Aquacorde
♫ following where my arrow goes ♫
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- Seen Apr 27, 2025
Hoenn: Square One
click for ic thread
this rp is officially closed, but players may be added on a case by case basis
this rp is officially closed, but players may be added on a case by case basis
You're on a ferry.
The docks of Akurnai are still in sight, but the bustling noise of the port city is drowned out by wind and waves. Maybe you've been at sea a while, hopping from vessel to vessel and region to region, or perhaps this ferry is the first you've boarded. Either way, you are now closing in on your final destination.
Slateport City, Hoenn.
The docks of Akurnai are still in sight, but the bustling noise of the port city is drowned out by wind and waves. Maybe you've been at sea a while, hopping from vessel to vessel and region to region, or perhaps this ferry is the first you've boarded. Either way, you are now closing in on your final destination.
Slateport City, Hoenn.
Overview
This roleplay is a character-focused, anime-inspired badge-collection journey through the Hoenn region. It is rated M solely to accommodate any ideas that may be too much for a T rating, but I expect the general tone of the RP to remain T. The theme of this RP is "cost and benefit", or "actions have consequences". We'll get to that in a bit.
I want to note that all journey roleplays are long. I don't think people realize quite how long they really are. Considering this, all players will be able to pause their journey when necessary. These circumstances will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. There's a method. Don't worry about it. :)
Now, an extremely brief history!
This RP is a continuation of morganatri's journey RP Kinyo, which I was co-GM for until I and the remaining players decided it was time to call it off. Kinyo is a region located just west of Hoenn, where Pokémon battling is dying off quickly. The last graduates of the regional trainers' school began their journey only to find out via the first gym leader that the League is collapsing much faster than anticipated and that the graduates would likely not be able to finish their journey before it did. However, there was still hope- the gym leader implored them to board a ferry bound for Hoenn, where the League is still strong. Several of them took her advice.
Kinyo's OOC is here, and IC is here. It is not strictly necessary to read through Kinyo's IC to be part of this RP, but it's good to get to know the emigrating characters and the cast worked hard on their writing!
I am planning to divide this saga into two equal parts. This half of the adventure will take you from Slateport to Rustboro.
...
Is that true? Yes. Is that misleading? Also yes. Do I think I'm funny? Absolutely.
This is what you're getting into.
Though it is based on the games, this Hoenn is meant to be imagined in a far more real-world style. Cities are properly big, routes aren't walked in a day, there are far more towns than exist on the in-game map. Oh, and it's about twenty years after RSE. Keep that in mind before talking about any canon characters or events. We're spinning the threads as we go, or something.
YOU AND ME, PLAYER AND GM
I'm a super chill GM. We're all in this together; I'm just facilitating. If you ask me if you can do something, the answer is usually "yes", sometimes "let's workshop that", and very very rarely an outright "no". I want your ideas to shine, I want you to help develop this world, I want you to help you achieve your goals. We're here to have fun! Let's have fun creating together!
That said, I will not be playing alongside you as a journeying trainer. I will introduce NPCs that you may JP with at times because boy oh boy I have a lot of characters that I like to play! But I prefer to concentrate on managing the game rather than my own storyline. I've found it to be easier that way.
My theme as a GM is "cost and benefit". You'll figure it out pretty quick. It's fun. You get to be super autonomous. Moves are self-assigned. Money is player-controlled. Quests are usually optional. There's a lot of freedom of movement. There's admittedly no major overarching plot, though I do plan on creating smaller arcs as we go along. It's very sandbox-y, but in no way am I a hands-off GM and I absolutely will use your IC actions to dish out consequences, be they good or bad. Just to be clear. :)
Our main communication will be through a dedicated Discord server, which you will be invited to upon being accepted into the roleplay. Compiled notes and discussions from said server will be posted in the OOC along with any other resources that may be helpful to keep organized and on-record.
PROGRESSION
Your ultimate goal is to collect enough badges to make it to the League Tournament. Simple enough, yeah?
Player characters will advance through Hoenn at around the same pace, though perhaps not always together. Area posts will be dropped in the IC thread every two months barring some exceptions. I expect at least one post per area.
I do not wait very long for people to catch up, but that doesn't mean I will leave people behind. Usually, the consequence of not posting in an area is simply that your Pokémon do not gain moves, you receive no rewards, and your character does not get a chance for development. It would be as if your character just got on a bus and headed to the next area rather than made the journey as intended. You can pick up with your character in the next area.
But really, just talk to me, guys. If you need to take a hiatus or you're stuck on a post and are avoiding it because you feel guilty or whatever- just come talk to me! I love helping! I love working through stuff! I don't want anyone to abandon the RP just because they feel like they're falling behind! Talk to me before you do!
That said, two weeks of failure to respond to any attempts to contact you will result in a kick. I don't tolerate zero communication. Talk. To. Me.
Mechanics
Now, since this is a Pokémon roleplay, we should probably discuss those aspects! Along with a few other mechanics and notes. A lot of this is imported from Kinyo, but some of it has changed so please read carefully! Clarifications and updates will be integrated as necessary.
OBTAINING POKEMON
IC: Hoenn is a land of incredible diversity, and its inhabitants have worked extremely hard to preserve that, even as the human population grows. As such, there are region-wide laws regarding the capture of Pokémon. Journeying trainers are allowed to capture only a single Pokémon per designated area. There are also only certain species in an area that are deemed legal to capture. These legal captures are listed on your device. If you make an illegal capture in an area, you will be tracked down and the illegally captured Pokémon will be removed from your possession.
OOC: Each area will have a short list of obtainable Pokémon. But hey, where's the fun in just capturing whatever you want? This is a game of decisions, remember? Each Pokémon will be assigned a rarity to indicate their reladive difficulty to find. Players will request the GM to roll to see what they encounter. Each player has a maximum of three rolls per area. Every Pokémon rolled must be encountered IC in some way, even if none are ultimately captured. Each roll will also be accompanied by a roll for Hidden Ability, a roll for an egg move, and a roll for shiny.
You may choose to use the SCAN function of your device (see DEVICES section) once per area to increase the chance of finding a particular Pokemon. This has a side effect of significantly increasing the chance of the found Pokemon being shiny, having a Hidden Ability, and having a cool egg move. SCAN does count as one of your three encounter rolls, so keep that in mind, and none of its effects are guaranteed.
For narrative purposes, you may encounter any Pokémon that makes sense to encounter considering the habitat. I recommend native Hoenn and Alolan Pokémon, but again, anything that makes sense is fine!
You each are allowed to request up to two Pokémon to be included somewhere in the RP. After they are requested, they will show up in a future location.
You each are allowed to guarantee your character a single capture. A guarantee can be used on any Pokémon listed in an area. You must choose to use your guarantee before asking for any rolls or scans. You will not be allowed to request any rolls for the area. You will be prevented from encountering any other wild Pokémon in that area, even for battling.
Cost-benefit, yeah?
LEVELS AND MOVES
Pokémon are able to remember up to six moves. I like to see a focus on moves that are more interesting rather than more competitive, but you are welcome to choose whatever! Just consider what your character would be drawn to. Each Pokémon's ability should also be considered for both battle and field purposes.
Levels are obsolete and mean nothing, though PokéDexes and experienced trainers may be able to evaluate a Pokémon's nebulous approximate "power level" to make educated guesses about their strategies. We are currently playing on a system where new moves are gained through written battles and training sessions. This applies to all natural level-up moves, which can be chosen from Gen 7 and 8 movetables. If a Pokémon does not have a Gen 8 table at time of writing, it can be supplemented by Gen 6. Off-screen training may, of course, happen- it's only logical that it would! But to get the "reward" of a new move, that battle or training session must be written out to a reasonable extent.
"Level 1" moves and similar are obtainable through written training sessions only. A Pokémon may not "suddenly discover" these moves in the heat of battle, they may only learn them through dedicated training for that particular move. The trainers we have as main characters are likely unequipped to do such a thing, and should find help in the form of a gym trainer or similar.
Pokémon may learn any move from a TM or tutor, including egg moves. However, access to TMs and tutors are restricted by the GM.
Please be reasonable in your move choices and remember that we have a long way to go- an ideal, "final" moveset may not actually be fun to play for the rest of the game if you set it up early. Don't be afraid to change your team up to play with everything!
OTHER NOTES RE: POKEMON
- Trainers may only carry six captured Pokémon at a time.
- Journeying trainers have their extra Pokémon taken care of by licensed ranches or research facilities.
- Pokémon may be transferred via your device to your chosen facility, but devices are not powerful enough to receive Pokémon. You must visit a Pokémon Center for this.
- If a captured Pokémon does not get a Hidden Ability, the player may choose between its normal abilities.
- Trading is allowed between players, but make it believable- all the way from capture to the trade itself.
- Combos are spicy, do 'em. We love move interactions, we love double battles.
- Turns mean nothing in writing. Can your Pokémon fire off four shots before the opponent crosses the field to get to you? Better do it.
MONEY
Mostly, prices can be ambiguous, but we do use the ratio of 100 PokéDollars = 1 USD. Your character started out with "enough" money for their journey. It is assumed they earn, lose, and spend money along the way. You can write it out or not. However, if the characters are not frugal, they could be put into a difficult situation. I may decide to give a consequence to those using their money unwisely. Use these points as you will in regards to plot. :)
DEVICES
Journeying trainers would have a hard time without their devices. Whether you have a Holotch, a PokéGear, a PokéNav, or something else, each device has at least these basic functions:
- CALL: You can make calls.
- CLOCK: Displays date and time.
- CONTACTS: You have a list of contacts.
- COMPASS/GPS/MAP: The map isn't particularly high-detail but it works. Usually.
- SCAN: As detailed in "OBTAINING POKEMON".
- TEXT: You can text. Group texts also work.
- TRANSFER: You can send a Pokémon to your chosen care facility.
Anything else is kinda up to you and those who have chosen the same device. Talk about it. Some devices have a built-in PokéDex and some do not. All devices have a hard time transmitting data in caves unless you are very near the entrance. It is advised to download necessary data before heading in.
TIMING
As previously mentioned, you all have a great deal of autonomy regarding what you choose to do. So, remember to keep your timing logical. For your character to move between locations, to complete their missions, to have conversations- everything takes time. Think about how long things may take, and know when your character is in the timeline, because it matters when you want to work with another player. Some quests and areas will be time-dependant as well.
You should always know what day your character is currently experiencing, and at least an approximate time of day for events- morning, noonish, evening, night. Y'know. I advise marking the header or footer of your posts with the date and time just so everyone knows when things are taking place. If an event is going to happen on a specific day/time in a specific location, I'll make it very clear. Otherwise, feel free to play it however you want and advance your time when you need to!
Sign-Up Form
yes, kinyo people, you still have to do this
FULL NAME: [your character's, not your own]
PREFERRED NAME: [what do people call your character?]
AGE: [14-18 unless you can pitch me a really good idea]
PRONOUNS:
HOME REGION: [any canon region plus Kinyo]
DEVICE: [basically just flavor- do you have a PokeGear, PokeNav, Holotch, or something else?]
POKEMON ON HAND: [include nicknames if you want! new players choose one basic-form Pokemon; you will start with this Pokemon at level 15. its moveset is limited to four but can be made of anything it learns naturally up to that level PLUS one legal move of your choice, TM or otherwise. Kinyo transfers, please list your team as they are when you finish the Kinyo portion.]
APPEARANCE: [what does your character look like? include images if you want]
PERSONALITY: [in a very general sense; focus on how your character tends to interact with others]
BRIEF HISTORY: [family, childhood, school]
CURRENT GOAL: [why are you in hoenn? why are you challenging the league?]
FLAVOR: [any other details you want to include]
WRITING SAMPLE: [something from within the last year, or written for this character. 300+ words, please!]
This thing is your key to success! It's a very handy reference for all mechanics and worldbuilding that we've established. All updates to this document will also be cross-posted to the OOC thread. There is a secret password in this document that needs to be put into your SU to prove you've read the document. It's the tutorial! Don't skip it!
Additionally, I've made a spreadsheet to keep track of characters and inventories- ask for that link if you need it. For additional information about gym leaders and other world NPCs, there is a document here. And finally, a comprehensive post summary spreadsheet logged in IC chronological order is here!
Any questions, please go ahead and ask! I'll do my best to clarify anything that may be confusing!
Thanks!
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