[SUDS] The S.S. Wishmaker - Tides of Witchcraft

[AD]

Okay. I love the looks of this. But i got some questions.
For our pokemon team, i notice you don't ask for the movesets. I know that can be tedious and a lot to maintain, and I am sorry for looking at it at a competitive angle. So for battles, are you going to take care of the dice rolls and attacks? Like in Stalkers?

I guess that was more of a singular question.

[Neo Emolga]

Okay. I love the looks of this. But i got some questions.
For our pokemon team, i notice you don't ask for the movesets. I know that can be tedious and a lot to maintain, and I am sorry for looking at it at a competitive angle. So for battles, are you going to take care of the dice rolls and attacks? Like in Stalkers?

I guess that was more of a singular question.

Nah, no dice rolls, it’s totally based on a narrative system on a more honor policy basis. So from a battle perspective, if you use an attack, the responding player decides if it connects or not within fairness, reason, and realism. They may dodge one, but say they get hit by the other to be fair or vice versa. But if someone keeps dodging or never lets themselves ever take a hit (like cheaply dodging three attacks in a row with no clever evasion maneuvers deployed), then yeah, that’s a red flag and I’ll tell them to revise their post as that starts falling into god-modding territory (and god-modding implies they’re acting like they’re invincible and infallible like a god).

Reason for this being the format for this RP as opposed to dice rolling is that in Pokémon battles in game, they don’t factor using the surrounding environment (although the anime does this from time to time, so think more in terms with the anime than the games for this RP). Putting that into numbers and probability chances is very tricky, so just use your best judgment in terms of fairness and realism (realism in terms of physics, collateral damage, and stuff like that). So you can use a wall to shield yourself, get behind an obstruction to provide cover, or climb under and over things to gain a strategic advantage in the battle. Again, it all depends on where the battle is taking place. At the pool, you’ve got the nice body of water and the poolside chairs and tables to involve in the battle, or if the battle is in a restaurant, there’s tables and chairs everywhere so you can have your battle ruckus get those involved.

So it’s kind of like reading a wizard duel in Harry Potter or a watching a shootout in some action movie. Main characters and villains have their plot armor and don’t typically die all too easily and climatically (I don’t foresee anyone dying in this, but in terms of this RP, it means player characters have that endurance and resilience to not lose and suffer the same way an NPC or no-name character might go through, though these player characters shouldn’t behave with this out of character knowledge). In this case, I’m definitely NOT making the Diamond Ladies invincible. They’ll be tricky and challenging to deal with, but it’s totally possible to rain on their parade and I’m looking forward to seeing how people attempt it. Same goes for your characters, they have that natural “plot armor” and whatever hexes, curses, and transformations that may get inflicted on them will only be mild and temporary (unless the player actually likes working with their new curse or form and wants to retain it for much longer XD). These effects would not be something I’d absolutely hate to deal with personally. So for example, I wouldn’t slap a cruse that’s like “hey, your character is now blind, deaf, and has their IQ square-rooted for the rest of their lives” on another player, but they might get something more like “well, for the next few posts, they’re going to start seeing really weird hallucinations and illusions” or “you’re now asleep and you spend the next post dreaming about a weird sequel to your strangest dream” If your character gets transformed into a Pokémon, it’ll most likely be an unevolved, popular one, such as Eevee, Fennekin, or Buizel (not something awful to suddenly RP as like Magikarp, Slugma, or Metapod), and the intention there is to get you off their backs, disorient and pacify you, and then after you change back, make you look completely ridiculous and like a crazy uncredible person trying to explain and testify they turned you into a Pokémon. The whole thing is they only do stuff they can get away with, not leave seriously sustainable evidence, and not make it way too over the top that makes it look like something seriously obvious went down while they were around. If they do something drastic, they’ll make it look like it was some accident or some mishap that was caused by something else, not their witchcraft.

NPCs are a different story. They may get hit with those really powerful curses that will keep them comatose for months, delusional for the rest of the cruise, or they get to start a new life for themselves as the Pokémon they get transformed into (getting transformed into a Pokémon means you won’t be able to talk for the time you’re in that form as you’ll need to relearn how to articulate with your new lungs and vocal cords, so it’s not like if you get turned into a Pachirisu, suddenly you’re still able to talk in English and explain everything that happened to the police in your radio as your squirrely self).

As for moves and movesets, no need to worry about that and tracking which of your Pokémon have which moves, just pick anything the Pokémon can learn. Four moves only always felt quite restrictive to me, 8-10 would have made more sense. Eh well, but yeah, it’s a loose rule, just as long as they’re not using something that they were never able to learn.

I know that was a lot to read but hopefully that clarified things. :)

[Noblejanobii]

Name: Avery Miller

Age: 23

Gender: Non-binary (they/them pronouns)

Role: Operative

Appearance: Avery’s overall appearance can be found here. They are 5’7 and weigh roughly 155 pounds. They also have a somewhat muscular physique due to their constant workouts to ensure they can assist in Pokémon contest performances. The appearances of their Pokémon team can be found here. Note that the images are not to scale and that the team is pretty close to actual canon heights and weights of their respective species.

Personality: Avery is a creative soul. They tend to think and dream big without necessarily thinking about the logistics behind a plan. Especially in day to day life, they just sorta operate without much thought into the ramifications of their speech or actions. That said, when it comes to their contest performances, this is the one kind of project they will invest a lot of time into the logistics behind the creative plan so that it might execute as perfectly as possible.

Avery is rather laid back. They like to take time to relax and ensure they don’t stress themself or their Pokémon out too much. They can become somewhat easily frustrated when their plans to go exactly how they think they should, which can make them a bit hasty when making new ones, leading to more potential oversights and flaws.

When it comes to interacting with others, Avery tries to be rather pleasant, wanting to maintain a good reputation as a coordinator. But sometimes their laid back nature and tendency to get lost in thought comes across as rude to others. They try their best, and get frustrated when it isn’t enough, but that’s all one can really ask of them.

History: Avery originates from the Sinnoh region where they are a top ranked coordinator. They grew up in Hearthone City and knew from a young age that they wanted to take part in contests. Starting out with a Ponyta named Daybreak, Avery spent a great deal of time studying the efforts of different coordinators that had come before them, and even visited other regions like Galar, Kalos, and Unova in order to study Pokémon Musicals, Pokémon Performers, and the Galarian Gym Circuit in order to take notes on how to best cater to an audience and put on a show. In addition, they also reviewed battling techniques, even competing against several gyms throughout their travels in order to get a better sense of their Pokémon and to ensure that they could handle the battle portions of contests.

Eventually, they climbed their way to the top of the coordinator charts, not just in Sinnoh, but internationally. People were fond of Avery’s incorporation of techniques and styles from other times of performances, and it showed through their continued success in the contest circuits. They also have a dozen gym badges from their travels across the world, which, while not very many compared to some of the other battlers on the ship, Avery takes great pride in.

Eventually, they along with several others, were summoned by former champion Cynthia and briefed on the mission at hand. Avery wasn’t really familiar with the details of the Diamond Ladies, but they had heard of this trio many a time. Now, acting as a tourist in disguise, Avery seeks to find concrete proof that these ladies are more sinister than they might appear.

Pokémon Team: Shaymin (Gloria), Rapidash (Daybreak), Sawsbuck (Picotee), Girafarig (Acacia), Zebstrika (Knautia), and Dubwhool (Mint)

Likes: Pokémon with hooves, Morning Glories, Contests, Fruity drinks, Sweets, etc.

Dislikes: Coordinator Purists (essentially snobs who don’t like Avery incorporating techniques from other performance arts), spicy foods, people who don’t respect their identity, overly nosy people, and soap operas.

Fears: Losing their Pokémon (biggest fear by far), being unable to perform, being alone, being forgotten

Fondest Memory: Avery’s fondest memory is when they won their first Grand Festival in Sinnoh. They had worked long and hard with Acacia and Daybreak to make their way to this point, barely making it past the appeals round due to Acacia flubbing up part of the performance. And yet, they managed to stick it out during the battle portion of the contest and win it all. Avery remembers this moment very fondly, as it feels like the moment that all their dreams came true. They reached the sky, thinking it was their limit, only to discover next they could shoot for the stars.

Strangest Dream: The strangest dream Avery ever had was while they were in Floroma Town for their second ever Grand Festival. It was just before they met Gloria. They appeared in a vast flower field that extended endlessly. As they explored through the valley, they began to notice the valley behind them falling into darkness, and it was gaining on them. Eventually, despite Avery’s attempt to flee, the darkness overtook them and plunged them into darkness. Suddenly they were in Trainer School and had to take a final exam on Taurosianeese. It was a new language they just invented, and the test was entirely in it. Avery started to try and fill out their answers but their pencil disappeared, followed by the test itself, and then suddenly they were on Mt. Coronet. They were with the other students trying to hike to the top for a field trip to visit Arceus. As they reached Spear Pillar, a godly hand descended down and proceeded to flick Avery off the mountain, causing them to wake up.

[Neo Emolga]

@Noblejanobii

Heck yes, Avery is good to go, looking forward to seeing them in action!

Also, wasn’t expecting you to make art for your character and their team, but it’s an awesome touch! They look great! Personally, I think I've only drawn my own character a few times for an RP and I know it's work, so props to you for going that extra mile!

[Noblejanobii]

@Noblejanobii

Heck yes, Avery is good to go, looking forward to seeing them in action!

Also, wasn’t expecting you to make art for your character and their team, but it’s an awesome touch! They look great! Personally, I think I've only drawn my own character a few times for an RP and I know it's work, so props to you for going that extra mile!

I wasn't going to but I was having trouble visualizing Avery so I was like "well I'll just draw a bust" and then that turned into "okay maybe a full blow ref" and then that escalated into full refs for their entire team because I have zero impulse control. XD

It was a ton of fun to do though I must say!

[Neo Emolga]

I wasn't going to but I was having trouble visualizing Avery so I was like "well I'll just draw a bust" and then that turned into "okay maybe a full blow ref" and then that escalated into full refs for their entire team because I have zero impulse control. XD

It was a ton of fun to do though I must say!

Hey, glad you decided to keep going with it, they all came out great!

And yeah, I have that kind of thing going, too. Can't stop with just a sketch, I feel like I've got to make it full-blown artwork each and every time.

[Noblejanobii]

Hey, glad you decided to keep going with it, they all came out great!

And yeah, I have that kind of thing going, too. Can't stop with just a sketch, I feel like I've got to make it full-blown artwork each and every time.

Definitely agree. It always started as a quick sketch and then several hours later it's definitely not just a quick sketch anymore XD

[[Desolate Divine]]

Definitely agree. It always started as a quick sketch and then several hours later it's definitely not just a quick sketch anymore XD

Meanwhile you have me who has the artistic ability of a pineapple

[Chakramaster]

Meanwhile you have me who has the artistic ability of a pineapple

I mean I'm not that great either, but I'm working to improve that. Gotta start somewhere. =D

[AD]

Meanwhile you have me who has the artistic ability of a pineapple

At least you are a pineapple.