It takes years to train a Pokémon for battle. Years of sweat, blood, and tears that often never amount to anything. Every kid can catch a Beedrill or a Geodude, and a few get lucky or work hard enough to be the toughest in their town. The truly dedicated might take on a few gyms, and only those seemingly destined for it ever even make it to the elite four of their region, let alone defeat the champion.
Yet that is only scratching the surface.
The elite four, the regional champion, all these gyms. These are just practice for what comes next. Surpassing the milestones and gaining those notches under your belt are just traditions to prove you’re ready for the big leagues.
Above all else, Pokémon battles are the most revered of sports. It’s an ancient tradition that is seemingly universal anywhere humans and Pokémon collide. So ancient it is primal, that it harkens to a part of ourselves we all crave to see. Those able to prove their mettle are those worth watching. Their battles are legendary and well-received. Who wouldn’t want to see such a spectacle?
But it isn’t all glamor and glory.
For as long as it takes to make it there, it’s rare for a trainer or their Pokémon to stay in the ring for long. Age gets to even the strongest, injuries impair even the most durable, and hearts weigh heavily with each husk of a fighter that must be discarded and replaced when they have lost their edge. Still, everyone, Pokémon or not, in some way strives for that moment of glory, fully aware of the dangers.
Welcome to The Valkyrie League! A Pokémon roleplay focusing on the competitive side of battling. Imagine a sports anime like Haikyu or Hajime no Ippo, but with the lovable mascots of your favorite game series! Expect training arcs, tournaments, and lots of angst! Do you have what it takes to thrive?
This roleplay takes more of an example from the anime and its logic rather than the games. Any Pokémon is capable of being powerful, and it’s a matter of finding and cultivating the best ones. A happini can lift a frozen lake, a bellsprout can tangle with the best. Just because a Pokémon is considered bad or is usually good at one thing doesn’t mean they have to be in this roleplay! Each Pokémon is unique and fights in its own way.
In this roleplay, the elite four are just a stepping stone and the real trainers are those who manage to beat them. These select few make up the Valkyrie League, where the most renowned trainers from all across the world battle for others to watch.
I am looking for a very small group of players, potentially 3-5 total. If you’re interested, send me a character sheet below! Please feel free to ask questions.
Da Rules!
16+ for any players hoping to join. Pokémon is a family freindly rp, but I swear like a sailor and don't want to write with children.
Nothing sexual, please, and while this roleplay will be violent, try to avoid the excruciating gore. We don't need Invincible fights here.
Be respectful to everyone, just don't be a dick
God modding is a no-go, and I WILL call you out for it
I expect at least 2 paragraphs per rp. You can do that, I know you can.
No ultra beasts or legendaries.
Homebrewed regions are fine, but no homemade pokemon.
Name:
Age:
Pronouns:
Trainer Type: (Do they specialize in a type? Are they one of the trainer types from the games? Or just a general vibe)
Hometown: (Prefer town and region but just region is fine. Custom regions or from the spin-offs are fine!)
Appearance: (Description required, art appreciated)
Personality:
History: (It can be brief)
Goals: (What do they want to achieve? Why?)
Team: 6 pokemon maximum, you will be able to switch out pokemon but must be approved first.
Template:
Name: Species: Personality: Stats: (Use a letter grading format. F-S) Endurance: (Staying power. Can they take a hit? How long can they fight?) Power: (Raw strength and ability to deal damage overall) Speed: (Agility and sheer speed) Adaptability: (How likely are they to adapt on their own? Do they have abilities that help them outside of hitting hard like leech seeds or spikes) Potential: (How much room for growth do they still have?)
Here is an example character (and potentially one I might use later)
Name: Valeska Yamamoto
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Trainer Type: Battle Girl/Action girl
Hometown: 3 Island, Sevii Islands
Appearance: Val is a massive woman. Tall and she is broad and made of muscle. Her skin is a dark tanned color, and she is always smiling and cheerful, leaving her with laugh lines around her mouth. She has plush lips and perfectly white teeth.
Val has a strong jawline, especially for a woman, giving her face a somewhat angular and blocky frame. Despite this, the rest of her facial features are fairly soft. She has large brown eyes that gleam with excitement and a tiny button nose. Her black hair is wavy, cut short to her shoulders, and is usually tied back by a scrunchie or lifted by a sweatband.
Personality: Val is a good sport and a great friend to have. She is eager to learn and loves to test herself, and rarely lets her temperament get in the way. She is protective of those around her and brave in the face of adversity, but can sometimes come off as overbearing. Val is used to being around buff fighters and her tough brothers, and as such, she can be a bit rough with people unintentionally.
Val is a bit of a meathead. She struggles with thinking of strategies beyond hitting harder and has never been much of an academic. She applies herself in everything she does but when it comes to pursuits of knowledge, she always seems to fall flat. Despite this, Val has an unwavering perseverance that keeps her from giving up. She is also smarter than she may look, though most of her knowledge lies within more practical skills: cooking, cleaning, martial arts, and survival skills.
History:
Goals: Restore her family Dojo to it’s former glory.
Team:
Hariyama Stats: Endurance: S+ Power: B Speed: F- Adaptability: B- Potential: D+ Personality: The wise, old mentor to the rest of the party. All the other Pokémon look up to him, and he knows it. He is the only Pokémon Valeska has from her father, and so they share a deeper connection. Hariyama matches much of Valeska’s more ‘brute force’ methods. He is stuck to his fundamentals and slow to act. He studies and reacts appropriately but more importantly, takes his time.
Outside of combat, he acts the way you might expect an old man to. He takes it easy, preferring leisure and order to his life. He is incredibly patient but somewhat grumpy, from years of training tikes.
Nuzleaf Stats: Endurance: B- Power: C+ Speed: B- Adaptability: B+ Potential: B+ Personality: A spunky, upbeat Pokémon with a lot of Moxie. Nuzleaf is a newer member of the team and a very eager fighter. He yearns to prove himself and looks up to Hariyama like a father. Nuzleaf has a lot of tenacity and doesn’t give up; it trains diligently and puts its all into anything. Unfortunately, Nuzleaf has no idea when to stop. He often gets carried away and pushes himself.
Raboot Stats: Endurance: C- Power: B Speed: A+ Adaptability: B Potential: S Personality: Easily the laziest member of the team, but a total savant. They cost of talent and raw power but avoid training. Roboot can be a very moody, grouchy Pokémon and is by far the most likely to ignore Val’s commands. It comes as no surprise that they but heads with Val. Roboot tends to try to look cool and nonchalant at all times, but the facade falls apart when they get into a battle and feel overwhelmed. They take defeat very poorly and brood when they are put down.
Primape Stats: Endurance: B+ Power: S+ Speed: C- Adaptability: A- Potential: B Personality: A ball of fury that represents the competitive side of Val. Completely unfettered and turned into a problem. Primape is furious, violent, and utterly unhinged. The other Pokémon are afraid of him, save for Sawk and Hariyama, who trained him. Primape doesn’t mean to be such a bully, but he wears his heart on his sleeve.
Ledian Stats: Endurance: D- Power: C Speed: B+ Adaptability: B+ Potential: F Personality: If Nuzleaf is the baby of the group, Ledian is the runt. The weakest link, and every member knows it. Ledian is a bit of a worrywart who consistently puts themself down. That said, they are the heart of the group for sure. Ledian is always supportive of others and kind. They can also be a bit selfless, willing to sacrifice everything for the team.
Sawk Stats: Endurance: B- Power: A+ Speed: B+ Adaptability: B+ Potential: D- Personality: Sawk is a no-nonsense, by-the-book, and highly disciplined individual. He is everything both Nuzleaf and Raboot want to be: stoic but tenacious, graceful yet tense. He tends to remain the strong, silent type of the group. He has the coolest head of the team, always remaining undeterred in battle.
Wobbuffet Stats: Endurance: S+ Power: D- Speed: C+ Adaptability: A Potential: D- Personality: Wobbuffet is not the brightest, or perhaps is just strange. She seems completely carefree even in dire situations and never takes anything seriously. They can actually be somewhat impish, given they enjoy taunting people, knowing they won’t easily take them down, and that hitting them is all but certain doom.
Imagine a sports anime like Haikyu or Hajime no Ippo, but with the lovable mascots of your favorite game series! Expect training arcs, tournaments, and lots of angst! Do you have what it takes to thrive?
Alright, you got me. I've been in a sports anime mood for a while and as I work on my own future pitch, I think this pokemon sports could be fun.
I do have some questions though. Given you mention beating a regional champion is "just the beginning" are the characters meant to be beginners just starting out on their journey (or like a couple months in) or are they meant to already have accomplished a championship and the RP is following these vets getting even stronger in "Valkyrie"?
Also, Valkyrie League itself isn't really mentioned in the pitch, so I'm wondering if its a specific league for the best of the best, a training program for trainers akin to people seriously going after Olympic medals IRL, or just the RP title (which would be fine haha). I want to know how and why the characters would be around each other or if they even will be.
I will admit, I am pretty rusty with gming. Some of the people here really know how to draw you in with their ads and openers, and I envy that haha.
The idea here was that the characters had long since beaten the champion. I know in the games you beat them and replace them, but in this world, it's like getting your black belt: you've proven you understand how to fight, but that doesn't mean you're a master. So we would be playing well accomplished trainers, the kind that have a full team and a lot of accomplishments behind them. They'd be competing on, like you mentioned, an Olympic level.
I imagined the 'Valkyrie league' is more or less a stand-in for whatever group is orchestrating these Olympic-level Pokémon matches. They set up battlefields, transport everyone participating, record the matches, etc. This is 100% a stand-in name, I just wanted to throw the idea out there first. This all said, I do like the idea of making it a training program for high-level trainers hoping to go pro. That might be better than what I was imagining. Having them all be competitors makes it harder to beleive they'd interact outside of matches, and this is not Arena forums.
No problem! GMing is tough, but your initial sell was just fine! I just had the follow ups which you answered for me!
I think just using the name "Valkyrie League" for the in-character group/league is perfect because it already evokes the kind of feeling you seem to be going for (the organization looking for the pinnacle of "warriors"). As for what direction you go, whatever you think will be the most fun is probably best so interest stays. Training league with a group of friendly rivals that grow and compete against each other definitely has a more "sports anime" feeling in my opinion, and everybody loves seeing character growth, but there is merit in starting with high level characters too.
Or maybe split the difference and have the recruiters be those dudes in the gyms giving advice to people challenging them, and participants get scouted for Valkyrie training program after X number of badges? To weed out the weak early without spending real time or resources on it lol. Then you can still have recording, practice arenas, and transport going on to test out their chosen trainers against various regional leagues. Really I think either way works so just go with what seems best to you!
I like the idea of these people being scouted. Perhaps the actual 'Valkyrie league' is more like a goal for the players. When they finish training, that's where they will go. In the meantime, they're all in some smaller 'league' for people showing a lot of potential. Still doing professional matches and entering tournaments, but on a smaller scale. A lot more focus on training and friendly rivalries, like you stated. That does feel a lot more like the genre we are going for.
Could the first arc be leading up to like a freshman tournament?
You have my attention. Maybe this is a dumb question, but I would ask if this intended to be, for lack of a better way of putting it, PvP focused or...? I mean I assume obviously players will battle each other at some point no matter what. Just curious to what extent it will be emphasised.
I feel like words are failing me and there had to have been a better way to ask that. I hope that made sense.
I like the idea of these people being scouted. Perhaps the actual 'Valkyrie league' is more like a goal for the players. When they finish training, that's where they will go. In the meantime, they're all in some smaller 'league' for people showing a lot of potential. Still doing professional matches and entering tournaments, but on a smaller scale. A lot more focus on training and friendly rivalries, like you stated. That does feel a lot more like the genre we are going for.
Could the first arc be leading up to like a freshman tournament?
That sounds great to me!
As for PvP, that makes sense too. I imagine it would be part of training, and possibly like rankings within this pre-league program (if that's what you're going with). I guess it would be slice of life (life on the road or in dorms or whatever), practical training with each other (PvP), and then professional matches with NPCs until tourney brackets pit the characters against each other for real?
I have a few other RP obligations at the moment, but I'll see about submitting a sheet after that. I can say right now my concept is a Pokéathlete that swapped from competing in Pokéathlon to professional battling.
I am very open to suggestions too! I wasn't sure the best way to format this rp just had a vibe I wanted to capture. Did you have a character in mind?
Not much for suggestions at the moment, but I'll let you know. And I figured I'd recycle a character a made for another game a long time ago, though obviously modify them as needed to fit this better. You said lots of angst, so they'll be a perfect fit for this. Should I put the sheet together now and post it here? It's been a hot minute since I joined a group RP...
<Snipped quote by Birdboy>
As for PvP, that makes sense too. I imagine it would be part of training, and possibly like rankings within this pre-league program (if that's what you're going with). I guess it would be slice of life (life on the road or in dorms or whatever), practical training with each other (PvP), and then professional matches with NPCs until tourney brackets pit the characters against each other for real?
I do like the sound of that if that aligns with the original vision for the RP.