this a little further if you think it's needed.

OTHER NOTES

I know things have been moving along really slowly. I apologize for how sluggish it's been, but holy frick nuggets, I've been super busy lately and I just can't reply every day, unfortunately. Else I'd have to give up everything else I'm involved in for PXFIRE. Ouch. But overall, I'm extremely impressed and happy with how you guys are RPing, interacting, and doing stuff.

Points be darned, you're all doing a great job. https://s5.postimg.org/jz6vvdyo7/Emolga_587.gif

I think the only problem with the speed is we're still on Day 1 and it seems like we're not going to touch so many of the other events until long after PXFIRE is done. I'm open to suggestions such as cutting back on how long the Festival actually lasts so some of the other events can be experienced. It's entirely up to you and changing the schedule would honestly be pretty easy if that's something you guys would like to do. But if you guys have other neat ideas in mind, hey, I'm listening.

[LKWayvern]

I think we might be able to trim down how many rounds there are going to be in the competition. If everyone stated which characters they wanted to have in which games, and in which rounds, we'd be able to know which events we can simply gloss over or even remove entirely.
Like, if there's only 3 people going into Field of Screams, we don't need three rounds of it, and can either focus on subplots for a few days, or remove excess entirely and bump up other events. And if no one wants to do a certain event, like I said, we can either focus on subplots or say everyone took a day to rest and recover from intense fighting and timeskip to the next day.

The only competition I was going to have Laura definitely participate in was Bloodpit. I don't think she'll be going for another round. I've also been considering having her in Field of Screams, but that's not a definite yet. Those were the only two.

[Neo Emolga]

I think we might be able to trim down how many rounds there are going to be in the competition. If everyone stated which characters they wanted to have in which games, and in which rounds, we'd be able to know which events we can simply gloss over or even remove entirely.
Like, if there's only 3 people going into Field of Screams, we don't need three rounds of it, and can either focus on subplots for a few days, or remove excess entirely and bump up other events. And if no one wants to do a certain event, like I said, we can either focus on subplots or say everyone took a day to rest and recover from intense fighting and timeskip to the next day.

The only competition I was going to have Laura definitely participate in was Bloodpit. I don't think she'll be going for another round. I've also been considering having her in Field of Screams, but that's not a definite yet. Those were the only two.

Yeah, I think we might need to do this, because I even wanted to have plot developments going on outside of the festival and I haven't been able to really work on those. Plus, looking at the current schedule, it's going to be more of the same stuff for the next few days.

How would you guys feel about something like this instead?

http://i.imgur.com/R8EELJw.png

It cuts the time in half and we'd would definitely see more of the other events much sooner.

[LKWayvern]

I'm alright with that, definitely. Anyone have any objections?

[Noblejanobii]

Looks good to me. Someone's gonna have to drag Athena out of the Blood Pit Arena though. She can and will go back in the second round by herself if she has to.

[Death's Spook]

Noblejanobii I'm pretty sure either The Grand Lady or Phoebe would be happy to oblige that request. It may involve more bags than Athena would like, though.

[Noblejanobii]

Noblejanobii I'm pretty sure either The Grand Lady or Phoebe would be happy to oblige that request. It may involve more bags than Athena would like, though.

So long as Athena takes no injuries to her lower abdomen and she doesn't die that's fine. But Athena is going to rip Phoebe to shreds to get the information she wants if she has her say.

EDIT: I mean, if you want you can injure her lower abdomen, but keep in mind you should only do so if you want an already bloodthirsty mother coming after you. There's a reason she has much more armor there than anywhere else on her body and I'll tell you now it's not because of mobility.

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

Now who says you're gonna lose this one? I don't think Spook is dominating... Too hard.

That said, I see what you did there all of a sudden... OK, I don't think Athena is going to be leaving the arena without Pheobe's head at this rate. Anyone that mad to begin with is not to be crossed without serious considerations.

As for the schedule: Yes, that makes a lot more sense. A week instead of two plus-that is way less crazy (though it does give me less time for my own RP, but I think I can work with that), and it also means we have to use less NPCs due to the rampant NPC death going on.

[Noblejanobii]

Now who says you're gonna lose this one? I don't think Spook is dominating... Too hard.

That said, I see what you did there all of a sudden... OK, I don't think Athena is going to be leaving the arena without Pheobe's head at this rate. Anyone that mad to begin with is not to be crossed without serious considerations.

I'm not saying I'm going to lose either. Just that, if that does end up happening, it's going to be because Athena was forced from the arena.

Athena is not psychotic by any means. Just very very angry. And all of a sudden? Oh no no no. If you're starting to catch the hints I've been laying down then I suggest rereading my posts with that little tidbit in mind. I've been hinting at this from the beginning.

[LKWayvern]

I assumed that Athena was livid from the start. And I'm honestly not surprised.
I mean, her child was kidnapped, being held hostage, possibly in dangerous conditions, possibly being neglected. Perhaps he's restrained. Perhaps he's not restrained but actions were taken in order to prevent his escape. There's plenty of ways to do that that I can think of, conventional and less so.
Perhaps it's all a hoax to cover up an... accident. Or perhaps that accident had been planned from the start.
If Athena wasn't worried, THAT would have me worried.

[Noblejanobii]

I assumed that Athena was livid from the start. And I'm honestly not surprised.
I mean, her child was kidnapped, being held hostage, possibly in dangerous conditions, possibly being neglected. Perhaps he's restrained. Perhaps he's not restrained but actions were taken in order to prevent his escape. There's plenty of ways to do that that I can think of, conventional and less so.
Perhaps it's all a hoax to cover up an... accident. Or perhaps that accident had been planned from the start.
If Athena wasn't worried, THAT would have me worried.

Mmm well yes this is true. But that's not quite what I was referring to.

[Morzone]

Noblejanobii I don't know what your planning in terms of looking for the son, but both of my characters are looking for people as well, even if it's not quite to the same extreme. Perhaps we could co-ordinate so as to give us a reason for our characters to interact farther down the road.

Anyway, I'm alright with the new Schedule. Hopefully this RP lives past PXFIRE, it's just so good.

[LKWayvern]

Morzone I really hope so too, this is honestly the most fun I've had in an RP in a couple months~

[Noblejanobii]

Noblejanobii I don't know what your planning in terms of looking for the son, but both of my characters are looking for people as well, even if it's not quite to the same extreme. Perhaps we could co-ordinate so as to give us a reason for our characters to interact farther down the road.

Anyway, I'm alright with the new Schedule. Hopefully this RP lives past PXFIRE, it's just so good.

I certainly would not be opposed. Athena might be a bit cold towards them at first but she wouldn't be against aiding others in similar quests as her own.

[Neo Emolga]

Ohhh, this was hard. You guys are awesome.

And I really shouldn't be up this late but blah.


The Nonexistent Tazz
The Gracidea Order

Driving Force Rating: A
Written Content Rating: A+
RPer Interactions Rating: A
Activity Level Rating: B+
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: A

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
15

Your posts rock. Even though Nora doesn't get directly involved with Blood Pit or Dread Metal, you definitely still have her get involved in other ways. The way she lurks behind the scenes in the shadows is impressive. She's observant, cunning, and is definitely an interesting character to watch and follow. While she's surrounded by drunken morons, she's vigilant, but she's not without her addictions and weaknesses. Definitely an impressively realistic and believable character.

Your formatting, activity level, and content are definitely awesome and it was great to see Nora now more in the spotlight getting involved, even if she's not fighting quite yet. Overall, I like what I see and I'd love to see more of it!


Morzone
Steel Scavengers

Driving Force Rating: A+
Written Content Rating: A+
RPer Interactions Rating: A
Activity Level Rating: A+
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: A-

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
16

I love the way your characters drive. It's exciting! Your posts are definitely very high in the description and you definitely capture the spirit and rush of Dread Metal in them. You also do a great job managing both Julia and Theo and they get a decent share of screen time and action. You were also very active, definitely got involved a lot and interacted well with other RPers (I know I haven't responded yet, but I will very soon!).


LKWayvern
Prankster Platoon

Driving Force Rating: A
Written Content Rating: A+
RPer Interactions Rating: A-
Activity Level Rating: A+
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: A

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
17

I think the big highlight of your posts can be summed up in one word. REALISM. Xavier's injury and the reaction of his teammates was extremely well-captured. They don't always agree, they argue, things don't work out all the time, and all that points back to that realism. They're very believable characters that want the same thing but disagree on how to get it. There's a whole story going on just between them and I really like what you did with it. Definitely very well captured. Usually most of the time, people have NPCs always agreeing with each other, so this was a very nice touch.

Interactions were definitely very good as well. You had them concerned about Death's character, The Grand Lady, which was a nice touch. They were more concerned about her than even Phoebe of the Black Lotus! I found that to be interesting, but yeah, your posts and your own storyline has a really nice flavor to it. Lastly, activity level was extremely impressive. Four very decent posts with great depth is definitely very good. :D


Velocity
Prankster Platoon

Driving Force Rating: B+
Written Content Rating: A
RPer Interactions Rating: A-
Activity Level Rating: B
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: A

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
14

I'm sorry but the way you had Jones kill off Rash the Whimsicott was amusing. Rash flips Jones a birdie and it's just crunch time, end of story. XD I'm going to be thinking of that every time someone cuts me off now.

I also like what you did with Mazer. The interactions beween him and Laura were quite good and their take on dealing with the Grand burning Lady was a nice touch. It definitely gives Death's character a lot more depth and that's good interaction even though it's indirect. Overall, I'd definitely say your posts were quite good and I think the only thing holding them back a bit was a tinge bit more on the activity side. But it's still really good nonetheless!


Death's Spook
Steel Scavengers

Driving Force Rating: B+
Written Content Rating: A
RPer Interactions Rating: A-
Activity Level Rating: B+
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: A+

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
15

The Lady definitely has earned her reputation. XD

The first post this week was a little on the mild side, but you definitely made up for that with the second one which had a LOT more depth and interaction. You also have an interesting take on how much more influential Anthony is. He's quite the conversationalist and you wouldn't really expect that from a Mimikyu, but it's still neat, though.


Chakramaster
Prankster Platoon

Driving Force Rating: D
Written Content Rating: B
RPer Interactions Rating: F
Activity Level Rating: C-
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: A-

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
7

I like Tina. A Pikachu with an attitude! And an interesting dark side to her as well.

Where you took a hit was not really advancing the storyline and not really getting involved with other RPers. Also, you only had one post for the week. Given, it's definitely improving and I see better progress this week than last week, so that's already a big jump up. Maybe for this week, try getting involve a bit more with another person's character and try to do something with Tina that starts to make a significant impact on Black Lotus or something like that. You're a creative and inventive guy, so I feel you could come up with something cool.

Offhand, Tina reminds me a lot of Arya Stark from Game of Thrones. Hiding something hidden and dangerous, small and underestimated, but oh lordy, be careful!


Noblejanobii
The Gracidea Order

Driving Force Rating: A+
Written Content Rating: A
RPer Interactions Rating: A+
Activity Level Rating: B+
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: A+

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
16

Going directly right after Black Lotus is definitely high on the driving force. Athena wants Phoebe DEAD and she ain't stopping at anything to do just that! And you sure didn't go light on the rest of the Black Lotus squad either! Your posts were also very descriptive, had great action and emotion, and had plenty of other juicy literary treats as well. Again, you definitely started a kako trend. I think everyone's picked up on using that! XD

Overall, awesome job yet again. Would have been cool to see maybe a third post squeezed in for this week, but I understand, I've been having tricky times doing that also. :P


TOTALS:

http://i.imgur.com/xUEO7rQ.gif
Gracidea Order: 31 points
The Nonexistent Tazz - 15
Noblejanobii - 16

http://i.imgur.com/V6TZREs.png
Prankster Platoon: 38 points
Velocity - 14
LKWayvern - 17
Chakramaster - 7

http://i.imgur.com/gZMT8CG.png
Steel Scavengers: 31 points
Death's Spook - 15
Morzone - 16

Noblejanobii The Nonexistent Tazz Death's Spook Morzone Velocity LKWayvern Chakramaster

[Morzone]

Oh look my Grammar and formatting went from A plus to A Minus, maybe I should, like, not be writing up most all of my posts when I'm dead tired in the middle of the night.

Wait what am I talking about? If I did that they'd never get in at all. Silly me.

Anyway, I think this was a great week! The dread metal derby is huge fun! It's a great scenario for more experienced players to show off their experience and newer RP'ers to have a ton of fun. It's nice to Get Theo out and doing things too. I cannot wait to write up Julia's reaction when she goes back to the safehouse to find out someone blew up part of Theo's plane and kidnapped him.

[Noblejanobii]

Question. Will it cost a team a victory if one member leaves but the rest stay?

So say Bob, Sue, Joe, and Tim go into the bloodpit. Tim gets killed and Sue flips out then leaves, but Bob and Joe stay. Would that cost their team the win?

[Morzone]

I wouldn't think it would cost them the win. That would be like saying "Everyone in your team has to survive in the bloodpit to win!" Which is crazy in those conditions. Just as long as someone on the team is the one on top of that mountain I'd think they'd get the point.

[Neo Emolga]

Question. Will it cost a team a victory if one member leaves but the rest stay?

So say Bob, Sue, Joe, and Tim go into the bloodpit. Tim gets killed and Sue flips out then leaves, but Bob and Joe stay. Would that cost their team the win?

Nope! Just as Morzone said, as long as you have at least one survivor still active and in the fight, you're still qualified to win.

And yeah, I'll definitely try to get an RP post in tomorrow because there's a bunch of people waiting on me. Thanks for being patient!

[LKWayvern]

Neo Emolga: Question.
Is Mega Evolution allowed and if so, how would it work?

[Shruikan]

Ehh, is it too late for me to join? :3

[Neo Emolga]

Neo Emolga: Question.
Is Mega Evolution allowed and if so, how would it work?

Hmm, good question. I'm fine with it being allowed, but I can't really think of a good way to implement it.

Maybe the only way to trigger it is by a drug, since there just aren't any Mega Evolution stones on Xia. But I'm open to suggestions and if other people have interesting ideas, we could go with one of those.


Ehh, is it too late for me to join? :3

NOT AT ALL!!! Holy crap, we'd love to have you! Just make a sign up and then jump on in and go wild!

[Noblejanobii]

Ehh, is it too late for me to join? :3

JOIN ME SHAYMIN BUDDY! WITH YOU AND TAZZ, WE SHAYMINS WILL CONQUER THE WORLD!

.... I mean free the world from pollution and stuff. Yeah.

[LKWayvern]

Hmm, good question. I'm fine with it being allowed, but I can't really think of a good way to implement it.

Maybe the only way to trigger it is by a drug, since there just aren't any Mega Evolution stones on Xia. But I'm open to suggestions and if other people have interesting ideas, we could go with one of those.

Most of the time when it's in a no-humans setting, I have it so Pokemon need to have a really close relationship, possibly being mates/partners, with the evolving one have a Mega Stone and the other having a Keystone. i just had the idea one has a wedding ring/necklace/whatever with a mega stone the other has one with a keystone aaaaaaaaagh this strikes me as adorable

Although, a drug opens up a whole new avenue of darker possibilities that I hadn't even considered...
What side-effects does it have, I wonder?
...I got the sudden urge to answer these questions.

[Noblejanobii]

Most of the time when it's in a no-humans setting, I have it so Pokemon need to have a really close relationship, possibly being mates/partners, with the evolving one have a Mega Stone and the other having a Keystone. i just had the idea one has a wedding ring/necklace/whatever with a mega stone the other has one with a keystone aaaaaaaaagh this strikes me as adorable

Although, a drug opens up a whole new avenue of darker possibilities that I hadn't even considered...
What side-effects does it have, I wonder?
...I got the sudden urge to answer these questions.

Puts a whole new meaning on the dark mega evolution entries in SuMo.

[Neo Emolga]

Most of the time when it's in a no-humans setting, I have it so Pokemon need to have a really close relationship, possibly being mates/partners, with the evolving one have a Mega Stone and the other having a Keystone. i just had the idea one has a wedding ring/necklace/whatever with a mega stone the other has one with a keystone aaaaaaaaagh this strikes me as adorable

Although, a drug opens up a whole new avenue of darker possibilities that I hadn't even considered...
What side-effects does it have, I wonder?
...I got the sudden urge to answer these questions.

The relationship idea is cute and a little on the lovey-dovey side. But I'm kind of leaning more toward the drug use idea.

For side effects of the drug, I'm thinking of having something interesting and not crippling or annoying to deal with when RPing it. Maybe there's a brief feeling of mania and disillusion for a while and then it wears off. So kind of like when Tazz had Nora react to Swift, everything when all Alice in Wonderland on steroids. Maybe that's something that could be done.

[LKWayvern]

...Another question. If a Pokemon not capable of Mega evolution takes the drug, how does it affect them? Can you get high on Mega? Is the drug literally just called Mega? What other street names does it have? How is it applied?

I fully intend to begin exploring these questions in Day 2 of the events because drugs is an aspect of worldbuilding I have never before explored and now my imagination is running wild and I feel an urge to play Station to Station really loudly.

OH MY GOD in PSMD if you're Mega Evolved for too long they've got the Berserker status and you attack EVERYTHING I MIGHT BORROW THIS IDEA

[Noblejanobii]

...Another question. If a Pokemon not capable of Mega evolution takes the drug, how does it affect them? Can you get high on Mega? Is the drug literally just called Mega? What other street names does it have? How is it applied?

I fully intend to begin exploring these questions in Day 2 of the events because drugs is an aspect of worldbuilding I have never before explored and now my imagination is running wild and I feel an urge to play Station to Station really loudly.

OH MY GOD in PSMD if you're Mega Evolved for too long they've got the Berserker status and you attack EVERYTHING I MIGHT BORROW THIS IDEA

Yep! The only thing that prevents it is the Air Looplet. Food for thought.

[Morzone]

Honestly I'd just leave Mega evolution alone. The RP already has blaze jewels, not to mention whatever "Ante" is. I'm not sure we need another "Rare item/power" to give our characters or our enemies another edge over average pokemon.

[LKWayvern]

Honestly I'd just leave Mega evolution alone. The RP already has blaze jewels, not to mention whatever "Ante" is. I'm not sure we need another "Rare item/power" to give our characters or our enemies another edge over average pokemon.

Mmmm... I guess that that's very true, too.
Not using it may make things a bit more challenging... Challenges can be fun...
Might do Mega Evolution, might not. Guess we'll see how I feel when next day rolls around...

[Death's Spook]

Neo Emolga

Please let this happen between Willow and Haq at some point:

https://youtu.be/tVi_fs2oz3E

[Neo Emolga]

Neo Emolga

Please let this happen between Willow and Haq at some point:

https://youtu.be/tVi_fs2oz3E

HA, HA, HA, oh holy frick, that was great! XD The action freak in me feels very warm and fuzzy inside now. >:3

Well, as much as I'd ADORE to have an RP fight like THAT ACTION FREAK MASTERPIECE, we'd have to reeeeaaaaaally bend the rules of reality in the RP setting to make something like that possible. I mean we could... but... I'd have to inject a serious dosage of deus ex machina for everyone on all sides (well, for all player characters at least). I mean I'll be honest, that goes well beyond what I even had in mind for Ante. This kind of thing... I'll admit, it makes what Ante really is look very mild.

but...

...well...

...shall we vote...?

[Morzone]

XD seems a little over the top, even for this RP. I'll trust you Neo, I'm sure whatever you had planned for Ante is already very good.

[Noblejanobii]

I mean I'm all for a good fight but don't let it disrupt your plans.

[Neo Emolga]

XD seems a little over the top, even for this RP. I'll trust you Neo, I'm sure whatever you had planned for Ante is already very good.

Ha, ha, just "a little?" XD I'll be frank, I've been in a lot of RPs that had a ton of crazy powers being fired off, but nothing along those lines. But yeah, under the current situation, a battle between Willow and Haq wouldn't even get anywhere NEAR that. And lol, I'll be honest, after watching that, it seems painfully disappointing knowing that. As in "can't we at least try to have something close?"

Well, I'll be honest, revealing what Ante currently is and what it does honestly wouldn't change much. I think at this point, it would explain a lot of things for realism's sake and would justify why Black Lotus holds the ruling position that they're currently in (and why Queen Taiya is so hard to kill), but that's pretty much it and it honestly wouldn't give them that much of a field advantage over the player characters. Lately, none of the Onyx Circle members have been relying on it all that much and you're probably wondering why it hasn't really been showing up. I've wanted to keep it hidden and interesting, but there were instances where a slight reference should have been mentioned and now... it kind of seems like it's moving into irrelevance. I also have a feeling some people probably already know what it is from doing the deductions.

If you really want to see if you were right...

Ante, as the original intention was, is a hidden power where you inherit the skills, knowledge, and memories of whoever you kill. It explains why Taiya gets stronger and harder to kill after every assassination attempt fails and she kills her attacker. She now knows everything those assassins knew, now making HER a master assassin and combatant. It also explains why she taunts her enemies to send her more. Not just to taunt them and enrage them, but to learn from them and add more and more to her skills and techniques. Of course, no one is aware she and her Onyx Circle posse have this capability.

It also explains why Black Lotus likes sending in their own Ante-specialized Onyx Circle commandos into the games themselves and why Black Lotus even hosts the games in the first place: to inherit everything they can from those they kill and thus, make the Empire even stronger. But of course, all of this is kept hushed. The opposing factions send their toughest warriors into the games. Black Lotus sends their finest to challenge them, kill them, inherit their knowledge, and with that knowledge, they know the tactics, secrets, and inner workings of their enemies. So their secret hideouts, bunkers, bases, weaknesses, and locations become known if the right combatants enter the games and the Onyx Circle kills enough of them. It's more than enough to destroy them entirely in the wake of the Festival.

Did you guess correctly? I kind of feel most people probably did by now at least one point or another. XD

It's a plot point, yes, but a mild one. I'll admit, I've only made very hidden allusions to it until now. It's not the crazy superpower I'm sure some people originally thought it would be. And I'll admit, areas where it should have come into place were kind of brushed aside. Whenever a Onyx Circle commando kills someone in Blood Pit or Dread Metal, I should have been pointing some kind of reference toward this hidden ability, but I've been dropping the ball with that and cranking out some of these RP posts has been tough enough as is. And like I said, it explains some of the why about what's going on, but it wouldn't change your stance and approach to dealing with Black Lotus. You'd still want to finish them off completely Ante or no Ante.

I'd like for player characters to inherit it one way or another. But then, because of that happening, it evolves. Maybe it becomes something like that video. Queen Taiya, in her effort to keep the upper hand, does something to the source of Ante to amplify it to take the upper hand for her and her troops, but instead it affects everyone who knows Ante, including now you. But the catch? Everyone inherits a different kind of superpower. But oh, oh, guess what happens if you kill another Ante user now with their new superpowers! You inherit them. So now you'll have your own AND theirs! And that's where a real war can fire up. >:3

[Noblejanobii]

Hmmm I like the idea but it might be a bit hard to execute. Still, I wouldn't be opposed to it.

[Death's Spook]

Maybe Taiya tries to amp it up off screen because Blood Pit and Dread Metal are not going well, then someone does the stabby stab on one of her soldiers and then Surprise?

(The fact that "stabby stab" pretty much statistically means "The Grand Lady" means nothing)

(Though it would give me a good way to get her out)

[LKWayvern]

Perhaps if you kill someone with Ante, the Ante recognizes the killer as a more worthy host and moves to the killer and that's how a Player character gets Ante.
Perhaps there's an experimentation with creating a new super powerful ability(in the same vein as Mega Evolution or Z-Moves) but it backfires and explodes dispersing the region, activating Ante powers in certain Pokemon, perhaps those with a particular dormant gene or those in the right place at the right time.

[Neo Emolga]

Hmmm I like the idea but it might be a bit hard to execute. Still, I wouldn't be opposed to it.

Hard? Mmm, I have my means. *Winky wink wink.*


Maybe Taiya tries to amp it up off screen because Blood Pit and Dread Metal are not going well, then someone does the stabby stab on one of her soldiers and then Surprise?

(The fact that "stabby stab" pretty much statistically means "The Grand Lady" means nothing)

(Though it would give me a good way to get her out)


Perhaps if you kill someone with Ante, the Ante recognizes the killer as a more worthy host and moves to the killer and that's how a Player character gets Ante.
Perhaps there's an experimentation with creating a new super powerful ability(in the same vein as Mega Evolution or Z-Moves) but it backfires and explodes dispersing the region, activating Ante powers in certain Pokemon, perhaps those with a particular dormant gene or those in the right place at the right time.

Well, here's one plausible idea I have. It kind of combines what you guys said and takes a little "something something" extra.

Taiya, as you said, sees Blood Pit and Dread Metal going to hell. Phoebe and Jucden either have to bail or they get killed (killed is more likely as Phoebe is in a tight spot and Jucden is a psycho who wouldn't give up for anything. Taiya doesn't like it. And she suspects because of the ludicrous turnout of highly powerful applicants, she and Black Lotus just bit off more than they could chew but it's too late to cancel the Festival without raising serious suspicion. As you can tell, even the way Black Lotus cheats doesn't seem to be enough. So, punny pun pun, she "ups the Ante." Well, it kind of backfires. She and her Onyx Circle get amped up with all kinds of various extra powers (well, like "gun spawning," "crazy magic" and "awesome athletic ability" like you saw in Death's fine masterpiece presentation), but it causes The Assassin Awakening to happen.

As it turns out, Ante can't be learned. You're either born with it or you're not. It has existed since bloody and vile ancient times and back then, those that had it were referred to as "Shadow Assassins." Steal the memories, skills, and experience of whoever you kill, thus "inheriting the victim's shadow", so to speak. For a long while, these Shadow Assassins went underground, but in recent times with violence amplifying and crime on the rise, old sleeping secrets resurface once again as what was once forgotten becomes rediscovered.

There is the factor that Ante is usually found in those that are stronger and more capable, naturally. Short history lesson, Black Lotus continues to be a Shadow Assassin network where they've been trying to find as many individuals naturally gifted with Ante and feed that power by giving them plenty of enemies to kill so they can get stronger, just as long as they pledge loyalty to Black Lotus. But for many Pokémon (your character), the Ante hasn't been awakened yet. Some live their entire lives never even knowing they're sleeping Shadow Assassins or have a bloodline that connects with those that once made very generous use of these abilities.

When Taiya "ups the Ante" to amplify her powers and the Onyx's Circle's powers and take back the Festival, she also anticipates new Shadow Assassin Pokémon awakening and surfacing out of the woodwork to join Black Lotus to further strengthen the Empire. Well, BIG SURPRISE! She doesn't expect YOU to be gifted with Ante as a Shadow Assassin, but la la la, you are! She doesn't make the situation better, she just put a eye-opening twist into the playing field!

So who wants to have some extra fun now?

[LKWayvern]

Hard? Mmm, I have my means. *Winky wink wink.*





Well, here's one plausible idea I have. It kind of combines what you guys said and takes a little "something something" extra.

Taiya, as you said, sees Blood Pit and Dread Metal going to hell. Phoebe and Jucden either have to bail or they get killed (killed is more likely as Phoebe is in a tight spot and Jucden is a psycho who wouldn't give up for anything. Taiya doesn't like it. And she suspects because of the ludicrous turnout of highly powerful applicants, she and Black Lotus just bit off more than they could chew but it's too late to cancel the Festival without raising serious suspicion. As you can tell, even the way Black Lotus cheats doesn't seem to be enough. So, punny pun pun, she "ups the Ante." Well, it kind of backfires. She and her Onyx Circle get amped up with all kinds of various extra powers (well, like "gun spawning," "crazy magic" and "awesome athletic ability" like you saw in Death's fine masterpiece presentation), but it causes The Assassin Awakening to happen.

As it turns out, Ante can't be learned. You're either born with it or you're not. It has existed since bloody and vile ancient times and back then, those that had it were referred to as "Shadow Assassins." Steal the memories, skills, and experience of whoever you kill, thus "inheriting the victim's shadow", so to speak. For a long while, these Shadow Assassins went underground, but in recent times with violence amplifying and crime on the rise, old sleeping secrets resurface once again as what was once forgotten becomes rediscovered.

There is the factor that Ante is usually found in those that are stronger and more capable, naturally. Short history lesson, Black Lotus continues to be a Shadow Assassin network where they've been trying to find as many individuals naturally gifted with Ante and feed that power by giving them plenty of enemies to kill so they can get stronger, just as long as they pledge loyalty to Black Lotus. But for many Pokémon (your character), the Ante hasn't been awakened yet. Some live their entire lives never even knowing they're sleeping Shadow Assassins or have a bloodline that connects with those that once made very generous use of these abilities.

When Taiya "ups the Ante" to amplify her powers and the Onyx's Circle's powers and take back the Festival, she also anticipates new Shadow Assassin Pokémon awakening and surfacing out of the woodwork to join Black Lotus to further strengthen the Empire. Well, BIG SURPRISE! She doesn't expect YOU to be gifted with Ante as a Shadow Assassin, but la la la, you are! She doesn't make the situation better, she just put a eye-opening twist into the playing field!

So who wants to have some extra fun now?

I'd like extra fun.

[Noblejanobii]

Oh ho ho ho I'm all for this.

Also I just had this image in my head of three year old Marx awakening with Ante, kicking *ss and taking names, then freeing himself and just being like "I saved myself, mother, let's go home." XD

[LKWayvern]

Oh ho ho ho I'm all for this.

Also I just had this image in my head of three year old Marx awakening with Ante, kicking *ss and taking names, then freeing himself and just being like "I saved myself, mother, let's go home." XD

Plot twist, Marx somehow kills Taiya and installs himself as emperor. He arranges for all the candy in Liao to be brought to his palace.

[Morzone]

Honestly I don't think adding more crazy superpowers is going to help. It's an implementation issue, like you said. The power to gain your defeated enemy's skills and knowledge is already incredibly powerful and versatile, it just needs time to be shown. We shouldn't jump to making things even more extreme -and confusing- in the middle of the RP just because Ante hasn't had its time to shine yet. I am having a TON of fun in this RP, and that's because it is well designed and well executed. Everything we already have is Amazing, just give it time to show itself before you decide we need more.

[Neo Emolga]

Oh ho ho ho I'm all for this.

Also I just had this image in my head of three year old Marx awakening with Ante, kicking *ss and taking names, then freeing himself and just being like "I saved myself, mother, let's go home." XD

Oh goodie. >:3

To make it happen, I need someone to kill Phoebe and someone else to kill Jucden. Athena, I feel, definitely should get to have Phoebe's head on a stick for storyline value, but I guess anyone who is in Dread Metal can go after Jucden whoever you'd like. Those two getting killed and Black Lotus losing both events would help open the way for Taiya's response.


Plot twist, Marx somehow kills Taiya and installs himself as emperor. He arranges for all the candy in Liao to be brought to his palace.

I'm looking forward to watching you try. XD

[Death's Spook]

Bottom line Neo. Can The Lady show off "oh crap Ante" next post?

EDIT: Wait, nope. Just saw that. Darn

[Noblejanobii]

Oh goodie. >:3

To make it happen, I need someone to kill Phoebe and someone else to kill Jucden. Athena, I feel, definitely should get to have Phoebe's head on a stick for storyline value, but I guess anyone who is in Dread Metal can go after Jucden whoever you'd like. Those two getting killed and Black Lotus losing both events would help open the way for Taiya's response.

https://68.media.tumblr.com/178cddc6bca3fbcab0dedad5c9a21809/tumblr_mwf9laIHc61s4yabgo1_500.gif


I'm looking forward to watching you try. XD

Plot twist, Marx somehow kills Taiya and installs himself as emperor. He arranges for all the candy in Liao to be brought to his palace.

https://68.media.tumblr.com/2cabbc8a0b1a4f592a4b2be2eb16b807/tumblr_nq5528yhuS1tczqfso1_500.gif

[Neo Emolga]

Honestly I don't think adding more crazy superpowers is going to help. It's an implementation issue, like you said. The power to gain your defeated enemy's skills and knowledge is already incredibly powerful and versatile, it just needs time to be shown. We shouldn't jump to making things even more extreme -and confusing- in the middle of the RP just because Ante hasn't had its time to shine yet. I am having a TON of fun in this RP, and that's because it is well designed and well executed. Everything we already have is Amazing, just give it time to show itself before you decide we need more.

The other alternative we can do is have our fun crazy powers like in that video Death so graciously shared... but in another RP once PXFIRE is over.

My thing is I just wish things were moving a bit faster in the RP itself. It's been really slow. I thought we'd be up to Day 4 or 5 by now but we're still super-glued to Day 1 and everyone not in Blood Pit or Dread Metal is probably getting bored right now.

[Morzone]

Well, I'm not sure we can do about the slowness, that really comes down to how RP's are done here on PXR. When every post is multiple paragraphs of thoughts, deductions, dialouge, emotion, situation, etc, you don't get very far per post. I'd just suggest building up more subplots. Once the dread metal derby is over Julia's going on a man-hunt and is going to be hooking up with another character in the process. Theo's already involved in inter-team shenanigans, which can easily lead to something larger. No one's done anything with the mysterious "Master blaze jewel" yet, or started implementing plots to take down the queen. (Apart from killing lots of her top warriors in the festival) Heck, our characters still need to learn what "ante" is themselves, something an undercover mission into the queen's "government" might be good for. Jut gotta think outside the box some, that's all.

[Neo Emolga]

Well, I'm not sure we can do about the slowness, that really comes down to how RP's are done here on PXR. When every post is multiple paragraphs of thoughts, deductions, dialouge, emotion, situation, etc, you don't get very far per post. I'd just suggest building up more subplots. Once the dread metal derby is over Julia's going on a man-hunt and is going to be hooking up with another character in the process. Theo's already involved in inter-team shenanigans, which can easily lead to something larger. No one's done anything with the mysterious "Master blaze jewel" yet, or started implementing plots to take down the queen. (Apart from killing lots of her top warriors in the festival) Heck, our characters still need to learn what "ante" is themselves, something an undercover mission into the queen's "government" might be good for. Jut gotta think outside the box some, that's all.

I would build up more sub plots if I had more time. That's the issue I've been facing. I had intentions of many other things going on outside of the Festival, but managing that stuff has been a handful and I'm already cranking out posts that are 8 pages in MS Word.

But yeah, I was only going to do that Ante stuff if everyone was on board for it. Since you're not that crazy about it, we'll just stick with what we have.

[Noblejanobii]

Awww I was looking forward to having Marx became the next ruler of the Black Lotus Empire. XD

I mean, I wouldn't be opposed to it happening down the road still, but maybe after the characters get some idea of what Ante is? It certainly would give the Black Lotus Empire more leverage over Athena if she gained Ante abilities but they still had Marx captive. They could even use it to blackmail her into joining the Black Lotus Empire or something. But then that would also raise the question of: If Ante is awakened in someone, what impact would that have on the kids they're carrying if they're pregnant? Would the twins Athena is carrying become Ante warriors as well? Would the stress from the Ante awakening cause her to go into labor earlier? Or would it have zero impact at all? There's a lot that can be done and explored that I'm not sure we should entirely rule it out yet.

[LKWayvern]

Awww I was looking forward to having Marx became the next ruler of the Black Lotus Empire. XD

I mean, I wouldn't be opposed to it happening down the road still, but maybe after the characters get some idea of what Ante is? It certainly would give the Black Lotus Empire more leverage over Athena if she gained Ante abilities but they still had Marx captive. They could even use it to blackmail her into joining the Black Lotus Empire or something. But then that would also raise the question of: If Ante is awakened in someone, what impact would that have on the kids they're carrying if they're pregnant? Would the twins Athena is carrying become Ante warriors as well? Would the stress from the Ante awakening cause her to go into labor earlier? Or would it have zero impact at all? There's a lot that can be done and explored that I'm not sure we should entirely rule it out yet.

Go into labor early? But this festival is only a week?? Noble, how far along is Athena!?!?

[Morzone]

Go into labor early? But this festival is only a week?? Noble, how far along is Athena!?!?

XD it's her secret fighting technique: "The Baby's kicking!"

[Noblejanobii]

XD it's her secret fighting technique: "The Baby's kicking!"

Obviously. It always succeeds.


Go into labor early? But this festival is only a week?? Noble, how far along is Athena!?!?

Uh… well technically owls generally have babies over the course of one to two months ish so pretty far along if we go by that standard. If we go by human standards though, she's at the beginning to middle of her third trimester. She really shouldn't be fighting but Athena is an adamant woman. And as for why it doesn't show that well… pokémon logic? So yeah I meant she really technically could pop at any moment.

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

OK, just my two cents as I didn't expect Ante to actually be revealed to us all like this, and certainly not while I wasn't paying attention.

First: No! And I mean seriously no, do not 'improve' Ante. Not just yet, perhaps, if you really want to-save it for much later on when things are actually cooking. I'd be OK with Ante becoming player-available, I was suspecting as much from the start, but improving it seems like too much too fast. We're still exploring the plot and getting to grips-this is the rising action and while it may be slow, this will inevitably conclude in a ridiculous thirty gambit pileup. I honestly did have my own idea for Ante in case no-one else was willing to explore it directly, and it's probably one even more crazy than Neo's plan with it. Funnily enough, it could still work exactly as intended, as Neo left out an important detail in his description of Ante, and that is the detail that would allow such a mad idea to work. (I'll tell you Neo, don't you worry, I still love you, and it is your choice to implement it... But it's a crazy enough idea that I think that the less people who know of it, the better. :3)

Second: Nora was not randomly stating various amusing anecdotes because they were amusing anecdotes, and I certainly didn't mention all that weird stuff just to be weird (though that is my top priority, as usual). I was going to use the fact I'm a driving force in this RP to, er-hem, drive any semblence of normalcy off the rails and into a fiery pit, and in doing so, create interesting plot because 'woah, Magical Girls do exist!' More generally, I think the plot is actually moving forwards, just slowly, but that isn't a bad thing as long as it's still interesting. One does not need to rely upon contrived plot coincidence because things are boring... And, frankly, things are NOT boring, it's just going slow, and the focus is on the Blood Pit-wrap that up and things outside of it will get moving fast. (I do admit that I feel like it's slow but that's because I'm trying to interact with Death Spook and he's been busy, ergo a slow response.) And it's still going reasonably faster than most other RPs in recent memory, and the boost of actually having a reason to do this RP this long is a big one. Introducing Ante and the potential to get it properly isn't breaking existence and probably does spice things up a bit, I will say-I wouldn't be opposed to it as it was introduced by Noeo. 'Upping the Ante' is, on the other hand, too far, too fast, for me at least.

Also, call me crazy but I think that people are underestimating their Pokemon abilities, which may also factor into it. Take this example, which, as a warning in advance, involves a lot of analysis of things and may not be as applicable in the RP as I wish. Gyarados are strong Pokemon-this is pretty much universally agreed upon. They can wipe whole cities away in their rampages according to the dex, a statement that can be taken pretty much at face value. It's attack stat is 125, very high all things considered. Gyarados are also relatively famous for knowing Hyper Beam-a really strong attack that I could see as doing serious damage to property and life. Hyper Beam being really dangerous is also universally agreed upon. I think Gyarados using Hyper Beam is something that's mostly a Gen 1 thing, though, when Hyper Beam was operating off of physical attack and thus that beefy 125 instead of the far less intimidating special attack of 60... But not entirely, as Hyper Beam is also naturally learned by everyone's favorite sea serpent at Level 52 in RBY and 54 in S/M. That's a high level, but it is also a lower than what some Pokemon evolve at-including Hydregion. I bring Hydregion up specifically because Noblejanobii brought up a Hydregion kidnapper, so there are Pokemon (presumably active fighting Pokemon) at least 'strong' enough to 'reach Level 64' (marked as level probably isn't a 'real' concept in Xia) to evolve. In other words, while it may not be the case due to RP ease factors, there is a great chance that Pokemon of age are actually near to 'Level 50', if not above it, which is when Hyper Beams start wrecking cities from 60 Special Attack Gyarados. This isn't me trying to put stupid game science into an RP-it's me trying to point out that our characters are, as elite combatants, probably much more dangerous than we're giving them proper credit for.

Mostly just thinking how I could justify Nora appearing and pulling out a TPK on the whole Black Lotus regiment with an over-the-top Hyper Beam (with her far more impressive 110 Special Attack) to start the second Blood Pit Arena, with aid from a lot of Quiver Dancing just beforehand boosting her attack to those TPK levels. Or try to do that. It sounds like something she would do in this situation-something so dangerous that no-one could believe a stupid stoner Lilligant did it, and something so utterly deadly that it proves her effectiveness beyond question.

Do not screw with a Lilligant on Liao.

[Neo Emolga]

OK, just my two cents as I didn't expect Ante to actually be revealed to us all like this, and certainly not while I wasn't paying attention.

Mmm, those are really good points as well. Maybe I'm just being too impatient. I don't regret revealing what Ante is, because I think maybe it's a good time for awareness to start to come out about it. What is player knowledge can slowly, piece by piece, become player knowledge through side exploration.

I would like to have something fun and super power crazy sometime though. Maybe a different RP when we're all feeling spunky for it.

[Shruikan]

Okay, after power outages, randomly cutting off internet, and several impornant keys of my keybord quitting on me, this is finally finished.

Name: Levi Hallik
Species: Gabite
Gender: Male
Age: 22
Team: Gracidea Order
Description: Due to his parentage, Levi's scales are duller than normal, almost grey in places. He's also shorter than average, standing at 4'03. He has a slim, athletic build, mainly built for speed over strength. He often wears a hooded cloak with a slit down the back for his fin, though he rarely has the hood up, preferring the unblocked vision over the anonymity it would otherwise give. He also wears a necklace made of white strips of metal woven into angelic wings, with his blaze jewel set firmly in the centre; both as a memento of his mother, and a way to keep his newly acquired blaze jewel close and safe.
Personality: The first impression of Levi is that he's a friendly guy, confident, jokes a lot and quite often talking too much, whether to someone else or the world in general. What you would see is his mind storing any useful information you might let slip while chatting, or how he mentally sizes you up, figuring out multiple ways to kill you the moment you try to make a move.
If you were to find him in a tough situation however, you'd find that he has little to no regard for his own safety, prioritizing protecting others at all costs. However, this recklessness is often a hindrance, as he will ignore orders and formations to do what he believes is right, without thinking of the bigger picture, and resulting in him being the one in need of rescue.
Background: Levi spent most of his life living in the suburbs of Lytala city with his mother, Selene. Being the result of a one-night-stand, both Levi and his mother knew very little about his father, only that he was a Rampardos who claimed to be a high ranking member of the then-current regime. After that night, it was like he disappeared of the face of Xia, and Selene was left only with memories and an unborn child.
Levi had little but the basic necessities growing up, as his mother's part time job as a waitress barely covered the rent. As soon as he was old enough, Levi began to take odd jobs wherever he could to help out. Having inherited his father knack for charming people, he quickly got a full-time job at a local casino.

Just as things started to look up, the world set out to tear him back down. During the 47th Tempest Festival, Black Lotus operatives dragged his mother off the streets and forced to take part in what they called "Situation-based infantry combat." Pit against the Black Lotus themselves, the defending team was annihilated with ease, and Levi could only watch in horror as his mother's death was broadcast across the whole continent.

After that day, Levi's life took a downwards spiral. The loss of his mother made him fall into depression, which was only worsened by the loss of his job shortly after. What little money he had left went on gambling and alcohol, and soon rent collectors were knocking at his doors. Homeless and alone, he wandered the streets, not caring about anything any more, and just waiting for death. It was then that he herd a cry from down a back-alley. Heading round the corner, he saw a Venonat being beaten by a Charizard wearing the Black Lotus insignia. Flashbacks to his mother's death sent him into a rage, and he charged the assailant without thinking, even managing to get a few hits in before the Charizard flung him against the wall with the force of a freight train. The last thing he remembered before blacking out was the Charizard standing over him mockingly, not noticing as the Venonat from before loomed up behind him...

Upon awaking, Levi found the Charizard lying face down in a pool of blood. The Venonat had stayed by his side and was overjoyed that Levi was still alive. He explained that he was part of the Gracedia Order, a group fighting to free Liao from the tyranny of the Black Lotus. He saw great potential in Levi, and offered him training, as the Order could use more pokemon as brave as him. Levi accepted the offer, and found a new meaning in life, fighting for a better future, free from the Black Lotus once and for all.
Starting Blaze Jewel: Flying.
Other: Nope.

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

Mmm, those are really good points as well. Maybe I'm just being too impatient. I don't regret revealing what Ante is, because I think maybe it's a good time for awareness to start to come out about it. What is player knowledge can slowly, piece by piece, become player knowledge through side exploration.

I would like to have something fun and super power crazy sometime though. Maybe a different RP when we're all feeling spunky for it.

I can tell you're very eager for AntiVoid. I hope it lives up to your expectations when that comes. I do think that something more crazy might be good... Might, but at the same time, It's less than that we need to get crazy now and more that we're not using all of our tools to get crazy. Needless to say, I'm still thinking on how I'm going to tackle the Roadkill Warriors, but I want it to be 'Fury Road if everyone was a super-powered animal.'

I also hope that I can wipe out a whole Black Lotus team with just one Hyper Beam. But that's just me being crazy.

Also, welcome to the game, Shurikan! just in time to shoehorn Shaymin into my RP somehow

EDIT: And thus my ability to stun everyone with feats of madness and/or sheer stupidity blows everyone away, again, hopefully! This should be interesting, which is the real point of this RP, either way. Let's see if this breed of madness tends towards genius over stupidity.

[Neo Emolga]

Okay, after power outages, randomly cutting off internet, and several impornant keys of my keybord quitting on me, this is finally finished.

Frick, I'm sorry I forgot about this. It feels like every time I tried to get around to reading this, I kept getting interrupted and then forgot about it.

Everything with Levi checks out and he's good to go! Thanks for being patient. :3

ACCEPTED!

THE CAST

THE GRACIDEA ORDER
Athena Pallas the Decidueye (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251564&viewfull=1#post251564) Played by Noblejanobii <ACCEPTED>
Nora the Lilligant (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251512&viewfull=1#post251512) - Played by The Nonexistent Tazz <ACCEPTED>
Jax the Marowak (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251925&viewfull=1#post251925) - Played by Soups <ACCEPTED>
Levi the Gabite (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=253223&viewfull=1#post253223) - Played by Shruikan <ACCEPTED>

THE STEEL SCAVENGERS
Anthony Carpenter-Weaver the Mimikyu (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251473&viewfull=1#post251473) - Played by Death's Spook <ACCEPTED>
Grand Lady the Tsareena (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251473&viewfull=1#post251473) - Played by Death's Spook <ACCEPTED>
Max Clerk the Klinklang (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251473&viewfull=1#post251473) - Played by Death's Spook <ACCEPTED>
Theo Myrsky the Quilava (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251995&viewfull=1#post251995) - Played by Morzone <ACCEPTED>
Julia the Weavile (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251995&viewfull=1#post251995) - Played by Morzone <ACCEPTED>

THE PRANKSTER PLATOON
Jones Sandstrider the Heliolisk (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251479&viewfull=1#post251479) - Played by Velocity <ACCEPTED>
Laura Bette Kaye the Umbreon (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251481&viewfull=1#post251481) - Played by LKWayvern <ACCEPTED>
Chance Jehenna the Zangoose (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251596&viewfull=1#post251596) - Played by Steel Lunpara <ACCEPTED>
Tina Volts the Pikachu (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251610&viewfull=1#post251610) - Played by Chakramaster[<ACCEPTED>
Marcellus "Mazer" Pratten (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?14455-PXFIRE-SU-DS-PXFIRE-Roleplay-A-Game-of-Storms&p=251835&viewfull=1#post251835) - Played by Velocity <ACCEPTED>

[Neo Emolga]

Yeah... I know I haven't been too actively lately, so I apologize to anyone that's been waiting on me and hasn't been able to post too much because of it. I'm hoping I can make up for that this week, and I'm sure once PXFIRE is done, I can devote more time toward continuing the RP.

LKWayvern
Prankster Platoon

Driving Force Rating: B+
Written Content Rating: A+
RPer Interactions Rating: F
Activity Level Rating: B+
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: A

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
17

This was hard to score. For one thing, you only had two posts (still better than me!), but interactions with anyone else were at zero. That's understandable though. On the other hand (the brighter side of things!), you had AMAZING storyline content and there was real substance and depth to your posts. Xavier's blindness has definitely been the main concern among your characters, and they have all had very profound and realistic reactions to the situation. Even though Xavier is just an NPC, he still has had a profound effect on your posts and your characters. It's definitely a nice touch and I like what you've done with it.


Noblejanobii
The Gracidea Order

Driving Force Rating: A+
Written Content Rating: A
RPer Interactions Rating: A+
Activity Level Rating: A++
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: A+

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
22

Considering how much you've had on your plate and all the things you've been dealing BUT still manage to remain way more active than I am... I'm slapping A++ for Activity on that puppy. Meanwhile, that didn't slow down or make the quality take a hit either and you've been showing great interaction as well. I know I haven't been around a lot to respond but you didn't let that slow you down at all.

You came, you kicked butt, you rocked. You've definitely made Athena a very deep and active character.


Morzone
Steel Scavengers

Driving Force Rating: A+
Written Content Rating: A+
RPer Interactions Rating: A
Activity Level Rating: A
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: A

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
19

Julia is definitely one hell of a road warrior. Your posts are fierce, have oodles of action, and you've definitely been active, even working around my inactivity lately. XP

Overall, you're definitely doing a great job and you continue to keep the heat up and the action set to high. Nicely done yet again for Week 3! You definitely show no signs of slowing down either!


Velocity
Prankster Platoon

Driving Force Rating: C+
Written Content Rating: A
RPer Interactions Rating: B
Activity Level Rating: C
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: A+

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
12

A single post, but it was a good one. While it didn't do too much for the storyline, I still liked it anyway and it definitely put good use in for both of your characters, but I can still only credit it so much for the week. I think one or two posts more probably would have netted you a lot more points, but you're definitely still in it and winning some goodies for the Platoon. :3


Death's Spook
Steel Scavengers

Driving Force Rating: B+
Written Content Rating: A
RPer Interactions Rating: B+
Activity Level Rating: B
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: A+

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
15

You had a single post, but it was a really good and long post, so I can kind of give it credit for being about 1.5. Not to mention you covered all three of your characters in that one, so you did well despite the limitations. That Blissey kill though... o.o

Overall, you definitely did a good job and I think you made the best of the single post you had. Maybe try getting in two posts for Week 4 and you'll net even more points. :3


The Nonexistent Tazz
The Gracidea Order

Driving Force Rating: A
Written Content Rating: A+
RPer Interactions Rating: B
Activity Level Rating: B
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: A

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
15

Your post was HUGE! Definitely interesting and deep content even though the quantity has slimmed down just a tiny big. Not a serious flaw, though. You have great role play skills and you definitely focus more on the quality than anything else. Not to mention you continue to do a great job building Nora's character even without her directly taking part in the Festival events. Not too shabby!


TOTALS:

http://i.imgur.com/xUEO7rQ.gif
Gracidea Order: 37 points
The Nonexistent Tazz - 15
Noblejanobii - 22

http://i.imgur.com/V6TZREs.png
Prankster Platoon: 29 points
Velocity - 12
LKWayvern - 17

http://i.imgur.com/gZMT8CG.png
Steel Scavengers: 34 points
Death's Spook - 15
Morzone - 19

Noblejanobii The Nonexistent Tazz Death's Spook Morzone Velocity LKWayvern

[Neo Emolga]

It's the final showdown! Okay, actually, there's still plenty of RP story left, of course.

And yes, since I'm officially done with judging and having to scramble to get other submissions in, I'll have a bit more time to be active in this. :3

Noblejanobii
The Gracidea Order

Driving Force Rating: A+
Written Content Rating: A+
RPer Interactions Rating: A+
Activity Level Rating: A++
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: A+

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
21

Okay, seriously, A+s across the board for you. Without a doubt, you're definitely the rockstar of this RP and continue to do a remarkable job not just with Athena, but with Masamune and Brunswick also. Not to mention your activity level has been supercharged with seriously well-written and stylish posts. Really, I couldn't ask much more of you when it comes to how you've answered the call and continue to rock this RP! Everything from Athena's rough encounter with Phoebe and Brunswick's elation at seeing his wife win Blood Pit was fantastic.

If I had a "Best Overall Performance" award set up since the very beginning, it would definitely go to you. Awesome job, Noble! :D


Morzone
Steel Scavengers

Driving Force Rating: A
Written Content Rating: A
RPer Interactions Rating: A
Activity Level Rating: B+
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: A

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
17

While Noble rocks Blood Pit, you definitely rock Dread Metal. What I like most about your posts is the intensity, but also the realism and the creativity. Julia hijacking Khilter's buggy after the Iron Giant gets destroyed was pretty creative, and having the Enigma Zero take on Jucden and Jaze was clever and resourceful. I definitely need to say on the Dread Metal side of things, you're definitely leading the show. Keep up that great work you've been doing!


Shruikan
Gracidea Order

Driving Force Rating: B+
Written Content Rating: A-
RPer Interactions Rating: B+
Activity Level Rating: B+
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: B

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
14

Hello, newcomer! Awesome to see you in this!

Overall, you did a decent job with Levi! I think it's a bit tough to get involved and have a major impact on the storyline when you just joined, but you're doing pretty well considering the circumstances! Even though PXFIRE is closing, I hope you definitely stick with the RP. You did well even though you were only in it for the last week.


Death's Spook
Steel Scavengers

Driving Force Rating: A+
Written Content Rating: A+
RPer Interactions Rating: A
Activity Level Rating: C+
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: A+

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
15

This was tough to score, because you had only one post for the week, but it was a very good one. You almost had my Weavile character cornered and screwed when Max Clerk showed up, and the SHEER BRUTALITY of the Grand Lady definitely came out when she cut up Vurden like a mad science experiment and played the flower petal game with his wings (seriously, I don't know how you think of that kind of stuff!). I think the way Ante was exposed was maaaybe a bit too much in The Lady's favor (not sure how she was able to get her conversation with Vurden heard by everyone), but it's not that much of a biggie. I feel it was probably about time for that speculation to come out anyway.

Very brutal... but very delish. >:3


LKWayvern
Prankster Platoon

Driving Force Rating: C+
Written Content Rating: B
RPer Interactions Rating: D
Activity Level Rating: C-
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: A

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
7

The post you had for Xavier was alright, but unfortunately, it was the only one you had this week and it was kind of small. It was a good reflection on Xavier's thoughts, but it just didn't really push forward the storyline all that much and there weren't any interactions with anyone else's characters. Not the end of the world, of course, but you were doing better in the weeks before. But yeah, I have a feeling you probably had a busier week than usual. I know I did. o.o


Velocity
Prankster Platoon

Driving Force Rating: B
Written Content Rating: A-
RPer Interactions Rating: B
Activity Level Rating: C+
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: A

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
10

I think the only area when you took a hit was activity. But you did have a good post for the week, even though it only was one. There were decent interactions, the detail was good, and I didn't catch any screwy formatting or spelling mistakes, so you did well with even that one post. I think if you had been able to squeeze in a second post similar in size and quality to this one, you would have done above average.


The Nonexistent Tazz
The Gracidea Order

Driving Force Rating: B
Written Content Rating: A+
RPer Interactions Rating: B
Activity Level Rating: B
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: A-

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
16

Steinway is flippin' creepy and crazy. But you did a great job of capturing that kind of personality. She's the kind of character who is a total wildcard and could either be really helpful or really batcrap psychotically evil. It's actually tough to tell and no one but you knows where it goes.

I did catch a few tiny mistakes and a BB code format you missed, but that's just simple silly stuff. But you do awesome considering the sheer quality of your posts. I've noticed they've become a bit more seldom lately, which is meh, but they're still high on quality with many interesting themes and characters appearing. I guess the idea here is more on quality and content rather than frequency, which is still totally good in my books.


TOTALS:

http://i.imgur.com/xUEO7rQ.gif
Gracidea Order: 51 points
The Nonexistent Tazz - 16
Noblejanobii - 21
Shruikan - 14

http://i.imgur.com/V6TZREs.png
Prankster Platoon: 17 points
Velocity - 10
LKWayvern - 7

http://i.imgur.com/gZMT8CG.png
Steel Scavengers: 32 points
Death's Spook - 15
Morzone - 17

OVERALL

YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!!!

Seriously, it was tough to judge this stuff. Just about everyone had really good content and it was more of a matter of posting frequency, interactions, and just minor things that set score differences, but it's great to see the different styles of storytelling, people's characters coming to life, and seeing how they respond and reactive to a downright brutal setting is fantastic.

I also want to thank everyone that signed up, got into it, and even those that decided to give it a shot even though they're a bit new to the RP scene.

Thanks for being a part and I hope you guys stick with it even though PXFIRE is ending. Trust me, things are just warming up and they're bound to get even more intense, so stick around and you never know what might happen next!

As always, cheers and good times! https://s5.postimg.org/jz6vvdyo7/Emolga_587.gif

Noblejanobii The Nonexistent Tazz Death's Spook Morzone Velocity LKWayvern Shruikan

[Morzone]

Hey Neo I'm kind of confused on what the Lightning Strider is doing in the Dread metal derb right now. You seem to have them driving around where Jucden and the others were, but Velocity seems to be having some high speed chase/fight from what I can tell.

[Neo Emolga]

Hey Neo I'm kind of confused on what the Lightning Strider is doing in the Dread metal derb right now. You seem to have them driving around where Jucden and the others were, but Velocity seems to be having some high speed chase/fight from what I can tell.

She attacked it, but she didn't destroy it or kill either the driver or the gunner, so we could just say it broke away from the engagement and decided to take the opportunity to kill Jucden. That should be okay.

Velocity If this is okay, cool, but if this messes you up somehow, let me know, I'll try to work something out.

[VeloJello]

She attacked it, but she didn't destroy it or kill either the driver or the gunner, so we could just say it broke away from the engagement and decided to take the opportunity to kill Jucden. That should be okay.

Velocity If this is okay, cool, but if this messes you up somehow, let me know, I'll try to work something out.

Nope, it's all good with me! The Electroweb it got hit with wasn't fatal, just slowing; do what you wish with 'em.

[Neo Emolga]

Nope, it's all good with me! The Electroweb it got hit with wasn't fatal, just slowing; do what you wish with 'em.

Cool, thanks for the fast response! :D

[Death's Spook]

A heads up. Unless Morzone has drastically changed their plans, the Steel Scavengers are not sending anyone into Blood Pit on day 2, PCs or NPCs

[Morzone]

A heads up. Unless Morzone has drastically changed their plans, the Steel Scavengers are not sending anyone into Blood Pit on day 2, PCs or NPCs

Nah, send in a single ghost NPC who specializes in hiding until the very last moment then sneak attacking. (cause they'd want to work alone so their cover wouldn't be blown)

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

So, as my most recent post has clearly displayed, anytime Nora is unconscious is a very fun time indeed. I told you guys Nora had some interesting dreams. :3

[Neo Emolga]

So, as my most recent post has clearly displayed, anytime Nora is unconscious is a very fun time indeed. I told you guys Nora had some interesting dreams. :3

Juuuuust when I thought the Swift dream was insane, you whip that out magical sugar psychosis.

You should design the final boss fights for video games!

[LKWayvern]

The Nonexistent Tazz what in heaven and hell did I just read.

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

Juuuuust when I thought the Swift dream was insane, you whip that out magical sugar psychosis.

You should design the final boss fights for video games!

Why just the final boss?
LKWayvern: You read the ramblings of a nonexistent entity, that's what.

[Morzone]

I have to admit, it certainly was quite the read. I didn't even finish reading the heading before I was smiling.

Velo and I have planned things out and we'll probably have about 2 posts each to end the dread metal derby. Though I'm very busy this weekend and I'll be traveling almost all tomorrow night and Monday, at which I'll probably crash so I might be a little slow cranking out replies.

[LKWayvern]

Out of curiosity, how many people still intend to participate in this?

I'd still like to... Mostly just waiting for the current day to end.

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

I would love for this to continue as well, for the record. I'd love to see an RP we actually officially finish for once.

[Noblejanobii]

I very much intend to continue participating in this. I've been trying to write up a final reply for the day for about a week now, but I've had immense writer's block that has made such a task very difficult.

[Neo Emolga]

I'm cool with continuing this, but I just need some kind of conclusion for Dread Metal between Velocity and Morzone. Once that's done, I can wrap up Day 1 and move into Day 2.