Twin Horizons: The War-Torn World

I'll be sure to finish as soon as posible. Also, one other thing. T-T. I don't know how to do the spoiler thing. T-T. Someone help.

NAME: Zephaniah Xylon (Zeph for short)
AGE:16
GENDER:Male
JOB/ROLE:Trainer
PERSONALITY:

APPEARANCE:

BACKGROUND:

SPECIAL SKILLS:He is really good a booby traping his suroundings. Leathel and non-leathel

POKEMON

SPECIES: Vulpix
GENDER: Female
MOVES: Energy Ball, Flamethrower, Iron Tail, Confuse Ray
PERSONALITY:
BACKGROUND:

SPECIES: Miltank
GENDER: Female
MOVES: Milk Drink, Rollout, Zen Headbutt, Heal Bell
PERSONALITY:
BACKGROUND:

SPECIES: Aerodactyl
GENDER:Male
MOVES: Ice Fang, Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, Fly
PERSONALITY:
BACKGROUND:
SPECIES: Golduck
GENDER: Male
MOVES: Hydro Pump, Focus Punch, Disable, Psychic
PERSONALITY:
BACKGROUND:

SPECIES: Alakazam
GENDER: Male
MOVES: Teleport, Reflect, Psycho Cut, Charge Beam
PERSONALITY:
BACKGROUND:

SPECIES: Magmortar
GENDER: Male
MOVES: Fire Blast, Lava Plume, Giga Impact, Hyper Beam
PERSONALITY:
BACKGROUND:

Name:Ryu jacarow

Age: 12

Gender: Male
Job/role:Trainer
Appearance: He is very tall and has dyed blue hair.His hair was origanally blonde but he didn't like it, so he dyed it.His ears are pointed,like an elves.He wears a blur poletech,on his wrist and he also has a pokenav.His eyebrows are very thin and are at a slant.His eyes are as black as coal and his skin is very tan.
He likes to wear a silver jacket with his three badges pinned on to it.He also wears black jeans,with two silver stripes down the side.The peaked hat he wears is gold with, a picture of the legendary birds,on it.
Personality:Ryu always sees the best in everyone and sees the best,of every situation.Ryu's friends and parents died so he dosen't have much friends,incase he would lose them,again.He loves battling and wants to become the champion,or atleast,be in the Elite Four.
Backround: Ryu lived in Twinleaf Town,until his parents died,and then moved to Pallet Town,with his aunt.Ryus parents died when he was five and he has been scarred ever since.His parents were killed on the day of his fifth birthday,a rampaging Magmortor set his house on fire, killing his parents and friends.He survived because his Poliwag,Poli, dosed the flames,but it was too late to save his parents.
That same day,a mysteious man gave Ryu a Rioulu,which he nicknamed ''Hope''.His aunt took care of him,in her house in Pallet Town.When he turned ten he set out on a journey to obtain all eight,Kanto badges,since then he has obtained two,Pewter and Cereleun.
Special skills:None

Even though I'm not the owner of this thread (RP), please you correct grammer. -__-''

@ Luke the Umbreon: That post is a mess. I'm getting a headache just looking at it. At least put some spaces in.

@ Callandor: Finish up ASAP.

@ Everyone else: Expect the RP to start if not tomorrow, then some time the next day.

@ piez: good chara, accepted. As long as you don't give her some sort of mind-reading or telepathy. We've got enough of that already.

@Ninetales: sorry for the long wait, was considering it. I've decided I will allow you to RP as two different charas, but no more. And, only one shiny between them, if you take one.

are franklin and the traveling poke gang in as well?

@Pika: Did I never accept you? Sorry.

The background of your charas is a little...sparce, but I'm sure you'll expand on that over the course of the RP. (I'm just the kind of person who likes to set up complicated charas with complex backstories.)

Anyways, you're accepted.

Can i still sign up? It's a bit late, but still not by much. Oh and i am playing as a pokemon.






OOC: Sorry if this isn't really good. But this is my first RPG.

@ Vulpix: Not bad, for a first sign-up. I just need to clarify one thing. By 'copy special ability' you mean the pokemon's innate abilitiy (static, pure power, etc.) right? Not the special abilities listed here, like Matsui's altered DNA, since that would be a little...odd.

Lol. Yes i mean what you thought i did. Which would be like copying pure body, drizzle, ect.... And also does that mean i get to join?

Well, you seem inexperienced, but that's okay. Yeah, you can join. The RP starts sometime tomorrow or, at the latest, the day after.

The only way to get better is to practice. Welcome aboard!

(Just out of curiosity, do you have much writing experience?)

And here are my signups. I spent quite a bit of time on them, that's for sure... Meh, I don't think I want them to have any shinies; I don't really like how their Pokemon's shiny versions look.

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Name: Yamiko Murakage
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Job/Role: Pokemon trainer and coordinator; occasionally a dancer
Personality: The last part of Yamiko's last name means "shadow", hence why she is an overall morose character. She most often has a somber yet calm air about her, the same feeling as if she were sitting in bed and staring out the window, contemplating things. She's definitely not an outgoing or overly optimistic person, but she is definitely emotional, so much that her very existence seems to revolve around "feeling" the situation at hand. It's very easy to tell when she's feeling sad, happy, uncomfortable, etc. Yet at the same time she has a certain grace to her, especially in how she shows emotion--it is that quality that shows up in many dances she has done, usually ballet dances to moody, classical songs.

If Yamiko were a Pokemon, she would definitely be a Gardevoir. It's not only because of the above qualities, but it's also because of the close bonds she's pretty easily capable of forming with people, and Pokemon even moreso. It's also because of her tendency to be empathetic. And finally, it's because of her willingness to guard those she loves with her life. She will often try to please her friends even if it means burdening or endangering herself in the process. Generally, she's very modest about herself, and puts the needs of her friends before her. Yet, she can stand being alone--in fact, there are several times when she prefers to be alone. When she can't be alone, sometimes she'll just close herself off mentally to everyone around her to "swim in her own thoughts".

Yamiko really likes to dance because she feels that dancing is the best way she can express her emotions, because she usually can't describe them in simple words. Plus, she has a penchant for visual beauty in general, which is probably why she's so interested in being a coordinator, and why she and Laverne (her Mismagius) understand each other very well. She really appreciates the beauty of the world and of nature, and opens her mind to any type of paranormal phenomenon. When she talks, she adds a more emotional tone of voice the more she means what she says, except if she's simply giving information about what's happening or what she's about to do. She also has a respectful attitude towards people, although people often see her as rather avoidant. This is because she hardly ever looks at a person's face and never into their eyes, even if she's talking to them. In all things, she's very quiet, unless perhaps she's in a very secluded place, in which case she spends quite a bit of time talking to herself.

Appearance: Yamiko is built as gently as a faery (although she has no wings nor magical powers of course)--her skin is smooth and soft and her body is light and quite flexible, though a little on the thin side. She's 5'2" tall and has a pleasant peach tone to her skin, and her eyes are a deep indigo. Her straight, soft hair falls down to her chest and is the colour of blood--though more black on the inside. Atop her head is a black hat with a small silver buckle on it.

As far as the rest of her usual outfit goes... Yamiko wears a black shirt that's embroidered with several blue roses at the neckline. It also has deep blue sleeves that are made of a silk-like material and reach her elbows, but they can only be seen if she takes off the sweater she wears on top of it. This sweater is a deep violet in colour and has two large pockets on the sides, and is fastened by two large purple buttons near the waist and a tie around the waist. It also has sleeves that flare out and nearly cover her hands, and have a button on the end. Then she wears blue jeans which flare out similar to bell bottoms, and black sneakers underneath.Yamiko also carries a large black shoulder bag with a rectangular shape and a purple faery design on it. Appropriate eh?

Background: The Murakage family has long been called the "family of shadows". Its members were known to have a certain elusive charm to them, yet they were cloaked in ill fortune. Yamiko was no exception; she lived her life under a curse, supposedly cast upon her by Celia, her great-grandmother, although Celia referred to it as the "Murakage Curse", implying that it could have been there for several generations. All Yamiko knew was that it certainly did affect her mother, who died while giving birth to her. As for Yamiko herself, she lived her first three years in Saffron City, Kanto, with her father, Dan, who used to be a stage magician. In fact, she lived across the street from where Sabrina lived (she was still a kid then), and saw her fairly often--though never talked to her but once. That time, Sabrina denied her request to be friends, oddly enough--and even said that Dan was a poor excuse for a psychic Pokemon trainer (he had a Mime Jr). Too bad, she was the only other child on the block...

Dan had no other job--he even said that the Murakage curse rubbed off on him from Yamiko's mother and caused him to contract a disease that weakened his hands and thus made him unable to perform magic tricks, and also to prevent him from finding another job. Fortunately, he had money saved up... but that all changed. One day he and little Yamiko went to the bank to deposit all his savings, but on the way there, four young men ambushed them and beat Dan up, took the money, and left--while Yamiko hid around a corner. From that point on, the two were very poor, and eventually had to move to a homeless shelter in the outskirts of Saffron. There they stayed for a few years, until the police decided Yamiko lived in "unsafe conditions" and put her in an orphanage instead. It was at that time that Yamiko started taking ballet lessons, and started to like it quite a bit. Dancing felt good to her, especially when she got better at it. She found she did best with solo dances to sad, slow songs to musicals and such, where she could express the despair she felt in life clearly. Apparently she did very well at it; she won the talent show in school one year.

Then when Yamiko was twelve, a lesbian couple living in the Orange Islands adopted her. There she had an older sister named Penelope and her mothers were fairly wealthy. However, she didn't care for Penelope too much; she was too much of a "prissy, stuck-up athlete". Moreover, although her mothers were otherwise nice, they didn't think a Pokemon journey was a very good thing to her. Thus when she was seventeen, she snuck away and boarded a ferry for Valencia Island, where she received an Eevee from Professor Ivy (who she nicknamed Velvet). However, Ivy couldn't give her a Pokedex, so she had to obtain one later on.

Kanto brought too many bad memories for Yamiko, so she journeyed to Sinnoh instead, after learning about Hearthome City's contest hall there. Yamiko didn't really work on earning badges, but she did do quite a bit of journeying... (and finally got a Pokedex from Professor Rowan). At that time, Team Galactic wasn't as big a threat, but Team Rocket had some business there. Unfortunately, after a while of traveling, someone from Team Rocket kidnapped Velvet, devastating Yamiko. Not only was Yamiko beginning to form a close bond with Velvet; Velvet was her only Pokemon, meaning she was left Pokemon-less. In the time after that, Yamiko was left to wander aimlessly around Sinnoh, unable to catch another Pokemon, unwilling to return home. Yamiko thought all hope was lost for her, that the curse was about to take her life...

(For the rest, see her second Pokemon's background and the Combined History at the bottom.)

Skills: Hmm, I doubt dancing would do much good in a world of war... Fortunately, Yamiko does have a few more useful skills. First of all, she's very good at reading other people's emotions--even a very subtle facial expression can sometimes give it away for her. Secondly, she's good at lying, in part because she can come up with reasonable excuses for a situation--in other words, she can use common sense. Also, she's good with maps and directions, and has an excellent memory--except for names.

Pokemon:

Spoiler:

Nickname: Velvet
Species: Espeon
Gender: Female
Moves: Psychic, Morning Sun, Calm Mind, Hyper Beam
Appearance: Velvet is smaller than the average Espeon--1'4" in length (not including tail), about the size of a domestic cat. She also wears a pendant around her neck--a small star made of amethyst.
Personality: Generally, Velvet has a rather timid nature, and tries to stay away from trouble. When she was an Eevee, she was a bit afraid--or at least very distrusting--of other people, in case they intended to harm her. This is likely because of Team Rocket's kidnapping of her, which she could have prevented by evolving sooner. Nowadays she can usually tell when someone intends to harm her or Yamiko, so she might warm up to people if she senses no danger. If there is danger, she'll back away and then try to escape (or sometimes, go back into her Pokeball), or if it's serious enough, she'll give the person a good Hyper Beam. Like Yamiko, she has an urge to protect those she loves--especially Yamiko, her trainer and protector, and Lupin, who rescued her from Team Rocket. However, if the danger is especially perilous, she'll hide straight away.

Also like Yamiko, Velvet is very shy, but she will ask favours of others occasionally if the need arises. Unlike her, she doesn't worry about things as much; she's at the most careful about situations. (Perhaps that's how she was able to learn Calm Mind...) She normally does not like to battle that much, but if she's in immediate danger in a battle, or if she's up against a trainer she senses evil in, she'll give a battle everything she's got and perhaps a bit more. And despite her shyness, she gets nervous when left alone, and really does need love and attention.

Background: Velvet was Yamiko's first Pokemon; she was actually born inside Professor Ivy's lab. Inside the lab, she was quite lonely; she was the only Eevee in the lab at the time, and many of the others thought her to be a bit of an emo. She often looked to Ivy for attention, but Ivy was often too busy with research and such to spend time with her. After some time, though, Ivy got an idea: she would give the Eevee to someone who might be able to take good care of her. But who? Just as she was pondering this, she ran into Yamiko, who asked her about starting a Pokemon journey. Ivy explained that she could not give her a Pokedex (that was up to the other four professors of the main regions), but she did have a Pokemon in her lab who needed a new owner: none other than Velvet.

Skills/Abilities: Velvet has the ability to predict the day's weather, the immediate intentions of a person, and the next move of a rival Pokemon, but that's something pretty much any Espeon can do. In addition to that, Velvet is sensitive to Yamiko's thoughts and feelings, and sometimes she can read Yamiko's current thoughts if she's close enough to her. So in a way, Yamiko can send telepathic messages to Velvet, but not the other way around.

Spoiler:

Nickname: Laverne
Species: Mismagius
Gender: Female
Moves: Shadow Ball, Dark Pulse, Curse, Confuse Ray, Perish Song
Appearance: The tufts on the brim of her hat are navy blue in colour and look similar to hands. The orbs on her dress are a deep blood-red in colour.
Personality: A sadistic and malevolent Mismagius indeed. She enjoys watching people suffer, especially her enemies, which is why she loves to battle. (It's also why Pokemon that have battled with her usually don't want to battle her again.) In a battle she focuses on the foe's demise, and delights in inventing creative and wicked ways to take them down piece by piece. At the same time, she seems to treat every battle like a contest battle, in that she always makes a spectacle of her attacks. Perhaps she does this to astound and intimidate the foe, so that it has a better chance of holding still while being tortured to loss. When she loses a battle she lets out an earsplitting screech, but can recover easily from the loss.

If someone does something to offend her or harm Yamiko or Velvet, Laverne plots revenge, wanting to follow the enemy around until she can do something to frighten or torment them. She especially likes to chant little curses at such people, and later, sneak up on them and frighten them in various ways (usually by whispering things into their ear), and gather their fear in her orbs. In fact, she really does have quite an appetite for fear energy. Speaking of fear, the only thing she herself really fears (or maybe "hates" is a better word) is sunlight--she really can't stand it. As a result, she's usually grouchy in the morning and afternoon.

Just as Yamiko will guard Velvet with her life, Laverne will guard Yamiko with her life--or should I say afterlife. She actually can show affection for those who have helped her and those who share some of her interests and views on life. So overall, in short, one can say that she has a good heart cloaked in several layers of darkness.

Background: Laverne was originally captured by Celia just outside Mt. Silver. At the time, Celia was in about her eighties, and had a few other Pokemon she had had since her late teens. When Celia died, which was about a month before Yamiko was born, her other Pokemon stayed with her in her house, which she continued to haunt. Laverne, however, was able to leave the house because she hadn't been with Celia for as long as the other Pokemon. She wandered the world for the next eighteen years; much of that time was spent honing her abilities, for she was rather jealous of the fact that Celia's other Pokemon were far more experienced than she was. She especially had fun experimenting with her attacks and scaring random people and Pokemon. Actually, she was biding her time for sixteen years, until Celia's will told her to find Yamiko. It took Laverne another two years to actually find Yamiko, but she finally did, one evening in Sinnoh's Eterna Forest. When Laverne handed Yamiko the will, Yamiko was a bit taken aback at first; she really didn't want anything Celia willed to her for fear it might worsen the curse. It took a bit of pleading and waiting and following, but Yamiko finally accepted Laverne, who would accompany her on her Pokemon journey from then on.

Skills/Abilities: Laverne is quite a skilled sorceress/enchantress. Her most notable ability is to change the shape and path of her attacks (except Perish Song, obviously). Sometimes she can alter their effect a very slight bit as well. Some of her most common examples derive from her Dark Pulse. In one case, the pulse takes the shape of a dragon; in another, it splits up into several black flames, which cause a burn-like sensation but no physical burns, and are not made of actual fire. What she can't change is the colour, nor can she add any effect that is not very similar to the actual effect of the attack. Nor can she make them more powerful at will.

is
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Name: Edwin "Lupin" Tasselbury
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Job/Role: Thief and Pokemon trainer
Personality: An outlaw at heart, Lupin has a penchant for sneaking his way around the rules. He always does so in a surreptitious manner, and goes by the motto "quickly, quietly, reasonably" so as to avoid getting caught. ("Reasonably" means "only when necessary" or "not just for the heck of it"). In general, he tends to be a rather quiet person (not to mention he never shouts or raises his voice), and is not too fond of social contact--in many cases, he prefers to do things alone. Most people would see him as being very serious, quite a bit cold-hearted, even a slight bit intimidating--he certainly does have a dark aura about him. In fact, seriousness is the "emotion" he most commonly shows, with perhaps an occasional smirk or fret added in there.

Although Lupin is not normally talkative, he can be when faced with a rival or enemy, in which case his tone of voice can sound a tiny bit pedantic, as if to win them over by wit. Moreover, if he's asked a question he doesn't want to answer, he'll try to lead the asker away from the subject. And although Lupin mantains a cold and serious attitude towards strangers and even acquaintances, he sometimes "warms up" a bit when around his closest friends, which he currently has only six of anyway (two of which are his Pokemon). Even so, it takes him quite a while to form a close bond with someone (Yamiko being the only exception), as well as to trust someone. In fact, he does have a tendency to be selfish, though there are those times in which he will go out of his way to help a friend, or in very rare cases, a non-friend. One thing he does have is a lot of willpower--he will endure or overcome a perilous situation to the absolute best of his ability.

As far as other things go, Lupin is not too fond of bright lights, and is thus nocturnal. Also, though he doesn't seem to have much respect for people's property, he does have great respect of nature. Thirdly, it's nigh impossible for him to fall in love with or be attracted to someone--I doubt even a siren or love potion would work very well. Last of all, his major weakness is his past, when it catches up to him and finds its way into his thoughts. He gets depressed about it at random times; it is these times when being alone in a remote place is his top priority. Lastly, although Lupin seems to put up a lot of blocks against people, Yamiko (and only Yamiko) seems to have the power to break through those blocks.

Appearance: Lupin is 5'9" tall. His deep brown eyes are clearly visible behind rectangular glasses, because his hair--which is wavy, straw-coloured, and reaches about to his shoulders--isn't thick enough to get in the way. His skin is quite pale due to lack of sunlight, and although he definitely looks and feels thin-figured, he's actually in pretty good shape.

Perhaps part of the reason why Lupin seems a bit intimidating is the fact that he wears all black. All his clothes hug his figure without being tight on him. His coat is especially striking in that sense--it's long enough to reach down to his thighs, and has dark purple embroidery on the bottom, neck, and ends of sleeves. It has a row of golden buttons down the front, and one on each sleeve, and it has four pockets on the outside. He wears a shirt underneath this coat, but no one ever sees it because he always buttons the coat all the way up to his neck. The sleeves of the coat are just long enough to cover part of his hands, which are covered with black fingerless gloves which revel his long, thin fingers. In addition to all that, Lupin wears a pair of black trousers and black leather shoes.

Background: Edwin lived the early years of his life in a flat in Lilycove City, Hoenn. His father worked at a rather prestigious and expensive restaurant called the Golden Swan, although he just washed dishes and swept floors and didn't get paid much. The Tasselbury family was in fact quite poor, poor enough that Dad didn't want a child because it would be too expensive to raise. Mum managed to convince him otherwise, but she really wanted a daughter, and was thus a bit disappointed when Edwin was born. The first three or so years were pretty much okay, but Dad soon got sick of him, maybe even angry for him being a "financial burden". Thus he often took to hitting and even torturing him, in as many ways as possible. (It would probably not be wise to go into detail at this point.) That or he would lock him up in the closet while he went to spend time alone with Mum.

Fortunately, there were some good points. First of all, Edwin eventually figured out how to work his way through the lock on the closet door and his bedroom door. Secondly, he frequently snuck out of the flat at night to explore the city. It was on these ventures that he started to develop his thieving skills, as he needed them to obtain food and money (his parents certainly didn't give him much). Being nocturnal really did have its benefits. Also, as time passed, Mum noticed all the money he had stolen and was actually a bit proud of him--perhaps the family had a second source of income now. Unfortunately, Dad's behaviour and attitude didn't change--if anything, it got worse. Eventually, Edwin decided he'd endured enough of it, and ran away when he was ten, immedately hitchhiking on a ship headed out of the region.

The ship went to Kanto, where Edwin was brought to an orphanage for a while before being adopted by another family--so now he had new parents and two brothers--though one was also adopted. He actually got along quite well with his brothers, who found the stories of his life painful yet interesting. They were especially moved by his nighttime ventures in Lilycove. So moved, in fact, that all three of them, plus a friend who lived nearby, formed their own little gang: the Black Cat Bandits. All four members also gave themselves nicknames at this time, and of course from then on Edwin was known as Lupin.

The Black Cat Bandits spent the next six years or so wandering around Kanto and other regions (they even got their first Pokemon after a while), having fun but causing a few secret misdeeds along the way--several small acts of theft (once or twice of cars), one member's little idea of trying to hack into the database of a certain corporation, and even a successful robbery of the Game Corner. Yet after that time, they parted ways in order to get started on other careers. In Lupin's case, he was invited to join Team Rocket by one of its scouts, yet he refused to wear the uniform, saying it would "give him away", and he refused to take Pokemon from trainers. All was well there (he hardly ever failed an assignment), until Lupin saw a fellow Rocket take an Espeon from someone familiar... Yamiko! Needless to say, he dropped out of the team after that...

(For the rest, see Combined History at the bottom.)

Skills: Lupin's strongest skills are in pickpocketing and lockpicking; his high level of manual dexterity certainly helps with both. He certainly does specialise in stealing small objects frrom various places... Besides all that, he has quick reaction time and a very, very basic knowledge of hacking. Lastly, though not really a skill, he carries around a weapon called a "Firewand" which has a retractable wire "blade" surrounded by an electric current. This can be used to temporarily stun people for a certain length of time, depending on where it hits.

Pokemon:

Spoiler:

Nickname: Rigel
Species: Arcanine
Gender: Male
Moves: Flamethrower, Extremespeed, Safeguard, Helping Hand, Attract
Appearance: Rigel is slightly bigger than thee average Arcanine, and his fur colouring is slightly different. It's dark red in colour with black stripes, with white tufts of long fur. And, his eyes are a bright blue, like big shining blue stars. (Probably how he got his name.)
Personality: Rigel is a very loyal Pokemon, and a steadfast friend. He always cares about those who are close to him, and shows it. He's also quite generous in that he likes to show affection for others, and also to help them out in whatever way he can. So in a way he's the handyman of this group here. For example, he frequently keeps others warm on cold days by cuddling up next to them. He also is obliged to have people ride on him, though usually he won't let let strangers do such a thing. He has a protective nature, and is concerned about the health and well-being of his friends--especially Lupin, his trainer. What a gentle and kind-hearted canine indeed, though he can be restless at times.

Yet on the other hand, Rigel can be quite the lover boy sometimes. Sometimes he can't help but stare at and follow some female Pokemon, especially ones that look sort of like him. He even has a little crush on Artemis once in a while, and makes occasional comments about how beautiful Velvet looks while she's sleeping. Perhaps this is one reason why he loves to use Attract in a battle, although he can also become so infatuated by the other Pokemon (even if she doesn't use Attract) that he'll be hesitant to battle her. This particular trait of his is what really annoys Lupin sometimes... along with the fact that he prefers to be diurnal. (Though the latter means he can act as a watchdog while Lupin sleeps, if only he were a bit more patient.)

Background: Lupin, along with his fellow Black Cat Bandits, attended a Pokemon academy in Solaceon Town for a while. This one wasn't as prestigious as the one in Jubilife City was, but as it was right near the Pokemon daycare, there were lots of Pokemon around for the students to practise with and play with in their free time. What was also unique about this academy is that when someone "graduated" from it, he or he received a Pokedex as well as a Pokemon. This Pokemon could be one of the young ones raised by the academy, or a Pokemon the student caught in one of the Pokemon-catching lessons. The latter was the type Rigel was; he was a wild Growlithe roaming around just south of Solaceon, and Lupin caught him with the help of a Luxio owned by the academy.

Skills/Abilities: Rigel doesn't really have any special skills or abilities other than what's typical of his species. The only thing that might put him a notch above the average Arcanine is the fact that he's big and strong enough to carry two people on his back and still be able to run at nearly full speed.

Spoiler:

Nickname: Artemis
Species: Mightyena
Gender: Female
Moves: Howl, Poison Fang, Thief, Take Down
Appearance: The lighter parts of her fur are more lavender in colour; the darker parts pitch black. Other than that, she doesn't look too different from the average Mightyena.
Personality: Sagacious and level-headed, Artemis is usually the one who keep the group focused and on terms with reality. Behaving sort of like the alpha female of the group, she looks after everyone and keeps them together, and sometimes even leads them along on adventures. In all things she goes by her instincts and uses common sense, and won't let any worries or distracting thoughts get in the way of her actions. She remains serious and focused, and doesn't kid or play around--so one can call her mature in a sense. Often times she uses this to her advantage--for example, if she were in a battle with Laverne, while Laverne spent time singing and preparing intricate attack designs, she would rush in and attack, catching her off guard.

Artemis is named so because of her tendency to be a leading, almost motherly figure, and because in her free time she loves to bask in the moonlight. She truly is a motherly figure to Lupin, who often claims that she "acts like his third mother". Although not his first Pokemon, she feels a good sense of attachment to Lupin already, looking after him and serving as an extra set of eyes and ears and noses. She oten ends up being a scout in an unfamiliar area, and reports any dangers back.

Background: Before Artemis was captured, she lived in a section of the woods near the Turnback Cave, with a small pack of mostly Mightyenas; she herself was a Poochyena then. The only other Poochyena in the pack was her little brother, who was blind, so she often looked after him when most of the pack was out hunting. Unfortunately, she didn't do a good enough job of it; once while the two Poochyenas were alone, a Seviper came by and attacked the blind one. She immediately howled to call the pack, but the only individual who came was a Growlithe--Rigel, to be specific, closely followed by Lupin. Rigel was able to fight the Seviper off, but by that time, the blind Poochyena had already died of poisoning. Artemis was saddened by this, but as a thanks to Lupin and Rigel, she challenged them to a battle, which ended in her being captured.

Skills/Abilities: Artemis has very good night vision, and has a knack for seeing things that usually go unnoticed. She's also a pretty good swimmer, oddly enough.

Combined History: (for both Yamiko and Lupin)

Both backgrounds mention Yamiko or Edwin being put in an orphanage in Kanto; in fact, they were in the same orphanage at the same time, and that was where they first met. However, they lost touch with each other when they were adopted...

Let's fast forward a bit. A month or so after Velvet was kidnapped (after Yamiko "caught" Laverne), Yamiko stayed in a hotel one night. In the middle of the night, someone broke into her hotel room, but that person turned out to be Lupin, whom she had recognised from the orphanage. What was even more surprising was what he was holding: Velvet, who he had snatched from Team Rocket's storage room the evening before. From then on, Yamiko and Lupin traveled together on a Pokemon journey, and even became boyfriend and girlfriend at that time. However, trouble struck before too long. One sunny morning, a bunch of Team Rocket people came along and took away not Velvet, but Lupin, mentioning something about him being "sent to prison" for "having an affair with a victim".

Lupin's conviction became another devastation in Yamiko's book of misfortune--in fact, at times she wondered if the situation was partially her fault, just for being with him. In her mind she punished herself for falling in love with him in the first place. At some points this left her depressed enough to think about suicide (which, ironically, Laverne prevented her from committing), but during those lighter days when she was not feeling too bad, she used this alone time to enter Pokemon contests. It was also during this time that both her Pokemon evolved. But Laverne was definitely her favourite Pokemon to use in a contest; she was really able to work with her on shaping her attacks. That ability was actually partially learned from Velvet; her training with that started off with Velvet using telekinesis to bend Laverne's attacks into different shapes and paths.

While all this was going on, Lupin was still in prison; this prison was rather unique in that it was owned by Team Rocket, and held disobedient Team Rocket members and other serious threats to the organisation. The Sinnoh branch of Team Rocket was always known for being more cruel than its (though larger) Kanto/Johto branch. They even had a habit of torturing their prisoners for information, which in Lupin's case was often things like where Yamiko lived or what her Pokedex ID number was, or what attacks Velvet knew. Fortunately, though, after about two weeks he managed to escape from this prison, which was a huge shock to not only Yamiko (she was obviously overjoyed when she ran into him a week later), but Team Rocket as well (apparently he was the first person to have escaped from there).

The Black Cat Bandits came to Lupin's assistance immediately after his escape, and soon after recruited Yamiko as well. All five of them made it their goal to take down the Sinnoh branch of Team Rocket, and thus started to come up with a plan, which centered around spying on Team Rocket's motives. However, before this plan could come to fruition, there came that fateful night. One night, Yamiko and Lupin were taking a nice walk outside, in a remote area of Floaroma Meadow. All of a sudden, they began to feel drowsy, as if some invisible Butterfree was sprinkling Sleep Powder on them. Whatever the case, they eventually got so tired that they lay down on the tall grass, and went to sleep...

When Yamiko and Lupin woke up, it was morning, and they were not in Floaroma Meadow. Instead, they were on some unfamiliar hill overlooking some unfamiliar valley, which looked like a war zone. Clearly they were not in Sinnoh anymore...

I have plans for now, but I will start the RP sometime later today. If you still need to sign-up or finish/edit a sign-up, do it ASAP.

-____-;; Can people stop having fully evolved pokemon in their RP?
It's quite redundant because what is the use of pokemon if none of your pokemon ever evolve?

P.S. I'm editing this post to make my first "RP" post so I don't double post.
P.S.S. Never mind. ^^"" RP started!

Wow. This started moving fast... Anyhoo, I never planned on giving my chara any real 'power', 'specially not psychic abilities, so don't worry. ;D

A bit off topic of the RP, but... Cookie_Lovr, I think some people may like to use evolved 'mons because there are so many "new-trainer" RPs out there. Everyone's been in an RP (or ten) where they've got starters and newly-caught Pokemon to evolve, so when they get the chance it's kind of fun to have them evolved and trained from the start. Just a matter of opinion, though, I guess.

That, and there are NO WILD POKEMON in this world to catch. If people are going to survive, they need everything they can get, and if everyone just had unevolved starters, this would be very tough, especially considering you're dealing with armies of trained soldiers, raiders and bandits with guns and vehicles, and all kinds of other nasty surprises.

Things are shaky time-wise right now for me. I may or may not be leaving in a matter of minutes, so I'm going to wait just a bit longer to start.

I agree with what Piez says. If the RPG is not specifically for beginning trainers, some people like to sign up as slightly more experienced trainers. Many people consider trainer experience an advantage in an RPG like this, where the emphasis is not so much on training Pokemon as it is on survival in an unfamiliar world. But I know how you feel; I started an RPG once where most of the other characters had full teams of fully evolved Pokemon, whereas all my character had were a Piplup and a Venonat. (Each character also had a legendary Pokemon, but that was a different story...)

Oh, and I finally finished my signup, so I'm ready for this RPG to start!

Yeah, Nine, you're in. When I start, I'll edit the first post with a roster; if you signed up but aren't on the roster, and I didn't tell you to fix anything, then just PM me.

(And so we begin.)

When he awoke, Matsui immediately noticed something wrong. He felt not the soft fabric of his bed, but rather the rough grind of dirt and grass. He sat up and looked around. He was outside.

And everything was gone.

He was on a hill. The sky was dark and gloomy, yet he felt no rain, saw no lightning, heard no thunder. He looked off into the distance, and saw bleak forests and the outlines of what once must've been cities. He noticed several plumes of smoke and a lot of unfamiliar sounds coming from one side of the hill. He ran over and looked down. He was horrififed.

Below, nestled in a valley, was a town; or rather, what used to be one. The entire city was in ruins. The plumes of smoke seemed to be emerging from numerous fires around the city; buildings, vehicles, and...other things. There was a horrid odor coming from below, one he didn't recognize, but one that made him ill nonetheless.

He stumbled backwards. He turned, and saw Maia and Iyo lying nearby, unconscious. Several others, human and pokemon alike, were alos lying around in a similar state.

His mind reeled. He searched his memories for what might've happened. And he understood. He turned, and screamed at the blackened sky.

<YOU! WHOEVER YOU ARE, SHOW YOURSELVES! YOU DID THIS TO US, DIDN'T YOU?! YOU BROUGHT US HERE! ADMIT IT!>

Maia managed to climb to her feet, and walked over to the hill. When she looked down, she froze. Matsui noticed her. She turned to him, a look of absolute terror on her face.

<Ma-Matsui, what happened? Where...where are we?>

Matsui was speaking furiously.

<Where are we?! We're in hell, can't you tell?!>

<H-Hell...? But...but how...?>

<Don't tell me you never noticed it?! Everything about our home, our lives, everything! Didn't any of it feel wrong to you?!>

<I...why are...>

<That's it! Of course you don't! Because you were in on it the whole time, weren't you?!>

<Wh-what?! Matsui, I->

<SHUT UP! YOU AND IYO WERE IN IT TOGETHER, WEREN'T YOU?! DID YOU GET ENOUGH SICK LAUGHS AT MANIPULATING ME, HUH?! AT MAKING MY LIFE A LIE?!>

Maia's eyes started to water. She gave a hurt response.

<Why are you accusing me?! I don't know anything! Please, I'm your friend, just like I always was! I don't know where we are! I'd never do something like that to you, you have to believe me!>

<HAH! I doubt that! You're in it, along with Iyo, and those sick bastards hiding out there too! And I bet all of them are in on it as well!>

He grabbed the nearest being, in this case a Pikachu with ruffled hair, and began shaking the unconscious mouse violently.

<ARE YOU ENJOYING THIS?! HUH?! WAKE UP, DAMMIT!>

<MATSUI! STOP!>

He stopped, and looked Maia, dropping the still-unconscious Pikachu to the ground. His eyes began to water.

<I...I...>

<Matsui...you know I'd never do anything that cruel to you...>

<I...Maia, I'm...>

He fought his tears, and managed to control them. She wasn't so successful. While she sobbed, Matsui closed his eyes and clenched his paws, bolts of electricity shooting from his cheeks. Maia, through her tears, managed to speak.

<It's...it's really all gone, isn't it?>

<...yeah.>

They stood in silence for a bit, the roar of gunfire echoing in the distance, and the plumes of smoke snaking lazily into the sky. Nearby, Iyo woke, stood up, stretched, and yawned. He saw the two of them.

"What'd I miss?"

(Don't leave the group yet, okay? For now, just react to your awakening and the other players. Once everyone's set up, we'll all formulate a plan.)

(OOC: As we do not yet have an OOC thread, post your ooc comments in parentheses, and designate them as OOC. Try to keep them short for now.)

A barely-teenaged girl sat slowly up with a yawn, stretching her arms as she did so. She was always up early, and today was no exception. After all, she had training to get to. Though she was barely awake she knew that one addition to her prized collection of badges remained… She'd have to get going as soon as possible—

"Wait…" Serafina muttered, blinking a few times to make sure she was seeing properly.

The cozy room she'd fallen asleep in had evaporated into… well, she wasn't rightly sure what kind of a place this was. Everything was gray and smoggy as if it had been coated in a layer of ash. Judging by the look of the place, possibly the ash of cremated bodies… Ruins of buildings hinted toward the former presence of a town or city. Smoky forbidding clouds seemed to tell more of past fires than future rain. There was a stale smell in the air. It reminded Sera of the morgue she'd been unfortunate enough to visit on one occasion, after the death of her grandmother. She wrinkled her nose. It was the smell of death.

"This ain't the Pokémon Center…"

She heard a loud noise; yelling of some sort. A hand instinctively flashed down to her belt, snagging a metallic orb and lifting it within a matter of milliseconds. The dark green-and-black Pokeball shuddered, as if its contents had noticed her sudden reaction. Figuring she might need someone to confirm that she wasn't insane, Sera pressed her index finger against the red button on the Dusk Ball. The resulting burst wasn't really a flash of light as much as it was a flash of dark. What little of the gray light that hung glumly over the landscape was around the ball ended up 'absorbed' by blackness, and after a quick moment a shape materialized from the eerie display. It was gracefully bent over, elegant ears twitching and red eyes flicking back and forth. The Pokémon quietly muttered a swear word that would go best unmentioned between clenched teeth.

-… The hell?- he added with not-so-typical uncertainty, considering it was Jasper who was speaking.

"I know, right?" his trainer replied, "Before you ask, I don't have any idea where we are, either. Sorry to disappoint ya'."

-No, not 'dat. I was talkin' 'bout the Raichu.-

"Raichu?"

Jasper pointed a fluffy paw in the direction of something Sera hadn't expected to see: other life, in the form of a Raichu, an Eevee, and a boy around her age. They weren't exactly close enough to overhear all they were talking about or to see their expressions, but they were pretty close by. It was then Sera also noticed that there were others... All laying about on the hill, most of them unconscious.

"… Oh. And?" she asked her Pokémon, wondering what he meant.

-Bloody hell, ya' didn't hear the stupid rodent screamin' his lungs off? I swear, I could hear the damn noise from inside my Pokeball, for Arceus' sake!-

That's what the yelling must've been… Sera thought silently. She then grinned, despite her unexpected situation. "So, you're upset that some other trainer's Pokémon was screaming like a maniac, but you aren't the least bit bothered by the fact that you're… well, wherever the heck this place is?"

Jasper responded with a scowl. -Yeah… Well, dat too. Did Alex finally manage to light the world on fire or somethin'?-

Sera was about to laugh and come up with some sort of witty reply when she came to a sickening realization. She reached for her Pokeball-belt with about as much shock as she had before. Jaspy… Earnest… Theo… Aw, crap. She had three Pokémon back at the Center… Wherever that was now. That meant she was stuck here with her irate Lopunny, her overly-feminine Roselia, and her dumb-as-a-brick Bastiodon. Of course, she wouldn't have been much better off with her suicidal Luxio, human-hating Sneasel, or the aforementioned Alex (a pyromaniac Lumineon). Sera happened to have some pretty strange Pokémon, which made her ability to communicate perfectly with them a bit awkward at times. Hopefully the few she did have with her would be helpful in this equally-strange setting.

"… Maybe we should talk to the guy with the Raichu?" she suggested. They'd need all the cooperation they could get if they hoped to figure out where the heck they were.

-Are you kidding?- hissed Jasper, -I think my ears are still bleeding…-

Sera grinned, taking that as a yes. It wasn't as if one could get a positive response out of Jasper.

"Hey," she called, awkwardly rushing over to the other trainer and his Pokémon, "I don't suppose ya' know what's goin' on any more than we do…?" Jasper grunted in dismay, cursing under his breath as he followed Sera.