The Guide

[BellaMae]

This thread contains important information in reference to how things work on this site. Below is an index so you may find this quickly:

1. Getting Started
2. How do things work here?
3. Ranks/Statues/Positions
4. Wild Pokemon
5. PokeDollars
6. Can my character start out with high level pokemon?
7. The Order

For all other questions regarding pokemon in general, please refer to Serebii as they know absolutely everything, and we go by what they say

[BellaMae]

Getting Started

What do I do first?
The first thing you want to do is read all of the provided information here in this board. It's very important that you know how things work on this site. While I don't mind answering questions, I prefer not to be bombarded with ones I've already answered for you.

Then what?
Create your bio and wait for it to be accepted. Please don't PM me asking to check them, or any other staff members. We will get to them as soon as possible, please be patient.

After my character is accepted?
You'll want to post in the My Pokemon board, even if you haven't gotten any yet. Just reserve a spot. And then the Character PC board.

Then?
RP! If you need your first pokemon, as all beginner trainers and The Order members do, post in the Lab and a staff member will RP with you in order to give you your pokemon. Unless of course the canon characters of those professors have been claimed, in which case they will.

[BellaMae]

How do things work here?

Battling: When engaging in a battle with another trainer, or a wild Pokemon, battling is exactly like a normal fight in any other kind of RP. You announce an attack, or a short combination (like attacking with water gun, and then using an electrical attack, because water conducts electricity), and allow the other roleplayer ample time to respond. This means, don't unleash a tirade of attacks (ie, charizard aimed a strong punch at the other pokemon, and immediately spun about afterwards, aiming to slash it with its tail. Without a moment more of time, he unleashed a spray of flame) <---- That's way too many attacks at once. Be reasonable and logical. If you don't think you're doing it right, ask a mod. If you'd like, you may ask a mod to monitor your battle to ensure everything is equal and fair.

HP/Health: There is no bar monitoring your pokemon's health here. Be reasonable. Water attacks are super effective against fire, and so on. Higher level pokemon's attacks will do more damage than lower levels, unless of course it's a Sparrow attacking an Onyx. So use common sense here. What we mean is, thinking of the magnitude of attacks. Surf is a very powerful move, and even if it's not supereffective against you type, it's still a strong attack. We recommend using Serebii to look up attacks, and be aware of how much damage they do. Be aware that combo attacks, like I mentioned above in the battling section, would also do more damage. If you'd like, you may ask a mod to monitor your battle to ensure things are fair. We'll be scanning through threads regardless though.

Attacks: So how many attacks can your pokemon have? The way we do it here, is going by Serebii. It lists what attacks pokemon learn at what levels. How this works is that when your pokemon reaches that level, they learn that attack. So your pokemon may learn an unlimited number of attacks, including TMs. Now, when you go to battle, you must choose four of those attacks to use for that battle. You do not have to list them, but you may only use four different ones for that specific battle. Come the next battle, you may change them. If you have any questions on this, PM a staff member.

Leveling Up: The only way to level up is to RP out battles. (aside from Rare Candies, of course). You get EXP whether you win or lose. The way this works is that once your pokemon had entered battle, you need to start keeping track of your EXP. How do you do this? For every word that you post, your pokemon gets one EXP point. So if you post 254 words, they get 254 EXP points. Now, for every level higher the pokemon is that you're battling, add 25 EXP points. For example, if my level 4 pokemon defeats a level 6 pokemon, I add an extra 50 EXP points. Now how do these EXP points relate to leveling up?

Take the level of your pokemon and multiply it by 50. That is how many EXP points it needs to go up a level. For example, a level 10 pokemon would need 500 EXP points to gain a level. At the end of your battle, go to your My Pokemon thread and adjust the stats to reflect the latest battle. Please be honest when doing this, and we will be watching

It is very important that at the end of your battle in your post, you post the following information:

[b]EXP Earned:[/b]
[b]Total EXP:[/b]
[b]Levels Gained:[/b]

• What about for double battles?
Say the total ends up being 900. Each pokemon gets 900 EXP points.

• What if I loose?
You still get the EXp points

• What about if I switch pokemon at some point?
When you switch pokemon, you take whatever number of EXP you have up to that point, and that goes to that pokemon. Then, when you send out the new one, you start over at 0.

If you're not sure about things, ask a staff member.

Evolution: Evolution works the same as it does in the games. Once your pokemon reaches the appropriate level, they evolve. If your pokemon needs an item to evolve, purchase it from the pokemart. You do not need to trade pokemon with items to evolve them. Just give them the item to hold.

Catching Pokemon: There is a list of available pokemon in every thread. If you wish for a pokemon to appear in your thread, please visit the third post for further information. You may catch feinted pokemon.

RPing: If you'd rather just RP in each place with a mod playing a wild pokemon, and then against a gym leader, and so on throughout your adventure, that's fine. Or, you can wait for someone to join your thread with you, and you can go together on this adventure. Liquid time is allowed, so you can be in multiple places at a time. If you're not sure what I mean by all of this, PM me and I'll explain further.

Using Items: This is pretty straightforward. Just use them.

Starter Pokemon: When you go to get your starter pokemon, you'll be asked what type your character wants. Once given, the professor will provide you with several options. Then, you chose. Each starter pokemon is given to you in a special pokeball, made with extremely minute traces of soil from where the great meteorite struck. This special substance grants your stater pokemon a unique ability: the power of speech. Your starter pokemon - AND ONLY YOUR STARTER - may speak.

[BellaMae]

Ranks/Statuses/Positions

These are the possible choices for the above field:

Trainers: Trainers are quite simply anyone who owns pokemon, and whose primary use for them is battling.

The Order Member: The Order members are callous and cold. They aren't looking to make friends with you, or your pokemon. They will steal from you, and they will not be kind and gentle about it. They're a violent and destructive group bent on regaining the land and power that is rightfully theirs, and they'll use pokemon in any way they can to get that.

Breeder: In this case, your character either works at the Day Center, or is on their own. If it's the former, you must audition for a position, if it's the latter, you do not.

Civilian: Civilians can be of any position not mentioned above. However, it's necessary to specify their job (if they have one) when creating the bio, along with informing us that they're a civilian.

[BellaMae]

Wild Pokemon

How do they appear?
If you are in a thread, and you wish for a wild pokemon to appear, you must post here in THIS THREAD. Once you have done so, a staff member, when they get the chance, will claim the post, and make an appearance in your thread as a pokemon.

Then what?
Then, if it's a pokemon you want, you begin a battle. If it's not, you'll have to wait until the required time limit is up before applying for another pokemon. This time limit is given to you in the THREAD.

How do I know when to catch it?
Just like in a game. When the pokemon is weak and tired is the best time to throw the pokeball, but be aware that it might not work! Pokemon break out here too, just like in the game. So we suggest waiting until the pokemon is fainted, because if it breaks out, it may flee.

What wild pokemon are where?
There are lists in every nature sub-board that tell you what kind of pokemon you can expect to find. However, this does not mean that these are the only pokemon that will appear. This is just to give you and mods a general idea of what's what.

[BellaMae]

PokeDollars

What are they?
Here on the site we have what are called PokeDollars. You get 20 dollars per post that you make, except in the games section. You don't get any there.

What are they for?
With your PokeDollars you can buy new supplies from the PokeMart, you can adopt a Pokemon, and if you have enough, you may even be able to buy a Pokemon! It's likely we'll have more things in the future for you to spend your hard earned money on.

[BellaMae]

Do my characters have to start with a Pokemon from the Lab? Or can they have others?

It depends on what kind of character you are making. If your character is a trainer, you have two options:

New Trainers: Your first character may be a new trainer, and must start by getting their first pokemon in the lab. They must raise it in order for it to gain levels. To get pokemon of higher levels, this trainer must catch them, and/or train their current pokemon or pokemon they catch. They will not be given high level pokemon straight away.

Higher Level Pokemon: In order to have a character who starts out with higher level pokemon, you have to have been active and roleplaying with us for at least 2 weeks actively. This does not mean you have to have been RPing as a trainer. If you've been rping as a civilian - or any other - character, this still applies. Pokemon levels must be explained in the history of your character. How did they come to be this strong? Pokemon over level 50 need to be discussed with me, unless you have been with us over 1 month. These trainers may chose to start out with any number of pokemon between 0 and 6, two of which may be from the rare's list.

What about for everyone else?

Breeders: If your first character is a breeder, they may have two pokemon level 20 and below. You may either choose these two, or get them randomly from the lab (if you get them from the lab they will start at level 5). This is only if you do not plan on battling the gyms and such with these pokemon. If you plan on battling gyms, you must get your pokemon from the lab. Once you've been with us for two weeks (again, rping as any type of character) you may get higher level pokemon. If you decide to start out with two pokemon, only one may be from the rares list.

The Order: This is the same as trainers. However, there are some canon character positions available for the team that allow you to have higher level pokemon.

Civilians: This is the same as breeders.

[BellaMae]

The Order

Who are they?
The Order is an evil group of pokemon trainers, lead by Emile Avaant.

What do they want?
Back when Star Region was a barren wasteland, a nearby region named The Caesari Region thrived. It owned the infertile land, and assumed that when the meteor hit, and pokemon came to the area and the land improved, that they would continue to own it. However, the people who migrated there did not see it the same way. They turned their backs on the Monarch and put up their own government and society. The Order is bent on recapturing the land, and the power source it uses.

What else about them?
The Order is split into three houses. House Phalanx believes a ruler should be beloved by his people (though his people will always be servants and on the level of livestock). House Malaise believes that a ruler must be feared and do every deplorable action to be respected out of terror. The Emperor's own house finds a balance between these two, seeing Pokemon as the tools of a master craftsman and should be taken care of and respected because they belong to him.

How do I join The Order
When creating a character for The Order, in the status section include of course that this is a 'The Order' member, and then also put which house your character is in. House Phalanx, House Malaise, or The Emperor's House.

Where do I get my pokemon?
At the lab. However, not at the same one as everyone else. Your lab is located in the last category, first board. Everything works the same however. Post here.