PTU - New Beginnings

[dmarks]

Shanna, Joshua and Bill in New Bark Town

There was something inescapably peaceful about New Bark Town, something that made the travails of the road fall away and the heavy heart flutter with hope. For our young arrivals, though that hope had taken a more concrete form for today was the day they would officially step out onto the road as pokemon trainers, away from their parents striking out on their own.

Of course their first stop would be Professor Elm, the leading authority on pokemon in all of Johto, and under whose aegis young trainers could safely travel. Each of your parents has impressed on you that if you only follow the instructions Elm gives you, you will come to no harm and can prosper on your own pokemon journey.

[The Walrus]

Bill attempted to brush off all the dust that had accumulated on his cloak from route 29, but soon gave up on the task as futile. The young magician had known that it wouldn't be easy to become accustomed to a life of travel after living in Goldenrod his entire life, but he hadn't expected that it would involve so much dirt and grime. Why did one of the most prestigious research labs in Johto have to be located out here in the sticks? Well, he shouldn't complain too much. In a way, this was Bill's fault - if he hadn't let Arthur go missing, his mother wouldn't have been so insistent about making sure Bill did everything the 'proper, safe' way, and he could have started his journey in a place with a little more... glamour.

Well, no sense in delaying. Bill headed straight to the entrance of Professor Elm's lab and looked around to see if any other trainers were going to have to suffer through Elm's lecture today.

[Gintash]

Joshua awoke, stretching softly as he looked around the area he had slept. It had been too dark that night when he had arrived in New Bark Town for Joshua to go looking around for a Pokecenter and so he had decided the best option was to sleep close to Professor Elm's Laboratory. That beings well and all, because of his late arrival he also awoke later than he had expect and quickly rolled up his sleeping bag, putting all of his stuff away and double checking he had everything before running up to the doors of Elm's lab.

When he arrived there was already someone standing at the doors and he ran up to him quickly, panting a little from his sprint before speaking. "H-has the Professor opened up yet? Please don't tell me I'm late! I couldn't deal with being late to this!" He said as he calmed down, looking at the door and then the boy before noticing that if the Professor had opened the boy would not be standing out here. He resting his hand on his chest softly before extending it to the boy in front of him. "Sorry about that. My name is Josh by the way. What's yours?"

[Lentrax]

Shanna took a deep breath as she walked into New Bark Town. It is just like all the Pokémon videos said. That first step... It smells like adventure.

Are you as excited as I am, Oddish? As she asked the question, the little plant in her arms moved to take a look around, then cheerily pronounced, "Odd! Odd! Oddish!"

Well, I guess we have a great start! Let's go find Prodessor Elm. Mom said his lab was here in... Oh, look! I bet that's it. Let's go, Oddish!

Running down the path, Shanna hurries to the lab, but skids to a stop as she sees that she isn't the only person here.

Hi! I'm Shanna, and this is Oddish. "Oddish!" I'm just starting as a Pokemon trainer. What about you?

[The Walrus]

Bill didn't have to wait long before he saw someone else head towards Elm's lab - one of Elm's aides, probably, judging by the stature of the approaching figure. But as the figure came closer, Bill noticed the smooth features of the person's face and realized he was actually looking at a boy around his own age.


"Sorry about that. My name is Josh by the way. What's yours?"

"Hey. I'm Bill." The magician shook Josh's hand firmly, looking up into the boy's eyes. "Looking forward to getting your first pokemon from Elm?" Bill asked, wondering why Josh was so worried about being late. "I've already got Mustapha, so I don't think the professor will give me a second one."

With this, Bill released the Hoothoot from the ball on his belt. Mustapha's eyes fluttered open, blinking in the strong morning light, and the pokemon let out a grouchy hoot to let Bill know he wasn't amused at being woken up so early. Then, hearing approaching footsteps, the owl swiveled his head to look, an action which twisted nearly his entire body around.



Running down the path, Shanna hurries to the lab, but skids to a stop as she sees that she isn't the only person here.
Hi! I'm Shanna, and this is Oddish. "Oddish!" I'm just starting as a Pokemon trainer. What about you?

"Hey Shanna, hey Oddish. I'm Bill, this is Josh, and this is Mustapha," Bill said, indicating the boy and Hoothoot next to him. Mustapha fixed an unyielding gaze directly at the Oddish in Shanna's arms, and Bill had to agree with his pokemon's wariness - the magician knew first-hand how dangerous the toxic powder Oddishes were capable of releasing was. It was almost dangerous enough to make Bill think twice about carrying around his own supply of the toxin. Almost.

"I've had Mustapha for a while, but we haven't done any real training before. You must have some experience though, to hold a poison-type like Oddish in your arms so casually."

[Gintash]

Josh then realized he needed to introduce his Pokemon too as he quickly pulled his Pokeball from his pocket. "I've also got Flare here so I doubt I'll got another either." Josh said as his Pokeball opened and the little fox appeared upon the ground. Flare looked around a little, at the two other trainers and their Pokemon before walking over to Mustapha and beginning to sniff him a little.

"I've had Flare here for a little while but not very long so I don't really know too much about Pokemon training apart from the basics." Josh said as he scooped up Flare into his arms softly. Joshua was a little nervous about meeting these new people and so while being a little wary, he was also quite exited about the whole thing.

[Lentrax]

"I've had Mustapha for a while, but we haven't done any real training before. You must have some experience though, to hold a poison-type like Oddish in your arms so casually."

Not really... But I trust Oddish. She won't poison me, will you Oddish? "Odd!"

[dmarks]

The three trainers didn't have long to wait as soon the doors to the lab opened and a friendly research assistant ushered them in. The lab itself was as they might have imagined: metal surfaces that gleamed and various technical-looking devices that whurred or beeped. But distracting as all that was their attention was invariably drawn to the professor who stood at the centre of the room in a long white coat. The man looked tired but still managed a smile for the new arrivals, though it dipped somewhat when he saw no one else coming through the doors.

"Was there anyone else behind you? Or is just you three this year?"

"Ah well, not to worry, it can't be helped. Please take a seat." He gestured to a few worn chairs that his assistant had wheeled out. "No need for this to be too formal then. I see you've got your own pokemon already, that is the first step done with, but acquiring pokemon is not the hard part of being a trainer, no not at all."

"Do you know what the greatest unacknowledged truth of our society is? That pokemon are dangerous. Mad isn't it? We all know it, but we don't know it. In the wrong hands pokemon can be very dangerous, and you don't need to have bad intentions for things to go south. But there is a solution: we can counter ignorance with knowledge, foolishness with clarity. That is the advice I give to each new generation of trainers when they come to me. Not all of them heed me, in fact few do, but eventually it gets through to them. Pokemon can be our best friends, but the reason I encourage trainers to go out into the wilderness is to increase our collective knowledge of pokemon so that all of the accidents and destruction caused by pokemon can be prevented. Do you all understand?"

From a large box Elm drew out three brand new Pokedexes, though it was clear that there were many more still in the box that would not be used. "Please take these. They were the invention of a friend of mine, but you must have seen them in shops nowadays. Well these are state of the art: they record information about all species of pokemon and then feed it back to a central database so that other trainers can retrieve that information when they encounter a pokemon of a similar type."

"Though we may know many of the pokemon native to our region, and some from beyond," he added gesturing to Oddish and Flare, "we don't know everything about them. What their habitats are like, their likes and dislikes."

"You can use these to keep in touch with me, and I will send out information to you when I can if you find it useful. Now, I believe that is everything. If you have any questions I'm more than happy to answer them, but if you are keen to set off I won't hold you back. Keep your pokemon safe and they will keep you safe, but remember what I told you: ignorance is the greatest enemy we face!"

I'm just using this to fluff your acquisition of pokedexes, but please still pay for them (so everyone in the campaign starts out on a fair footing.

[The Walrus]

"Wow, thanks for the Pokedex, professor Elm! I'll be sure to scan every pokemon I see with this," said Bill, looking down at the compact, elegant device in awe. Those things cost over ten grand! And here Elm was just giving them away for free!? "I'm amazed more kids didn't show up for this! ...do you have any idea why it's just us three this year, Professor?"

Bill knew that kids had been going missing, but surely there couldn't be so many missing as to noticeably decrease the number of new trainers visiting New Bark Town to see Elm... right?

[Lentrax]

Shanna set Oddish down so she could take the Pokedex from the Professor.

This is incredible! Thank you! Oh, I know just how to commemorate this!

She activates her pokedex and scans Oddish with it.

[Gintash]

Josh jumped a little in excitement as he took the Pokedex in his hands. He was so happy that he could finally start on his journey to make his dream come true. "Thank you so much professor! This means the world to me. I hope that I can do you proud and use this to its full extent!" Josh said as he immediately scanned Flare into his Pokedex with a smile before wondering why there were so many dex's prepared and only 3 there to collect them. Bill seemed even more interested in things than Josh was, and so Josh listen to what the pair spoke about things.

[dmarks]

Elm frowned. "Who knows. Perhaps it is because gym leaders have taken to giving them away to new trainers in the big cities. Perhaps trainers no longer want to travel the world when they can see pokemon at the nearest gym or on the television. Or maybe-" but he cuts himself off, thinking better of whatever it was he had planned to say. "I will not trouble your young minds with baseless speculation. It has been a troubled year, but I'm sure once you are on the road you will see all the wonders our world has to offer!"

"As you all probably know, the nearest town to here is Cherrygrove city along route 29. Stick to the route and you will not find yourself in too much danger, but make sure you are always careful."

[Lentrax]

What kind of danger?

[dmarks]

"The further from the known routes you travel, the more powerful and dangerous the wild pokemon will be that you find," Elm replied. "But on the routes themselves, you will tend to find smaller and more docile pokemon."

[Lentrax]

Shanna had been imagining some kind of bandits and thugs in the off roads, so when the professor said it was Pokemon instead, she was relieved. Relaxing visibly, she said simply, Oh, okay.

[The Walrus]

Bill wondered what the third possibility Elm had in mind for the lack of trainers showing up was, and briefly considered asking, but he doubted that the professor would have any more information about the child disappearances then Bill himself did. Not even the Goldenrod police seemed to know much about them, so someone way out here in the country couldn't know any more than rumors.

After hearing the response to Shanna's question, Bill turned to the two other young trainers and spoke up again.

"Even small and docile Pokemon can be dangerous, so I'd feel safer if I was traveling with the two of you. I know I'm pretty short, but I can keep up."

Bill headed towards the lab's exit.

"If we leave now, I think we can make it to Cherrygrove before it gets too dark out. Thanks again for the gift, Professor."

[Lentrax]

Shanna bows to the professor as she sees one of the trainers starting to leave. Yes, thank you very much. Bye!

She turns and heads off after Bill.

Hey! she calls out, stretching one arm to try and hold the boy by the shoulder. You can't say something like "we can make it of we go now " and then go off by yourself. See what I mean? And besides, we should wait for Josh too. We don't want to leave him all alone on the route to Cherrygrove, do we? She finishes with a smile, to show she means well, and not like she was lecturing the other kid.

[The Walrus]

Bill had expected to look cool by being the first to leave the lab with several determined strides and a swish of his cloak, but so much for that plan. He supposed it was a little rude to leave before seeing if the other two trainers wanted to go with him, though. Failing to evade Shanna's hand, he stopped in his tracks.

"Hey, I was serious about not wanting to waste time. We can wait for Josh by the western exit."

Shrugging off Shanna's grip, Bill exited the lab into the bright light of the day, which prompted Mustapha to peck at Bill in annoyance.

"Okay, I get it, sorry for waking you up so soon." Bill returned the nocturnal pokemon to his ball, and set off for the entrance to route 29.

[Gintash]

Josh considered asking the professor a couple more question but decided the stifle them and head along with the others instead. "Thank you Professor. For everything." He said to Elm before returning Flare, then turning and jogging out of the lab and towards route 29 too meet up with Bill and Shanna. "Sorry about that guys."

Josh looked out to the route they were about to head through and thought for a moment. "I'm guessing that we would all like to stay close to the main road rather than head off too far from it. But do we want to try and get through here as fast as we can or catch a few Pokemon along the way? I'd feel safer if I had another guy with me personally." He explained as he patted Flares Pokeball softly.

[dmarks]

The group heads off, Bill clearly eager to start his journey. A few of the townfolk wave them off, but the kids don't wait around. They'd all seen this route early and started to head west along the track.

The village quickly fell away to be replaced by a slightly raised road with thick grass to either side, and a couple of metres beyond that, thick banks of trees that obscured all sight. The day was still bright, but it was almost impossible to make out anything beyond the first few trees.

[Lentrax]

Shanna stops at the edge of the village. She takes a deep breath and looks around, with a little slow spin. Satisfied that she has the sight firmly in memory, she sets her first foot on the road. The road to what comes next.

The road, her road, to the Pokémon League.

Is anyone else as excited as I am? Do you think we'll encounter any Pokémon on the way to Cherrygrove?

[The Walrus]

"I'm guessing that we would all like to stay close to the main road rather than head off too far from it. But do we want to try and get through here as fast as we can or catch a few Pokemon along the way? I'd feel safer if I had another guy with me personally." He explained as he patted Flares Pokeball softly.

"I'd like to avoid any fights until we get closer to Cherrygrove. I'm sure their Pokecenter is better equipped than the one here-" Bill said, making a dismissive gesture towards the village behind him "-if this place even has a center."


Shanna stops at the edge of the village. She takes a deep breath and looks around, with a little slow spin. Satisfied that she has the sight firmly in memory, she sets her first foot on the road. The road to what comes next.

The road, her road, to the Pokémon League.

Is anyone else as excited as I am? Do you think we'll encounter any Pokémon on the way to Cherrygrove?

"Excited? Yeah, a little. I've barely left Goldenrod at all before, so this is all pretty new to me."

The magician considered Shanna's second question carefully for a few moments before speaking.

"If we stay on the path, I don't think we're likely to see too many. All of the food and shelter is in the forest on both sides of us, so I think that's where most of the Pokemon would stay. There aren't any trees to block the light on the road, though, so maybe grass types would like to sun themselves on the path during the day. We might see some of those."

[Gintash]

Josh nodded at Bill's statement. Goldenrod would have a better health system than this town which appeared not to have a Pokecenter. But at the same time he did want to try and add more Pokemon to his team.

As Shanna spoke Josh smiled widely. "I am too. It is so exciting to be able to finally go on the adventure I've been dreaming of!" Josh as he turned to the pair. "So, shall we get moving? I think this is a perfect time to leave seeing as we should get to Goldenrod just before dark."

[dmarks]

After a while the initial excitement fades slightly, as the group sets into a nice pace. They occasionally see some bird type pokemon fly overhead, but little else disturbs them.

After about an hour of travelling Bill notices a small creature bobbing in the grass to their left hand side. It seems to be a brown, furry creature, with a long, ringed tail.

It's a sentret!

[The Walrus]

Bill halted, then slowly took out his newly acquired pokedex and pointed it at the creature in the grass, activating the scanning mechanism.

"Guys, look. If you want to catch something, this could be your chance," he said in a hushed voice.

[Lentrax]

Shanna pulls her Pokeball off her belt, and presses the button to expand the ball to its full size. Alright, then! She calls out as she launches her Pokeball. Go, Oddish!

[Gintash]

Josh considered trying to capture the Pokemon, but decided against it when Shanna beat him to sending out his Pokemon. He did however pull out his Pokdex and silently attempt to scan the little creature so that he had information on it for later purposes.

[dmarks]

The sentret hears the trainers talking and darts towards the treeline, but when it reaches it it pauses and curls into a defensive ball.

Map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Rwcp0dhoLj2W5WzxdeTsaHGAe66KZzDWaaTlg71TBuI/edit?usp=sharing)

Sentret used defense curl!

[The Walrus]

Bill wondered why the sentret had stopped at the edge of the forest instead of retreating further. Was it afraid of something lurking within the woods? Was that the reason it was hiding in the grass near the road in the first place?

The young magician's eyes darted back and forth over the treeline, before Bill realized that someone else had sharper eyes. Acting quickly, he reached down to Mustapha's ball and released the hoothoot.

"Mustapha, ignore that furry thing and look for creatures in the forest."

Releasing Mustapha to the square one up and one to the left of Bill.

Perception for Bill: [roll0]
Perception for Mustapha: [roll1]

Question: Do the grass squares count as rough terrain?

[Lentrax]

Oddish! Move up and use Absorb!

So, Oddish should only need to move forward one square, and then she can use absorb.

Not sure what to roll, so I will roll just the d20 for the attack roll.
[roll0]

[dmarks]

Nope, all these squares (even the forest ones) are normal terrain. You also should be able to edit the spreadsheet to move your character and pokemon.

Oddish's attack manages to weaken the sentret, which rolls towards oddish (clearly slowed by it's defensive ball). Mustafa jumps towards the trees and spies two mammalian pokemon near the forest edge each with sharp points on their foreheads.

[Lentrax]

Alright, Pffish! Keep it up! Absorb one more time!

[dmarks]

Oddish further drains the approaching sentret, which swipes back at the grass type.

[roll0]

[roll1] AC 2, but -4 to accuracy due to defense curl
Damage [roll2] + 13 from critical hit, =37 - Oddish's defense (10) 27 Damage, and Oddish then gains 4hp from her Absorb

[The Walrus]

"Hey, I think Mustapha sees something back there!" Bill called out to his fellow trainers in response to the Hoothoot's reaction.

"Mustapha, stay away from the ground, get the attention of what you've seen, and hypnotize it."

It wouldn't do to have any wild Pokemon intrude on Shanna's battle, after all. Noticing the sentret getting closer, Bill retreated westwards, positioning himself to put Mustapha in between him and the unknown threat in the forest.


I'm still waiting on dmarks to get back to me on whether or not Mustapha can be hit by ground based enemies after his shift action, but I'm moving now so I don't slow down the game.

Bill is using Inspired Training Orders as his standard action to give Mustapha +1 evasion and +2 to save checks until the beginning of Bill's next turn. Mustapha is using Hypnosis on Nidoran Male. AC Roll: [roll0]

One note: Even though the sentret had an accuracy penalty, a natural 20 is always a critical hit in PTU, as per pg. 236 of the rulebook: "On an accuracy roll of 20, a damaging attack is a critical hit". This prompts the question of whether 'accuracy roll' refers to the d20 roll before or after modifications from accuracy penalties or bonuses are applied. Although the rulebook could afford to be clearer on this subject, I believe 'accuracy roll' refers to the roll before modifiers. The second paragraph on pg.236 declares that a roll of 16 with a +4 modifier is not a critical hit, even though 16+4 = 20.

[dmarks]

The nidoran's eyes slowly shut and it curls up in the trees. Its companion nudges it, but doesn't attack the trainers.

Rolling to awaken: [roll0]

I'm happy to allow it, though when Mustapha makes an attack, he will have to move within a certain distance.

Sorry, I totally missed that it'd rolled a 20: so an extra [roll1] against the Oddish :smalleek: Shanna might need some help! wrong sheet, should be 1d8+6, I'll roll in OOC.

[Lentrax]

Shanna takes half a step forward as Oddish cries out in pain. She looks on horrified as Oddish climbs back to its feet.

Oddish! Are you okay!? Oddish doesn't sound too enthusiastic about her reply, but nevertheless looks ready to continue to fight. But Shanna has other ideas. She reaches into her bag and pulls out a Pokeball. She looks over and gauges the distance to the Sentret. She hits the button, winds up and throws the ball.

Shanna watches in horror as Oddish gets scratched across the face. The scratch goes deep, and it must have been too much, since Oddish fell back, KO'ed. Oddish! No!

In a panic, Shanna holds out Oddish's Pokeball. Return!

Oddish is at 0 hp, and takes if I am reading the rules correctly, 3 injuries.

[dmarks]

I think oddish should still be conscious. Attack damage is worked out in this case 37, then the target subtracts their defense or special defense stat, in this case 10, so Oddish should be on 6? She has 33 HP to start so 6hp remaing, +4 from the HP she absorbed. Unless I've missed something?