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Tohjo Military University [Pokémon]

Kotone's Starter Choice

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Birthday said:
Does anyone know what Pokemon the QM is referring to here? I, can't for the life of me, think of a viable possibility.
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Any Pokémon with strong typing, although it'll be dangerous since places like Abandoned Power Plant, Cinnabar Volcano, Mt. Silver, Seafoam Caves, etc. will typically have a shit ton of Pokémon and barely any other wildlife, meaning you'll bump into hordes of the bastards.

Then again Silver in LIBRA 1 teamed up with Kris to catch a Sneasel. Which is still a viable option.
 
Chopak said:
I'm little surprised about the "aaaaaa, we will fail to catch it!" panic. We can do it! If we can't think of a plan ourselves, we can always ask Silver or cutieboy Gary for help.
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I think it is a grave mischaracterization to call it panic. It's just a plain fact that some pokemon are going to be harder to catch, and that our capabilities mean that we're better at catching some pokemon and worse at catching others. To come up with a plan in the first place, we have to think those things through, and we also have to keep in mind what the other options are, so that we can compare them and see what risks are worth the rewards. We also have to pass an interview to prove that our choice is a good one, so it is actually a requirement for us to think about the advantages and disadvantages of each choice, which includes the difficulty of capture. Not only that, but we have only three weeks and one chance to get it right-- both in the sense that they'll only let us do this once, and that we're only given one pokeball. There's a lot riding on this IC; we need to be a little ambitious to pass the test, but being too ambitious might cost us our career (or even our life).

Asking Silver and Gary for help was already part of the plan (at least, for me it was), but we shouldn't depend on them to have all the answers. They're fellow students who're strictly better at this kind of thing than us, not QM-approved solution dispensers. Besides: much as I don't ship it, it's worth it to point out that, the more of this we come up with ourselves, the better our chances of impressing Gary. :p

EDIT: Hm, I just realized that maybe it isn't obvious-- this isn't panic or fearmongering on my part. I'm actually having fun. It's engaging to think of all of this, to put together information and try to figure out the advantages and disadvantages of each, knowing that in the end we might succeed or fail depending on our own merits. It's a nice challenge! :)

I don't normally feel too up to this type of thing, but I guess pokemon is one of the few things that can really get me excited anymore. That and cute lesbians. :V

wdango said:
Any Pokémon with strong typing, although it'll be dangerous since places like Abandoned Power Plant, Cinnabar Volcano, Mt. Silver, Seafoam Caves, etc. will typically have a shit ton of Pokémon and barely any other wildlife, meaning you'll bump into hordes of the bastards.

Then again Silver in LIBRA 1 teamed up with Kris to catch a Sneasel. Which is still a viable option.
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Let me guess: are all of those places Amatsun ruins? :V
 
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DeepWaters said:
They're fellow students who're strictly better at this kind of thing than us, not QM-approved solution dispensers.
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Very good. They're not always right.

DeepWaters said:
EDIT: Hm, I just realized that maybe it isn't obvious-- this isn't panic or fearmongering on my part. I'm actually having fun. It's engaging to think of all of this, to put together information and try to figure out the advantages and disadvantages of each, knowing that in the end we might succeed or fail depending on our own merits. It's a nice challenge! :)

I don't normally feel too up to this type of thing, but I guess pokemon is one of the few things that can really get me excited anymore. That and cute lesbians. :V
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Thanks for participating in my quest.

DeepWaters said:
Let me guess: are all of those places Amatsun ruins? :V
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Veeeery gooooddd.
 
As far as potential other Pokémon go, Phanpy and Mareep should be pretty good picks. They're solid Pokémon, with good types and shouldn't be particularly resistant to ninja-y solutions.

They're both based off herd animals, so that might be a bit tricky, but learning how to break off members of a herd was probably taught at the academy.

Plus, even if those herds have evolved members, there's a certain advantage to knowing where the strongest mons in the area are.
 
The Grey Mage said:
They're both based off herd animals, so that might be a bit tricky, but learning how to break off members of a herd was probably taught at the academy.
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Nah you guys have to get creative lol.

I mean, it would have been taught, except I'm not that creative.

The Grey Mage said:
Plus, even if those herds have evolved members, there's a certain advantage to knowing where the strongest mons in the area are.
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Good thinking.
 
Alright, ninja tactics. We have a sniper rifle but we'll need good blinds - that means we need elevation. Trees, cliffs?

If we're being ruthless, maybe we startle the herd and then go after the slow ones? Depending on if they're shy or aggressive.
 
wdango said:
Smart.
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I've got a book on the ancient art of ninjutsu and I'm not afraid to skim through it for ideas. >.>
Adhoc vote count started by Wysteria on Jun 11, 2019 at 10:11 AM, finished with 134 posts and 11 votes.
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Adhoc vote count started by Wysteria on Jun 11, 2019 at 1:01 PM, finished with 140 posts and 12 votes.
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Wysteria said:
Alright, ninja tactics. We have a sniper rifle but we'll need good blinds - that means we need elevation. Trees, cliffs?

If we're being ruthless, maybe we startle the herd and then go after the slow ones? Depending on if they're shy or aggressive.
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Another thing would be a good pit trap, combined with a flashbang or some other means of startling the herd. In the ensuing chaos, we may very well be able to isolate a herd member.

DeepWaters said:
as can Magnemite (though I'm a bit doubtful that our skills are a good match-up against a living magnet).
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actually incendiaries might make it a bit more doable, although it resisting bullets is a worry.

Relatedly, a further point in favour of oddish is that incendiaries are one of the most effextive forms of typed damage, and oddish is weak to that.

Anyway, putting my vote where my mouth is.

[x] Do preliminary research on a Pokémon. (2 Days)
-[X] Oddish
 
Skewfiend said:
Another thing would be a good pit trap, combined with a flashbang or some other means of startling the herd. In the ensuing chaos, we may very well be able to isolate a herd member.

actually incendiaries might make it a bit more doable, although it resisting bullets is a worry.

Relatedly, a further point in favour of oddish is that incendiaries are one of the most effextive forms of typed damage, and oddish is weak to that.

Anyway, putting my vote where my mouth is.

[x] Do preliminary research on a Pokémon. (2 Days)
-[X] Oddish
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Let's hope your vote does something before I get home and start the update.

Is there still time to start a FAQ for this quest?
 
My plan for catching a Murkrow goes roughly like this:

1. Find Murkrow habitat.
2. Set up a trap.
3. Place shiny bait in the trap.
4. ????
5. PROFIT!


Of course that won't probably be so easy, but it directly uses our skills and strengths (Rank C : Traps & Tools, Rank C : Survival, Personal Skill : Stealthy Saboteur). Worst case, we can just shoot it with tranquiliser as soon as it's cought in a trap but before it manages to break free.
 
What abour froakie? It evolves into Frogadied then Greninja
 
DumplingJr said:
Frogadied
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hmmmm

On the topic of catching a Pokémon, when do we actually get to go out and try? After researching it fully as well as the area it's in?
Using all our strengths like traps and stealthy sniping will be imperative. I'm thinking we put up a bait & trap of sorts then camp out camouflaged with our rifle at the ready. Good thing we are a ninja, so we shouldn't have too much trouble throwing a pokeball.
 
Plausitivity said:
hmmmm

On the topic of catching a Pokémon, when do we actually get to go out and try? After researching it fully as well as the area it's in?
Using all our strengths like traps and stealthy sniping will be imperative. I'm thinking we put up a bait & trap of sorts then camp out camouflaged with our rifle at the ready. Good thing we are a ninja, so we shouldn't have too much trouble throwing a pokeball.
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You have 21 days to do all your research etc. And then interview. Assuming you pass your interviews you get another 6 days to finish your preparations, grab the stuff you requisitioned, negotiate alliances, etc.

And then you get dropped off by helicopter in your target habitat.
 
Plausitivity said:
hmmmm

On the topic of catching a Pokémon, when do we actually get to go out and try? After researching it fully as well as the area it's in?
Using all our strengths like traps and stealthy sniping will be imperative. I'm thinking we put up a bait & trap of sorts then camp out camouflaged with our rifle at the ready. Good thing we are a ninja, so we shouldn't have too much trouble throwing a pokeball.
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What the QM said, followed by two weeks to catch the pokemon we choose. Anyways, that's a general plan, but we can't really narrow it down much until we have a better idea of what we're doing. Off the top of my head: For a Murkrow, an earlier plan of shiny bait could work particularly well if we put trackers on the bait, allowing us to follow and ambush the Murkrow in its nest. If we go for an Oddish, identification really is the hard part; depending on how extensive its root system is (and it can't be that extensive given that it uproots itself every night), capture might be as simple as getting a shovel and a steel mesh bag that can fit a foot-tall plant (also probably a plastic bag that fits over the steel mesh bag to contain spores). :V For an Abra (...) we can research its preferred haunts and most effective baits, but that's going to require a lot more hoping for the best, I think.
 
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wdango said:
WoQM: tbh if you're intent on Abra, someone from your peers can help.....
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My money's on Ash, as weird magic bullshit is his bag.
DeepWaters said:
What the QM said, followed by two weeks to catch the pokemon we choose. Anyways, that's a general plan, but we can't really narrow it down much until we have a better idea of what we're doing. Off the top of my head: For a Murkrow, an earlier plan of shiny bait could work particularly well if we put trackers on the bait, allowing us to follow and ambush the Murkrow in its nest. If we go for an Oddish, identification really is the hard part; depending on how extensive its root system is (and it can't be that extensive given that it uproots itself every night), capture might be as simple as getting a shovel and a steel mesh bag that can fit a foot-tall plant (also probably a plastic bag that fits over the steel mesh bag to contain spores). :V For an Abra (...) we can research its preferred haunts and most effective baits, but that's going to require a lot more hoping for the best, I think.
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I love the idea of catching our first pokemon by aggressive gardening.
 
[X] Do preliminary research on a geographical area. (3 Days)
→ [X] Saffron Outskirts

Well this looks interesting. I'm all for ninja girl
 
I couldn't sleep, so here's a bunch of thoughts on/rough plans for capturing some pokemon. Things get rather less coherent as I go on, but most of it should be sound. Now that I'm finished with this, I'm going to try and sleep again. Wish me luck. :V

  • A strong early pick. Very well-suited to Kotone's specialties (even having Saboteur itself), relatively tough, no quad weaknesses, generally very nice stats for a first-stage evolution, and even better stats in its final evolution (along with potentially something very nice in its "summoning" ability).
  • An earlier plan to bait traps with shinies is promising, but Murkrow are hardy and mobile, and we lack clear fall-back options if the trap fails. Worse than that, real-life crows can convey to other crows information about certain dangers, including things like being able to identify humans that treat them poorly; there's a risk that a Murkrow which successfully escapes a trap will convey the new danger to the group it forages with, drastically lowering our chances of a successful capture. This is an option that might lead to success, but it isn't our best one.
  • If we have access to them, we're better off attaching tracking devices onto shiny objects (or making the tracking devices themselves shiny?) and scattering them around various places that Murkrows are likely to spot them. We'll have to have a lot of these-- not only because some of the Murkrow that take the bait might be juveniles living with a roosting community rather than solitary adults (and therefore too dangerous to target), but also because there are other undesirable pokemon around that might take the bait. Meowth is the most likely candidate by far, but others are possible-- just from their pokedex entries, I can think of justifications for Mankey, Rattata, Bellsprout, and Magnemite.
  • Once we track down a suitable target, we can enter its nest/roost while it's away (potentially masking our scent somehow to keep it unaware) and rig it with traps-- I'm thinking some sort of flight deterrent, like something that tangles up in its wings or sticks to its feathers (this may not be viable depending on exactly how hardy Murkrow is and what exactly is available to us; we don't want to accidentally cripple our first pokemon while trying to capture it), or something with a payload of conventional or paralytic poison, or maybe even some kind of tazer trap. Of course, combinations are also an option.
  • If there's a clear line-of-sight to the nest/roost from another vantage point (maybe a camouflaged tree stand?), we should definitely try to snipe it-- if we go for the flight deterrent and/or tazer trap, we can probably use bullets (tranquilizers are a bad idea due to sleep resistance), but otherwise we should accept that we won't be able to take down such a hardy pokemon in one encounter and hit it with a transmitter dart. We'd then be able to track it while the poison does its work. Even if it manages to avoid the poison, or the poison alone isn't enough, we'll win in the long run as long as we can keep up the pressure-- it can't fly forever, after all.
  • Ideally, this plan allow us to tag multiple Murkrow suitable for capture at once, so we'll have more than one chance at capture even if the first fails catastrophically. If we don't have access to tracking devices for some reason (tbf they can get pretty expensive), we'll have to fall back onto baiting traps directly. In that case, our chances drop drastically enough that I'd recommend something else.
  • As an addendum, the perfect way for this to pan out is that we stay out of sight and keep it constantly panicked and under pressure-- that way, it won't get any chance to retaliate, and if any other Murkrow come to its aid we can just slip away and come back later.

  • A decent early pick, made far more attractive by likely being disproportionately easy to catch. Its stats aren't particularly good (though it's arguably a bit tougher than Murkrow) and its weaknesses are pretty common, but it can inflict a wide variety of status afflictions and has good growth potential in Vileplume. Also, aggressively gardening our way into becoming a Pokemon Trainer. :V
  • As I've said multiple times before, the hard part with Oddish will be knowing whether we've found one. We'll look up its favorite areas, of course-- according to the entries, it prefers fertile, nutrient-rich soil, so it'll probably be found surrounded by other plants with similar preferences. Its leaves are fairly distinctive-- very broad and always five in an alternating pattern-- but it can apparently be easily mistaken for a clump of weeds, so it might still be tricky to spot. Luckily, if there's any room for doubt, there's a foolproof way to confirm the presence of an Oddish: set up and wait until nightfall. :V
  • Once we've identified the Oddish, the next few steps are pretty simple. First, we need to cover its leaves in a steel mesh bag-- steel mesh because Oddish can learn Razor Leaf, which makes it risky to use something like canvas or plastic. That said, we should definitely cover the steel mesh bag in a second bag made of canvas to contain any spores (decided against plastic in order to avoid the risk of accidentally suffocating the Oddish).
  • Then, we need to carefully dig around the Oddish, making sure to leave plenty of dirt clumped to it-- Oddish screams if it's uprooted, and it will probably also scream if we accidentally chop off its roots, which are also its feet. Close the bags over the dirt clump, and we've bagged ourselves an Oddish. (We should probably pull the canvas bag up around the dirt clump and tie it at the top, though, so it's easier to lug it around without resorting to carrying it upside-down. :V)
  • The Oddish should be perfectly transportable from there-- even at night it shouldn't be able to get out of a steel mesh bag. (Hopefully it doesn't scream at being trapped inside of a bag too.) We probably need to actually use the pokeball on it at some point, though. :p
  • If we really want to be super-duper extra overprepared, we can bring gloves, filter masks, ear plugs, and incendiary grenades; we'd have to be seriously careless or unlucky for any of that to become necessary, but we may as well bring them just in case. That said, some of this might need to be adjusted based on further research (because we do need to do this research IC, even if I'm not anticipating anything that will make this plan entirely nonviable).

  • Abra is incredibly frail (and always will be), and we'll have to have a plan in place to stop it from teleporting away the moment we release it. Its lore also means that it'll be hard to train (until it evolves and stops sleeping 18 hours a day)-- but it makes up for all of that by being an insane powerhouse in its final form. Additionally, while it's not explicitly thematic, it's flexible enough to have plenty of synergy with our skillset. Honestly, though, I'd want this guy to be our second or third pokemon, not our first-- it just sleeps too damn much.
  • The QM has mentioned that we can get help from one of our peers when it comes to Abra-- I'm thinking that's going to be either Gary or Ash, and despite Gary being the living encyclopedia, for some reason I'm leaning more toward mysterious bullshit lad. :V It'll probably also be a good idea to research them more in-depth ourselves before committing to any particular plan. As-is, the best I've got is baiting areas where they're likely to be (making sure all areas are within an hour of each other so that we can reach them before the Abra moves again), setting up thermal/motion sensors and a prepared sniping point, and then just hoping we get lucky.
  • As a sidenote: Should tranquilizers really work on Abra? They're supposed to be able to teleport in their sleep anyway...

  • I wasn't going to do this one since I've devoted too much time thinking about the other three options to add a fourth to the mix, but Magnemite actually seems like it might be surprisingly good. It doesn't play well with our strengths, but its stats are respectable (especially given its highly valuable Steel typing) and Magnezone is the tanky powerhouse to Alakazam's glass cannon. It can be baited using anything that gives off electromagnetic radiation, and it's weak to incendiary grenades/bullets. Game-wise, Magnemite doesn't get many damaging moves that aren't Electric type and has pretty bad Attack too; if that translates equivalently here, we can probably protect ourselves adequately against it with just some insulating clothing and ear plugs.
  • The biggest issue (that I can identify without actual IC research) is that the bait is likely to attract more than one-- worse, Magneton is literally just three Magnemite linked together, so unless evolution for a Magnemite actually requires a proliferation of sunspots, we might accidentally make a Magneton. :V

  • Step 1: Find a pond where Poliwags are obviously located. Step 2: Taze the water. You know you want to. :V Step 3: Collect any one of the paralyzed Poliwags that float to the surface. Step 4: ??? Step 5: Profit.
  • This may or may not actually work. For one, I'm not actually sure the Poliwags would float to the surface. For two, this might anger a lot of the pond's inhabitants at once. :V
  • Alright, I already did Magnemite so I may as well be a bit more serious about this one: Poliwags have pretty mediocre stats, but Poliwrath is decent and Politoed is great (particularly if its lore is accurate and we're able to take advantage of it). Neither are greatly synergistic with our skillset, though. Poliwags are drawn to dry land for some reason despite not being very good at walking, but they'll retreat into the water at the first sign of danger and are apparently quite fast in the water. There's no obvious way to bait them out (food might work?). Though their skin is very thin, it's also rubbery and flexible enough to repel sharp fangs, so darts may not work here. Short of actually trying to taze the water, setting traps is probably our best bet.

  • Of the pokemon we're likely to meet, Mankey, Growlithe, Houndour, and Gyarados are all explicitly aggressive and/or territorial. Ninetales is also worth mentioning because it's rumored to be able to place curses (and technically can if we count its movesets), and it never forgives a grudge.
  • Given that three of those pokemon are Fire types, we should probably bring along some light firefighting equipment, if possible. Gyarados is probably too rare in this setting to be a reasonable worry, and Mankey (...) okay, I don't think we actually have much that can deter a troop of Mankeys (especially if they have a Vital Spirit equivalent); if we come across one we'd need to either try to bring enough firepower to kill or incapacitate all of them, somehow exploit their lack of ability to distinguish friend from foe in a rage, or bring some smoke grenades and hope we can hide well enough for them to go berserk in some other direction?
 
A few thoughts about our discussed options:
Murkrow is smart and fits our ninja aesthetic, but I can't think of what one could do outside of a fight. Oddish and poliwag both have possibilities in agriculture. Magnemite in industry. Oddish could also be useful in medicine somehow, maybe? We're not just thinking about which we could catch, but which would most efficiently suit our dual missions of fighting and showing we don't have to fight.

Abra seems useless but that might be my bias.
 
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