Pokepunk: Somar. Recruitment, Worldbuilding, and OOC

[Lord Raziere]

I'm reasonably certain I spelled out advantages Pokemon have over guns too.

I thought about adding 'Pokemon won't go off accidentally while cleaning them' but then I remembered Pichu exist.

Yeah but....my logic is more "yeah pokemon is the focus, guns aren't" and "if guns were invented, they wouldn't be competing with pokemon since they were earliest gun designs and those wouldn't be real efficient over just making a pokemon fight for you." people wouldn't waste time with some gun when you can use a pokemon methods that has been tamed for probably since all of civilization and can do far more things. so guns wouldn't get to the level of being relevant in the first place, because this is a world where pokemon are relevant, not guns.

[MCerberus]

considering the need for an abstraction and what pokemon attacks would actually do to a person, would you say a gun attack would be about a 60 power physical attack with the make/model impacting damage and crit rate? That would make it useful against common low-levels but a sandslash is going to output the same level of pain as a well-made rifle while being able to tank more than a squishy human.

[Lord Raziere]

I mean it sounds reasonable but I also remember that this is freeform and that the numbers don't actually mean anything here? and that we can't exactly just shove the level or usual battle system into this? so it makes sense if we were strictly following pokemon videogame rules, but we aren't.

hm, I didn't mean this to become a discussion like this, you guys can have guns with your characters, but I'm not going to have any in mine or what I make.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

The Archipelago that makes up the Somar Region consists of Renal Island to the West, Respir Island to the East, named for their shapes, and between them Northwest Phlemg Island, Northeast Chole Island, Southeast Melaina, and Southwest Blood Island.

Collectively, the Islands between Renal Island and Respir Islands are called the Islands of Good Humor.

At the Northernmost section of Renal Island, there is a forest of bone-white barked trees that dominates as far as the eyes can see, all the way out to the cliffs that make up the northern shore. This is Osteo Forest, and entrance to it is strictly regulated due to the presence of many dangerous Pokemon that live in the area... Particularly some unusually aggressive Regional Variant Phantumps and Trevenant.

As an aside, most dusk stones in the region are found in Osteo Forest by carefully trained extraction teams employed by PoBORI Inc.

Spoiler: Details on Regional Phanttump

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Bark is White, they're able to learn dark type moves, particularly dark pulse, and a few minor poison type moves. They evolve from Dusk Stones instead of trade, creating a Dark/Grass Type Trevenant

South of Osteo Forest is Spinabase City, where most trainers taking the league challenge try to earn their first badge. A relatively small city, Spinabase's Gym Leader, Skelo, is friendly and specializes in common normal types, stating his personal belief that anyone and anything can be great with adequate care, hard work, and maybe a hand up. Many people who now work in the Gym started out as trainers who came to challenge him, lost for one reason or another, but decided to stay around because his kind words of encouragement made them feel like they could do more good working with him than going off on their own... This was, of course, not what he meant, but he won't turn down anyone who wants to join his Gym without a very good reason.

Further south are vast plains and rolling hills dotted with small towns and villages until one makes it to the southern shores of the kidney-shaped isle, where one finds a beach. Follow the path east and you'll run into Adrenal Town, home to another Gym and a free Ferry Service to Blood Island.

Blood Island's only major city is Lymphocyte Town, which hosts a Gym, though to the far north one may find a small town infamous in the region for "the Duke," an old man who it seems refuses to die. A surfer in his youth, in his old age he claims that he can teach anyone or anything how to easily traverse the seas on body or board... Though most dismiss him both for his ridiculous claims ("My Charizard knows surf!") and his open distrust of PoBORI Inc

Phlegm Island is similar, though almost a mirror image, one large town and one small settlement in reversed positions, and the pattern is repeated on Chole Island and Melania Island.

Strong natural currents and the presence of Whirlpools around the northern end of Lungshaped Respir Island direct all travelers coming by sea to the Southernmost section of the Island, a beach somewhat Rockeier than one on Southern Renal Island, which leads up into plains until arrives in the Twin Cities of Oxy City and Hemoglo City. Despite being right across the Pulmonary River from each other and built along similar plans, and despite being dependant on each other due to one city holding the factories that produce products the other needs, the citizens of each city hate each other with a passion each claiming that the other's Gym draws attention away from its own.

North of the city are a series of small mountains that are difficult to navigate on foot. Most people take the Tram north to Cerebellum City, home of both The Elite Four and PoBORI Inc headquarters, but it's tradition for trainers taking the League challenge to walk or bike through a series of tunnels that start just outside of Hemoglo City and take the trainer directly to Mount Cranium, a large but more navigatable mountain that has a trail that leads to Cerebellum City.

Legend Has it that a trio of Rare and Powerful Pokemon make their homes in the three caves near the rounded peak of Mount Cranium, which from a distance make the impression of a small skull at the top of the mountain, but everyone who has ever tried to find them ha either returned empty-handed or been lost in a mountaineering accident, leading to the paths towards the peak being chained off.

Rater do you want a map for all this?

[MCerberus]

I mean it sounds reasonable but I also remember that this is freeform and that the numbers don't actually mean anything here? and that we can't exactly just shove the level or usual battle system into this? so it makes sense if we were strictly following pokemon videogame rules, but we aren't.

hm, I didn't mean this to become a discussion like this, you guys can have guns with your characters, but I'm not going to have any in mine or what I make.

Fair enough, so I guess that's about how I plan on looking at them. However having stone skin may change Rogue's viewpoint.

[Rater202]

Rater do you want a map for all this?

...Not particularly.

I dont' think we need one.

If you want to draw one you're more than welcome too, but we might need to flesh out the islands a bit more first.

[Lord Raziere]

...Not particularly.

I dont' think we need one.

If you want to draw one you're more than welcome too, but we might need to flesh out the islands a bit more first.

Well I like worldbuilding so thats no problem for me, anything in particular you want me to help with?

I had an idea that maybe since this regions so owned by corporations, that maybe there are things like poke-vending machines for things sold at pokemarts everywhere or that the pokecenters have a small fee to use them unlike other regions, or maybe even pokevending machines that you can pay to heal your pokemon if the centers are still free as if you went to one.

another possibility is that the Somar pokemon league's pro-trainers who participate in tournaments are becoming incredibly reliant on Pobori performance enhancing drugs to enhance their pokemon instead of the usual vitamins.

things like that that make the seemingly happy prosperous region have a few cracks in it that show that if this keeps going it will slide into something darker under Pobori's control.

[MCerberus]

Some silly thoughts about pokemon centers in the settings:

Spoiler

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Under the careful watch of the Joysdottar foundation and funded with generous grants from you know who, pokemon centers are a model of efficiency. Director Joy Joysdottar has streamlined the pokemon healing process and associated trainer services attempting to both decrease serious medical incidents through the 'whole team care' initiative and to decrease healing time to make the centers less of a target for the ne'er-do-wells that have plagued less industrious regions.

In lieu of TM shops or local goods, pokemon centers will often have medical equipment to look after the trainers themselves. After all, who else would you trust your blood samples and medical history to? In addition, each center is stocked with not just battle essentials but traveling requisites like backpacks, trail bars, and towels.

These centers do not commonly focus of hospitality, but still provide meal service for traveling trainers. Nutritious and hearty meals are served, just like mom used to make (but 'love' is not a recognized ingredient so is left out). In some places, it has become custom for present trainers to share any flavor enhancers like cinnamon or hot sauce with all present. A trainer with an eye for berries soon becomes everyone's fast friend.

And don't worry, if worst comes to worse, the state-of-the-art Rotom systems take security VERY SERIOUSLY

[Kareeah_Indaga]

...Not particularly.

I dont' think we need one.

If you want to draw one you're more than welcome too, but we might need to flesh out the islands a bit more first.

Yeah we're probably going to want at least names for the major towns.

What about 'Leuko Village' for the Duke's town on Blood Island?

For Melania... 'Moross Town' and 'Khole City'.

For Phlegm... 'Larynxi Village' and 'Sput Town'.

And Chole... 'Gallstan City' and 'Biliary Town'.

...or anything else really, unless you want 'Small Town' and 'Large Town' to be their actual names, since that's what I've got down presently.

[MCerberus]

Ideas for NPCs, what do you think? Trying to just populate characters to flesh out the place without touching on the main plot.

Spoiler: Rising Star Athena

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Name: Athena Mei
Age: 18
Profession: Pokemon Battler

History: A native of the region, Athena's parents initially attempted to steer her towards an academic future and a job in the bio sector. This plan was derailed when she scored prodigiously on pokemon licensing exams. Ever since then she's lit the gym challenge circuit on fire, creating a small but devoted fan base. Her outgoing nature and willingness to play up her role for the camera made her sponsorship by PoBORI inevitable. Big things are expecting of the young trainer as rumors say she's gunning for the championship.

Core pokemon:
Decidueye
Aegislash
Chandelure

Spoiler: Left Behind

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Name: ????
Age: ????
Profession: ????

History: About a year ago a string of defacement of public property began when graffiti featuring Shedinja inside of a blue circle with nonsense text began appearing on high-sensitivity PoBORI buildings. The moniker "left behind" stems from the the text from the first instance "When I caught up I found out myself was left behind". Currently it is unknown if this is the work of an individual or group, or just a meme. Authorities are not worried.

Spoiler: Confidential

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This [redacted] has gotten the leak containment team working so hard suppressing information that we haven't been able to catch them. Each incident has corresponded to a data breach. Nickle and dime corruption stuff so far, but they're getting close to Pandora's jar.

Spoiler: Adjunct Cyprus

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Name: Charles Cyprus
Age: 38
Profession: Pokemon Researcher

History: A native of Unova, Cyprus is mainly known for his study on disaster pokemon migration after the Kyurem incident. Due to his fatalistic tone and slightly unpleasant specialty of studying disasters, he finds himself perpetually stuck in his career right before he is able to put down roots and create a permanent institute. He may be a downer but is generally helpful if you can get past his awkward phrasing. Somar has recently caught his attention as the waves of pokemon introductions provides an analog to a rapid series of environment disruptions. Cyprus is currently studying the regional forest pokemon formes. He seems to get along with them.

[Rater202]

Good, all of it good, except for centers having a fee for use because that goes against the "humanitarian" actions that the cooperation uses to esquise it's true motives.

Sorry for taking so long to respond.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Ideas for NPCs, what do you think? Trying to just populate characters to flesh out the place without touching on the main plot.

Ooo, fun. :D Here’s one from me:

Spoiler: Prospector Al

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Name: Al Placer
Age: late 30s/early 40s
Profession: Prospector

Usually found wandering in the wilderness, especially but not limited to rocky areas, searching for deposits of metals, fossils, or anything else that’s valuable and can be found in the ground. An average-to-decent trainer on the side, he got that way through time and experience ((read: grinding)) rather than talent and creativity, has never seriously pursued any League challenge, and is prone to losing spectacularly when taken by surprise as a result - though as he’s been doing this for a while, that doesn’t happen as often as you’d think.

Pokemon:
Magnemite (and/or its evolutions) with Magnet Pull
Drilbur (and/or its evolution) with Dig
Alolan Geodude (and/or its evolutions) with Magnet Pull
Other Pokemon with Magnet Pull, or other abilities useful for finding valuables underground/mining. Sometimes has one or two that belong to the company he works for if it’s for a specific job.

And because we can’t have a proper island adventure without shipwrecks:

Spoiler: OS Granny Smith

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Freighter from Orre, ran aground north of Respir, spilling most of its contents into the sea as a result. It belonged to one of PoBORI’s rivals. The crew that survived have been largely stranded since then and are getting increasingly desperate to get home.

Spoiler: RV Xarxes

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Research ship lost north of Respir during bad fog. Crew were mostly rescued unharmed, but their notes, samples and so on went down with the ship. They are currently petitioning the Somar League for permission (and people) to retrieve aforementioned notes, samples and so on.

Spoiler: SS Hyperion

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Large, famous ship that wrecked, bizarrely, not in the whirlpool-ridden waters north of Respir but in the much calmer waters between Phlemg and Chole, and in calm weather to boot. Its wreckage was very highly publicized, all aboard reported to have been killed...and then all of a sudden hushed up about a week later. No concrete reason for the loss of the ship was ever publicized, but rumors abound.

EDIT: This has gotten really quiet, are we still doing this?

[Rater202]

NPCgood shipwrecks good.

So, everyone still here? I think we have enough to get started.

[Lord Raziere]

I am here.

I was just focusing on other things. I have ideas for things like some martial artist or athlete getting turned into a machop hybrid going mad with the super-strength it gives him and such, but nothing relevant to starting the thing itself.

[MCerberus]

I'm still here although in the extreme short-term at work

[Kareeah_Indaga]

I’m here. And ready when the rest of you are.

[gmoyes]

Here I am, I was just busy yesterday. Good to go.

[Rater202]

Okay then, I'll make an introductory post in a little bit.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

So tentatively no one knows anyone else, at least on the girls’ side. (Yell if I missed a relevant line.)

Lord Raziere, I gotta say: I love that the motto is pre-recorded.

[gmoyes]

So just checking, how much narrative control do us players have? For example, could we control the action of the baddies? I was thinking of having combat data from the fight being streamed to Alex from Enhanced soldiers. So would I be allowed to to do this and describe what and where enemy forces are?

[Rater202]

In a free form game, you control characters you create and narrative elements that you introduce, so like, in this example no that would not normally be okay.

We don't want to overly complicate the introductory adventure.

[gmoyes]

So I can introduce different classes of Enhanced soldiers and the general roles they would fill, but not directly control them, gotcha. I'm a bit busy at the moment for a full post, but I'll get a rundown in my next post. It was more of a question of if you'll allow Alex to know the positions of Enhanced guards through his combat computer link.

[Rater202]

No, you can control characters you introduce. So if you introduce enhanced soldiers, you can control those specific soldiers... Though I'd ask you don't do this right now, because this is gonna be complicated enough as it is.

And "knows the location of every other enhanced guard" is the kind of thing that they woulnd't have programmed into a cyborg they were keeping prisoner. Giving a prisoner superpowers is one thing. Giving them exactly what they need to escape is something else entirely.

[Lord Raziere]

So tentatively no one knows anyone else, at least on the girls’ side. (Yell if I missed a relevant line.)

Lord Raziere, I gotta say: I love that the motto is pre-recorded.

Yeah its one of those things where its like, sure I want to include this but it makes no sense normally because everyone with a lick of sense will attack them during a motto, so instead I made them put a pre-recorded message on some loudspeaker device they just cart around for this and just corporatize its use because that is totally what I'd see an organization like Team Rocket doing after a while because their goal is profit so of course they're going to stop that after a while. it also shows them being smart about this and opening them to be more of a threat while still retaining that classic team rocket feel y'know? if Jessie and James exist in this universe they're probably the last ones who do it "the old fashioned way".

[gmoyes]

Fair enough. It seemed like an obvious system to include in an 'officer' enhanced, but you're right, they wouldn't be stupid enough to allow him to use it. I was thinking just a wide activation of Enhanced units to defend the base, Alex would be caught up in it. I'll reference it, but he certainly doesn't have the clearance for it.

Also, ideas for Enhanced Soldiers:

Beldum Enforcer: Mostly made of 'volunteer' corporate thugs and goons. Basic arm replacement with one that resembles a Beldum. The rarer dual arm replacement are nicknamed Metang Enforcers, but still referred to as Beldum class. There are rumors of a Metagross Enforcer class with 4 mechanical arms, but nothing confirmed.

Voltorb Sapper: Either zealots or deeply brainwashed to be walking bombs. I'm not sure if having actual suicide bombers are too much for this game, so having Pokémon style 'faints' could be an option. Used for sabotage operations or for deadman switches for things that shouldn't be allowed to fall into enemy hands.

Klink Worker: An non-combat class made up of mostly mindless worker drones. Designed for working long periods without rest and enhanced coordination with one another.

Magnemite Officer: Alex's class, an advanced, experimental class with a powerful combat AI. Designed to help command and organize other Enhanced units.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Also, ideas for Enhanced Soldiers:

Beldum Enforcer: Mostly made of 'volunteer' corporate thugs and goons. Basic arm replacement with one that resembles a Beldum. The rarer dual arm replacement are nicknamed Metang Enforcers, but still referred to as Beldum class. There are rumors of a Metagross Enforcer class with 4 mechanical arms, but nothing confirmed.

Voltorb Sapper: Either zealots or deeply brainwashed to be walking bombs. I'm not sure if having actual suicide bombers are too much for this game, so having Pokémon style 'faints' could be an option. Used for sabotage operations or for deadman switches for things that shouldn't be allowed to fall into enemy hands.

Klink Worker: An non-combat class made up of mostly mindless worker drones. Designed for working long periods without rest and enhanced coordination with one another.

Magnemite Officer: Alex's class, an advanced, experimental class with a powerful combat AI. Designed to help command and organize other Enhanced units.

Skarmory Aerial Reconnaissance: usually outfitted with binoculars (more advanced models can have things like infrared vision or other goodies), some form of long-range communication (radio/phone), and of course wings powerful enough for flight. Usually only lightly armed.

[Rater202]

I think there's a fndemenatla misunderstanding.

The Enhanced don't have to have cybernetics modeled on or derived from a specific steel type.

It's just that the "living steel" that they're made of was created by studying Pokemon.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

I think there's a fndemenatla misunderstanding.

The Enhanced don't have to have cybernetics modeled on or derived from a specific steel type.

It's just that the "living steel" that they're made of was created by studying Pokemon.

So they're just generic cyborgs then?

and her higher brain functions recognizing she still had the uniform on

Derp, my bad, I'm totally writing this off as Pendra not recognizing it as she's only seen an outdated version of the uniform.

[Rater202]

They can be generic cyborgs... Or anything that counts as a cyborg.

[Lord Raziere]

for reference this is what Rachel looks like since everyone seems to be having confusion about that:

Spoiler: Rachel Nightley art

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I planned it all the way up to her Nidoqueen form and included her human form as reference to what she looked like before. as you can see, the rocket uniform hasn't changed, its standard black grunt uniform.