these_balls: (SERIOUS MOD BUSINESS)
Route 29: mods ([personal profile] these_balls) wrote in [community profile] route_10652014-10-27 03:00 pm

HOENNWEEN: INTRO CHALLENGE LOG

Who: Hoennween Plot Participants!
Where: Tohjo Falls!
When: Wednesday, October 29th
Summary: You've just received a call from a mysterious voice asking you to come help save the world. This is Day One of The Rest Of Your Life™ — the introductory skirmish that will determine your field position for tomorrow and the advantages you'll have going in to the fight against Archie and Maxie.
Rating: PG-13 in general; please mark threads that go higher accordingly!
Log:



YOU ARE HERE. YOU'RE FIGHTING THESE GUYS AND ALSO POSSIBLY THESE GUYS. THEY'RE NOT HAPPY TO SEE YOU.

ETA: AND THIS IS YOUR BACKGROUND MUSIC!

KEY:
GRAY areas in the north are a range of mountains that form a natural barrier around part of the Tohjo plain where the Elite Four's resort is located. It is both difficult and dangerous to get up into the mountains proper, but this seems to be the direction from which most of the Team Magma Grunts are entering the area.

GREEN areas in the southeast and southwest are densely-packed forested areas interspersed by lakes and rivers that seem to be feeding into the main waterway into the area. It is both difficult and dangerous to venture into the woodlands proper, but this seems to be the direction from which most of the Team Aqua Grunts are entering the area.

• The BLUE area in the south is the massive lake that feeds the eponymous falls that give Tohjo its name. You will also find Team Aqua Grunts here taking great care to hold control of the lake, if you're interested in engaging in a water battle.

PINK diamonds in the east and west are the sites of massive formations of Mysterious Plot Crystals™ jutting up from beneath the surface; the Grunts on both teams appear somewhat wary of these growths, so they will be keeping a reasonable distance from them while still doing their best to protect them.

• The BROWN rectangle dead-center in the map is...the Elite Four's resort. Not exactly what you might call a fortunate place to be located, but it's easy to see why this might be considered prime real estate for both teams. You're likely to find members of both Team Aqua and Team Magma hanging around here, so be cautious!


A FEW OTHER SETTING NOTES:

• As per Arceus's summon, there will be Gen VI Pokemon joining the battle on their own! You may NPC these Pokemon, within reasonable limits; you may not capture them in Pokeballs, and they are still wild so they will not take commands from characters the way a captured Pokemon would from its trainer. However, they do recognize that the portaled-in humans are fighting on roughly the same side as they are, so they won't attack player characters and might occasionally come to their aid if need be — you're free to NPC them as you like for purposes such as this.

• The aforementioned Gen VI Pokemon can be any Pokemon that swarmed during September, plus any of their evolved forms. They've had several weeks in the wild to get buff and settle in; now you can see what they've got to show for it!

• You may NPC the Team Aqua and Team Magma Grunts as you see fit; either one can be found anywhere on the map, though Team Magma will be more highly-concentrated in the northern areas of the map, and Team Aqua will be keeping more to the south.

• There is no restriction on how many Aqua and Magma Grunts you may fight.

• You may fight members of both teams on this log if you so choose; you are not required to pick just one or the other to focus on for this particular log.

• You may forego Pokemon battling entirely and simply beat up the Grunts with physical violence yourself. If you KO a Grunt, they will white out and be warped to the nearest Pokemon Center back down in the regions proper, where they will be arrested by an officer of the Kangaskhan Police.

FOR CHARACTERS INTENDING TO USE HONEDGES LIKE WEAPONS: due to the high volume of questions we have received on this topic (it's a popular inquiry!), we want to clarify for this Pokemon in particular —

If you choose to use a Honedge as though it were a traditional sword, the most that the Honedges will allow might be slapping the grunts with the flat side of the blade. They are still opposed to attacking/killing humans, opponents or not, and if you try to stab an opponent with them, you're going to get a really obstinate ghost sword going incorporeal and ineffectively going through them. There's also the fact that you're grabbing them by the head and swinging them around — they won't like that very much.

PLEASE NOTE: if you intend to use a Honedge in this manner anyway, we may ask that you experience light IC consequences for it later in the plot! We're not barring you from getting your sword skills on with your Honedges; we're simply pointing out that there may be natural outcomes that follow from those choices.

UPDATE: if you would like to interrogate the grunts, check here for information you can learn from them!


~

☆ THE NUMBER TO MEET OR BEAT IS 50 PARTICIPANTS.

REMEMBER: IF YOUR CHARACTER DOES NOT POST TO THE INTRO CHALLENGE LOG AT LEAST ONCE
(AS A TOP-LEVEL COMMENT OR IN RESPONSE TO SOMEONE ELSE'S TOP-LEVEL COMMENT)
BEFORE 9:00 PM EST on OCTOBER 28, THEY WILL NOT COUNT TOWARD THE 50-PARTICIPANT GOAL!

~


QUICK LINKS

EVENT LINKS MASTERPOST | THE INTRO CHALLENGE INFOPOST | QUESTIONS FOR MODS | INTRO CHALLENGE PARTICIPATION CHECK-IN THREAD
lullabytes: official game sprite (HEADTILT ► oh is that so?)

[personal profile] lullabytes 2014-10-28 03:04 am (UTC)(link)
[ .........Do you want to hide behind Nanami, really? She's like eight inches shorter than you, man. Admittedly, she's a lot more comfortable with battling - and simply has her entire team of six out and about at the moment, because Why Not - but still...

It's probably not very effective, save for the part where she will probably not let him get hurt until they are inevitably separated by plot or something. For the moment, he gets a mildly startled glance, before she speaks up. ]


Ah...Flamethrower, please.

[ ...To the Ninetales she was with, pointing vaguely in the direction Hagakure had come from. ]

...Hey, hey. You went through the portal, too, Hagakure-senpai? This is kind of fun, right?
Edited 2014-10-28 03:13 (UTC)
in_praetego: (Default)

[personal profile] in_praetego 2014-10-28 03:05 am (UTC)(link)
A.
[ He knew he probably shouldn't have run off without telling Rin. That was something his brother usually did, after all. But then his noibat had suddenly up and fluttered off without him. As much as he didn't want to consider himself attached to the little creature, it wasn't like Kizamime to just run off like that.

And then he heard it.

There wasn't any doubt in his mind as to who it was. Hey, Yukio. the voice tells him. You wanna help these guys, right? The priest's voice rings through his mind with the same heft and tone it did during their lessons. He needs your help. that voice urges him further.

And before he knows it, he's in the portal with Airi hot on his heels once she notices there's something up with her trainer. ]


B.
[ It seemed like a crazy idea but someone had to do it. In one area of the field, somewhat near the Mysterious Plot Crystals™ to keep out of harm's way is a small pile of eggs and a very tired looking chansey. All Yukio has at the moment apart from these eggs are a basic first aid kit and a nasty looking houndoom to fend off any grunts that might think he's fair game.

But hey if anyone's injured or out of potions, Chansey eggs are said to be a good substitute for a quick heal. ]
cawsforalarm: (Smile ✧ I can clear the clouds)

[personal profile] cawsforalarm 2014-10-28 03:06 am (UTC)(link)
[So guess who's standing behind you when you fall down, Impmon? Guess who bends over at the waist, grinning in your face?]

[It's this guy. He has what seems to be ash smeared on his cheek.]


You okay down there? Nyahaha!
envy_the_sinners: (femme fetalons are CHEATING.)

[personal profile] envy_the_sinners 2014-10-28 03:08 am (UTC)(link)
[Good old fashioned pit traps.

Yeah, screw you, too, Envy.

Scar is weaving through the trees as they thin out from the thick forest area when the ground beneath him suddenly gives way. With a sharp yell and a pained grunt, Scar hits the ground hard, followed by his Growlithe. Surprise?]
preybeforemeals: (ARROGANCE ♞ mhmm sure she did)

[personal profile] preybeforemeals 2014-10-28 03:08 am (UTC)(link)
Arguably, what they're doing is no way to treat anyone, either.

[But he doesn't move, and he shifts back when she moves, offering a sense of distance; he keeps his gaze from lowering any - he doesn't want to imply submissiveness, not in the least - but he'll defer just that much, anyway.

The grunt, on the other hand, looks suspicious as hell before awkwardly pushing himself to his feet; his first priorities seem to be with brushing his pants off, though he mutters something that's definitely thanks, ma'am as he does so.]
dressofheaven: (I shall pout at you!)

[personal profile] dressofheaven 2014-10-28 03:09 am (UTC)(link)
A: Near the mountains

[There's a cold, smoldering fury in Ilya's heart when she realizes that despite hearing her voice, her mother is quite clearly nowhere to be found here.

But she maintains her calm, especially once she realizes there are, in fact, targets to deal with. Opening her balls one by one, she unleashes the horde of monstrosities she brought with her. Her first, the towering Rhyperior Berserker looms menacingly behind her and glares down at a hapless group of Magma grunts. A nightmarish shriek announces the arrival of her Dusknoir, Orpheus, who floats above her. Her Garchomp, Typhon, is already in battle position, crouched next to her and hissing at the grunts. Her Volcarona, Hephaestus, flares up next to her with wide wings and a small stream of fire. The snap of jaws next to it shows a grinning Feraligatr, her loyal Poseidon. And behind her, the red eyes of her Metagross, Talos, stare coldly ahead.

Framed by these six terrors, Ilya fixes the grunts with a look that could burn skin away, and raises a hand.
]

Go forth. Crush them!

[And with a snap of her fingers and a furious, united roar, that's exactly what they all do.]

B: Elite Four Resort

[With things having just achieved some measure of calm, Ilya has settled down just outside the resort for a breather, though she doesn't seem all that happy about it. Her Pokemon stand guard like some sort of terrifying horde of guard dogs, ringing around her, except for Talos, who she's sitting on.

To put it bluntly, she's sulking. She thought her mother would be here, and quite clearly that isn't the case. Stomping the grunts was a good stress reliever for a while, but it's losing its effectiveness, and now she just feels grouchy. And sad, but she's focusing on the anger.

She's left standing orders for anyone unfamiliar who gets too close to be seized, so if suddenly the rocky grip of a Rhyperior or the cold hand of a Feraligatr close around some hapless person who wanders nearby, well hopefully she'll be feeling merciful towards them.
]
awesmazings: (☼ and nobody's gonna)

[personal profile] awesmazings 2014-10-28 03:09 am (UTC)(link)
[Jimmy has been out by the lake for a while himself, completely soaked to the bone somehow at this point but not really paying it much mind, barking orders to his Floatzel in the water who is being heckled pretty badly by several Sharpedo. Standing nearby is his Lopunny, her fists up and ready to punch the daylights out of any grunts who come too close, and she already has a couple times so does she really need to make examples out of more of you?

Case in point, she stiffens a little when Naegi suddenly stumbles into the fray, but thankfully Jimmy notices him before she can move too far from his side.]


Naegi! Over here!

[There's a vicious crackle of electricity following that as his Manectric zaps a Zubat out of the sky who had been divebombing him, trying to bite at his ears.]
beholdmydemons: THANKS DOI (anger - WHARRBLGARBL)

[personal profile] beholdmydemons 2014-10-28 03:10 am (UTC)(link)
[It wouldn't be the first time he'd trusted Flynn with regards to big ominous portals to unknown places.

It also doesn't really surprise Walter that something is Going Down - the earthquakes, the migration, the big fuckoff crystals, everything kind of built up to something happening. He just hadn't expected - had hoped, kind of, but hadn't expected - to be a part of it. Grown too used to a predictable life again, probably. It doesn't suit him, never has; he once lived for the thrill of battle, and absent a Cause worth laying down his life for, he wouldn't mind doing so again.

He takes in the chaos, and thinks something like, oh hell yes.]


[A - resort]

[The shortsword Ramza made for him nearly a whole year ago is finally getting put to use, though with his Pokemon out, he hardly needs to use it. But who cares about need when you're getting the chance to do something you enjoy? His targets aren't the humans, though. It's the Pokemon he's going after, in tandem with his own. Orthrus lunges for the human trainers like Walter's trained him to do in their off time, knocking them savagely against walls while his trainer faces down Mightyenas and Cacturnes, his Volcarona hovering over his shoulders. It's a familiar setup, blasts of flame followed up with weaker physical blows, even if he's not able to add to the arsenal of flame, and even if his own attacks don't connect often and aren't nearly as useful as Agi's attacks.

Speaking of which, there may be some property damage imminent if he doesn't cool it down a little.]


[B - south area]

[Ah yes. There it is. The Cause.

Water has the advantage over fire, but fire has the advantage over people and when a trainer comes along and just sets fire to everything in sight, even a Team Aqua grunt is going to get a little nervous.

Like this one, who's frantically calling attacks as Walter advances on him with a slightly crazed look in his eye. He calls over his shoulder for backup, sends out his Carvanha, cringes when Walter lets out a yell and breaks into a charge-

-stares, eyes huge, at his poor punted fish as it sails through the air.]

[[ooc: rl is crazy busy for me rn - I'm holding off on posting a hiatus until the event is over, but that's the kind of busy I'm operating on rn. I'll backtag indefinitely, but tags may be slow/sporadic.]]
Edited 2014-10-28 03:12 (UTC)
crystalballer: (☄ maaaan)

[personal profile] crystalballer 2014-10-28 03:12 am (UTC)(link)
[While Hagakure initially panics and tries to get behind a different tree when a Pidgeot suddenly drops near him, he eventually peers out from his new spot.]

N-Not really.

[At least the fact that this girl doesn't seem to be part of one of the gangs is reassuring! He can hope to not be jumped in this case.]

I have no idea what's going on and it's scary, man.
fatalissimo: (SIDE-EYE ♫ is it bondage time already)

[personal profile] fatalissimo 2014-10-28 03:16 am (UTC)(link)
[...dude, she is 4'9". If you get jumped by her that's kind of sad.]

You don't fight, then.

[It's not really a question.]

They don't want to hit the crystals, and they don't want to hit the house. I don't know why, but those are probably your safest bet from here.

[...shit. Okay. Let's try to approach this like a normal person.]

...They're fighting each other a lot. They probably won't fight you too much if you leave them alone.

[...This isn't working.]

...It's gonna be okay.

[#NAILED IT]
lullabytes: official art (= you don't say. huh. imagine that.)

[personal profile] lullabytes 2014-10-28 03:16 am (UTC)(link)
[ Nanami isn't setting up traps, but she is sort of wandering through the area. She's engaging in battle as she meets grunts, but mostly seems to be interested in the Plot Crystals. This involves peering at them from a safe distance, since both teams...seem to be trying to protect them? Weird.

So, she'll wave at Naegi when he hits the forest, situated behind the treeline but within eyesight of the crystals. ]


Hey, Naegi-senpai, those things are pretty suspicious, right?

[ Hello, how are you? We're skipping the intro dialogue and going straight to the gamer talk, apparently. ]
cobraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa: (WHO LEFT THE DOOR OPEN AGAIN?)

[personal profile] cobraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa 2014-10-28 03:19 am (UTC)(link)
Do you have any idea who these idiots are? Or why they want that building?

[Because he doesn't have a clue. He just knows they have about as many Zubats as the local Rocket Grunts do, which doesn't really mean anything. Also that they're up to no good and started making trouble in his neighborhood.]

In fact, have you been able to obtain any valuable information from any of them?
crystalballer: (☄ oh god it's celes)

[personal profile] crystalballer 2014-10-28 03:19 am (UTC)(link)
EEEHHH!

[That, Henry, is the undignified sound of Hagakure being incredibly startled, further illustrated by him flailing and falling backward in order to get away from the kid who just jumped in front of him out of nowhere.]

I-I don't have anything valuable, I swear! [He covers his face defensively.] Please spare me!!
sadisticwarfare: (♕ 08)

[personal profile] sadisticwarfare 2014-10-28 03:21 am (UTC)(link)
I haven't tried. I'm going to try to take that building from there and once I've secured that I plan on getting some information from them.

[He tips his head slightly towards the Alakazams beside him. Obviously he's not going to be asking nicely.]

I don't know anything about them yet, but I'm sure we'll be able to get some useful information out of them.
cawsforalarm: (Smile ✧ I can clear the clouds)

[personal profile] cawsforalarm 2014-10-28 03:22 am (UTC)(link)
Spare you? Spare you?

[Henry cackles. It sounds more than slightly unhinged. Behind Hagakure, the Trevenant turns around, showing him her gaping mouths and single glowing eye.]

Oh... fine. Eleanor's taken a liking to you, so I guess I can't kill you in good conscience.
superordinary: (pic#8383171)

[personal profile] superordinary 2014-10-28 03:22 am (UTC)(link)
[ When Naegi spots Nanami waving at him, he immediately motions for his season deer to approach. ]

Are those guys... protecting them?

[ ssshhh we don't need intro dialogue, okay. ]
friendyousohard: (Rarity did a good job didn't she?)

A

[personal profile] friendyousohard 2014-10-28 03:23 am (UTC)(link)
[But rather than dodge out of the way as one might expect, the nearest person is heading to try to catch Riku as he flies past. A hand grips hold of him and, while the person behind the grip isn't strong enough to halt his momentum entirely, she does manage to swing him up onto a flat, hard, cool surface.

Huh, that's metal isn't it? Floating metal? That sounds like...
]

Welcome aboard the Starship Tesla, Commander.

[Twilight gives him a little grin as she tries her best to help keep him stead on the floating hunk of metal.]
doitrockapella: (ASIDE ❖ we don't talk about maelstrom)

[personal profile] doitrockapella 2014-10-28 03:25 am (UTC)(link)
Well, that begs the question of what they are doing, doesn't it?

[You're not off the hook, Friend Grunt, but the thanks are appreciated. And she's not going any further than that one step, so...well, if this gentleman here decides to press forward himself, the tide might just shift back from whence it came.

Speaking of which: ]


I don't recognize that uniform. Who are you with?
lullabytes: official art (= so that's how it is. i see!)

[personal profile] lullabytes 2014-10-28 03:26 am (UTC)(link)
You think so, too? But, they're fighting one another...so it's weird that they seem to have that one goal in common, right?

[ Apparently Naegi is at least far enough in her FTEs - or future!Naegi is? - that it's entirely probable she really does feel she can skip it and go straight to the conversation part...

Besides, there's clearly Stuff Happening, and Nanami seems...happy? Ish? At least she seems enthused, in her own sleepy way. ]


I wonder what they do...?
crystalballer: (☄ i'm not saying it was aliens...)

[personal profile] crystalballer 2014-10-28 03:26 am (UTC)(link)
[Hell yeah he does! Nanami may be shorter than him, but Hagakure feels way safer with her than he would on his own. After all, she's basically an expert with Pokemon and battling!

So he's legitimately crouching behind her, complete with his hands lightly gripping her shoulders and peering out from behind her to see what's going on from his safe spot.]


I wouldn't call it fun, Nanami-chi...the crystal apocalypse is still upon us, even here!

[Okay Hagakure stop trembling already, Nanami has you covered.]

but yeah, I went through the portal 'cause I thought I could get away from the crystals.
defyingfrigidity: (pic#7198551)

[personal profile] defyingfrigidity 2014-10-28 03:26 am (UTC)(link)
[Elsa feels bad too. But she knows by now that the only thing you can do when you're fighting another trainer is to defeat them, so defeat them she must.]

An Ember should be enough to finish it off!

[And with a twirl of his stick - wand? - Surtr blasts the houndour off its feet with one final burst of fire. With both pokemon defeated, the Magma Grunts white out, leaving the path clear for the sisters to proceed.]

Just what in the world is going on here...?
lullabytes: official game sprite (SMILE ► you go girl)

[personal profile] lullabytes 2014-10-28 03:28 am (UTC)(link)
...Nagi-kun.

[ There's no way she's going to get close without being observed, since Nagi's not exactly bad at stealth or noticing people or anything, presumably. But Nanami made no attempt to be stealthy after she noticed him; it's not like he wasn't on the same side as her.

Whatever...nebulous side they had going on here. The "anti weird grunts" side??? Surely even Team Rocket is on that side, and Nanami's not aware Nagi is/was Team Rocket. ]


It's been a little while.

[ Nanami, now is not the time for pleasantries...but at least her own team is out and about, ranging around to protect their trainer? ]
preybeforemeals: (LECTURE ♞ yes but unfortunately...me)

[personal profile] preybeforemeals 2014-10-28 03:30 am (UTC)(link)
[That just gets the grunt to straighten up - it's clear that uniform is something he takes a lot of pride in, thank you very much.

"I'm from Team Aqua - helping to make the world a better place for Pokémon everywhere, ma'am!"

...Tsukiyama is looking like he may just believe that to be purest bullshit, but to his credit he'll leave it alone for now.]
friendyousohard: (Glasses: 20% more nerdy)

[personal profile] friendyousohard 2014-10-28 03:32 am (UTC)(link)
[As if being chased down by the truly menacing woman in a snappy suit wasn't bad enough, the hapless grunts are suddenly cut off from escaping when a towering Tyranitar slams its foot down in front of them. The looks they give staring up at the beast are reminiscent of some poor saps who've just run into Godzilla.]

Tower, make sure they don't go anywhere.

[Riding on a Magnezone next to it, Twilight grins down at Emmy.]

Glad to see you're here too!
lullabytes: official art (= well if you're sure. aside.)

[personal profile] lullabytes 2014-10-28 03:32 am (UTC)(link)
Well...we're going to stop it, right? Probably.

[ Hagakure probably does not need your brand of encouragement, Nanami. Stop with the "I think", "probably", and "maybe"s. All the same, she doesn't seem to really mind him hiding behind her. He's apparently allowed to do that... ]

Otherwise, why pull us all here...? Though, it isn't "all". I'm pretty sure Tanaka-kun and Tsumiki-san got left behind. [ She also hasn't seen Komaeda, but she's not 100% sure about his location. Maybe she should text him, too. ]

I went through it because...it looked like a way to advance through the game. [ THAT'S LITERALLY IT. No voices really needed to be tailor-made - though she'd heard something, all right. ]

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