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Starting a New Adventure!

Hey, everyone, Zeff here! I'm an avid Pokemon and RP fan, and I thought that combining the two would be an experience worth checking out. I've read through the rules of the site, and I've got a Trainer character in mind, but I'm curious as to how I'd go about finding roleplay partners on this site? Is there a Discord or similar social networking for this site, or am I just going to have to type out my character Bio and cast it out onto the forum boards like a Super Rod, hoping to catch a good RP?
 
When you make an RP, you just make the RP here with any rules you may issue, a plot for your RP (if there is any), a character sheet for people to use, and your character. This site already has enough traffic as it is from people wanting to RP, so finding potential RPers isnt an issue here, as this place functions like a social networking site by itself. The only time you'll find issues is when your RP doesn't seem interesting enough to actually gain enough traction.

Then again, I have seen many RPs with hardly an introduction start off pretty damn strong, it just also attracted more people with very similar RP skills that are less than adequate - not to be rude, but it happens. Those RPs tend to die quickly and also tend to get called to notice because someone slips by and does something against the rules, but those RPs also fly by super fast. Of course, any type of RP can attract many types of people. Simple RPs with hardly a premise get flocked to by people ranging in skill level, while other RPs that require proper grammar and at least a paragraph for a response tend to get eaten up pretty quickly, but not as quick as some "Open" or extremely simple RPs tend to be.

I find that people who are in a more structured RP tend to stay more committed, especially when the RP is starting to get interesting or if they especially love the premise and want to stay to see how their character deals with this.

Whether it is a slice-of-life, an adventure, a tournament, or what have you, you will always get eager people to join, but you may get different kinds of people depending on the style of RP and if you gear this towards everyone or the people who have a more polished feel to their posts.
 
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Thanks for the advice! In that case, I think I'll type up a prompt for an RP with my character information and such. I'm more of an Adventure kind of guy, myself: do you happen to have any advice on good party sizes for an Adventure-style Pokemon RP? In my 7 years of various RPs, I've found that different mediums and settings can handle varying amounts of concurrent Roleplayers without getting bogged down, and I'd like to play it safe with my first venture into the territory. I was thinking a party of three would be a decent average, though that may just be a bias the anime created for me.
 
I find that RPs that have more than 5 RPers tend to get bogged down or fly by so quickly that nobody else can pitch in a post and everybody else gets lost. 3-5 RPers is a sweet medium to have.

If you have too many RPers, there is a higher chance of someone dropping off of Pokecharms from the face of the earth, or they just dont want to say they don't want to be in the RP anymore and just hop off to something else.

I think a group of 3-5 other RPers would be a great start for your RP.
 
That sounds pretty reasonable! I'll put the prompt out, and I'll see if any interest is garnered, before I put any kind of hard cap on it under five, just in case I get lucky, and more than one or two people are interested.
 
OH, and I like to point out one other thing.

When we RP here, we try to be pretty realistic. Levels don't exist, neither do EVs or IVs, as game mechanics don't have a place in a world where, if it were ever reenacted in real life, wouldn't ever be a thing. Also, plot devices, like achieving a rare item by someone important seeing your "potential" is a very wish-fulfilling trope and it is difficult to make a character in this environment when we are exposed to being OP literally in the first hour of a Pokemon game. Most of the time, we go by the anime of all things, while also ignoring plot armor and the fact that Pokemon can't learn more than four moves, as it is extremely unrealistic for these Pokemon to only remember four moves. They may also use "attacks" that aren't really attacks, just assets from the Pokemon's body the Pokemon may use (like Ash's Pikachu being able to chew through rope in several episodes due to mouse teeth being sharp). Also, combining attacks to make cool combinations are encouraged.

So basically what happens in the anime are what we go by for the most part, while also making sure we try to stay realistic. A Pokemon can have more moves, it would just have moves that would be stronger than its other moves due them training in those moves more often and using them more often than the others (like Shadow Ball doing less damage than Shadow Punch due to the Pokemon using and perfecting Shadow Punch more so than Shadow Ball). Its other moves may also have a chance of failing if they aren't that used to using the move.

Also, Champions and Elite Four members are extremely hard to come by and their pay-grade is way above anyone else. Most Champions I notice tend not to battle other trainers, due to those trainers being highly inexperienced and the chance of paparazzi bothering them and tabloids trying to make them look bad for the drama. Elite Four members are no different. They are essentially treated as celebrities, as not many people can be as strong as they are (although, their values are probably better than most celebrities we have today). If you want to make a character who is a Champion or an Elite Four member, they better have a lot of character development during their history to become one of them because that is extremely difficult to pull off well and not make it seem like a Mary Sue/Gary Stue. Plus, most Champions and Elite Four members won't be around kids who are just starting out on their journey, unless there is some plot armor very good reasons why they are there.

Just some things I wanted to point out because I do see this in people who start out here or mistakes I have seen in people who are good at RPs, but tend to make OP characters due to not seeing the line between making a realistic character and making a character that is a mirror from the games (me included, I'm not safe from this either XD).
 
I'll keep this in mind, though I must say, a lot of that is a relief. A lot of what I'm looking for is a more realistic take on Pokémon, where not just any kid with a Dream can waltz in and crush a gym leader, much less become a Champion! One of my main focuses in my characters is keeping them original, balanced, and free of Plot armor. As far as levels and IVs not existing, that's also an incredible relief. It'd be a pain having an IV system, or having to keep track of experience and the like.

However, I do have one caveat, which I'll likely be looking to test in my first RP: EVs, as a concept, actually translate over to realistic Pokémon extremely well, if you eliminate the need to defeat certain Pokémon to get them. Instead, I view it as what areas your Pokémon is focusing on, which can provide an entirely new venue for individuality between Pokémon, and be an in-game and out of game measurement for how you've "trained" your Pokémon. It would also really help settle "Who's Pokémon is faster" or "Who's Pokémon is physically stronger" kind of questions, which can be very relevant in RP combat.
 
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