Counting Sheep - A Pokemon Trainer quest

[X][All About that Life] In some way, you've already reached your goal — to be a Trainer. Not that you lack ambition ; rather, you didn't care about recognition or accolades, so long as you can carry on working to become the best you could be whilst living the Trainer life.

[X][Stick in the Centre] Your legs are killing you, you have some reading with you and if nothing else you didn't miss the hopeful look that Joy sent you when she heard you had no plans — you might as well stick around and save her from her boredom. You don't think there's such a thing as a Joy that's a bad conversationalist, and if there's one thing that will never not be useful as a Trainer it's fostering good relations with the nurses — it's well-known that their gossip network might be one of the better ones in the world.

[X][Explorer] Who cares about the things you could be doing in the known parts of the world, when there's so much to discover still ? Sure, satellite imagery has ruined some of the magic, but there's still plenty of areas that haven't been actually explored even if the world now knows what they look like.

[X][Intrigued but Wary] Having such a powerful bond with pokemon that they changes your own physiology is an incredible thing to consider. A bit nerve-wracking as well, but it's not the worst thing you could think of happening. But it also meant that you needed to be careful in selecting your core theme, as the psychological impact is far more unsettling to think of.

[X][Stick in the Centre] Your legs are killing you, you have some reading with you and if nothing else you didn't miss the hopeful look that Joy sent you when she heard you had no plans — you might as well stick around and save her from her boredom. You don't think there's such a thing as a Joy that's a bad conversationalist, and if there's one thing that will never not be useful as a Trainer it's fostering good relations with the nurses — it's well-known that their gossip network might be one of the better ones in the world.

Even though I'm all for exploration, I want to stick to the Centre for the moment to rest properly. We need to know our limits and not push ourselves to the breaking point. Plus it always helps to get in good with the medical staff. Especially if they have such a great gossip network. Perfect way to find out local happenings and things that might be of interest. Including hints towards new places to discover and explore.

Put up a long moratorium to answer questions, fells asleep almost immediately after. Oops.

Edgedancer said:

For reference, do contests still have categories like cool and toughness? That should pretty much counter the concern some people have about Joan's image problems.

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Edgedancer said:

My interest on the contest route depends a bit on how exactly they work for the context of the quest, but given that this isn't a hard vote, I might as well mark my interest for it. Otherwise I'd be perfectly happy to explore the world. While many of the involved trainers sound interesting, the current gym paradigm doesn't sound like something I'm all that wild about participating in. At least not until we got ourselves a baseline of training and are less squarely in the "get stomped, but maybe receive a pitty badge" territory. Then I'd be up to tip our toes into it.

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Contests don't have categories the way they do in-game, but that's because they're all about impressing the judges and the public, and there's plenty of angles you can go at to do that, even if a lot of coordinators go for beauty and/or cuteness. But there's a reason they've managed for the most part to earn their status as a respectable career for Trainers. Individual contests will often have a theme they'll want you to work with, but will leave you pretty free to express it however you prefer. I guess the easiest way to put it is to think of them as all about finesse and control - whatever the impression you want to give is, the point is that it's about being able enough to make sure it's the only thing people see in your pokemon.

Also, there's no such a thing as a 'pity badge'. Sure, Leaders can give you a badge if you lose against them, but considering the whole point of leveling up their game was to keep out those Trainers not worthy enough of their recognition, it's less pity badge and more 'sure you lost, but I reckon on another day you could have won'. If that rankles, fair, but it's still a proof that one of the best Trainers on the continent is fine with calling you a peer and letting people think you are their equal.


And since I've seen a couple 'would [something] work as a Theme', I'll just put up a blanket statement : anything is fine, so long as you can convincingly explain to me why it's meaningful to Joan.


Also regarding Jasmine, considering like all the other Kanto/Johto Leaders I made up her team and Theme before the quest even began, you have no idea how funny I found it that you ended up with the same starter with a fairly similar build, too. Ever noticed how Melati seems quite knowledgeable about Mareep in particular ? From the moment I created her, I had Jasmine down as her best friend (it wasn't even subtle, what with the whole 'both live in Olivine, are close in age and Jasmine has a giant snake as her Ace'), so she's more familiar with the Ampharos line than most people, even if she's been happy to let you explore your own things so far. When the tutorial is over, she's planning to give you a standing offer to introduce the both of you if you want some advice.

[X][All About that Life] In some way, you've already reached your goal — to be a Trainer. Not that you lack ambition ; rather, you didn't care about recognition or accolades, so long as you can carry on working to become the best you could be whilst living the Trainer life.
[X] A little weird but also cool - knowing that Melati's inhuman snakeness is actually a bit inhuman is somewhat wierd... but also the idea of you and your pokemon bonding so much you become like each other is proof of how close you are.
[X][Stick in the Centre] Your legs are killing you, you have some reading with you and if nothing else you didn't miss the hopeful look that Joy sent you when she heard you had no plans — you might as well stick around and save her from her boredom. You don't think there's such a thing as a Joy that's a bad conversationalist, and if there's one thing that will never not be useful as a Trainer it's fostering good relations with the nurses — it's well-known that their gossip network might be one of the better ones in the world.

[X][All About that Life] In some way, you've already reached your goal — to be a Trainer. Not that you lack ambition ; rather, you didn't care about recognition or accolades, so long as you can carry on working to become the best you could be whilst living the Trainer life.
[X] It feels like a natural consequence. - Nobody seems to question the trainer's bond when it affects the pokemon, so it only seems fair that it takes effect the other way around as well. If a trainer doesn't want to be more like their pokemon, they probably shouldn't have added them to their team in the first place.

[X][Trainer to the Stars] Your personal fascination has always lied more in all the myriad ways you can train up a pokemon, rather than what you'd actually do once it gets there. You'd love nothing more than to be one of those Trainers who gets hired for interesting training jobs by the rich and famous, and see the pokemon you raised flourish all over the place.
[X] A little weird but also cool - knowing that Melati's inhuman snakeness is actually a bit inhuman is somewhat wierd... but also the idea of you and your pokemon bonding so much you become like each other is proof of how close you are.
[X][Stick in the Centre] Your legs are killing you, you have some reading with you and if nothing else you didn't miss the hopeful look that Joy sent you when she heard you had no plans — you might as well stick around and save her from her boredom. You don't think there's such a thing as a Joy that's a bad conversationalist, and if there's one thing that will never not be useful as a Trainer it's fostering good relations with the nurses — it's well-known that their gossip network might be one of the better ones in the world.

[X][Stick in the Centre] Your legs are killing you, you have some reading with you and if nothing else you didn't miss the hopeful look that Joy sent you when she heard you had no plans — you might as well stick around and save her from her boredom. You don't think there's such a thing as a Joy that's a bad conversationalist, and if there's one thing that will never not be useful as a Trainer it's fostering good relations with the nurses — it's well-known that their gossip network might be one of the better ones in the world.

[X] It feels like a natural consequence. - Nobody seems to question the trainer's bond when it affects the pokemon, so it only seems fair that it takes effect the other way around as well. If a trainer doesn't want to be more like their pokemon, they probably shouldn't have added them to their team in the first place.

[X][All About that Life] In some way, you've already reached your goal — to be a Trainer. Not that you lack ambition ; rather, you didn't care about recognition or accolades, so long as you can carry on working to become the best you could be whilst living the Trainer life.

[X][All About that Life] In some way, you've already reached your goal — to be a Trainer. Not that you lack ambition ; rather, you didn't care about recognition or accolades, so long as you can carry on working to become the best you could be whilst living the Trainer life.
[X] A little weird but also cool - knowing that Melati's inhuman snakeness is actually a bit inhuman is somewhat wierd... but also the idea of you and your pokemon bonding so much you become like each other is proof of how close you are.
[X][Stick in the Centre] Your legs are killing you, you have some reading with you and if nothing else you didn't miss the hopeful look that Joy sent you when she heard you had no plans — you might as well stick around and save her from her boredom. You don't think there's such a thing as a Joy that's a bad conversationalist, and if there's one thing that will never not be useful as a Trainer it's fostering good relations with the nurses — it's well-known that their gossip network might be one of the better ones in the world.

Current vote standings. Let's try and standardize the vote formats a little guys, I had to do some finagling to get these together properly.

ReverendSwing said:

Oh, which reminds me : now that we've all got a bit of a better idea of what Joan's like, feel free to suggest pics for him. Subject to approval, obviously, but I'll probably put my favourites together and have a side vote in the near future to give him a definitive pic (unless y'all want to keep Kuroko - it's surprisingly hard to find soft-boy-that-still-has-some-muscle pics).

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And just throwing two pics on the pile to get some blond options in.

[X][All About that Life] In some way, you've already reached your goal — to be a Trainer. Not that you lack ambition ; rather, you didn't care about recognition or accolades, so long as you can carry on working to become the best you could be whilst living the Trainer life
[X][Stick in the Centre] Your legs are killing you, you have some reading with you and if nothing else you didn't miss the hopeful look that Joy sent you when she heard you had no plans — you might as well stick around and save her from her boredom. You don't think there's such a thing as a Joy that's a bad conversationalist, and if there's one thing that will never not be useful as a Trainer it's fostering good relations with the nurses — it's well-known that their gossip network might be one of the better ones in the world.
[X] It feels like a natural consequence. - Nobody seems to question the trainer's bond when it affects the pokemon, so it only seems fair that it takes effect the other way around as well. If a trainer doesn't want to be more like their pokemon, they probably shouldn't have added them to their team in the first place.

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Now that we know more about Themes and their affect on the trainer I have a few ideas I want to toss out for feedback. These are themes that reinforce our current personality, not use a theme as a way to change ourselves.

1-The best things in life come in small packages.
A- Would be pokemon that are always small. Reinforces us looking soft and unassuming.
B- pokemon that start small but evolve into massive sizes. Would give us hope that one day we will grow into being physically impressive like our pokemon.

2-Speak softly but carry a big stick.
Would focus on pokemon that look unassuming/polite but when there is a reason to, are fully capable of standing their ground and wreaking face.

[X][Go to the Shrine] Accompany Melati to the Silver Feather Shrine, you didn't get that degree because you were incurious when it comes to myths and legends ! That said, you know for a fact the shrine has been abandoned by its patron deity, and it's hardly reputed for having riches beyond imagination or even anything particularly interesting aside from its titular feather

Yass, we're following Melati! She's so interesting!

[X] A little weird but also cool - knowing that Melati's inhuman snakeness is actually a bit inhuman is somewhat wierd... but also the idea of you and your pokemon bonding so much you become like each other is proof of how close you are.


As for the ambition... hm. Anything's fine, really. The main thing I want is to bond with our Pokémon, to live an adventure with them.

[X][All About that Life] In some way, you've already reached your goal — to be a Trainer. Not that you lack ambition ; rather, you didn't care about recognition or accolades, so long as you can carry on working to become the best you could be whilst living the Trainer life.
[X] A little weird but also cool - knowing that Melati's inhuman snakeness is actually a bit inhuman is somewhat wierd... but also the idea of you and your pokemon bonding so much you become like each other is proof of how close you are.
[X][Go to the Shrine] Accompany Melati to the Silver Feather Shrine, you didn't get that degree because you were incurious when it comes to myths and legends ! That said, you know for a fact the shrine has been abandoned by its patron deity, and it's hardly reputed for having riches beyond imagination or even anything particularly interesting aside from its titular feather.

Akira D. said:

[X][Go to the Shrine] Accompany Melati to the Silver Feather Shrine, you didn't get that degree because you were incurious when it comes to myths and legends ! That said, you know for a fact the shrine has been abandoned by its patron deity, and it's hardly reputed for having riches beyond imagination or even anything particularly interesting aside from its titular feather

Yass, we're following Melati! She's so interesting!

[X][Go to the Shrine] Accompany Melati to the Silver Feather Shrine, you didn't get that degree because you were incurious when it comes to myths and legends ! That said, you know for a fact the shrine has been abandoned by its patron deity, and it's hardly reputed for having riches beyond imagination or even anything particularly interesting aside from its titular feather

As for the ambition... hm. Anything's fine, really. The main thing I want is to bond with our Pokémon, to live an adventure with them.

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You voted the same thing twice.

Bloodalchemy said:

2-Speak softly but carry a big stick.
Would focus on pokemon that look unassuming/polite but when there is a reason to, are fully capable of standing their ground and wreaking face.

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I like this one more tbh. Feels a little easier to deal with early on as we begin refining down what our theme is. I think the best approach here would be to start with a wide net and then trim things down as we go further along our path as a trainer.

[X][Explorer]
[X][Intrigued but Wary]
[X][Stick in the Centre]

Edgedancer said:

I have no interest in getting Joan the kind of pompus ego now rightfully associated with dragon trainers, so the dragonborn theme for example is pretty much dead to me.

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That's why I have it as Dragonborn, not Dragon. Draconic ancestry but not truly dragons themselves should help keep everything on the right side of the Confident-Arrogant spectrum. It'll be a thing to watch out for, but I wouldn't expect it to just happen with no warning. I'll gather up all the bits and pieces of my idea at some point to make my case, but I still feel it's viable.

Edgedancer said:

And just throwing two pics on the pile to get some blond options in.

Spoiler

Spoiler

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Those are nice. I like the second one, but the first is definitely softer.

Someone mentioned blonde and I have to add what would be our role model if we ever met them.

[X][Stick in the Centre] Your legs are killing you, you have some reading with you and if nothing else you didn't miss the hopeful look that Joy sent you when she heard you had no plans — you might as well stick around and save her from her boredom. You don't think there's such a thing as a Joy that's a bad conversationalist, and if there's one thing that will never not be useful as a Trainer it's fostering good relations with the nurses — it's well-known that their gossip network might be one of the better ones in the world.

[X] It feels like a natural consequence. - Nobody seems to question the trainer's bond when it affects the pokemon, so it only seems fair that it takes effect the other way around as well. If a trainer doesn't want to be more like their pokemon, they probably shouldn't have added them to their team in the first place.

[X][Explorer] Who cares about the things you could be doing in the known parts of the world, when there's so much to discover still ? Sure, satellite imagery has ruined some of the magic, but there's still plenty of areas that haven't been actually explored even if the world now knows what they look like.


I really like the exploration theme, especially as it's not like we can't do other trainer stuff too. As for the rest, Joan might want to explore but it probably tired and it's not likely we will often get a chance to start making friends with the Joys. And really, the effects of the bond do feel like the natural consequence to me.

[X][Stick in the Centre] Your legs are killing you, you have some reading with you and if nothing else you didn't miss the hopeful look that Joy sent you when she heard you had no plans — you might as well stick around and save her from her boredom. You don't think there's such a thing as a Joy that's a bad conversationalist, and if there's one thing that will never not be useful as a Trainer it's fostering good relations with the nurses — it's well-known that their gossip network might be one of the better ones in the world.

[X] It feels like a natural consequence. - Nobody seems to question the trainer's bond when it affects the pokemon, so it only seems fair that it takes effect the other way around as well. If a trainer doesn't want to be more like their pokemon, they probably shouldn't have added them to their team in the first place.

[X][Explorer] Who cares about the things you could be doing in the known parts of the world, when there's so much to discover still ? Sure, satellite imagery has ruined some of the magic, but there's still plenty of areas that haven't been actually explored even if the world now knows what they look like.

I mean, why not eh?

[X][All About that Life] In some way, you've already reached your goal — to be a Trainer. Not that you lack ambition ; rather, you didn't care about recognition or accolades, so long as you can carry on working to become the best you could be whilst living the Trainer life
[X] It feels like a natural consequence. - Nobody seems to question the trainer's bond when it affects the pokemon, so it only seems fair that it takes effect the other way around as well. If a trainer doesn't want to be more like their pokemon, they probably shouldn't have added them to their team in the first place.
[X][Go to the Shrine] Accompany Melati to the Silver Feather Shrine, you didn't get that degree because you were incurious when it comes to myths and legends ! That said, you know for a fact the shrine has been abandoned by its patron deity, and it's hardly reputed for having riches beyond imagination or even anything particularly interesting aside from its titular feather.

[][Future Goal][Approval] The goal you've been setting for yourself in the future, at least as of now
[X][Specialist] You didn't dream of becoming a Competitive Battler, because when it comes down to it, they're not what matters. They're not the ones that get remembered, by a few exceptional ones. That's the Gym Leaders, and above them the Elite Four — and they are the ones whose ranks you craved to join.

I like being the lord of my castle, here it would translate into being a gym leader. We will just have to see how we develop our speciality later on.

[][Trainer Bond][Approval] How you feel about the Trainer Bond's potential future influence on you
[X][Write-in] It feels fair. You are raising Marigold from the egg and you intend to be a core element in her life, if you shape her life, it's understandable she will leave a part of her in you. There is no need for powers to influence others, closeness is enough, your parents and your teachers have been a huge part of your life. If your pokemon leave their mark on you so you can live with them, then it's little different from most relationships.

My write-in. If pokemon are so developed, I see no issue treating them like people. Getting some weird habits so you can lead a team of pokemon doesn't look that bad for me.

[][Wat do][Approval] What you want to do this afternoon in Silverwing
[X][Go to the Shrine] Accompany Melati to the Silver Feather Shrine, you didn't get that degree because you were incurious when it comes to myths and legends ! That said, you know for a fact the shrine has been abandoned by its patron deity, and it's hardly reputed for having riches beyond imagination or even anything particularly interesting aside from its titular feather.

Mythology pick.

[X][All About that Life] In some way, you've already reached your goal — to be a Trainer. Not that you lack ambition ; rather, you didn't care about recognition or accolades, so long as you can carry on working to become the best you could be whilst living the Trainer life
[X][Stick in the Centre] Your legs are killing you, you have some reading with you and if nothing else you didn't miss the hopeful look that Joy sent you when she heard you had no plans — you might as well stick around and save her from her boredom. You don't think there's such a thing as a Joy that's a bad conversationalist, and if there's one thing that will never not be useful as a Trainer it's fostering good relations with the nurses — it's well-known that their gossip network might be one of the better ones in the world.
[X] It feels like a natural consequence. - Nobody seems to question the trainer's bond when it affects the pokemon, so it only seems fair that it takes effect the other way around as well. If a trainer doesn't want to be more like their pokemon, they probably shouldn't have added them to their team in the first place.
Going to try and make some images work, if they dont yell at me till i fix them lol

[X][Explorer] Who cares about the things you could be doing in the known parts of the world, when there's so much to discover still ? Sure, satellite imagery has ruined some of the magic, but there's still plenty of areas that haven't been actually explored even if the world now knows what they look like.
[X] It feels like a natural consequence. - Nobody seems to question the trainer's bond when it affects the pokemon, so it only seems fair that it takes effect the other way around as well. If a trainer doesn't want to be more like their pokemon, they probably shouldn't have added them to their team in the first place.
[X][Go to the Shrine] Accompany Melati to the Silver Feather Shrine, you didn't get that degree because you were incurious when it comes to myths and legends ! That said, you know for a fact the shrine has been abandoned by its patron deity, and it's hardly reputed for having riches beyond imagination or even anything particularly interesting aside from its titular feather.

I have to say @ReverendSwing all the work you've done on the themes and mechanics of this quest are incredibly impressive to me. All the trainer profiles you've shown off this chapter were really interesting and you've clearly put a lot of work into them.

Bloodalchemy said:

1-The best things in life come in small packages.
A- Would be pokemon that are always small. Reinforces us looking soft and unassuming.
B- pokemon that start small but evolve into massive sizes. Would give us hope that one day we will grow into being physically impressive like our pokemon.

2-Speak softly but carry a big stick.
Would focus on pokemon that look unassuming/polite but when there is a reason to, are fully capable of standing their ground and wreaking face.

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I'm not too fond of the first option. Version A reinforces an aspect Joan is rather frustrated with, so I don't see him choosing to seek it out in his pokemon purposefully (I mean, we did just go through a chapter where he was hoping to one day get a manlier physique) and version B is living vicariously through his pokemon in a way that strikes me as potentially problematic. If anything, we'd probably be better off just investing in pokemon that are large from the get go, or burly fighting types for that matter. (Now I'm imagining an alternate version of Joan that started out with a pancham.) Of course, this brings me to other problem that while mareep starts very small, Ampharos isn't exactly massive, so it doesn't gell that well with our starter.

The second option has potential though. It does however feel somewhat incomplete still. Probably because "unassuming/polite" is a pretty vague qualifyer. I think the trick here might be to find a trait that Joan wants to cultivate that's both shared by Marigold (or at least something we can train her to become) and lends itself to a contrast with their ability to kick ass. Some kind of deadly beauty thing maybe?

Noxlux013 said:

That's why I have it as Dragonborn, not Dragon. Draconic ancestry but not truly dragons themselves should help keep everything on the right side of the Confident-Arrogant spectrum. It'll be a thing to watch out for, but I wouldn't expect it to just happen with no warning. I'll gather up all the bits and pieces of my idea at some point to make my case, but I still feel it's viable.

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That's fair. I guess the thing is that I don't get why we'd want to define ourselves by kinda sorta being like something else, but not quite. I can see it being valid in the sense that it gives a list of criterias to select pokemon by, but I don't really see how it's a sound decision for Joan to make.

[X][Write-In][The Path Less Traveled] You'd always been a little distant from your peers. You'd never clicked with the trainers who had left at the first chance, but you had always wanted to go on a journey unlike many of your associates in school. Now, after the story of that Rhydon, teaching Marigold what to do, in a manner that no other Electric type could, something just felt right about this. You are going to raise a team that defies convention, one that makes it's own unique way to the summit.
[X][Go to the Shrine] Accompany Melati to the Silver Feather Shrine, you didn't get that degree because you were incurious when it comes to myths and legends ! That said, you know for a fact the shrine has been abandoned by its patron deity, and it's hardly reputed for having riches beyond imagination or even anything particularly interesting aside from its titular feather.
[X] It feels like a natural consequence. - Nobody seems to question the trainer's bond when it affects the pokemon, so it only seems fair that it takes effect the other way around as well. If a trainer doesn't want to be more like their pokemon, they probably shouldn't have added them to their team in the first place.