Contest PokéBeach Original Character Contest II (Congrats Merovingian!)

Of course I understand! Let's shoot for Friday night, sound good? Voting will start Friday and any submissions during voting period run the risk of missing early votes!
 
Final entry.

Trainer Name, Gender, Age: "Mad" Jack, Male, 32

Physical Description: Short, super skinny, pale skin, crazy eyes, long nose, both arms are bionic prosthetics from elbow down, usually wears long skirts.

Hometown/Region: Unknown, but has travelled to several regions

Occupation: Pokemon Rehabilitation Expert

Backstory:
Little is known about the Trainer known as "Mad" Jack--not even his full name or where he originally hails from. Interviews from different regionns can confirm that he has been known as "Mad" Jack for a long time. However, reports conflict as to how he acquired the nickname; some say: he has a penchant for training dangerous Pokemon, or his battle style is chaotic and unpredictable, or his general demeanor to others.
It's been said that he has been a part of Team Rocket, Team Aqua, Team Magma, Team Galactic, and Team Plasma. Not much is known on who he worked with or how long he was on any of the teams, but he would suddenly disappear and steal a number of their Pokemon, never to be seen again. Reports have shown that he was at Team Plasma the longest. He showed a heavy interest in Pokemon "liberation" and utilized his self-taught skill in taking tamed Pokemon and rehabilitating them into the wild. According to interviews of former Team Plasma members, he felt that having Pokemon utilized as a form of entertainment through Leagues and Championships and collecting was cruel and barbaric. He felt that, unless the Pokemon were working alongside humans or being utilized as Service Pokemon to assist the disabled, or as household companions, there is no reason to go after Pokemon and they should be left alone. However, Jack is known for his lack of subtlety and understands that its difficult for people to "get the message" through explanation; you either get it or you don't. And while he's against of the idea of contests of "might makes right", he has trained Pokemon competitively "to get the point across faster".
When Jack quit Team Plasma and disappeared, he stole a number of Pokemon from them. Conflicting reports show he stole anywhere between 80-250 Pokemon. He went off the radar for a few years, supposedly to rehabilitate all of the Pokemon back into the wild. Some say he is partially responsible for the uptick in growth in Lapras numbers.
Some time later, he was spotted in Alola, joining Aether Paradise where his rehabilitation skills could be utilized. When the Ultra Beasts descended upon the islands, he was part of the first researchers called into action to figure out the potentially dangerous Beasts. While he was not on the front lines capturing them, he was figuring out if they could live peacefully in our world. Though his discoveries and notes were largely beneficial, he did raise concerns amongst Aether Paradise employees because of how much he was working with the sometimes-unpredictable Ultra Beasts and putting himself and others in danger. After it was revealed that the CEO of Aether Paradise was ill due to overexposure to UB-01 Symbiont, they felt that Jack might have been under the same influence. Records show that, of all the Ultra Beast Pokemon he worked with, he dealt with UB-01 Symbiont the least stating, "they are the least interesting of the bunch". And it was later rumored by employees that he was "mad". He did show an almost obsessive interest in UB-04 Slash, especially with one in particular that had different coloring and markings that the others encountered. This particular UB-04 Slash showed much more dangerous tendencies than the others and Jack took a liking to this particular UB-04 Slash, known as "Kartana". The discoveries shown in his dealings with the Kartana was part of the case that the Ultra Beasts were too dangerous to have in our world and they must be sent back to their respective worlds. However, Jack was the only Aether Paradise employee who tamed at least one of each of the Ultra Beasts, one of them being the "shining" Kartana. He was able to convince them that he could be trusted to wield these strange beings on the stipulation that, if they were to multiply or be a danger to society, he would have to surrender all of the Ultra Beasts, he would be detained, and their complete removal from our world would be imminent.
Aether Paradise would later fund an initiative to try and open up new branches and sent some of their top-employees to participate to compete in Pokemon Leagues for promoting purposes. Jack was selected for this initiative. Despite being against the idea of competing in Pokemon Leagues, he felt that he could shelve those notions if it benefitted a bigger cause. Jack would be selt to the Galar region and would quickly become a breakout star because of the Ultra Beasts, "unique personality", unpredictability in battle, and his overall success. Along with talks between the organizers in Galar and Aether Paradise, he would be granted to run a gym that featured the Ultra Beasts, instead of featuring a singular Pokemon typing. Sources show that jersey number was "012". After eight months, a battle was unconcluded due a breakout fire. The cause of the fire is not known. Sources from Aether Paradise have narrowed it down to either UB-03 Lightning or UB Burst. This fire was one of the largest in Galar history and took three days to extinguish. Aether Paradise, enacting on their intervention if the Ultra Beasts got out of hand, descended upon Galar to reclaim them and apprehend Jack. However, due to Jack's obsessive and mad nature, the Ultra Beasts were trained hyper-competitively and was able to ward off the Aether Paradise employees and make an escape.
Since then, no one in Galar has "seen" Jack. Sources say that he's competing under a different name and number. Others say that he's trying to drum up a Team of locals with the focus on the eradication of Pokemon battling and Pokemon rehabilitation. Some say both are happening. Aether Paradise has refused to issue any further comments on their last encounter with Jack other than, "there were factors we did not anticipate and we are working with Galar authorities on the matter."

Pokémon 1: Kartana (shiny)
Caught: Alola
Ability: Beast Boost
Nature: Hasty
Learnset: Swords Dance, Sacred Sword, Leaf Blade, Giga Impact
Backstory:
Of the numerous Kartana that were captured by Aether Paradise, this particular Kartana proved to be the most hostile and dangerous. Every other researcher refused to work with the Kartana due to either injury or fear. Due to Jack's nature, he quickly garavitated towards it and put an obsessive amount of time into it than the other Kartana. Jack was able to bond with it by bringing in objects for it to cut everyday. Aether Paradise researchers would later note Kartana's obsession for field operatives to utilize for capture. It has been rumored that this Kartana was responsible for cutting Jack's arms off below the elbows, requiring the need for bionic prosthetics.

Pokémon 2: Stakataka
Caught: Alola
Ability: Beast Boost
Nature: Sassy
Learnset: Rock Blast, Gyro Ball, Stealth Rock, Protect
Backstory:
The first Stakataka that was captured, it was immediately sent to Jack for research. It was quickly found out that it's very hostile. Sources say that, during the early stages of research, this Stakataka crushed his arms from the elbow down, explaining Jack's bionic prosthetics. It didn't take Jack long to figure out that Stakataka's behavior was largely off of "respect" in that, it would not cooperate with anyone unless it was shown that the Pokemon or person interacting with it did something that made it worth listening to. In this case, not being thrown off of Stakataka if someone were to climb on it. Jack found a way to stay on top of Stakataka for an extended period of time, which later showed that it would eventually calm down and become docile. This research would later be passed on to field operatives dealing with Stakataka in the wild. Of all the Ultra Beasts, it was said by Jack that Stakataka "are the least challenging to tame".

Pokémon 3: Blacephalon
Caught: Alola
Ability: Beast Boost
Nature: Hasty
Learnset: Shadow Ball, Fire Blast, Trick, Mind Blown
Backstory:
Due to how few Blacephalon were found in the wild, and how late they were discovered before Aether Paradise pulled the trigger on sending all Ultra Beasts back to their homes, Blacephalon research was the most inconclusive. That said, Jack enjoyed working with it due to it's chaotic and unpredictable nature. The research on Blacephalon was marred due to an extensive administrative review on Jack, documenting his bizarre, near-reckless, and obsessive nature. It is not know if Jack was able to successfully tame this particular Blacephalon. Supervision notes say that both Jack and Blacephalon had a lot of similar traits and "flair" and that maybe Blacephalon thought Jack was a Blacephalon himself. Sources say that an explosion caused by Blacephalon's head caused extensive damage to Jack's forearms, which would explain the bionic prosthetics.
 
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Of course I understand! Let's shoot for Friday night, sound good? Voting will start Friday and any submissions during voting period run the risk of missing early votes!

My submission will be late – really sorry about that, but I don't want to rush it and it's not cooperating with me right now.
I will submit, though. I'm fine with the risk of missing votes.
 
I accidentally forgot to post the voting link, so I'll extend it one more time to tomorrow night :p Sorry about that, peeps
 
I can finish today as well!

edit: bleh, almost done but can't finish tonight. Will submit ASAP tomorrow.

._.

(again, really sorry about that)
 
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Bumping for final submissions before I post the poll (which will be either late tonight or sometime tomorrow)!

During the time, I encourage you to comment on ask questions about each other's posts!
 
Been thinking about this idea for my entry for a few days now, lemme see if I can submit it before deadline (please)!
(Really sorry it’s super super late)

Trainer Name, Gender, Age: Estelle Woods, Female (she/they), 19
Physical Description: Small stature, dark eyes, brown skin. Medium length black hair.
Hometown/region: Lavender Town
Occupation: Assistant Caretaker of the Lavender Volunteer Pokémon House and the House of Memories (previously the Pokémon Tower)
Backstory:
Estelle was only seven when Team Rocket came to her hometown. They stormed the Pokémon Tower, disturbing the ghosts that resided within, and began exploiting the town’s Cubone. When Estelle’s adoptive grandfather, Mr. Fuji, protested against their crimes, they took him, too.

Almost a month the Rockets stayed in Lavender Town. The locals grew increasingly concerned, but none could speak out – they’d all seen Mr. Fuji get taken away, what more could happen to them? In the absence of her grandfather, Estelle was, thankfully, not left alone. Neighbors would come by at mealtimes, and the volunteers continued to help out at the rescue house. Still, Estelle worried for her grandfather.

And then one day, a young boy – not too much older than her – visited the town. He entered the tower with his Venusaur, calmed the ghosts – an impressive feat, not too many outside of Lavender could successfully pacify spirits – and drove out the Rockets. Estelle, watching from a window, was amazed.

I want to be like that boy – to have the strength to protect others.

Motivated by that desire, Estelle began her League challenge – or she would have, had she not been too young for the regulations. Instead, she continued to help out in the volunteer house, impatiently waiting for her chance to get stronger.

Upon reaching the age of 10, she took Cubone and set off on her journey. She obtained each badge, one by one – the stories behind each one too long to list here – and slowly grew closer to her ideal: to be strong enough to protect her town. Then it was time for the Elite Four.

Somehow, Estelle and Marowak made it to the champion’s chamber. Estelle waited for the champion, expecting to see the boy who’d inspired her… but instead, the professor’s grandson appeared. Red – the name of the boy who’d freed her hometown – had vanished, Blue said, so Estelle faced him instead.

She lost. Badly.

Returning to Lavender with Marowak, Estelle decided to remain there. She had, after all, made it to the champion’s chamber – not too many people could say that. She would be able to prevent another tragedy from happening in Lavender. And so years passed, with Estelle gradually taking on more duties in both the Pokémon Tower and the volunteer house.

However, although Estelle was a strong Trainer, when the champion – now Lance – decreed that the Pokémon Tower would be made into a Radio Tower, she had no power to stop him. And when she tried to challenge the Elite Four again, her badges were no longer accepted – they were no longer valid with the current League.

And so now Estelle finds herself travelling through Johto, collecting badges once more for the chance to defeat Lance and return the Pokémon Tower to its former state.

Pokémon 1: Marowak (Kantonian)
Caught: Lavender Town
Ability: Lightning Rod
Nature: Adamant
Learnset: Bonemerang, Stone Edge, Dig, False Swipe
Backstory:
Left alone after the Rockets killed her mother, Cubone was taken in by the volunteer house, and quickly imprinted onto Estelle. She has since become Estelle’s closest companion, and is Estelle’s main battling Pokémon. Marowak’s main drive is to protect her companions; having lost her mother at a young age, she refuses to let any of her new brood be harmed. Marowak also is commonly seen at the volunteer house alongside Estelle; the Pokémon there love to play with Marowak, and she is fiercely protective of all of them.

Although Marowak is the main fighter on Estelle’s team, Marowak prefers not to fight whenever possible. When in battle, she holds back slightly, not wanting to hurt the opponent beyond the point of recovery, often using False Swipe to finish opponents off.

Pokémon 2: Ninetales
Caught: Route 8
Ability: Flash Fire
Nature: Sassy
Learnset: Will-O-Wisp, Extrasensory, Captivate, Mystical Fire
Backstory:
Ninetales was the first wild Pokémon that Estelle caught, right outside Lavender Town, and has been with Estelle almost as long as Marowak. While attempting to battle the then-Vulpix, Cubone missed her with attacks quite a bit, and ended up tripping over itself; Vulpix went along with Estelle almost out of pity. Over time Ninetales has grown much closer to Estelle and Marowak, but still likes to tease them by reenacting that first battle. Ninetales assists Estelle with caring for the Pokémon Tower (and later on the House of Memories), and tries to act aloof when they visit the volunteer house.

The other main member of Estelle’s battling team, Ninetales likes to openly flirt with opposing Pokémon, throwing her enemies off.

Pokémon 3: Misdreavus
Caught: Cianwood City
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Impish
Learnset: Shadow Ball, Dream Eater, Hex, Confuse Ray
Backstory:
While collecting medicine in Cianwood City, Estelle encountered Misdreavus. The naughty spirit was drawn to her – natives of Lavender Town tend to attract ghost types – and stayed because, to be frank, her dreams were tasty. Or interesting. Estelle hasn’t asked Misdreavus much about the subject. This trickster likes to play pranks on the people and Pokémon they come across – a favorite is the basic spook from behind – but doesn’t have ill intent behind pranking; Misdreavus simply wants to have fun. For the most part, Estelle lets Misdreavus carry on with their pranks, but keeps the rascal from going too far.

The prankster Pokémon has a gentle side, however: whenever Estelle has nightmares, Misdreavus makes sure to consume them with Dream Eater.

Really hope it wasn’t too rushed or sloppy :U
 
Hey everyone, I told Turtwig about this a while ago but I might as well say so here -- I'll be dropping from this comp bc I'm committed to too many things atm to do all of them; I do have a couple thousand words written on this, but it'll take a few thousand more to get across everything that I wanted.

But! I may end up making a new thread for my character, where I can take my time... though I'm not promising anything.

Good luck to everyone who's competing!
 
Alright everyone, we currently have three entries for this contest!! Here is the poll: https://meet.ps/pb-oc-2 So sorry for the delay, I was allowing submissions to continue and my personal life got in the way a bit. I'll keep this poll open for 5 days until 6/30! Anyone is free to critique constructively or ask about the character lore and backstories involved. I hope that cleared up any confusion!

Some conversation starters:

@Ephemera I really appreciate how you used the popular Lavender Town story to make a new perspective that's reasonable and engaging. You brought in real lore and capitalized on it, and that's exactly what I'd be interested to read about!! If she were to defeat Lance and save the tower, where would she go from there? What would her status be as a trainer?

@Merovingian The backstory involving Pokemon rehab, Plasma liberation, and then Aether Paradise research was a really cool look at this character's arc. His relationships with the ultra beasts are fresh and fun as well! What was the thought process behind making him?

@Jabberwock Mare's interest in her Pokemon's backstories is really telling of her curiosity. I love the personality invoked in Clefairy and the nice touch with Cosmic Power in their movepools; I really feel the vast mysteriousness in their stories--Starmie in particular. You mention her journey extending so far as the moon--what would be some stops in between? How is her relationship with the scientists studying with her?
 
@Merovingian The backstory involving Pokemon rehab, Plasma liberation, and then Aether Paradise research was a really cool look at this character's arc. His relationships with the ultra beasts are fresh and fun as well! What was the thought process behind making him?

There's a few things. And if you don't want spoilers from Metal Gear Rising, just skip all this:

As far as character design, I started with a sort of "template" using Handsome Jack from Borderlands 2 (before we knew more about him from the pre-sequel) and the villains from No More Heroes 1. These are characters that are quirky by design and you want to more about them (ala: Bad Girl), but all you have to go off on is what they give you at face value. Handsome Jack is completely nuts and harasses you in all sorts of ways, and you get tiny snippets of how he came to power, but even then, a lot is left up to interpretation until the next game came out.
As for the assassins in No More Heroes, Bad Girl is a good example. Before we got Travis Strikes Again, there were a lot of rumors swirling about that Bad Girl was the estranged daughter of a boss earlier in the game (Dr. Peace), and all you had to go on was both of their (Bad Girl and Dr. Peace's) fighting locations and a lengthy exchange between Dr. Peace and Travis Touchdown before you fought him near the beginning of the game. You are only given enough detail to get an idea going, but you aren't given an entire lengthy backstory like with what you'd get from something like the Final Fantasy series. But turns out, when TSA came out, that theory was proven entirely false. But for YEARS, up unti;l the trailer for Travis Strikes Again was released, people who followed the No More Heroes series stuck with that rumor that was barely based off of much.

Speaking of Final Fantasy, there's a little of Kefka in there, in the sense that, you're waiting to see if he has some unterior motive. What if no one could figure it out, or what if the character was just that nuts and there was no ulterior motive and you overthought it the entire time? If I explored the characater further, I'm not sure if the character would be given the traditional "Pokemon twist" of "the villain had an underlying evil plan all along", or do something completely different. At this point, I'm not sure how a story would work where a "Pokemon plot-twist" or a "Kefka twist" would make sense.

I thought about what I felt could be improved on Pokemon in-game antagonists: they are VERY VERY one-dimensional and they aren't the most interesting lot compared to how storytelling in games have advanced through the years and is becoming much more nuanced.

Understandably, Pokemon is geared towards a younger audience, so there's a lot of themes you can't touch on. But at the same time, I think there's a lot of untapped potential in what could be done. So what if you had a villain that, when you talk to people in-game, you had a lot of conflicting information--like a grapevine/"telephone". You talk to enough people in-game and from all the dialogue, you'd get reports that he was part of every villainous team from every game ever released, rumors of where he came from, his nickname, motivations and everything, and you start to go, "I'm not exactly who or what to believe about this character". Some of it would get sussed out, others just one-liners to make you doubt yourself. But for the most part, not much is provided about Pokemon villains. What if you were given too much information?

For his motivation against Pokemon fighting, that was inspired by Senator Armstrong from Metal Gear Rising. His whole thing during the final boss fight was proving to Raiden that "might does make right" and point out Raiden's hypocracy by having Raiden fight him to the death. Showing Raiden that, despite his convictions and what he stands for, fighting Armstrong to the death to uphold those convictions means that Armstrong was right and Raiden is no better than Armstrong. I made an attempt at trying to make a sort of "villain that was right all along", as something like that hasn't been done in Pokemon (at least, I don't think so, I tried reading up on the GENs I haven't played: 3-6 and 8.) It's always been a villain that you didn't like throughout the entire game or someone you were unsure of, but later didn't like them based off their motivations. The CLOSEST villain that strays from this is Guzma. I wanted to try and go further.
 
So sorry, y'all; I've had a bit of computer trouble lately — I'll be back shortly to respond to Turtwig's convo starter Dx

Really loving the other entries! It's clear y'all've put a lot of thought into your characters and their backstories, and I'd love to read more about any and all of them. :D
 
@Jabberwock Mare's interest in her Pokemon's backstories is really telling of her curiosity. I love the personality invoked in Clefairy and the nice touch with Cosmic Power in their movepools; I really feel the vast mysteriousness in their stories--Starmie in particular. You mention her journey extending so far as the moon--what would be some stops in between? How is her relationship with the scientists studying with her?
Thanks! Cosmic Power is one of those moves where I really don't have the slightest idea what it's supposed to do from a flavor perspective — it draws on the power of the cosmos or something, but what does that mean? I think it could make a good plot device, anyhow xD

As for the stops along Mare's journey, I'd imagine it's mainly different phases of testing. Like, being able to get to the Hoenn Space Station is a pretty big step by itself because it means launching to and docking in a stable orbit. Even just getting that far would take months and months of testing, both of the rocket's capabilities and Mare's physical aptitude. That means test launches of unmanned rockets, maybe a parallel arc with a scientist trying to get it just right; and then on Mare's end, a training regimen that includes stuff like being whirled around at high speeds to simulate the g-force of a rocket taking off. Then she has to get used to living in space for longer and longer periods of time — a journey all the way to the Moon and back takes a fair bit longer than just a short trip up to the Space Station.

I think Mare's story would probably pick up after living on the HSS has become commonplace for her — so her life is divided between space and Earth, until they feel equally natural (though her Pokémon undoubtedly prefer space). She's on pretty good terms with most of the scientists back at the Mossdeep Space Center, but some of them definitely resent her for getting all the glory of spaceflight while they're the ones making it all happen. Still, they're all mutually devoted to the furthering of spaceflight as a concept, and when the Moon is suggested as a next target, they're all eager to get there — and so, of course, are Starmie and Clefairy.

The scientists would probably plan out the tests for the mission something like this. One of the first things they've gotta do is get Mare used to being not just in space, but confined to the cockpit of a shuttle, for days/weeks at a time. So they send her on longer and longer trips in orbit around the Earth before bringing her back down. Then they would see if the engines could hold all the way to the Moon, so they start trying to launch (unmanned) missions that would end in lunar orbit. Finally, they reckon they're ready to send Mare there herself, with her Pokémon.

What would they find there? Who knows? There's gotta be some reason Clefairy was so eager to get there, though. :p
 
@Ephemera I really appreciate how you used the popular Lavender Town story to make a new perspective that's reasonable and engaging. You brought in real lore and capitalized on it, and that's exactly what I'd be interested to read about!! If she were to defeat Lance and save the tower, where would she go from there? What would her status be as a trainer?

I apologise for the really really late reply ._.

This is a really interesting question though - defeating Lance, for Estelle, is really just a means to an end. Although she’s already challenged the Elite Four to grow stronger, this time she’s already a strong Trainer. If Estelle were to defeat Lance - which is possible, given that she’s defeated him once while he was an Elite Four member, but also not a sure thing - I don’t think she would take the position of Champion. The title isn’t what she was going for, and with the Pokémon Tower restored, there’s no reason to remain Champion.

That being said, after stepping down as Champion, I believe Estelle wouldn’t be content to just stay in Lavender Town. She’d try, for sure, but the world would be calling. I’m not 100% sure about this - it would really depend on how the journey played out - but definitely she’d be conflicted: should she stay and maintain the Tower, or should she give in to wanderlust? Personally I think Mr. Fuji would tell her to go - she’d be confined in Lavender, and Team Rocket had been destroyed long ago.

There’s also the fact that Team Rocket and other organizations have left marks on many people throughout each region - Estelle wouldn’t be abandoning Lavender, she’d be leaving to try and fix what Team Rocket broke.

So, yeah: after defeating Lance, Estelle would try to return to normal life, but normal life wouldn’t suit her anymore.
 
So sorry for the late winner declaration, IRL issues have been impeding my activity since the turn of the month. I think I'm finally on the other side of it, but sigh.

This contest's winner was close (everyone was nearly neck-and-neck), but the votes don't lie!

"Mad Jack" and Kartana, Stakataka, and Blacephalon by @Merovingian

are our new Original Character winners!! I will communicate with @scattered mind about the drawing prize in recognition of your feat and @Vom and I will begin planning a thrilling Ultra Beast-themed short CYOA coming soon!!

Congrats to all the entries, I know these contests are happening in difficult times but I do hope you were able to escape into your thoughts and enjoy your creativity. As we plan out the story, Vom and I will reach out to all of you to include your characters' personalities / thoughts so we can make something fun for the community.
 
Congrats Merovingian! I can't wait to see scattered's interpretation of Mad Jack, and the CYOA should be really exciting as well. :D
 
Aw, cool! That’s awesome!

thanks again for the opportunity, and the stories by Ephemera and Jabberwock are fantastic reads.

can’t wait to see how it all plays out!
 
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