UndeadSpartan

Pokémon: The Pillaging

@dragonpiece
Don't forget to change the "XXXX" in the backstory now that yoi have a birthplace. Once you do, you may consider yourself accepted.

Pokémon: The Pillaging

@Bartimaeus@KiwiTime

Alright! Good work on fixing your sheets, they look great. Both of you can consider yourselves accepted, so go ahead and post your CSes in the Char tab.

Pokémon: The Pillaging

@ShepherdOfHope
Moves look good, overall. Skill ratings are a bit on the high end with the number of approx. B skills, but since Riolu is somewhat lacking in power, being a baby pokémon, I don't think I mind your human being somewhat ahead of the curve.

With that said, it still looks good to me, as it did in the interest check, so you can consider yourself accepted. Go ahead and post her in the Characters tab.

Pokémon: The Pillaging

Haruhana Aoi

Age: 22
Sex: Female
Orientation: Unexplored, Afraid of Men.
Place of Birth:
Kunio, A small village on the outskirts of Yaewong.

---

Appearance:
Aoi is a young Yaewong woman, standing at roughly average height with her 5'1". She has long, wild, black hair, normally kept in a loose ponytail. Unbound, it reaches all the way between her shoulder blades. Her eyes are deep blue, which are the reason she's named as she is. Her fingers are covered in an abundance of scars both big and small.

The only armor Aoi wears is a pair of bracers and sturdy leather boots. She doesn't usually wear shirts, instead favoring to bind her chest and wear jackets with broad shoulders. These clothes offer very little protection, but allow her to move without being restricted. Her clothes are of typical Yaewong design, albeit not traditional.

Personality:
Aoi is rather weak-willed and indecisive. On top of that, her self-esteem is as low as it gets. To avoid being used and hurt like she's been in the past, she puts up the front of a bold, noisy thug. This facade suits her ominously well, as she's grown insensitive to death. Despite her persona, she often has trouble asserting herself, and confrontations often end up escalating because of it. She's often overwhelmed by dark thoughts, but despite that and her inability to trust others, she keeps seeking out other people.

She has a habit of reaching for her abdomen when surprised, using her hands to cover the spot where her ribs have been broken in the past.

Skills:
Unarmed Martial Arts - (B-)
Athleticism - (C+)
Herbology - (C)
Fishing - (C)
Sleight of Hand - (C-)
Medicine - (D+)
Lockpicking - (D)
Sewing - (E+)

Inventory:
-Spiked Bracers
-Padded Silk Jacket
-Thick Wool Pants + Silk Obi
-Leather Boots
-Knapsack of Goodies
-Map of Arotura

Background:
Orphaned from a young age, Aoi never even knew her parents and for a large part of her youth she was living with the foresight of being drafted into Yaewong's army so she could fight and die for her nation should the need arise. Before she was old enough to be drafted however, someone actually decided to adopt her. Never had Aoi even dared to dream such a day would come, and for a while she thought that perhaps she might truly find happiness in her new life.

However, happiness was not what life had in store for young Aoi. At first, things weren't even that bad. The man who'd adopted her quickly began her martial arts training, and so long as she quickly was able to quickly grasp the techniques, things were fine... Mostly. Things really started to get out of hand when Aoi reached the difficult techniques. She wasn't particularly talented and soon reached a point where she was always letting down her teacher. Her home situation also worsened. While her teacher had always been strict, he'd also gotten abusive as his patience ran out.

Soon, Aoi's life had become a slur of training, being scolded and taking the abuse. Her only relief she found in the forest around the dojo, which had become the only place where she didn't have to worry about living up to her teacher's standards. It was also in this forest that she encountered Kaijin; the Scyther that would later become her Pokémon partner. Time mercilessly marched on and the abuse only grew worse as Aoi's teacher provided her with yet harder techniques she couldn't get the hang of fast enough. Eventually, Aoi reached her limit, and with her partner, Scyther, she killed her teacher and his Pokémon. Ever since, she's been a wanted fugitive.

---

Pokémon: Scyther
Nickname: Kaijin
Gender: Male
Ability: Technician
Item: None.
Moves:
-Swords Dance
-Double Hit
-Bug Bite
-Wing Attack

Bond:
One day when Aoi was out crying in the woods, she attracted the attention of a small number of predatory pokémon. Aoi could only watch in terror as the pokémon fought each other. In the end, a Scyther emerged victorious, but just as it was about to cut her down, the fatigue overtook it and it collapsed. For reasons she couldn't quite understand herself, Aoi found herself dragging the injured pokémon to the shack behhind the dojo that served as her room, and tended to its wounds.

When the Scyther regained consciousness, it once more prepared to attack her, almost causing Aoi to pass out from the fear. The Scyther failed to deliver his attack, once more thwarted by its battle scars and soon Aoi managed to convince it that she wasn't trying to hurt it. Aoi continued to take care of the Scyther in secret, until one day she'd had enough of her teacher's abuse. She came back after lessons that day, and together with Scyther killed her teacher and his Pokémon. Since then, Aoi and Scyther have left Yaewong and traveled from place to place, simply taking what they need to survive. Scyther seems to be the dominant party, and he seems pretty happy that way.

Pokémon: The Pillaging

@dragonpiece
Bussran is a large city that used to be the capital of another nation before Venirin took over. That nation doesn't exist anymore now, but being one of the first places conquered, it's been mostly rebuilt already.

The city itself isn't too special. It has many houses, a palace where the old ruler used to live, guard barracks. The thing that stands out most about it is probably its museum. As for the part of the land ot resides in, it has beaches along the southeast shore all the way along to the northwest, after which it gets too rocky to be considered a beach. There's dunes, forests and its overall not an ugly place.

Pokémon: The Pillaging

@c3p-0h@Bartimaeus@KiwiTime@Th3King0fChaos@Milim@dragonpiece@ShepherdOfHope
The OoC is here!

Please remember to double-check your character sheets if you've made one already. If there are any questions you're still free to ask, and I'll be writing up the remaining places that I haven't been able to get around to yet over the course of tomorrow.

Pokémon: The Pillaging

@c3p-0h@Bartimaeus@KiwiTime@Th3King0fChaos@Milim@dragonpiece@ShepherdOfHope
The OoC is up! There's still a few places that I haven't gotten around to decribing yet, but I will be finishing those up tomorrow, hopefully. For now I've added some basic info on all the notable places on the western half of Arotura. Don't forget to check your if the draft for character sheet is still complete, if you've made one already.

OoC Link:
roleplayerguild.com/topics/178595-pok…

Pokémon: The Pillaging

Arotura

a world in which humans have built castles for protection and Pokémon have always lived in the wild. In the past, strong Pokémon scared humans, so they built walls and towers from which they could repel Pokémon with bows and arrows. It was a dark time, and many castles were destroyed by agitated Pokémon... Nowadays, humans and Pokémon coexist, lending each other strength and taking each other to new heights. But while life has improved since the dark ages, not all is well.

In Venirin, a small kingdom once known the most prosperous in all of Arotura, the wise king Karos has recently passed away. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, as the eldest prince would inherit the throne. However, Karos' son Jurius wasn't half as kind or wise as his late father was, and as one of his first acts as king he declared the expansion of Venirin; a conquest that started with the swift assimilation of the previously unclaimed territory around Venirin. What inevitably followed was a declaration of war against the other kingdoms, as Jurius had no intention of stopping Venirin's expansion yet.

This war still rages today, but many know better than to involve themselves in it. Instead of fighting for Jurius' promised riches, they raid towns and villages, simply taking what valuables the unfortunate villagers might have. They hide in the ruins of fallen castles, dense forests or sometimes even the inhospitable Karadhor mountains, waiting for their opportunity to strike. Most of these thugs haven't known a day of honest work in their life. Some were forced into this, having been orphaned when the war started almost a decade ago, while others may simply not know any better, getting by the same way their parents had to. Whatever their reasons, they have all found themselves here, stealing to escape starvation for themselves and their Pokémon partner.

Geography

(Present-day world map for Arotura. X’s mark the locations of large cities.)

Venirin

Venirin

A country formerly known as the most properous in Arotura. Under its new king, Venirin has declared war on its neighbors and has grown significantly since then. Despite taking a blow for the war efforts, Venirin's economy is still relatively stable, and many sellswords find themselves fighting for Venirin and the's generous rewards.

Nowadays, Venirin knows all kinds of environments, ranging from the lush fields for which it had always been known, to large woodland areas and seaside bluffs. It borders the Karadhor mountains in the south, Araciord in the west, Arendann in the north and Ordaleron and Yaewong in the east.

Venirin is allied with Araciord, and actively at war with Arendann, Ordaleron and Yaewong.

Most notable cities:
1. Adasto, the capital of Venirin.
2. Agros.
3. Bussran.
4. Zhartos.

Araciord

Araciord

Formerly the largest empire in Arotura. History notes them to have had many capable military commanders in the past, but it has since then grown more peaceful. Nowadays, Araciord grows an abundance of produce within its vast territory and trades it with neighboring countries. Its military has declined since Araciord's days of conquering, and while many Araciord men still pursue careers as warriors, they usually do so as sellswords, rather than guardsmen or soldiers of the crown.

Like Venirin, Araciord contains many different environments within its territory. It knows expansive, rocky wastelands, lush prairies and dense forests alike. It borders Caedar in the south, Elowyn and the Rahksar Desert in the southeast, and Venirin in the northeast.

Araciord is allied with Venirin, but not actively participating in the war.

Most notable cities:
1. Vorun
2. Onoro
3. Sretta

Arendann

Arendann

Arendann is the country currently bearing the brunt of Venirin's advance. Currently, Venirin has already conquered half of Arendann's domain, and while Arendann is making a valiant stand in its remaining territory, it's all but cut off from any countries that might've allied with it. Despite facing near-certain defeat, the proud and tenacious Arendanni people still resist the Venirin assault.

Arendann is surrounded on all sides by the ocean, save for the southeast where it has the warfront with Nevirin. The further you move north, the higher and more cliff-like Arendann becomes.

Arendann doesn't have any allies.

Most notable cities:
1. Enba
2. Xavarna

Elowyn

Elowyn

Elowyn is a small nation bordering Caedar and the Rahksar Desert on one side, and Araciord on the other. In the past, it's been at war with Araciord, but their position in the desert has always allowed them to easily pick off any soldiers approaching them. In addition, they're renowned for their sky cavalry, which can move completely unhindered by the desert.

Elowyn isn't strictly allied with anyone, but it maintains good relationships with both its neighbors, even in spite of Araciord's alliance with Venirin. Elowyn isn't actively engaged in any wars.

Most notable cities:
1. Elowyn

Caedar

Caedar

Caedar is a kingdom of moderate size that almost in its entirety rests on a plateau. While it does have some forestation, mostly in the southeast, most of Caedar is steppe-land. Due to this, cavalry moves across the land quickly and easily, and riding has become both a mainstay in the military and as a hobby.

It borders Elowyn and Araciord in the west, the Rahksar Desert in the north and Acidiel in the East. It maintains a friendly relationship with Elowyn, but does otherwise not really involve itself with other countries.

Most notable cities:
1. Caerus
2. Caerol

Acidiel

Acidiel

Acidiel is a nation almost entirely consisting of wetland. In the distant past the area had been a shallow cove between Caedar, Laurwym and the Rahksar Desert. Gradually, people started expanding the land and Acidiel was born. Acidiel's primary source of food is the hunt. An abundance of creatures call these wetlands their home, but growing regular produce on the wetlands has proven difficult.

Acidiel is on good terms with Laurwym, which is incidentally the only neighbor it can visit without having to climb up the side of a plateau.

Most notable cities:
1. Arkstead

Laurwym

Laurwym

Laurwym is a kingdom built around the split city of Lauros. Lauros itself is an almost vertically built city atop a pair of large hills, containing many staircases that wind around houses and lead up to higher-situated streets. Many bridges connect the two halves of the odd cities and allowing for quick-, if not intuitive travel from one place in the city to another. The most prominent building in Lauros is the Dragon Citadel, a tower that is considered both a place of worship and a place of training.

Laurwym is a land riddled with hills and mountains, with most of the environment being uneven in one way or another. This makes traveling through it by carriage or while riding incredibly difficult. Laurwym maintains friendly relationships with Acidiel to the west, but only recently concluded its latest war with Zulathal to the east.

Most notable cities:
1. West-Lauros
2. East-Lauros

Zulathal

Zulathal

Zulathal is a large nation that knows mostly rocky terrain. It has some grassland areas as well, but the majority of Zulathal is covered in rock. Due to this, Zulathal has always felt a certain need to conquer neighboring countries with fertile ground. Because of their alliance with Olkan and the difficulty sustaining a warfront with Doraus, Ordaleron or Yaewong, Zulathal generally lashed out at Laurwym instead.

To minimize the risk of being attacked from behind, Zulathal allied itself with Olkan, Ordaleron and Yaewong. Every so often, Zulathal declares another war against Laurwym, but there's currently no wars going on.

Most notable cities:
1. the Northern Hold
2. the Eastern Hold
3. the Southern Hold
4. the Western Hold

Olkan

Olkan

A very small kingdom located in the valley between Oldaleron, Yaewong and Zulathal. It’s a very peaceful country and has good relations with all three of its neighbors. A lot of Olkan is covered in soy-fields, the source of Olkan’s primary trade product; soy beans.

Olkan is allied with all three of its neighbors, forming the centerpiece of the alliance between the four countries. Olkan's lack of soldiers means it can't independently be at war with anyone.

Most notable cities:
1. Olkanis

Ordaleron

Ordaleron

Ordaleron is a kingdom partially residing within the eastern reaches of the Karadhor Mountains. Situated highly, it's almost always cold in Ordaleron. In the winter it gets so cold that all sources of water, save for the river north between Ordaleron and Venirin, freeze over.

In the east, Ordaleron borders- and is allied to Yaewong, Olkan and Zulathal. In the north, it is separated from Venirin with a river. Currently, Ordaleron and Yaewong are on high alert, their soldier tasked with keeping the Venirin forces on their side of the river.

Most notable cities:
1. Oderon
2. Khera

Yaewong

Yaewong

Yaewong is an empire situated between a mountain and the coast. It's a militaristic nation with many traditions. They value personal strength, honor and loyalty above all else. Yaewong warriors fight with unparalleled determination, making them fearsome opponents, but more fearsome still are their generals. Only the most skilled warriors are selected for promotion, and yet Yaewong knows no shortage of capable generals.

Yaewong borders Olkan, Ordaleron and Zulathal in the southwest, Guran in the northeast and Venirin across the river in the northwest. Yaewong is on bad terms with Guran and allied to Olkan, Zulathal and Ordaleron. Together with Ordaleron, Yaewong is reinforcing the border with Venirin.

Most notable cities:
1. Qi’jeng
2. Otonaka
3. Shirooka

Guran

Guran

Guran is a moderately small seaside nation. Strong winds seem to blow through Guran all year round, making it near-impossible for tall- and bushlike plants to grow well. In order to protect themselves from the violent winds, the people of Guran build their cities small and surround them with sturdy wooden walls.

Guran has occasionally attacked Yaewong in the past, but that ended when Yaewong retaliated and conquered a large part of Guran. Guran and Yaewong are no longer at war, but they remain on bad terms.

Most notable cities:
1. Iroha
2. Torino

Doraus

Doraus

Doraus is singular, walled city, known as the “Keeper of the Tides.” This is because of its position on the only part of the landbridge between Zulathal and Rivanen that doesn’t get submerged during high tides.

They watch the world from atop their bluffs, entirely self-sufficient and completely isolated.

Most notable cities:
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Rivanen

Rivanen

[Description Coming Soon]

Most notable cities:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Tenthogan

Tenthogan

[Description Coming Soon]

Most notable cities:
1.

Prunaed

Prunaed

[Description Coming Soon]

Most notable cities:
1.

Arotath

Arotath

[Description Coming Soon]

Most notable cities:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Yhbun

Yhbun

[Description Coming Soon]

Most notable cities:
1.

Loraccus

Loraccus

[Description Coming Soon]

Most notable cities:
1.
2.
3.

Umiramos

Umiramos

[Description Coming Soon]

Most notable cities:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Other

Karadhor Mountains

The Karadhor Mountains are infamous for its inhospitable nature and for being the centerpoint of Arotura. It knows many steep cliffs and sharp peaks, and its tallest peaks even reach above the clouds. People don't often explore it due to its high lethality rate. A popular nickname for it is "the Breakneck Mountains." Despite how inhospitable it is, or rather because of it, the Karadhor mountains have seen many outlaws live within its reaches.

Paradise Valley

A small settlement stuck between the Karadhor Mountains and the Rahksar Desert. It has a small pond, formed by water flowing down the mountainside, as a watersource and unlike the Mountains and the Desert surrounding it, Paradise Valley is bursting with life. It is for this reason that it's often referred to as "Utopia."

Rahksar Desert

A vast desert said to contain hidden treasure beneath the sand. Despite the rumors, all people have found here are sand and death. There are countless other rumors about how the treasure would be hidden in underground temples or caves, but those rumors too, remain unconfirmed. The only thing people have really been able to confirm about the Rahksar Desert is that it's incredibly hot during the day and freezing cold at night.

Rules

I doubt you guys will need it, but I will state these rules nonetheless.
1. Be civil. There's no reason for insults and other pointless swearing OoC when we're all here to enjoy a game.
2. Be reasonable. No godmodding, autohitting, endless dodging, etc. Let's keep this fun for everyone involved.
3. Work things out. When roleplaying combat with another player, try to reach a conclusion without my intervention. I will step in if I feel things get out of hand, but I don't want to have to be an arbiter for literally every action you guys take.
4. Follow the guild's rules. Obviously. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
5. Join the Discord. It will not be mandatory, but it will be the easiest way to keep in touch with me.

OoC Information

As you may have deduced from the introduction, in this setting you'd play as one of these thugs and their Pokémon. Whether you want to be a laid-back thug simply living a lazy life or a Robin Hood-esque rogue who shares his spoils with the poor, it's all fine, so long as you're an outlaw in one way or another.

The technological level of the setting is roughly comparable to the 17th century, save for the development of weapons. Being a bandit/thief/thug of some sort, you'd likely have a weapon and some combat ability, which you may want/have to use in order to overpower the people you're robbing and/or defending yourself from, in case your Pokémon partner is too busy battling theirs.

Poké balls don't exist yet, so anyone is limited to a single Pokémon partner they can rely on, which they've raised, tamed or otherwise bonded with. As the story develops I may allow people to train a second Pokémon, assuming they've somehow done something to create a bond with another Pokémon during play. The same is true for mega evolution and Z-moves; you'll have to earn them during play.

At the start of the game you will have a single Pokémon partner, and some pretty basic equipment, such as a simple weapon, some form of armor, some ropes and perhaps a few torches.

The restrictions on your Pokémon partner are as follows;

• It may not be legendary.
• It may have any ability normally available to it. (Including hidden abilities)
• It may be a 1st stage evolution, so long as it evolves at or before level 30. (So while you may have a Charmeleon, you may not have a Charizard or Volcarona at the start of the game.)

Pokémon will know moves, but unlike the main series of the video games, I won't harass you over not knowing cut; a sword will do the trick, and so will a Scyther, regardless of his moves. Essentially, this means that your moves will be an indicator of your fighting style and techniques, but Pokémon don't suddenly become unable to do things they'd normally have no trouble doing if they don't have certain moves.

Character Template

Empty CS

[Ref Image]
Name:
Age: (18-45)
Sex: (M/F)
Orientation: (In case y'all wanna get lovey dovey. Romance will not be a focus.)
Place of Birth: (I'll have proper descriptions of a few villages once I'll put up the OoC)

Appearance:
(As it says)

Personality:
(Both good and bad traits)

Skills:
(Things you can use to make it through life. E.g. hunting, fishing, swordsplay, martial arts, cooking, smithing, etc. Please keep it reasonable. Rate them A through E with A being Amazing and E being Acceptable, but relatively unskilled.)

Inventory:
(What do you make sure to have on you at all times?)

Background:
(Where did you come from, how were you raised, and not unimportantly; how did you end up living a life of crime.)

---

[Bulbapedia Image]
Pokémon: (Species name)
Nickname: (If none, same as species name)
Gender: (M/F)
Ability: (Any ability the pokémon can normally have)
Item: (None at the start of the game.)
Moves: (While you don't have to scream orders and announce every attack beforehand, the four moves you list here will serve as a guideline for what your Pokémon can do, and it will allow me to easily judge whether you're landing a super-effective attack if such isn't clear from your description IC.)

Bond: (How well you get along with your Pokémon partner, how you met and how you bonded. (Essentially your Pokemon's backstory.))

Discord Link

Pokémon: The Pillaging

Right so, I'm afraid you did miss it, but having multiple abilities is a no-go. I find that abilities are a nice way to create difference between two pokémon of the same species, this wouldn't really work if every pokémon had all of their abilities.

A nice way you could make synchronize work perhaps, would be the creation of a mental link or just a psychic wave. Burn and Freeze for example, aren't going to literally set you on fire or encase you in a block of ice. Burn would instead be burn wounds, which would be quite painful and in that way hamper someone. A pokémon with synchronize would, for example, be able to create a mental link through which it would share this pain with the person who inflicted the wound. Trace meanwhile, is very dependent on the ability it copies, but I'd like to think you should be able to make it work in a similar fashion.

Pokémon: The Pillaging

@KiwiTime
Shinies are indeed incredibly rare, but they aren't hunted by anyone who understands what they are. Your average Joe might find it strange and exciting, but someone who's seen shinies before will generally understand that they only look somewhat different, and aren't actually very different from the regular pokémon.

They're popular among people who collect rarities though.