Jory

"Routes of Hazzard!": Grand Stretch- Jason Jason watched as his plan began to work, although not precisely how he'd intended it to. With the Captain as strong as he was, it was no surprise that he was able to hold back Apollo. What was surprising was the power of the clash, which was enough to send Gomez and Rascal reeling backward a few feet. When the dust had cleared, however, Bingo seemed to have used most of his strength simply trying to repel the Helping Hand boosted Flame Wheel attack. Ultimately, the plan had worked. Jason nodded as Alecks decided they needed to put down a finisher on this tough opponent. "Right!" Jason said. "Gomez, let's help Apollo finish him off! Drain his strength!" The Treecko shot vines at the Patrat, immobilizing his feet so that he wouldn't be able to get away from Apollo's Ember. At the same time, the creepers began to drain the Patrat's strength, leaving him little to continue repelling Apollo with. "Rascal, keep up the assistance! Really put heart into your Helping Hand!" In response to his Trainer's command Rascal amped up his cheerleading his cheerleading dance, his frenzied motions maintaining the kaleidoscopic aura. The rainbow flames around Apollo's body seemed to increase in intensity, further pressuring Bingo.

Edited in a nickname.

Forum Name: Jory Character Name: Hailey Rivers (goes by "Riv") Age: 16 (March 14, 1023) Personality: Hailey puts her studies first. She cares a great deal about school, and this shows through her highly inquisitive nature as well as her relentless classroom participation. Despite her studiousness, she manages to be very laid back and friendly. Although she's not always around for social events, she's an amicable girl and given the opportunity loves interacting with people her own age. Going with the flow often, she tends toward the bubbly side. She is quite easily excitable. This combined with her inquisitiveness often leads her into situations both interesting and awkward. Although she's quite book smart, she tends to be equally naive and is often the last to get a joke (making her the butt of some of them). Lastly, she is an extremely loyal friend. Although not combative by nature, she will fight to defend those she cares about. Appearance: Hailey is by no means a large girl. Standing at a below average 5'3", she has to look up to most people. She is thin and does not have a large chest. She usually wears a pair of small glasses with silver frames along only the top to read; however, her vision is good enough to see without them (they are reading glasses, after all). Her eyes are a deep sapphire blue and her hair is a dark raven color that, in the right light, seems to have deep navy blue tones. However, she has dyed it a royal blue (kind of like my bold text actually). Line of Belief: Practicing Nayrist Modifier: Adept Figured I'd hop in on this since my only female character right now is Bianca. Also, seems like a solid crew of oldies but goodies.

"Routes of Hazzard!": Grand Stretch- Jason Jason looked his opponents over. The blue-eyed Patrat was clearly one of the strongest there. However, the overconfidence that came with that would be his undoing. Even now, the wild Patrat was taunting Rascal despite being cornered in a 2-on-1. Well, things weren't about to go his way at all. With Gomez's Patrat forced to the outside of the ring, there was nothing stopping Gomez from helping out his teammates and outnumbering the blue-eyed Patrat even further. A strategy began forming in the young Trainer's head. He now wasn't just thinking about how to attack head-on, but of how to outwit his opponent. This blue-eyed Pokemon was his first truly challenging battle; after all, he had no type advantage and his opponent was an experienced fighter. Perhaps it was beginner's luck or just the heat of battle, but Jason had never been thinking more clearly. "Rascal, feint in with a Pound attack! Gomez, his back is turned! Launch a Quick Attack!" The Minccino met the Patrat's gaze as if to accept his challenge and test of true strength, his eyes boring fearlessly into his opponent's as he sped toward the rodent. Rascal closed with the Captain rapidly as Gomez rocketed toward the Captain's back, a white trail glowing behind him. Rascal began to whirl for a Pound attack; at the last moment, however, he used the momentum of his swing to push off his pivot foot, moving away from the Patrat at a near 90 degree angle and continuing his dash to safety a short distance away. "Rascal, Helping Hand on Apollo! Alecks, you know what to do! The moment he's open, have Apollo launch another flame Wheel attack!" Rascal began his cheerleader's dance once again, enveloping the fiery little monkey in a rainbow-hued aura. Gomez launched himself at the Patrat's back, dropping his shoulder for a hard hit and preparing to get quickly out of range of the Revenge attack that was sure to follow. He would be careful to move away to the opposite side that Apollo was coming from. After all, Fire didn't mix very well with Grass-types. On its own the Quick Attack wouldn't be able to do much but maybe, just maybe, it would provide Apollo enough time to land a punishing blow on the Captain. Jason watched closely, making sure to keep his eye on Gomez's Patrat. After all, it wouldn't really be worth the hit on the Captain if one of the young Trainers ended up outnumbered.

Right now I'm going from the FR/LG habitat list for anything gen 1-3 and making it up based on where stuff if found for everything after. I'm not sure what you mean by this, so let me get you 2 different answers. 1) The next 3 environments are: Plains/Forest (Route 2), Urban (Dreamyard), and Garden (Striation Gardens) 2) Given that, here are a few Pokemon for each: -Route 2- Nidoran, Plusle/Minun, Spearow, Pidgey- these tend to be regular Pokemon that you'd find in the tall grass on some of the wider routes -Dreamyard- Purrloin, Meowth, Vulpix, Duskull- these tend to be derivatives of domesticated animals or scavengers; Shuppet, Duskull, and Drifloon are also available here -Striation Gardens- Caterpie, Weedle, Wurmple, Scatterbug, Combee, Ledyba- basically Bug-types and some Urban types. Keep in mind some Pokemon can live in multiple environs. For example, you can find a Vulpix basically anywhere that's not underwater or in the mountains.

Good question! If you've asked for a "Rare" Pokemon, I'll be sure to point it out to you once you've sent in your request. At this point in the story, these are usually Pokemon that were designed to compete with fully evolved Pokemon in a single stage form. Pokemon like Scyther, Tangela, Yanma, and Lickitung fall into this category as well as conventionally powerful single-stage Pokemon like Skarmory, Heracross, and Tauros. This does not exclude you from getting first-form Pokemon that evolve late; for example after Driftveil City, several (non-pseudo) Dragon pre-evos become available. The Pokemon you'll be able to acquire largely depend on environment. One of the reasons I like Unova so much is the variety of nooks and crannies that exist for Pokemon to inhabit. All starters, regardless of generation or type, are classified "Rare." Any Trainer with under 4 Badges will be completely unable to encounter them in the wild; this means if you have 4 Badges and your friend only has 3, you need to go looking for it on your own. To answer the last question you asked, it'll vary from quest to quest and Pokemon to Pokemon. It'll also depend on the decisions you make as a Trainer during these quests. Some Pokemon will be found randomly, some will be plot-related, some will ask to join you, and some will make you battle to prove your strength. There's no concrete mold as to how to acquire a Pokemon, so I'll do my best to keep you all guessing.

Double posting b/c it's my thread and I doubt any of you really care about that trivial $R crap anyway: I'd like to elaborate on what I meant by "Rare" Pokemon in Acqui's player choice thread. For simplicity's sake, in this RP a "Rare" Pokemon is any Pokemon that will have a statistical advantage over most of the Pokemon at that point in the RP. For example, if someone were to ask for a Hawlucha right now they would be required to go on a Side Quest to acquire it. Not all Trainers who go on a Side Quest will be given a "Rare" Pokemon; however, if you've asked for one I highly recommend going on what seems like the most complex quest. On Route 2, that's going to be a quest called "Pokemon Ranger, Defender of the Wild!" Speaking of which, if you haven't told me what Pokemon you want for Chapter 2 (Route 2, Striation Gardens/Dreamyard) you should probably do that now. Give me a list of 5. First come, first serve; there will be no duplicates this early on.

"Routes of Hazzard!": Final Stretch- Jason Rascal was knocked backward and to the ground even by the grazing blow. "Rascal, are you okay?" he called. He was relieved when the Minccino got to his feet, rubbing his cheek with his paw. He rose just in time to see Apollo cocking his head back to fire the Ember at his downed opponent, glaring at the blue-eyed Patrat as he did so. That punch had really hurt! However, it hadn't done enough damage to faze his fighting spirit. If anything, the throbbing pain in his cheek was helping him to focus on the battle at hand. Gomez's attack had gone much better, having gone off without a hitch. The Grass-type began sapping energy through the creeper that was attached to the Patrat's leg, Leering defiantly at the fallen rodent. From his close-up position, Gomez's attacks were going to be much more effective. Jason smiled, once again impressed by his Treecko's agility and decisive action. "Quick, cut off his escape! Be ready with a Double Slap the moment that tricky little Patrat tries to get out of the way of Apollo's Ember attack!" Rascal sprang toward the action once more, dashing from side to side to make sure he was ready to move on the captain. "Gomez, Absorb on his body, then pull him in for the K.O!" The Treecko shot another vine at the Patrat's torso, planning to yank hard and use that momentum to pivot for another Pound attack.

In Pokemon: LD I've tried to account for this through the Side Quest system and desiring player input; however, we haven't gotten out of the intro yet. I hope to be out of the intro and into more player choice by mid-April, but that's pretty aggressive considering what the timeline has looked like so far. The way I figure, it will provide an opportunity for people to give their character and their background a bit of spotlight while still allowing others to do their own thing. I've also made an effort to encourage this by indicating that Side Quests are the only way to acquire a "Rare" Pokemon. It remains to be seen how effective this system will be, but I hope that between the Side Quests I've been designing and the occasional player-designed one we'll be able to see more user-created content throughout the RP.

Hey guys! There's a great Trainer Card creator out there for those of you interested. It's http://pokecharms.com/trainer-card-maker/ Feel free to try it out!

"Routes of Hazzard!"- Jason Jason's initial reaction to the coordinated evasive action taken by the Patrats was shock. However, he managed to recover relatively quickly. This is our toughest battle yet... he thought to himself with a grimace. These Patrats are fighting for their food. They'll be tough to take down. With that in mind, he took stock of the situation. Rascal was in an ideal position to help out Gomez; however, Meena seemed to be in way more trouble than the Grass-type, especially since she was in the process of taking a counterattack. We may not be able to block the attack, but we can make him miss! Gomez, on the other hand, was further back than many of his teammates and had a little more time to react. Thinking on his feet, he began to bark orders to his team. "Rascal, redirect that Patrat's attack! Use a Pound attack from above!" he shouted. The Minccino sprang into action, dashing across the ground and leaping through the air. He swung his tail at the Patrat's hands, hoping to drive them into the ground and prevent its blow from landing to give Meena a chance to retaliate. "Mio, now!" he cried. Gomez watched his assailant approaching through his slitted yellow eyes, the brightly glowing orbs narrowing as his foe gained ground. He thought back to the other Grass-type, that girl's Snivy, and how it had taken on Apollo by using its speed against it. Just after the Patrat left the ground, he sprang upward and flipped through the air so he would be facing the Patrat as it passed under him. Jason grinned. Now that Gomez's foe was unable to change his direction, it was just a matter of reading trajectory. "Catch him in the act, Gomez! Use Absorb to catch him, then pull him in for a Pound! Keep an eye out for his spin!" The Grass-type extended his hand, thin vines racing away from the gecko and attempting to wrap themselves around the Patrat. Gomez began pivoting in the air, anticipating that the Patrat's spin would pull him to the ground.

"Routes of Hazzard!"- Gomez Loam's first Water Gun connected with the Grass-type, doing a little bit of damage and snapping him out of his confusion. Gomez turned to the oncoming Patrat wave, a gleam in his eye as he stared them down with a Leer attack.

"Routes of Hazzard!"- Jason "If they're working together, we should too!" Jason said resolutely as he looked from his Pokemon to his allies'. "Gomez is confused, so he won't be much good for now! Mio, have Loam hit him with a Water Gun! Rascal and Meena can defend them!" he suggested, thinking quickly. "Rascal, get ready to help out Meena! Use Helping Hand!" Rascal bounded in between Gomez and Meena, remaining in a position to defend the Grass-type. He began to glow with a rainbow aura, doing a little pump up dance and cheering on the allied Meowth. Meanwhile, the Meowth in question began to glow with the same rainbow colors. "Gomez, once you get hit with the Water Gun attack, use Leer on the enemies!" The Grass-type gecko staggered around in response, not making it clear whether or not he'd heard the orders. He began to panic as he saw what appeared to be fifteen Patrats charging toward him. Loam had better get that Water Gun out, and quick!"

You will ALWAYS have the opportunity to return your Pokemon before it takes fatal damage in a battle. Your Pokemon will never be outright killed. However, if you decide to take your Pokemon past its breaking point that's in your hands. Remember, most people will not outright murder others. They'll stop without using lethal force. When it comes to our villains, well... Mrs. Incredible said it best:"Remember the bad guys on the shows you used to watch on Saturday mornings? Well, these guys aren't like those guys. They won't exercise restraint because you are children. They will kill you if they get the chance. Do not give them that chance."

Also, I'd just like to address the subject of battling real quick: In this RP, Pokemon will not die from normal battles. I really can't stress enough that the point of this RP is not to rip out the throat of a level 2 Patrat then spend the next 5 pages figuring out how to heal it. Wild Pokemon flee when they can no longer battle. They heal naturally over time. Point being: next time someone says a Pokemon is built for battle, it is not abuse. It is a factual statement. Worrying about every bump and bruise on a Pokemon is pointless. When Jason said the wild Pokemon shouldn't be healed, it's a statement of fact. They are wild and may react unpredictably if they wake up somewhere they don't recognize.

Yes, there will be plot-related evolution. Usually I'll talk to you about it beforehand or give you a relatively obvious cue, so don't worry!

"Routes of Hazzard!"- Grand Stretch- Jason The young Trainer and his Minccino sprinted through the underbrush after the Watchog, barely able to keep sight of it through the ever-thickening forest. All he could hear was the harsh, labored breathing coming from the small group of Trainers and the muffled sounds of their feet slamming against the dirt as they hotly pursued their target. He's fast! Jason thought in surprise. Rascal was just ahead of Jason, hurdling tree roots and bounding off trunks as he expertly navigated the terrain. Jason looked up, seeing Gomez veritably flying through the trees. As the forest became denser, the Trainer and his Pokemon were forced to slow. They got to the clearing just in time to see the Boss Hog use his Confuse Ray attack. Being the last in the group ended up being a good thing for Jason, Gomez, and Rascal. "Cover up!" he shouted, throwing his arm over his eyes in reaction to the others' cries. He stumbled around for a moment, nausea overcoming his senses as he was forced to extend an arm and lean against a nearby tree. However, for the most part he was able to avoid falling under the spell of the enemies' leader. Rascal, being close to Jason, was also able to cover his eyes with his tail. Thanks to its sheer size and fluffiness, he was able to shield his eyes effectively and avoid becoming confused. The small rodent's ears twitched noticeably as he relied on his keen hearing to let him know if the enemies were planning on using this tactic to cover an attack. Gomez, however, was not so lucky. His keen, lizardlike eyes were easily affected by the eerie, pulsing light emanating from the Watchog's stripes despite his best efforts to block with his tail. At first, his sticky-padded hands allowed him to keep his grip on the branches. But as he became more and more affected, he eventually slipped off his branch. On his way down he managed to grab the same branch as Apollo. He looked fearfully over at the Fire-type, suddenly seeing three blurry Chimchars hanging next to him. He croaked in surprised and let go of the branch, falling to the forest floor near Rascal.

"Routes of Hazzard!"- Jason In all the chaos, Jason didn't even get a chance to respond before Mio went running off. "Wait!" the Trainer shouted, but it was too late. His new friend was long gone, disappeared into the cloud of smoke. "Crap..." he muttered under his breath, not wanting to make his dismay obvious after his earlier outburst. "Guys, let's follow them! Alecks, Gomez will be right with Apollo!" With that, the green reptile jumped up into the trees and began following after the Watchog. His Trainer followed on the ground, in hot pursuit of his teammates and the Watchog with the hat.

"Routes of Hazzard!"- Jason Jason finally made it through the bushes, his Minccino shaking its head as he brushed stray thorns and leaves off his shirt. "Great work, Gomez!" he shouted. Battle finished! Rank B! Leonidas and Lara gained 5 Experience! Leonidas and Lara leveled up! Rank D! Meena gained 1 Experience Point! Gomez gained 1 Experience Point! Apollo gained 1 Experience Point! By the time he'd made it to the clearing, however, the only thing he heard was the suggestion of splitting up into even smaller groups. "No way!" he said adamantly, shaking his head. "We still haven't even found the food, the hat, or the Patrat den. You want to make this even more complicated?" he asked, incredulous. "These Pokemon aren't pampered children who need every scrape and boo-boo attended to by a trained professional. They're wild! They battle each other all the time. Their wounds will heal on their own," he said, exasperated and confused as to why everyone thought they had to be so empathetic. "Pokemon are built to withstand the roughness of battles. Meena goes a little overboard, yeah, but Pokemon are resilient creatures. They're on a whole different level from regular animals, so don't treat them the same!" Jason shook his head, upset with himself over his outburst. "I'm sorry for yelling, guys, but you're acting like we have an unlimited amount of time to spend caring for these Pokemon. And if you remember correctly, we're here because they stole food from that driver. It's not like we came in here and started beating them up. They attacked us." That said, he looked toward the Patrats in their care. "But maybe they know where we can find the food."

You're going to find out when you encounter them

I'm in.

"Routes of Hazzard!"- Gomez The Treecko caught Apollo's eye and nodded, dashing toward the Patrat. He heard the Chimchar inhale for his Ember attack and sprang to the left, avoiding the bolts of flame that shot by him by a solid margin. He breathed inwardly, suppressing his panic as he remembered what his Trainer had said to him. Still, the fire was scary and he couldn't help but be nervous. The only thing preventing him from panicking was knowing that Apollo was on his side and would never hit him deliberately. After the Ember attack passed him fully Gomez leaped toward the Patrat, whirling his tail for a Pound attack. He aimed for the rodent's midsection, hoping to score a solid hit after the Ember. Jason and Rascal Meanwhile, the Treecko's Trainer was struggling through the bushes. Rascal sprang off his shoulder and chittered loudly, gesturing for Jason to hurry up. The young man finally broke free of the brambles, stumbling forward and narrowly catching himself. He shook his head and sighed. "Talk about a thorn in my side, right buddy?" he joked, trying to bring a bit of levity to the situation. However, he couldn't help but wince at the sight of the downed Patrat. "Geez, that's gotta hurt...." he muttered before turning to face the battle. He grinned crookedly as he saw his Treecko working together with Apollo. "You can do it, Gomez!" he cheered. Rascal gave him an excited cry of encouragement, eager to see the Grass-type in action again.

"Routes of Hazzard!"- Jason Jason and Gomez followed Apollo and Alecks closely, eventually ending up close enough to the thicket to hear the battle raging right near them. Suddenly, another rustling in the bushes was heard, then Jack's voice became apparent. Jason sighed in relief. It seemed like they'd at least found Lara, but Leonidas was definitely still in the brambles. Jason trotted over near Jack, a grin on his face. "Hey, man, don't worry! I've got just the thing in my BAG!" Jason took his bag off and opened it, reaching inside. He pulled out a Potion and handed it to Jack with a smile. "You need this more than we do. Besides, I'm sure you'll get me back sometime." The young Trainer looked backward, beckoning Alecks, Apollo, and Gomez to join them near the brambles. "Guys, we found them!" However, Gomez and Apollo had a much better viewpoint and access to the fighting pit since they were high up in the trees. Lara made her escape, but Meena jumped into the fray instead. Gomez leaped down from the trees, taking a battle stance near the Patrat and beckoning Apollo down to where he was. "Tree," he said determinedly, ready for Round 2 with the Patrat. BAG Update: -Potion (x2) -Poke Ball (x5) -XTransceiver (Key Item)

"Routes of Hazzard!"- Jason Rascal looked steamed at Alecks's observation. He crossed his arms and looked away, pouting fiercely. Jason laughed at the display and pet Rascal's head affectionately, earning a derisive snort from the now-miffed Normal-type. "I actually was torn between a Trapinch, a Treecko, and a Charmander for my starter, so I just wrote all three down! I like fast Pokemon that can move around real quick, then deliver a powerful knock-out blow! Float like a Butterfree, sting like a Beedrill, right?" He chuckled. "I'm glad I got Gomez, though. Sceptile is a really cool Pokemon. I just can't wait until Gomez gets that strong!" he said excitedly. He then looked to Rascal. "On the other hand, this little guy wasn't technically my choice. I guess you could say he chose me," the Trainer recalled. "A couple of years back, my mom wanted a pet really badly. She knew I was going to be leaving soon and I guess she just wanted a Pokemon to take care of so she wouldn't miss me so much. I'll bet she never guessed a Minccino could be so troublesome! She just wanted a cute little pet Pokemon, but instead what she got was a quick little troublemaking furball." Rascal chittered in amusement, remembering the time Jason's mother had thought she was in charge. "The first thing this little guy did when he got home was to hide, and every time we found him he'd just run around more and break something else. That's why we named him Rascal." Jason grinned at the memory. "Minccino are normally supposed to be really neat and tidy, but Rascal isn't that way at all. He always wanted to battle the wild Pokemon outside. I remember one day I brought him to school on 'Bring Your Pet' day! "This guy, Philip, brought in his dad's Growlithe and said it was the strongest Pokemon there. Rascal didn't take kindly to that and challenged him. At that point, I didn't really have a choice! I could either back down and get made fun of, or win. It was my first battle! We worked really well together from the beginning. Even though the Growlithe was stronger, Rascal managed to win the battle by going for a Double Slap attack after dodging the Growlithe's Bite. When we got home all dirty and bruised, my parents told me they wanted me to keep Rascal since he wasn't a very good housepet." Rascal nuzzled his Trainer affectionately, glad his story had been told well. "We've been best friends ever since. We go everywhere together!" Gomez As the Grass-type reptile jumped nimbly through the trees, he listened to the forest around him. He could hear his Trainer's conversation, the far-off chirping of a Kricketot, the buzzing of a hive of Beedrill, and even the rustling in the bushes from two Stunky playing tag. However, past all these sounds he was able to hear something. It was a battlecry and a loud rustling in the bushes off to his left! The Treecko stopped on the next branch, putting his hand out to signal Apollo to slow down. "Tree?" he asked his companion, gesturing toward the sound he'd heard. "Tree-cko?" he asked again, wondering if the pair should go check it out. Brendan, Mio, and Meena Suddenly, a loud crash in the bushes was heard roughly a hundred feet in front of Meena! It sounded like a Pokemon Battle! Katie and Jack The pair heard the very same crash as both other groups from in front of them and to the right by roughly three hundred feet!

TFW you fall in love with a beautiful girl at a Mardi Gras parade, then find out she feels the same about you and end up dating someone who you feel was made for you and only you.