Slipomatic
Eon Collector
We're back ready to start fresh!!!!
Nothing has been changed so people in the old rpg is welcome to re-apply their characters although it will be either approved by either me or Son_of_Shadows. Of course, Ysavvyrl is the one who made this rpg so credits to her for allowing us to restart it.
Also, there has been a very slight change with reserve, I plan on only allowing 6 reserves max and only 2 reserves limited to each gym allow a chance for others to apply for the gym.
Gym Wars!
There was an hour where the region of Sinnoh was central to a crisis that threatened the whole world. In that hour, the sky warped and the air grew increasingly tense. Ancient Pokemon were awakened to be enslaved under an emotionless mind; ordinary Pokemon were in a panic. But a small and brave group ascended to the top of Mount Coronet and, with the help of three other ancient Pokemon, stopped the danger before it could destroy anything. This scene is still fresh in mind for the people of Sinnoh, for it was merely four months ago.
Now, autumn is approaching. Cyrus vanished on the top of Mount Coronet and Galactic has, to all knowledge, left the region and possibly the world. The heroes who stopped them have returned back to their lives. This does not directly affect the story going on in the League, but it is common knowledge.
What is going on in the Pokemon League of Sinnoh is a game of politics, ambition, family honor, personal honor, glory, fame… within the organization itself. A recent full inspection of all Gyms and their Leaders has caused an upset in balance. Some Gyms have been cut; others have been reproved. Vast changes are ordered throughout the system. And although only two Gyms have been cut, three replacements are being considered.
In Veilstone, Maylene had inherited the position of Gym Leader from her father, who died about a year ago. She has been recognized as a highly talented Trainer, even if she was only ten years old. However, her leadership has been found greatly insufficient. After the official cut was made, a mentor stepped in to replace Maylene and train her to properly take over her family’s Gym. Things are not certain for the future, though.
Although it is now one of the largest cities in Sinnoh, Jubilife City has never been host to a Pokemon Gym. Passing Trainers mostly see it as a crossroads between the three western Gyms, or as the location of the largest Trainer’s school of the region. Looking to improve the city’s status, the school has authorized one of its teachers to set up a Gym in connection with it. Tying a Gym to a school is known to lead to lots of regulations and potential complications though, and the League is not ready to give the school’s Gym its full approval.
In Sunyshore, Volkner has been repeatedly admonished for having his Gym closed more days than open. He has shown prodigious skill when the Gym was open, to the point of people saying that this one Gym Leader was tougher than some of the Elite members. After considering all aspects of this, the League Administration has promoted Volkner to the position of an Elite member instead of a Leader, to replace Bertha who has retired. The city of Sunyshore has found a skilled Trainer willing to replace Volkner as Gym Leader, but it is said that this man has ties to the dissolved Team Galactic.
With three Gyms competing for two positions in the official Pokemon League, the administrators have given all three a full year in order to get established and improve all problems that came up in the recent inspection. The problems facing the three Gyms are different, but they all have one pressing need in common: they all need Gym Trainers.
This is where you come in. Maybe you absolutely adore the Gym’s type. Maybe you’re stuck in the League Challenge and want to study your opponents, fix your weak points, or just plain train more. Or maybe you’re looking for a change of pace, a different job. Whatever your reasons, you are now a new Gym Trainer at one of the at-risk Gyms.
In the year that you have, you must get the approval of both your community and the League administration in order to earn official accreditation for your Gym. The Gyms will be operational at all times, so Trainers will come in looking for a challenge. The Gym Leaders will teach you the ways of Pokemon as they have learned them, but they are facing their own trials and may need your help as well. Above all, remember to have pride in your Gym.
Specifics on the Gyms
Veilstone Gym
Type: Fighting
Leaders: Charlotte and Maylene
Alpha Pokemon: Darcy the Primeape
Badge: Cobal Badge
Short History: The Veilstone Gym descended from a dojo which passed through Maylene’s family for over fifteen generations. The inner family of the dojo has always been trained in fighting from a very young age, both for themselves and their Pokemon. A contract with the Pokemon League officially passed the Leader’s position to Maylene after her father died (the death has not yet been fully explained). Four of her father’s Gym Trainers remained to help, but they have recently been called away. When the administrators dismissed the Gym for having a too inexperienced Leader, Maylene’s great aunt Charlotte heard. She came in to act as the official Leader while she finishes the girl’s training.
Other issues: The sliding wall puzzle has been cited as a fire hazard. The city of Veilstone is also currently unstable due to the dissolution of Team Galactic, who kept order and provided many funds to run the city.
Rares: Riolu/Lucario, Combusken/Blaziken, Monferno/Infernape
Jubilife City Gym
Type: Flying
Leader: Arianna Jensen
Alpha Pokemon: Either David the Staraptor, Sandy the Gliscor, or Ping the Xatu
Badge: Acrobat Badge
Short History: The Pokemon Trainer’s School has established this new Gym in hopes of boosting the importance of its city. As it is linked to the school, all Trainers employed by the Gym will also be students at or work in the Trainer’s School in off hours, as well as adhere to the school and League regulations. That leads this Gym to be well-informed, but of limited hours and maybe not well-funded.
Other issues: Their Gym is currently an old and empty hanger at an abandoned airport. As a completely new Gym, it faces extra scrutiny.
Rares: Charizard, Aerodactyl, Dragonite, Togectic/Togekiss, Salamence,
Sunnyshore Gym
Type: Dark
Leader: Cyan Rodriguez
Alpha Pokemon: Saber the Drapion
Badge: Night Badge
Short History: Volkner was, in some ways, overqualified for his position. He became disillusioned with the region’s Trainers and often would not report for duty. This led to bottlenecks for many young Trainers, both in his failure to appear and in leading a too difficult Gym. As Trainers would then give up, few got experienced enough to defeat Volkner, and Victory Road was often quiet and empty. When Volkner left, he was still popular with his community. His replacement Cyan has a difficult hole to fill in this.
Other issues: The current Gym layout is overly complicated and now unsuitable for the type. Cyan is also fairly new to the area and has to contend with many comparisons to Volkner.
Rares: Umbreon, Tyranitaur, Spiritomb
The Gym Tier System
In the video games, the Gyms have a specific order they must be done in and the Leaders always have the same set of Pokemon. Not so in this RPG. Instead, the League has a tier system which decides the challenge level of a Gym Battle. A Challenger can take on the Gyms in any which order they want, so you Gym Trainers will be seeing all sorts of experience levels come through. Because of this system, Gyms operate differently.
When a Challenger first enters a Gym, they need to meet with a receptionist (one of the Gym Trainers) who checks how many badges the Challenger has and scans the Pokeballs. The scanning is merely to check for anything that would get the Challenger disqualified (illegal drugs, modifications, stolen Pokemon, etc) and does not tell the receptionist what Pokemon the Challenger actually has. Once this registration is complete, the Challenger has an open pass to the Gym for the next three days. After those three days, s/he must re-register.
Then the Challenger must meet with the Gym’s test. This is the standard puzzle/maze/quiz of the Gym structure, plus any required Trainer battles. Often the difficulty of this part is scaled to the tier system: someone with zero badges can opt to go straight to the Leader, while someone with five badges would have to fight five Trainers. The test portion is largely up to the Leader to decide on.
After passing the Gym’s test, the Challenger then can face off against the Leader. The Gym Leader has a computer station near their area, sometimes hidden, sometimes not. This will identify the Challenger and his/her tier level. Knowing that, the Leader will pick a team out of their Pokemon roster (which can be just a few or many) to fit with the tier. Tiers also have restrictions on item use, strategy, move power level, and experience on the Pokemon’s part. Being able to keep up with this tier system is a sure sign of a skilled Trainer, even if the battle itself doesn’t seem that hard. So those first Gym Rock guys? Tougher than you think.
Some hardcore followers of the Pokemon League have been known to figure out a Gym Leader’s so-called weakest tier, to come up with a recommended order to take Gyms in. For example, they will tell you to take on Volkner before he can spam paralysis-inducing moves if you want an easy time, or to take him on last if you want to prove how awesome you are. A Leader’s tiers often shift around, based upon the Pokemon they’re training or other factors.
Game Terms
Alpha Pokemon: As the humans of a Gym form a community, so do the Pokemon. Hierarchies and alliances are founded within the Pokemon’s daily interactions. The leader of the Pokemon community is the Alpha. The Alpha is always a Pokemon owned by the Gym Leader. Outside of battle, the Alpha is the Leader’s companion Pokemon. He/she/it is nearly always out and somewhere near the Gym Leader. Any Pokemon looking to rebel against the Alpha is going to learn a hard lesson about why the Alpha is in charge.
This particular term is an academic one in-game, so unless your character has ambitions to be a Professor or the like, s/he would not actually use it. S/he may not even know it. However, the position it defines is clear to anyone who observes Pokemon communities long enough.
Rares: These are Pokemon that are hard to come by or difficult to train. There are some I do not want to see in a starting Gym Trainer’s party: the part Dragons, Spiritomb, and Tyranitaur. The others should be acknowledged as rare Pokemon and sufficient reason must be given for having them in your party. Using unevolved forms of rares also requires sufficient reason and acknowledgement (especially with the Dragons + Tyranitaur) that they will grow slowly and/or with difficulty.
Tiers: As explained earlier, this is the challenge level of a Gym based off the number of badges the Challenger has. There are ten tiers total, starting at 10 with zero badges, going to 2 with eight badges (for rematches and hardcore multi-regional Trainers), and ending at Tier 1, only seen when a Gym Leader is battling a peer to their skills.
Badges: Similar to the games, this is a sign that you have beaten a Gym. It’s kept in a badge box and is made of a specially formed metal. Pokemon recognize that the more badges you have, the better Trainer you must be (and they can sniff/sense a fake). This indirectly affects some Pokemon moves; if the Pokemon does not respect or trust you enough, they won’t use field abilities (like Surf or Cut). More to the point, if you have a badge of a defunct Gym (Veilstone under Maylene or Sunyshore under Volkner), it is invalid to the Pokemon League. Pokemon will still recognize it, though.
Pokedex Machine: The Pokedex as you know it is a specialized scientific machine which is only issued by a professor associated with the Pokedex Project. Meaning, no player character is allowed to have one.
Pokedex Database: On the other hand, this is an online encyclopedic reference on Pokemon that anyone can access. It operates something like a limited scientific wiki; only certain people are allowed to edit information on it. This does not include any player character. It does include the Gym Leaders, though, as they can opt to add notes and observations made on their own Pokemon. The database can be reached from any library computer, or any personal computer with the right software. Please note that in-game, the database is considered incomplete. More common Pokemon (Starly, Bidoof) will have more information than rare Pokemon (Gible, Riolu).
Poketch, Pokenav, Pokegear: These devices are fairly common and can be bought at specialized or large stores. They have somewhat different functions, as determined by game canon use.
The Three Cities
Veilstone: Sitting to the northeast of Mount Coronet, Veilstone is a city hewn from rock. Much of it is above sea level, although there is a downward sloping path that leads to a rocky beach. Many of the buildings are made from stone, including the traditional dojo that the Veilstone family has run for generations. The largest buildings are made of steel, though; those would be the Galactic headquarters and warehouses in the northern part of the city. The headquarters in particular is a chilling feature, with strange spikes coming off the eastern and western sides.
The city itself has a stern, almost impersonal feel. It apparently wasn’t always that way, but many areas don’t feel like safe places to walk at night. On the eastern side, there is an excavation site with a scattering of meteorites that seem mysterious, eerie some evenings. Crime by small-time crooks has been up lately. There are a lot of stairs and various plateaus surrounding a flat but winding main road.
Other areas of interest in Veilstone would be the Department Store (probably the most secure place in town now) and the Casino (which is trying to disconnect its image from Team Galactic).
Jubilife City: Located southwest of Mount Coronet, Jubilife is a clean modern city. Its streets are nicely paved, gardens are well kept, decorative fountains are always running, and everything is well lit. There are many high-rise buildings and industries around. While things are not always convenient, they certainly are efficient. The Gym itself is located southwest of the city at an old airport; plane service into Sinnoh is now handled at a floating port outside of Canalave.
There are many people in Jubilife, so there is some subconscious push to conform to its modern society. There are some pockets of creative thinkers and misfits, but not in the main areas of the city. While one can be certain of being safe in Jubilife, there is a sense of being watched constantly by the city police. Also, the reporters who live here are known to take your words and twist them into something else. So be careful what you say during an interview…
The Jubilife Trainer’s School is in the southwestern part of the city. Other points of interest would be the Sinnoh TV Station and the Poketch Company Headquarters.
Port Sunyshore: Located in the most southeastern part of Sinnoh, Port Sunyshore is a charming old port town. It is a quirky place, where some people live down on sea level and others live atop steep pillars of rock. There is always a risk of tsunamis, landslides, and rockfalls here; some parts are still rough from the glory days of sailing. But it is very forward thinking, as evidenced by the solar panel walkways that hang over the city.
Sunyshore is used to being left out of most of Sinnoh society and most people here knew little about Team Galactic until news burst out after the explosion at Lake Valor. Get used to being out of the loop. In balance, this community is tight-knit and gracious to its accepted members. It is more liberal than any other place in Sinnoh, but there are still superstitions and prejudices around, like wariness of Dark Pokemon.
Other points of interest would be the Lighthouse (open to the public) and the Trade Market. The Trade Market deals in many imported goods; Pokeball Seals and Stickers are simply the hot items right now, along with the more frivolous of Ribbons.
Other People of Interest (a.k.a. Important NPCs)
Mr. Backlot: One of the wealthiest people in Sinnoh. Mr. Backlot is the main financial backer of the Pokemon League and thus is one of two top executives. Friendly and boastful, he keeps much of his mansion open to visitors and will freely admit that he’s not that good at Pokemon battles himself.
Lucien: The leader of the Elite 4 and the other top executive of the Sinnoh League. He is somewhat aloof and his expectations can be lofty. Don’t be fooled into thinking he’s slacking; as a natural psychic, he has some odd talents that make him highly efficient without discernable effort.
Flint, Aaron, and Volkner: The three other members of the Elite 4. They will drop in for random observations.
Professor Rowan: The League associated professor, he lives in Sandgem Town. However, he is most often found on field research with the three young heroes and other assistants. He might ask you questions about your Pokemon for research purposes if encountered. He was gone for a period of four years, but returned to the region around a year ago.
Lucas, May, and Ralph: The three exceptional young Trainers who defeated Team Galactic. The same age as Maylene, they are enthusiastic kids, but highly talented with Pokemon. Expect a tough time if you dare challenge them. They spend most of the time at home in Twinleaf (Lucas and Ralph) or Sandgem (May).
Cynthia: The current League Champion, who travels around Sinnoh when not needed at League Headquarters. She has some ceremonial duties, but no real authority in the League. She spends most of her time researching Sinnoh myths and keeping her Pokemon in shape.
Roark: The Leader of the Oreburgh Rock Gym. Note that he and the following five all have a say in who eventually gets accepted as an official Gym. They can be challenged if you’re allowed a few days off.
Byron: The Leader of Canalave Steel Gym.
Gardenia: The Leader of Eterna Grass Gym.
Candice: The Leader of Snowpoint Ice Gym.
Fantina: The Leader of Hearthome Ghost Gym.
Crasher Wake: The Leader of Pastoria Water Gym.
Riley: A wandering Pokemon Trainer and past Champion. He was up for consideration as a Gym Leader a couple years back, on the word of Byron, but stepped aside so Byron’s son Roark could take the position. He’s so candid that you wouldn’t know right off that he’s considered a Tier 1 opponent.
Notes and Extras
Although this RPG is about Gyms, it’s not going to be all action all the time. In fact, a lot of it is going to be your everyday routine, lessons, and chores in the Gym other than just fighting Challengers. If this seems boring, this is probably not the game for you. For me, I love exploring the everyday aspects of living in an extraordinary world. You may have to deal with Rattata infestations, or Pokemon-induced weather changes, or rotten neighbors, or Ghost Pokemon possessions, or anything like that. Some of it may even get philosophical (I’ll try not to get too confusing about that). So you need to have interesting characters that you are willing to mold as events change them.
You will win sometimes and you will lose sometimes. Get used to it.
Also, please note that I’m not an expert in the technical portion of Pokemon and I don’t battle competitively. So there’s a chance that I’ll make a mistake about something. I try to research things before I post them. Just nicely correct me if I get something wrong, okay?
There will be no evil Teams or organizations to battle against. It would be distracting and too overpowering of a subplot to be allowed. The closest thing to an opposing organization would be the Pokemon League Administration, but they are an upper management that is ultimately in control of the Gyms and expects them to meet their standards. Besides, they’re not evil (I promise you this) and will be helping out from time to time. Team Galactic has pretty much vaporized and most of the grunts are trying to become disassociated from the team. Unless they were in the inner circle, they had no idea what the team’s ultimate goal and plan was.
League Challengers will either be controlled by me or be shared NPCs. Legendary Pokemon are active in the region and may appear, but I will be the one to make them appear and control them. Again, I don’t want the focus of the RPG to be distracted from the struggles of these Gyms to earn official status.
I’m not terribly strict on activity; I know you have a life beyond the internet (at least, you should…). But if you could keep to a once weekly post at minimum, that would be just peachy. If you’re going to be away for exams, vacation, or whatnot, it’d be nice to inform me and anyone that’s interacting with your character. Please do keep up, as I’d rather not see this die unexpectedly again.
Rules
1. Follow SPPf rules
2. Respect your fellow players (meaning: no godmodding, no flaming, etc.).
3. Use good writing.
4. This will be rated PG.
5. PAY ATTENTION! I’m a detail oriented writer and nothing irks me more than a player countering or ignoring something I as a GM established, especially in my most recent post. Like weather reports. This counts towards your fellow players too.
6. As with any RPG, you should read over all the information carefully before signing up.
A Guide to Character Development
If you already have a good idea of who you want, you might not need this section. But I’m feeling generous, so I’ll give you some things to think about if you need inspiration. Read the first two, though, as they’re important.
1. You do not have to stereotype. If you do decide to go with something typical, like a martial artist for the Veilstone Gym, make sure to fill out that stereotype so that you don’t have a flat character. But your character can know nothing about martial arts and still get into Veilstone Gym as a Trainer there.
2. The position of Gym Trainer is an apprentice or student to the Gym Leader. So really, being incredibly talented with powerful Pokemon is a bad character idea for this game.
3. Consider the GTs you meet in the games. They don’t have many lines, but you can see varying motives.
4. Speaking of motives, your character needs a reason to be doing what they’re doing. Unmotivated characters aren’t much fun.
5. As for age, I set 10 as a lower limit, but no upper limit. Most GTs appear to be preteens or teens, but there are a good number of adults.
6. You can pick nearly any Pokemon, even an off-type (not of the Gym type). I decided this based on the female Ace in Byron’s Steel Gym, who only has an Azurmaril.
7. But make sure, like that Azurmaril, that your Pokemon can use moves of the Gym type.
8. Your character can be a former Gym Trainer of another Gym, or even the same one in the case of Sunyshore and Veilstone.
9. You’re limited to two Pokemon to start with, partly because I like to see Pokemon developed as characters too. You will capture other Pokemon later on, when the plot allows for it.
10. Teaching a Pokemon a new move makes for a good plot point, so I wouldn’t go giving your Pokemon the best moves right off. Besides, the Leader might have a favored move to pass onto your Pokemon, like Brine in Pastoria’s Gym.
11. For the two extra questions in the sample area, consider that it is a job interview. It could be a general question, or a specific test question.
12. Obviously, there’s other rare Pokemon aside from the type specific ones I’ve listed. Any Pokemon that you can only acquire one of in the main games (like Riolu and the starters) are rare. Dragons and fossils are all rare. Any that require a special sidequest to obtain (Phione, Spiritomb) are rare. Pokeradar Pokemon aren’t rare unless they meet another quality listed. You can start with these rares, save for the fully evolved Dragons, Spiritomb, and Tyranitaur.
Sign-Up form
Reserves for specific Gyms will only be held for one week. I will also only take 6 reserves with a max of 2 reserves on each gym for the 15 positions at a time, to leave room in case someone comes along without a reserve.
Name:
Age: 10+
Gym: Fighting, Flying, or Dark
Title: Mostly for fun. What title appears on your Trainer ID card before you are hired as a Gym Trainer? Take cues from the games (Lass, Ninja Boy, Bug Catcher) or make up your own to fit your character. If the title is gender neutral (Bug Catcher, Student, Swimmer), please note gender here (Student-female). Please, nothing offensive.
Appearance: at least five lines. Anime genetics are active, so yeah, weird hair colors are fine.
Personality: Two paragraphs. This is a vital section to me, so don’t slack off here. Include how your character feels about this Pokemon type and why.
History: at least five lines, but longer is good. Include why your character is joining this particular Gym.
Tier: Tier 10 means you have no badges, Tier 9 means you have one badge, and so on. Tiers 3, 2, and 1 are not allowed.
Pokemon (You may start with two Pokemon, no more. Don’t think you can get away with skimping here. As the game progresses, remember to record any new Pokemon acquired as I do check these forms.)
Species: no legendaries, can both be off-types if you wish. I noted elsewhere which ones I will outright deny.
Nickname: optional
Gender:
Origin: a brief history for this Pokemon
Personality: one paragraph at least
Moves: 2 to 6, with one being the Gym’s type
Other: in case there’s any other factors that will affect progress.
Interview: This is your RP sample: you need to write a job interview between you and the Gym Leader. You must answer 5 questions total, 3 of which are set. The other two are up to you. The form your sample uses is up to you (Q&A form, in-person interview), but all five must be answered in-character, so informational mistakes and such are allowed (and encouraged for younger Trainers). You are joining the Gym for additional training and education, after all. Grammatical mistakes will be frowned upon.
1. What experience do you having in battling? -Make sure this matches up with your set Tier level!
2. What does a Fighting/Flying/Dark-type Trainer have to be careful of? -a question on how well you know the type you're signing up under. This isn’t just about battle advantages/disadvantages. It’s also about things that might come up in daily life: a Fire Trainer will need to be careful of getting burned, for example, while a Water Trainer will need to accommodate their underwater dwellers. You can be clueless if you like.
3. Tell me about your (Pokemon). -not only how well you know the type, but your own Pokemon. Pick one of your team to talk about; the Leaders will prioritize those of the Gym’s type.
Roster
Veilstone Fighting Gym
Leader: Charlotte/Maylene
1. Gin Yoshida - ryodragonite (accepted)
2. Theodore "Teddy" Derkson - Fossil Man (Accepted)
3. Ryan Loomis - FGSFDS90001 (Accepted)
4. Clementine “Orange” Sayre - Skillfulness (Accepted)
5. Roy Cloudrunner - Yanmegamaster (Accepted)
Jubilife Flying Gym
Leader: Arianna
1. Bree Spencer - Double-oh-Platypus (Accepted)
2. Cory Velos - CyberBlastoise (Accepted)
3. Armao Wales - Slipomatic (Accepted)
4. Cosette Minette - ~Angelic_Hymn~ (Accepted)
5. Fred Stevens - chskarate (Accepted)
Sunyshore Dark Gym
Leader: Cyan
1. Madison “Maddie” Taylor - Pokefan0234 (accepted)
2. Cora Mckay - treespyro (Accepted)
3. Alexei Pashinov - Yaya (Accepted)
4. William Courtney - Accidental (Accepted)
5.
If you have any questions, you can contact one of us through PMs or VMs.
GMs:
Slipomatic
Son_of_Shadows
Creator of the RPG: Ysavvyrl
Nothing has been changed so people in the old rpg is welcome to re-apply their characters although it will be either approved by either me or Son_of_Shadows. Of course, Ysavvyrl is the one who made this rpg so credits to her for allowing us to restart it.
Also, there has been a very slight change with reserve, I plan on only allowing 6 reserves max and only 2 reserves limited to each gym allow a chance for others to apply for the gym.
Gym Wars!
There was an hour where the region of Sinnoh was central to a crisis that threatened the whole world. In that hour, the sky warped and the air grew increasingly tense. Ancient Pokemon were awakened to be enslaved under an emotionless mind; ordinary Pokemon were in a panic. But a small and brave group ascended to the top of Mount Coronet and, with the help of three other ancient Pokemon, stopped the danger before it could destroy anything. This scene is still fresh in mind for the people of Sinnoh, for it was merely four months ago.
Now, autumn is approaching. Cyrus vanished on the top of Mount Coronet and Galactic has, to all knowledge, left the region and possibly the world. The heroes who stopped them have returned back to their lives. This does not directly affect the story going on in the League, but it is common knowledge.
What is going on in the Pokemon League of Sinnoh is a game of politics, ambition, family honor, personal honor, glory, fame… within the organization itself. A recent full inspection of all Gyms and their Leaders has caused an upset in balance. Some Gyms have been cut; others have been reproved. Vast changes are ordered throughout the system. And although only two Gyms have been cut, three replacements are being considered.
In Veilstone, Maylene had inherited the position of Gym Leader from her father, who died about a year ago. She has been recognized as a highly talented Trainer, even if she was only ten years old. However, her leadership has been found greatly insufficient. After the official cut was made, a mentor stepped in to replace Maylene and train her to properly take over her family’s Gym. Things are not certain for the future, though.
Although it is now one of the largest cities in Sinnoh, Jubilife City has never been host to a Pokemon Gym. Passing Trainers mostly see it as a crossroads between the three western Gyms, or as the location of the largest Trainer’s school of the region. Looking to improve the city’s status, the school has authorized one of its teachers to set up a Gym in connection with it. Tying a Gym to a school is known to lead to lots of regulations and potential complications though, and the League is not ready to give the school’s Gym its full approval.
In Sunyshore, Volkner has been repeatedly admonished for having his Gym closed more days than open. He has shown prodigious skill when the Gym was open, to the point of people saying that this one Gym Leader was tougher than some of the Elite members. After considering all aspects of this, the League Administration has promoted Volkner to the position of an Elite member instead of a Leader, to replace Bertha who has retired. The city of Sunyshore has found a skilled Trainer willing to replace Volkner as Gym Leader, but it is said that this man has ties to the dissolved Team Galactic.
With three Gyms competing for two positions in the official Pokemon League, the administrators have given all three a full year in order to get established and improve all problems that came up in the recent inspection. The problems facing the three Gyms are different, but they all have one pressing need in common: they all need Gym Trainers.
This is where you come in. Maybe you absolutely adore the Gym’s type. Maybe you’re stuck in the League Challenge and want to study your opponents, fix your weak points, or just plain train more. Or maybe you’re looking for a change of pace, a different job. Whatever your reasons, you are now a new Gym Trainer at one of the at-risk Gyms.
In the year that you have, you must get the approval of both your community and the League administration in order to earn official accreditation for your Gym. The Gyms will be operational at all times, so Trainers will come in looking for a challenge. The Gym Leaders will teach you the ways of Pokemon as they have learned them, but they are facing their own trials and may need your help as well. Above all, remember to have pride in your Gym.
Specifics on the Gyms
Veilstone Gym
Type: Fighting
Leaders: Charlotte and Maylene
Alpha Pokemon: Darcy the Primeape
Badge: Cobal Badge
Short History: The Veilstone Gym descended from a dojo which passed through Maylene’s family for over fifteen generations. The inner family of the dojo has always been trained in fighting from a very young age, both for themselves and their Pokemon. A contract with the Pokemon League officially passed the Leader’s position to Maylene after her father died (the death has not yet been fully explained). Four of her father’s Gym Trainers remained to help, but they have recently been called away. When the administrators dismissed the Gym for having a too inexperienced Leader, Maylene’s great aunt Charlotte heard. She came in to act as the official Leader while she finishes the girl’s training.
Other issues: The sliding wall puzzle has been cited as a fire hazard. The city of Veilstone is also currently unstable due to the dissolution of Team Galactic, who kept order and provided many funds to run the city.
Rares: Riolu/Lucario, Combusken/Blaziken, Monferno/Infernape
Jubilife City Gym
Type: Flying
Leader: Arianna Jensen
Alpha Pokemon: Either David the Staraptor, Sandy the Gliscor, or Ping the Xatu
Badge: Acrobat Badge
Short History: The Pokemon Trainer’s School has established this new Gym in hopes of boosting the importance of its city. As it is linked to the school, all Trainers employed by the Gym will also be students at or work in the Trainer’s School in off hours, as well as adhere to the school and League regulations. That leads this Gym to be well-informed, but of limited hours and maybe not well-funded.
Other issues: Their Gym is currently an old and empty hanger at an abandoned airport. As a completely new Gym, it faces extra scrutiny.
Rares: Charizard, Aerodactyl, Dragonite, Togectic/Togekiss, Salamence,
Sunnyshore Gym
Type: Dark
Leader: Cyan Rodriguez
Alpha Pokemon: Saber the Drapion
Badge: Night Badge
Short History: Volkner was, in some ways, overqualified for his position. He became disillusioned with the region’s Trainers and often would not report for duty. This led to bottlenecks for many young Trainers, both in his failure to appear and in leading a too difficult Gym. As Trainers would then give up, few got experienced enough to defeat Volkner, and Victory Road was often quiet and empty. When Volkner left, he was still popular with his community. His replacement Cyan has a difficult hole to fill in this.
Other issues: The current Gym layout is overly complicated and now unsuitable for the type. Cyan is also fairly new to the area and has to contend with many comparisons to Volkner.
Rares: Umbreon, Tyranitaur, Spiritomb
The Gym Tier System
In the video games, the Gyms have a specific order they must be done in and the Leaders always have the same set of Pokemon. Not so in this RPG. Instead, the League has a tier system which decides the challenge level of a Gym Battle. A Challenger can take on the Gyms in any which order they want, so you Gym Trainers will be seeing all sorts of experience levels come through. Because of this system, Gyms operate differently.
When a Challenger first enters a Gym, they need to meet with a receptionist (one of the Gym Trainers) who checks how many badges the Challenger has and scans the Pokeballs. The scanning is merely to check for anything that would get the Challenger disqualified (illegal drugs, modifications, stolen Pokemon, etc) and does not tell the receptionist what Pokemon the Challenger actually has. Once this registration is complete, the Challenger has an open pass to the Gym for the next three days. After those three days, s/he must re-register.
Then the Challenger must meet with the Gym’s test. This is the standard puzzle/maze/quiz of the Gym structure, plus any required Trainer battles. Often the difficulty of this part is scaled to the tier system: someone with zero badges can opt to go straight to the Leader, while someone with five badges would have to fight five Trainers. The test portion is largely up to the Leader to decide on.
After passing the Gym’s test, the Challenger then can face off against the Leader. The Gym Leader has a computer station near their area, sometimes hidden, sometimes not. This will identify the Challenger and his/her tier level. Knowing that, the Leader will pick a team out of their Pokemon roster (which can be just a few or many) to fit with the tier. Tiers also have restrictions on item use, strategy, move power level, and experience on the Pokemon’s part. Being able to keep up with this tier system is a sure sign of a skilled Trainer, even if the battle itself doesn’t seem that hard. So those first Gym Rock guys? Tougher than you think.
Some hardcore followers of the Pokemon League have been known to figure out a Gym Leader’s so-called weakest tier, to come up with a recommended order to take Gyms in. For example, they will tell you to take on Volkner before he can spam paralysis-inducing moves if you want an easy time, or to take him on last if you want to prove how awesome you are. A Leader’s tiers often shift around, based upon the Pokemon they’re training or other factors.
Game Terms
Alpha Pokemon: As the humans of a Gym form a community, so do the Pokemon. Hierarchies and alliances are founded within the Pokemon’s daily interactions. The leader of the Pokemon community is the Alpha. The Alpha is always a Pokemon owned by the Gym Leader. Outside of battle, the Alpha is the Leader’s companion Pokemon. He/she/it is nearly always out and somewhere near the Gym Leader. Any Pokemon looking to rebel against the Alpha is going to learn a hard lesson about why the Alpha is in charge.
This particular term is an academic one in-game, so unless your character has ambitions to be a Professor or the like, s/he would not actually use it. S/he may not even know it. However, the position it defines is clear to anyone who observes Pokemon communities long enough.
Rares: These are Pokemon that are hard to come by or difficult to train. There are some I do not want to see in a starting Gym Trainer’s party: the part Dragons, Spiritomb, and Tyranitaur. The others should be acknowledged as rare Pokemon and sufficient reason must be given for having them in your party. Using unevolved forms of rares also requires sufficient reason and acknowledgement (especially with the Dragons + Tyranitaur) that they will grow slowly and/or with difficulty.
Tiers: As explained earlier, this is the challenge level of a Gym based off the number of badges the Challenger has. There are ten tiers total, starting at 10 with zero badges, going to 2 with eight badges (for rematches and hardcore multi-regional Trainers), and ending at Tier 1, only seen when a Gym Leader is battling a peer to their skills.
Badges: Similar to the games, this is a sign that you have beaten a Gym. It’s kept in a badge box and is made of a specially formed metal. Pokemon recognize that the more badges you have, the better Trainer you must be (and they can sniff/sense a fake). This indirectly affects some Pokemon moves; if the Pokemon does not respect or trust you enough, they won’t use field abilities (like Surf or Cut). More to the point, if you have a badge of a defunct Gym (Veilstone under Maylene or Sunyshore under Volkner), it is invalid to the Pokemon League. Pokemon will still recognize it, though.
Pokedex Machine: The Pokedex as you know it is a specialized scientific machine which is only issued by a professor associated with the Pokedex Project. Meaning, no player character is allowed to have one.
Pokedex Database: On the other hand, this is an online encyclopedic reference on Pokemon that anyone can access. It operates something like a limited scientific wiki; only certain people are allowed to edit information on it. This does not include any player character. It does include the Gym Leaders, though, as they can opt to add notes and observations made on their own Pokemon. The database can be reached from any library computer, or any personal computer with the right software. Please note that in-game, the database is considered incomplete. More common Pokemon (Starly, Bidoof) will have more information than rare Pokemon (Gible, Riolu).
Poketch, Pokenav, Pokegear: These devices are fairly common and can be bought at specialized or large stores. They have somewhat different functions, as determined by game canon use.
The Three Cities
Veilstone: Sitting to the northeast of Mount Coronet, Veilstone is a city hewn from rock. Much of it is above sea level, although there is a downward sloping path that leads to a rocky beach. Many of the buildings are made from stone, including the traditional dojo that the Veilstone family has run for generations. The largest buildings are made of steel, though; those would be the Galactic headquarters and warehouses in the northern part of the city. The headquarters in particular is a chilling feature, with strange spikes coming off the eastern and western sides.
The city itself has a stern, almost impersonal feel. It apparently wasn’t always that way, but many areas don’t feel like safe places to walk at night. On the eastern side, there is an excavation site with a scattering of meteorites that seem mysterious, eerie some evenings. Crime by small-time crooks has been up lately. There are a lot of stairs and various plateaus surrounding a flat but winding main road.
Other areas of interest in Veilstone would be the Department Store (probably the most secure place in town now) and the Casino (which is trying to disconnect its image from Team Galactic).
Jubilife City: Located southwest of Mount Coronet, Jubilife is a clean modern city. Its streets are nicely paved, gardens are well kept, decorative fountains are always running, and everything is well lit. There are many high-rise buildings and industries around. While things are not always convenient, they certainly are efficient. The Gym itself is located southwest of the city at an old airport; plane service into Sinnoh is now handled at a floating port outside of Canalave.
There are many people in Jubilife, so there is some subconscious push to conform to its modern society. There are some pockets of creative thinkers and misfits, but not in the main areas of the city. While one can be certain of being safe in Jubilife, there is a sense of being watched constantly by the city police. Also, the reporters who live here are known to take your words and twist them into something else. So be careful what you say during an interview…
The Jubilife Trainer’s School is in the southwestern part of the city. Other points of interest would be the Sinnoh TV Station and the Poketch Company Headquarters.
Port Sunyshore: Located in the most southeastern part of Sinnoh, Port Sunyshore is a charming old port town. It is a quirky place, where some people live down on sea level and others live atop steep pillars of rock. There is always a risk of tsunamis, landslides, and rockfalls here; some parts are still rough from the glory days of sailing. But it is very forward thinking, as evidenced by the solar panel walkways that hang over the city.
Sunyshore is used to being left out of most of Sinnoh society and most people here knew little about Team Galactic until news burst out after the explosion at Lake Valor. Get used to being out of the loop. In balance, this community is tight-knit and gracious to its accepted members. It is more liberal than any other place in Sinnoh, but there are still superstitions and prejudices around, like wariness of Dark Pokemon.
Other points of interest would be the Lighthouse (open to the public) and the Trade Market. The Trade Market deals in many imported goods; Pokeball Seals and Stickers are simply the hot items right now, along with the more frivolous of Ribbons.
Other People of Interest (a.k.a. Important NPCs)
Mr. Backlot: One of the wealthiest people in Sinnoh. Mr. Backlot is the main financial backer of the Pokemon League and thus is one of two top executives. Friendly and boastful, he keeps much of his mansion open to visitors and will freely admit that he’s not that good at Pokemon battles himself.
Lucien: The leader of the Elite 4 and the other top executive of the Sinnoh League. He is somewhat aloof and his expectations can be lofty. Don’t be fooled into thinking he’s slacking; as a natural psychic, he has some odd talents that make him highly efficient without discernable effort.
Flint, Aaron, and Volkner: The three other members of the Elite 4. They will drop in for random observations.
Professor Rowan: The League associated professor, he lives in Sandgem Town. However, he is most often found on field research with the three young heroes and other assistants. He might ask you questions about your Pokemon for research purposes if encountered. He was gone for a period of four years, but returned to the region around a year ago.
Lucas, May, and Ralph: The three exceptional young Trainers who defeated Team Galactic. The same age as Maylene, they are enthusiastic kids, but highly talented with Pokemon. Expect a tough time if you dare challenge them. They spend most of the time at home in Twinleaf (Lucas and Ralph) or Sandgem (May).
Cynthia: The current League Champion, who travels around Sinnoh when not needed at League Headquarters. She has some ceremonial duties, but no real authority in the League. She spends most of her time researching Sinnoh myths and keeping her Pokemon in shape.
Roark: The Leader of the Oreburgh Rock Gym. Note that he and the following five all have a say in who eventually gets accepted as an official Gym. They can be challenged if you’re allowed a few days off.
Byron: The Leader of Canalave Steel Gym.
Gardenia: The Leader of Eterna Grass Gym.
Candice: The Leader of Snowpoint Ice Gym.
Fantina: The Leader of Hearthome Ghost Gym.
Crasher Wake: The Leader of Pastoria Water Gym.
Riley: A wandering Pokemon Trainer and past Champion. He was up for consideration as a Gym Leader a couple years back, on the word of Byron, but stepped aside so Byron’s son Roark could take the position. He’s so candid that you wouldn’t know right off that he’s considered a Tier 1 opponent.
Notes and Extras
Although this RPG is about Gyms, it’s not going to be all action all the time. In fact, a lot of it is going to be your everyday routine, lessons, and chores in the Gym other than just fighting Challengers. If this seems boring, this is probably not the game for you. For me, I love exploring the everyday aspects of living in an extraordinary world. You may have to deal with Rattata infestations, or Pokemon-induced weather changes, or rotten neighbors, or Ghost Pokemon possessions, or anything like that. Some of it may even get philosophical (I’ll try not to get too confusing about that). So you need to have interesting characters that you are willing to mold as events change them.
You will win sometimes and you will lose sometimes. Get used to it.
Also, please note that I’m not an expert in the technical portion of Pokemon and I don’t battle competitively. So there’s a chance that I’ll make a mistake about something. I try to research things before I post them. Just nicely correct me if I get something wrong, okay?
There will be no evil Teams or organizations to battle against. It would be distracting and too overpowering of a subplot to be allowed. The closest thing to an opposing organization would be the Pokemon League Administration, but they are an upper management that is ultimately in control of the Gyms and expects them to meet their standards. Besides, they’re not evil (I promise you this) and will be helping out from time to time. Team Galactic has pretty much vaporized and most of the grunts are trying to become disassociated from the team. Unless they were in the inner circle, they had no idea what the team’s ultimate goal and plan was.
League Challengers will either be controlled by me or be shared NPCs. Legendary Pokemon are active in the region and may appear, but I will be the one to make them appear and control them. Again, I don’t want the focus of the RPG to be distracted from the struggles of these Gyms to earn official status.
I’m not terribly strict on activity; I know you have a life beyond the internet (at least, you should…). But if you could keep to a once weekly post at minimum, that would be just peachy. If you’re going to be away for exams, vacation, or whatnot, it’d be nice to inform me and anyone that’s interacting with your character. Please do keep up, as I’d rather not see this die unexpectedly again.
Rules
1. Follow SPPf rules
2. Respect your fellow players (meaning: no godmodding, no flaming, etc.).
3. Use good writing.
4. This will be rated PG.
5. PAY ATTENTION! I’m a detail oriented writer and nothing irks me more than a player countering or ignoring something I as a GM established, especially in my most recent post. Like weather reports. This counts towards your fellow players too.
6. As with any RPG, you should read over all the information carefully before signing up.
A Guide to Character Development
If you already have a good idea of who you want, you might not need this section. But I’m feeling generous, so I’ll give you some things to think about if you need inspiration. Read the first two, though, as they’re important.
1. You do not have to stereotype. If you do decide to go with something typical, like a martial artist for the Veilstone Gym, make sure to fill out that stereotype so that you don’t have a flat character. But your character can know nothing about martial arts and still get into Veilstone Gym as a Trainer there.
2. The position of Gym Trainer is an apprentice or student to the Gym Leader. So really, being incredibly talented with powerful Pokemon is a bad character idea for this game.
3. Consider the GTs you meet in the games. They don’t have many lines, but you can see varying motives.
4. Speaking of motives, your character needs a reason to be doing what they’re doing. Unmotivated characters aren’t much fun.
5. As for age, I set 10 as a lower limit, but no upper limit. Most GTs appear to be preteens or teens, but there are a good number of adults.
6. You can pick nearly any Pokemon, even an off-type (not of the Gym type). I decided this based on the female Ace in Byron’s Steel Gym, who only has an Azurmaril.
7. But make sure, like that Azurmaril, that your Pokemon can use moves of the Gym type.
8. Your character can be a former Gym Trainer of another Gym, or even the same one in the case of Sunyshore and Veilstone.
9. You’re limited to two Pokemon to start with, partly because I like to see Pokemon developed as characters too. You will capture other Pokemon later on, when the plot allows for it.
10. Teaching a Pokemon a new move makes for a good plot point, so I wouldn’t go giving your Pokemon the best moves right off. Besides, the Leader might have a favored move to pass onto your Pokemon, like Brine in Pastoria’s Gym.
11. For the two extra questions in the sample area, consider that it is a job interview. It could be a general question, or a specific test question.
12. Obviously, there’s other rare Pokemon aside from the type specific ones I’ve listed. Any Pokemon that you can only acquire one of in the main games (like Riolu and the starters) are rare. Dragons and fossils are all rare. Any that require a special sidequest to obtain (Phione, Spiritomb) are rare. Pokeradar Pokemon aren’t rare unless they meet another quality listed. You can start with these rares, save for the fully evolved Dragons, Spiritomb, and Tyranitaur.
Sign-Up form
Reserves for specific Gyms will only be held for one week. I will also only take 6 reserves with a max of 2 reserves on each gym for the 15 positions at a time, to leave room in case someone comes along without a reserve.
Name:
Age: 10+
Gym: Fighting, Flying, or Dark
Title: Mostly for fun. What title appears on your Trainer ID card before you are hired as a Gym Trainer? Take cues from the games (Lass, Ninja Boy, Bug Catcher) or make up your own to fit your character. If the title is gender neutral (Bug Catcher, Student, Swimmer), please note gender here (Student-female). Please, nothing offensive.
Appearance: at least five lines. Anime genetics are active, so yeah, weird hair colors are fine.
Personality: Two paragraphs. This is a vital section to me, so don’t slack off here. Include how your character feels about this Pokemon type and why.
History: at least five lines, but longer is good. Include why your character is joining this particular Gym.
Tier: Tier 10 means you have no badges, Tier 9 means you have one badge, and so on. Tiers 3, 2, and 1 are not allowed.
Pokemon (You may start with two Pokemon, no more. Don’t think you can get away with skimping here. As the game progresses, remember to record any new Pokemon acquired as I do check these forms.)
Species: no legendaries, can both be off-types if you wish. I noted elsewhere which ones I will outright deny.
Nickname: optional
Gender:
Origin: a brief history for this Pokemon
Personality: one paragraph at least
Moves: 2 to 6, with one being the Gym’s type
Other: in case there’s any other factors that will affect progress.
Interview: This is your RP sample: you need to write a job interview between you and the Gym Leader. You must answer 5 questions total, 3 of which are set. The other two are up to you. The form your sample uses is up to you (Q&A form, in-person interview), but all five must be answered in-character, so informational mistakes and such are allowed (and encouraged for younger Trainers). You are joining the Gym for additional training and education, after all. Grammatical mistakes will be frowned upon.
1. What experience do you having in battling? -Make sure this matches up with your set Tier level!
2. What does a Fighting/Flying/Dark-type Trainer have to be careful of? -a question on how well you know the type you're signing up under. This isn’t just about battle advantages/disadvantages. It’s also about things that might come up in daily life: a Fire Trainer will need to be careful of getting burned, for example, while a Water Trainer will need to accommodate their underwater dwellers. You can be clueless if you like.
3. Tell me about your (Pokemon). -not only how well you know the type, but your own Pokemon. Pick one of your team to talk about; the Leaders will prioritize those of the Gym’s type.
Roster
Veilstone Fighting Gym
Leader: Charlotte/Maylene
1. Gin Yoshida - ryodragonite (accepted)
2. Theodore "Teddy" Derkson - Fossil Man (Accepted)
3. Ryan Loomis - FGSFDS90001 (Accepted)
4. Clementine “Orange” Sayre - Skillfulness (Accepted)
5. Roy Cloudrunner - Yanmegamaster (Accepted)
Jubilife Flying Gym
Leader: Arianna
1. Bree Spencer - Double-oh-Platypus (Accepted)
2. Cory Velos - CyberBlastoise (Accepted)
3. Armao Wales - Slipomatic (Accepted)
4. Cosette Minette - ~Angelic_Hymn~ (Accepted)
5. Fred Stevens - chskarate (Accepted)
Sunyshore Dark Gym
Leader: Cyan
1. Madison “Maddie” Taylor - Pokefan0234 (accepted)
2. Cora Mckay - treespyro (Accepted)
3. Alexei Pashinov - Yaya (Accepted)
4. William Courtney - Accidental (Accepted)
5.
If you have any questions, you can contact one of us through PMs or VMs.
GMs:
Slipomatic
Son_of_Shadows
Creator of the RPG: Ysavvyrl
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