Pocket Monsters Online

[Arcran]

One by one, five players mentally select the "Finalize character" button, their carefully (or not so carefully) crafted virtual avatars striking a pose before the full virtual reality experience takes over, the world disappearing in a burst of multi-colored lines as a familiar sound plays in the background...

Link... START!

Disoriented by the new body, the five players stagger slightly, trying to get their bearings as they blink rapidly, status screens and HP bars clouding the edges of their vision. Their carefully selected wardrobes adorn the avatars, a small pouch at each of their sides that couldn't possibly contain all the starting gear the game had given them. At their belt a small, seemingly wooden Pokeball sat in place with five empty notches on said belt remaining, clearly for the rest of whatever party the player may manage to gather. The game felt different than any other virtual reality the players had taken part in. The light seemed a bit more real, the air a bit crisper, the sound a bit less machine-like. It wasn't that it was better per se, more that it seemed more real, as if the line between what was the game and what was reality was just a little less concrete. If this is what technology could accomplish now, the power of science would be truly staggering.

Of course, a single thing strikes the attention of the five brave players as flashes of blue light appear around them at an alarming rate as the few that had gotten the first copy of the game enter the virtual world. Perhaps fifty yards away a burly blacksmith seems to be visibly distressed, dashing back and forth in front of his shop, shouting at passing non-player characters. That alone wouldn't be that interesting, but the yellow exclamation point above his head?

Well, some things never changed, right?

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Welcome to the game! You're all free to ignore the totally-not-a-hook and do as you want, although it might be worth your while to at least attempt it!

[NineOfSpades]

"Woah!" was about all that Scarlet could say. Not exactly a 'one small step for man' kind of moment, but hey, this was still a pretty new experience. Nothing like the VR chatrooms she was used to. Of course, the initial wonder was completely spoiled as about eighty other new players flashed into existence, blocking off her view of the environment. Internally, Scarlet scolded herself, regretting the decision she'd made to keep her avatar as close to her real body as she could. If she'd gone with the temptation to tamper with her in-game appearance, she'd have made herself taller, which would totally come in handy now, since she'd be able to see over the ever expanding mass of excited players as more and more teleported in.

Oh, now theres a thought. she ponded for a moment What happens if they pop in where I'm standing. Mental flashbacks to old horror movies crept their way into her mind, and it was enough to motivate her to get moving, at least away from the initial spawn point. Looking around to try and get her bearings, she noticed an out-of-place exclemation point hovering in mid air. Not sure what to make of that, and unable to see what it was connected to (Damn her 5'0" stature. Damn it, I say!), she gave a shrug and started walking over to get a better look. This quickly turned into her sprinting over, after another player popped into the game so close that Scarlet could swear for just an instant that they were going to get fused together into some unnatural hybrid.

Once she got close and saw the frantic-looking ironworker, Scarlet completely failed to make the connection between the guys actions and the digital icon over his head. No, as far as she was concerned, this was a real guy. "Hey buddy, cool icon. You get that as some pre-order bonus? Kinda clashes with the aestetic though, am I right? Anyway, something got your chainmail in a bunch? Cuz your running around like a total spaz"

[CosmicOccurence]

As CoCo landed in the game, she was disoriented for a second before getting used to the status bars, gamer tags, and hp gauges everywhere. She had played games like this enough that it wasn't terribly out of the ordinary. She pushed through the crowd, some of the female's clothing catching her eyes. She forced herself to ignore that her creations seemed to be less popular than her not-so-friendly design rival on the FADI team - Krista. She was proud of her work, and that was that.

When she caught sight of the blacksmith, she immediately knew what the exclamation mark was for. Would they include a glowing line to quest locations as well, or was that too much? She hurried over to the man, trying to beat the rush. She didn't want to be one of 100 people shouting questions at the guy. Excuse me sir, do you need assistance? She winced at the question. Of course he needed assistance, but the question would probably activate whatever speech he was scripted to give.

[IrnBruAddict]

Flexing his new hands, Zero looked over his body. It was nice and powerful. And it was a rather normal look, rather than the weeaboos he could see around him. Pink hair? Kimonos? Yeah, that'll look real good when a dragon starts eating your face, won't it? Bunch of freakin' weirdos ...

Rui made sure to eat a quick dinner and go to the toilet before playing, that way she would play uninterrupted for a few hours before her sister thought about dragging her off it. She wanted to get as much of a head start on the noobs who would all be playing as she could before her sister forced her to sleep. This early stage was important. She wanted to blitz the early quests. They usually wouldn't give much xp and she didn't give a crap about the "lore", but they often gave better equipment than you'd start with, or maybe some xp boosters that she could save till the end-game. Just complete the first quest-line untilt ehy send you out the starting area, then pick up quests on your way to the main hub. That was the place she could start having fun. It would be too crowded and hectic to start trolling right in the starting area.

Zero made his way over to the NPC, and pushed the girls who were talking to him apart so he could squeeze in. He even let his hand drift slightly to flip up Scarlet's skirt as he passed. He reached out and grabbed the NPC as he ran past. 'He's a quest-giver, not a human you morons. Don't speak to him like he's a person you'll just waste time.' Unsure how to click on things in a virtual world, since she mostly played keyboard and mouse games, Zero cautiously pokes him in the cheek, and even says 'click', in-case that would help.

'Quest, now. Skip the lore and gimme the mission.' What would it be? Kill 5 of some easy mob? Talk to some other NPC? Learn how to open the fricken inventory? God, these start quests are lame!

[sean_hyer]

Given the time he spent outside the city, it was probably a good thing he had rushed through character creation so quickly. Rubbing at reddened eyes, he aimlessly wandered back to the spawn point. What to do now? Since the game was here, bought and paid for, he supposed he ought to stick at it. No use crying over spilt milk.

Shaking his head, he straightened and lengthened his strides. Ahead, inbetween him and the spawn point, he could see a frantic-looking blacksmith, yelling at passers-by. Nothing to do with him, only this particular man had a giant exclamation mark floating over his head. Even never having seen anything like that before, it was easy to guess what that meant. He was an NPC with a job for you.

Behind the blacksmith, he could see countless blue flashes as more and more players appeared in the game. Soon enough, they would stop gawking at their surroundings and move on to the obvious quest. Better beat the rush. Even hurrying, though, he wasn't the first to the man. A couple of girls stood to the side as an annoyed-looking blond dude leaned in far too close and poked the NPC in the face. 'Click'.

Really? I mean, sure it was a game, but what kind of suspension of belief could you have going around like that? Where was the touted 'immersion'? Folding his arms and rocking back on his heel, Sean watched the impatient (apparently) pro gamer. At the very least, this ought to be interesting.

[GrayGriffin]

Artemis sighed rather happily and tilted her head back, realizing just how real the air felt. For a moment, she just basked in the ambience, before noticing several players starting to head towards the panicking blacksmith. Oh right, that icon. She remembered seeing something like that in one of the games she'd looked up before this. Everyone's approach to this seemed slightly different, and she walked up as well, frowning a bit at the tall blond guy's calling the others "morons."

"It's supposed to feel 'real,' right?" she said. "So maybe you're supposed to talk to him. Besides, don't most other games have dialogue options anyways?" Wow, her voice really did sound different. However, as she spoke, she also remembered what else this game was about. Pokemon.

"Did any of you check out your Pokemon yet?" she asked curiously, before grabbing her own Pokeball and pressing the button on the front, preparing to let out the...Snivy, was it? She definitely wanted to see how these Pokemon acted!

[NineOfSpades]

He even let his hand drift slightly to flip up Scarlet's skirt as he passed. He reached out and grabbed the NPC as he ran past. 'He's a quest-giver, not a human you morons. Don't speak to him like he's a person you'll just waste time.' Unsure how to click on things in a virtual world, since she mostly played keyboard and mouse games, Zero cautiously pokes him in the cheek, and even says 'click', in-case that would help.

'Quest, now. Skip the lore and gimme the mission.' What would it be? Kill 5 of some easy mob? Talk to some other NPC? Learn how to open the fricken inventory? God, these start quests are lame!

Scarlet froze for a second. A casual observer would think it was with fear, or perhaps embaressment. It was neither of these things. No, she froze because her brain was having difficulty processing exactly how angry she was. Given that this jerk had just strolled up, acting like a complete bastard, and he had the gall to flip her skirt, the answer to the question of how angry she was measured in at somewhere between 'Volcanic' and 'War, of The Four Horseman'.

"I...you...YOU PERVERTED BASTARD" She roared, her blood boiling hot, as she completely forget about the Blacksmith or the other players. Her entire focus was now squarely locked onto kicking this jerks ass till he begged her forgiveness. Balling her hand into a fist, Scarlet leaned back and Slugged the blond prick square across his stupid face.

Normally I'd roll for combat here, but since we're still getting mechanics squared away, I'll just leave it up in the air. You can have Zero respond however you like to the punch, including dodging it, if you feel that's appropriate to the scene.

[GrayGriffin]

Artemis had been hanging back from the others at first, and thus hadn't noticed where Zero's hand had drifted to. She immediately grabbed the hem of her shirt, pulling it down and her pants up.

"What did he do?" she exclaimed, sounding nervous and backing away to stand next to Coco, currently the only other non-infuriated girl here. She didn't want to get caught up in this if it turned into a fight. How would fights between players work here anyways? Would they actually feel themselves getting hurt? Would you automatically be logged off if your character "died"?

[CosmicOccurence]

CoCo ignored the conflict and turned to the blacksmith again. She needed to get some money as quickly as she could. Some of her features requireda dowsing rod - whatever that was - to get materials, and that was bound to cost some money. Then she could start selling her products to people. However, until then she was useless, and she wanted to get a start on the market before any of the other crafters started (she didn't think there would be that many. Again, most people want to be special snowflakes, not crafters).

So? she asked the blacksmith, hoping he would give her the information quickly so she could move on.

[Arcran]

The punch, while certainly a world-shattering action, falls more than a little flat. It connects solidly with the imposing man, although the health bar hovering above his head doesn't budge at all. A small screen pops up in front of both Scarlet and Zero, invisible to the others but in the center of the two combatants views.

New Beginnings Town is a no PvP zone. Attacks will not deal damage to other players unless a duel has been begun.

When Artemis pushes the button on the Pokeball a red beam of energy appears, strangely reminiscent of the television show that had seemingly been on forever. In the blink of an eye a small green snake was on the ground, looking at her Trainer with a crooked stare.

"Sniv?"

Spoiler: Pokemon Education DC 6

Show

As the snake is released a blue "Acantha" appears over its head with "Snivy" immediately below, providing some small indication of its identity. In the top left corner of your vision something flashes, although nothing more seems to happen.

Spoiler: If You Fail That

Show

A blue "Acantha" appears over the head of the snake, with"???" hanging immediately under, providing little information as to its identity.

"Ah, brave adventurers!" the blacksmith begins, only to be "clicked" by Zero.

"Don't do that," he quickly says, looking at Zero in confusion before instantly turning back to the group, the same panicked expression returning. "I be in need of yer help," he says in a gravely voice, seeming to speak to everybody but Zero. "It be rats ya see. Big purple ones, taken over the basement of me shop! Came in thra some hole. I tried ta patch it but there be too many, and a big rat with a nasty scar! I don't got much in the way of coin, but shoulda ye take out them rats I kin give ya some 'a ma weapons!" the blacksmith says, wringing his hands earnestly.

A screen pops up in front of each of you, invisible to the others but centered in your field of vision.

Quest: This is an RPG After All
Difficulty: Moderate
Quest-Giver: Alvor of New Beginnings

Reward:
Nicked Short Sword - Crude Small Melee Weapon
or
Clumsy Throwing Knives - Crude Short Range Weapon
or
Almost Magic Stick - Crude Arcane Short Range Weapon
1 Trainer Experience

Accept? Decline?

Sure enough, as you look a little bit above the blacksmith's head "Alvor of New Beginnings" appears in grey lettering, with "Blacksmith" appearing in slightly smaller grey lettering below.

"I accept!" you hear an eager voice next to you shout. "You all want to party up?" the same voice asks. Should you turn to acknowledge the sound, a man in a stark red robe with "Alithor" hanging over his head in green lettering stands there, a stupid grin on his face.

[CosmicOccurence]

CoCo says Yes with a bit of dissatisfaction. This quest wasn't going to give her anything that she needed, but that couldn't be helped. Her pokemon would gain exp in any case, which was going to be a reward in and of itself at this point in the game.

She turned toward the robed man and sized him up. Then she glanced at the others who had approached the Blacksmith with her. Then back at the man. Sure, she would need to learn to work in a group in any case.

[IrnBruAddict]

Zero, not paying attention, doesn't see the punch coming until the last second. When he tenses his face to get hit, he see the little pop-up. 'Hah! No pvp in starting areas? I kinda expected that one, but it looks like you didn't.' He turns to the blacksmith, and gives a thumbs up. 'Accept!' He then turns back to the angry girl. 'Hey, it's not like I even saw them. Although if you show me yours, I'll show you mine.' He winks at the feisty one, then straight after ignores her to look at the guy who was talking.

'Party up?' Zero asks with a shrug. 'Sure, I can tank. Kill quests go faster in groups, so no reason not to. But seriously, who puts a moderate as a starting quest?'

[NineOfSpades]

"Wait...what? PVP?" Scarlet Blinked in confusion. "Whats with all these windows?" With a motion that could only be described as 'flailing', she tried to close all of the dialog boxes that she could. In doing so, she clicked on the 'accept' buttons for both the quest, and to party up with the new red-robed stranger.

'Hey, it's not like I even saw them. Although if you show me yours, I'll show you mine.'

Glaring, Scarlet cracked her knuckles "Only thing I'm going to show you is the teeth I knock outta your ugly-ass face, you freakin perv!"

The appearance of the grass-snake pokemon (Was that from one of the newer games?) reminded Scarlet she hadn't checked out her own teammate. "Oh yeah, right...pokemon. Good call" She pulled up her pokeball, and tapped the button. Maybe her Bulbasaur could beat Blondie down, since her punch didn't do anything useful. She didn't have the foresight, however, to point the ball away from her face before opening it up, however.

[IrnBruAddict]

Arrrgh. Noobs! Well at least the guy in the cape seemed decent at the game. 'PvP is short for Player versus Player combat. It prevents people attacking other players. It's here so that someone that's level 20 can't come here and get pleasure torturing a bunch of level 1 that are still learning the game.' Rui had knowledge of this, since her clan often looked for MMOs without this feature. Fun times.

'Long story short, in this little starting town, you can't hurt me, you can't hurt any player, unless you issue a duel challenge. And don't even think about it, I've not got time to waste on dueling you, so I'll decline.' Zero gazed into the distance. 'If you take too long, the fast PKers like to hang out just outside the start zone and gank ya. I plan on getting out of here before too many of them gather. For all I know, someone is already hiding out there with a Renamon or BlueEyes WhiteDragon, or whatever the high level pokemon are.' Rui hadn't bothered to learn most of the pokemon. She knew the ones from Smash Bros and she knew Zubat.

[GrayGriffin]

Artemis looks a bit more relieved when the attack is blocked. This sounded like a good place to start, then. She looks down at the grass snake, tilting her head to the side and glancing back at it. (2d6)[5] "Hello," she says, reaching down to carefully touch the limbed snake on the back, similarly to how she handles snakes at home.

She glances over at Althor. "Sure," she says, adding an "Accept!" aimed at the screen itself. "Maybe it's meant to encourage teaming up," she suggests in response to Zero's question, although she doesn't look in his direction. "Or their difficulty system is just a little odd."

[CosmicOccurence]

CoCo looked at the large man. The game literally started less than a minute ago. Nobody's higher level than anybody else, and it seems like most people haven't even found the starting quest. We don't have anything to worry about, though its certainly advantageous for us to get ahead of the pack. Oh, and Blue Eyes White Dragon isn't a pokemon by the way.

[IrnBruAddict]

'Sorry, RedEyes BlackDragon then? And there are still beta-testers and devs to worry about. I'm just saying, if I made a Pokemon game, I'd give my character a high level Charizard and a high level Kirby and go around ganking noobs on the first day. Or maybe I'm just getting ahead of myself, and planning what I'm gonna do.' A goofy smile crosses Zero's face as he pictures crowds of little noobs so happy to finish the starting zone, only to get swooped on and eaten by his Brobat.

'Hehehe. Gonna be sweet.'

[sean_hyer]

It was a pity about the blacksmith's unnatural reaction; he had hoped for more realism. 'I guess it's just an ordinary NPC after all,' he muttered under his breath. 'Shame.'

Still, the rest of what had happened was comical enough to make up for it. A regular piece of street theatre. His ill mood evaporated, and an unrestrained chuckle escaped his lips. Wiping a tear from the corner of his eye, he strolled forwards to join the newly-gathered group, Zubat fluttering behind him.

"Room for one more?" he asks, already reaching to press the intangible 'Accept' button.

[Arcran]

As the group touches the "Accept" button or verbally agrees the window vanishes in a flash, accompanied simultaneously with a bright flash of light in the top left corner of their vision.

"Ah, thank ye brave adventurers!" the smith says, almost begging. "Just go thra that there door and go down tha stairs; them rats be all over down thar," he adds, a cautionary tone to his voice. "Best of luck, and thank ye again!"

Next to the group of you Alithor is frantically swiping in front of his face, muttering under his breath the whole while. "Screw it, I don't need to actually party up to be in a party," you just barely hear him mutter before he turns to the group of you, a triumphant grin on his face.

"Let's kill some rats then!" he cries before marching through the door, grabbing the Pokeball on his belt and releasing it to reveal a small grey humanoid.

Among the rest of the party, the small Snivy stands still, allowing Artemis to reach down and touch her but, at the contact, becomes far more animated, with a small vine snaking up Artemis' arm in what can most easily be described as an awkward embrace. At the very least, the Snivy seems to enjoy the contact.

As Scarlet tries to release her Pokemon into her face the flash of red temporarily blinds her, leaving her staggering around for a moment before, with a soft "thud" something slams into the back of her head. It doesn't hurt per se, but the impact was very much felt and, between the flash of red and the hit, Scarlet is slightly disoriented. By the time she becomes lucid enough to look around she seems the familiar shape of her Bulbasaur, stuck on its back with legs frantically pumping to try to right itself, a blue "Clover" hovering about a foot above the Pokemon's stomach.

Spoiler: Pokemon Education DC 6

Show

As the humanoid is released a green "Arnold" appears over its head with "Machop" immediately below, providing some small indication of its identity. In the top left corner of your vision something flashes, although nothing more seems to happen.

Spoiler: If You Fail That...

Show

As the grey humanoid is released a green "Arnold" appears over its head with "???" immediately below, providing little indication as to its identity.

Spoiler: Pokemon Education DC 6

Show

As the small bulbed Pokemon is released a blue "Clover" appears over its head with "Bulbasaur" immediately below, providing some small indication of its identity. In the top left corner of your vision something flashes, although nothing more seems to happen.

Spoiler: If You Fail That...

Show

As the bubled Pokemon is released a blue "Clover" appears over its head with "???" immediately below, providing little indication as to its identity.

[NineOfSpades]

"Gyaa! That stings!" Scarlet groaned, trying to rub the spots out of her eyes. If nothing else, she had to give the game some credit for realism. "Note to self: Do not open towards your face". Looking around, Scarlet saw the greenish-snake, and the little grey buff dude, along with their name tags and question marks. Then she saw her Pokemon, laying on its back "Ah, sorry bout that!" she exclaimed apologetically. Scarlet picked Clover up, holding the little dinosaur under its forlegs, so she could get a good look at her. "So cool..." She murmered with some genuine awe. Handheld games couldn't hold a candle to this VR simulation. "Alright then. My Names Scarlet. You and me: We're going to be partners, got it? I got your back, you got mine. So, what'cha say, wanna go stomp some rats?"

[Arcran]

The Bulbasaur looks you in the eye, saurian face becoming far more serious than you'd expect from a Pokemon as young as this.

"Bulba!" Clover cries, giving a single head nod before squirming slightly, obviously uncomfortable with being so far off the ground. Vines extend from the Bulbasaurs' back, quickly wrapping around your wrists, although whether it is in affection or simply a defense against falling is difficult to tell.

[NineOfSpades]

"That's what I like to hear!" Clover smiled, before nuzzling Clovers forehead with her own. A moment later, she placed the plant-pokemon back on the ground (right side up) this time. Pausing only to crack her knuckles, Scarlet headed towards the door, opened it up, and strolled on inside. Afterall, it was just rats in a low level quest. How hard could it be?

[GrayGriffin]

Artemis looks surprised at the vine-induced contact, but soon relaxes, taking her other hand and carefully sliding it under Acantha's body before starting to lift the grass snake, while using her other hand to support Acantha's back legs. If there is no protest, she'll keep Acantha in her arms and follow the others towards the dungeon.

"Should we have an order of who goes in first?" she adds, looking to the others for guidance.

[sean_hyer]

Time to hunt rats, then. A smile flickers across Sean's face as he remembers bygone days; While he hadn't played Runescape for long, it had just the same beginnings. This quest would probably show you how to fight, at least, which would be useful. Sure, he had (ahem) 'fallen downstairs' a fair few times in school, but he'd never been in a serious fight. And at the moment, his best notion of how to use his Pokemon was to point at something and yell "Attack!"

Alithor's actions seem like a kind of bizarre caricature, but what the hell. This is a roleplaying game, right? Time to roleplay! Adopting a confident swagger, he follows through the darkened doorway, faithful Zubat at his shoulder.

"Lead on, comrade! Those rats won't know what hit them!"

[NineOfSpades]

"Should we have an order of who goes in first?" she adds, looking to the others for guidance.

Scarlet Glaned back over her shoulder "Oh come on, they're rats. I think we can handle this"

"Lead on, comrade! Those rats won't know what hit them!"

"See? This guys got the right idea" smirked Scarlet, extending a high-five towards Sean.

[IrnBruAddict]

Zero slowly grabbed the ball on his belt. 'Oh yeah, this thing. It's basically a mix of a pet system and fighting using summons, right? You guys do know they aren't real, right? They're just programs.' He send out his own Zubat. 'What do they say? Let it rip?'

[CosmicOccurence]

CoCo releases Spark, her pichu and (if it lets her) places the pokemon on her shoulder. It was certainly small enough and light enough to fit comfortably if it wasn't too squeamish. Honestly, its the opening quest. I doubt order will matter terribly much. Let's go!

[Arcran]

Sparky, fortunately enough, doesn't resist being plopped down on CoCo's shoulder and, for a program, seems to enjoy it immensely. Zero's Brobat, on the other hand, hardly makes a sound when it is released, hovering in place like, well, you'd expect a NPC to.

As the party charges into the smithy, Alithor and his grey Pokemon in tow, the blacksmith gives one last wave, adding in a "Good luck!" as the door closes behind you all. Quick enough you manage to spot the stairs down and, a few seconds later, the massive party has shuffled down, opening the door to what appears to be the actual forge.

The first thing that hits the party as they enter the dungeon is the smell. Beautifully rendered by some artsy engineer, the stench of rat feces hits each and every one of the players like a truck, actually causing Alithor to begin to gag a little. Of course, the second thing to hit you is the multiple pairs of red eyes all around the room, displays popping up over each and every one of their heads rapidly. Massive purple rats are all over the room, each at least a foot long. Small piles of metal scraps litter the floor as well and, in the far corner by the forge, a massive hole in the wall opens into a seemingly black pit.

Of course, the biggest attention grabber in the room comes from the corner, where a brown rat the size of a dog, although that's not the most concerning part. While a single HP bar hangs above the heads of the various purple rats, two hang above the head of this monstrosity. Bags of grain litter the floor with the grey monster mindlessly biting into the bags with fangs that look more like swords than teeth. A small, blue "Slash Eye" hovers above the monster. As the group enters the room it turns towards the group, revealing a milky eye with a huge scar both above and below, only for the beast to turn back to the food a second later. It seems that you are below its notice at this time.

Spoiler: Pokemon Education DC 4

Show

As the small bat is released a grey "Come On Already" appears over the one owned by sean while "Brobat" appears over the head of the one owned by Zero, with "Zubat" immediately below either, providing some small indication of its identity. In the top left corner of your vision something flashes, although nothing more seems to happen.

Spoiler: If You Fail That...

Show

As the small bat is released a grey "Come On Already" appears over the one owned by sean while "Brobat" appears over the head of the one owned by Zero, with "???" immediately below, providing little indication as to its identity.

Spoiler: Pokemon Education DC 6

Show

As the small yellow rat is released a green "Sparky" appears over its head with "Pichu" immediately below, providing some small indication of its identity. In the top left corner of your vision something flashes, although nothing more seems to happen.

Spoiler: If You Fail That...

Show

As the small yellow rat is released a green "Sparky" appears over its head with "???" immediately below, providing little indication as to its identity.

Spoiler: Pokemon Education DC 4

Show

As you enter the basement the horde of purple rats immediately have "Rattata" light up over their heads, providing some small indication of its identity. In the top left corner of your vision something flashes, although nothing more seems to happen.

Spoiler: If You Fail That...

Show

As you enter the basement the horde of purple rats immediately have "???" light up over their heads, providing little indication as to their identity.

Spoiler: Pokemon Education DC 8

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In the far corner of the room, under the Pokemon labeled as "Slash Eye", "Raticate" pops up, providing some small indication of its identity. In the top left corner of your vision something flashes, although nothing more seems to happen.

Spoiler: If You Fail That...

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In the far corner of the room, under the Pokemon labeled as "Slash Eye", "???" pops up, providing little indication as to their identity.

Spoiler: Perception DC 8

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From the hole in the corner of the wall you can hear the pitter patter and scratching of tiny feet. Were you the betting kind, you'd think something was coming out of that hole, and soon.

Spoiler: NO MORE CHECKS, IT'S TIME TO FIGHT!

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And here we have it, the debut battle for our intrepid heroes! How many of you can I kill?

Everything you need is here. Like, seriously. The map, enemy HP bars, initiative, all of it.

A note on structuring posts! Please do something akin to the following when talking about the crunchy parts of your post:
Leroy Jenkins
Shift Action: Move to A2
Standard Action: Attack Rattata 4 with Struggle!
AC 4: (1d20)[15]
Damage (Physical, Normal): (1d8+4)[9]
Free Action: Cry "LEEEEEEEEEEROY JENKINS!"

This makes it easy for me to double check that what you did is legal. It doesn't have to be this exact layout but the easier it is for me to check things the happier I will be. You probably want me to be happy in big fights like this.

Everybody between Slash Eye and the Rattata can go now! If you have some way to make your action go earlier just post in the OoC that you want to do that so I don't skip over you. Also, if everybody could look at the tracker and make sure everything is right I'd really appreciate that as well.

Good luck!

[sean_hyer]

High-fiving the unbelievably pink girl, Sean follows the group into the cellar. And honestly, he isn't too impressed. "Rats." Because they are just rats, if large ones. They look about as viscerally threatening as any small animal - that is, not. One good kick should take one down.

That said, the small eyeless bat behind him is even less imposing (if that is possible). And this game is about being a trainer, right? Oh man is he going to feel stupid if this doesn't work. Gesturing dramatically at the closest rodent, he bellows in a voice only slightly dimmed by embarrassment. "Come On Already! Attack!"

Spoiler

Show

Come On Already
Shift Action: Move to F9
Standard Action: Attack Rattata I-Have-No-Idea-What-Number with Astonish!
AC 2: (1d20)[20]
Damage (Physical, Ghost): (1d6+19)[24]

[Arcran]

As sean screams for an attack by the Zubat, a red screen appears in front of him, visible only to him.

ERROR: "Attack" is not a valid combat manuever. Please give a valid combat command.