Pokemon Tabletop United

"75p each", the man says without looking up in a fashion that you might by now be feeling to be characteristically brusque if you were Lucian, but just seems like the regular kind of brusque to Nando.

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The outfitters is larger than the previous two shops and apparently not owned by the ubiquitous Kid family. A smiling shop assistant points the Changing Rooms out to Caroline and tells her that, "I'll be by the tills if you need help with anything!"
She retreats to that very place, which has already been occupied by some form of bizarre pink fox-dog, covered in bows and frills. It's fast asleep.

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SpoilerPS: Just to make sure that you are aware, if you don't want to roleplay winking at clerks it is totally fine to just say "I want to buy this, this and this" and then do it. I don't mind.

Theo checks the time, retrieves Kaddy, then nips down to Survival Equipment and grabs two Bandages and two Enriched Waters for p750. They spend a couple minutes on the shop's front step getting everything tidi(sh)ly into the backpack, before releasing Kaddy and letting her take point on top.

That done, it's to the bank with the both of them.

Ylva thanks the pair for their time and having done her shopping already heads out to meet her companions by the bank.

Caroline purchases a pair of sunglasses and asks the assistant if there's a matching pair that'd fit a farfetch'd.

So I've wanted to pick this back up again for a while and now that Sol's gone home and it's 2015; year of the reboot II: reeboot's revenge I guess I should stop putting it off. Also I've been playing D&D on Saturdays and it's totally reignited my interest in GMing.

We pretty much dropped off at a point where I imagine most people were done with buying stuff from stores and I was being too hesitant in pushing the plot on which actually makes a pretty convenient point to just continue as "you set forth on your journey".

So:

Would anyone be interested in picking this back up again?
Would anyone definitely not be interested? (It's almost been an entire year I'd totally understand if the amount of time you can be bothered posting about pokemon has changed since then)

Keeping play-by-post games going can be a bit of a chore because they're naturally a lot slower, so for my part I'm going to try and make sure not to leave any more than two days between posting myself, rather than just waiting to see if everyone in the game has replied. Everyone has different schedules after all. Even if those weren't an obstacle it probably wouldn't be plausible to arrange this into a live game because I'm already using my most conveniently available time slot for D&D, unfortunately.
It might also not be a bad idea if we can get everyone in a skype group anyway so that people can be poked or ask each other game questions without needing to physically be present on IRC at the time or anyone needing to post in the thread.

I think if we have four or five people who still want to give this a go then I can just set things going again, any less and maybe we'd have to recruit a few other people but I doubt that would be terribly difficult. Lot of people here like pokemon. And again, the circumstances we left on also make it pretty easy to explain someone vanishing and someone else taking their place.
If you wanted to change something about your character due to not being that interested in them any more due to a 1 year gap, that would be fine too.
I just want to see how many other people might be into getting this going again.

The people behind this system are actually I think planning on pushing another update at the end of the month but if I wait that long I'd probably find some other reason to continue delaying .V

I, for one, still have my running shoes equipped.

I'd like to return nearly as much as Luce would not

I'mma just linger around here and wait to see if a spot opens up

oh yes i would like to come back and

wait this isn't even the pokerpg i was in

/me cyber glare

look maybe someday? There'd be a lot of stuff for me to worry about that I wouldn't have had to if I had gone back at it much earlier

it's not that i don't want to

I'm in to win

Alright, now having talked to everyone who was in it before, everyone still wants to play, which is pretty excellent news!
I shall attempt to get a recap post and something for you to reply to up some time tomorrow evening, and if you missed buying something / want to fiddle with your character sheet please feel free to post that in here any time before or after I do that.

It's time for your pokemon adventure to finally actually begin .V

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SpoilerI didn't want to immediately drop everyone into a possible combat scenario immediately after a long break, but I'm aware we've already pissed about a fair bit without making any progress so it won't be long until we're doing some actual adventuring.

PREVIOUSLY ON POKEMON TABLETOP:

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Spoiler
On the last episode of PTU, our plucky gang of unlikely allies met each other for the very first time during the presentation ceremony of their very own Official Trainer Licenses. As well as functioning as a combination passport, bank card, and form of ID, this little piece of plastic entitles each of our heroes to a not unsubstantial cash payout if they can just complete one relatively simple task.
All they've got to do to win their prize is make a round trip across the country, see the sights, and get a little stamp to prove that they've been there. What could possibly be easier? Maybe they'll even learn a thing or two among the way!

Of course the unspoken assumption that they're going to be travelling as a group might be the first major stumbling block, our gang are a generous mixture of shy, extremely outgoing, antisocial, and extremely antisocial. Less than five minutes after the end of the ceremony, one member of the party was already lying on the floor covered in fruit punch while another fled crying through the enormous arena doors.

After pulling themselves together and undergoing some retail therapy, some of the group also managed to get in a little combat training in a youngster's gambit to increase traffic to his family's shop.
In the pokemon centre recovering from their exploits, Theo and Nando overheard a conversation about a strange theft in the forest, while Ylva picked up a commission to deliver some medical supplies to a far-off pokemon shelter.

Eventually, nobody could think of anything else to do to put off the journey any longer, and it was finally time to set out towards the great outdoors.

AND NOW, THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES:



In contrast to the sleepy-but-active morning bustle of the city, the dusty paths outside are eerily quiet. Foot traffic out of the city isn't common -most travel by flying pokemon if they can help it, though even they stick to lanes above the road until they are no longer over sand- but even the skyways seem unusually clear today.

It took a little while for everyone to gather in front of the bank, and from there stroll down the steps of the city to the grand Southern gatehouse. The great walls of the almost-fortress they just exited loom overhead, blocking out the desert, serving as a reminder that what they're about to do might be state-sanctioned but isn't exactly always considered "safe". Regisalam might be the region's capital, but it's also located in what is unilaterally considered to be the single most dangerous part of the continent. The thick stripes of desert that split the continent don't just serve as a metaphorical reminder of ancient war, they're said to literally embody it.

The four paths leading out of Regisalam are said to be "protected" in some mystical fashion and are free from the worst terrors of the desert (even the humidity is higher on the road, somehow, and clouds are split into visible lines as they cross overhead), along with the circular path leading around the city's circumference, so everything should be fine. But still, there are stories.

Not one to let a moment go unsullied, Nando takes the opportunity to yell loudly and unintelligibly. Nobody takes any damage.



The South gate was generally agreed to be the most sensible choice given that you were already on the South face and have some medicine that wants to go South, but there were also reports of some kind of bandit pokemon on the path and it's not too late to change your minds.

A pair of Rangers astride enormous three-headed birds are your only company (their job to try and assist if someone does get lost in the sand, so at least you aren't entirely on your own). One waves and says "Hi kids!", adding a final unnecessary, "you stick to the path now!" just in case you hadn't got the idea.

This is your last chance to regroup and make nice, or talk tactics, before hitting the road proper. Still, the sun sits high overhead, the sky is mostly clear (not that it was ever likely to rain), and the day is yours. You've got a free pass for food and shelter, your pockets are filled with quasi-magical companion animals, and you're on a collective mission.
What could possibly go wrong?

Theo whips out their phone and takes two photos, a wider-angle one of the city before zooming in on the Rangers and their mounts.

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SpoilerAfraid not, six is pretty much the maximum upper limit and as everyone who was previously taking part still wants to play, I've already got that.
Sorry!

One of the nearest bird's heads appears to be fast asleep, another stiffly at attention, and the final one deciding whether to scratch the ground for food or peck its sleeping companion awake, then (distracted by the sudden reflection of light in a camera lens) it abandons both activities to wark warily at Theo's phone.

"Careful there, you can take pictures but she likes to bite strangers if they get too close."

The ranger sounds amiable but doesn't actually bother looking round herself, keeping her eyes fixed on the horizon as she speaks.

"The heads take shifts but the off-duty one is always dangerously bored, would probably fight her own reflection in a puddle if it ever rained out here."

Despite her claims, the other one doesn't really seem to care about being photographed at all, its free head drawing lines in the dust with its beak and then scratching them out again without a care in the world.

Out of her borrowed (and now slightly punch-stained) dress and back in her usual clothing, Ivy looks slightly less uncomfortable. Or perhaps she's just managed to repress the knowledge that half her would-be traveling companions already hate each other. Whatever the case, she takes a deep breath and looks out towards the southern horizon and tries to think hopeful thoughts.

"Sooooo, we didn't really...get to know each other very well earlier," she says, turning to face the group and adjusting her pack a little. "Are any of you from down south? I've never been, personally. Should um...be exciting, yeah?"

Caroline shrugs.

"It's been exciting so far."

Ylva finishes tying her new shoelaces and ensuring the delivery's properly packed, then steps out to scan the road ahead.

"It's been exciting so far..."

Oh jeez.

Turning back to the group, she decides to try to take charge before anyone else can bring up the day's drama.

"I've never been, but if we want to reach the south today we should get moving. It'll take at least a few hours' march to leave this desert. The sooner the better - I'd rather avoid running into anything exciting out here."

Theo takes a picture of the idle head's linework, asking the ranger: "Hey, is it true you can train these guys to be flying mounts? I mean, looking at the wing structures I'd laugh, but then again, it was in the National Regiographic..."

On hearing Ivy's question, they respond with a half-assed wave before returning their attention to the bird Pokemon, particularly its legs. Maybe it could jump like it was flying?

"Speaking of... excitement..."

Lucian addresses the guard not occupied by Theo, though somewhat distractedly. Among everything else he seems to have trouble with, now his umbrella refuses to unfurl.

"Is there anything out... of the ordinary... we should be... aware... of...? Ah--"

There's a metallic snap, and something pafs in the dust. Lucian seethes harder, but at least he has shade now.

"Flying mounts? Well... they've got a mean jump on them but I don't know about that. Hmmm..."

The Ranger rubs her temples as she considers it further.

"They can just about stop themselves from falling if they flap hard enough, but it's tiring and looks ridiculous so they need a good incentive before they'll bother. Only times I've seen them try is if they're spooked or want to avoid falling in something.
They barely get any appreciable lift or speed out of it though and I think that distresses them given how fast they are on land. That's without a passenger too.

I don't know, if a magazine tells you it's true it probably is, I imagine there's some way you could train more endurance, but personally I wouldn't bother.
Plenty of bigger birds that like flying more and are better at it, if that's what you're after, whereas on land you'd be hard pressed to find something faster than one of these, isn't that right?"

She scratches the back of the head not currently occupied with anything else and it caws appreciatively.

"You could probably train one to swim you across lakes too but that doesn't mean it'd be a good idea."

---------

The other Ranger, the one addressed by Lucian, seems equally happy to chat while on the job, although at least in this case he's being given a chance to dispense work-relevant advice.

"Haven't heard of anything particularly unusual today, everything should be fine if you stick to the path.
Near the road things generally tend to be pretty much safe, us rangers are mostly here on call to help people who need to go off-road for their work, it doesn't need a lot of patrolling.
If you don't wander off you should be perfectly safe, and if you do then at least make sure you don't go far enough that it gets out of sight. Real easy to get turned around out there, and there's no signposts.

You might find a few curious wild pokemon every so often once you get far from civilisation but it shouldn't be anything you can't handle. We get a pilgrimage group like you ever couple of months, and almost all of them come back alive!"

He laughs loudly.

"That was a joke. The nasty ones stay in the deep desert, little ones you get over here tend to be more frightened of you than you are them. You won't have any trouble."

One head of Dodrio caws loudly to demonstrate its singing ability, before its formerly sleeping sibling prods it grumpily into quiet.
Fortunately, it had just gained some temporary hit points and thus doesn't take any real damage.

"What pokemon live out there? Plenty. Most of which are pretty opportunistically hungry owing to living in a desert, and none of which I'll be happy to have to rescue you from. Don't go out into the desert.
If you keep your eyes open sometimes there are Maractus at the edge of the road but I wouldn't count on it. They don't like birds, and thus don't like hanging around where we're likely to be."

"They're like little cactus scarecrows, sway about in the breeze in order to scare off birds. Some might call it dancing.

Fortunately they do like a little water every now and then so they stick a little closer to the edges than the deep desert, there's no need to get lost in the wastes trying to track one down."