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the_plateau2020-02-09 03:12 am
indigo_league) wrote in the_plateau2020-02-09 03:12 am
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Year of The Rat
Now that everyone has shaken off the last of whatever weirdness the end of January brought with it, Kanto, in particular, is ready to ring in the new (lunar) year with a celebration!
This year is the Year of Rattata, as well as the vigorous and proud Steel type! Celadon City serves as the hub for these festivities, with Rattata-themed foods, collectables, and even stage performances; colourful envelopes with which to pass new year’s sentiments and fortunes to your friends and loved ones; and special month-long double battle exhibitions to participate in!
Unlike some smaller holidays, this party lasts weeks, culminating in a lantern lighting festival at the very end of the month! But until that time, there are a few special events we need to tell you about.
The festive mood has spread throughout all of Kanto, and even the gym leaders have a bit of the party bug. Between all the extra hours they pulled while everything was going down at the end of last year, and the fact that they rarely get to take breaks anyway, they’ve unanimously decided to close their gyms for some sweet, sweet R&R.
But fear not, all you trainers and battle maniacs. The gyms might be closed, but the festival organizers have come up with a little something extra to tide you over until the regular gyms open again.
You see, double-battling never really got big in Kanto. Sure, it has a small, dedicated following, but it doesn’t enjoy the same popularity as it does in some other regions. Which is a giant shame, according to the members of Double Battle Bond (DBB). There is so much to Pokémon you’re missing without double battles! There are so many Pokémon that don’t really shine until you see them battling together with a friend. So many attacks and moves that don’t come into their own until you can combine them with another. And so many nasty little strategies that suddenly become viable.
In any case, in the hope of passing on the Double Battle Bug, several pairs of Double Battle Pros have installed themselves in various cities across the region (borrowing gym premises graciously lent by the Gym Leaders) and they are issuing a challenge to every trainer out there: Do you think you’ve got what it takes to be a double battle champion?
First, let’s answer some of those questions you surely have.
What rules are there for the Double Battles?
- The battles are going to be 2vs2 in terms of pokemon. That’s right, this time around, you won’t be able to bring any back-up. The DBB really wants you to think about these new strategies and which of your Pokémon do best in this situation.
- No mega-evolution! Sorry, the Bond members don’t have access to mega-evolution, so they want to keep things a bit more fair and even.
- You are allowed to use any and all items you wish.
Will these battles count towards our badge totals?
Unfortunately, they will not. They are not official league challenges, after all. But there will be prizes!
I do love prizes.
As do we all. For beating each set of trainers, characters will receive:Steel Challenge
P10,000 + a set of Sitrus berries
Bronze Challenge
P14,000 + Power Herb
Silver Challenge
P20,000 + Lucky Egg
Gold Challenge
P26,000 + Ally Switch
You also get little Rattata figurines for every Double Battle challenge you take part in. Even if you lose, the DBB still wants you to have a little something. They come in a variety of cool, funky colours and link together… but otherwise they don’t really do anything, they’re just for showing off. Collect them all. Build a tower of rats.
Double Battle Teams
The DBB thought it was important that all trainers, be they Youngsters taking their first steps on the road to victory or seasoned Veterans who’ve seen so much of the world already, be able to try their hand at double battling, so both low level and high level teams are available. The challenges are spread out across four towns, allowing every city to take part in the festivities. In short order, they are:Steel Challenge
Gentleman Gustav & Rocker Dimitri
Rattata (Kanto - Guts) + Rattata (Alolan - Hustle)!
Level 20
Lavender Town
Bronze Challenge
Parasol Lady Astrid & Sailor Johann
Togedemaru (Lightning Rod) + Pelipper (Drizzle)
Level 40
Vermillion City
Silver Challenge
Psychic Anna & Fisher Man Dan
Oranguru (Telepathy) + Whiscash (Oblivious)
Level 70
Saffron City
Gold Challenge
Nurse Joy & Nurse Joy
Alomomola (Healer) + Blissey (Natural Cure)
Level 100
Celadon City
Do I have to challenge all the teams?
Nope! Nor do they have to be challenged in any particular order. Your character can challenge all the teams or none or maybe only one. They can start at the lowest level team and work their way up or go straight for the big boys (or big... nurses…. in this case. I guess being a Nurse Joy is pretty stressful….?)
How will these challenges be handled?
ICly, it’s quite simple. Your character travels to the city and gym in question and challenges the double battle champions. Should they lose, they are allowed to rechallenge the champions, but they do ask that there be at least one (1) day between challenges as they have quite a number of trainers eager to participate.
OOCly, these challenges will be handled much like the badge challenges are. We’ll be putting up a challenge page where players can comment with their battle strategy, after which their win is either approved or denied. Mind you, these are Double Battle Champions, so even at the lowest level, we’re looking at some proper thought put into things.
Players will be able to submit up to two challenges at once. Should you be denied, you can repeat the challenge. Currently, we are planning to close these challenges both ICly and OOCly on the 29th of February, but we may extend the OOC deadline if we feel people require more time.
Because this is a time-limited event, we’ll be checking these Challenge requests a little more regularly than the normal badges. We’re going to try for at least twice a week, namely on Wednesday and on the weekend.
We've set up a page to submit these challenges here.
I have another question!
Please let us know in the comments!
You may have heard about it through the proverbial grapevine, seen the posters that have gone up everywhere, or even encountered one of the many promoters that travel from city to city, but on February the 22nd, Vermillion City will be hosting The Great Rat Race. What better way to celebrate Rattata, who used its wits to come first to the table, than with a race?
For this reason, a track has been laid around the fields and forests of Vermillion City. Anyone who looks even vaguely capable of racing is encouraged to come prove they are the fastest and cleverest in all the region! ...or at the very least, to come to Vermillion City and join in on the fun by cheering on the racers as they strive to be the very best, the best that ever was.
Undoubtedly this raises more questions, so let's try and answer those.
What sort of pokemon can enter in the race?
There are really only two requirements to enter this particular race.
- You must be able to, in some way, be carried by your pokemon. And characters are free to get creative with this! Want to be carried in your Incineroar’s arms? Go for it! Want to run on top of your Electrode? Bold move, have fun with it. Want your Kadabra to telekinetically suspend you above its head while it jogs beneath you? Uh. Odd flex, but technically there are no rules against it.
- Your pokemon must traverse the race track by touching the ground. That’s right, no pokemon that fly or levitate. Unfortunately, that would rather defeat the purpose of an obstacle race. Pokemon that are capable of flight or levitation but can also run are perfectly fine. Feel free to ride your Gengar, just as long as those little feet keep touching the ground.
I’m not sure I should enter. My pokemon aren’t particularly fast.
This won’t be a simple sprint where speed is the only thing that matters. It’s more of a lengthy obstacle course, so stamina and creativity are as important (if not more so) as mere speed.
Will there be prizes?
You mean, in addition to the honour and glory of being able to say you are the fastest, most creative Pokémon and Trainer pair in all the region? Yes.
Will they be good prizes?
They will be prizes, yes. No more information is given by the race direction. Guess you'll have to win to find out.
What if my character is the type to try and win through, uh, less savoury means?
The race will be taking place in the fields and forests around Vermillion City. While some parts of the track (especially the start and finish) will have plenty of supporters, much of the race will be run in places where there is no real monitoring.
Which means if your character is the type to try and cheat? Go for it. After all, in the story, Rattata didn’t come in first through speed alone. It might help them win the race or at least move up a few spots in the ranking (depending on how good of a cheat they are) but remember, just because there is no audience along the tracks doesn’t mean your fellow racers won’t see what you’re up to. If they decide to try and stop you, well, there is nothing stopping them either.
What sort of obstacles can we expect?
We can’t reveal all of our secrets just yet, but there will be a variety of different obstacles. Players are free to get as creative as they want in overcoming those challenges. Whether you are a trainer or a breeder (or--ew--a Rocket), whether you have battle experience or not, whether your pokemon is a level 100 master fighter or a level 5 pacifist, there will be ways for them to pass through the obstacles.
And if there isn’t, well, each obstacle will also have ways to detour around them (for a time penalty). In fact, theoretically, you could finish the race by detouring around every obstacle. Just don’t expect to come in first. The fewer detours you need and the better you deal with the obstacles, the better your chances of coming in first.
My character isn’t interested in racing, is there still a way for them to interact with this event?
On the day of the race, the whole town of Vermillion will be in an extra festive mood. While the race is going on, there will be food stalls, carnival games, and so on erected for the entertainment of those that came to watch. Updates will be given via speaker to detail the rough position of various racers and any particularly spectacular moves (though it looks like the race directors either never notice attempts at cheating or just ignore them for the sake of a better race). So even if they’re not out there on the track, if your character comes to join the fun in Vermillion, they’ll still know roughly what’s going on and can cheer on their favourites!
For the race, we will put up a log, giving characters the possibility of interacting prior to the race (maybe your buddy is feeling the jitters and needs someone to help calm them down), during the race (maybe your character is the type to try and screw over other racers and you want to thread that out, or maybe your characters want to team up to get past a particular obstacle. There are no rules against that either. The rulebook is literally just a napkin with ‘no flying’ on it) and a chance to congratulate winners or console losers after the race.
I have a question that is not answered here!
Take it to the comments, please and thank you!
Didn't you guys say something about a festival too?
Indeed! On the 29th of February, Kanto is going to wrap up their lunar new year celebration with a huge celebration in Celadon City! More information on the exact nature of this celebration will be given a bit closer to the actual event.
Added 02/12:
My character is pretty new and won't be able to travel to the event in time. Is there something I can do?
Geez, sorry, this is our bad for not foreseeing this type of thing.
Thankfully this problem is now solved through the application of capitalism. You see, with so many people wanted to travel to Kanto for the celebrations, a lot of trainers that normally hang around Falkor's gym are smelling a golden opportunity. Characters will be able to find these Bird Trainers hanging around the Poke centres in every town in Johto, as well as several towns in Kanto, offering to fly characters down to where the main festivities are taking place for a small fee.
Can't make the trip down there yourself? Why not get an UBIRD?
(We are going to backdate the presence of these trainers to the very start of the event, so please feel free to adjust any travel time accordingly.)
QUESTIONS
no subject
Can we fudge Pokemon sizes a little? Like, I'm not about to have Kazuki try to ride his Yamper, but something like a Furret or a Zebstrika should be okay, right? Also, during the race, can the rider dismount while their Pokemon is Digging under an obstacle or Rock Smashing something out of the way, then get back on to continue the race? Because I'm assuming we're going to have to write out how we deal with the obstacles, and that's what's going to be judged.
no subject
And during the race, riders are absolutely allowed to dismount if that is part of their strategy to get past an obstacle. The obstacles are meant to test the racers' creativity and that cannot always be done (safely) while riding their pokemon.
no subject
Re: QUESTIONS
no subject
no subject
ALSO, are Mega Forms allowed to be used in the double battles?
no subject
other nonsenserest and relaxation.And mega-forms are not allowed during the double battles! Should any character try to use them, the battle will immediately be halted and they will be given many disappointed stares.