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
armoredsoul: (Happy)

[personal profile] armoredsoul 2014-10-29 10:26 pm (UTC)(link)
I think so...! [Al pushes himself to his feet, Cecil nudging him up and rumbling with worry.] Man, you came out of nowhere!

[Then he turns and actually sees Heather, and grins a bit.] Hey, I remember you!
foolishwren: ... COUNT EVEREST (hey what's the world's tallest vampire)

[personal profile] foolishwren 2014-10-30 08:24 am (UTC)(link)
Hhah, sorry, I was, uh.... not looking where I was going as carefully as I should've.

[YOU'RE GONNA KILL SOMEONE LIKE THAT ONE DAY, HEATHER.]

[Turning Carousel around, she starts towards Al. Alessa, who'd been running ahead, has stopped on a tussock of earth and is looking back at them, but doesn't approach.]


... Oh... uh... yeah, that's right. We've talked.

Did I get your name?
armoredsoul: (Nervous laughter)

[personal profile] armoredsoul 2014-10-31 06:52 am (UTC)(link)
[Cecil steps forward a few paces to sniff Carosel curiously in greeting, and Al shrugs.] Well, it is hard to keep track of everything going on here! But yeah, might be a good idea to slow down maybe a tad.

Hehe, I don't think we did with all the talk about weird owls in backpacks. My name's Alphonse. [He holds up a hand for her to shake with a friendly grin.] And you?
foolishwren: me: i am an atrocity to god, but thank you (someone: ur cute)

[personal profile] foolishwren 2014-11-02 07:53 am (UTC)(link)
[Now calmer, the Rapidash lowers her head to snuffle back at Cecil, letting out a low whicker.]

Alphonse. Cool.

I'm Heather.

[She takes the hand and shakes it-- she's got one of those forcibly-tight grips, a handshake with something to prove. She's gotten a little better at holding it back over the years, though.]
armoredsoul: (Embarassed)

[personal profile] armoredsoul 2014-11-03 12:17 am (UTC)(link)
[The Liepard rumbles a purr in return, and Al returns the handshake. Firmly, but not in a challenging way.] Nice to meet you again! I'd ask if you needed any help, but it looks like you're doing pretty well on your own!
foolishwren: he just gave me a huge bag of weed!! (WHOA Sonic the Hedgehog is in here!)

[personal profile] foolishwren 2014-11-03 03:36 pm (UTC)(link)
What can I say, I know my way around in a battle.

[Perhaps not entirely as well as someone who'd been here longer than like 90% of the people here had an excuse to, but still PRETTY DAMN WELL.]

That said, there is something I could use your help with...

[She pauses to dig in her pocket.]
armoredsoul: (Eh?)

[personal profile] armoredsoul 2014-11-04 06:13 am (UTC)(link)
[Well she's better than Al is, mister punch-the-grunts-like-a-bararian!]

Huh? Sure, what do you need?
foolishwren: My MILKSHAKE, you guys. (He asks if i want kale in my milkshake)

[personal profile] foolishwren 2014-11-04 07:18 pm (UTC)(link)
[Pulling out her PokeGear, she holds it out so that he can see the screen. The background is a photo of three Pokemon, sitting together on what looks like a hotel room bed. A Litleo, a Fennekin, and a Fletchling. They all have that sort of big-eyed look of freshly-caught Pokemon who don't really know what to do with themselves indoors.]

I caught these guys last month.

A couple days ago, they went missing.

I think they're here.

Have you seen them?
armoredsoul: (Worried)

[personal profile] armoredsoul 2014-11-05 02:18 am (UTC)(link)
[As Al looks at the picture a sympathetic grimace pulls at his mouth, but he shakes his head sadly.] I don't think I have, no, but I'll keep an eye out for them. A couple of mine ran off as well, but I haven't been able to find them here, either. If I find them, I promise I'll keep them safe until I can find you again.
foolishwren: what a complete dogshit ass night for a curse. god, what a fucking night, my dude. for a curse i mean. fuck this (what a horrible night to have a curse)

[personal profile] foolishwren 2014-11-05 09:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Really?

I hadn't heard about anyone else's... I guess things are so crazy it's hard to keep everybody updated.

[She tucks the 'Gear away again.]

I'd appreciate that. Like, a lot.
armoredsoul: (wait wat)

[personal profile] armoredsoul 2014-11-07 02:03 am (UTC)(link)
No kidding. I haven't even had a chance to phone Brother to let him know I'm okay!

It's no problem! I promise I'll let you know if I see them anywhere--hopefully they've kept out of the worst of all this.

[Al glances around with a frown, first absently and then with a bit more focus. Are those grunts...crap, they are coming towards them, and it's not a small group either.] Oh, shoot!
foolishwren: what the FUCK is that (*points at romance*)

[personal profile] foolishwren 2014-11-09 05:41 am (UTC)(link)
I hope they have...

[They're so low-level. Not that there aren't tons of OTHER low-level Pokemon swarming all over the place, but... still.]

[Of course, as preoccupied as she is with the missing babies, that's second at hand to more immediate concerns. Like those grunts. She straightens up, scowling.]


Great.

How strong're your Pokemon, kid?

[She's already wishing she brought more than three...]
armoredsoul: (Stubborn)

[personal profile] armoredsoul 2014-11-11 12:42 am (UTC)(link)
[Al moves away from Heather so she and her Rapidash have room to maneuver, frowning with worry and pulling two Pokeballs out.] They're all mid-levels--I only started really training them recently.

[He lets the other two out, a Luxray and Quilava, and they along with the Liepard spread out in front of the two trainers as the grunts let out their own Pokemon and start barking orders.]
foolishwren: I'M CALLING THE POLICE! (HENRY! Is that a WEED?!)

[personal profile] foolishwren 2014-11-13 12:01 am (UTC)(link)
Mid-level, huh.

[She doesn't sound scornful or judgmental-- just thoughtful. She'd better tell him to stick with her for a bit. Mid-level's not bad but these guys are packing heat.]

Got it.

Well, guess you get to put 'em to the test now.

[Tilting her head back, she shields her eyes against the sun and hollers up into the sky.]

SUNNY! Use Follow Me!

[The Togekiss trills and swoops down in front of her trainer and Al, drawing fire to herself. Her fluffy Level 100 bulk can handle it.]

armoredsoul: (Getting serious)

[personal profile] armoredsoul 2014-11-19 02:40 am (UTC)(link)
[Al's eyes go wide as Sunny comes soaring down, but he doesn't waste any time barking out his own orders.] Cecil, use Torment! Lisa, Flare Blitz! Eddie, use Charge, then Spark!

[The pair go charging into the fray under Sunny's protection, the Liepard leading the way with taunting cries to rile up their opponents and get them off-balance. Then it's Lisa and Eddie's turn, both of their attacks blasting right into the enemies and knocking them off their feet.]
foolishwren: defeat the enemys (IT'S TIME TO END THIS ONES AND FOR ALL)

[personal profile] foolishwren 2014-11-19 04:54 pm (UTC)(link)
[Even mid-level, Al obviously knows how to strategize and direct his Pokemon. Good, that makes this a lot easier.]

[As the volley of attacks go flying, Heather stuffs her fingers into her mouth and whistles sharply. Alessa knows what that means, and the second the smoke clears, she's bounding past the stunned opponents to deliver a Swords Dance-charged Night Slash to finish them off.]

[ROUND 1 GOES TO: ALPHONSE AND HEATHER!]