[center][h1][b]Pokémon Mystery Dungeon[/b]
[sup][b]Aberrant Emissary[/b][/sup][/h1][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][img]https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/030/298/517/large/pauline-roy-crystal-pixel.jpg?1600187400[/img][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/center]
[hider=Prologue 1 - Wandering]
[hr][hr][h2][b]Prologue 1[/b] - [color=00FFFF]Wandering[/color][/h2][hr][hr][h3][color=00FFFF][b]The Southeastern Scar[/b][/color][/h3][hr][right][b]Winter 48, Year 149[/b][/right][h3]║The Howling Valley║[/h3]
Bitterly cold were the first few days he found himself in this less than welcoming land, not that telling time had been that easy to begin with. Prior to him feeling brave enough to emerge from the small den he'd discovered, a raging storm engulfed the surrounding land in a chaotic swell of turbulent winds and calamitous lightning. From nearby the shelter's entrance, the small minccino repeatedly attempted to peer into the stark wilderness, the fleeting moments of light that illuminated the sheer darkness for him followed by roaring thunder that almost shook the ground and sent him scurrying deeper into his makeshift home.

Yet as quickly as his frayed nerves would pull him away, the kid would cautiously return to his spot, somehow fascinated by the powerful phenomenon. For him, it was one of the most awe-inspiring occurrences that he'd come across, and his thoughts were captivated by questions of exactly what it was and what had brought it about in the first place.

However nothing could have prepared him for what he saw late into the night, the windchill alone having ensured that he wasn't going to sleep. No instead he sensed something amiss, his ears perking up as he vaguely discerned wind howling in a way that he hadn't heard before. To his very limited knowledge, it almost sounded like rapid-fire gusts bordering on powerful impacts in sets of four, at first faint but quickly getting louder as if approaching.

Then, in an instant, from a few dozen meters away from his den, as the kid stared out to where the pummeling was set to reach it's loudest, a cataclysmic lightning bolt, the largest by a long way, struck, bathing everything in an almost blinding light, the nearly simultaneous clash of thunder that accompanied it feeling as though it reverberated clear through his stomach. Regardless, something within the minccino drove him to hazard an attempted look anyway, his eyes widening at what he saw, or rather what he thought he saw: a haunting yet strangely majestic quadrupedal form dashing across his field of vision. It seemingly paid no notice of the child at all, and as quickly as it came into the scene, it was gone, as though it were merely a figment of his imagination, leaving the world in darkness once more, the storm itself with a marked decrease of its fury in the hours to come. And the boy was more than a little unsure of the whole thing himself, as even a search of the area following the storm failed to give him any tracks as a way of proof, nothing but charred ground where the lightning struck.

With the storm now passed and the minccino free to start his journey in earnest, he took note of the sky once more. In truth, he'd been one of the latest to realize what many that called these scars home had taken for granted. The sky seemed to be trapped behind a gloomy, nebulous shroud, a dark cloud layer that blotted out what bright light the heavens would have otherwise provided, casting the region under a dull shade of grey. There was indeed not nearly as much actual rain in that storm as there would be elsewhere, that holding true for a long time considering how parched the pale colored ground was.

But even with nothing to go on, what could the little minccino do [i]but[/i] follow in the general direction that the ghostly figure went, his feet slowly taking him deeper and deeper into this foreboding land. He could almost still feel the tremor from the closest lightning strike that night, the way it rumbled from within him... no wait, this was different. The kid winced over the dull pain in his stomach. It had only gotten worse since the day he first woke up. There was only so much time he could go without food, yet as he was finding out the hard way, sustenance was exceptionally hard to come by. Fear, in a way, had kept him out of trouble in the days prior, but it was very quickly catching up with him.
[/hider][h3][b][u]New Beginnings     [/u][/b][/h3][hider=Expand]
[b][/b]	Try as one might, it is impossible to fully remember the time before the land became what it is now. The balance among the forces that once shaped reality has been disrupted, their legendary guardians caught in a great turmoil that few if any have escaped untouched, leaving behind a realm altered and reshaped. And they would be far from alone in their fate. Across the many regions that pokémon now roam lies small pockets of mystic fields rich in a powerful kind of crystal, [b]Coalescite[/b]. Among the numerous varieties of these powerful constructs lies arguably its most important in the form of [b]White Coalescite[/b], the vessels believed to have carried countless souls into this new realm.

	To finally awaken from slumber is to emerge from the light encased within, always in the earliest stage of life, but not always in the form one expects. In the century that has passed, new generations have risen, yet occasionally another child will emerge from the wilderness, disorientated and with no memory. Often greeting them are settlements of varying size and structure, havens for anyone willing to do their part in support of their fellow pokémon. Furthermore, where there lies common cause, pokémon in need, mysteries to solve, and treasures to find, there will be adventurers brave enough to face the unknown.

	And on the eve of a century and a half into this enigmatic age, none of these things are in short supply. Legends surrounding many of the [b]Old Trailblazers[/b] have served as the foundations of various towns across the land, yet surrounding all of these persist the myths and fables of the wilds, chief among which are tales of locations so labyrinthine that many who enter are said to never be seen again. The most infamous places have long been forbidden, but within the last decade, interest in exploring lesser known spots has grown among reports of supposed escapees speaking of abundant treasures, the eventual proof of these claims ushering a veritable industry dedicated to adventure.[/hider][h3][b][u]A PMD RP With a Twist     [/u][/b][/h3][hider=Expand]
[b][/b]	Greetings anyone. Turns out "before too long" meant more than a month in length this time. I believe this counts as my first real bid to GM a group rp of my own and saw no better topic than PMD, approaching it again as someone who's played the earliest games in the series back in the day. And yes you read that title right, pokémon fusion is definitely a thing here, and indeed an option open to any player that wants to make use of it for their characters. Pokémon Infinite Fusion is definitely a large influence coming into this and by more or less following its fusion rules as shown over [url=https://infinitefusion.fandom.com/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_Fusion]here[/url], I believe some semblance of order can be achieved.

	The miracle material that makes it all possible is "Coalescite", and as the setup alluded to, there are pokémon who "start out" already fused, meant to operate as a normal character. Truth be told though, an early idea that I'm still deliberating over centers around the possibility of other types of coalescite having the power to fuse pokémon together, either for a short or extended amount of time. What does that mean? Well it means players could see their characters fused (temporarily at least) over the course of the story. It's quite the absurd avenue that would see two players direct the actions of a single character for a time. Even with both fusers, as I imagined it, having their consciences deliberate between each other (representing their synergy), this feels like a more manageable feature in a 1x1 RP.

	That said, between the right players showing up who're up for it and perhaps the chance of multiple characters per player being a thing, it might not hurt for the option to be available. Aside from that, I'm eager to see the reception to this IC such as it is. As anyone can figure, this likely isn't the kind of RP idea that typically gets that much attention. Failure to launch is always an option, and unfortunately I'm not quite ready to commit so much work to an idea hardly anyone will care about in the first place. That was partially why I considered putting this in the Free Section, but again an upgrade to casual can happen if interest pushes it in that direction.

	Course, your own interest might be dependent on further updates from me, assurance that I have a foundation in mind for how to go about this, where our characters come in and so forth. Rest assured that more info is forthcoming whenever I get enough time on my hands. But until then feel free to let me know your thoughts or even that you're keeping an eye on this.[/hider][h3][b][u]Project Details     [/u][/b][/h3][hider=Expand]
[b][/b]	Essentially, what I'm aiming for is a kind of balance between dungeon diving and the more relaxed elements that come with building up a new town, an entire community made up of everyone's characters. From a once abandoned outpost in a less than welcoming area, one of my primary characters will seek to do the impossible and reestablish it as a thriving town, complete with a town square with shops and a guild ready to train eager new adventurers. Can a merchant find themselves running dungeons now and again? Yes they can, though it is likely that they'll need a good deal more experience under their belt before they can tackle the harder locations.

	Now running these different facets of the RP, and quite possibly simultaneously I might add, sounds like the kind of thing even more experienced GMs would struggle with. On top of that, I found myself at odds with a lot of RPs where everything was already laid out by the GM, even the dungeons the player can go to. For this though, likely as many dungeons as possible would be discovered over time, directly by the players if we can manage. As a side note, depending on how we feel about it, I'm open to players approaching me about submitting their own ideas for dungeons for expeditions to discover, along with all the treasure, traps and wild pokémon they're apt to find within (other non-dungeon encounters and points of interest may also be an option down the line).

	Tying it all together is the basic seasonal calendar, where all 365 days of the year are divided into four seasons of 91 days each and a singular special day at the beginning of each year. I will be the one to decide how days progress forward over the RP's duration, but will of course cater things so no one is left behind post-wise.

	This IC had initially been set as "small group" because I had doubts I would even get the few player necessary for [i]that[/i] requirement. It's also what makes me consider letting players have multiple characters to help fill out expedition teams and guild/townsfolk. All things considered however, "large group" is indeed possible, but if things get to that point, part of me leans toward considering the aid of a Co-GM or two. To anyone still looking for the bare RP requirements/expectations in general, I could certainly list them out if that's the best way to go about it. But for now, I can say that I'm leaning towards a solid paragraph or so a week from players. At minimum though, whether a player can't post in a week, is working with someone else on a post for that or another week, or what have you, I'd much prefer to be in the loop.[/hider][h3][b][u]Fusion Basics     [/u][/b][/h3][hider=Expand]
[b][/b]	Since it must be kinda annoying to be directed to an unwieldy fandom page to learn this central mechanic of an RP that's quite frankly a much simpler beast compared to the fangame that partially inspired it, I'm fixin' to try and sum up the most important points here for all of us, something of a quick reference. For the purposes of this RP, as far as I can figure, there are four main aspects where generating a fusion is somewhat more involved. I've tried to sum them up below, as well as examples around the closest thing to a mascot I got: "Ivytortle", who I've only found out by the end of making this list to not be the best choice to showcase the fusion process.

	Not counting move pool (of the standard four limit I'm thinking), which you can pick and choose from among all the moves the two pokémon can learn within the fusion's final level (still deciding how final level is determined during the fusion process), the [i]order[/i] of the fusion has a key influence over the final product. I should mention that for the first two features and especially for the form/appearance of the fusion, what the page says can be likened more to guidelines than hard rules. I've seen many really talanted artists take quite a few creative liberties when submitting sprites for the game, so I intend to be a good deal more lax when it comes to this part of the whole thing.
[center][hider=Example Fusion (Ivysaur / Wartortle)]
[img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/543958354377179176/551821372125478968/2.8.png[/img]
[/hider][/center][table][row][/row][row][cell]
[center][color=00FFFF]▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀[/color][/center][center][sup][h1][b]Pokémon 1[/b][/h1][/sup][/center]
[center][color=00FFFF]▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀[/color][/center][b][u]Fusion Head & Color     [/u][/b][list]
[*]Poké1 typically accounts for the head, color pallet and pattern [color=8dc73f](Ex: Ivysaur's coloration, pattern and certain features)[/color][/list]
[b][u]Naming (First Component)     [/u][/b][list]
[*]The first part of Poké1's name makes the first part of the fusion's name [color=8dc73f](Ex: Ivy-)[/color][/list]
[b][u]Typing (First Type)     [/u][/b][list]
[*]The Fusion's primary type will share Poké1's primary type
[color=8dc73f](Ex: "Grass Type" from Ivysaur)[/color][/list]
[b][u]Ability Option A    [/u][/b][list]
[*]Poké1's second ability is available to choose (or hidden move instead if active)
[color=8dc73f](Ex: Ivysaur only has "Overgrow" as an option normally)[/color][/list][center][color=00FFFF]▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄[/color][/center][/cell][cell]
[center][color=00FFFF]▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀[/color][/center][center][sup][h1][b]Pokémon 2[/b][/h1][/sup][/center]
[center][color=00FFFF]▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀[/color][/center][b][u]Fusion Body     [/u][/b][list]
[*]Poké2 typically accounts primarily for the body
[color=8dc73f](Ex: Wartortle's core body including its shell and limbs)[/color][/list]
[b][u]Naming (Second Component)     [/u][/b][list]
[*]The second part of Poké2's name makes the second part of the fusion's name [color=8dc73f](Ex: -tortle)[/color][/list]
[b][u]Typing (Second Type)     [/u][/b][list]
[*]The Fusion's second type will share Poké2's second type (or primary if there isn't one) [color=8dc73f](Ex: "Water Type" from Wartortle)[/color][/list]
[b][u]Ability Option B    [/u][/b][list]
[*]Pokés's first ability is available to choose (or hidden move instead if active)
[color=8dc73f](Ex: Wartortle only has "Torrent" as an option normally)[/color][/list][center][color=00FFFF]▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄[/color][/center][/cell][/row][/table]
[/hider]
[center]Thanks for giving this IC a read and hope to hear from you.[/center]
[right][b]Next Up:[/b] TBD[/right]