plot said It was Alasenna, the high priestess of Arceus, who committed the ultimate betrayal. The age of Zygarde was drawing to a close, and the age of Arcticuno was drawing near once again, marking the beginning of yet another thousand-year circle and the dawn of a new millennium. From the viking barbarians of Johtoheim to the ninjas of Sinnohbi, from the pointy-eared-hippies of Middle Hoenn to the regal politicians of the Kalossus Empire, people put down their blades and their High Pokemon Magic and their personal agendas for a rare window of peace and tranquility. They were preparing for the biggest celebrations this side of a thousand years. But when the clock struck midnight and the new age officially begun, the wild pokemon suddenly lost their senses and every ounce of their compassion. They baptized the dawn of the millennium in bloodshed and death, mindlessly slaughtering not only their captured companions, but alo humans with no apparent reason for doing so. They were cursed, lost to the world except but by complicated purification processes - but each time an age passed into the reign of a different legendary, they would all be cursed again. They became known as 'shadow pokemon', due to the dark aura that psychics and aura readers could see around them.
What Alasenna had done was to thrust a blade, cursed by powerful magic, into the very hearthstone of the spear pillar, where Arceus resided. Thus, His bond to the mortal, physical world shattered like the glass it was made of, and He was bereft of much of His power and almost even bereft of His life. He escaped this realm in order to preserve his last bit of strength, doing the only thing he could to stop Alasenna from absorbing that bit too - because, if she did, she would essentially become His successor, able to re-shape the world itself according to her whims. But even without it, she was too powerful for anybody to stop her - and people tried. Immensely powerful and by all purposes immortal and un-aging, Alasenna the priestess now await the end of this new millennium, when her curse will be complete and Arceus last bit of life and power will be hers, and hers alone. It's been a hundred-and-fifty years since her magic engulfed the world with shadow zombies and the Age of Moltres will pass into the Age of Mew in half a year from now. People prepare for the fourth wave of shadow pokemon, with hardly anyone putting any stock in their prophisized 'saviors' any longer. There have been plenty of Chosen Ones over the years, people touched by a pokemon species that granted them power. But while most have been weak and some of them immensely powerful, none have succeeded in bringing Alasennas reign to an end. Honestly, death, slaughter and life in the Zombie apocalypse is starting to feel... eerily normal. People now fear that this will be the last time humanity will ever see the dawn of an Age, worn down by many lifetimes of war.
But you... you know better. Maybe you doubted everything in the past, but know you know that the saviours are real. Because... you are one of them. One night, as you slept and dreamed, Arceus came to you with one of his memories... one that you had once known, but forgotten about, a long, long time before your own birth...
Hello there, everyone, and welcome to Pokemon EPIC! This RP is going to be ridiculously cheesy to the point where Rolan the Barbarian stand shamed, so if that's your thing you found the right place. If that's NOT your thing.... meh, I bet I can make you come around if you give it a chance ;) It will address serious themes such as death, zombies and mass destruction, but rest easy knowing that it will also be full of humor.
Pokemon EPIC! takes place in a world based on the Pokéarth, but the different regions are based on old cultures. now, there is a LOOOT of background information, so feel free to just scout for the races and regions you are interested in and the rest will fill itself in. But don't forget to read the rules!
GEOGRAPHY
Pokemon EPIC! takes place in a world that is geographically very similar to the Pokéarth you know from the games. The different regions, cities and routes remain, but with a slight twist. You see, every region is based on a high fantasy stereotype - Kanto for example is known as Kantonia, and is filled with culture and architecture that brings the mind back to medieval Europe. Johtoheim is, you guessed it, the home of vikings and a bunch of barbarians, and you will be hard pressed to not find a street where burly dudes with loincloths and spiked arm bracers walk by. As with everything in this RP, I'll give you a lot of freedom with coming up your characters origins. The wackier, the better. Give it a read, however, because certain races are easier to find in certain regions than in others:
[Quote]Kantonia
Kanto is based on medieval Europe, or perhaps better stated, based on the cheesy fantasy videogames that are based on medieval Europe but that hold true to no historical fact what so ever. Its capital, Saffron City, is still doing very well despite the zombie apocalypse and is flourishing under the arcane barriers put up by the High Magic University. Their students have traveled everywhere, contributing to the defense of cities in every region. It is in part due to the flush of people coming and going, and in part due to the fact that they are neighbors with Johtoheim, that have shaped Kantonia into a traders nation with cargo ships reaching every corner of the world.
All sorts of races are found in Kantonia.[/spoiler]
JOHTOHEIM
The warrior/trader seafarers that live along the shores of Johto are as famous and legendary as the ruthless barbarian berserkers who make their home in Silver Mountain. Johtoheim is full of vikings, barbarians, and amazonian tribes in seemingly utterly dysfunctional chainmail bikinis. If you see a burly dude on your travels with two giant war axes and a loincloth, screaming out his battlecries at the world, there's at least an 95% chance he came from Johto. Though most of its inhabitants are completely illiterate, a surprising amount of them are great at math.
High Magic have little wiggle room here, and most of the magicians from Johtoheim practice the lower forms of magic or travel to Kantonia in order to learn what cannot be learned in their own region. The vast majority of its people are adept at handicrafts, and almost everyone, from the grandmas to the little girls, are trained in some sort of close combat. The people of Johto are a VERY hardy bunch, and it is still fairly commonplace to find little farms that have survived over a hundred years of zombie defending.
The most common races in Johtoheim are humans, morphs, and dwarves. Elves often make their way to their shores for trading and are a common sight as well, but few of them actually live there.
MIDDLE HOENN
Middle Hoenn is a blatant rip-off of the Tolkien universe. You'll find hobbits in Litteroot, elves in Fortree and dwarves in the shadows of Lavaridge, and humans and morphs somehow nestling their way in there where ever they can. It's a somewhat chaotic region, but hey, if it works...
Being home to so many races, it is also home to a large number of cultures, and Middle Hoenn is a pot of many mixed flavors.
SINNOHBI
Sinnoh/bi is home to the masters of the night! Tribes of samurai, ninjas, and samurai-ninjas have carved their legacy into history for many, many years here. They are known for their skills in stealth, agility and for their strong sense of discipline, honing many warriors that venture far away to make a name for themselves as mercenaries and shadow hunters (the most notably of whom is totally Batman).
[quote]UNOVA (which sounds fantasy-enough for all purposes I rather think.)
Unova have a strong hunter/gatherer culture, but with the approach of the age of Mew and yet another wave of shadow pokemon, most people have withdrawn back to the cities where a large amount of cultural diversity may be found as a result. As a nation, they do not specialize in anything, and though humans and pokemorphs are the most commonly found races available it is possible to find folks of all origins and walks of life here. Unova as a whole is pretty tree-hugging, and there is a lot of inside strife as a result of the cities expanding on the expense of wildlife. However, most agree that banding together inside city walls is the only way to live through the Shadow wave. [quote]
KALOSSUS
The ancient Kalossus Empire is yet another hotpot of cultural activity. Lumiose City, located in the center of the region, is home to a blooming culture and grand architecture with white marble statues doting almost every corner of the central. Politicians, artists, poets and actors have made this city their central point, but the freedom they have enjoyed in the past is slowly coming to a close as politicians are deciding to focus more and more resources on the military due to the coming of the new Age. The peaceful people of Lumiose are replacing their white togas with brass helmets, shields and spears, as much of the population is being forcefully enrolled in the army.
Outside of Lumiose, many villages and small towns still exist, being made of wild and capable warriors able to go on par with even those from Johto. They have become scarce however, as their unwillingness to band together have taken out its toll on them over the past few waves of shadow mons. Pokemorphs are over-represented here.
RACE
EPIC! is inhabited only by humans and pokemon - but humans come in many different forms and shapes. Some have been influenced by magics that changed their appearances and abilities, and some were just inbred to a magnificent degree. If you wish to make up your own race, you may do so - as long as you do not make it an excuse to create an overpowered character.
Here is a list of the most common races of the world:
HUMANS
Though all the races of the world are technically of human species, the 'human' human is the standard vanilla flavor we all know and love. Probably the most versatile of all the races of the world, humans do not specialize in any specific area but can master most of the obstacles they set out to conquer given enough persistence. They are the most common race in the world, and appear in large numbers on every continent.
POKÉMORPHS
Pokémorphs are people born with magical potential, that takes shape in the form of certain pokemon traits. Tails and pokemon ears are the most common, and nearly every morph out there are more human than pokemon in appearance, but they still vary greatly in appearance. Although it lies in their potential to develop their gifts, they are not born with any unusual abilities; even people with Growlithe ears must study the flow of magic in their own bodies in order to utilize the good hearing of a Growlithe, and flying will not come naturally to someone with Pidgey wings. But with study, that potential can be unlocked. Morphs who succeed in bringing out their innate abilities can be capable of superhuman feats, based on the stats of the pokemon they are merged with. Those who study enough will even be able to achieve evolution, and they are often looked upon with great respect from their unevolved comrades because of these feats. All morphs are born as the basic or baby stages of their evolutionary line.
Pokemorphs who study High Magic often specialize in special attacks rather than physical feats. They have an affinity for the arcane and can throw fireballs and stuff like that around, but are often really frail as a result of focusing only on the arcane aspect of their bodies. Morphs who study the lower levels of magic, the form commonly practiced by the people, often focus more on physical aspects of their abilities. An Arcanine morph who choose the path of High Magic could become adept at throwing fireballs around, while one focusing on low magic could develop their superhuman speed. There are middle roads, but both may not be mastered without an extreme amount of dedication and/or talent. Truly skilled practitioners are even able to change form, capable of wearing fully human and fully pokemon appearances instead of a mix of both. They are typically magicians, whether by the higher or the lower form.
All Pokémorphs can trace their origin back to Kantonia, and the students of the University of High Magic. The University itself claim that the morphs emerged from a grand experiment on the limits of the human body, but everybody else, including most morphs, say that someone back-in-them-days spiced the drinks at a student party with something REAL special. Today, morphs are a common sight all over the world and in every culture.
ELVES
Elves appear in a few different appearances, depending on their home clans and genetics. All of them are beautiful in appearance, with delicate features and ears of varying degrees of pointyness. There are no historical records of their origin, but they were the first race to utilize written languages and their empire can be recorded back for thousands of years. They are good at archery and stealth and many specialize in high magic, but are generally too frail to be any good at close combat. Elves are most common in Middle Hoenn, having their strongholds in Fortree City, Mossdeep, Lilycove, and Stoopolis. They are a people of art and music, but are equally deadly in the arts of snuffing people and are great pokemon trainers due to their inborn link with nature.
They come in many different flavors, from the snooty and arrogant high castes to the hippies who seriously over-use the word 'dude'. Elves appear in most regions, but are most common in forested areas.
[b/]DWARVES[/b]
Dwarves are a hardy bunch native to Middle Hoenn, but who are also a common sight in Johtoheim where they are highly appreciated for their blacksmithing skills. Dwarves are incredibly adept at metal crafts and very stingy with sharing their secrets of their trade to outsiders. They have profited greatly from mining over the years, but lately they have been divided into two castes where the lower cast toll away in the mines and the higher cast reaping the benefits of the trade.
THE DROW
The drow are not actually a race, but people from all walks of life who seem to have been affected with the Shadow Curse somehow. The curse do not manifest in the same way as they do in pokemon, as drows are not mindless beasts; rather, they are a cunning bunch, greatly skilled in dark magic. They come in all shades of serious-to-jolly but display less than stellar morals. Drows will go to great lengths to keep their words, and are heavily tormented by their own consciences over their own broken oaths (and that's pretty much the only thing their consciences are there for, mind you). Therefore, getting them to swear an oath in the first place is tricky business and you better have a lawyer around for it just to be on the safe side, because they tend to trick people with word plays if given the chance.
On the whole, they are rather elusive, at least when they're not causing trouble somewhere. There are a few groups who get along really well with the rowdier folks up in Johtoheim, and they are on neutral ground with the dwarves and tend to leave them alone, but mostly they're just a major menace where ever they appear. Thankfully for everybody else, they are few and far in between, which have just supported the myth that they are the lackeys of Alasenna. While they did appear a hundred and fifty years ago, an unexpected side-effect of the curse, most of them could not care less about what that priestess is even up to. Some of them run her errands, undoubtedly, and the careful drow will not send shadow pokemon into a rage just by existing, either. But on a whole, it is a myth blown out of proportion. Drow communities are usually nomadic and have spread all over the world, preferring caves and nighttime over the daylight.