Parugi

I like how so many complain when so many of them were also saying that they didn't care that BIONICLE was ending...

Who's the fairest of them all? ... Definitely not this guy, that's for sure! Who is 'this guy' that I refer to? You might know him as that one guy, or that other guy, or even yourself! Wait, what? That makes no sense! That's like... like... totally arcane! And so it is. The next character teaser brings us to the Dark Hunter known simply as Arcane! (Just FYI, I love this guy, so don't be surprised if I keep on fawning over him. ) Who is he? What are his powers? Arcane is... well, arcaneish. No one knows anything about his past, something that the Shadowed One has noted time and time again. Arcane himself doesn't even remember anything about his past, aside from his name -- however, because it would be nearly impossible for a 'mortal' being to speak it, he chooses not to share it. Unlike the other characters showcased before, Arcane has had several past appearances. During Jaeda's crusade on Exa-Nui, the Shadowed One sent Arcane after the Dark Hunters he had hired out to Jaeda, as he wanted to know what she was after. It was here that Arcane learned about the Orbs; he also came into contact with Toa Kovian, who, after being sucked into the nightmarish realm of Arcane's mind, defeated the Dark Hunter, earning his respect. Arcane's stomach mirror was shattered, damaging the knowledge he had recently obtained; as such, he forgot that the Orbs actually did exist, and so his goal switched from watching Jaeda and Xaeda to defeating them. Arcane sent a message to TSO, who later sent a dragon-like Hunter named Igolo, to assist Arcane. Together, the two [DATA CORRUPTED.] Arcane was later part of the group of Dark Hunters sent to Xatai, during the Tournament of Shadows, which Toa Kovian was participating in at the time. Together with Srizz, Kovian's teammate, the trio broke into the main fortress, where Arcane engaged the main referee in combat. She was defeated, and [DATA CORRUPTED.] For the sake of describing him: Arcane is an odd figure. He stands at 8' tall, and wears very dark blue armor. He looks rather plain, until you note the mirrors adorning his body. These mirrors are perfect circles, and are found on his stomach, face, forearms (these two act as large shields) and shins. Arcane's mirrors have a variety of uses: He cane use them to locate objects, wherever they may be, speak in real time to others through them, no matter where they are, pull a being or beings into his own mind and utilize a ton of light-based powers, as well as controlling 'statues' of beings who have sold their soul to him. Arcane's mirrors are easily his greatest strength and weakness: Without them, he can not use his powers as efficiently, hence why they are built into his armor as opposed to be separate pieces. However, if one is broken, his essence -- a deep blue, smoke-like substance, similar to Antidermis -- will leak out. Luckily, his mirrors are easily repairable. Personality-wise, Arcane is a regal figure, speaking with an elegant and precise accent. He finds harm done to others amusing, and only steps in when he feels like it. He was very overconfident in his abilities at one point; however, after being defeated by Kovian, he has grown to respect his limits. While appearing quite sane, those who have been pulled into his mind have found that he is a twisted being -- though he would never show it. Who does he work with? Against? Arcane works diligently for the Dark Hunters as a whole. He is greatly respected for his power, especially since those who don't respect him tend to end up as zombies to be used in his mind battles. The Shadowed One usually assigns him on solo missions; however, he has called for back-up on at least one mission, on Exa-Nui. This has not lowered the Shadowed One's opinion of him. Arcane works rather well with Kovian. The two have actually developed a close trust between each other, speaking to each other as if they were brothers. Arcane does worry about Kovian's odd comments in regards to the Dark Hunters; however, it is unlikely that he would stop him if he tried to do anything... disruptive. Final thoughts? Arcane is awesome. That's all there is for me to say. You can expect quite a bit of 'stuff' from him in Dark Deeds. Also, I'm going to do something different this time. Looking at the Dark Deeds 'cast list' in my profile, is there anyone you want to learn more about for the next teaser? I'd hate to force information on you guys(?) that you aren't interested in.

I'm definitely not saying that I may have posted a picture of myself in my own blog... hypothetically speaking, of course.

:3 In all seriousness: *Looks at own blog*

Thanks, guys. I'll see to updating the list at some point this week.

Team Liberty Cal Riggs Scott Williams Ryan Sanders James Arthur Gecynde Wynn; Virden Kennings Scott Stone Selene Ashera/Silvermind Jason Hemming; Rachael Camilla Kyle Eston Jayron Aaron Nate Delano Michael Ray Jake Soren Thomas Solson Roderick Krane Ethan Williams Amelia Williams Kyle Rogers Geoff Grahams Cyan Vero Team Rocket Dan the Mad Reyna Dranys Jessica Ortrune Ethan Worth; Gavin Braner Max Bussle/Buzz Zachary Williams

Heh; thanks, EW. I couldn't have done it without the help of everyone at the RPG planning thread, though, so appaud for them, too.

We'll be waiting.

Lewa: Join us. > Bunda: Gotcha.

... but Rise of the Rockets has been posted! Quick! Hurry over and join!

Aha; I see now. Thanks. EW: My apologies, Emperor. *Bows* Now to PM Mr. President Than...

Nope. Was I supposed to? I found the guidelines a little confusing when it came to that part. :3

[Live video feed.] Camera clicks on. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! Trainers, Agents of Team Liberty and Team Rocket! As you know the war between Our favorite tyranny -- Team Rocket -- and our number one resistance group -- Team Liberty -- has been hard at work, attempting to become detailed enough to be approved and played! Well, after weeks of editing and fighting, arguing and debating, as well as waiting for the RPG approval topic to go back up, the war may finally become one that people can actually participate in! In this report, aside from stating the obvious, we'll be following the progress of Pokémon: Rise of the Rockets in the Completely Off-Topic role-playing game approval topic. Events will be listed in chronological order, from least recent to most recent. Apr 25 2010, 07:39 PM: Rise of the Rockets is brought to the floor posted in the approval topic by Mr. Parugi. Apr 26 2010, 01:59 AM: Senator Judge I Am Become Death gives his approval of the bill RPG. This movement is unanimously agreed upon, and as such no debate ensues. Apr 26 2010, 07:21 AM: Senator Judge Kirakishou stands, seems to want to say something, though gives their approval of the bill RPG. There is much rejoicing. Apr 26 2010, 09:39 AM: Senator Judge EmperorWhenua... Well, I think his words speak for themselves: Apr 26 2010, 03:15 PM: Senator Judge Spink's approval brings RotR's passage to the halfway point. Mr. Parugi, creator of the bill RPG, waits anxiously for the ya or nay of the other judges senators Judges. Apr 26 2010, 05:14 PM: Senator Judge Sisen Lord Togepi has granted RotR his approval. Mr. Parugi awaits the approval of Senators Judges Wrack and Than, who will make or break his bill RPG. Apr 26 2010, 06:06 PM: Senator Judge Gaap has given his approval, bringing the total number of approvals to 6. Final approval must be given by President RPG Leader Than before RotR can officially start. Apr 26 2010, 07:01 PM: Still no word from President RPG Leader Than. Anxiety reaching is a new level for Mr. Parugi. Apr 26 2010, 07:18 PM: Still no word from Than. K.Y.7.3. will be taking a break for a while; perhaps the President RPG Leader will have announced his decision by the time we return. Stay tuned! Apr 27 2010, 04:21 PM: Still no word. The suspense is literally killing people, as miniature wars begin to break out between the spectators. Apr 27 2010, 06:26 PM: Mr. Parugi is smacked upside the head by both Senator judge EmperorWhenua and Nara567, before moving on to PM President Than. Apr 27 2010, 07:48 PM: President Global Moderator Than signs the bill approves the RPG! AMENDMENT: According to Mr. Parugi, the RPG will be up before 10:00 P.M. this evening. He is unable to post it at the current time due to circumstances involving "homework," though he assures us that it will be done. Players across the boards of BZ-Nui are rejoicing at this spectacular news! You can expect the RPG to be posted soon -- Mr. Parugi states that he must send a PM to his co-Game Master, Kumata, before posting the RPG, but once he does, you can expect quite an adventure! Join us next time at K.Y.7.3.!

Yup. Though I did just submit it last night, so... Still; six approvals in a day is, I'm pretty sure, a record, so I'm happy.

Lol; thanks. Four approvals in a day. Is that a record?

Greg's talking about several projects going on -- like BS01's New World, for example -- that involve the creation of canon material using fan-made names.

Submitting RotR for approval now. Wish me luck. Done.

I finished my RotR characters. I figured out what my problem was, and after that it was easy as pie to write their backgrounds. Still waiting for a reply from KM, though, so that I know if I need to change anything before I submit it for approval. Which reminds me, I need to post it in the Planning topic to get a final member verdict... *Goes to do that* Oh, and what the heck is this? I clean the house several times and offer to use some of my lunch money for next month to rent a game, and I get told no, but then my sister, who doesn't do anything at all around the house aside from making it a bigger mess and starting fights, asks once and she gets told yes, and then I don't even get an offer? What the heck is wrong with this picture!? Why are sloth and grouch getting rewarded while the people who actually do things get the short end of the stick?

R&R hasn't been going for almost three years, though, so you have an excuse. But, it will be done, hopefully before the end of the year.

Prepare for trouble Make it double Prepare for trouble Make it double We'll be the richest, rogues of all time Creators of a grand design I'll be the king I'll be the queen I'll be the Joker... of crime Alright, so that song doesn't completely work for this character. First of all, she's not a talking cat; second, she's a jester, not a 'joker'; and third... Well, I don't actually have a third reason. Regardless, this entry brings us back to the flip side, showcasing another Dark Hunter associated with Kovian. As you've probably picked out, she is a joker, a jester and not a talking cat. Her name is Céris, as well as Jester. Who is she? What are her powers? Céris... how best to describe her? Essentially, her species is a mix of Vortixx and Toa -- she's slightly shorter than the former, though just as strong, able to use masks as effectively as the latter, though does not have to wear them, and possesses the element of fire, as well as a Kanohi Calix, Mask of Fate. Her codename gives away much of her personality -- she sees life as a joke, a game to be won, and with her skill, she believes that she can win it. Her Ondarian pride is next to none, and as such she cares as much about insults as she does about powers -- that is to say, she finds both needless, hence why she relies more on her natural card and dagger throwing skills than she does on her fire abilities. Céris's primary weapons are her throwing daggers and several decks of razor-sharp, metal cards, all of which she is able to hurl with deadly skill. Who does she work with? Against? Jester is actually one of the first Dark Hunters that Kovian goes on a mission with. While the exact details of this can not be disclosed, I will say that they originally did not care much for each other, though eventually gained respect for one another. Jester is also close friends with Dothe, and like him, she does not approve of Summoner or any of the other extremely prideful Hunters. Final thoughts? Jester should be... interesting, to say the least. You'll see what I mean as time goes by; other than that, I can't say much else.

The RPG system is back up!!! : D I just need a response to my last PM from my potential (if not already set in stone) co-host and then I should be ready... Second big highlight of the day; whoop! EDIT: Yup, it's official: KM has accepted the position of co-GM. Congrats to him!

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «Pokémon Rise of the Rockets 20 years ago... "That was almost too easy," Bounty chuckled, wiping Giovanni's blood from his pistol before replacing it in its holster. The former Team Rocket leader lay in a crumpled heap on the floor, beaten in battle by his most trusted followers before, at his own prompting, being executed. As it stood, the four Shadow Admins remained in a wide circle around him, taking in their victory. At his fellow Admin's remark, Sleight's eyes narrowed, looking at his former leader's body before seating himself at the long, ebony desk at the end of the room. He leaned back, placing his feet on its shiny surface. "Don't jinx us," he warned, his icy blue eyes focused on Bounty. "There is still work to be done. Have any of our spies managed to get inside Kanto's chain of command? Or Johto's? Hoenn? And what of Sinnoh?" Ace nodded. "Riley and Miller managed to.... 'replace' several prominent figures last month," she said. "McKlellen and Adrian the month before. Others are in position, waiting for our assassins to take out the leaders of the other regions." Sleight nodded. "Excellent," he said. "Soon enough, we'll be ready... Until then, make the announcement. Begin recruitment and training immediately -- with our new policies. Giovanni sought and failed to remake the world, to remove liars and thieves from power; but together, we will bring about the end of corruption, once and for all, and create an era of 'peace.'" The other Shadow Admins saluted Sleight before turning and heading out. Sleight waited until he was sure they were gone; then, he pulled out a PDA, flipping through several files. His eyes darted back to Giovanni's body; then, he stood up, called for a couple of Rocket Grunts to remove the corpse, and left the room. 18 years ago... "Don't move," the Rocket warned, his pistol pointed at the President of Kanto. The man looked fearfully at his captor, but nodded nonetheless. All around the room, guards were being held at gunpoint; the President had a feeling that the situation throughout the rest of the building wasn't much different. He jumped as someone knocked on the door, once, twice, three times; then, nothing. The next instant, the doors flew open, and another Rocket strode in, flanked by two burly Grunts. He recognized the man as a lawmaker he had met a couple of months ago; now, he wore the black uniform of Team Rocket, and his eyes betrayed the flame of hate hidden by his calm face. "Master Sleight," the pistol-toting Rocket saluted, grabbing his captive and hoisting him to his feet. "Our mission has been accomplished. What do you want us to do with all of this baggage?" He gestured to the guards. "Exterminate them," Sleight said simply. "Leave the President -- Kanto must see its leader hand over his position. Then he will join the rest of his cabinet, in an... undisclosed location." The President looked confused for a moment; then his eyes widened. "You'll never get away with this..." he said, his voice shaking. "The other regions will do all they can to defeat you -- you'll face a war you cannot win." Sleight frowned and held up a remote, pointing it at the TV. The President watched as large groups of Rockets marched into the various cities of not only Kanto, but its neighbors, too. His eyes widened even more in terror, thinking of the risk that he would be taking by refusing. Hundreds might be killed; thousands, even. By the looks of it, the KPF had already been subdued; no one arrived to fight back against the invaders, aside from a few brave trainers, who were quickly felled. "All right!" he said. "I'll do it... As long as you promise not to harm anyone, I'll do it." Sleight smiled, snapping his fingers. Several Rockets came in with two large cameras and a teleprompter-like device, turning them on. The President sighed, wiping his brow. Looking directly at them, he began to speak, hoping beyond hope that this was a better choice than the alternative. "Citizens of Kanto," he said bitterly. "Do not be alarmed. It is with great..." He had to force the next word out. "... pleasure that I announce the new reign of Team Rocket. Do not fight back; follow their orders and no one will be harmed. Please -- for the sake of your lives, do not disobey." "Well done, sir," Sleight said, as the cameras were removed. "You will be escorted out... And rest assured, your citizens will remain safe -- for now." He exited the room, followed by two Grunts escorting the President. The guards led him outside; then, without hesitation, they placed a gun to his back and fired. The bang rang out through several blocks; then, they tossed his body down the front steps, into the dirt below. 12 years ago... Six years is long enough... Markus Aleivy thought, pushing his way through a thick bush and into a clearing. It was empty, much to his annoyance. Hopefully the others feel that way, too... And why am I always early? He knew why -- because he was one of the only ones who bothered to check for waiting Rockets. Despite the fact that they were on the Sevii Islands, a place that was now hidden from the Rockets because of mole work, he still didn't feel at ease -- he never did. It was impossible to, with Team Rocket's reach stretched so far, especially when you were on their list of wanted trainers, as Markus was. This in mind, he edged his way around the perimeter of the clearing, Pokéball in hand, ready to fight if the need arose... There was a sudden rustling behind him, and he whipped around, though relaxed when he saw that the newcomer was simply Shannon Ramirez, a refugee he had met a couple of months before -- one who happened to have helped him disable a Rocket Facility or two in that time. She smiled and nodded at him. "I saw a couple of other trainers approaching on my way here," she reported. "I'm not sure if they're Rockets or refs, though." "I'm sure we can take either one," Markus responded, spinning his Magnezone's Pokéball on the tip of his finger. Through the trees, he could hear someone else nearing; he and Shannon slunk into the shadows, watching as another trainer entered the clearing, followed by another, two more, four others. There were eight in total, ten including Markus and Shannon. Recognizing the first, Mark smiled, slowly stepping into view. "Long time, no see, Kane." The Dark-type specialist nodded curtly. "Mark. Shannon," he said. "So, we're really doing this, then? I almost thought against coming here, considering the Rockets ferocity towards renegades. I suppose it's good that I kept true to my word. I'm assuming you have the plans all drawn up?" "Of course," Mark said, reaching into his bag. He extracted blueprints, showing them to Kane. "I think it'll work, at least until we have time to add on to it." Kane looked over the papers for several moments before nodding. "Good; I'll have my workers get going on construction immediately," he said. He gestured to the other trainers with him. "Meanwhile, I would decide on our first act of defiance." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone, stepping outside of the clearing as the others gathered in a circle... * * * Sleight smirked at the news. It was an unsettling sight, though the Grunt who had made the report didn't show his unease. The Admin thought the news over for another moment, and then began to chuckle. "You're dismissed, Alder," he said. Alder nodded, saluted and then left. Sleight pressed a button on his desk, prompting a screen to flip up. It turned on, showing the faces of the other Shadow Admins. "Well, my friends, apparently we have a new resistance group to take care of," he immediately began. "'Team Liberty,' they call themselves." Joker laughed. "How funny," she smirked. "I received news of them, as well. Don't worry; they'll follow the same road as the others. They'll spread word about themselves for a little bit, manage to take out a couple of patrols, and then-" The line suddenly went down. Sleight's eyes narrowed as it was replaced with a picture, a bird-like creature flanked by two swords. Beneath it were the words "Team Liberty," followed by the words "Blackskull," "Goldhawk" and "Bluefalcon," alongside a message. The Shadow Admin studied this for a moment. Then, he smiled. So... It's war. All right; I'm willing to humor them... for now. Present Time... Sleight was both impressed and annoyed as he surveyed the battle taking place outside of Team Rocket's Fuschia base. Twelve years ago a resistance group called 'Team Liberty' had announced its existence to the world, declaring war on Team Rocket in an effort to remove the group from power. Sleight and the other Shadow Admins -- especially Joker -- hadn't thought much of it: in the time that they had ruled, small rebellions had popped up constantly, each one swiftly defeated by their forces. But this one... Sleight didn't know how, but this one had managed to drag out this little 'war' for over a decade. While admiring their determination, he was losing patience, though he knew that they would not be able to hold out for much longer... "Sir?" Sleight turned to the door to find Jackson, a Rocket Executive, standing with a PDA-like device in his hand. "Our newest recruits have just finished their training. They're awaiting further instructions at Chapel." Sleight nodded, grabbing the Pokéballs lined on his desk and placing them on his belt. "I will be there shortly," he said, heading out the door. "Hopefully they'll prove more competent than the last group when it comes to capturing targets..." * * * The war was not going well. Goldhawk knew that, and he knew that Blackskull and Bluefalcon saw it too. Each passing day brought about the fall of more and more veteran Agents, and the earlier deployment of new ones. Grounds shifted from the control of one side to the next sooner than one could say "Gyrados." The strain was starting to show, as arguments among the three Team Liberty leaders grew hotter and hotter. Despite this, they knew that they had to do something; that was why they had unanimously decided on a new course of action. It was clear that their current forces would never be able to free every region; however, if they could find the members of the Elite Four, the Gym Leaders who had been imprisoned or were in hiding, or even locate the missing Legendary Pokémon, then maybe, just maybe they could end Team Rocket's reign. They just needed troops to send on that mission... Goldhawk looked at his desk, noticing that a red light on his intercom was blinking. He pressed the button next to it, and was greeted by the voice of Red, one of Team Liberty's Chief Advisers, as well as an effective Agent. "Goldhawk, sir, we've just finished training a large group of recruits," he said. "Shall we initiate Operation R.A.L.L.Y.?" Goldhawk smiled. "Affirmative," he answered. "Permission to initiate Operation R.A.L.L.Y. has been granted. Proceed under protocol." Story in a Nutshell Twenty years prior to the events of the RPG, Giovanni's abilities as leader of Team Rocket were called into question. A group of ambitious Rocket Administrators, called the Shadow Admins, overthrew him and orchestrated a master plot to take over the four main regions -- Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh. After infiltrating the governments of those areas, they succeeded, and now rule with a supposed iron fist. In response to this, several small groups of trainers attempted to rebel; all were defeated and imprisoned or killed. One of these groups -- Team Liberty -- moved their operations to the Sevii Islands, a small region that they had managed to erase from the Rocket's database. Here they turned their rag-tag team into an organized fighting force, declaring war on Team Rocket soon after. Twelve years after Team Liberty's formation, the war has shifted in favor of Team Rocket. Desperate, Goldhawk, Bluefalcon and Blackskull, the leaders of Team Liberty, decided to send several small groups of newly recruited and trained Agents to search for the Gym Leaders, Elite Four members, and Legendary Pokémon and trainers that Team Rocket had driven into hiding, to assist them in the war. On the flip side, Team Rocket had similar ideas, and are using their own Agents to capture these prominent figures. Here is where you enter, acting as an Agent of either Team Rocket or Team Liberty, searching for these figures and ultimately deciding the fate of the Pokémon world. Gameplay: Welcome to Rise of the Rockets, a Pokémon RPG, as you might have been able to tell. RotR takes place in a drastically changed Pokémon world, one where the villainous Team Rocket, now more brutal than ever, has taken over the four main regions, led by the Shadow Admins. A resistance team, called Team Liberty has declared war on them, a war that is still going on today. This is where you come in. Players participate in the war as either a member of Team Rocket or an Agent of Team Liberty, fighting for seemingly obvious reason -- the former to keep themselves in power and the latter to upset that rule. However, there are many secrets hidden in the shadows, hinting that things aren't as concrete as they seem. Your primary job is to locate various figures -- Gym Leaders, Elite four members, Legendary Pokémon and famous trainers -- and either recruit them to your cause or imprison them. Other jobs include attacking facilities controlled by your enemy, catching and raising your Pokémon, etc. etc. So, that's that. For more in-depth information, read on! Factions Every story has two sides, typically the "good" side and the "evil" side. In Rise of the Rockets, you have a choice -- will you tell the story from Team Libetry's point of view, in their efforts to liberate the world from Team Rocket's reign? Or will you fight for the Rockets, seeking to crush rebellion and remake the world in your view? Team Liberty First established twelve years prior to current events, Team Liberty, as their name suggests, strives to liberate the four main regions from Team Rocket's control, seeing their methods of control as unacceptable. Leaders: Markus Aleivy (Goldhawk,) Shannon Ramirez (Bluefalcon,) Kane Umbra (Blackskull.) Controlled Regions: Sevii Islands. Base of Operations: The Alamo: Located on Four Island, the Alamo is Team Liberty's main headquarters. It was constructed with and funded by Team Liberty Leader Blackskull, and consists of a Pokémon Center/storage warehouse, sleeping quarters and several training grounds, among other similar things. Boats heading off to secluded islands nearby are a common sight, from which Agents take other forms of transportation to their assigned areas. Its location has been hidden from Team Rocket after grueling mole work, and is where Blackskull, Goldhawk and Bluefalcon are most commonly found. Team Liberty has built several fallback points on the other islands, in the event of a Rocket invasion.Other Information: Tensions seem to be rising between Goldhawk and Blackskull recently, which is thought to be due to the pressure of war or some other problem. Team Rocket For generations Team Rocket knew nothing but defeat; with the coming of the Shadow Admins, that changed. Under their rule, Team Rocket orchestrated a master plot to take control of the four main regions, Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh, along with wiping out resistance in the Orange Islands and the Sevii Islands. Leaders: Sleight (Kanto,) Joker (Johto,) Ace (Hoenn,) Bounty (Sinnoh.) Controlled Regions: Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, some outposts in the Orange Islands. Base of Operations: Chapel: One of Team Rockets' four main headquarters, and the Master Facility in Kanto. Thus far, Team Liberty has only managed to find out the name -- they still have not located it, though it is believed to be located somewhere along Victory Road. It is run by Shadow Admin Sleight. This is also the starting point for new Team Rocket characters. ?: Team Rockets' Master Facility in Johto. Location and name unknown, aside from that it is under the control of Shadow Admin Joker. ?: Team Rockets' Hoenn Master Facility. Nothing else is known about it, though it is managed by Shadow Admin Ace. ?: The last of Team Rockets' Master Facilities, it is located somewhere in Sinnoh. It's name and exact location are both unknown. It is commanded by Shadow Admin Bounty. Various, smaller bases stationed around the four main regions and the Orange Islands.Other Information: Despite their history, Team Rocket has actually brought about a relatively peaceful atmosphere for their controlled areas -- prior to the war with Team Liberty, there were no large scale conflicts, and hostility was only shown to those who would not obey. Whether this is actually true or if it just seems that way because Team Rocket wants it to is an unanswered question. On another note, some of the Shadow Admins seem rather distant as of late, though no one knows why. Bear in mind that not everyone is truly what they make themselves out to be -- everyone has their own hidden agenda, plans that may be better for the world than the current one. Others, though, may be far, far worse... Choose carefully. Achievements This section lists the current achievements of each group. Characters retrieved by Team Liberty will be marked in green, while characters captured by Team Rocket will be marked in red. Kanto Gym Leaders Retrieved - Johto Gym Leaders Retrieved - Hoenn Gym Leaders Retrieved - Sinnoh Gym Leaders Retrieved - Orange Crew Members Retrieved - Frontier Brains Retrieved - Elite Four Members Retrieved - Other Famous Trainers Retrieved - Legendary Pokémon Retrieved - Character Profile Fill this form out and post it here, should you wish to join. You are allowed up to three characters at one time, though extras can be issued as rewards for good behavior. [b]Username:[/b] Your username here. Duh. [b]Name:[/b] This is so ridiculously obvious that the only note I'm going to add is that you should probably use a logical name - something like Daniel Pepper or Emily Johnson, for instance. For realism, you can add a last name. [b]Faction:[/b] Team Rocket or Team Liberty. [b]Hometown:[/b] Where is your character from? [b]Age:[/b] 14 is the minimum, unless you can give a good reason as to why your character would be younger. [b]Appearance:[/b] This is the physical description of your character. Hair color, eye color, height, and clothes should be listed here, as well as other such information. [b]Personality:[/b] This is your character's personality. Please do not make your character perfect - everyone has their flaws, no matter how much you may say otherwise. Also, describe! Make it in-depth! We need to know how your character would act! Do NOT put, "Fun, smart, loving." OR "Doesn't tell anyone." [b]Background:[/b] Information about your character's life. Ya know? [b]Pokémon:[/b] You may start with two Pokémon. For your Pokémon (one for each): [b]Species:[/b] Um... yeah... Pokémon species. Rather obvious. Is it a Charmander? A Pikachu? Whatever? [b]Nickname:[/b] What's your Pokémon's name? [b]Trainer:[/b] Name of trainer here. [b]Appearance:[/b] Canonically speaking, all the members of a species (supposedly) look the same. That's not the case here. What are some differences between your Pokémon and the norm? [b]Personality:[/b] Your Pokémon's personality. Pretty much the same as the one for your trainer character -- what's he or she like? [b]Ability:[/b] Each Pokémon has a certain ability (e.g. the Fire starters usually have Blaze, while others have, say levitate, and so on.) What is yours? [b]Specialty:[/b] Pokémon are bound to have their own individual skills. Does your Pikachu excel in physical or special attacks? [b]Known Moves:[/b] Choose up to six (6) attacks that the Pokémon would learn by -leveling up- to start with. TM and HM attacks still need to be taught through TM and HM, therefore you cannot start with them. The Age and Family Factor You are allowed to have your character be related to a Gym Leader/E4 member/other famous trainers. however, this brings up several issues, which will be addressed here. First off, you may only have one of your characters be related to one famous trainer. The reasons for this should be pretty obvious. For one, if you have all three of your characters be the child of a famous trainer and you specify that they are those three trainers' only children, you have effectively used up three famous characters that could have easily had more than one child. Next, and I have seen this before on another forum and version of this RPG, without a limit on the amount of famous relatives you can have, the possibility arises for you to continuously add more and more and more relatives to your character. The person in question who did this ended up having Gary Oak be their father, Prof. Oak be their grandfather, and (I don't know how the heck this worked out) Lance as their uncle, among several others. It was ridiculous and unrealistic. The only exception to this is if your relative has an established relative of their own in the canon, as in the case of Gary/Prof. Oak or Koga and his daughter. The second issue here is in regards to age. Assuming that the fourth generation games all take place at the same time, this is set 20 years after it. As such, no one is going to look or be the same as they are during those games, since they would be 20 years older. For those who don't have a clue in regards to how this works -- I'll use Brock as an example. We estimate him to be about 26 during the events of HG/SS. You would take that age, add 20, and you get 46 -- his age during the RPG. It's pretty simple. Take this into consideration when writing your profiles, too -- if you do the math wrong, you could end up with a father/mother only 15 years older than you are, and that's a little... weird. So, please remember this, as it will be heavily enforced when I or my co-GM begin to approve profiles. Evolution Guide I am setting limits on how often you can evolve your Pokémon, as I do not want everyone getting third-stage Pokémon right after we start. Not only is that unrealistic in terms of Pokémon realism, but it also takes away the fun of the game. When you feel you've battled enough, you are free to evolve your Pokémion -- you don't need my permission, as long as you are willing to fight the required amount of battles. Also, this is not required, but to keep things balanced, I would prefer it if you would evolve each of your Pokémon that can evolve at once before evolving one of them again. Say, for instance, I had Charmander, Squirtle and Pichu. I evolve Charmander into Charmeleon. You can either evolve it into Charizard later, or evolve both of your other Pokémon into Wartortle and Pikachu first, respectively. It's not required to do the latter, but I would prefer it very much. Anyway, here's a fairly simple chart showing how many battles you must participate in to evolve. Note that you do not have to win every battle: 1st Evolution: 7 battles. 2nd Evolution: 9 more battles. Evolution w/Stone/Item: Either use the stone/item or do 8 battles. Evolution w/Other Pokémon: 7 battles, with at least one alongside the required Pokémon (You do not need to own it.) Evolution w/Trading: Either trade or do 7 battles. Evolution @ Certain Location: 8 battles with at least 1 at that location (I.E. 1 battle at Moss Rock for Leafeon.) Simple, riiight? Good. Pokémon - Starters and Catching When you first start off, you will be able to choose up to two basic-level Pokémon to start with. Any Pokémon can be chosen, aside from a select few. These Pokémon and their reasons for being restricted are: -Legendary Pokémon -- Rather obvious, as they are legendary, and as such there aren't that many, plus they're too powerful. The only time these can be obtained in any sort of way is on missions where you are required to recruit them; however, this is the only instance. -Middle/final stage Pokémon -- No final stage Pokémon are allowed to be used by new Agents -- they're too powerful. Duh. Some middle stage Pokémon could be used, though it depends on what the requested Pokémon is. In other words, I'll be judging middle stage Pokémon on a case-by-case basis. Otherwise, anything is free to use. If you wish to catch a Pokémon, which you inevitably will, then you must get permission first. Multiples of Legendary Pokémon Because we are mostly going off of the games and manga, quite a few Legendary Pokémon are going to be treated as multi-member species throughout the game. This system is primarily based off of their Pokédex entries, many of which imply the existence of more than one of the Pokémon in question. These Pokémon are: -The five Kanto/Johto birds -- Ho-oh, Lugia, Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres. -The three Johto dogs -- Entei, Suicune and Raikou. -Mew -Celebi* -Three of the four Regis -- Regice, Registeel and Regirock. Regigigas is not included because of its implied status as a single Pokémon. -Latios and Latias -Deoxys -Jirachi -Manaphy and Phione All others will be treated as one of a kind Pokémon, due to evidence in their Pokédex entries. *Celebi's nature as a time traveling Pokémon leaves its status relatively ambiguous. Some people may argue that there have to be multiple ones from different moments in time, while others could simply see it as one that has made its mark at many different times to many different people. Moves I'm going to go out on a limb and use a trust system when it comes to moves. Basically, you are the judge of what your Pokémon can use, selecting attacks out of their naturally learned/Egg move pool to use. The only thing is, young Pokémon are not going to be allowed to use moves they learn at, say, level 30 -- at least, not nearly as much nor will those attacks be as powerful. So, yeah, technically your Charmander could use Flamethrower, but it wouldn't be nearly as strong as it would be once it evolves into Charmeleon. In addition, to stop suddenly changing attacks, your Pokémon may only know a maximum of six moves at any given time. TM/HM Factor TMs and HMs are rather curious items in the games. When you use one, provided it is an attack that your Pokémon can learn, it will automatically teach the specified move to that Pokémon. The workings behind this have never been revealed. For the purposes of this game, though, an explanation must be given. Essentially, TMs and HMs act as computerized instruction booklets, giving you information on how to teach an attack to a Pokémon but not necessarily allowing them to use it right away. Using these instructions, you can teach your Pokémon how to use the move, though it will require practice before they master it (about the duration of one mission.) However, there is a rather annoying technicality with most HMs: Most are things your Pokémon should already know how to do, like swimming (Surf) and flying (Fly) for example. Well, needless to say that I'm not going to not let you use a Pokémon to fly around or swim from place to place without being taught the move. However, to use them in battle, your Pokémon would have to learn how to manipulate whatever it is they are doing, like using a large amount of water for Surf. The same goes for several other attacks, like Bite and Scratch, which aren't in the move pools of some Pokémon that should, from a technical point of view, be able to do that. I am throwing that out the window, to an extent: If your Pokémon has a mouth but doesn't learn Bite, it can still bite, but it will be typeless and do less damage than the learned move; same with Scratch. 'Upgrading' Moves As your Pokémon grows older, it should be able to use its powers to a larger degree. So, whenever one of your Pokémon evolves, you can choose one move to 'upgrade' -- for example, if my Charmander evolved, I could freely replace Ember with Flamethrower. Other moves can be upgraded as time goes by, though by no means can all of those moves by powered up right away. Move Tutors Move Tutors specialize in teaching moves to a Pokémon quicker than their trainer is able to. They can be found throughout the various regions, and, for a small price, will gladly teach your Pokémon a move for you. However, as this process takes time, you will need to leave that Pokémon with the Move Tutor so that they can teach them the specified move. There is no specific time required for them to finish teaching a move -- generally, they'll be done after the duration of the mission following you dropping the Pokémon off. Game Masters and Moderators Games Masters are the hosts of the game. Usually, their word is law; however, if you feel that an unfair call has been made, then politely say so and we'll see if we can work it out. Moderators are similar; however, the difference is that GMs can overrule a Moderator's call if they feel the need to. Current Game Masters are: -Parugi (host) -Kumata Nuva (co-host) Current Moderators are: -N/A. Rules Rules are rules are rules. They should be followed. They should not be broken. The latter will do you no good; the former will. Therefore, follow the rules. 1. As usual, all BZPower rules apply. These can be found here, if you haven't looked them over already. 2. To reiterate from the above, flaming and spamming will not be tolerated. Spamming involves posting useless messages, in this case a post that has no connection to the RPG. Don't do it. Flaming involves purposefully fighting with or attacking another member. Don't do it. 3. Listen to the staff. If you think a Game Master/Moderator has made an unfair call, take it up with us, and we'll work it out. 4. Don't take control of another player's characters unless asked. By this, I mean A. Don't kill someone's character without permission, B. Don't hurt another player's character without permission, and C. Don't make another player's character do something they wouldn't do. If you want to do that to your own characters, then fine, go ahead. 5. Be realistic (at least, in terms of Pokémon.) Do not get from one place to another in one post. Do not win every single battle. Do not evolve your Pokémon in rapid succession. Space out events so that you don't run out of things to do throughout the game. 6. Distinguish between IC and OOC. IC stands for In Character and is used for the in-game portion of your post. OOC stands for Out of Character and is used for the out of game portion of your post. EX: IC: Bob charged forward to meet the two Rocket grunts, tossing a Pokéball into the air and releasing his Charmander. OOC: Hey, teammates, feel free to jump into the fight. Along with this, GM stands for Game Master and is used for important, in-game announcements. EX: GM: Attention: Team Rocket is attacking Team Liberty's base. TL members, defend your headquarters! TR members, get inside and destroy as much as you can! 7. Creativity is a must This is a pretty sandboxy RPG, and as such there aren't a ton of restrictions to abide to. The only things that need to be approved are really big NPC introductions and REALLY big plot points, the likes of which could completely change the game as we know it. Other than that, feel free to experiment. 8. You must be approved before you can start playing. This makes it far easier to keep people from starting with super powerful Pokémon, as opposed to catching them after they've gone on two missions. 9. Do not meta-game or God-mode. For the uninformed: Meta-gaming is the use of OOC knowledge (or things that you know, but your character doesn't) to your advantage, like reading a conversation between two characters, who are nowhere near your character, and then going to your boss and telling him about it. God-modding is, plain and simple, unrealism -- never fatiguing, acting super powerful, preforming things that your character could never possibly do, etc. Neither are allowed under ANY circumstances. 10. Shiny Pokémon are not allowed, as they do not really add anything to the story (save for bragging.) Besides, they won't be that amazing to behold if everyone catches one, will they? Also note that drastic color changes used in your Pokémon's appearance will be counted as Shiny and will not be allowed, either. 11. Have fun! And because there is no other good place to say this -- don't take things extremely seriously. Yes, the plot is darker than your average Pokémon plot. Yes, it's mostly based off of the games. This does not mean that your experience has to be. Relax; don't put too much time into IVs and weaknesses and strengths and natures and whatever else there is to consider in the games. So, again, have fun! Rewards & Punishments Rise of the Rockets offers a variety of rewards for good behavior. Such rewards include the following: *Special items, e.g. evolution stones, TMs, HMs. *The ability to create an Executive character for one of the factions, who are candidates for promotion to Leader status if one of the faction leaders dies. *The ability to evolve a Pokémon sooner than stated in the Evolution Guide. *An upgrade to an attack without having to wait for evolution-- e.g. Ember could be upgraded to Flamethrower. *In-game information regarding things like base information, blueprints, etc. These rewards, as usual, can be obtained by a variety of actions -- like showing good sportsmanship, helping other players and the GMs, giving recaps when players ask, and other such actions. On the flop side, though, we also have a system of punishment. RotR follows a five strike system: Each time you do something unacceptable, like breaking a major rule or just plain being really rude, you will get a strike. Once you get five strikes, you're out for good. This system is detailed below: First Strike: A friendly warning via PM or in-game, depending on how bad of the offense. Second Strike: Another, more severe warning, possibly an injury or two to make the point clearer. Third Strike: Another warning. You'll lose either an item or a Pokémon, depending on the offense, and a character will temporarily be unable to serve. Fourth Strike: Final warning and a one week ban from the game. One character will be killed. By this point, you should have gotten the message. If not... Fifth Strike: Permanent ban from the game. All characters killed or compromised, all Pokémon released or given back to TR/TL. Hopefully we won't have to resort to this. So, yeah. Just be a good player -- there is no reason why I should have to use this system at all, at least not if everyone plays fairly. Questions Got a question? PM it to me or post it and I will answer ASAP. Q&A will be listed here for reference. I'd say it's pretty good by now, don'tcha think?

Alrighty. That was one way that I was thinking of going about it, so I'll do that, since it's mainly their Pokémon teams and a little bit of some of their backgrounds, so... yeah. And what of the demotion thing? Do you think it'd be a good idea, since it would make it to where I'm not the only one involved in the team's affairs, or should I leave it as is?

So I restarted my Pokémon FireRed version like, two hours ago, and am in Mt. Moon. I've decided to take a totally different approach to how I play these games. Usually, I accidentally end up only getting my starter Pokémon to a respectable level -- for my Sapphire version it was Blaziken, for Blue it was Charizard, etc. This time, I'm not only spreading out my Pokémon usage evenly, but I'm also using Pokémon that I have never included in my party before. As of now, my team consists of: -Bulbasaur, whom I have only ever started with once before, and that was just so I could say that I had used every starter. This one turned out to be female on the first try, which surprised me, but whatever. -Rattata, who I usually catch a bunch of and then they just turn into cannon fodder. -Beedrill, who I always want to get, end up catching a Weedle and then don't do anything with it. -Mankey, who I didn't even know was near Mt. Moon. -Geodude, who also usually turns into one of those excess cannon fodder Pokémon. -Spearow, who I just never bother with because I always get a Pidgey first -- not this time! : D So, yeah. This should be interesting...

Could it be? An actual picture? One of me!? Are you sure!? Say it isn't so! Oh no! This can't be so! Say it isn't so, yo! I really need to stop trying to write songs. But, yeah -- piccy of me, you see, what an anomaly. Which reminds me of today's character teaser, the Dark Hunter Anomaly. Who is he? What are his powers? So, you remember Dacres/Terror and Sekrit/Rage from earlier, correct? Anomaly -- or, as he is commonly known, Ventelis -- is another Dark Toa, as such I won't be getting into his backstory very much. This time, though, there's a twist! Whilst the others had fathomable powers, Anomaly controls a completely different element. That element is technology. Rather odd, right? That's what Ventelis thought at first, as well. Out of the other Dark Toa, he had the toughest time learning to control his new powers -- Dark Hunter computers went crazy as he walked by, simple machinery exploded ta a touch. However, now that he has mastered his power, he is a force to be reckoned with. His ability to control his mechanical bullets, fire through his teched-out sniper rifle, allows him to easily redirect his shots so that they hit has targets. At a range, he can effectively shut down communications between team members using his Kanohi Stalis, Mask of Incomprehension; many groups of heroes have met their end through this, as they are unable to warn the others of the danger approaching from behind. Ventelis himself is emotionless and silent, preferring silence to loud noises -- as is the way of the hunter... Who does he work with? Against? Ventelis works alongside Dacres, Sekrit and the other two Dark Toa, following their lead whilst making himself heard through his skills. Unlike the others, he harbors no dislike towards any other group within the Dark Hunters -- any attack made by him is merely his following of an order, unless otherwise stated. However, he does hate plants with a passion, going so far as to ignite an entire forest so as to clear the area of vegetation, as well as any other creatures that might reside within it -- living, dead or in between. Final thoughts? Anomaly... What a cool name! And to think, it only took me a whole couple of months to think of it. Anyway, compared to earlier versions of this character, Ventelis is everything I've ever wanted in a stealth hunter: silence, proficiency and drive -- a true anomaly, as you'll find out later on.