GuyYouMetOnline

Okay, so I'm looking at the Adventure Inn, and I notice that, out of all the threads on the first page, there are only three that are not rated M, those three being Forbidden Music, Return to Pepperland, and Inuyasha: Shattered Future. Of the other threads on that page, there are a couple closed threads without ratings, but all the rest are rated M. Sure, some of these should be rated M, but even the Pokemon RPGs are rated M. The [i]Pokemon[/i] RPGs are rated M! Why the hell are the Pokemon RPGs rated M? Seriously, am I the only one who thinks something's wrong here? Pokemon RPGs should not be rated M, yet they are. So are many others that don't need M ratings. While many should be M (For example, the alternate-history one where Hitler won World War 2), there are many that shouldn't be (like the Pokemon ones). So, why all the M ratings? It may be because people don't want the constraints non-M RPGs have, but I don't agree with this. I've done PG and PG-13 RPGs, and people didn't shy away from those (they actually did better than my M-rated ones have). I think that virtually all RPGs are rated M because of a belief that people only want M-rated RPGs. I think that the RPG creators are so afraid that potential participants will be turned off by a low rating, so they rate their RPGs M to avoid that. Any thoughts?

Laqara was only half-listening to Nida. She heard what Nida had said, but she was faceing away from the group. She had finished her food and was now concentrating on the next step in learning her new form and abilities. [i]I could feel the water when I had first changed,[/i] Laqara thought. [i]That's why the air felt wetter. I was noticeing the water more than before the change. I'm able to see it, too. Now, I have to learn how to use it.[/i] Laqara concentrated on a small amount of the evaporated water she could see in the air. It took her several tries, but eventually she was able to see the water condense into liquid. It was a very small abount, but it was a very good start. She tried it a couple more times, then took the next step. She condensed a small amount of evaporated water into liquid, then attempted to spread it out again, returning it to the air. She was successful on her second attempt. None of the others could see what she was doing, as the amounts of water she was working with were too small to be easily noticed. She gradually increased the amount of water she was manipulating, but it never got too large, and was never noticed by any of the others. Eventually, Laqara stopped her practice of her newfound water-manipulation ability. Between the events of the day, the amount of time she'd been awake for, and her practice manipulating the water, she was feeling exhausted. "I need some rest," she said to the others. "Wake me if anything happens." With that, she picked a spot, lay down, and was out like a light.

Rorohiko looked at Carter. "I know we had some... dissagreements in the past, but let's try to forget that right now. It seems we have something big on our hands; if Katai's really the current TR leader, then she needs to be arrested. Of course, there's nothing anyone can do to actually make TR competent. They're only where they are because of numbers, and even then, they're more an irritant then a serious threat. You weren't ever involved, but Mizu-remember her? The weird one?-was with me for a while, and we ran into them." "Ran into who?" Carter asked. "A religous cult that considers me an 'active and willing ally of Satan' because of my research on Absol, which they consider a Satanic Pokemon." "You have to be jokeing." "I'm not. The cult, while large for a cult, has nowhere the numbers of TR, and aren't seen as frequently, but they actually have some dangerous people." Rorohiko stopped and turned. He'd seen someone approaching out of the corner of his eye, and when he turned to get a better look at the man, who was still a ways off but certainly visable, he recognised the man. "Son of a bitch!" he swore. "What? Who is that?" Carter asked. "Only one of the cult's most dangerous men, Victor Trolmont. He's one of the higher-ups. I'm surprised to se him after me. They must have upgraded my threat status. Carter, take over with Katai and tell Josh to move to where he can see and hear me well, but make sure he knows to stay hidden. If I can get Trolmont to admit to some of the things he's done, Josh will have proof enough to arrest the man. And if anyone needs to be locked up, it's Trolmont." As Carter spoke to Josh, Rorohiko readied himself. Trolmont was a dangerous adversary, and Rorohiko was not going to be caught unprepared.

Laqara watched Nida leave, then looked at herself yet again. She could see herself clearly, color and all, even durring night. As she stared at her arm, she realized that it wasn't any kind of night vision. Her arm semed to be glowing. By now, she wasn't surprised by the realization that the glow had the appearance of underwater light. However, she was a bit confused by how non-illuminating the glow was. She could see herself, but the glow did not actually seem to give off light. She couldn't use her glow to help her see anything else. She looked up, and was startled by what she saw. It was nowhere near as bright as hers, but the air had that same kind of non-glowing glow to it. It was very faint, but it was there. It didn't take her too long to figure out what she was really seeing. There was no glow; she was simply seeing something she hadn't been able to see before. It wasn't the air she was seeing, but the water in the air. She was seeing the evaporated water. Laqara looked around at the others. She could see it in them, too. Much fainter than hers, but not nearly as faint as that from the water in the air. It was something she would be able to see in, if not all, then very nearly all life. She would see the water in that life as she was seeing the water within her companions, as she was seeing the water in the air. And as she was seeing herself. But she saw herself very brightly, more than anything else she'd seen since she first percieved the glow. This meant that she had more water. She supposed this shouldn't have surprised her; everything after the change had been related to water, so it would seem obvious that her new body was more of water. And it was, but it was also supposed to be impossible. Then again, so was the rest of the change, so what was one more supposed impossibility? She looked up, noting the glow in the air. [i]I have become more of water. I am no longer human; I am closer to the elemental beings of legend. This water-sight ability just prooves that I have powers of water, just like the water elementals from those legends. I can see the water now. The next step is learning to use it. The only problem is that I have no idea how.[/i]

I'm also going to bring in an old character soon. This guy's always been an NPC, never my character. He basically has to show up sometime, seeing as how I'm using Rorohiko as my character. His name is Victor Trolmont. I don't have the sign-up thing for him (he's always been an NPC, and normally uses others to do the dirty work, so I don't have a lot about him), but I do have some information. Here it is: Trolmont is one of the highest members of the cult (yes, the one that's after Rorohiko). He's a very dangerous man, because he's smart. Smart, devious, and a religous fanatic. Not a man you want to cross. He has a couple roles for the cult. He frequently leads major missions, the purpose being, in their words, to either 'Spread the faith' (translation: forcefully convert people) or 'Counter the Devil's attempt to corrupt and destroy our world' (everyone else calls these missions 'acts of terrorism'). Trolmont's other job is what the cult calls a 'Savior'. saviors are in charge of finding people who are 'unknowingly doing the Devil's work' and 'show them the truth', meaning convert them. Rorohiko's research on Absol, which the cult considers a Satanic pokemon, qualified as the Devil's work. Trolmont came to convert him. As soon as he realized what was happening, he proceeded to beat every scrap of information he could out of Trolmont. This marked as an 'active and willing ally of Satan', and the cult is now trying to kill him. Rorohiko and Trolmont have had a few run-ins, but Trolmont wasn't assigned to 'Elimination of the Satanic', meaning he didn't go out to kill those considered active and willing allies of Satan. However, Rorohiko has become a greater threat in the eyes of the cult, and his elimination is a high priority. And Trolmont has a personal grudge against him. Well, that's the basics. Hope it wasn't too confusing. I don't know when I'll bring Trolmont in, but it'll probably be sometime soon.

Laqara sat down and watched as the others placed their eggs by Nida, then lay down to sleep. As she had done several times before, she raised her arm and looked at it. In the darkness of night, she souldn't have been able to make out the color, but she was. It wasn't as vivid in the daylight, and other colors couldn't be made out in the darkness, but she could clearly see herself, see her own colors. It was then, as she stared at her arm in the dark, that it hit her. She had noticed the new color of her skin earlier, but she hadn't understood the significance until now. "Water." Nida looked up. "Water?" Laqara walked over to Nida, sitting by the eggs, and sat down next to her. "Water," she said to Nida, softly enough that it would not disturb the others. "Whatever happened to me, whatever I am now, it has something to do with water." "Are you sure? How do you know?" "It's the one thing that keeps coming up," Laqara explained. "Ever since I changed. Think about it. When I came to after whatever happened had happened and changed me, the fact that I was still alive was the second thing I noticed. The first was the water in the air. The moisture. The air felt wetter. Then there was the stream I used to get a view of myself. I didn't know it was there. then, after I'd changed, I somehow did know. It's because a stream is water. I felt the water in the stream. And in the air. The air seems wetter now, but that's only because I can sense it now. My skin is even the color of water. Water is the only thing I can think of that fits. I- what was that?" "What was what?" Nida asked. "I thought I heard something," Laqara told her. They were both silent for a few seconds, then they both heard a noise. "I heard that one," Nida said, her scythe in her hands. "What do you think it is?" "I don't know," Laqara replied as she readied her bladed staffs. "It could be a dangerous animal, or it could be a harmless animal." "Or it could be some bandits," Nida finished for her. "What do we do?" "We have to assume that whatever it is means us harm. Which means we wake up the others and prepare for battle. It may be a harmless animal, but we can't afford to take that chance." -------------------------------------------------- OOC: I'll let someone else decide what's out there.

Laqara couldn't help overhearing the conversation, and she went over to Kateyln "Let me ask you something," she said. "What effects do you think this... bonding or whatever it was had on me?" "Several things," Katelyn replied. "You look really cool, for one thing. And you've probably got some really awesome abilities. I wish my egg had done that!" "You're forgetting something," Laqara told her. "Yes, I look different, and may very well have abilities of some sort, though I am currently not aware of any. But you forgot the major downside, the reason I'd gladly trade our positions if I could." That one seemed to shock Katelyn. "You mean you don't like what happened? What could possibly be bad enough to make you want to go back to normal?" "Let me put it this way, Katelyn. How would you feel if you were changed like me?" "I think it would be awesome!" Katelyn replied enthusiastically. "Awesome," Laqara repeated. "Now, what if, because of the change, you had to isolate yourself from everybody but the few of us in this group, who saw the change?" "I... I don't understand." "That's quite obvious," Laqara replied. "I'm shocked that it hasn't hit you, but it's clear it hasn't, so I'll tell you. We have two half-elves in our group, Ryan and Kyo They're only minorly different from humans, yet they've been hated for those differences. The elves, too, shun half-elves. Just minor differences, yet they frequently lead to banishment. "Look at them, then look at me. I don't know what I am right now, but it's clear I'm different from just about everyone else. What do you think will happen if I enter a town or village now? I wouldn't get a friendly recepton, that's for sure. Oh, there would be curiosity at first. None of them will have ever seen anything like me. But after the curiosity would come fear and hatred. People would do things to me. It'd be worse for me than for the half-elves. At least for them, there are other half-elves, and most towns have a couple living nearby. While half-elves may be shuned, at least the people know what they are. If I entered a town, the people wouldn't know what to think. Some would choose to ignore me. One or two might actually act friendly towards me. Others would try to take advantage of me, or steal from me. Men would undoubtably approach me with... less than plesent intentions. If I was incredibly lucky, I wouldn't have to kill anyone." Katelyn was shocked. "Do... do you really think it would be that bad?" "I'm probably exaggerating a bit, but not by much, I don't think. Regardless, I really can't enter any village or town looking like this. I'm pretty damn cut off from the world now. Think about that for a while, then see if you still want to be like me.' And with that, Laqara moved away from Katelyn, once more lost in thought.

OOC: alchemist2120, I'm going to have to ask you to edit Treana's remark in your post. Her line was very boastful, and I established pretty clearly early on in the RPG that she doesn't boast in any way. She would not dismiss Phelan's gang as insignificant like that. -------------------------------------------------- Treana watched Kite leave, then turned to face Phelan. "Now," she said, "I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Kite." "And what's that?" "You cannot come with us," Treana told him. "We're going to return briefly to Koteiro HQ, and you can't come with us. You know what will happen if you try. If you came, they would kill you." "And they won't kill the girl, there?" "Enyo is with me, and I've actually already taken her there once. She is not affiliated with any other gang, so that is not a problem, and Mr. Maestron here is currently not concious, and remain so until Enyo brings him around. But you are with another gang, and you know how it works. You get too close, and you will die. However, I realize that you have every right to hear what Mr. Maestron has to say. For that reason, Enyo and I will locate you when we've concluded our business. Don't worry about finding us; we will find you. At that time, we'll hear what Mr. Maestron has to say." Knowing that he wasn't being given a choice, Phelan nodded his agreement and headed in his own direction. When he had left, Treana led the way back towards Koteiro HQ.

[i]Azalea first,[/i] Laqara thought. [i]The first hatching. Well, I guess I'll find out what's going to happen soon enough.[/i] It happened without warning. Laqara was walking, then she wasn't. She lost her balance and fell. When everyone else looked back at her, they saw a blueish-green light covering Laqara's body. Laqara didn't see this, as she had blacked out. After about a minute, te light dissapeared. The form they saw did not look like Laqara or any human. It was a couple minutes before Laqara came to. When she did, the first thing she noticed was the moisture. The air felt much wetter than before. It was only after that that she noticed she was stil alive. [i]Odd. I could have died, and the first thing I notice when I wake up is the moisture.[/i] The difference she felt in the air became even more evident when she stood up. "Is it just me, or did the moisture suddenly double?" she asked. It was intended as a retorical question, but it wasn't taken as one. "Um.... I think it's you," Nida said. That was when Laqara noticed that everyone was staring at her. And not the 'are you all right?' stare that she expected. No, they were giving her the 'what the hell?' stare. She remembered what Nida had said earlier, about creatures that might need to bond with her body. She was certain that whatever had happened, it wasn't that. She was still herself, and there was certainly no other presence. But maybe Nida was on the right track. Laqara held her arm in front of her face, not knowing what she'd see. her arm had become a blue-green color, like that of water. She could see i bit of what appeared to be clothing of some kind, but it didn't look like anything a human would make. "Is... is there a place where I can see myself?" she asked. Then, "No, I already know. There's a stream near here. Maybe I can get a reflection of myself." She walked to the stream and stood at the side, looking down at the water. She managed to get a decent image of herself. Her form was still human, but not her appearance. Her skin was a kind of blue-green color, the color of water. Her hair was a similar color, but more green than blue, and her eyes were the same color. Laqara returned to the group. "What happened to me?" "I don't know," Nida said. Laqara did her best to remain calm. "Well, no use standing around here. Let's not waste time. We need to keep moving." the group started walking again, not sure about what was going on with Laqara. Laqara herself was lost in thought, and would be for a while. After all, it was very possible that she was no longer human.

"Well, any direction's as good as any right now," Laqara said. "I mean, we really have no clue where to go, but going somewhere is bette than going nowhere. What we need to do is find someone who can give us some more information. We don't really know shit, and it's clear that nobody in this villiage knows any more than we do. If they did, they'd have told us by now. So we're just going to have to search randomly until we can get some information. And if that's the easiest direction, then why not? I say we go." The group seemed to be in agreement, so they started off. There was a lot of conversation, much of it about the eggs. There was specution about what would hatch, and when, and some discussion of names. Laqara took part in no conversations. She was contemplating her own... event, the, well, apsorption of her egg into her body. [i]Why did the egg I chose do that?[/i] she thought. [i]Everyone else's eggs seem like what they're supposed to be. Why was mine different? And what did the Elder mean by her comment on my reasons for coming? I've given no indication to anyone that my reasons are anything unusual. And why would that even matter?[/i] She held her arm up in front of her face. [i]Is something going to happen to me? The others have eggs that will hatch. But the egg I chose is... if it still exists, it's inside me. What happens to me when the time of hatching comes? Well, it seems the Elder's right about one thing, wether she knows it or not. After all, whatever happens is bound to be an experience.[/i] ------------------------------------------- OOC: Hope you don't mind me having started the group moving, Blanko (I thought you'd be all right with it. After all, I seem to recall you complaining in your last RPG that everyone was waiting on you for everything.)

[Phelan is approaching,] Treana sent to Enyo. [Enyo knows. Enyo can sense Phelan's approach.] [Keep an eye on him.] "We've got company," Treana said aloud. "Soldiers are in the area, of course, but there's another approaching. He's been following us. He's an experiment like we are." Treana turned to Kite. "You can't stay with us for much longer, Kite," she said. "You can stay with us until the current danger has passed, but not after that. I realize that you probably want to hear what Mr. Maestron has to say, but you can't come with me and Enyo. If you do, you'll probably be shot. There's also the fact that there would be concequences if you weren't, and you'd be forced to fight people off, maybe even kill them. You would die if that happened, trust me." "I can't accept that," Kite replied. "Like you said, I have every right to hear what Mr. Maestron has to say." "And you will. There's something I have to take care of, then Enyo and I will come to you. gather up any others like us you know and wait for us. Don't worry about where you are. We'll be able to find you. I'm afraid I can't give you a choice on this one, Kite. If you try to follow me, I'll have to stop you. But for now, let's deal with those soldiers after us."

Laqara knew she was late, but she wasn't rushing to get there. She was already late, and she was only a couple minutes away, anyways. Running wouldn't make much of a difference. She'd be there before they'd give up on her, so why bother rushing when doing so would get her there only about a minute earlier? Laqara's attitude seemed odd to everyone else. Some didn't think she should be on the expedition, but those who knew her dissagreed. When she started something, she finished it, and she didn't do the least she could get away with. She was also a very skilled fighter, which would undoubtably help. No, she put everything she had into what she was doing; she simply didn't waste any effort on things that wouldn't make any real difference. The others looked up as Laqara entered the hut. "Sorry I'm late," she said. "I had to deal with my parents. They really don't want me to go. Not that that's going to keep me out of the group." Laqara looked around at the others. She didn't know why all of them were coming, but she was pretty sure they didn't share her reason. Laqara wasn't like the others; she didn't see the black fog thing as any immediate concern of hers, and she doubted that this group would have any more luck than the groups before them. Not that she'd told anyone this. If her beliefs were known, she probably wouldn't have been allowed to go along, which she did want to do. She was going for the experience, for the chance to do something different, to experience something new. It was how she worked. She liked to do things. She worked by seeing things for herself, by doing things for herself. But she said she wanted to find a solution to the problem, because otherwise she wouldn't have been allowed to go. "Well, I made it," Laqara said as she sat down. "Am I the last one, or are we waiting on someone else?"

And in those PMs, we discussed my sign-up. this character has been approoved by Blanko. Name: Laqara Age: 20 Gender: Female Description: Laqara is pretty much exactly six feet tall, with shoulder-length black hair, and blue eyes. She's not exactly a model of beutey, but she has no desire to be. the women people see as the epitome of female physical perfection are putting their health at risk, and she has no desire to do so. She's quite content with the body Nature gave her. She makes sure to keep herself in good shape. Race: Um... starts human, but doesn't stay that way. Weapon: She wields a pair of bladed staffs. Egg Color: N/A Creature: None. Laqara does not get a creature as a partner. Instead, she more or less becomes one. She becomes fused with the elemental energy of water, becomming an elemental being of water. Description: When Laqara becomes an elemental being of water, her appearance changes somewhat. Her form is still a human female's in shape, but does not look at all human. Her skin becomes a kind of blue-green color, the color of water, and becomes a good bit tougher, functioning as something of a hide rather than just skin. Her hair becomes a similar color, but more green than blue., and her eyes turn the same color. She is covered, but not by what anyone would call clothes. Abilities: Obviously, her abilities are elemental abilities of water. These include the ability to breath underwater, as well as basic manipulation of water. She can create it in very limited amounts, which limits her when away from a water source. However, she is able to draw on the water that exists in the air to a degree, which helps offset this. Like the creatures the others have as partners, Laqara's abilities will increase over time. Where the creatures become stronger as they mature, Laqara's powers will increase as she adjusts to her new self, becomeing more and more attuned to the elemental energy of water. As she becomes stronger, the scope and strength of her manipulative abilities will increase, as will her ability to create water. Eventually, she will become able to shift her body, temporarily becoming a fluid being. She will not be able to hold this state for more than a few minutes, however. Well, there we go. Again, Blanko approved that.

[i]Someone was trying to kill her. She didn't know who, or why, but it was true. She was a merchant, and the caravan she was with had been ot its way to Vanduo, a major port city. It had been ambushed, but the caravan itself was unharmed. the attackers zeroed in on her and her alone, and she had bolted. She ran into a cave, hopeing to lose them in the darkness. It quickly became apparent that this was no ordinary cave. there was an unnatura glow, some kind of light source where there should have been complete darkness. the first thought that came to her mind was underwater. That's what it looked like, the light one saw when underwater. She didn't know if she was supposed to be here, but she had no choice. It was the unknown ahead of her, and sure death behind her. She kept running. Eventually, she heard a voice, a woman's. And not a normal voice. it sounded... odd. there was some unidentifiable quality to it. And then there was the fact that she heard it directly in her mind. [color=seagreen][It is not your time to die.][/color] She kept running, knowing that she would die if she stopped. The voice did not speak again. Instead, se suddenly found herself in mid-air, falling. the ground that had been underneath her seemed to be flowing away. So were the walls, creating a chamber. the tunnel she'd come in through closed off. She fell as the walls receeded from her, eventually stopping. So did the floor. Then, she was in the exact middle of the chamber. When she was in the exact middle, she was hit by six large, blue spheres of energy. One had come from each wall, one from the floor, and one from the ceiling. They were followed by a torrent of water and ice. The entire chamber was filled, and it kept filling as the water and ice circled around and flowed into a focal point at the center of the chamber. Flowed into her. finally, six more energy spheres came from the walls, floor, and ceiling, ending the torrent. these spheres, like the first, were absorbed into the center. The chamber walls were returned to their original positions as a tunnel, and the entrance became unblocked. Her pursuers ran through, but there was no sign of her.[/i] Got your attention? Good. Now, let's move from story to concept. Imagine for a moment that there are two seperate but connected universes. Our universe, and one other. This other universe, like ours, has an inhabited planet called Earth. A parralell world. Unlike our world, this paralell world is a place of fantasy. Where we have technology, they have magic. No cars, no guns, no modern equipment of any kind. Just swords and orses and that kind of thing. Dragons and centaurs and other creatures out of our stories and myths exist there, as well as magic. The year was 2025. Millitary scientists working on developing artificial intelligence accidentally discovered this paralell world. A month later, they managed to create a solid link. They could only maintain it for a tiny fraction of a second, but it prooved that the other world was real. In the year 2027, a top-secret underground facility was completed. This facility, located under the Nevada desert, was named EDRI, short for Extra-Dimensional Research Institute. Everyone who knows about the place, with the exception of two or three government officials and a few recruiting agents, lives there and is not allowed to leave. The place is entirly self-sustaining. Its purpose is to conduct research on the other world. The year is now 2033. EDRI has developed a reliable means of travel to and from the other world. There are four types of people at EDRI. There are the people who keep the place running, the scientists themselves, the recruiters, and the field agents. The feild agents are in charge of doing whatever needs doing in the other world. If there's any information or sample the researchers need, feild agents get it. If there's any possibility of a security breach, feild agents take care of it. And anything unusual that happens, they investigate. Now, these feild agents have access to the most advanced equipment and weapons that exist. they're at least a decade ahead of anyone else in that area. And they're well trained with these weapons. True, they can't use magic, but no mage can stop a well-aimed shot. Their technology gives them a decided advantage. Feild agents are carefully evaluated before they are even approached by EDRI recruiters. These people are devoted to locating the perfect candidates. When a candidate is found, he or she is approached asn asked if he or she is willing to abandon the rest of the world and take on an unspecified and dangerous job. It's a mark of success that they've never gotten a 'no'. The candidates are taken to the facility after undergoing the most intensive background checks ever. There, they are put through an unbelievably rigorous training program. They are trained in literally everything, from espionoge(sp?) to solo tactics to squad tactics to interrogation techniques. By the time this is done, even the newest agents are very, very good. Well, there you have it. You play an an EDRI agent (If you want to play as someone from the other world, PM me). Here's the sign-up: Name: Age: 18-30, please. If you want to be younger than 18, PM me (these are trained agents, not randomly selected kids. They're normally not taken when they're below 18). Gender: Appearance: Bio: Optional. I find that having a set bio limits character development potential. If you choose to have it, remember to include the EDRI recruitment process. Personallity: Optional for the same reason that bio is. However, I recommend that you at least put something to give others an idea of how your character acts. It can be detailed, or just a couple sentences. Oh, be sure to remember that agents are carefully selected, and personality is the biggest part of a person's suitability for the job. Area of Expertise: This is the area or two that your character is best at. It can be weapons, tactics, nogotiations, interrogations, etc. Just don't go too nuts, and limit it to two areas at most. Oh, and no magic. You can know about it, but nobody from our world can use it. Well, I think that's everything. PM me if you have any question.

Katrina and Elan entered the ship's interior, away from the people who'd watched their battle. People who were making a lot of noise. "They're sure making a big deal out of our battle," Elan remarked as they walked towards the ship's Pokemon Center. "I can't blame them," Katrina said. "There aren't many battles like that one. Wien there's a battle as close as ours was, people will be enthusiastic." "You'd think close matches are nothing new." "They're not," Katrina told him. "You get those all the time. Ours was a bit more than just a close match." "In what way?" "Well, there are a few different types of battles," Katrina explained. "First, there are the uneven matches of skilled Trainer against not-skilled Trainer that aren't even fun to be in, much less watch. Those are the worst, but fortunatly, they are extremly rare. tournaments are structured to prevent it from happening as much as possible, and most Trainers have enough sense to avoid ones significalnty better than them. "Next, there are battles that are one-sided, but not as horribly. These are ones where a Trainer maybe isn't prepared, or something like that. Then there are the almost-even matches, like between Trainers with a slight skill difference. After that are the even matches, the close ones. But ours was a step above that. Even in the close ones, it normally doesn't come down to each Pokemon going down after the next hit, and even if there's one where it does, that hit normally happens fairly quickly. "Now, our battle wasn't as good as it was simply because it was a close match. That final confrontation was what drew people into it. Many people would call a Charizard against Lapras fight one-sided, but if the Charizard's Trainer has trained the Charizard well, it's an even match. True, Charizard has the water weakness, but Lapras's Ice type canceles out the Water-type resistance to fire, so that helps the Charizard. Plus, Charizard has the maneuverability advantage of the flying Pokemon, while Lapras isn't as able to dodge, at least not on land. If we weren't on a ship, Lapras would have needed some major luck to win. Fortunately for me, Lapras was able to enter the water, evening things up again. Things continued to be even, and the battle had an excellent conclusion, a variation of the double-beam strategy you'd been hit with several times during that battle. The timing had to be perfect. If Lapras's head had been even an inch higher, you would have won. That's the kind of down-to-the-wire match that really gets people going." The pair of them reached the Pokemon Center. After having their Pokemon revived, Elan faced Katrina. "I hope I get the chance to battle you again sometime." "Same here," Katrina replied. "You know, you're not what I expected. Definatly not the kind of psycho Rorohiko's made that Trolmont guy out to be." "Well, I know Victor Trolmont," Elan said, "and I have to agree with your brother on that one. Victor's a bit of a fanatic. Smart man, though." "Yeah, well, obviously not smart enough. Or maybe his fanaticism gets in his way. Well, whatever. Maybe we'll see each other again. Hopefully, it won't be as enemies." And with that, Katrina turned and walked off. ------------------------------------------------- OOC: Kitty, I reccommend getting the plot going soon.

Treana retook control of the body and approached Mr. Maestron. "Remember me?" "Yes," Mr. Maestron said. "Yes, I do. You are Treana Alkalero. I am Robert Maestron. To be honest, I expected you to return at some point, and I believe we could have handled you, despite the fact that nobod here quite understands what happened to you. Hoever, we didn't anticipate you joining forces with Enyo. Still, you did well to make it this far." "Whatever. I'm not here to listen to you go on about your security. I want to know what the fuck you did to me." "We've been experimenting," Mr. Maestron explained, "attempting to create more advanced forms of humanity. I don't expect you to see it that way, and I can understand that. All we've done so far is create freaks. Well, that's almost all we've done. We began taking the next step with yourself and a few others." "And what was this 'next step'?" "For a while, we only had one alteration per subject. We made more complicated abilities with multiple uses as we proceeded, but it was still one per person. You were one of out attempts to add two abilities to a single person. In fact, you were the first. In you, we attempted to combine the full range of psychic powers with the ability to shapeshift. It didn't work, and neither did any of the combinations we tried on others. Unlike those others, however, you survived. You, Treana, are the only survivor of the dual-ability experiments. However, despite your survival, the combination was not a success, and we cannot understand how the resulting abnormality you have, the other mind that shares your body, is possible." "Your multiple-powers thing seems to have worked with Enyo," Treana said. "True, but Enyo is not like you. We found you, took you off the strets and bought you here. Enyo is our creation. We made her, and added her powers at her time of creation. Because she was made with them, she survived and, theoretically, has full use of them, although there are some of us, myself included, who anticipate that she will discover her powers gradually." Treana had more questions she wanted to ask, but she and enyo couldn't stay in the facility for long. "Enyo, we need to leave," Treana said. "We're taking Mr. Maestron with us. I'll handle him, you make sure nobody shoots us." With that, Treana let Akansola take control, and they made for the exit. -------------------------------- OOC: Jian, if it's not okay for Treana to take Mr. Maestron prisoner, tell me.

Doesn't [i]]anyone[/i] here read science fiction? All I've seen are fantasy authors, with a couple exceptions. I mean, come on, people! There's more than just fantasy out there! Admittedly, there are some fantasy authors that I like, but fantasy's been over-represented in this thread, so I'll just talk about my favorite sci-fi authors. David Weber: Weber writesmillitary SF; his books are about wars in the far fuure. Interstellar wars, battles between fleets of spaceships. he writes excellent battles, bth in space and on the ground, but he doesn't just write action. His [i]Honor Harrington[/i] books especially explore an entire society, from the sociall aspects to the political ones, and he has an excellent grasp of politics. Plus he writes good characters. Charles Sheffield: This guy's actually a PhD, and it shows. He knows what he's talking about. His stories are scientifically accurate, and tells some very good stories, and frequently throws in unexpected plot twists. His books always keep me guessing. He's also not afraid to do things the hard way, and has actually written a book, [I]Between the Strokes of Night[/I], that has an interstellar civilization without any form of faster-than-light travel. No hyperdrive, no wormholes, nothing. And it's done very well. Robert J. Sawyer: Like Sheffield, Sawyer's books are scientifically accurate. Sawyer, however, takes on different subjects, and is certainly a much more controversial author. In [I]Calculating God[/I], he writes about aliens who have scientifically deduced the existance of a God that is a mortal being bound by the laws of physics, not a supernatural entity. In the [i]Neanderthal Parallax[/i] trilogy, he comes right out and says that there is no God, that religion is wired into the human brain. In [i]The Terminal Experiment[/i], he writes that animals, with rare exceptions like chimps, are soulless creatures. And he scientifically explains every one of those things. Not only that, but the science he bases these things off of is accurate. Simply amazing. Jack L. Chalker: This guy has an imagination. He may not be as mindful of established fact, but he writes excellent stories, from the demons-are-real [i]Quintara Marathon[/i] trilogy to the race-changeing [i]Well World[/i] novels to the time-travel story [i]Downtiming the Nightside[/i], his plots are excellent. Plus, his characters are some of the best I've seen, especially [i]Quintara Marathon[/i]'s Jimmy McCray. McCray, an ex-priest of Irish ancestry with an unusual knowledge of the old demon lore and a parisitic or symbiotic (depending on who you ask) creature on his back, has to be the best character I've seen in a book.

Elan grabbed his last Pokeball. "Let's see how well you do against this one," he said as he threw the Pokeball, releasing a Charizard. "This could be interesting," Katrina said as she released Lapras, her last Pokemon. Most trainers would dissagree with her statement. Theyd say that water versus fire was no contest. Those people would fail to take into account the fact that Lapras was Water/Ice-type, and the Ice type would cancel out the Water-type resistance to fire. Those trainers would also forget to factor in Charizard's ability to fly, and the increased maneuverability of the flying Pokemon. No, Katrina was right. It would be a very entertaining fight. Charizard quickly took to the air. Lapras took a couple potshots with Water Gun, but Charizard was easily able to dodge. Similar to the earlier confrontation between Absol and Aerodactyl, Charizard was able to pick its attacks, and Lapras hat to wait for it to move closer for an attack in order to have any chance of landing a hit. Of course, Katrina's trademark double-beam strategy would result in a victory for Lapras, due to Charizard's weakness to water. Unfortunatly, Elan knew to expect the double-beam strategy by this point, and Charizard was careful to avoid a double-beam situation. The result was a series of false approaches and dodges, with an occasional actual attack. The strategy worked well for Charizard, who managed to avoid all of Lapras's attacks. Of course, Lapras had managed to dodge the few attacks Charizard had made, despite its lessened agility out of the water. Katrina knew that Lapras wouldn't be able to keep avoiding Carizard's attacks for much longer, so she decided to alter the situation. "Lapras!" she shouted. "Over the side! Get into the water!" Lapras made a dash towards the side of the ship. Charizard saw its chance and moved in for the attack. Lapras reached the side and flung itself over the edge, but not quite quickly enough. Charizard caught it with a Fire Blast as it flipped itself over. Lapras was stil able to fight, but another good hit would probably finish it off. Of course, Charizard would have a much more difficult time landing that hit. Lapras was in its native element now, giving it the advantage. Katrina and Elan both ran to the side of the ship to get a better view of the action. And they weren't the only ones. Their battle had attracted the attention of many passengers, especially the finale of Charizard against Lapras, and those spectators wanted the best view they could get to watch the conclusion. Lapras had the advantage now. Being in the water, it would be extremly difficult for Charizard to hit it. Lapras could move when in the water, but that wasn't all. maneuverability was good, but Katrina had something even better in mind. "Submerge!" she shouted. "Surface when you can get a hit in!" Lapras obeyed and went underwater. Now the earlier situation was reversed; Lapras could pick its attacks, while Charizard had to wait for Lapras to make a move. And Lapras was patient. It wasn't jumping the gun. Charizard began attempting to provoke it, diving down to make it think it had a shot, then pulling out of the dive. It didn't work. Eventually, Lapras did surface, but Charizard wasn't in range. Charizard moved into range, dodgeing Lapras's Water Gun attacks. When it saw a shot, it took it, using Flamethrower. Katrina liked the double-beam strategy, but what Lapras did was one better. It used Hydro Pump while submergeing itself, the result being that the Flamethrower passed [i]over[/i] Lapras, as well as Lapras's Hydro Pump attack. Charizard was hit, and hard. The super-effective hit took it down. "That was good," Elan said as he and Katrina reurned their Pokemon. "Very good. I'll have to challenge you again someday." "you'ree pretty good at this, yourself. That was a good battle. You're much better than I expected. Now, I'd say we both need to make a visit to the onboard Pokemon Center. Let's get going, shall we?"

Rorohiko didn't know what was going on between Karia and the other guy, but it was obvious that guy had instructed her to battle with an unsurmountable advantage. If the opportunity arose, Rorohiko would be more than willing to teach the guy a lesson. right now, however, there were more pressing concerns. Specifically, Katai was obviously there for a reason. But what was it? Katai had caused some trouble for Rorohiko and a few others two years ago. She'd brought Team Rocket into an already complicated mess. Fortunately, Rorohiko had experiancedealing with people much more dangerous than the Rockets. Plus, although he had had difficulties with some of the group, he was still with a group. Plus, there had been Mizu, a young woman who'd traveled with him for a while. The others had all had reasons Rorohiko didn't feel he could trust them, but he had been able to trust Mizu. He would have liked to know whah she was up to. Rorohiko returned himself to the present. there wasn't time to think about the past right now. The present demanded attention. "So, what exactly do you want?" Rorohiko asked Katai. He didn't know how much of an explination he would get, but it couldn't hurt to ask.

Katrina was in the lead, with five Pokemon remaining to Elan's four. Her next choice was Gardevoir, facing Elan's Tauros. "You can take this thing, Gardevoir," Katrina said. "Shouldn't be much of a problem. Thunderbolt!" Tauros avoided the Thunderbolt and sped in with Quick Attack. Gardevoir was hit, and tauros was on the move. It avoided Gardevoir's Psybeam and moved in with another Quick Attack. When it tried a third time, however, Gardevoir anticipated the move and hit Tauros with Psychic. Tauros was hurt, but not down, and Gardevoir wasn't exactly in peak condition, either. Her low durability was proving to be a major disadvantage. One more hit from Tauros would be enough to take her out, and tauros was doing its best to get that hit. It moved in as before, but this time was faking Gardevoir out. Gardevoir's Psybeam missed, and Tauros acted fast. It moved in with another Quick Attack, finishing Gardevoir off. "Two down for each of us now," Elan said. "Who've you got coming at me next?" "I'll use this one." Katrina threw a Pokeball, sending out Metagross once again. The durable Metagross, though weakened a bit from its battle with Vaporeon, would be more than capable of taking some damage from Tauros while it waited for the right moment. Tauros wasn't going to make the same mistake it'd made against Gardevoir. Instead of a straight charge, it made several false attempts, darting all around before finally coming it with Body Slam. Metagross's Psybeam counter missed. When Tauros made its move again, Metagross was hit with the Body Slam, but it wasn't down yet, and this time it successfully connected with Tauros. Metagross's Brick Break was more than tauros could take, and the bull Pokemon fainted. "Looks like I'm up again," Katrina said. "Who's next?" Elan returned the fainted Tauros and sent out a Skarmory. Katrina returned the now very weakened Metagross and sent out Flygon. Flygon made the first move, taking off and attacking with Rock Tomb. Skarmory avoided the attack and took to the skys itself, attacking with Steel Wing. Flygon recovered quickly and used Dragonbreath. The attack hit, but Skarmory's Steel-type resistance to the Dragon-type reduced the damage significantly, leaving it relatively unharmed. Skarmory attacked with Arial Ace, and Flygon was unable to dodge. Flygon slammed Skarmory with Iron Tail before it could retreat to a safe distance. Skarmory recovered and managed to hit with Steel Wing, only to be hit by a Hyper Beam in return. Skarmory went down. "You are good," Elan said as he returned Skarmory. "That round put you up by two. Of course, I'm not ready to call it quits quite yet. Go, Aggron!" [i]Shit![/i] Katrina thought as Aggron appeared. [i]That thing could very well be able to super-effective everything I have left. This won't be easy.[/i] Katrina made her decision quickly. Flygon would go until he fainted, then Katrina would use Scyther. Metagross would follow if necessary, and if it still wasn't down, Lapras should have an easy time finishing it off. Katrina expected she wouldn't need to use Lapras agasint it, which was good. She didn't know what Elan's final Pokemon was, and she wanted at least one full-strength Pokemon of her own to deal with whatever it was. Even though Lapras had a type advantage over Aggron, she would hold it in reserve. This was actually one of her favorite strategies. If she withheld a Pokemon of a type her opponent's Pokemon was weak against, the opponent generally assumed she didn't have a Pokemon of that type. It had helped her on several occasions. Flygon went down quickly due to an Ice Beam from Aggron. Katrina returned Flygon and sent out Scyther. What followed was similar to the earlier match-up of Vaporeon against Metagross; Aggron wasn't very agile, but it was durable, while Scyther was just the opposite. Scyther was picking its attacks carefully while avoiding Aggron's Flamethrower attacks. Scyther managed to do some significant damage, almost taking Aggron down before Flamethrower finished off Scyther. Metagross came out, but Katrina knew it wouldn't last long. One good hit from Aggron's Flamethrower would be enough to KO Mtagross. Of course, Aggron was also on the brink of defeat. So Metagross used the 'double-beam' strategy, another of Katrina's favorites. it angled its Psybeam to pass beside Aggron's Flamethrower, and both Pokemon fainted. "Down to one each," Katrina said. "You're putting up quite a fight." "So are you. Now, it's time to see who's better. Let's finish this."

Katrina's first Pokemon was Metagross, and Elan's was Vaporeon. "Let's see what you've got, Karmoro," Katrina said, addressing Elan by his last name. "Metagross, Psybeam!" Vaporeon avoided the Psybeam and attacked with Bubblebeam. Not being very agile, Metagross was hit, but the durable Pokemon recovered quickly and attacked with another Psybeam. Vaporeon dodged, only to be hit my Metagross's Confusion attack. Vaporeon attacked with Hydro Pump. Again, Metagross was unable to dodge, but a quick Light Screen softened the blow. Metagross used Psybeam again, this time managing to hit Vaporeon, which went down. "Not bad," Elan said as he returned Vaporeon. "Let's see how well you do against this." Elan's next Pokemon was an Aerodactyl. Katrina recalled Metagross. "Who've you got coming?" Elan asked. Katrina chuckled. "Oh, you're going to love this one," she said, choosing a Pokeball. She threw it, releasing an Absol. "An Absol, I see. Apparently, you take after your brother." "Not really," Katrina replied. "I just use one as a Trainer. My intrest runs no deeper than that." "Good. Just make sure it stays that way." Aerodactyl took to the air almost immediatly. after circling a few times, it swooped down and attacked Absol with Ancientpower. Absol was hit, but recovered quickly and tried a Slash. Unfortunatly, Aerodactyl was already in the sky again. This time, it used Hyper Beam when it flew in. Absol avoided the attack, which ended up hitting the deck of the ship. Fortunatly, all ships that were expected to carry trainers were built to withstand Pokemon moves, as it was anticipated that trainers would end up challenging each other. The deck was undamaged. Aerodactyl eventually made another pass, using Hyper Beam again. This time, instead of avoiding the attack, Absol used an attack of his own. He angled his Ice Beam attack to pass directly beside Aerodactyl's Hyper Beam. The result was that both attacks hit their targets. Absol was already injured, and the Hyper Beam was enough to finish him off. Aerodactyl was uninjured, but it had a double weakness to Ice. The Ice Beam was enough to take it out. "You're pretty good at this," Katrina said as she and Elan returned their Pokemon. "I honestly didn't think you'd be that good, but I was wrong." "You're very skilled, yourself. This will probably be a close contest." "Well, let's find out."

It has to be Bowser. His attitude makes for great comedy, he stumbles around cluelessly, and he manages to put up a fight despite that. Plus, he has the most important trait for a great bad guy: determination. He just doesn't give up. No matter how many times Mario thrashes him, he just keeps coming back for more. I don't think there's a single other bad guy as single-minded and determined as Bowser.

Katrina wasn't really doing much. She was taking some time to relax and enjoy the cruise. She was watching the battles that other Trainers were having. It seemed like almost everyone on the ship was involved in a battle. Katrina'd already had hers, and she was just enjoyinh the show. She was, of course, amusing herself by trying to identify every mistake someone made durring a battle. There were a lot. Most were minor, but there were a lot of major ones, too, such as the guy who sent out a Gyarados against a Jolteon. Katrina didn't even want to watch that battle, as it would surely be very one-sided. She looked for a better battle to watch. What she found instead was a little problem of her own. there was a man walking towards her. The man wore a necklace with a pendant on it. The symbol on the pendant was a six-pointed star set on top of a cross. It was a symbol she knew, as her brother had described it to her. "I was wondering when you people would approach me," Katrina said as the man came up to her. "So, you know who I am?" the man asked. "No, not who you are. Just who you're with. My brother described your symbol to me. You're lucky that your group has never been legaly prooven to have anything to do with the shit you've all done. that symbol's a dead giveaway to those who know what it means. You may eventually have to stop wearing it." "Not until we must will we discard the symbol of our belief. Now, enough of this. My name is Elan Karmoro. I assume you know why I'm here." "Correct," Katrina said. 'You're with the crazy cult that keeps trying to kill my brother. You're here to try and convert me, right?" "it is not our way to convert people. We simply show them the truth and let them decide." 'Well, I happen to be familiar with your beliefs,' Katrina told Elan. "my brother explained them to me. I actually have to admit that some of it makes a bit of sense. I'd never have come up with it, but I can see where the ideas came from. Anyways, you're here to 'show me the truth'." "That's correct," Elan said, "but you're already familiar ith it. I'm assuming you've already made a decision about it, correct? Are you with us?" "The fact that the group who keeps trying to have my brother killed is trying to convert me just prooves how crazy you all are. You can take your 'truth' and shove it up your ass. And don't try your threats. I'm more than good enough to handle any of you." "We don't kill people just because they are related to allies of the devil, and we don't kill people because they choose not to accept the truth. Until you take up Satanic practices or attempt to do us harm, you are safe from us." [i]Then I just have to hope you never figure out that I'm the one who gave Rorohiko his Absol,[/i] Katrina thought. "Then you should leave," she told Elan. "Actually, I would like to see just how good you are. How about it? A Pokemon battle, you against me. Full parties, six Pokemon each. What do you say?" "Oh, what the heck," Katrina said. "Watching all the others fight was getting boring anyways. Let's go." ----------------------------------- OOC: I got permission from Kitty to bring in the cult, which has appeared in a couple other RPGs, ones where Katrina's sister Rorohiko has been my character.

OOC: Only Treana and Enyo are entering the facility, Anarchy. Phelan isn't. ---------------------------------------------- [Take over,] Treana instructed Akansola. [We'll need to use everything we've got to have a chance at this.] Again, Enyo noticed a change, but didn't know what the change was. Instead, she turned her attention toward the facility. "They are ready for us," she said. "they seem well-positioned. They will try to capture us, not to kill us." "I can sence them, as well," Akaksola said. "Be careful. Their thoughts show that they've seen the recordings of your escape, and know how you fight. They believe they can handle you." "Enyo did not know of her powers earlier. They have not seen Enyo's powers." "Good. In that case, you enter ahead of me. Show no mercy. Kill anyone you see, with the exception of the man you're leading me to. We need him alive. Anyone else we see, we kill, unless it's another expriment. Understood?" "Enyo understands." "Good. Here they come." the main door opened, and three men ran out. Their weapons were very strange-looking, and obviously not normal guns. They would be designed not to kill, but to paralyse the target. The men never had a chance to use them. Enyo telekinetically threw them up in the air, high enough that they would die when they hit the ground, as she and Treana ran inside before the door closed. They just made it in before the entrance slammed shut.

"What's the matter?" the guy taunted. "Afraid? Well, that's understandable. Nobody beats Ace, least of all you. If all your Pokemon are as weak as that Gardevoir, then I could do this with my eyes closed." "What the hell are you talking about?" "You mean about the Gardevoir? The thing couldn't even throw me across the room. Hell, it was struggleing to hold me down." Katrina couldn't believe this guy. [i]What the hell is he going on about? Who the fuck does he think he's fooling?[/i] "Dude, the only reason gardevoir didn't throw you across the room is that it wasn't her intention. She was only keeping you from attacking me. And about her struggleing to evendo that, well, it's obvious that that part's total bullshit." "Sorry, lady, but you're flat-out wrong there." "Jesus Christ! Are you even lying to yourself about that whole thing? Maybe you should back down from this. I don't know if your overinflated ego could handle the beat-down I'll deal you." "I don't think so. talk means nothing. Let's see you back up your words. Now, how many Pokemon?" "I honestly don't care," Katrina said. "You decide." "I don't like wasting time against wimps, so let's make it a short battle, two Pokemon each." the two selected their Pokemon, then released their first choices. Ace was using his Charmeleon, while Katrina went with Absol. "Let's do this," Katrina said. "Absol, start things off with Thunderbolt!" Charmeleon dodged Absol's Thunderbolt and attacked with Flamethrower. Absol countered with a Flamethrower of his own, and the two Flamethrowers canceled each other. Absol then used Quick Attack, which made contact. Charmeleon recovered quickly and attacked with Slash, but Absol managed to avoid it. Charmeleon came in with Flame Wheel, but its straight path made it an easy target. Absol attacked with Thunder, cancelling the Flame Wheel with enough leftover enregy to hit Charmeleon. Absol followed up with thunderbolt, hitting Charmeleon and taking the Fire-type down. Ace was shocked. "How the hell did you do that?" "Well, I seem to be much better than you at this. That might have something to do with it. Now, on to round 2." Ace's Pokemon of choice for round 2 was Wartortle, and Katrina sent out Gardevoir. "Bad choice," Ace taunted. "I know how weak that thing is." "I think it's about time to show you how wrong you are. Gardevoir,hit it with Psybeam!" gardevoir used Psybeam, but Wartortle was quick, and managed to barely dodge. It attacked with Bobblebeam, which Gardevoir cancled out by using another Psybeam. Wartortle tried a Water Gun next. Gardevoir dodged, and Wartortle came in using Tackle. gardevoir was him, but managed a very quick recovery and hit wartortle with a Psybeam. gardevoir finished the match with Thunderbolt. "I told you you were full of shit," Katrina said as she and Ace returned their Pokemon. "You're not exactly bad, but you aren't good either. Moderatly experianced, I'd say, and I doubt you've have much trouble with the earlier Gym Leaders, but you're not good enough for people like me yet." "And just who are you?" Katrina smiled. "I am Katrina Alkarlo. You might have heard of me. I'm a former Pokemon Leaugh Champion, so a lot of Trainers know who I am. Not that I'd expect the kind of person you seem to be to accept that anyone better than him exists, but whatever. We're done here." And with that, she walked off.