In the centre of the square several Timburr and Machop hurried to construct the raised platform which would soon be used by the day's organisers to address the ever-building crowds. Next to the stage flew a flag featuring the emblem of the local exploration guild: a leaf blowing across a calm lake. It was the guild that had drawn the masses of Pokemon to Church Town, for today was recruitment day. Ludicolo's Guild was one of the most prestigious in the land, and hopeful rescue teams had hiked, swum, flown and burrowed from all corners of the world just for the chance to win an apprenticeship with the Guild and become top explorers themselves.
The crowds continued to gather, and as the midday bells rang from the church which had given the town its name, a hush fell upon the square as Ludicolo took to the stage.
"Hola, amigos! Welcome to Church Town! I hope you have been made to feel welcome here," the Guildmaster said. He waited for the cheers of approval to die down before continuing. "As you all know, you have been invited here today because I believe that you have what it takes to join our Guild. Sadly, there is not room for all of you, so you will have to face a number of challenges to prove yourselves worthy. But even if you fail these tasks, you should take pride in the knowledge that you are among the best of the best, the most promising new rescue and exploration teams in the land. So today we not only search for our new guild members, but celebrate the bright future ahead of each and every one of you!"
The crowd erupted into applause and cheers of approval. What Ludicolo had said was true; each team that had arrived in Church Town that day had been selected for their potential to become elite explorers and rescuers. Little did anybody realise, however, that amongst the roaring crowds stood two teams who would go on to become famed across the world. For these two teams, today was their first step in walking the path of legends...
Exploration Phases
These work in a similar way to Pokétales: you'll be presented with a situation and be tasked with deciding how to advance. This could be as simple as choosing which direction to go in or could be more complex, such as solving a puzzle or getting past a tricky obstacle.
Battle Phases
During your adventures you will often be faced with hostile Pokemon, whether they be inhabitants of the dungeon you're exploring, powerful bosses blocking your way or even rival exploration teams determined to complete the mission before you. Battles with these foes work pretty much as you'd expect from a Pokemon game: each turn you choose a move and a target to attack, with the fastest Pokemon moving first. Whilst battles remain much the same as normal, some moves will have different effects, such as targetting multiple foes or giving different buffs to usual. You'll also have items such as Berries, Seeds and Wonder Orbs at your disposal, as well as equippable items to give you an edge over your adversaries.
Town Phases
Between expeditions, you'll return to Church Town, where you can make use of shops and other facilities to be found in the town and your Guild using the Poké you find when exploring or gain as a reward from missions. You can also take the chance to talk to the town's inhabitants or other Guild members.
Signups
To sign up, fill in this handy form:
Code: Select all
[b]Username:[/b]
[b]Pokemon:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Ability:[/b]
[b]Nature:[/b]
[b]Team:[/b]Pokemon - the 'mon you want to be. This must be the most basic form (including baby Pokemon like Happiny and Bonsly) and can't be a legendary, and should be reasonably practical for the sake of the story (I'm not going to be able to fit an Onix into a cramped ruin, for instance). If you're not sure if it's suitable post it anyway and if it's not going to work I'll ask you to change it.
Gender - male or female, your choice.
Ability - which of your Pokemon's abilities you want to have. Auto-Weather abilities will activate optionally at the start of a battle, and certain abilities may have different effects to normal. If this is the case, I'll let you know so that you can decide whether you still want it or not. After Adaptability destroyed everything in the beta I'm also disallowing some of the more powerful Abilities; again, if this is the case I'll just ask you to pick another one.
Nature - What Nature you want to have. This will affect both your stats and how you act in the game.
Team - you probably noticed in the intro that I mentioned that two teams are going to be involved in the game. These two teams will follow different storylines and be based in different threads. For the sake of avoiding confusion, one team's thread will be in the Pokeforum and the other will be in FG&Q (which is handy, because I couldn't decide which this belonged in). Instead of allocating you randomly I thought you'd like to decide who you'll be playing with, so for this bit put either Pokeforum, FQ&Q or "doesn't matter" or something to that effect. Feel free to edit this if you change your mind based on who else signs up. If you don't mind which you join I'll put you in whichever has space left.
Speaking of spaces, there will be four players on each team to begin with, so I'll be accepting the first eight players to sign up. However, I plan to add more people in later on once I've got the ball rolling and reserves would be handy in case of dropouts, so even if you're too late to join the starters feel free to post a signup form.
Think that's everything, if you've got any questions then feel free to ask in the thread or over PM.
