ITT: We Are All In A Pokécenter (WAAIAP)

This is the Discussion thread for the We Are All in a Pokécenter RP.

Main RP: Here
Signup Area: Look here.
Last Updated: [11/24/2012]

What Is This? I Don't Even-

Long story short, this is a roleplay where you play a Pokémon Trainer with your team of six, staying in a Pokećenter somewhere in the world of the present. It is intended as an easygoing micro-RP for users who simply don't have the time to RP intensively.

Long story long and with a bullet list of details to boot:

* You will be able to have more (or less) than six Pokémon at a given time, but try to keep at most six on-screen at any given time. (For purposes of testing, initial signups may be limited to six Pokémon).
* This serves as a ground for character testing for whatever concepts you desire (nostalgia from old RPs, tests for fanfic, etc) so long as it fits the setting (and even if it doesn't, just ask).
* Run as a MetaRP. Namely a RP broken up into "zones" on different boards, so people can take this idea if they like it, and export it and share with friends without being tethered to one particular community. This is still in the design stage.

Who's Running This?

That would be me, SpitefulMurkrow. You might know me better as Captain Napalm / Tracer Bullet from the TVTropes forum.

Ideally, this RP should require a minimum of top-down GM'ing, seeing as I've witnessed many RPs with "hard" GM'ing wither and die due to abrupt GM Existence Failure. I will be making periodic passes to approve or disapprove some ideas or antics, for the purpose of enforcing some basic courtesy / sanity / style rules. I also reserve the right to delegate mod status to players at my own discretion to assist when I can not be available. Their status as mods will be indefinite, namely, they're mods until they step down or I assign someone else.

* Mods will be assigned to duties based on Pokecenters. So as to divide and conquer logistics better.
* If you're interested in taking up mod duty, express your interest via PM and via PM only. Any other applications will be insta-ignored.
* I will give 7 days notice to any mod changes. Do note that this doesn’t necessarily mean there’s anything going on between me and the mod in question, I just wanted to give someone else a turn at the wheel. I will attempt to keep any mod rotations that aren’t related to urgent matters seasonal events (once every 3 months) at most.
* If for some reason I find myself unable to make the basic commitment of periodically checking over ideas and making sure that this Micro-RP and its counterparts haven’t devolved into complete chaos, I will transfer my position and accompanying responsibilities to a mod of my choosing.
* If you are interested in setting up a further branch of this Micro-RP, the same rules of solicitation apply as per a more mundane mod request. Rules for setting up an alternate branch will be explained in a later post in this thread.

Wait, But Where's the Plot?

Strictly speaking, there is no plot, which is why there's no really need for a heavy-duty GM. This is the story of people going to a Pokécenter, meeting each other and whoever else is there and making friendships and rivalries in the process. Share snippets of how your life's been going. Did you get destroyed by a Gym Leader? Or is your present battle against school? Are your mons jerks? Are they quiet and reserved? Do they have a single-digit Bravery Stat? Do they view human technology as mundane or fantastical?

* That's not to say that you're only allowed to talk with other players! Feel free to do things in the Pokecenter beyond idle chatter and healing your mons. Have battles, organize contests or musicals! Like in real life, people do things at public places together!
* The mods are further freed to organize in-center events with unlimited resources, assuming that they do not violate any of the sanity rules further below under Dos and Don'ts.

What Do I Need to Know About This?

We will be running this RP using elements, such as history, movesets, items, that appear in the mainline games first and foremost (hint: If it doesn't have "[X] Version" in the title and wasn't on a handheld, it's not a mainline game!).

* You can add elements from other Pokemon depictions, IF you get them approved after discussion and consideration. Don't run around making your mons Deltas / ex-Shadows / EX mons randomly!
* In more direct language, your mons should be something that you would have been able to get WITHOUT the likes of Pokegen or an Action Replay in SOME game between the most recent release and the Japanese release of Red and Green.
* You are allowed to build from the ground up upon these elements to an extent, though what you build from the ground up should probably merit a discussion post or two first.
** Referencing nameless suburbs to Castellia that aren’t depicted in-game or Lawyer Friendly Cameo for a RL TV show is likely to be approved. Making your Magikarp know "Lucky Seven" (Final Fantasy IX) or your Gurdurr lug around a submachine gun, not so much.

* Your Main PCs are interacting in a Pokecenter in Schrödinger's Port City. As of present, each Pokécenter is fixed in a region depending upon what forum you're playing from.
** Schrödinger’s Pokecenter has a GTS, a Shop, a Union Room, Lodging for the night, a place to prepare simple snacks for both humans and mons, and a Game Room in the basement.

* Show up with up to 6 mons of your choice that aren't Legendary.
** Alternate PCs are also allowed, and can operate in explicitly identified locations (hint: if you don't specify who's talking, it will be assumed that you're making your main PC do stuff)
** Can have NPCs and the like at explicitly identified locations to interact with in Union Room or over GTS
** All main PCs and any canon NPCs MUST have a character bio posted to be approved before appearing (e.x. to hammer out depictions of the personality of Gary/Blue [REDACTED] Oak's Gyarados), bios for alt PCs are not necessary, but strongly encouraged.
** Given that canon NPCs potentially affect all "zones" of play, I will be checking over and signing off on any proposals for canon character depiction in this MicroRP in person.
** Mons are only as intelligible as you want them to be to your character (telepathic and empathic communication will be assumed as at least semi-intelligible by default).
*** You don't have to write dialogue for your mons if you really don't want to. Still, at least have them react noticeably towards other mons interacting with them. Responses can still be very illuminating, even without explicitly translated "monese".
** Given that this is a place that's designed to build up characters, there is a limit of at most 12 mons per PC's possession at any given time. This is not to be a dick, simply to keep Suspension of Disbelief from being violated (is a normal trainer and his/her immediate relation REALLY going to be able to care for 40 mons in an intimate context?) and to allow you to focus your character building. (Please don't introduce all 12 of them at once! Space out your intros!)
** If you still need that character building fix, you may "shuffle" up to 4 of your 12 mons for 4 "temps" on loan from Schrödinger’s unidentified trainers. Whenever you're bored of your new additions, you may exchange them back FOR THE MONS YOU SHUFFLED out. Think of it as short-term trading (and gives you a hook for alt PCs later down the road).

* There is no 4-move limit. Just moves that mons are more in-practice and less in-practice with.
** Note that you still have the right to *invoke* a "first 4" move cap in battle. Namely, the first 4 unique moves a mon uses on the field is locked in for the rest of the battle.
** MOVES DO NOT HAVE TO BE EXECUTED IDENTICALLY AMONG DIFFERENT MONS! Really, get creative with how you portray your murderbeasts fighting. That said, *do* leave a pothole or some other paratext identifying what your move is supposed to be if you use solely a description for it.
** Battles do not necessarily need to be run on the same engine. If you and your sparring partner feel a straight narrative fight with the "first four" rule has too many loopholes, feel free to fire up Pokémon Online and write out the resultant warstory. Alternately, if you think there AREN'T enough loopholes, I’ve been kinda interested in seeing how a Pokemon battle with Persona's "One More!" battle system would play out.
** Levels represent an upper bound for a mon's strength, at least thanks to the wonders of game coding the Union Room. If you want to take on an opponent with pseudos with NFE mons, imposing a limit cap in the Union Room is a viable tactic to make sure that your fight isn't  "lol curbstomp".
** Note that in an evenly scaled battle, you should not presume "power tiers" of trainers. Winning the last 5 battles against an opponent does not entitle you to win the 6th without a sweat if you don't put any tactics into your fighting.
** Damage and how far you want to allow your mons to veer from moves from the game canon can also be determined via mutual consent before battle.

This describes the default engine, meaning that you have made ZERO communication with your opponent for making any of the above custom rules for your battle:
* Whatever first 4 moves your mon makes on the field are locked for the duration of the battle. Does NOT reset with switchout.
* You may use IN-GAME moves and abilities only. You are allowed to choose whether to use the anime or game strain of it, but in doing so, accept any potential weaknesses associated with it.
* Status ailments behave as they do in-game. How you choose to their depiction into a setting where your mons aren't locked into a fixed animation loop is up to you.
* Mons are not static punching bags, they can attempt to dodge your attacks. Be REASONABLE with what you allow your mons to dodge. Always-hit moves like Aerial Ace should NEVER miss barring the likes of Protect or Detect, though can still be dodged enough to graze for less damage. (There's a nifty essay that from another RP that I think encapsulates this well. I'll add a link to it later.)
** Otherwise, give careful consideration to your mon's hitbox and speed relative to its opponent when determining how successful or not your attempt to dodge is. Would you expect a Wailord to dodge a Pikachu's Volt Tackle without damage? No? I didn’t think so either.
** As a general rule of thumb, you should not be dodging without taking ANY damage more than 1/3 of the time on the field (assuming 100% accuracy moves and default accuracy / evasion). And in some circumstances, this ratio should be dramatically lower (e.x. the aforementioned Wailord vs. Pikachu example).
** Damage scales to roughly 1/2 that of what one would receive in-game, assuming a direct hit. As such, OHKOs are not impossible, but should be VERY infrequent outside of extreme cases (got Foul Played with that +6 Attack Boost? Ouch.) or an OHKO move connecting successfully. Also, remember that your opponent can dodge so as to lower or outright avoid damage entirely.
** It is possible for some moves to auto-crit depending on how they are used. In general, if you're taking ANYTHING point blank, or to a part of the body that really shouldn't be taking punishment, it's going to eat your health pretty fast.
** You may chain moves... But within reason. No-one expects a Scyther to Swords Dance, Baton Pass, and then have someone else use a boosted DynamicPunch on its opponent all in one round. In general, permitted chains look something like the following (assuming ONE mon):

- Dodge, then (attempt to) counter.
- (Attempt) Attack, flee opponent so as not to be a sitting duck (classic hit-and-run).

In short, you are chaining an attack with a movement action. Note that *if* you do this, you cannot specifically target regions of your opponent’s body (when applicable). If you want that ability (and better odds of critting), you must devote your ENTIRE turn to using your attack.
** Moves like Protect and Detect can be used at most 1x every 2 turns. They block 1 turn of attacks though will still inflict knockback. If you Protect a point-blank attack, unless the attack is something weak or non-damaging, you WON'T be able to have a point-blank counter.
** There is no PP in-battle, Stamina DOES effect your mon's ability to do things, though. A mon operating a 2% health is going to have more dodgy accuracy from fatigue than a mon operating at 80% health.
** No techniques that are blatantly impossible in-game beyond the ones already mentioned are allowed. You can't throw folding chairs at your opponent in-game, and you can't do it in the default engine either.

Time will be presumed to approximate Real Life to an extent (a 2 hour conversation may only take a short time IRP, but 24 hours is still a day). Any dangling conversations will have been presumed to have been wrapped up offscreen overnight.
* You can *invoke* time dilation if you want to resolve scenes (ex. having a battle interrupted by life, finishing the aforementioned dangling conversation)

On Post Formatting: Script format is the preferred way, paragraph format is allowed as well if your preferences don't click with scripting.
** Not egregiously violating rules of spelling and grammar would be highly appreciated as well. Script format does NOT mean xat speak!

I kinda came up with this Micro-RP because my free time is rapidly slipping away from me. As such, don't be panicked if there are stretches of time with little non-administrivia activity on my or the mods' end. We're simply juggling some things on my end of the 4th wall.

What Can I Get Away With? What Are The 'Do's And 'Don't's?

* Do NOT make your main character a(n) (ex-)champion/Game!PC/Gym Leader/OC figure that somehow needs or has needed to save the world/region/city/universe/whatever.
** A general rule of thumb for what’s not acceptable for a backstory is whether or not it would conceivably get you stalked by paparazzi, *competent* Team Evil members, police, government spooks, or the like on a regular basis. If it does, it in all likelihood won't be accepted as-is and should be saved for use in wherever you plan on using your character outside this MicroRP (if applicable).

* Do feel free to run canon characters as NPCs.
** Do NOT assume that you have an exclusive right to write for them!
** Given that canon characters vary quite a bit in portrayal in-franchise, TALK about how you want to depict them in discussion before stuffing words into their mouths.
** Talking about logistics is also handy. It's unlikely that a regional champ or gym leader would consistently orbit around a single Pokecenter 24/7, even in his/her own home region. Thus, any appearances by canon NPCs should at least nominally fit their capabilities as characters to realize.
** Do NOT have Legendary mons pop up in Schrödinger's Pokecenter for no good reason. They may or may not be unique, they may or may not be divine in nature, but they certainly aren’t the sort of thing that you will EVER see walking down the street barring a gag running on Refuge in Audacity, and should not be in any of your characters' parties or otherwise in constant Low Earth Orbit around any of your characters' parties.
** As such, any appearances and depictions of Legendary mons at Schrödinger's Pokecenter that are not discussed and approved beforehand after scrutiny may be freely assumed to be noncanon.

* Do NOT have one character in 2 Pokecenters at a time. I'm aware that physics is kinda muddled in the Pokeverse, but still. Sanity things.
** Also, abrupt transportation between Schrodinger's Pokecenters (e.x. flying/teleportation/falling through the fourth wall) should be done neatly OUTSIDE the Pokecenter. It gets kinda weird to have spectators abruptly blip into the crowd gawking at a battle. Or for that matter blipping INTO the battle.
** Please keep your antics IN the Pokecenter or otherwise on its grounds. It's kinda hard to drop into a conversation when someone's halfway across a region, which more or less defeats the purpose of this MicroRP.
*** That being said, any flashbacks are fair game for doing stuff outside of the Pokecenter.

* Do feel free to give traits that are distinctly abnormal/paranormal about your human character (ex. spoonbending) or your mons (ex. different phobias, battle quirks); regarding mons, moves and abilities outside the mainline games can be considered if you can make a convincing, balanced argument.
** Do NOT make those distinctly abnormal/paranormal traits important/powerful enough so as to be able to become a One Man Army / Person of Mass Destruction / Physical God (if you can hold your own against a SWAT team with armor, mons, and guns to boot, you're doing it wrong here). This is more or less an RP about normal people.
** If you are unsure whether or not your abilities are pushing it, TALK IT OVER. DON'T surprise us a month down the road.

* Do not explicitly identify Schrödinger’s Pokecenter's location. The idea is to keep things accessible for anyone to drop in. Any statements of "Oh we’re in [X]" or the like that extend beyond what region it is in are free to be ignored.

* Do NOT kill/maim or otherwise ATTEMPT to kill/maim other people's and canon characters without their(/ or ever for canon chars) express approval! Your OCs and your OCs ALONE are at your liberty of turning into cosmic playthings.
** Similarly, do NOT abruptly wipe canon locations (which are by and large the only ones we'll care about in this RP) off the map for the heck of it.
** Creating throwaway NPCs and ESPECIALLY throwaway locations for the purpose to kill off is similarly frowned upon.
** Understandably, death can be a part of life. It is reasonable that characters would know people/mons that have kicked the bucket one way or another, some mons kinda need their protein to not starve, and Black Humor can be genuinely funny sometimes. Still, too much of anything is annoying. A general rule of thumb for what passes and what doesn't regarding NPC death and non-trivial destruction (for flashbacks and the like) can be summed up as being able to give an honest "no" answer to all of the following:
*** Is it something that would make a news story for more than a night?
*** Can the underlying purpose of it be summed up as '[Insert Expletive Here] happens', 'for the lulz (if you're attempting Black Humor, you'd better be DARN sure that your morbid antics are Actually Pretty Funny)', or 'that’s just how [X] is/was'?
*** Is it something that would venture into the territory of Gorn or otherwise a process that takes 5 minutes when it really could be over in 5 seconds?
*** Could you have accomplished whatever purpose you set out for with this being *implied* rather than explicitly depicted or stated?

* On a related, but less severe note, you should assume that you have NO control over someone else's characters unless they specifically GIVE you permission to do stuff words into their mouths and make them do things. A practice that some of you may or may not have heard of as RC'ing (remote controlling) and in other boards may be known as bunnying.
** RCing guides are not strictly necessary, but MASSIVELY helpful in helping others to get a feel for how characters they didn’t come up with tick. Keep that in mind if you find yourself asking for a RCer for your characters.

* Do NOT attempt to make your character the center of the universe. People (and mons) like interactions that aren't forced, on BOTH sides of the fourth wall. If you can't find any takers for a given style of battle, consider pursuing another activity for the time being instead of just sitting there, accosting everyone who passes by with "Hey, you! Let’s you and me have a [X] battle!" and whining "Somebody FIGHT me already!" when they decline.
** Similarly, don't make your character the center of the universe plot-wise. There’s plenty of Pokemon RPs out there where your character can carry part of a plot about you becoming a champion / saving the world / whatever. This isn’t one of them. This is the RP where you come as you've chosen to depict your character and befriend (or not) the others you meet and get to know them better. (You're in a Pokecenter all the time, for crying out loud!) Don't go off attempting to turn this into a SERIOUS "[X] is the chosen one who will save [Y]!" plot.

* Romantic subplots can be a fun read. And some of you are likely familiar with the practice of 'shipping' or forming romantic bonds in RPs. As with most other forms of player interaction, making them enjoyable requires a bit of finesse. As such, you should keep the following two rules in mind:
** DON'T FORCE YOUR SHIPS. Love is a battlefield... And getting ambushed with *serious*, non-comedic come-ons repeatedly is about as entertaining as getting ambushed with repeated solicitations for battle.
** NO ONSCREEN SEX. This is an RP that is built around an IP that is primarily marketed to minors, and some of us prefer to keep the contents of our computer monitors non-steamy. Please respect that.

* There is no One Steve Limit in this RP, ie.: various people and mons can have similar or even the same names. There is more than one John Smith in the world, you know.
** There IS an obligation to distinguish your characters from alike-named characters. If you have a mon named Chuck and Player A does too, consider using name colors or "Chuck the [species]" to distinguish.

To reiterate: The following NEED to be formally signed up BEFORE their first onscreen appearance:

* The very first PC that you make
* The mons in the formal ownership of ANY of your PCs.
* A NPC that appears in some franchise canon. (And *I* need to sign off on it, not just a mod)
* The following do NOT:
** Alternate PCs (though still STRONGLY encouraged, ESPECIALLY if there’s backstory/paranormal stuff attached to them).
** NPCs that are not from any canon.
** "Shuffle" mons

* Do NOT feel obligated to assume any actions that break these sanity rules as being "canon." Indeed, the only time canon is *really* important IRP is for individual backstory, canon NPCs, and for the interactions and bonds you have between characters.
** There may or may not be times of the year where it is understood and expected to warp some of the above rules for Rule of Funny's sake. Ergo Halloween and April Fool's Day. Still, announcing what you’re going to be doing is a thing that should happen.

Do NOT pick OOC fights with other players! We will look at you like this OOC: >:[
* If you don't take the hint and this becomes a major issue, we as GM + Mods reserve the right to boot you from this MicroRP entirely and/or ring up any moderators on the host forum to come and have a word with you.
* Similarly, if you can't take a hint regarding the preceding sanity rules, and violate them ad nauseum, we will also reserve the right to boot you if we so choose.
** If you are booted from one particular Pokecenter, this will carry over to all other Pokecenters. I hope that I never have to make a list of banned players, but if I have to, I will, and it will be disseminated to all of Schrodinger's Pokecenters.
* If you were banhammered because of a mod, and don't feel the process was fair. You are welcome to appeal it to me over PM and I will investigate into the matter. Do note that I intend to not to pick mods out of a hat, so your banning more likely than not had some rationale behind it.
** Furthermore, expletive filled screeds will not sway me to investigate the matter faster, if anything, they will motivate me to block further PMs from you. So pick your words carefully if you wind up having to file an appeal.

Okay, Sounds Cool. How do I Get In?

Rules for sign up as well as a form are available in the Signup Thread.

I Like this RP, can I bring it to this other Pokémon Forum / Board?

Rules for starting a branch will be posted later in this thread, when it's up, I'll link it.Shuffle