NOTE: Though there are a lot of players on this list, I will only be accepting nine other people. If the type you want is claimed already, worry not! You can compete with other people over the type (i.e. if you wanted Electric but someone claimed it, you can try and create a better Electric character. You might get picked over rthe other player!
The Galar region is known for a myriad of things. We’ve got rolling hills of grass, bristling cold tundras, and dusty wildlands all brimming with Pokemon. Our people are hardy, dedicated workers, devoted to keeping our nation on its feet and maintaining its relativity in the modern world. And, among everything else, we’re known for the famous Galar Region Gym Challenge that takes place every summer. For the length of about four months, young trainers from every corner of the nation travel the region and engage each of us in battle. Some may earn badges, but others remain defeated, no matter how hard they try. If these young trainers are lucky enough, they have the chance to challenge our young champion, Ryker.
People don’t know this, but there’s a lot more to being a gym leader than they realize. If it wasn’t obvious already, we’re quite like celebrities. Paparazzi follow us like Combee after honey, desperate to publish anything regarding our private lives on the internet. Our fans are often hot-blooded and flood our social media pages and DMs with hopes of getting autographs at meet-ups or whatnot. We have to keep the chairman happy as a Clampearl, unless we want to get him hot on our asses. As you can see, being a gym leader is tiring in more ways than one. Though, there’s times where we’re able to lay back and relax, hang out with our comrades, and possibly take vacations to other regions in order to hone our skills. Yeah, all in all, our lives aren’t too bad.
The summer season’s reared its ugly head again and challengers are rallying together to begin their journey through Galar. Gym leaders are also preparing to face the lot of fresh and old faces once again. We’re prepared to force them to prove their mettle, and after a long and slow off-season, most of us are thrilled to show off our skills through the heat of battle.
But little do we know, with the new season comes a new threat, and its shadow has only merely peaked the horizon.
1.) The Pokemon world’s more dangerous than one realizes. Pokemon eat Pokemon. Pokemon kill and/or eat humans. Mistakes happen during battles, and sometimes such mistakes can be fatal to Pokemon. Pokemon also make up a large portion of humans’ meals. Humans, on the other hand, can sabotage/harm/kill one another in this roleplay. Make wise decisions and your characters, along with their beloved companions, should be fine.
2.) The Galar Region Gym Challenge lasts a total of four months and takes place from the beginning of May to the end of August. Gyms are challenged every two weeks, leaving a week of downtime between said challenges. The Gym Challenge begins in Turffield and ends in Hammerlocke. The Championship Battle takes place in Wyndon.
In the games, the towns are designed around the gym leaders’ typings. You are able to change some of their designs in roleplays, but be sure not to go overboard. In fact, you don’t have to change them at all. This is only an option.
3.) The Minor League exists in this universe. They’re active in the off-season and during the winter, taking place from the beginning of December through the end of March. Trainers who cannot get a sponsor through normal means must defeat the eight gym leaders in the Minor League in order to be eligible to compete in the Galar Region Gym Challenge during the summer.
If people would like to make a second or even third gym leader, they must be a member of the Minor League.
4.) This roleplay will involve slice of life, but it will also involve action, adventure, suspense and some darker themes. Things might get tense and violent at times, though there will always be time for relaxation and downtime between characters.
5.) Pokemon in this world are important! Make sure to give them personalities and involve them in your posts; make them interact with one another, their trainers, and other humans. They are your partners, after all.
1.) Players must be eighteen or older to join.
2.) If you are interested in joining, you must promise to be an active player in both the OOC and IC. OOC chatter, plotting, and announcements will be held in the roleplay’s Discord server. As for the IC, please post there at least once a week. Each post should be at least two longer paragraphs in length.
3.) Do not ghost us. If you need to step away from the roleplay, please let us know. No one will judge you for your decision, and it’s better than leaving us in the blue.
4.) Not every person who applies will be accepted. That means you are in charge of creating an interesting character who will be a pleasure to write with. Your writing style, personality, and overall activity will also be taken into consideration when judging your sheets. We will not be accepting characters who are over-the-top, nor will we be accepting characters created by problematic players.
Remember that gym leaders are not just gym leaders. They were once children and trainers as well, with aspirations to take on the Gym Challenge and become Champion. They have gone through trials and tribulations across all fronts. They have dreams that they wish to turn into reality. It’s not easy to become a gym leader, after all. You have a lot to work with, so take your time making characters.
5.) Main characters should be more or less in the same age group in order to maintain relevance between them. I’m looking at an age range of 18-30.
6.) The outcome of battles between player characters and some NPCs will be decided prior to the start of the battle. I’m leaving it up to the owner of the characters to decide who wins the battle, but if an agreement can’t be reached between the players, then the outcome will be decided by myself after taking other people’s opinions into consideration. This keeps battles fair and prevents arguments in the OOC.
7.) Stats do not matter in this roleplay, though one must use common sense. Stats were created to keep Pokemon balanced in the games, so it shouldn’t make a huge impact roleplay-wise. That being said, a huge, sluggish Pokemon should not be outspeeding a nimble one, etc.
8.) Managing movesets can be tricky in a roleplay setting. We’re sticking to the typical four moveset rule in this roleplay, though moves can be swapped out for other ones during downtime. I’m also not counting moves like Bite, Scratch, etc as actual moves. If Pokemon have teeth, they will bite. If they have wings, they will fly. If they can swim, they will dive and resurface. However, enhanced moves such as Crunch, Wing Attack, etc will be accounted for as part as a Pokemon’s moveset.
9.) Your characters’ choices will most likely have an impact on the course and conclusion of the game. Again, be smart when making decisions!
The day was finally here. Frostpaw thought she’d never be able to partake in her warrior’s assessment, but here she was, sitting in front of all of the Clan after passing it. She was sure that Nightwater was proud of her, and so were her friends, Reedpaw and Lionpaw. And Scorchpaw, she guessed. Her chest swelled with pride as she listened to Dawnstar speak to her from the Tallstones. Before she knew it, the words ”I do” spilled forth from her maw, and she was given her warrior name. Frostwhisker. Not the name she would have chosen for herself but… it was her name, and her name only. As the crowd behind her cheered her name, she found that she preferred the name more than something like Frostwind.
She purred as Dawnstar touched her muzzle against her head, heeding her words. She had to have something planned for her after her vigil. Her pelt prickled. What could it be, she wondered. It had to be something interesting, due to the fact that she was a warrior now and not some overgrown apprentice. Though, her thoughts were once again interrupted when Lionpaw butted his head against her shoulder. Her purr was so loud that she was sure the whole Clan could hear her.
”No need to congratulate me. The assessment was a breeze,” she joked, returning his affection with one of her rare, broad smiles.
Scorchpaw peered out from behind Lionpaw’s back. ”At least the apprentice’s den will be more roomy. Your fat butt was taking all the space,” he muttered.
Though the tom’s words were scornful as always, there was no mistaking the jealous glint in his eye. Frostwhisker assumed it was his own way of praising her accomplishments. She reached over to cuff him over the ear, which produced a mrrow of complaint from him. ”Oh, shut up. You’ll miss me before you know it.”
”Yeah, right. Least I don’t have to stay up for vigil tonight,” Scorchpaw stuck out his tongue.
That was right. She would have to stay for vigil. And then after, she’d talk to Dawnstar. She wondered what her leader had to say. Frostwhisker wondered if she should even mention it to her friends, though she quickly decided that she should keep her mouth shut. They’d find out eventually, she imagined.
Yes, their plan was working! Frostbite’s attack had rendered the SandWing guards either dead or dying, which in part was a rather grizzly sight. The thought of the larger dragon bearing so much power as to do that to a handful of dragons within only a few seconds… if he were any other type of individual, she was sure she’d have been turned into a frozen statue. Vivid flinched when she felt his claws slink under her belly, and within moments they were up in the air and flying up into the sky. She tucked her wings close to her sides to allow him to carry her easier. Freedom was finally within their grasp–! The crowd’s screams and calls from below only bolstered the swelling sensation in her chest. Vivid told herself that they were cheering for them, though that was very unlikely. Eh, best to think that way.
Frostbite’s rumble shook her from her thoughts. She turned her slender neck to see that he was right. Three or four more SandWings were pursuing them– and they were gaining fast. A fiery current or a well-aimed jab of their spears would cause Frostbite great pain for sure. And if they got close enough to stab him with their stingers… ”I’ve got them!” Vivid affirmed.
Her eyes watched the SandWings’ movements closely. There was the sway of their bodies as their wings carried them through the air. The way they clenched their weapons. The wrinkled scowl that laid upon their lips. She opened her mouth and extended her fangs. Black, viscous liquid shot forth from her maw and splattered against the eyes of the closest SandWing. The guard screamed in pain, reeling back and crashing into the other SandWing that had flanked them. She watched as the two of them clumped together mid-air, with the injured SandWing clawing at their comrade in desperation as their face melted underneath Vivid’s venom. The other SandWing screamed too, half in horror and half in pain as the desperate guard’s talons dug into their flesh. They careened out of control and crashed against the side of a building before they slammed into the ground below. That left the other two.
Vivid’s aim once again found its mark when her venom struck the third SandWings in the gap of the armor that covered its neck. It screeched in agony, flaring its wings to claw at the plating. The fourth SandWing snarled and turned to help the soldier, probably out of fear of being struck as well. Vivid grinned.
”That should slow them down for a bit!” she called up towards Frostbite.
If Asumi could describe her day at school, she would have said it was… interesting.
She knew something was wrong when she went to the library. It was a small and quaint place filled with dusty books, but the purpose of her visit was to see if she could get any history books that matched the era Okamoto was teaching them. The library attendant, a nervous boy named Tanaka, had always been friendly to her. But this time, his bespectacled eyes had widened upon seeing her, and his stammers had increased tenfold when she asked if he could help. At the end of the day, he told her that no, they did not have any history books that would aid her in her studies, and it would be best if she asked Okamoto for help. The thought frightened her, and so she begged him to at least let her look around the library, but he didn’t even allow her that. Tanaka came up with some stuttering excuse about how the library was being renovated (when there wasn’t any sign of such a thing) and that she couldn’t be roaming about in such a dangerous environment. When Asumi opened her mouth to question him, Tanaka’s voice became firm, and he even went so far as to threaten to call the student president or even the principal to take care of the situation. She left without any problem, but her rampant thoughts wracked her brain and she was sure her heart rate increased with every passing moment. The hell was that all about?
She was certain she felt something… weird between Nagi and Munehisa. Asumi didn’t know what it was, but she didn’t like it, and her emotions only soured further when they went off on their own way after school. Whatever. She was hungry, anyway, and she told herself that she should treat herself with some yummy somethings from Aprile’s. But her trip there was only flooded with thoughts of what happened at school. Days were ticking by. She wasn’t sure if anyone was going to rat out Munehisa over his drawing, no matter if that meant they would all be expelled. Then there was the library. Tanaka was always stuttering and over-exaggeratory, but for him to treat her as viciously as he did… the combination was strange altogether. She wondered if the whole library fiasco was Okamoto’s doing. Maybe she could ask Akira or Chen if they were being restrained from entering as well.
Her thoughts persisted throughout her patrol of Aprile’s aisles. Everything looked good enough to eat, and the smells that permeated the food court were delectable, though nothing caused a hungry twinge in her gut. Asumi found herself with no motivation, no appetite, and little to no appreciation of Aprile’s large selection of foodstuffs. The coldness of Aprile’s refrigerated section sent a shiver up her spine. I should just go home. I’m not really as hungry as I thought, Asumi thought with a lowly glance towards her empty basket. I could just eat those leftovers in the fridge.
”Asumi!”
Her head shot up in response. Was that..?
”Over here!”
It was Yuri. The girl stood behind a small table near the end of the refrigerated section. She wore an Aprile’s uniform, complete with the baby blue undershirt and white apron with the blue pinstripes. Asumi twisted her lip and cocked her head, but headed over to the stand anyway.
”Oh, hey Yuri. Working at Aprile’s now?”
Yuri blinked at her. ”Huh? This was always my first gig. Obi’s my second.” She waved off her question. ”What’s up? I didn’t see you with Muney and Nagi at school today. Everything okay?”
Asumi shuffled her feet and looked down at the tiny paper cups that were neatly lined up in front of Yuri. They looked like miniature soldiers topped with blobs of matcha ice cream. ”Ah… no, I was trying to go to the library while they went somewhere else I guess.”
The other girl’s slight smile wavered. ”You okay? You look kinda down…”
Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, but she forced them back. Her eyes became downcast for a long moment. ”Things’ve been tough at school. Like really tough. And the semester’s just started…” Asumi finally raised her eyes to meet Yuri’s grayish ones. ”You know Ms. Okamoto?”
A light flickered across Yuri’s gaze before they steeled. The girl’s smile disappeared from her lips. ”I’ve heard about that. You’re in her class, right?”
”Mhm.”
”It was Muney who drew her like that, huh?”
Asumi’s shoulders tensed up and she turned her eyes away. Yuri raised her hands and shook her head slowly. ”Don’t worry. I’m not telling anyone.”
”Yeah…” Asumi’s voice was a whisper. Her lip quivered, so she sunk her canine into her bottom lip to try to keep the tears at bay. At this point, they might as well come. She felt the first of them roll down her right cheek; the salty liquid was hot against her skin as her lip wiggled beneath her teeth. ”Yuri… I don’t wanna get expelled… no one’s gonna want me, and then I– I don’t even know if I’ll even get to the college I wanna go to. I d-dunno what to do…”
”Wanna know something?” Yuri’s sudden change of tone drew her attention back to her. The other girl’s eyebrows had knitted together, and her lips wrenched downwards in a scowl.
”M-mhm?”
”I wouldn’t rat my friend out for something stupid like that. Not even if I was going to get expelled. Not ever.” Yuri told her in a blaze of passion. ”There’s no way that the principal’s gonna let Okamoto’s plan slide. Everyone’s parents are gonna freak once they find out what’s been happening at school. He’ll put her in her place real quick. So don’t worry about it. By this time next week, you’ll have nothing else to be scared about. You’re hearing me, right?”
Asumi watched Yuri’s face as she spoke, the tears still pouring down her face like a lukewarm waterfall. Sniffling, she raised a hand to wipe her face, but Yuri was quick to hand her a bunch of napkins. ”T-thanks…” she murmured. ”And not just for the napkins.”
”Don’t worry about it. I’m just telling you the truth and I hate to see a friend cry,” Yuri said. ”Oh, before you go, wanna try out this ice cream? It just came out and it’s matcha flavored. If you like it, I’ll buy you a tub to take home.”
Turns out that the matcha ice cream didn’t taste half bad. Yuri kept to her promise and bought an extra large tub of it for her to lug back to her place. Asumi’s heart weighed half as much as it did before. Yuri’s words made sense, and they sure made sense. Maybe the principal already knew about the situation and was working on the case. It was best if she didn’t let the negative thoughts ferment any longer. It’s still early, but I’m tired, she thought with a weary glance towards the sky. It was probably around four or five, but to her it felt like it was midnight. Perhaps she would feel better once she got something in her stomach.
Asumi set off at a brisk pace back towards school with the intention of heading to the residential district, but a movement at the end of the street caught her eye. She immediately recognized the two figures as Nagi and Munehisa, and she was more than surprised to see that they were headed back to school. What’re they doing?” she thought to herself. For a moment, she wondered if she should follow them. If she did, the ice cream in her bag would surely melt by the time she made it back to her place. Curiosity was a pain, though. She ducked behind a shop corner, hoping that she hadn’t been spotted. When they turned the street that led back to the school grounds, she set off after them at a half-trot half-lope. Just what were they up to? Were they finally going to take the time to study for that test?
Frostpaw rolled her eyes at Lionpaw’s comment. Of course the big oaf would think that snails raining from the sky would be cool. She’d be more concerned about them sticking to her fur or maybe filling the ocean. Then they’d have nothing to eat but snails, and that thought grossed her out. ”You’re right. We can talk to Amberpaw and Duskpaw a ton now,” she answered with a flick of her tail. That was the bright side to the situation, she guessed. More communication between them was always important. She could keep her ears pricked for anything that might touch her as interesting. Like gossip. She loved gossip.
”Hey!”
Frostpaw’s ears laid flat at Scorchpaw’s yowl. She turned to see Lionpaw’s littermate cross the clearing, his yellow gaze flitting across their number. Great. Just what they needed– a snobby know-it-all to stick his nose into their conversation.
”Hello, Scorchpaw. Looking for your brother? Look no further, ‘cause he’s right here.” Frostpaw flicked her tail against Lionpaw’s shoulder.
Scorchpaw’s eyes narrowed. ”What’re you guys doing near the medicine den? Don’t you have something more important to do?” He turned to Frostpaw. ”Did you even go on patrol?”
”If you had paid attention earlier, yes. I caught a seagull, which Brightflow took back to camp,” Frostpaw grumbled.
Scorchpaw huffed and glanced up at Lionpaw and Reedpaw. ”Do you wanna come on patrol with Swiftwind and Swiftbird, then? They’re inviting apprentices along.”
Frostpaw nodded up at them. ”You two should go.” She stretched out her back legs, her tail trembling as she felt her tired muscles loosen up with the movement. ”I should get some rest for tomorrow, so I need some alone time.”
She couldn’t help but smirk a bit when she heard Frostbite roar. The whole fight was a facade, though as adrenaline pumped faster through her tired body, she felt herself become light-headed with vigor. Here she was, clinging onto the back of a grand dragon such as this one! And she thought that her battle skills were rusty. Then again, he could just be taking it easy on her, and just letting her have her fun–
Yep. Once again, she was thrown to the ground. The impact with the sandy terrain made her head spin. Her body begged for her to get back onto her talons, but her mind counteracted the rush of battle. She couldn’t drag on this fight any longer; the two of them had made a silent agreement. Groaning, she made a show of an attempt to get back on her feet, though Frostbite was upon her in an instant. A dangerous hiss poured from between her teeth as she was pinned, writhing weakly in his grip.
”That’s enough!” shrilled Boa from the sidelines. Caracal definitely wasn’t too happy, judging by the way the other SandWing reacted.
The thump of the SandWings’ talons against the ground grew louder with every instant. There were four or five of them heading their way, judging by the rattle of their armor and the ruckus they made as they ran. Boa probably wasn’t one of them. She probably thought they were too tired to resist. Her eyes darted up to Frostbite in desperation as her heart thrummed against her ribcage. The time to act was now.
Vivid guessed that she should have known that the giant dark-scaled dragon would roll onto his side. Oxygen came flooding out of her lungs as his weight collapsed atop of her, which made her loosen her talons from his tough scales. Sand was sent into the air around them, obscuring the match in powdery clouds that stung her eyes. But even beyond the veil of debris, she saw Frostbite’s spiked tail come down upon her. Her heart skipped a beat. Did he mean it when he said he had a plan? He could have tricked her into letting her guard down so that he could survive the fight. Her eyes squeezed shut as she waited for the blow.
She cried out when his tail swept across her side, though she was surprised to see that the blow didn’t feel as brutal as it should have been. Her purplish scales had now become patterned with white splotches of terror, though she still pulled herself to her feet and stared at the other hybrid in a state of shock, confusion, and fear. He was a dragon that could very easily kill her, even without any use of his ice breath. There was no doubt about it.
”C’mon, fight!” roared a dragon from the stands.
She saw another SandWing open its mouth to half-yawn, half-yell. ”This is boring! Bite her head off already!”
Vivid’s eyes darted to the sidelines. Boa watched with slitted eyes from the shadow of the arena, flanked by smirking armored SandWings. Caracal sat in her booth, her dark-rimmed gaze glittering with excitement. Her breath stung in her throat. She was so tired, so thirsty, so hungry… but she still had to fight. Turning her eyes back to Frostbite, she focused her mind. C’mon, you can do this… I just need to make all this look convincing to them!
Screeching, she set off towards Frostbite in a brave charge. She leapt into the air just as she approached him and fanned out her wings to hopefully distract him with the sudden flash of color. In a smooth movement, she whipped around his neck and clung to the small of his neck with her back talons. ”You’ll pay for that!” she shrieked, trying to sound as furious as she could as her front left talons clung to his left horn. Her right talons reached over to scratch at his eyes, though she purposely made this appear quite clumsy as to not blind the poor dragon. Despite her rather vicious attack, it was difficult to lean against the back of the half-IceWing’s neck and attack his face; his spines prodded her soft underbelly and caused her to wince in pain.
Still. She’d have his tail for causing so much trouble. That last attack of his hurt!