Captain Jenno

Pokémon Noir

Alright, guys! If we can get one or two more biters, I'll upload the CS and get to work on the OP, sound fair?

~Majora's Mask: Oathkeeper's Dawn~

In the end, Anemos had attended the Prince’s arrival, not out choice, but because Grout had insisted upon it.
”What if he recognises you, pal? Invite him to the show!”
“Get off of me, you greedy old reptile! He won’t recognise me, I was ten!”
“Take your old man along with you, then!”
“He won’t-”
“Go!”
“What about practi-”
“Go!”

But, despite having been forced to attend, he was somewhat happy to be there.
His pessimism towards the Prince’s return had steadily dissipated as the morning had passed him by, replaced instead by some insoluble excitement.
Perhaps he was just eager to get out of practice- which, admittedly, wasn’t a healthy attitude for a performer to have- And, of course, he was always grateful to get a few moments alone with his father.
It was a leisure that’d grown increasingly rare over the years: The man often buried himself in his work these days.

Arichias Seuhans was an admirable competitor, when it came to growing old with grace.
He still maintained an impressive stature of 6’1- Although, it’s rumoured he was even taller in his youth- and even at the age of 60, there wasn’t hide nor hair of a hump on his back, nor a hunch in his step.
His hair- unlike his sons- was respectably short, tightly curled, and had only just begun to lose its pigment, meaning its fair brown hue threatened now to transition into a platinum blonde.
Even his skin, sun-kissed and dark, retained its youth, and shine.
He might even have been able to pass for his mid-40s, if the features of his face didn’t betray him: And that was not to say it was plagued with flaws and wrinkles.

No, his pale green eyes were what betrayed his six decades: Light pools, in which lingered every joy and regret.
His lips, too, carried the faint signs of age in the lines that flanked their sides, the ghosts of laughter and of pensive frowning.

He and Anemos had taken a position towards the back of the crowd, but it was of little inconvenience to the pair of them, considering their substantial heights.
“Hell of a turn out, huh, Dad?”, Anemos asked, bouncing very lightly on the balls of his feet like a child, anticipating a treat.
“Hm.”
“Huh? Something wrong?”
“No, I’m sorry. I was… lost, in thought.”
“What’s on your mind?”
“Work.”
“Work’s always on your mind, cut loose for a change! Forget about The Rock for a half hour, won’t you?”
The elder of the two fell silent for a moment, and sighed softly.
“You take after your mother,” he observed.
“Well, I definitely didn’t get my looks from you,” Anemos replied, chuckling.
“True enough…” Arichias concurred, stroking his chin thoughtfully, “If you had, you wouldn’t have to wear that mask,” he grinned wryly: Anemos scowled.
“Come on,” Arichias coaxed with a chuckle that was frightfully reminiscent of Anemos’, “Looks like you didn’t inherit my sense of humour.”
“I did,” Anemos assured him, with a playfully indignant folding of the arms, “That’s the problem.”

The two bantered back and forth for a little while more, before the steadily increasing roar of the crowd pushed them into silence.
The moment had come at last, as the Prince rode proudly into through the walls of Clock Town, preceded and succeeded by the likes of his elaborately dressed royal procession.
Of course, the crowds exploded into riotous applause: This was the man who’d contributed nothing to this land but the shadow of his citadel, but by the thundering of their hands you’d have thought he was the people’s king.
The citizens of Clock Town were enthralled by the Ikana assembly- how couldn’t they be?- all, or so it seemed to him, except Anemos

Laying his eyes upon their lustrous cuirasses, and- quite honestly- convoluted headsets, he found himself overtaken by a nauseating sensation of dawning realisation.
Before him stood a life he could’ve lived: All he ever was, all he is, and all he could have been.
Knights, gallant and legendary, favoured by the roars of the crowd, and blessed by their decision to remain inside of Ikana’s walls.
This was it. These were his worlds- his reality, and his wildest dreams- colliding. And it was…
Ridiculous.

Although it was inaudible above all of the applause, and cheering, he couldn’t help but laugh and chortle, as he was swept by a sudden sensation of self-reassurance.
These knights were no more than he: They dressed in fancy garb, played a role, and nothing more!
What made them different, save for the circumstances of their alliance?
Anemos, too, had heard the crowds call this way: Except, he was never stationary.
He’d earned those applause. They had done nothing for two decades, and their fanfare would be, he hoped, short-lived.
They both wore ostentatious garb, as well, although Anemos’ was intended to spellbind the audience, whereas the knights simply wore theirs to assure the citizens that they were a higher class of man than them.
And did they not both undo the wicked?
No. They had done nothing: That had been Orca’s job.
“Knights!”, he chuckled, “Do you see these men, dad? At least we have the common decency to admit we’re performers! Right? … Dad?”

Anemos turned his head to his left, to find his father absent from his side, and instead stalking away, towards the alleys and away from the Prince’s welcoming party.
“Hey, Dad! Wait up!” Anemos called, before pursuing him.

Teplee

Agent Name: Linchev "Link" Stanislavski (Лынчев Станисла́вский)

Agent Country of Origin: Soviet Russia

D.O.B: February 2nd, 1960

ID No.: 4710111

D.O.D: 1983 (after serving in Afghanistan)

Prior (Cold War) Employment: A doctor, trained in Volgograd and serving in Afghanistan as a field medic and surgeon.

Current Employment: Currently still a doctor, now running the local infirmary atop one of the many hills of Teplee.

Agent Biography: From the moment Linchev Stanislavski had been born into this world- In Stalingrad (later renamed Volgograd) Hospital, on February 2nd, 1960- he was what the KGB and CIA regarded as ‘a noteworthy subject’.

His situation, and lineage, was quite uncanny, really.

His father, Sergeievich Stanislavski- otherwise known as ‘минута человек’ (Minuta Chelovek – The Minute Man)- had served during the Battle of Stalingrad, and utilised a Lassus power of his own: The ability to slow time to a stop for one whole minute.
During this brief pause, he’d made his name by slitting the throats of six German snipers in what seemed to be the blink of an eye.
But this was not the only extraordinary factor in Linchev’s genetic history, not by far.

His mother, Constance Stanislavski (née Balakirev), was a member of the Komanda Sneg Yastreb operating in Eastern Germany during the ’53 uprising.
She too possessed a Lassus power: The ability to move at an elevated speed for a short period of time (if she operated the ability for too long, she’d burn up and fall unconscious.)
Constance was a rugged, iron-forged example of a Russian woman: With parents like Linchev’s, how could he ever grow up to be anything but a soldier?

… Linchev graduated from St. Lenin’s Medical School in Volgograd, 1978 with honours, and a perfect surgical record.
Despite his military lineage, Linchev was a clement soul: Since he was very young, he’d always exhibited an interest in helping people, as opposed to harming them.
And in that respect, his parents had been a massive influence upon him: The Lassus ability they passed onto him bestowed the remarkable ability to perform quick and efficient surgeries, often without the need to even spill blood.
He loathed blood. And loathed the cold war into which he’d been born.

When he was twenty, he rejected an invitation to join the Komanda Sneg Yastreb in favour of studying instead to become a field medic.
The allies had thought, perhaps, this would make him an easier subject to recruit: However, upon first interviewing him, the Western powers found that- despite his hatred for warfare, and the Sneg Yastreb- he was a fond believer in the potential of Communism, and not keen to betray his motherland…

Not until he qualified for conscription, at any rate: In late 1980, Linchev was deployed to the Soviet Warzone in Afghanistan to serve as a field medic for those battling the Mujahideen in the name of glorious communism.
It didn’t take long for Linchev to become enlightened to the violent nature of his nation’s cause; POWs were tortured, and he was forbidden to care for them; Soldiers died in his arms on the field, be they Afghan or Russian, and Linchev witnessed intense acts of cruelty.

When he returned to the Soviet Union for temporary leave in May of 1983, he quickly sought out the agent that had originally attempted to recruit him for Project Deimos, and agreed vigorously to assisting West in opposing the Communist agenda.
The following month, Linchev was taken to Czechoslovakia under the guise of attending a medical conference, before being transported to Austria, and flown from there to the United States.
He’d said goodbye only to his parents.
His father had resented him for abandoning the “righteous cause” of Communism, but had refused to turn him in to the Stasi, for he still remained his son…
His mother was proud, because- quite frankly- she always preferred to fight on the winning side, and the West looked to be building its new army well.

After Deimos’ dissolution in the early 90s, Linchev made no attempts to return to his homeland: Upon learning that Teplee’s clinic was totally without an administrator, he’d promptly volunteered himself for the position.
The cold was not dissimilar from his homeland, and he found his talents appreciated far more in his new community, although accusations of his supposed communist disposition still fly in from time to time.

Psych Evaluation: Although Linchev witnessed some great atrocities in Afghanistan (which has been described as “The Soviet Union’s Vietnam”), he is of a relatively stable disposition.
He’s cheery and sociable, although he does quite noticeably grow fearful whenever anyone accuses him of maintaining communist sympathies, as the attitudes of cold war- for him, at least- never truly ended.
Unlike a lot of soldiers, he revels in these times of peace: Teplee is all he ever dreamed of, a quiet little town in which to practice his healing trade.
All the same, however, he is painfully aware of his identity as a foreigner in this country, and, to some, as the enemy.

Physical features: Standing at 5’9 and weighing somewhere around nine stone, Linchev is a skinny soul.
His skin is pale, but without blemishes, and his cheekbones are noticeably high.
Although his eyes are a milky blue, they’re not immediately apparent behind his round-framed glasses, which tend to attract glare almost constantly.
His hair is shaggy and black, and falls just short of his chin: It’s very clean, though, all the same.

‘Lassus’ Power: Linchev is capable of slowing down his own perception of time to a crawl, meaning that- in the eyes of all those around him- he's moving at a highly elevated speed. It's using this ability that Linchev was capable of becoming such a prolific surgeon, as he can slow the bleeding of a patient to a near-stop, at least in his own eyes.

Purposes this ability served during wartime: Linchev was to be deployed as a field medic, capable of performing complex surgeries on the battlefield, even whilst bullets were flying.

Notes: Having received no formal language lessons, Linchev instead learned English by watching British period-dramas (such as 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Pygmalion'.).
He still watches them to this day, although obviously he does so by himself.
When asked about this, he'll deny it and instead insist that he was taught English "behind The Iron Curtain."

Teplee

New record!

~Majora's Mask: Oathkeeper's Dawn~

I was gonna post the night it went up, but a familial crisis has sort of stayed my hand. I'm writing a post now.

Pokémon Noir

I'm glad we're getting some attention!

Pumpkin Prince said
You know I'm interested! Another question though - In a similar vein, is it presumed that all Pokemon that were retroactively made Fairy type in a desperate bid to give that type some Pokemon (like Mawile and Jigglypuff) are still just presumed to be their original types?

Yes, they're still their original types.

Pokémon Noir

Parteebear said
Interested, quick question though. While 5th and 6th gen pokemon are clearly not allowed, what about mechanics, abilities and moves? Will dream world abilities or any later-used items be allowed? And what about Fairy typing?

No, no and goodness no, I'm afraid.
The later items and the concept of the dream world aren't produced until the 21st century. Similarly, Fairy typing has yet to be discovered, and the same applies to moves attributed to it.

Pokémon Noir

Spectacular!

Pokémon Noir

It's 1923, and mere weeks ago, a vicious, decade-long war over the region of Orre came to it's conclusion.
It'd been fought by the united military might of Johto and Kanto, against the ever-expanding interests of the Sinnoh region.
During the war, Orre- which, up until then, had been a series of roving valleys and prodigious mountains, rich with the valuable ores for which the region had been named- was rendered a barren desert wasteland as a result of the escalating violence of the conflict, and the Johto/Kanto alliance was forced to evacuate the territory following a crippling defeat in Phenac City.
Despite this, however, the dust in Orre still hasn't quite settled, as it's people- those who'd settled from all around the world, back when it consisted of winsome, idyllic countryside- have risen up in an attempt to force Sinnoh's invasion force back across the borders.

We are not, however, following the story of this new war.
Instead, our tale begins in the city of Goldenrod, as the people of the 'classic' regions settle back into civilian life, their "state of emergency" now considered totally forgotten.
But that is not to say there's peace in this bustling metropolitan area, not at all.

As the war had escalated in the latter-half of the conflict, the nation's officials had passed an act that resulted in the drafting of many law enforcers; This, in combination with the amount of families that- due to the conflict- found themselves without a "bread winner", precipitated a sudden bolstering in petty and organised crime in Johto's major cities; Crooks have found themselves quite suddenly at the top of the food-chain, and now those returning from the war are faced with a new battle...
That between law and lawlessness.

With no enforcement to stop them, already existing organizations, like the likes of Team Rocket, have expanded their brackets of control exponentially, and- through sleazy tactics and highly illicit but nonetheless mainly anonymous activities- have taken political control of Johto's capital, Goldenrod.
Their founder, Giovanni, now sits in the mayor's chair, and keeps his hands pristine and clean whilst his army of bandits and underlings perform his darker duties in his name.
This work has taken a turn for the dark and despicable, however:
Having risen above the minor crime of Pokémon theft, Team Rocket has now extended a campaign of fear over the people of the city, organizing violent terrorist strikes (often in the form of Pokémon-affiliated bombings) and mass Pokémon robberies from local storage centres (which have recently been disconnected from the PC systems, for valid concerns regarding the presence of hackers among Rocket's ranks.)
Try as they might, however, the newly returned police-force are powerless to help: The Mayor keeps his hands firmly clean, and claims to have abandoned his old comrades years ago.
This, we know, is most likely a lie.

The roleplay will follow the likes of those returning from the war, or those who lived through it, as they try to settle back into civilian life whilst combating (or assisting) Team Rocket's unlawful agenda.

So, without further adieu...

How're Pokémon battles gonna work?

This is by far the trickiest part of the roleplay, because battling in a traditional collab would most likely take massive, train-stopping periods of time.
So, for the sake of convenience, I'm going to need to ask potential trainers to either complete the posts in one sitting, or else take them to the likes of Skype or Titanpad.

As for the actual combat, this will be mostly down to your roleplaying capabilities: If you're the type who doesn't like to lose, you'd be better avoiding this roleplay all together, because it's inevitable.
Utilising individual stats would be very inconvenient, so the outcome of a battle will rely mainly on three factors: Size, type advantage and your capacity as a roleplayer.
In terms of size, it's simple knowledge: If it's a Snorlax Vs. a Jiggypuff, you can bet your Pokédollars that the Snorlax is going to be hitting harder.
Then there's type advantages, once again very basic: If a Growlithe uses a flamethrower on your Bulbasaur, it's gonna hurt.
With these in mind, the true outcome is based on your roleplaying: Your battle strategy, and how fairly you play it out.
You're being trusted to make the fight reasonable by and between yourselves.

However, as I can't fully rely on the honour system, this is where the likes of Skype and Titanpad come in.
The idea is that, whenever a battle is formally entered into ("I challenge you!"), then it should be taken to one of these programs and written as a collaborative piece, with myself or another GM monitoring to make sure everything remains fair.
It's simple from there, really: You get a turn in which you can use an attack (Healing items have yet to be invented, meaning it's the Pokémon centre for your defeated pokémon), and then it's your opponents turn, in which they may respond and attack back.
Your pokémon will be given a limited amount of dodges per battle as well (Let's say, three,) and each of these will make your Pokémon all the more exhausted (dodging takes energy, as it requires you to move your entire mass simultaneously and at a moment's notice) after which you're basically depending on the GM's decision on whether or not you can dodge further (every time you try to dodge after your allotted three, the spectator will decide if you manage it, although it's unlikely.)

Too long, didn't read: You're going to roleplay your battles instead of leaning on stats as a crutch, and it's basically dependent on you not being a military-grade douche nozzle. If you play fair, you've got a fair chance.

So, what Pokémon can I have?

Anything, more or less! Excluding the Pokémon from any region post-Sinnoh (because, as of 1923, they have yet to be discovered), you can pick anything you'd like!
However, your party is limited to one starter Pokémon, should you happen to pick one.
You can't have shinies, however, nor can you have legendary Pokémon, even if it's the sort of legendary in which there might be more than one.
"What if I want my pokémon to be individual, then?"
Give it a personality! Or a neckerchief. Neckerchiefs are neat.

So, can my Pokémon learn TMs and stuff?

Sorry, this is the 20s- no TMs in sight, certainly not until the 60s.
Any move your Pokémon learns, it has to learn it naturally- and before level 50, preferably.
By naturally, though, I mean along the lines of the roleplay: Obviously if a Pokémon can be taught a TM, then it can move the learn somehow! Rigorous training, in this case!
And that's right, fifty is your limit. Although you can get a Pokémon that evolves over level 50, level 50 is your limit for move learning.
We aren't factoring levels into the roleplay, nor are we really taking into account the individual damage-count of each move, that's just the boundary for the sake of keeping everything tidy and fair.

So, why no Unova Pokémon?

Funny story, the post-Sinnoh regions haven't been discovered yet. Or rather, they haven't been populated and explored yet, meaning we've no idea what Pokémon live there.

So, what's the plot? Collect gym badges?

Funnily, this is actually prior to gyms being established. The plot will follow a group of civilians and ex-soldiers whom, after the war, were forced to live within the confines of Team Rocket's Goldenrod, and either fighting against them, or submitting to the regime and helping them crush any resistance they might come across.
For the benefits of the roleplay, Goldenrod is a metropolis large enough to house political opposition and conflicts, as opposed to a tiny section of the game map.

How do we catch new Pokémon?

Ahh, here in lies the catch...
Team Rocket has made it dangerous to leave and re-enter the city's boundaries, meaning that whilst you can catch new Pokémon, you'd need to be sneaky, and the chances are you wouldn't be able to go particularly far for them. Johto and Kanto Pokémon remain in their respective areas (as of HG and SS), and Hoenn and Sinnoh Pokémon need to be shipped across the ocean, which could put them at risk of being stolen by Team Rocket (and even if they aren't, Sinnoh pokémon are rather risque lately, the war having just ended.)

You will start with six Pokéballs, but you can only have a party of four Pokémon at a time (and will begin with none in storage), and they will be contained in your starting six, giving you two spares. You can buy more later, but never carry more than six at a time.

Only four?

That's right, only four Pokémon. As of the crime-rate rise, law enforcement has made is illegal to carry more than four Pokémon on you at a time- partially because it means you are less likely to abuse Pokémon, with each one makes up a quarter of your team, but mostly because it means Team Rocket members can't pack as much heat as they'd like (and if they do, they're arrested).
Another benefit, however, is that four pokéballs are easier to conceal, and thus are less likely to be stolen.

Wait, no levels? How does training work?

This is another aspect you're going to have to roleplay. Each victory will make your Pokémon a little more adept at battling, and as time goes on they'll become better at communicating and working with their trainer, to boot. It's up to you to show this improvement without overdoing it: Maybe start the roleplay with a relatively new, inexperienced Pokémon, and end it with a well trained partner to be proud of!

Can I use evolution stones?

Yes you can! Evolution stones are still being sold in Kanto, as they haven't seen the same increase of crime as Johto has, being a mainly rural and farm-based community.
Because of this, the superstore that Goldenrod boasts is still supplied with these stones regularly: Although, they are very slowly becoming increasingly rare due to Team Rocket's insistence on getting their "cut".

So, hopefully that covers the simpler questions...
Here's hoping we see some activity!

~Majora's Mask: Oathkeeper's Dawn~

Is this a handegg conversation?