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Karud: Where We Stand

Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 5:53 am
by Rising_Dusk
We are presently gathered in Haven, the outpost city north of Devil's Maw, organizing before the onset of the green feral mass. The trainers of Haven have been struggling against them recently, unable to make any headway. As if it couldn't get worse, the mass has been gradually pushing into our territory and out of their own. Scouts tell us that they're coming and are going to make a huge frontal assault at day's end tomorrow.

We must be ready.
All of the best we have to offer have been rallied to this meeting. This could be our last stand or one of our greatest victories, depending upon the actions made in the next 24 hours.

For now, we wait. The trainers should be filing in within the next half hour or so.


This will be our character creation thread. In this thread, you will detail your character, why he is here, his life goals, his birthday, and his favorite color. No, but really, follow by example. The post after this one will be my character, and you can develop your all's in a similar fashion. I expect no less than the same detail I put in, but by all means feel free to put in as much extra oomph as you so desire.

I will elaborate on a few rules before we begin, though. There once was a thing, we called this thing willpower, and we gave all trainers 10 of it arbitrarily. This willpower can be considered points, with which you can buy the Pokémon in your team. If you go over in willpower, it will cost you awesomeness in RPing or your Pokémon will likely revolt at my command. (Because I can do that with being in charge of this thing and all) If you push 10 a bit, that's fine, but I'll look over it on a case-by-case basis. I may or may not accept things over 10 depending on your description, talents, and how well I know you can handle it. I will always accept anything 10 or under, though, so if you're new-ish, sticking under 10 is a fair bet.

The Pokémon on your team are given willpower costs as follows:
  • X - Anything on your team that is special in some way can be given a special 'value' at my discretion.
  • 3 - Anything that is fully evolved or otherwise awesome.
  • 2 - Anything that isn't fully evolved, or isn't as awesome as it could be.
  • 1 - Novelty Pokémon that would die in the post-apocalyptic world we live in, but you might have around for some reason or another.
Basically, that means that most people will have 3-4 Pokémon and not the full house of 6. 6 is a lot of Pokémon to have and really requires you be an amazing trainer. If you want to try that, then do so, and I will almost assuredly turn you down.

There are some other rules involved with picking Pokémon:
  • Nothing legendary. Legendaries include anything from the video games that you could only get 1 of and couldn't breed. This description may not be perfect, so if you're unsure, ask me.
  • Don't make a worthless team. Novelty Pokémon, like maybe one weaker type, are fine, but you are an extremely talented trainer for surviving this far past the apocalypse. Make your character bleed that talent. I expect you to take this seriously.
  • You can make novelty Pokémon more awesome in the RP. This is similar to how Ash's Pikachu, despite being worthless as a Pikachu, is actually ridiculously powerful. In a case like this, that Pikachu, instead of being worth 1 willpower, is worth 3 on the awesome rule. That is how you would take a weaker Pokémon and make them awesome.
  • You may have many of a single type of Pokémon if you so desire.
Anyways, I will post my character and you'll be able to see what I mean.

In case you were confused, we're starting the same way we did in the past RP for Pokémon. I did this mostly for nostalgia reasons, but whatever. Basically, we're filing into this big room for some meeting that NPCs under my control will conduct. Any NPC I introduce can be controlled by anyone so long as you ask first and make sure that I wasn't specifically trying to make it do something. You do not have to be with us at the beginning, but I hope that if you choose not to be that you are prepared to explain (sufficiently) as to why.

Re: Karud: Where We Stand

Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 5:53 am
by Rising_Dusk
  • Image
  • Name: Ingram
  • Personality Traits: Stubborn, Rash, Demanding, Regretful, Charismatic, Loyal, Forgiving, Tactical
  • Background:
Ingram used to be a Pokémon trainer of decent note in Karud prior to the Pokémon revolution. He, like so many other trainers when they first start out, wanted to be a Pokémon master and champion of Karud's elite four. He trained for many years, both physically with his Pokémon and mentally. He spent much of his time honing his skills with a staff, making himself as deadly if not more deadly than some of his own Pokémon. When he finally defeated all eight of Karud's gym leaders in battles and ascended the Precipice to challenge the elite four, he found that the road was much more treacherous than he had ever expected. He broke through the elite four with relative ease, and found himself relieved by how he had overestimated their abilities - or underestimated his own. Regardless, the next Pokémon battle with the champion was something he would never forget in all the years to come.

Maxwell was the champion's name. It was a 3v3 match, and one that Ingram had waited his life for. He chose his three prized Pokémon, well suited for working with each other and covering the others' weaknesses. Maxwell spoke a few words before the match began with a small smile of respect playing across his features.

"I have not had a challenger in a long time. To you, good sir, I extend my thanks for the battle we are about to have."
And with a short nod of the head, Maxwell sent out his first Pokémon. The training and ability of Maxwell's Pokémon was unlike Ingram had ever encountered in the past. The first Pokémon, a large, skulking behemoth of a Tyranitar, rampaged across the battlefield and dealt heavy blows to Ingram's lead. Cursing under his breath at the beast, he withdrew his Pokémon and sent out another. For such a large beast, the Tyranitar was unusually agile and evasive in the sandstorm he conjured with his presence. Lucario finally managed to fell the beast, and Ingram felt once more in control of the battle. Maxwell only smiled on, as he withdrew Tyranitar and sent out his next Pokémon, a Skarmory. Bladed wing clashed with metal fist as the fight progressed, but eventually the steel bird landed a critical blow upon Lucario. Ingram couldn't send Weavile out again, he would have been shredded in the sandstorm, and so he was forced to send out his last Pokémon, Aerodactyl. The birds rose high into the sky, doing battle in the storm for many minutes before the metal bird at last fell to a well-placed stone edge attack.

The battle moved in Ingram's favor yet again, and he smirked again in the confidence of his last two Pokémon over Maxwell's very last. Maxwell, however, continued to smile - now wider than ever. He looked to his left and nodded forward, as if calling something out. As if carried by a lightning bolt, a golden Pokémon appeared in the battlefield. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was of the species Scizor, but looked so determined and focused, it unnerved Ingram just to look into its eyes.

"Scizor, end this," were the words that floated from Maxwell to his Pokémon.
And just like that, Aerodactyl crashed into the stadium wall. The members of the audience gasped in awe as the Scizor gracefully floated from where Aerodactyl had just been flying in the middle of the sandstorm. Aerodactyl was down and out, without even seeing what had struck him. The favor was clearly in Maxwell's corner now, especially during the storm that still thrashed across the battlefield.

Ingram, gritting his teeth, sent out his last Pokémon, the already weakened Weavile. Weavile covered his eyes in the storm and gazed at the Scizor with deadly intent. Scizor looked down upon Ingram's Pokémon and Ingram could have sworn he felt it smirk beneath that emotionless expression. Weavile descended upon Scizor with all the fury it could muster, but it was not enough. The Scizor deflected every blow without so much as a hesitation. Weavile could not penetrate the metal Pokémon's guard, not even with his best move.

"Call the fight, friend. Your Pokémon need not be injured this day," Maxwell called out to Ingram across the battlefield.
"No! Weavile, you've got this, push harder!"

Weavile, even with renewed effort, could not best the Scizor at all. Weavile's actions began to slow as the sandstorm slowly took its toll and fatigue began to set in.

"Stop this. Your Weavile is injured, do not press it. Forfeit."
Stubbornly, Ingram ignored Maxwell and pressed his Weavile on. Weavile eventually, utterly defeated and exhausted from the continued onslaught of both the storm and his own fatigue, collapsed on the floor of the stadium. Everyone in the audience gasped and looked pain-stricken by what had just transpired.

"You should not demand more of your Pokémon than they can offer. Part of being a Pokémon master requires that you know both your limits as the trainer and your Pokémon's limits."
Maxwell was no longer smiling. He stared reprovingly at Ingram as Ingram looked at his Weavile in utter shock. In all of his years battling, he'd never been shut down and defeated so perfectly by a single Pokémon. He was stunned, shocked, and seething all at once. He wanted to strangle this champion for what he'd done to humiliate him.

"Scizor, clean up this mess," Maxwell spoke softly.
Scizor moved at lightning speeds about the arena, calming the raging sandstorm as easily as it had been earlier conjured. Scizor and his trainer then proceeded to leave the area, Maxwell shaking his head slightly in continued disappointment. Ingram had had enough of this, he recalled Weavile and chased after Maxwell. When Ingram finally caught up with Maxwell, he grabbed him around the shoulder and pulled him around, reaching with rage and anger to punch him in the face. Maxwell, however, prepared for such a rash attack, swiveled promptly, caught the swing, and reversed it appropriately - Ingram was now face first in the ground.

"Listen, you have a lot to learn if you ever plan to be anything in this world. You do not deserve your Pokémon any more than you deserve this arm I could so cleanly sever right now." Ingram's arm burned and felt as though it was being removed from its socket. He roared in defiance at Maxwell and tried to turn, but was utterly disabled by the crippling arm grapple Maxwell had over him.
"It is people like you that disgrace all trainers. If I see you treat any Pokémon ever again as you did today, I will personally make sure you never command a Pokémon ever again. Do I make myself clear, trainer?"

Ingram grunted disapprovingly, but nodded his head anyways. Maxwell let go of the grapple and Ingram scurried away. Maxwell then shot him an intense look and returned to his walk as though he had never been interrupted.
"I am going to the Pokémon center to make sure that my Pokémon are taken care of. If you've any sense about you, you'll do the same."

Ingram would not hear it. He did no such thing. He immediately left the Precipice and traveled as far from the city of Djatyr as he could. He ran as far and as long as his legs could carry him. He reached the city on the outskirts of the nearby forest many hours later, choosing to heal his Pokémon there. However, fate once more played its card against him in his time of greatest failure. Ingram's Aerodactyl had died from the wounds suffered by the champion's Scizor without immediate healing. Had he only done as Maxwell had suggested and healed at the Precipice, it could've been prevented... Ingram's anger had resulted in the death of one of his most prized Pokémon.

Ingram made a vow there, in the forest near the Pokémon center, to be more caring of his Pokémon and to think of them first before his own needs. He cried for hours and let his Pokémon out of their Pokéballs. He apologized, and told them that if any of them wanted to leave now than deal with him, that they'd be free to do so. Three of them, disgusted with his actions, left immediately. At the end when he looked up, wracked with tears and grief, two Pokémon stood before him, looking at him and giving their emotional support - Weavile and Lucario. Following a well-needed hug, Ingram stood up and turned towards the setting sun over the horizon. From that day forward, Ingram never forced either of his Pokémon into their Pokéballs ever again and took care of them always before himself, as he said he would. He gave up his desire to be a Pokémon master and the Elite Four Champion. He never saw Maxwell ever again, but always viewed the champion with respect for the way he didn't take kindly to Ingram's spiteful rage. It was through him that Ingram was as he is now.
  • Current Situation:
Since the apocalypse, Ingram and his Pokémon have acted mostly as mercenaries. They have been hired in the different surviving human civilizations across Karud to eliminate certain dangerous and troublesome Pokémon. This has earned him the reputation through the cities as a Pokémon Assassin, killing Pokémon that if left alone harass, cripple, and worse to humans. He has found himself recently in Haven, having been stranded there since the green feral mass came together and blocked his ability to leave. For the past few months, he has become renowned and well-liked in Haven for his ability to think on his feet, handle singular, dangerous threats, and talk and motivate the other people there. He never was a military dog, but the military group organizing with the local trainers to protect the city has given him a great deal of say in the going-ons of the war effort.
  • Pokémon List:
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  • Weavile (4 WP)
Weavile is a hardened fighter and is Ingram's Sword, specializing in lightning-fast melee attacks upon both the unsuspecting and the aware. He is part of a two-pronged attack that is used to bring extremely dangerous and colossal foes to their knees. He is very good at attracting attacks and then dodging them. He was Ingram's first Pokémon, having met him as a Sneasel when Ingram was only 12 and visiting his mother at Inquill City in the mountains. They played together for hours out of the day, and countless times did Weavile scratch up Ingram badly by accident. Never once did Ingram lash out at him for it, he just kept playing and forgiving him. Over the years and after Weavile's evolution, Ingram and Weavile have become even more close. They still train and play with each other and are perhaps as close as Pokémon and trainer can be.
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  • Lucario (4 WP)
Lucario is a rock-hard barrier and is Ingram's Shield, focusing in long-range special assaults and creating mental walls of energy between the enemy and Ingram's team. He is the latter-half of a two-pronged attack that is used to bring gigantic and very threatening foes down hard. He usually conjures balls of energy that he throws at his foes, forcing them to open themselves up to Weavile's attacks to dodge them. Lucario is also exceptionally well-versed in dodging attacks made against him, though he is by no means as quick as Weavile. Lucario was a gift to Ingram from his father before he was killed by a feral Pokémon. Ingram's father had a pair of Lucario that had given birth to the egg, and they all wanted Ingram to have it and raise it. Raising it alongside his then-Sneasel, the three of them have been training and practicing and growing together for the longest of times of any of Ingram's Pokémon that ended up leaving him. Lucario spent much of this training learning how to block attacks with his metal-braced paws and returning fire with aura spheres, resulting in an agile and devastating mental Pokémon.
  • Total Willpower Consumed: 8

Re: Karud: Where We Stand

Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 8:39 am
by Kaome Sky Deathand
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    Name:
This mortal shell had a name once, gifted to him by loving parents. It died when they died in the great storm that tore his city in half. He has many names, this wanderer, this destroyer in the dusk. Revered once, now his names are whispered, as if to speak them out loud would somehow conjure him from the dunes. Sometimes with seven other names, sometimes alone. 'Deathshed the Devil', 'Eshabir el-Hekhet', 'The Desert Ghost'.
  • Personality Traits: Indomitable, Focused, Severe, Loyal, Loner
  • Background:
Born in Wrestearst, the man now called 'Crux' had a home in a merchant family. Though wealthy to a point, Crux did not let the gold in his family's pockets guide him. Driven by a desire to tame the desert sea, Crux forged new trade routes to other, smaller outposts in the dune wastes. He brought honor to his family's name and wealth to the smaller villages. Surviving in the wastes was no small feat, one had to be skilled with both Pokemon native to the dunes and honed to a physical and mental edge. Crux spent much of his time training in the wastes, oft taking leave for weeks at a time, only to return with the same cold steel in his eyes and warm smile on his lips. In time his rite of passage came, his long walk into the wastes, to be granted a vision by the desert god or to perish beneath his stony gaze. All his time had been spent preparing for this most glorious of moments, the defining turn in his life.

A month passed.
Given up for dead, Crux returned to his people a champion, for his blessing from the desert god seemed a tangible thing.
That very day he challenged the entire Gym of Wrestearst in combat, finding victory after but a handful of hours. Claiming the title, as was his right, Crux led the Gym with firm but kind-hearted hand. His city prospered and as such all the smaller cities that relied upon Wrestearst as its trade hub also grew. Many trainers came and went, so very few actually earning the Desert Badge he carried. True, only so few actually made it through his team of five and none were granted a confrontation with his sixth. He held it in reserve for his ascension to the Elite Four...yet the day of the Advent came before he could secure that title.

When the storm hit, the feral mass tore the city in half. Many gave their lives that day.
Buried alive in his own Gym, Crux, broken and bleeding, fell. Only by the grace of the desert god did he manage to escape the ruins of his once proud city. He had nothing, no family, his pokemon slain in the defense of their master and home, his vast fortune, all of it gone. He lost his name, wandering into the dunes, lost his way, his purpose. Days later, on deaths door, he was granted a vision of the desert god. He embraced the sandstorm that washed away his old life and brought him into the new age.
  • Current Situation:
For years Crux has roamed the desert wastes.
Years harassing the ferals, striking down the evils of men, raiding the camps and ruins he found. On the other hand he has delivered people from the grip of the desert sea, leaving them in the hands of people who would see to them. He is known to many in the region for his ways. Some want his head, others to learn from him, still more to offer a simple thanks.

With the incursion of the Feral mass on his territory, Crux has harassed them for weeks.
Using his vast knowledge of the desert against the tide, Crux has suffered nothing in comparison to the holes left in the feral lines. His efforts paid off, finally learning the identity of the Feral Leader. Armed with this knowledge, Crux has ushered his pokemon onto Haven, the urgency of the information on his lips was for them to hear.
  • Pokemon List:
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    Blind Kaa, the Arbok (1 WP)
Blind Kaa is an ancient Arbok that has lived well in the ruins of the wastes.
Having been found by Crux, the old snake was convinced it was the moment he had been waiting for and joined the desert bandit. Kaa is a living collection of desert lore. The tales he spins and the legends he speaks seem to come to life. At night he acts as the watch. Though blind his other senses are exceedingly sharp, able to notice even the slightest changes in the air via taste or vibrations in the ground through his scales.
Not a fighter, Kaa is a companion that stays simply to be of service to the bandit.
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    Zamphir, the Aerodactyl (WP 2)
Zamphir was injured and cast out of the Gorge when Crux chanced upon him.
It took the better part of three days for the Bandit to gain the creatures trust to even approach. Another two to see to its wounds and a long night of vigil to make sure it survived the harsh limping walk to caves. There it sat with the bandit until it could once more use its wings. Grateful, the ancient creature struck an odd bargain, acting out its payment in service to the desert wanderer. Crux keeps Zamphir in reserve, only using him in team attacks or as a scout in situations.
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    Djinn, the Charmeleon (WP 2)
Djinn was found living in the underground ruins of Wrest by Crux on one of his many ventures into the remains of his home. Startled at first, the creature lashed out. Finding Crux to be something it couldn't scare off or beat down. Bested by a human and yet not suffering any serious injury, the reptile accepted defeat and asked for a swift death. Crux had laughed and asked if the creature could cook. Finding something of a kindred spirit, Djinn joined the human in its travels, glad to have the company.
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    Sutekh the Destroyer, an Onix (WP 5)
Sutekh found Crux on the verge of death.
The diamonds in its eyes saw purpose and gave the human a reason to fight.
It's sands were troubled, and Crux would be the instrument to balance that which was set wrong.
Sutekh acts as a living mode of transport, the sands of the wastes and soft giving earth crumple before it. The rings embedded into its stone fin act as a helm of sorts, allowing Crux to guide the creature while it is underground and he stands astride it. Few have lived to say much of Sutekh, if anything is said at all.
  • Total Willpower Used: 10
Dusk: You know I like this. Approved, and I went ahead and added the sprites I made for you to the post to boot.

Re: Karud: Where We Stand

Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 9:53 am
by Loki
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  • Name: Tobias Bryant
  • Personality Traits: Calculative, Loyal, Resourceful, Independent, Dominant, Obsessive, Distant
  • Background:
Tobias was a researcher at Silph Co. when he was introduced to Professor Oak of Kanto in a conference at Silph Co. Headquarters. Oak recognized Tobias for his ability for quick analysis of Pokémon and his aspirations to understand all Pokémon that were familiar and unknown. Tobias was taken under Oak's wing, becoming his protege. As they traveled across the regions, encountering new Pokemon Tobias had never seen before, they met up with and researched with the other Pokemon professors.

When he finally returned back to Kanto at Silph Co., now with research collected by Tobias and other Pokémon researchers around the world, he developed new ways to take care of Pokémon and created new technology that helped trainers to catch Pokémon that couldn't be normally caught. One day he would be blamed for one of the technology leaks to other manufacturing companies and was immediately fired for leaking top secret info. His name slowly was forgotten, and everything he had worked hard for slipped away from his finger tips. It was then, at rock bottom, he received a letter from the Karud League Organization to lead a project that was sponsored by many big-name benefactors. Tobias quickly packed his data and research and grabbed the earliest boat to Karud.

Landing on the island region of Karud, Tobias was quickly introduced to many of the Karud League supervisors and finally the Director. Although the Director's identity remained anonymous, she promised Tobias a position of high ranking and all of the world's best technology as long the facility that Tobias was given was taken care of and open to those who wished to partake challenges. Tobias unquestionably agreed and was introduced to Karud's newest League challenge, The Battle Frontier. He became the Factory Head of the Battle Factory due his vast knowledge of Pokémon and their abilities and 4 other trainers commandeered the other 4 facilities as fellow Frontier Brains. The doors to the Frontier opened and Tobias led his position as Frontier Brain for several years until the Apocalypse.

Once the Pokémon Apocalypse erupted violently across Karud and the rest of the world, the Battle Frontier immediately took action and held its ground against then-forming Blue Mass. Tobias continued to his position along with his fellow Frontier Brains even after the collapse of the Karud League Organization. But it became apparently that the Island was losing its firepower after two years of battling the ferals, and Tobias knew if they didn't get help, the Blue mass will continue to expand and swallow Karud whole. He and another Frontier Brain, notably the Hall Matron with several other trainers left the Island to reach the City of Cascade Fall only to find the city in ruins. Dismayed, the group split up into two. Tobias headed towards to Faire, while the Hall Matron returned to the Frontier. On route, Tobias and his group was ambushed by a mass of Drapion. Most of the trainers and their Pokémon died or joined the ferals in battle, and Tobias was severely injured in an attempt to protect a trainer. The group quickly moved Tobias to Faire where it would be safer.

After recovering from his injuries, Tobias realized Faire was already ravaged and was about to collapse from feral attacks. Tobias and his group quickly escaped Faire before it completely fell to the ferals. From there on, they traveled to another city that would soon be another fallen city, Wrestearst. With no sign of the city relieving their people to reinforce the Frontier, Tobias and his group focused on heading towards Haven.
  • Current Situation:
Tobias and his group of trainers safely reached Haven but with no chance of leaving in the current situation in. They left the Battle Frontier with a group of 20, then down to 3 including Tobias when they arrived at Haven. With no possibility of returning to the Frontier, he has volunteered in Haven's toothpick military and revolutionized it as a hotspot for powerful trainers to gather for the fight against the ferals. He hopes to use this force to battle through the masses and return to his Battle Factory. Tobias currently leads the Haven Forefront, a sect of high level trainers trained to battle through masses.
  • Pokemon List:
Before he left the Battle Frontier, Tobias brought three of his most trusted and strongest Pokémon team to help him battle.
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    Infernape (3 WP)
Tobias' most trusted and versatile Pokémon and friend. Tobias was given a Chimchar on the day he started his reign as Factory head. Raised and trained in the Battle Factory, Chimchar quickly evolved to Monferno then to Infernape in a matter of months. His training allowed the Pokémon to master in many different human martial arts such as Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido, Muay Thai, and the list goes on further down to unique martial arts that can only be performed by Pokémon such as Hitmontop. His training focusing on power and adaptability, Infernape became a jack of all trades in close combat.
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    Roserade (3 WP)
The second Pokémon of the three that Tobias brought to battle, Roserade. One of the few Pokémon that Tobias recognized as the missing piece to his three-man team, it was chosen for its ability to take advantage of environmental situations. Tobias took in a Roserade during a training exercise near New Terra. The Pokémon was easily befriended and was taken back to the Battle Factory where it would meet numerous other Pokémon including Tobias' favored Infernape. After several training exercises involving medical reinforcement and long-ranged combat, Roserade became the support of his triumvirate. Although Infernape and Roserade are opposites of each other, it has been noted that once both Pokémon find an even ground and team up, the tag team will turn into a force to be reckoned with.
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    Metagross (4 WP)
The powerhouse and the great iron wall, the final member of the team. A Metagross straight built from the Factory Mainframe, this Pokémon embodies the power and knowledge of the Battle Frontier. But this Pokémon is rather special, while most Pokémon stay in their evolved form, this Metagross does not. The four Beldums were pulled out of the Mainframe in the time of Pokémon Apocalypse started in order to unite the Battle Frontier as one. But the forced fusion caused the Beldums to short circuit and now their ability to evolve into a complete Metagross is shot. They can only maintain their titanic form for so long but this allowed possibilities of so many more strategies. The jet-like bullet punches from Beldums can easily wear down an opponent. The combined Metangs allows their strength and psychic powers to grow, they can build psychic barriers and walls to protect allies and themselves. And finally the temporary titanic form of Metagross, this is when the true psychic power develop and outright wreak havoc on opponents. Tobias had to design a special Pokéball to accompany all four Beldums.
  • Total Willpower Consumed: 10 WP
Dusk: First of all, I dislike that you have absolutely no negative traits. I feel that you should have at least a few to color your character more. Right now, he seems boring because of being too perfect. Otherwise, I like the character, but there are a few discrepancies we discussed that result from improper wording/grammar. I particularly like that Metagross is actually 4 1-willpower Beldums that combine into the Metagross as some sort of ultimate attack.

Anyways, fix the confusing areas I spammed to you on AIM, think up some character flaws, and then you should be good to go.


Looks good to me now, approved.

Re: Karud: Where We Stand

Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 1:04 pm
by Jericho Veronus
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  • Name: Rayne
  • Personality Traits:
    Narcissistic, Persuasive, Cautious, Scheming, Kleptomaniac, High-Minded, Abandoned, Masked, Vengeful
  • Background:
Gambler, swindler, and hustler extraordinaire, Rayne’s pokemon were good for more than just fighting, they were what made up his team of fortune hunters in every con he could come up with. He wasn’t the first to use pokemon this way, but he was near close to being the best. At a young age he started small time using a common pokemon like a pidgey or rattata to cause a disturbance; and while the target was distracted, Rayne would simply slip his hand into their pocket and take whatever he could find. As he grew, so did the complexity of his schemes, which required the ability of his pokemon to as well.

Rayne always blamed his father for the life he ended up leading. His mother had died when Rayne was very young, and his father was always away on business, though Rayne never knew what it was his father did. One day his father was late returning and the days of waiting soon turned to weeks and then Rayne accepted that he wouldn’t be returning. His father had abandoned Rayne, so he simply packed up and left with Erebus. Their house was isolated in the hills, the closest neighbors being miles away, so there was no one to even see them leave, no one to even care that they did. His father taught him the lesson of having nothing, and Rayne thanked him for it, for it lead Rayne to teach others the same thing.
  • Current Situation:
Desperate times breed desperate people.
And what better a situation for someone who makes a living feeding on the fearful, lazy, and unfocused. Here and there, Rayne would still practice the smaller gambits of shooting with loaded dice or the traveling salesman with a miracle wild pokemon repellent, which in actuality was simply ink and piss, though as he left his once considered homeland of Kanto, more worthwhile opportunities presented themselves. Now arriving in the city of Haven, since a certain "contact" that escaped from there to Hoenn, told him there was a large feral mass moving towards it. With a little bit of luck Rayne would be able to get in, do what he did best, and get out before things got too heavy.
  • Pokémon List:
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    Myst, Spiritomb (3 WP)
“Grrrrrrr…”

“Easy Erebus, there’s nothing there.”

Rayne patted the houndoom’s head and went back to work. Here he sat in what was supposedly a haunted tower after having been hired as a shaman to rid it of the spirits residing there, and already he was planning the next job. There was a rather well-off family that needed to be relieved of some of their material possessions so that they could truly appreciate what they had, or at least that was Rayne’s reasoning.

Hours passed and both drifted to sleep, though it wasn’t long before Rayne opened his eyes, a rustling sound disturbed him. Peering down towards his lap, his open book still lay there, though the pages seemed to be turning. At first Rayne thought it to simply be the wind, but he noticed he could neither feel or hear any trace of wind blowing, instead he heard a soft chuckling sound, directly next to him.

There, floating beside him, having had been reading through his notes and plans of past swindles, was a spiritomb. The spiritomb, noticed for the first time that Rayne was now conscious, but rather than running or trying to scare Rayne, it only moved its eye back and forth between Rayne’s gaze and the open book. It wasn’t long before Rayne had the spirittomb engaged with complete tales of his own past, and it seemed the more tormented and depressed his cons left people, the more excited the spiritomb seemed to get.

Rayne left that tower close to dawn and went to the town mayor to collect his reward. It was one of the first times he actually performed the job he was hired to do, so not being able to help himself he threatened to release the creature back into the tower if they didn’t raise his pay.

Myst became an ace-in-the-hole for Rayne, though it was one he had to be careful when using, since any con in which he let Myst loose ended in either one of three ways for the target: an unexplained death, an obvious suicide, or driven clinically insane. Though Rayne didn’t complain since they always received a payout in the end.
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    Erebus, Houndoom (4 WP)
A nine year old Rayne bolted around the corner, running into an alley way, closely followed by three teens chasing him. Hitting a dead end, Rayne turned around, a scared look on his face. The older boys blocked his way of out, leaving him with no chance of escape. The leader of the three approached Rayne, ready to strike.

“Erebus, headbutt.”

A houndour leapt from up from behind a stack of crates in the corner of the alley, smashing its head into the gang leader’s own. The teen became dazed and lost his balance, falling straight into the wall on the other side of the alley, and hitting his head once more. With the power of the sudden strikes to his head, he was knocked out. The houndour quickly recovered and began approaching the other two, baring his teeth and growling. The boys were hesitant to move at first, until the houdour began growling louder and even foaming at the mouth; an easily done trick.

The other two high-tailing it out of the alley as fast as their feet would carry, Rayne bent down beside the unconscious gang leader and began rooting through the pockets; a little money, some gum, an empty pokeball. Unfulfilled with their find, Rayne decided to take his jacket as well, using the sleeve to wipe the foam from the houndour’s mouth.

“Good job Erebus, let’s go.”

Rayne and Erebus had been the closest of companions since the age of two; the houndour was both his friend and his protector. Much of Rayne’s childhood between obtaining Erebus as a gift and the situation with the three boys had been spent waiting together on a front porch for Rayne’s father to return home from business. Three months prior to the situation though, Rayne decided that he was done waiting, and with Erebus at his side, left home and didn’t look back.
  • Image
    Omen, Honchkrow (2 WP)
Rayne caught Omen simply because he happened to be bored one day. In the past Rayne had caught, stolen, or won several pokemon, but very few did he ever see full potential in with the type of life he led. Many ended up being sold, traded, or gambled away. Some were put away for reserves with a trusted friend Rayne knew from his travels. And then there were the very few that gave their lives in battle to protect Rayne and his other pokemon, for each one of those, Rayne carries a unique type of sentimental remembrance; a blank deck of playing cards, though one inscribed for each of his fallen.

Omen, however, was Rayne’s only real catch that turned out for the best. Rayne always enjoyed letting his pokemon walk freely with him while they traveled, and Omen seemed to use this time for learning. It always seemed that the honchkrow would study Rayne, in every aspect of life, and attempt to imitate him. Even when Rayne would write in his book, Omen would poke his head into the book and copy what he saw into the dirt. Often when Rayne entered shops to “work” or simply haggle the prices of items, the others would remain outside, but Omen would follow him in and watch. In the end, it paid off for the both of them.

Omen, like Rayne, learned to be very convincing in his own way. While already possessing superiority over murkrow, he managed to develop quite a network of them, who would at any moment appear simply to hang around Omen. This has wielded one particular benefit of gathering such an exuberant number that Rayne could have Omen overwhelm entire towns, causing chaos and even in some cases abandonment of homes. Not only but while Rayne controlled Omen, Omen seemed to be able to control murkrow, anywhere they went, as if Omen possessed a sort of reputation that proceeded them through the pokemon world during their travels

  • Image
    Tedinaut the Destroyer, Teddiursa (1 WP)
Tedinaut the Destroyer is the toughest and most feared of all pokemon. He can drink entire rivers dry with a single gulp, devour entire fields of grain in the blink of an eye, break mountains, move entire towns, his roar alone is enough to make anyone tremble, or at least that’s what this teddiursa believes in his own little fantasy world that he lives in. With his enormous club (a six-inch stick) Tedinaut would wander the crowds anytime they came into town. Rayne learned long ago that not only would people gravitate towards him, but they would often feed him treats; which Rayne would then have to work off with him later. The act, though Tedinaut considered it to be who he truly was, easily presented opportunities as it acted as a distraction and lured people into a false sense of security. This was great for setting an off-set atmosphere for targets and general public for Rayne to work with.

Rayne acquired Tedinaut through a game of chance several years prior, though quite often he wonders whether he actually “won” that hand. The teddiursa was, for lack of better of a better term, “a nuisance” at best. Tedinaut is usually used either simply for entertainment or for more personal jobs. Though none can actually attest that Tedinaut the Destroyer is not as powerful as he makes himself out to be, since he’s never actually battled.
  • Total Willpower Consumed: 10
Dusk:
Some small notes this time. You still don't mention what continent you're from, what city you once called home, etc. If you don't actually know what the places are that are available to you, that's okay - I can deal with it being a mystery. I can even help you out with that if you'd like. It just seems like you happened upon Haven too conveniently and that it doesn't make any sense right now. Also, a smaller note still, you mention Honchkrow perched on your shoulder... Well, Honchkrow is about 3' from talon to head, and 4-5' long. I don't think he'd fit on your shoulder. Maybe he could be hopping around behind you instead without messing with his story.

Good, moving right along. Your Pokemon are good now, and I'm glad that you're a traveler from all over, since that's healthy for a con-man. My only concern right now is that Haven is not a port city despite it being kinda close to water (this is because the blue feral mass once decimated the part of the city that was Haven's port, so they've migrated away from that area and left it mostly desolate - there is waterside access, but it'd be suicide to take a boat there with the ferals in the waters), so you cannot arrive there by boat. The only port cities left are the Island and Whitecrush City, and they're not very close to Haven. You could have arrived in Karud earlier in the post-apocalyptic world at one of the other cities, then traveling to Haven on a good tip of a hit or whatever. Lots of options, but something like that.

Re: Karud: Where We Stand

Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 5:42 pm
by Intoxicated Crayon
  • Image
  • Name: Aleksander
  • Personality Traits: Pessimistic, Calm, Calculative, Boring, Selfish, Spiteful, Unmotivated, Resourceful
  • Background:
"I remember days before pokemon ran rampant with anger and hatred, to a point where one would expect 'em to burst at any moment! I remember a younger and simpler time, where I once led a group within the Pokemon Rangers. We'd stop pokemon that had become rabid and entered towns with plans to cause problems and even help save pokemon from those who sought to exploit them. It was a fun and memorable time and it was a fulfilling job in the end; being able to help people and pokemon that needed the help. Most of all, I am haunted by memories of my beautiful wife, Alyssa... We met on the field and even competed in tournaments together and winning them(as if being together wasn't enough)! We were so perfect together and we eventually wound up married! My happiness peaked around this time and for the most part, I remained ecstatic about it. We truly loved each other... All I have to remember her now is a few pictures and her only loyal pokemon ... By the time the revolution began, I had grown old and had become a commissioner for Pokeranger tasks. As the condition continued to worsen, I warned my wife and told her to leave Djatyr for a place off the mainland that I thought would be safe... If only I had known..."

After the revolution begins, Aleks' wife dies in Djatyr. Upon arriving to the scene, he barely escapes with few of his pokemon obeying him while in Djatyr. As he tries to escape, he finds his wife's Nidoqueen which still remains loyal to him after the revolution. However, he is unable to find his daughter, Allie. This attributes to Aleks' darker change in attitude. Although cruel at times, he occasionally reminisces about the past. Most of the time, he's more of a ghost than his own Dusknoir.
  • Current Situation:
Aleks usually helps the war effort with assistance from his Dusknoir. He rarely fights with his other pokemon and instead uses Dusknoir to create chaos within the feral masses by controlling small groups of ferals in the masses. He rarely does anything else unless he sees it fit. When things get rough , he resorts to using his other pokemon for help.

He also uses Dusknoir to allow groups of people or pokemon to be rendered invisible but this consumes a great deal of energy and only used when military groups really need it for stealth operations or anything else that direly needs it.
  • Pokémon List:
Image
  • Dusknoir
  • (3 WP)
Dusknoir is a loyal pokemon and is one of Aleks' first. When it was just a Duskull, it enjoyed causing mayhem in Aleks' house when he was a child. It chose to stay with Aleks instead of joining the Poke Revolution. Now, Dusknoir is quite old but it is a ghost so age has taken no toll on it and it rarely makes itself visible to those around it. It chooses to remain in the shadows, following Aleks'. When fighting, it instead takes control of other pokemon to fight for it and take control of more if required.

Dusknoir also enjoys causing chaos since it still hasn't abandoned it's old ways. Occasionally, it causes problems within Haven but they're usually minor but when controlling the masses, it enjoys itself much more. It sends Rock and Ground types off cliffs, sends Flying pokemon careening into cliffs! When it isn't like this, Dusknoir offers words of advice and is usually trying to avoid battles unless it's in the mood for one. Dusknoir can speak.

Image
  • Shedinja
  • (2 WP)
Shedinja is one of the Ninjask that were first given to Aleks upon becoming a Poke Ranger. At the time, Ninjask was an effective hunter and its speed rendered escaping futile for targeted pokemon or people. Now... Ninjask is old and tired. The only thing left of it is this Shedinja and it really cannot do much. It has no place to go and it is too weak to join any other mass except to be cannon fodder because of it's Wonder Guard ability. Instead, it follows Aleks' for protection and remains out of sight for the most part. In times of danger, Shedinja protects Aleks' from certain types with it's abilities but that is the most it can do. Wonder Guard is a heavy burden on the pokemon and can only protect Aleks for so long. Shedinja can only speak within a few feet of a person or pokemon and it can only speak via telepathy.

ImageImage
  • King, The Nidoking || Queen, The Nidoqueen
  • (2 WP each | When together, they require 5 WP)
Aleks' first received king as a Nidoran when fighting in a tourney with his wife, Alyssa. She also received a Nidoran to fight in the tag team tourney. They won and kept the pokemon to remember their victories together. The two pokemon eventually evolved into Nidoking and Nidoqueen. Together, they were the ultimate fighting team and utilized varying types of moves that didn't seem possible for their types. However, they've grown old and this renders them unable to remain fighting for a long duration. Because of their lack of stamina, Aleks' rarely uses the King or Queen unless he is in dire need of them. He tries to never send the two separately, he tries even harder to never send them together.

Aleks' encountered his wife's Nidoqueen while escaping the Djatyr ruins. Of all the pokemon in the ruins, The Queen was the only one who chose to not attack him.
  • Total Willpower Consumed: 10
Dusk: Okay, a few things. First of all, Shedinja is at least 2 WP if it's totally useless as a fighter and 3 if it can actually kill anything. Shedinja carries 12 immunities out of 17 types, which is absurdly potent - especially in an RP. Furthermore, Nidoking and Nidoqueen are both fully evolved and awesome pokemon, so they should be worth 3WP apiece. (Unless you specifically want them to not be very good)

That said, I also am concerned with your character. It's a very serious, downtrodden, and spiteful character - I like it. But... It seems very out of character for your personality. You okay with that? This seems like something Vinny might RP, not you. If that's fine with you, then rock on.

Also, about your negative traits. Reading your backstory, you should add Spiteful and replace the really long sentence with Unmotivated. And Calculated should be Calculative, for the record. Finally, you may want to proofread your story and fix all of the grammatical errors in it - they make it kind of difficult to read.

Re: Karud: Where We Stand

Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 9:24 pm
by TheDeathstalker
  • Image
  • Name: Zael
  • Personality Traits: Caring, Machinehead, Genius, Haunted, Divided, Afraid
  • Background:
The waves crashed on the rocky shore, the glow of the lonely stars softly outlining the two figures.

"Can you hear them, son?"

A pause as one of the figures shook his head.

"That's because we failed them, son. These cliffs were once alive with the sounds of the Lapras, but man saw it fit to take from them their very meats and bones for their own pleasures."

The other figure stood, patting his son on the head before he turned to the sea.

"Remember, son, we mustn't stand by and allow harm to be ventured upon those who are harmless. Live wisely, and when the day comes to close, remember me."

With that, and no more, he left the shore, and entered the sea where the waves swallowed him whole. The boy stood and stared at the stars, letting their loneliness wash over him.

...
...
...
"Daddy?"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Standing over a bench, Zael lit the welding torch, setting out to finish his latest project. He nodded to his assistant, who clamped down the steel wing with his mighty dorsal fins before nodding back. With a careful hand, and a sharp eye, he shaped and formed the gentle curve that made possible the miracle of flight.

The duo completed their work just as the sun began to set.

"Well Shear, here's to a job well done," Zael said as he gave the Lapras a bottle of chocolate milk before cracking one open himself. "A few more days of peace and quiet like this and we should be ready for a test flight."

He received a warble in reply, to which he instantly set down his drink, standing up and looking to the east.

"I'm going to have to agree with you on this one, the sun does tend to set in the west. So why the hell is the eastern horizon the one glowing red?"

Zael scrambled up to the top of the laboratory, as Shear pulled shut the hangar doors. When he looked through a pair of binoculars, Zael's worst fears were suddenly realized. The Poke'mon had finally grown weary of being the helpless, and had relegated man to that position. He lept down from upstairs and looked at Shear with fear in his eyes.

"Whoo-oop?"

"Its Worse."

"Ououh."

"Shit indeed my friend. We've gotta get out of here."

The duo rushed out of the hangar, Shear not even bothering to reopen the doors, but instead shattered them with brute strength, as Zael hopped on his back. Hurrying over to the nearby stream, Zael pointed to the reservoir, and Shear released a lance of piercing cold, shattering the steel structure, and releasing the torrent of water.

The stream surged to a river and then again to a flash flood with the sudden influx of water, which Shear navigated with almost unnatural ease, darting down the mountainside. By midnight they had reached the relative refuge of the ocean cliffs, the torrent then not but a stream once again, and the newborn swarm not but a frightening light on the horizon.

And so, the two sat on the rocky shore, two outlines under the lonesome stars, together, but yet so alone. These very cliffs once echoed with the voices of both their fathers in their times, but the now present silence was too heavy to lift. Tonight, the future felt afar off, and even the present was out of arms reach, both companions drowning in the sorrowful history of these rocks. That night Zael recieved no respite, the face of his father burned in his heart, the abandonment, the burden, and the fear weighed heavily upon his soul as he wept like he was just a boy, shaking with the intensity of it until his strength was no more, and the dark finally took him.
  • Current Situation:
Since that day, Zael and Shear wandered aimlessly for almost a year. The wild Poke'mon they met ignored the pair for the most part, as something about their emptiness turned even their feral hearts away. This all changed suddenly one day when Zael was attacked by a Gyarados with no master, and yet was far from feral. After crushing half of Shear's shell, and breaking Zael's legs, it left, but not without first delivering a note to Zael.

From his Father.

The note, cryptically written, implied some hand his father played in the Apocalypse, and ended reminding him that there was a choice to be made when he was ready to make it.

The duo spent half a year fully recovering from the encounter. During this time, sections of Shear's shell were replaced using tools reclaimed from the laboratory, leaving it partially constructed out of steel, and Zael began what would ultimately amount to a full replacement of his legs with hardened steel.

They have since wandered, but no longer aimlessly, seeking to both further understand Zael's father's involvement and to lend their aid to all they can. They have currently retreated to Haven for shelter from the ever more violent swarms.
  • Pokémon List:
  • Image
    Shear, the Lapras (3 WP)
As much a genius as Zael himself, Shear found Zael when he was just a boy, crying, wandering the shores, and having not eaten in days. Having lost his family years before, the gentle sea beast took care of Zael as if he were a younger brother. As they both grew, the bond only strengthened, to where both understand the other's speech flawlessly, allowing them to work on a great many inventions and designs.

In combat, what Shear lacks in offensive power, he makes up for in varied and precise application. Having studied rigorously, naught but flames escape his grasp, the arts of calling down lightning, hurling arcs of utter cold, and even unleashing the power of his mind upon unsuspecting foes come as naturally as floating in the water. However, his most terrifying ability against the swarms is his voice and the mighty "Perish Song," a technique all but lost along with the number of his species, he is able to subdue large numbers of foes who simply hear his song for more than a handful of notes. Defensively, Shear has an extensive advantage too, his shell having taken repeated beatings, and now being completely replaced with a light, durable steel alloy, aiding in defense, mobility, and offense, with glistening sharp spikes extending out from it.
  • Image
    Razor, the Salamence (5 WP)
Zael and Shear, late in the second year, found themselves in far over their heads, having tried to help a small caravan against a sizable group of ferals. Just as the fight seemed to be at its bleakest, Razor swooped in, and began to fight them off singlehandedly. However, a Scyther in the group caught him off guard, shredding off his wings and nearly having killed him. Razor had bought the caravan the time they needed to regroup, and they returned with enough renewed vigor to drive off the feral Pokemon.

In return for his bravery, Zael and Shear helped Razor back to health, during which they alternated constant, 24 hour shifts working in their new, makeshift lab. Within a month they had finished their project, and just as Razor returned to health, they returned to him what he most loved, his wings. Made of glimmering, lightweight, and razor sharp steel, the mechanical wings responded almost naturally to Razor's will, allowing him to fly even faster and easier than before. With this, along with his already monstrous strength and speed, there has not yet been a Pokemon the stunningly quick Razor has been unable to best.

Razor tends towards the less exuberant expressions of his power, knowing the ease with which his precious wings can be snatched away. Instead he expresses a certain type of honor on the field of battle, often placing himself between danger and the innocent or weak, but holding nothing back against any foe he deems a threat, no matter how minor. Since adding the wings, Zael has added several more components to Razor, including a sharp cleaver at the tip of his tail, as well as a power source at the base of the wings, allowing Razor to store up enough power to release several hyper beams in rapid succession. He is truly a fearsome beast to behold on the battlefield.
  • Total Willpower Consumed: 8
Dusk: I really bloody love this character. I got chills reading the part about Perish Song, really freakin' brilliant application of the ability. That is such a cool Pokemon it's not even funny. I also like that not all details are laid bare, since it gives him a mystery that will be unraveled during the RP. You told just enough to get people interested and give them a basic understanding, but not too much to shy them away from caring. Very well done.

I have a few concerns, though, however minor they may be. First of all, your background was written in a mix of present and past tenses, making it kind of confusing at times since you can't tell when things are happening. I recommend writing the whole thing in the past since it'll make more sense. (And it did happen in the past after all) Otherwise, love the character, and the Pokemon are very fair considering their applications, ties to your character's story, and general cool-factor.

Some other things to note. Your legs get broken, and you never really specify just how badly it was. You also never really specify just how it healed, or whether you used any mechanical augmentations to fix it. You probably should. Also, at some point you give your Lapras chocolate milk, which made Kao and I wonder just how it managed to drink it - you know, since it doesn't have opposable thumbs, so it might be cruel irony to put the milk in front of it.

I'm going to approve this right now with the suggestion that you fix the tense thing in your story.

Re: Karud: Where We Stand

Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 5:35 pm
by Psiclone
  • ImageImageImageImageImage
    "You ask for the goods, da? Vell, you have come to the right place, comrade."
  • Name: "Big" Feliks Jhonikov
    Personality Traits: Scheming, Intelligent, Persuasive, Cautious, Greedy, Devious, Insensitive, Arrogant, Distant
  • Background:
*Skrrrtzzk* And that brings us to the latest update on our popular TV Series, Karud's Most Wanted. Today's villain: Feliks Jhonikov. Minewall City Police Chief David Bell will update us on his status and whereabouts. David?

Thanks, Tom. As most, if not all, of you know, Feliks Jhonikov is the biggest crime lord in the history of Minewall City. Known far and wide as the leader of the Gyarados Cartel, his drug rings have been smuggling in highly illegal drugs and berries alike for years, and agents of his have dominated the illegal Pokéball market without fail. Feliks is no pushover himself, either. He is renowned for his famed takeover of the Jhonikov crime family with his personal team of elite Pokémon, including his infamous Aggron, Ivan. He is smart, well-guarded, and controls a legion of criminals, crooks, cretins, and even conniving cops and crazed C.E.Os.

Or does he?

It seems lately that Feliks has been having some trouble with his younger sister, Angelika. According to sources inside the cartel, Feliks seems to have offended Angelika due to his mishandling of the death of his father and the dividing of his massive inheritance. Like her brother, Angelika is very intelligent and devious to the core, but at the same time, she is turning heads in the crime world both for her amazing beauty and her dedicated assassin bodyguard known as the Black Rose. The Black Rose has been working under orders from Angelika to begin to usurp some of the many criminal markets Feliks once controlled. Already, the Black Rose has shut down major aspects of Feliks' counterfeit potion manufacture and Pokédex virus cells. Indeed, it is even rumored that many of Feliks' most trusted officers are betraying him to join with this deadly vixen.

Is this the end of the biggest crime reign in history? Or will Feliks wriggle out of yet another close call with justice?

  • Current Situation:
He hates to admit it, but Feliks' empire is in it deep. Having already faced two assassination attempts by the Black Rose, he is currently seeking the aid of other crime lords, calling upon favors owed to him long ago in exchange for cash, supplies, and extra bodyguards. However, he is wary of those who he may be hiring, and is currently viewing the trainers of Karud with suspicion. In addition, he is seeking to possibly hire out trainers to deal with elements of the Black Rose and to help further the goals of his illegal activities. However, few trainers remain in Minewall City, so it seems his efforts may take a while.
  • Pokémon List:
  • Image
    Sirrocco, the Sandshrew (1 WP)
Sirrocco was Feliks' first Pokémon, given to him as a gift by his father Dmitri for his tenth birthday. Sirrocco is little more than a ball of scales and dull claws; he is almost totally useless in combat and is really only kept by Feliks for nostalgia -- that, and Sirrocco's impressive ability to detect liars, almost like the Pokémon equivalent of a polygraph. Several times has Feliks nearly let someone into his home for a business deal before noting Sirrocco's habit of curling into a ball in the presence of that which is not always true.
  • Image
    Ivan the Terrible, the Aggron (4 WP)
Ivan, sometimes known as Ivan the Terrible by Feliks' enemies, is one of the most renowned Pokémon in the Karud crime underworld. The personal bodyguard of Feliks, Ivan was given as a Lairon to Feliks again by his father at age twelve when a would-be assassin attempted to stab him to death. Ivan soon grew and matured into a veritable behemoth of a Pokémon, standing at a massive 7'6 and tipping the scales at half a ton, large even for an Aggron. Although occasionally slow and slightly narrow-minded, Aggron's rock hide can stop bullets, and his shining steel horns have felled many a potential killer.
  • Image
    Nikolaus, the Cloyster (2 WP)
Nikolaus is a bit of a puzzling Pokémon. Given to him as a surrender gift from a rival crimelord, Nikolaus is extremely tenacious, and, like all Cloyster, is known for its impossible to crack shell and its spikes that could kill a horse. Indeed, Nikolaus' shell is so strong that Ivan on a few occasions has thrown Nikolaus as a living projectile. Nikolaus has some limitations, however; if he seals his shell completely, he can survive out of water for about six hours tops, but must be immersed in either the sea or his water-filled Pokéball for eighteen hours a day in order to survive.
  • Image
    Vladimir the Impaler, the Kabutops (3 WP)
Vladimir, or Vlad, is the shadow in the night, the rarely known and even less rarely seen personal assassin of Feliks'. While a gang of Feliks' was digging deep in the rock of Minewall city in search of gems to illegally pawn, they came across Vlad entombed in the rock, hibernating. Investigating the creature, they accidentally awoke Vlad, who proceeded to murder six men before Ivan himself was called in to "pacify" the creature enough for Feliks to take as a personal member of his team. Vlad is seldom called out of his shell, and it is a rare and terrible day when Feliks calls upon him. In fact, Vlad is such a danger to those around him that Ivan has to be called out at the same time in case he chooses to turn on "the master".
  • Total Will Power Consumed: 10
Dusk: I like the idea of a crime lord, but him traveling across the entire continent, through 3 feral masses and countless rogue Pokemon, just to get some criminal support is pushing it. Maybe you should think of a better reason for him to go there, possibly having something to do with his sister or whatever. Right now I can't really buy it. You also have a lot of positive or otherwise unobtrusive character traits. Arrogant is a good one, but really isn't enough next to that hefty list of positive traits. Think up some more character flaws to go with his style, it'll really add to his personality. Also, I'm slighty concerned by Vlad, your Kabutops. You write him out to be a very feral Pokemon by his very nature, so if you're going to keep him around, you'll need to use your other Pokemon (Namely Ivan) to keep him in line. If, for some reason, he breaks his Pokeball or you let him out without Ivan around, it may turn around and kill you. So long as you're aware of that danger and are prepared to out-RP it, I'm fine with it. (You are under-or-equal-to 10WP, afterall) Just be careful with it, I won't hesitate to make it flip out on you if given the opportunity. Otherwise, fix my first note somehow in your story, address the trait issue, and you'll be approved.

You dealt with the Kabutops issue adequately. I am still concerned about your character, though, because if I accept that you just left Minewall City in an armored caravan, then it means that the city is very poorly defended in reality (as your leaving would imply multiple entrances and exits to the tunnel city). I am also extremely concerned, as Haven is not the city a crime lord would pick - of all available cities - to go to for 'favor.' It is neither the closest, nor is it the easiest to access. As a matter of fact, it is the second hardest to access from MInewall City - second only to the Island itself. You really need a better idea of how you got there and why you're there. Also, zealous is not a negative trait - note the website you're on. Zeal is good. If you want it to be negative, then you need to use something like fanatical. Also, your story gives you no good reason as to why you would be fanatical - or what about.

Okay, great, now you've addressed why you're at Haven, but now your story doesn't make sense. Go read my post explaining Haven again, it's not called "Haven City" for a reason - it's barely a city at all. It is more or less a military outpost with some civilians, there's really no room for crime on any level. If you really want to do it, it'd be more a solo operation as a con-artist than a crime syndicate. Minewall was a much better city for the whole syndicate thing, since it's the most industrial city left. You just need a reason to get to Haven is all. I'm sure that you can come up with something.

I've gotten kind of tired of reading your character from top to bottom, so I am just going to approve this on the assumption that you're at Minewall City and have at the least justified in some meaningful way as to why. That you're not going to Haven makes a lot more sense. Just let me know if you want the topic opened for Minewall, so you can err... Do something while you wait for us to get there. Be forewarned, it's kind of one of the later stops I have planned.

Re: Karud: Where We Stand

Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 8:21 pm
by TwilightDreamer
Image

Name: Tanya
Personality Traits: Obstinate, Impetuous, Quick-minded, Brisk, Passionate
Background:

It was Tanya’s brother who first got her into Pokémon. Five years her elder, kind, funny, and an extraordinarily talented trainer; Christopher was always the object of her adoration. It came to no surprise then, that as soon as she was of age, that she set off on the exact same path he had tread so many years ago.

It wasn’t easy following in his footsteps, as she soon found out. Christopher was a natural, a prodigy they called him, but she was determined to succeed, and hardship after hardship did not deter her, but only made her stronger and more resolute. And somewhere in the midst of her journeying, her brother became something more to her: a alluring but unreachable height, a goal, the symbol of everything she wanted to be - a rival.

Tanya sought to challenge him every time they met, but Christopher always laughed and told her she wasn’t ready. It infuriated her to no end, but she knew now that he was right, it was the same eager recklessness that disgraced her against the League the first time. Her brother left soon after their last encounter, having defeated the Kanto League himself, traveling to the faraway land of Karud.

Years later, she herself journeyed to Karud, having finally triumphed at the League and knowing that she was at last ready to face him. She traveled eastwards from Bayside City (as it was named then) where she landed, chasing a rumor of her brother's presence in Haven - but the apocalypse hit then, and in its wake searching for him was out of question, everything became a matter of survival. She lost Dancer and Neferet on the last stretch of the retreat to Haven, and Gale was seriously injured - he still has not recovered - and when she arrived, broken and exhausted, Christopher was nowhere to be found either.

Current Situation:

Tanya is currently working in Haven with the local military organizations to aid the war effort. She still hopes to find her brother, worried that something might’ve happened to him despite all of his skill.

Pokémon List:

Tanya’s oldest and closest companions, Espeon and Umbreon were gifts to her from her brother from when she set her mind to become a trainer, and have been with her ever since.

Image
Neri, the Espeon (3 WP)

Neri, like most Pokémon, cannot speak aloud, but her psychic abilities allow them to communicate nonetheless.

While not particularly agile or strong, Neri makes up for her faults with her incredible psychic abilities, consecutively shielding herself and her allies from harm and lashing out with powerful psionic strikes. Very often, she does not even budge herself in battle, instead relying on her shields and constant bombardment to keep her safe.

Image
Datz, the Umbreon (3 WP)

Datz is a cunning fighter, relying on tricks, illusions, and strikes from the shadows to achieve victory. Against tough enemies, his favorite tactic is a battle of attrition, slowly wearing down his foe physically and mentally through unceasing blows before leaping in to make a finish.

His effectiveness in battle diminishes dramatically when facing multiple foes, but his presence on the battlefield alone provides the confusion and chaos that other Pokémon can quickly take advantage of.

Image
Blaze, the Arcanine (3 WP)

Tanya first met Blaze in the wild as a Growlithe, and though the young pup was quickly overpowered by the far more experienced Datz, she greatly admired his determined spirit and fierceness (somewhat like herself in a way) and that was how he came to be on her team.

The brawn (and occasionally transport) of the team, Blaze relies on his blinding speed and awesome power alone to beat down the opposition. If the opponent is able to withstand the firestorm, however, they can quickly see through his rather simplistic attack patterns and make a decisive end. Blaze also has a tendency to act without thinking, and this can get him (and his teammates) into unfavorable situations.

Total Willpower Consumed: 9

Dusk: Like a few of the other submissions so far, you really need to work some negative traits into your character. I see that you picked rash, but that doesn't even make sense when you also picked friendly and cheerful. They contradict each other. You should really redo that section and think hard about how your character should act.

Also, your story is really uninspired and under detailed, especially considering that you claim to have bested the entire elite four - sans Maxwell - 3 times. Not even my character might be able to do that casually, and I wrote a veritable essay for him. A lot more embellishment would go a long way for your character, both in shedding some light on how she acts and in how she came to otherwise be.

Fix the grammatical error you have in the first sentence of Blaze's description. I think you intended 'he' to be 'the'. Other than that, your Pokemon are fine. Fix the previously mentioned problems, buff up your story a bit, and you should be good to go.


You still really haven't added any negative traits besides rash. That can't be the only character flaw you have, you need more. Your story is also still leaving a lot of holes in it. It's not mysterious, so it's not like leaving out details is okay. The biggest problem is that you don't explain how you got to Karud, why you're there, or anything. You're really just a generic Pokemon trainer and are lacking in character depth. Do you know what I mean?

Few concerns, but it's getting better - I like that you have a missing brother, gives you some better motivation. First of all, you wouldn't have defeated the elite four anywhere without all 6 Pokemon. Why don't you have all 6 Pokemon now? What happened to the other 3? You need to address that. Also, and more importantly, how did you get to Haven, why are you there of all cities (since it's not a port city)? Your current situation needs a bit more elaboration to cover that. Finally, what the heck does 'sharp' mean when talking about a personality? Did you mean severe? Also, fiery would perhaps be better replaced with passionate. Try to choose adjectives that were invented to describe personalities. :p

Yay, you fixed everything. I can no longer find any weird or silly things with your character, so you are now approved. Well done. :)

Re: Karud: Where We Stand

Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2009 1:23 am
by VZhitogoroshi
  • Image
  • Name:Leon
  • Personality Traits: Analytical, Calm, Respectful, Indifferent, Perfectionist, Defeatist, Worrisome, Patient
  • Background:
"They are his birthright. You of all people should know this."

"Nevertheless." He looked at his son. "He's not like us. He's not like anyone. He see's people like cogs, and watches them spin. But he never counts himself among them. Rai-kami, my son is someone - something, that must be studied, watched. Birthright be damned, why should he ever be given a gun?"

The Rai-kami paused and listened to the shots of Leon's training pistol. Pop. Pop. Pop. He couldn't see the targets, but he didn't need to. With a rhythm like that, steady and sure, there was only one place the shots could have landed. "Because he'll be good with it. One of the best."

Leon got his guns.

**

The target was passed around like some holy object. There were no words for it, but one of his peers tried to find them anyway: "All on the target. All the holes together and you couldn't fit your thumb through it." He shook his head. "And first thing he does, sign up for another year of training with Whittaker. As if Whittaker could ever end up with a target like this. What a loon."

Leon impressed everyone but himself.

**

The guns grew bigger. Sniper rifles, machine guns. He could use them all, quickly and effectively. And there were other weapons, as well - the pokeballs around his waist. And finally there were the little black boxes, that were only weapons through indirect links. But they were still what he was most proud of. They were technical machines - machines he had made.

Leon was good. But never good enough.

**

It was a small conclave, and everyone but him knew he had outgrown it. They had started with hints - hints of a world beyond. Then discussions. Then pleas. Never threats - not to the man who could flush a Pidgey from the brush, trace it with a calm scope and strike true. But they still desperately watched and wondered when Leon would feel the ceiling he had so long ago collided with.

Leon could observe others, but never himself.

**

It was actualization, and it was far too late but still in time to do some good. The guns were loaded, the pokemon were trained, and the machines twinkled inside his back, bindings of elemental imagination.

Leon left home.

  • Current Situation:
Leon is a Rai-Auroch, a fighter from a small traditional conclave that was founded in the time of swords but had modernized with the ages. From a child he has been trained in the art of armed combat, and after three decades of honing he has become very proficient at fighting on a single-combat level. His occupation is that of a Technical Machine manufacturer. His bread and butter are the simple TM's that he has made dozens of times and that he can complete in mere weeks. However, he also dabbles in creative projects, manufacturing moves that are multiple year side projects that only get finished because of Leon's incredible patience. He has created three of these so far, none of which have gone to his own pokemon. However, he does have a few in progress which he keeps absolutely secret.

Leon had lived a very sheltered life, and has only been outside the conclave for the last three months of his life. He is older than many of the trainers he sees - he is already 35. But he has not lost any of his skill with his guns, and with his pokemon he has no trouble as he wanders across the countryside. He is currently in Haven shopping for ammo and some materials necessary for the creation of technical machines.
  • Pokémon List:
  • Image
  • Ludavius, The Machamp (4 WP)
It was children fighting. The Machop thought itself the favorite - he was small but well muscled, and this pale child looked barely out of the womb. But as it lunged, it felt a sharp flame of pain drilling through it's shoulder, and as it tumbled to the ground it first knew fear, and, as the pokeball swallowed it, submission.

**

It was a Machoke, now, but it's fists were neither choking nor balled up in fists. Instead, they pecked awkwardly at the oversized keyboard in front of it. Peck, peck, and now came the moment of truth.

"100 on mathematics." Leon grinned. "Nicely done, Lu. And with that you've officially earned your prep school degree." He slapped the Machoke on the back. "You've learned all you need to learn. Now...what do you want to learn?"

Ludavius thought for a moment, and then pointed to the holster on Leon's hip. "I want to be a gunslinger."

**

Ludavius stood proudly - he had reached his pinnacle, and not just because he was a Machamp. He held the four guns in his hands, enjoying the weight. He wasn't accurate like Leon, but his mind could aim all four guns independently and this made him a formidable force indeed. Of course, his four handheld miniguns - the name a joke on Leon's part, for they were handheld only for very large values of hand and anything but miniature - were a special luxury. More often it was his four 'poppers', small pistols that had been modified to accommodate his large hands, or still more often nothing more than the powerful fists that were his natural birthright. And yes, there were the occasional struggles, the occasional whip cracks as the master and slave relationship had to be briefly defined once more. But this was a small price to pay to have been brought out of the world and in to something more.

  • Image
  • Myeus, Typheus, and Croseus; the Exeggutor(2 WP)
Three minds. Three minds in one. One in three.

That is us. We. Three I's, but still a we.

You have to be us to understand.

We were a collection of Exeggute when we met him.

Leon.

And Lu.

Lu was still a Machop then. Not something to notice. But his master!

There was something to him.

And so we submitted. Without struggle.

I regretted it then. I suppose I was wrong.

He brought us up. Like he did with Ludavius.

We were already above the masses, of course. But Leon took us still further.

The evolution. But more than that. He gave us names.

We thought they were prisons, at first. But no. They were the seeds of crystals.

He named the I's, that we could understand them. He did not name the we.

He left that to us.

We still haven't.

And yet such respect. Such restraint of the cudgel.

This is why we serve him.

Sometimes, such as now, we speak as three mouths to one voice.

Sometimes we grow father apart. But always there is agreement between us.

Three I's, apart. One We, together. Somewhere between them is the truth.

Leon listens to it.

  • Image
  • Ruu, the Tauros (1 WP)
Word got around in this small conclave, and while they had never done business Stablemaster Quel couldn't help but know about Leon. Apparently he was plenty smart, but Quel couldn't help but feel he was ripping Leon off. He repeated himself yet again, just to make sure Leon knew what he was paying for. "Yes, he will be easy to control. But that's because he's a mutant. You flash red to 100 Tauros, 98 charge and he's one of the ones who trots in the other direction. He's docile. He'll run well enough but if he hits something it'll be by accident.

Leon nodded. "Exactly what I'm in the market for."

Quel sighed. "If you're absolutely sure. Weren't you the wei--, err, person who got their Machoke into prep school though? All about getting them to higher intellectual ground. You won't get that with a mutant."

"I wouldn't want that. A Tauros is a mount. Could you learn the ways of the universe and still be a mount? I need a component, something that can do without thinking and not resent it."

"Well then," Quel shrugged, "he's all yours."

  • Leon's Aresnal (2 WP)
Willpower isn't exclusively the purview of pokemon. It also takes a good deal of focus to fight for oneself. For this reason, Leon does not seek out more pokemon, lest he dull his practiced edge of marksmanship.

His main weapon is an assault rifle with a laser sight. He fires in short bursts, for ammo is hard to come by for a non-military man in this newly ravaged world. He also has a sniper rifle that he usually keeps dismantled inside his pack - that is one he saves for special occasions. He also has a small pistol, because it's ammo is plenitful, cheap, and light-weight.

Beyond that, he has a hunting knife, night-vision goggles, and (usually) one or two explosives he has managed to scrounge up.
  • Total Willpower Consumed: 9
Dusk: Get un-lazy, use the sprites. I even posted the link in the other thread, all you have to do is use some image tags. Real simple. :P For traits, you could just replace deferential with respectable. More people know what that means.

Other than that, I mostly like the character. Your Machamp is a bit... Questionable, and I'll be willing to go along with it, but he's going to run out of ammo rather quickly. Despite having ammunition stores and stuff, they're not going to give it away to be funneled into your Pokemon like that. Furthermore, on the journey itself across the continent, we're not bringing like a caravan, so your ammo is going to run out fast. He's definitely the weirdest of your Pokemon, but he can be cool depending upon how well you RP him, so I'll go along with it.

I particularly like your Exeggutor.

If you acknowledge the possible RP challenge of the Machamp, use some sprites, and update the trait thing, you'll be approved.


Approved, then.

Re: Karud: Where We Stand

Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2009 2:58 pm
by VZBushkiller20
  • Image
  • Name: Lawrence
  • Personality Traits: Nostalgic, dedicated, introverted, loyal, depressed
  • Background:
I remember earlier times, better times, before the apocalypse started, before she…No, it’s too early to mention that. Excuse me, it’s been years, but that doesn’t always ease the pain. At least I can think of it without bursting into tears.

I suppose you wonder who I am, where I’m from. I can give you a straight answer for the second, but for the first, that’s a bit more difficult. You see, who I am now is not who I was, and who I was was never constant. I’ve never been the same from day to day. Oh, I must apologize again, I’m going off on a tangent. My name is Lawrence, I’m a Pokemon researcher and trainer, and I used to do a little exploring on the side.

Where I’m from, now that’s easier. I was born in Fuchsia, but we weren’t there long before my family upped and moved to Pallet. There was a famous scientist there…I think his name was Pine or something…who needed my parents help. Their entire lives revolved around…Oak! That’s the man’s name!...studying pokemon. He said he was researching a new type of pokemon, and my parents were enlisted into his service.

Now, in a town like Pallet, you would think I would be a popular kid. Son of two scientists, working with Professor Oak…real cool right? You’d be wrong. And by wrong, I mean go cry in a corner, you just said 1+1 is 5…in fifth grade. That’s how wrong you would be. I had maybe one or two friends, but you would call them more of fair weather friends. Sure, they’d play with me if we weren’t around others, but as soon as we were with a group…they’d vanish like a shy haunter.

There we go again…ranting on irrelevant details of my past. All you need to know from that was that I was lonely, so when I wasn’t home I hung out at the lab with my parents and Oak. That’s probably why I ended up in my current position. It seems I was destined to follow my parents shoes in the science world. If I wasn’t in the lab, I was swimming in the ocean with our family pet Lapras, Mirage. She was much smaller then, I’ll grant you that, but still large enough to bear me on her back across the waves.

I was around thirteen when I caught my first wild pokemon, a young eevee. It was on one of those rare moments when I was playing with my…well…my friends, I guess. We were in the fields outside of Pallet, just goofing around, searching for the usual pidgey or rattata. I heard a quiet, pitiful, whimpering from behind a bush, and when I went to explore, I discovered it was an eevee! Imagine my surprise. Being the nerd I was, I of course realized how rare this was.

It was in such poor shape. Its fur was torn, and it was missing part of an ear. It looked at me with such sad eyes, that I decided to capture it and find help for the little eevee. Now, as you can see, that little eevee is fully recovered, and one of my most trusted friends. In fact, Ember and Mirage have been my two closest companions, even before she came…and they still are, after all the hard times.

It wasn’t long after that that the Cinnabar Research and Science Center (commonly called Cerces. See, the acronym is CRSC, which if you…I think you understand) contacted me. They had heard about my research with the Professor, and felt that I could provide valuable assistance in whatever project it was they needed me for, I can’t honestly remember, there were so many.

I had one great outcome of my time with Cerces, and one terrible. I’ll start with the terrible. I was part of the team researching ancient pokemon when the famous explosion occurred. Many were killed that day. I lost a great deal of friends, but, thankfully, not the one person who mattered. That is the good thing. I met her.

Her? Who is she? Her name is Beth. She was the love of my life. In fact, she was my wife. We shared many great years together. Instead of engagement rings, we did a pokemon trade, her Persian for my eevee. It was the hardest thing I ever did, but in the end, we were all happy. We chose together to turn our unnamed eevee into a flareon. Ember still seemed to orbit around me often, but we were all very happy.

I’d…I’d say more…but I’m still dealing with the loss…she was killed by ferals after we came to Karud. It...it all happened too fast. Beth…why did you go…
  • Current Situation:
Why am I here? Easy enough. Research. Some men in lab coats found me not too long after the explosion, said they had discovered a new species of pokemon, couldn't identify it. They had heard about my work with Cerces, decided to locate me with a job offer. Paid for the trip down for both of us. They said they had a lab out in Faire, near the Gorge where they discovered the remains. We were still too young to retire, the two of us...not enough money to fund years of no work, so we accepted it. That was about five, six years ago? Don't know, days tend to blur together. I could swear it was just yesterday we were swimming off the shore...just yesterday...Sorry, got distracted. With the apocalypse and the destruction of Faire, I fled the ruins. Nothing I could do there. Grabbed my work and high tailed it.

I’ve been holding out in Haven with all the other poor souls who managed to escape the ferals. Been doing my best at helping the local military keep the ferals at bay. Joined up under this man named Tobias. He seemed to know how to get things done. I’m part of the Forefront now. The five of us, my pokemon and I, we’re helping to bring the world back to what it was. It was what she would have wanted…I’m sure…
  • Pokemon List
  • Image
    Ember (WP: 3)
As I'm sure I told you, I caught Ember as a little eevee, my first pokemon. He's been with me for the best parts of my life, and the worst. I trust him to defend my life, both in battle and out. In battle, he's not the smartest, but he is fierce and relentless. He can follow orders, but complex planning is not his strong suit. I blame the years with my wife for that. In battle, he has a vast array of fire spells which he uses to secure his advantage. He seems to have a deep connection with Jasmine, probably due to the marriage exchange.

He's my best friend. If there is one good...*sigh*...this is going to come out wrong I know it...if there is one good thing about my wife's death...it's that now Ember and I share that bond we once had, but that is a faint shimmer in the sea of misery that I feel thinking that thought. Ember fills a hole I had before, but there are so many now that I just...Sorry, we are talking about Ember, not me. I raised him from that dirty, tired, injured eevee into a champion flareon, but I couldn't have done it without his complete faith in me. He never questions my orders. He'll dive into a lake to save me, even though he hates water. No challenger is too strong for him if I am there. And he is always ready to play, and you'd be surprised how much I need that now.

Ember, my companion...I know he will never leave me...even without a pokeball. That's why he's never in one unless he's knocked out.
  • Image
    Mirage (WP: 2)
I suppose you could say that Mirage was my first pokemon, not Ember. It doesn't matter. Mirage has been around longer, but she wasn't my pokemon until my parents retired from Oak's lab and I joined Cerces. She's not the best fighter, but she can provide fast transport across the sea. If my team has a captain, it would be Mirage. My family raised her from birth, and over the years she learned how to speak.

She's the mother of the team as well. Some could say she's a little nosy, but we all know better. She wants the best for us, and makes sure we are all okay. If any of the pokemon have a problem, they will most likely go to her because they know she can fix it. If she can't, then it's up to me, but sometimes even I go to her for help.

She was my true childhood friend before Ember came along. Ever since Beth died, she's been the one to care for me and worry about me the most. Without her support, I don't think I'd still be around anymore. She brought me back from the brink of suicide. It's because of her counsel that I can finally hear the name Beth and not...not...I don't know what I would do if she was killed. I don't know what I would do if any of them were killed, even Skywings. Well...maybe Skywings.
  • Image
    Skywings (WP: 3)
Skywings...he's the newest member of this team. He was one of Beth's pokemon, and he always seemed to silently resent me for expecting time from my wife. If I were to be honest, he's the last pokemon I wanted on my team. He always goes against my wishes if he thinks he knows better. Sometimes he does, but a lot of the time he doesn't. In battle, he is a master of quick strikes from the air, but if something manages to get him to the ground, he can't last long. He is a free spirit, but he gets the job done...usually.

He's become a lot less arrogant ever since Beth died. I think he blames himself for not being able to protect her from the ferals. He spends most of his time training now, and seems to admire Ember a lot. After all, Ember didn't fly out of the way and...no, I can't blame him. It would be easy, but it's not his fault. He didn't intend for it to happen the way it happened. He still resents me of course, but what can I do but treat him with respect. At least I know he will never turn on me. He's arrogant, but he's not a backstabber. We'll see how his training pays off. Maybe he'll finally accept my authority in the wild.
  • Image
    Jasmine (WP: 1)
Jasmine is not a battle pokemon. She was never meant to be. She was my wife's favorite, and her promise to remain with me forever. Ever since my wife's death, Jasmine and I have become much closer. She has also turned to Ember for comfort, but gets along well with all but Skywings. I find it funny. She doesn't fight, but her instincts take over and every now and then she pounces on him. Serves the arrogant bird right. I love this cat.

My wife raised Jasmine her entire life, from Meowth kitten to Persian cat. She seems to have picked up a lot of my wife's characteristics, including her playfulness. I remember the first night after the trade, Jasmine was miserable. She missed the bond she had with Beth, and I can't honestly blame her. Ember was not much better. That night, I received more scratches than I had ever had in my life. I was almost skinned. The next night though, she slept right by my legs, calm as day. Ever since then we've had no problems between us.
  • Total Willpower Consumption: 9
Dusk: I like the way you told the story, but there are a few issues I need resolved. First and foremost, you talk about your research a lot and how you lived in Kanto, but then mystically for your current situation you appear in Karud. That needs to be explained. I don't mind the mysticism behind the circumstances of your wife's death, but you really need to cover how and why you're in Karud of all places.

Another concern. You mention an "Asp" in Mirage's story, yet there isn't an Asp anywhere else in your character or his Pokemon. Perhaps a remnant from the original Lawrence for the other RP?


Good enough for me. Approved. Consider a possible amendment later on to add a few more character traits, both good and bad. Right now it doesn't say a lot, but it's good enough for approval.

Re: Karud: Where We Stand

Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 12:36 am
by Vinnam
Image

Name: Brendan Creed

Personality: Jaded, Reserved, Haunted, Adaptive, Loyal, Obsessive
Background

I'm too old for this shit.

That's almost worth a laugh, considering I'm barely in my twenties. But its the honest truth.

I still remember what it was like before the War, ya know; I remember how we had so much goin' for us. Humans goin' forth into the bright future, with our loyal Pokemon at our side; not a goddamn thing coulda stopped us. At least, nothing that we knew of.

Who woulda thought the destruction'd come from within, and not without?

I used to live in Wrestearst City, ya know. Not that godforsaken patch of desert it is now, no sir; it was a gem back then, shinin' a beacon of civilization in tha wilderness. Ho boy, it was a sight back then; now its just a buncha rocks and lost memories.

I still remember the first signs that war was on the horizon, though I didn't really recognize it at the time; in hindsight, it was just the opening note of a symphony of pain and destruction which ensued. You mighta heard about it; everyone I knew had heard of it, at least. It was big news when that Rhydon killed those little kids, and even bigger news when I led a search party back to the son of a biscuit's cave.

The media played it down, saying we found a cave full of bones and dead pokes; what they didn't mention were the two half-eaten Pokemon Rangers they found in the cave.

Hell of a thing to go through as a kid; but I survived, and thats what matters, right?

At least, I thought it was.

I steered pretty clear from Pokemon in those bad years immediately afterwards; didn't trust 'em as far as I could throw 'em, and they didn't go for me either. Reckon they could sense the distrust I had for most of 'em the first time I met any. It wasn't their fault, really; I just... couldn't deal anymore.

Once the war started in earnest, I volunteered with the Medic corps. I couldn't fight worth a damn, but at least I could stomach the carnage afterwards; not many others had seen what Pokemon on Human violence could really do, outside a couple of the Rangers, an' they were caught up defending the Fronts. War was hell, and back in those days of terror and supply shortages, we in the Medic corps got the short end of the stick.

Things kept going like that, leastways they did as long as Wrestearst was still alive. After they breached the perimeter of the city, things just... fell apart. More often than not I'd find myself surrounded by the din of battle as I tried to save a defender's life, all the while trying to keep from being killed by a Feral.

I learned to trust a Pokemon with my life again in the corps; hell, if I hadn't I mightn't be here anymore. I got over my friend's deaths as the dead and dying became a part of my everyday life in those hellish days 'afore the fall. And most importantly, even if at the expense of a good night's sleep, I survived, and thats what matters, right?

Right?
Current Situation

After the fall of Wrestearst City, Brendan made his way towards Haven along with the remnants of the Medic Corps, fending off Ferals they encountered along the way. Reaching Haven battered, wounded, and more dead than alive, the full impact of the loss of both his home city and his friends in the Corps hit him and he remained inactive for a period of a few months.

Eventually, following an urge to once again find meaning in his life and prove useful, Brendan volunteered with Haven's own Medic Corps, organizing the distribution of medical care to those who were fighting on the front and those who were being brought back to heal in the safety of Haven. Currently, he is once again close to the front lines of Haven; though he hasn't seen actual, active combat in a while, he has been treating those injured by the Ferals and generally patching up anybody who gets hurt. This has been therapeutic for him, as it has once again given him a drive for work, though he still has night terrors about various horrific events during the Fall of Wrestearst and a mild case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Pokemon List

Image
Noir // Gardevoir - Psychic - (3 WP)

Noir's an oddity, to say the least; she came to me back in the bad ol' days of the Medic corps.

You ever seen what a Golem can do to a line o' defenders? It'll pretty well devastate it; if it ain't tearin' 'em up with its claws, it'll be crushin' men and Pokemon alike, cuttin' a swath of destruction through the lines.

I got cut off from my platoon after one o' them bad boys came through our section. Battered, bruised, and crouchin' down behind a low section of rubble, I thought I was about to get my ticket punched.

Then... I saw it floatin' through the wreckage towards me, an otherworldly thing, glidin' easy as you please over the wreckage towards me. I thought it was an angel, come to take me to the big sleep, and all I could do was stare at it... At least until I heard the Golem roar and tear into the pile I was hidin' behind.

I moved, but I wasn't near fast enough; the brute clipped me in the leg, and down I was again, tryin' to crawl away from the bastard as it moved towards me. Lookin' back, I saw it raise its body, gettin' ready to come down like a hammer, and I closed my eyes to brace for my death.

Nothin'. I heard a dull thump, and another, then a muffled roar. I opened my eyes, and saw a sight o' beauty.

I beheld a shimmerin' white shield o'er my body, and an angel overhead, doin' battle with the beastie out to get my soul for Ol' Scratch.

I fainted dead away; another company found me once the defenders moved back into the sector. Floatin' over me was the Gardevoir who'd been my savior, an' nearby was a pile o' bloody rubble that was split right in two.

I don't know why she helped me that day; hell, she don't even talk all that much, 'cept when she's feelin' in a fey mood, and even then its usually direct-like, inside my head. She's told me her name, and she's stuck by me in the years since the fall of Wrestearst; that's all I know, and frankly, that's all I NEED to know about my angel.


Image
Batista // Houndoom - Dark/Fire - (3 WP)
Batista wasn't even mine to begin with; he was the company's.

One of the boys found him on a supply run to the center of the city during the siege; looked like some poor bastard had been trying to get away from the fighting, and had ran into a group o' ferals. Wasn't much left to identify the trainer, but we found his pokemon lyin' under a pile o' rubble a little ways away, half dead and lookin' like shit warmed over.

We took him in, and damned if he wasn't an asset to the corps; findin' the dead and dyin' out in the thick o' battle, draggin' 'em close as he could, and fendin' off ferals along with the rest of the squad.

I didn't really get much use outta him, truth be told. I still hadn't gotten over my misgivins' towards Pokemon. The rest of the company loved that torn up son of a biscuit; he didn't belong to anybody in the squad as much as he belonged to all of us.

Things kept on like this for a while, and as the war progressed we kept seein' heavier and heavier action. We lost some good men and women in the streets of Wrestearst, wagin' a losin' battle to stem the tide of ferals, or at least give the civvies time to evac. Batista went from goin' out happy to be workin' to goin' out with a hangdog look on his face, shyin' away from us; he couldn't tell us, but I felt sure he blamed hisself for our losses in the Medic corps.

I felt a bit o' sympathy for him, but sympathy don't help the wounded; I had to keep doin' my job, or else what use would livin' be?

At the height of Batista's seemin' depression, Noir came into my life and I started lookin' at Pokemon in a new light again. I felt compassion for our scarred friend, and started lookin' after him more and more as the rest of the corps was stretched thin due to losses and a lack o' supplies.

Then, the fall happened.

Those were a hellish couple of weeks; runnin' at night, hidin' durin' the day, just tryin' to get out of the city alive. We lost more men that way then we had durin' the last few days of street to street warfare. We went from twenty survivors to twelve in a matter of days, and from twelve to four in the following weeks. After gettin' out o' the city alive, we made it to Haven, but we were damn near dead from dehydration and exposure. I made it fine, though I'll have a tremor in my hand that'll last until I'm put in the ground; the rest of my company... didn't make it.

Batista's one o' the last remnants I have of the Medic Corps, both the good times and the bad, an' though he ain't a talker, I'm all HE'S got left in the world as well. He'll fight to protect me sure as I'd die to save him.
Dusk: You have a good character here. I couldn't find any flaws that made me cry havoc, so I'm going to go ahead and approve this. Welcome aboard.

Re: Karud: Where We Stand

Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 12:06 am
by Black_Heart
  • Image
  • Name: Elise
  • Personality Traits: Intuitive, Kind, Creative, Empathetic, Haunted, Uneducated, Trusting
  • Background:
When Elise was born in Wrestearst City, the uprising, though not underway, was a definite threat on the horizon. While full-fledged fear was not yet widespread, the general mistrust as more and more Pokemon-related "incidents" occurred meant that many children grew up deprived of the sense of wonder and adoration that Pokemon had inspired in earlier generations. Her parents, both trainers themselves, did their best to show her that Pokemon were not always dangerous and that there was no need to be scared of them. As she grew older, it became obvious that their fears were completely unfounded. If anything, her sense of childish fascination was stronger than normal.

On the day she received her first Pokemon — a Yanma — as her sixth birthday present, there was nobody in the world so joyful. Her mother offered to take her anywhere she wanted to go on her birthday, and Elise dragged her through the entire city, showing her new friend everything there was to see. She quite possibly said more to that Yanma on the day she got it than she had ever said in her life. She would talk and talk and then pause and stare into his compound eyes as if expecting him to answer her. Her father showed her how to work a pokeball, but Elise refused to keep her Pokemon in there any more than was absolutely necessary. That night her new friend slept on her bed next to her and her parents slept well knowing their gift had been well-chosen.

Elise and her Yanma soon began spending large amounts of time at the Wrestearst Gym, watching the trainers practice with their Pokemon and respond to challenges. At times the pair seemed like a fixture at the gym — a small gargoyle staring out with two wide sets of eyes. She asked questions occasionally, and the nicer trainers answered.

Elise spent the next two years training both herself and her Pokemon. They both grew older, smarter, and closer together. It was unheard of to see one of them without the other, and the sight of Elise with her Yanma perched on the top of her head became a common one. She seemed to understand him on a level that bordered telepathic.

And then the apocalypse began in full swing. Two things happened immediately: Elise's cheerful disposition was replaced by a haunted look, dark circles under her eyes from sleep she missed every night and a skinny face as she ate less and less, and she stopped speaking entirely. Her parents tried everything they could to bring her out of the hole she was in, but nothing seemed to work. Soon it became a secondary priority as the ferals began to strike out at the city. The military did their best to keep the city safe, but it soon became obvious that the city needed to be evacuated.

Elise went along without complaint, and she and her parents ended up as part of a convoy of fifty or so civilians, some of them trainers, protected by about fifteen soldiers. They set out for Haven, the closest city still intact. They arrived, eventually.

Eight of them were left. Five soldiers, a reporter, a doctor, and Elise.
  • Current Situation:
Elise's lack of family or friends left her something of a unique position upon arriving in Haven. During the journey from Wrestearst, she demonstrated on several occasions a remarkable ability to direct her Pokemon in battle and a tenacity that exceeded some of the other trainers'. When she showed up for a training exercise one day, all five of the surviving soldiers vouched for her, and she was allowed to participate on a trial basis.

She proved all five soldiers right that day, and has showed up for every exercise since her first.
  • Pokémon List:
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  • Fly-by-Night, the Yanmega (3 WP)
Fly-by-Night was Elise's first Pokemon, and has been with her for six years. Elise has a natural understanding of all her Pokemon, but nowhere is this more evident than with Night. He understands her with hardly a word on her part, and she knows his strengths and weaknesses intimately. When Elise needs to be able to react instinctively without consciously thinking about her Pokemon's limits, Night is the one she calls.

In battle, he is Elise's power. The battering strikes of his tail are harrowing for all but the heaviest Pokemon, and his jaws are strong enough to bite through almost anything. He is not Elise's fastest Pokemon, but his wings allow him to fly erratically and unpredictable enough to partially make up for that.
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  • Grim, the Absol (3 WP)
Grim originally belonged to to one of the casualties from the convoy. Elise looked after him after his trainer fell, showing him the same care she showed Night. The journey was a long one, and by the time they arrived in Haven you wouldn't have been able to guess that Grim ever belonged to anyone other than Elise. They do not yet have the same level of understanding that she has with Night, but they are incredibly close.

Grim is the fastest of Elise's Pokemon. He relies on this speed in combat, attempting to outmaneuver his opponents or wear them down with hit-and-run tactics. This speed also serves him well outside of combat, where he can serve as a scout or, at times, a mount for Elise.
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  • Morgan le Fay, the Mismagius (3 WP)
The Dream

Once upon a time, there was a little girl. Every night she lay herself to sleep, and every night she woke in fear, a scream upon her lips. Her heart was heavy with blood and pain and death, and these things spilled into her dreams. But one night, something different happened.

First there came a quiet — the screams of the fallen simply bled out of the world.
Next there came a dimming — the colors disappeared, the faces blurred together.
Finally there came a nothing — the girl was all alone.

She sat there in the darkness, her knees clutched to her chest.
"Is there anybody there?" she cried out, when the silence was too much. The nothing did not answer.

The next night it was once again the same. First the horror, then the quiet, then the dimming, then the nothing.
Again the girl cried out, "Is there anybody there?" and again the nothing did not answer.

The third night was different. There was no horror to be quieted, there were no colors to be dimmed. The girl, newly sleeping, found the nothing waiting for her.

This time it wore a grin.

"Is there anybody there?" asked the girl for the third time. "Or am I all alone again?"

"Silly girl," said the grin, "you will never be alone. I am here, and I have heard you cry. I will take away your dreams, little one, if you will only call me sister."

The little girl thought long and hard, as the grin went on grinning. Finally she voiced a question.

"Sister, what is your name?"

The grin widened.

"Why, little sister... My name is Morgan."
Morgan is the newest addition to Elise's team, and the most mysterious. One morning she was simply there, and Elise has never offered any real explanation for this. Her value, however, cannot be denied. She is the most subtle of Elise's Pokemon, fighting with illusions, deception, and mental assaults. Morgan is the most intelligent and devious Pokemon in Elise's arsenal as well, demonstrating quickness of mind exceeding that of some humans. Often, Morgan takes the role of adviser and tactician, forming plans with Elise in the rear before supporting them with her powers from a distance.

Elise has an interesting habit — every night she releases Morgan before she sleeps. Every night, Morgan can be seen hovering over her bed, silent as a phantom. Some would say this was suspicious, but Elise trusts her completely.

Then again, Elise trusts everyone completely.
  • Total Willpower Consumed: 9
Dusk: Bloody brilliant character. I wouldn't change a damned thing if I were given the chance. Approved with my blessing and stamp of approval; this is my personal favorite character of the lot.

Re: Karud: Where We Stand

Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 1:23 am
by VZCabetardo
  • Image
  • Name: Domenico Zucco
  • Personality Traits: Calm, Passionate, Cautious, Distant, Tired, Archaic, Silent
  • Background:
*Slam*
*Slam*
*Slam*
The sounds of bodies slamming the tatami mats were the only thing heard in the Dojo. Master Higashi was training with his only Pokemon, a Lucario, side by side the two kept twenty different martial artists at bay using only the momentum of their opponents’ attacks. Zucco, barely five at the time, watched amazed at the prowess of his father. The village of Tanabe had only one thing of importance, Higashi, Zucco’s father and an incredibly talented martial artist.
*Slam*

Domenico had trained Ai Ki Do with his father since he was six and by the time he was eight he could hold his own against a well-trained teenager. He couldn't wait for class that day, his father had told him that upon reaching 5th Kyu he would receive his very first Pokemon. That day, Zucco received a Vulpix and started his career as a trainer.
*Slam*

Zucco has dedicated his life to the one thing his father had managed to fully implement in Tanabe’s everyday life, the practice of the Ai Ki Do, he would train several hours in the morning, meditate for two hours before lunch and then head back onto the Dojo to continue his training, Agni always by his side. By the time the catastrophe happened Zucco owned only two Pokemon, Agni, his female Ninetales and Raiju, a male Manectric.

The outcome of the catastrophe was the complete destruction of Zucco's small village a few miles north-west of New Terra, most of the village Pokemon rebelled and turned onto their masters, the tax of 6 Pokemon controlled by sole willpower was too much for the minds of unprepared trainers and even a couple were an incredible burden. Zucco made a stand with his Ninetales and Manectric in the dojo, trying to protect the few survivors. Eventually the feral town horde was fended off long enough to attempt a retreat covered by fire that left a trail of charred woods headed to New Terra.

Zucco is a very calm person, he has trained all of his life in order to fully control his mind and body trough the energy that flows between them. As a dedicated martial artist he can hold himself against most human opponents. His diet consists mainly on fruits and vegetables but he places survival over preference.
  • Current Situation:
Zucco is weary, he was 57 when the apocalypse happened and now yearns for his old life. After arriving at New Terra he defended the city from the ferals until he managed to find a way out of the large city, full of people and chaos. A flying Pokemon Trainer asked for recruits to join a Group of trainers making an effort to hold a human stronghold on the Eastern part of the continent. With the green mass threat growing, Zucco managed to find his way to Haven atop one of the trainers Fearows seven months ago and has served as an effective defense against large threats. He still trains daily in the smaller city, where silence can be found from time to time, a clearing inside the city serves as his dojo and a few people join him on his routine. Although he seldom speaks people respect him for his imposing presence and his physical prowess.


  • Pokémon List:
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  • Agni/Ninetales/Female (3 WP)
Agni was Zucco's first Pokemon. They are extremely close and she is quite experimented when it comes to simple battle tactics. Her relationship with Zucco is bound by respect. Agni was the first Pokemon that burdened Zucco's mind when the pokeballs stopped working correctly and probably the only one that would never turn against Zucco. She has always been an agile Pokemon, able to run faster than any other of Zucco's Pokemon, she is his main means of land transportation and is able to run for hours before needing a long night's rest. In battle Agni is evasive, her speed and energy are her main defence, tiring the enemy before making a single attack to finish them. She knows several powerful fire attacks. Although she won't tire easily from evading, her energy will be depleted quickly whenever she uses a taxing attack.
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  • Raiju/Manectric/Male (3 WP)
Raiju was the first Pokemon that Zucco captured after his father passed away six years ago, they have had time to grow fond of each other but their personalities still clash, Raiju is a very intelligent Pokémon that managed to escape a Pokémon lab, having spent most of its early life surrounded by humans he can understand orders perfectly and is able to speak some English albeit a crude accent, he has trained with Agni long enough to get to know their ways of fighting. His personality is rash and aggressive. Although not feral, Raiju lusts for battle and sometimes will continue fighting after a direct order to stand down. In battle he can be unpredictable and hard to control, especially after being hurt or mocked by an enemy. He is capable of devastating attacks such as Thunder. In Battle, Raiju is reckless and aggressive, trying to end a fight as soon as it starts, his energy is short lived but fierce, he is able to defeat an equally skilled opponent or two before having to return to his pokeball.
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  • Rudra/Glaceon/Female (3 WP)
Rudra is the latest addition to Zucco’s team, she was the sole survivor of a large scouting party sent to determine the origin and the leader of the red mass, overrun with ferals, Rudra couldn’t hide from the mass and fled to the South following the mountain range and then heading into the jungle. She arrived badly injured to a clearing near Zucco’s old village. Zucco found her in one of his expeditions in search of his old life mementos and tended her wounds, he took her in as another member in his family. Some people would call Rudra cowardly, after surviving the terrible onslaught she prefers to stay away from large numbers, instead attacking from afar. She is very intelligent, capable of approaching battles adaptively, although she is fast and nimble and harasses enemies as her main tactic, she is also capable of terrible attacks that can shatter a single target. Rudra is a fast hit and run attacker, her cowering fighting style is able to offset many short-tempered Pokemon. Rudra is fragile but able to take a hit whenever her speed and caution don’t allow her to stay out of harms way.
  • Total Willpower Consumed: 9

Dusk: Okay, Cab, few things that need to be addressed. First, the formatting of your post is pretty chaotic, you should press the "QUOTE" button above one of the other peoples' posts (such as my own) and get the formatting that way. There are also a few grammatical and spelling errors in the post, but those are of minor consequence. Just be wary of them for other posts, since it's important that you be perfectly understandable.

Now, about your character. You never specify which city you're from, which you really should. There are numerous cities in the area that you can work with, and there are even more not on the map that you can make up as necessary if you really want to. Honestly, though, you should be able to pick one of the other cities and be fine. You can also pick the now-dead, ruined cities. Also, I feel like you could elaborate a bit more about how you got to Haven. Stories that the green feral mass was growing is not a reason to run through the orange, yellow, and green masses to get to Haven. You really need to come up with something better than that, somehow.

You also have a few inconsistencies with your Pokemon. First of all, Manectric is a small electric-type Pokemon that is too small to carry a full-grown man, so it's really out of the question for transportation unless he drags you around. Next, Manectric isn't psychic, nor does it really have the vocal setup to speak English, so if you want it to speak English it will need to be a bit rudimentary. It certainly cannot be fluent at all, but I'm willing to buy it on some level if you insist. Lastly, I'm shocked that Glaceon would flee the cover of ice (where it is best suited to survive) for the forest around New Terra City. It doesn't make sense. I feel that you should come up with a better way that you acquired Glaceon, since right now it just doesn't make sense.

Otherwise, it's good. Keep at it!


Personally, I don't like how you've told the Inquill Temple as having been overrun. I have plans for that location, and it cannot be overrun, so you're going to have to think of another reason Glaceon was out and about. Maybe it was exploring and was attacked and thus had to flee, but it couldn't have been as a result of the temple being overwhelmed. Otherwise, I am fine with your character.

Good enough for me, approved.

Re: Karud: Where We Stand

Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2010 12:50 am
by Scarlet
  • Image
  • Name: Joanna Lane
  • Personality Traits: Pragmatic, Patient, Vigorous, Cynical, Stubborn, Rueful
  • Background:
Joanna Lane was born in what is now known as Whitecrush City, but she hadn't exactly been raised there. A few weeks after her birth her mother and father, the only family she had, were already on the move, relocating. But not because the city was in any real danger at the time. Definitely not because of the ferals. They were non-existent, back then.

Her family was on the move because her father was a military man, a lifer, a career soldier. He went where the military dictated, and he always brought his family with him. Round and round the world they went, never staying in one place too long. It became routine for Joanna as she grew up. Her friends constantly disappeared, changing as often as most kids rotated new sets of clothes. Spending a full school year in one place was bizarre to her, a total rarity.
Living accommodations were often rough, and never normal. But Joanna had been happy.

Eventually she joined the military herself, officially, and the whole thing started over, round and round the world. She trained extensively with Pokemon, any chance she got. They had always been a fascination for her. The only mainstay in her life, besides her parents, had been Pokemon. Everything else always changed. The scenery, the people, the customs. But Pokemon were everywhere. They were universal. They were the only thread tying her to a normal childhood, even if she didn't realize it at the time.

Well into her third year of service, not long before the ferals began their rampage, Joanna's father died. She'd been used to not seeing him for long stretches of time, by then. Weeks, months, even years went by without much contact between them, which was common enough in the military. He'd been serving in some remote location; an island, a forest, some backwater town, maybe. Nothing was clear. Joanna didn't hear a word of it until several months after the fact. She found out later that he'd been listed as MIA for a full year after his death. That had been kept from her, too. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence. Not when troops were so desperately needed.

Two years after her father's death, Joanna managed to leave the service. Frustrated, angry, and cynical, but with an honorable discharge. At the time she was still young enough and bold enough and dumb enough to believe she could survive on her own, without the military, without anyone. Then everything fell apart.
  • Current Situation:
Having traveled from place to place all her life, Joanna has found herself repeating the pattern since the apocalypse. She constantly moves from city to city, avoiding the masses, instead dealing with smaller groups, scouts and raiding parties. Restless, rootless, and hardened, she helps when and where she can and moves on. Coming into Haven some weeks past to resupply, Joanna is now as stranded as the rest of the broken city, isolated but not alone.

  • Pokemon List:
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  • Zeke, the Ursaring (3 WP)
Zeke has been Joanna's companion since youth. As a Teddiursa he was more akin to a little brother than a pet, naive and guileless and wholly trusting of Joanna, as kid brothers often are with their elder siblings. Later in life, as an Ursaring, he became more of a protective older brother. A guardian.
The speed Zeke shows in battle belies his immense size - larger even than most Ursarings - and strength. His bulk and raw power make him Joanna's vanguard, which suits him both from a practical and personal standpoint. He prefers a straightforward approach, lacking Joanna's subtlety and patience. Joanna figures he'd have made a great Marine.
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  • Stranger, the Luxray (3 WP)
Stranger was chosen as part of an advanced exercise, well into Joanna's training. Infiltration, search and rescue, extraction. She was Joanna's eyes and ears, her knife in the dark, and a great decoy to boot, all in one package. Perfect for silent takedowns, even without being able to put her true strengths to great use. Her electric attacks had been relegated to distractions, at best. Joanna knew Stranger would make a great companion, right off the bat. She was intelligent and obedient, following every order without any hesitation or confusion. Since then Stranger has primarily served as Joanna's scout. Being as perceptive and restrained as her mistress ensures she fills the role without putting herself in much danger. In combat Stranger's natural agility and prowess make her a capable melee combatant, but she serves mostly as ranged support, never straying far from Joanna.
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  • Aker, the Torterra (3 WP)
Joanna encountered Aker not long after the catastrophe first began. She'd been traversing through hilly terrain, dips and rises obscuring her vision every fifty or so yards. She felt the tremors long before anything else. The ground began to move, visibly, as if it were coming apart under her feet. She saw dirt cracking and hard earth spitting out, angry, like a signal. Like something was coming up from under, some new terror hungry for destruction after its long slumber.

Then she heard a roar. It was deafening. There was anger and pain in it and it hadn't come from under the ground. Joanna ran towards its source, quick but cautious, tense with combat anticipation. She could hear angry screeches, high-pitched, taunting, numerous. Loud snaps, punctuated by anguished cries. And fewer taunts. Heavy stomps that split the earth, reshaped the landscape, ended lives. She came up past a hill and saw a behemoth of a Pokemon, a Torterra, surrounded by what seemed like hundreds of small white balls of fur with limbs and tails constantly flitting around the larger Pokemon, biting and scratching and pounding anything that looked vulnerable. There were also larger furballs, these without tails, more focused in their rage than the chaotic Mankey. Dozens of the Mankey and Primeape were littered across the ground, dead or dying, crushed or sunk underneath the earth or entangled in its grasp. But it was clear the Torterra was worn down. Wounded, badly. He was tired and alone and desperate, and he knew the fight was a lost cause. Joanna didn't hesitate.

After the fight Aker gladly accompanied Joanna, grateful for her help. A powerhouse in every sense of the word, the slow, tough Torterra is a consistently impressive fighter, both at range and in close quarters, his affinity with the earth and colossal size shining through in either case.
  • Total Willpower Consumed: 9
Dusk: Your character is good. It's nothing amazing or groundbreaking and nothing that made me stand up from my seat and go "Oh wow," but it's good nonetheless. Approved.