Post by Satori on Jan 17, 2015 4:29:04 GMT
Here are some answers to questions that people have asked, or most likely will ask:
Q: Who is the main admin on this site?
A: Akira and I run it jointly. That said, you would typically want to go to her for questions on rules or mechanics, or to me for questions on the setting.
Q: What is this site?
A: It's a roleplaying site. A Pokemon roleplaying site, based on an original region. Go on a journey around the region, collect badges, challenge the Pokemon League, all the usual.
Q: And the Aina Region? It looks kind of like Maui.
A: Just like Unova looks kind of like New York City, and Kalos looks kind of like France. Same premise: take a real world location and modify it to make it a Pokemon region. Maui was practically a Pokemon region to begin with, so it was a perfect choice. Plus, I like it, and I knew it well enough to work with.
Q: Does this site have fakemon?
A: All Pokemon from the Pokemon Quartz hack can be found in-no. No it does not. Please do not take that first part seriously. Fakemon would be an incredible hassle to keep track of, especially since we would have to keep a topic with stats and movelists for them somewhere. Best not to.
Q: What about Pokemorphs?
A: No. Also way too much of a hassle. They would be a nightmare to balance and regulate.
Q: Psychic powers? They are canon.
A: They are, but the answer is no here as well. Same reason as above.
Q: Are we allowed to play canons from the anime/manga/games?
A: No. In fact, we would prefer no mention of canon characters at all. This includes being related to one. The most we would allow is a passing reference in your character's history. Even then, we would prefer that you keep it nonspecific. For instance: "the Lavaridge Gym Leader" rather than directly mentioning Flannery.
Q: Are there any special positions we can play, at least? Gym leaders? Team admins? The champion?
A: Gym leaders will not be playable. The reason for this is that, due to allowing gyms to be challenged in any order, each leader would require multiple teams to meet each possible challenge, and rather than have players plan out three or more teams and set up intricate requirements for what team can be used against what challenger, we decided to just NPC the leaders and tailor each gym battle specifically to the challenger. For anyone really eager to play a gym leader, we apologize. There will be other opportunities.
ON THAT NOTE: Special positions will open up over time, as the RP progresses. New openings will be announced. Vacancies will not. If you want one, be on the lookout. The topic for open positions, as well as team options and requirements for each, can be found on the sidebar.
Q: Do I have to start at the lab?
A: Nope. It can be assumed that you have already been by. In fact, we would prefer it if you did that. The lab threads would pile up very fast.
Q: Do my Pokemon have to come from the lab? Like, can I say my character had them before they started on their journey?
A: That's perfectly fine. Just as a note, unless you specify in your history that you obtained your Pokemon some other way, it will be assumed that they came from the lab.
Q: Why are most areas' spawn lists so small? Can I find any other Pokemon other than what's listed there?
A: Most of them are three times larger than what you'd find on an in-game route. The reason for the small size of most spawn lists (Hapuu Highway and the remote areas are obvious exceptions) was because we didn't want to make finding specific Pokemon much of a chore. We wanted to encourage exploring many areas of the region and looking for lots of different Pokemon rather than constantly running around one area looking for that one Pokemon that never seems to show up. Of course, that could still potentially happen. We can't directly influence the RNG, but we can make it less of a hassle. Of course, rare Pokemon are still much harder to find. They're rare, after all.
As for finding Pokemon not on the list: as a general rule, no. During missions and possibly events, you might find some unusual Pokemon in an area, or even find wild Pokemon in an area that doesn't normally have any. But under normal circumstances, what you see is what you get.
Q: Why do some areas have evolved Pokemon as rare spawns?
A: Flavor, mostly. Would you want to go into an abandoned, overgrown town taken over by Trevenants but not be able to run into a single one?
Q: I want to be a Coordinator. How do contests work here?
A: Short answer: they don't. Long answer: We set up a contest hall and the Coordinator trainer class for members who wanted to do contests, but decided early on in development that those members would have to come up with a contest system and rules themselves. Neither of us have a clue what to do with them. So, feel free to send us your ideas.
Q: What Pokemon can I start with?
A: Look over here.
Q: Why can't I start with any of the uncommon/restricted/rare Pokemon?
A: Balance concerns, mostly. A new trainer starting off with a single stage Pokemon, even a Pachirisu or Dedenne (or anything slightly more powerful than a Luvdisc, really) would have a decisive advantage over anyone who started out with a normal starter. Other Pokemon on the uncommon list either still start out very strong or have been over-picked (which would otherwise result in being placed on the restricted list) on previous sites we've staffed on. Rare Pokemon, naturally, cannot be picked because they're rare. Shocking, I know.
Q: Does this site run on liquid time?
A: The only way we could reasonably get away with not running the site on liquid time would be to restrict everyone to one thread at a time per character. We would rather not do either. So yes, it does.
Q: Can I have one of cosplay versions of Pikachu?
A: There's honestly not much point. It's a neat gimmick, but that's all it is. What you can do, however, is purchase a Special Move to teach a normal Pikachu the moves exclusive to each of its costumes; Meteor Mash, Icicle Crash, Draining Kiss, Electric Terrain or Flying Press. However, this comes under the stipulation that, if you evolve them, they will lose said move(s).
Q: What about Eternal Flower Floette?
A: EF Floette is, for all intents and purposes, regarded as a one-of-a-kind Pokemon. As far as I'm concerned, it still canonically belongs to AZ, so...in short, the answer is no. Also, unlike the cosplay Pikachu, its unique move is exclusive to that particular form. As such, I'm sorry say you will not be able to teach Ruin of Light to a normal Floette.
Q: Who is the main admin on this site?
A: Akira and I run it jointly. That said, you would typically want to go to her for questions on rules or mechanics, or to me for questions on the setting.
Q: What is this site?
A: It's a roleplaying site. A Pokemon roleplaying site, based on an original region. Go on a journey around the region, collect badges, challenge the Pokemon League, all the usual.
Q: And the Aina Region? It looks kind of like Maui.
A: Just like Unova looks kind of like New York City, and Kalos looks kind of like France. Same premise: take a real world location and modify it to make it a Pokemon region. Maui was practically a Pokemon region to begin with, so it was a perfect choice. Plus, I like it, and I knew it well enough to work with.
Q: Does this site have fakemon?
A: All Pokemon from the Pokemon Quartz hack can be found in-no. No it does not. Please do not take that first part seriously. Fakemon would be an incredible hassle to keep track of, especially since we would have to keep a topic with stats and movelists for them somewhere. Best not to.
Q: What about Pokemorphs?
A: No. Also way too much of a hassle. They would be a nightmare to balance and regulate.
Q: Psychic powers? They are canon.
A: They are, but the answer is no here as well. Same reason as above.
Q: Are we allowed to play canons from the anime/manga/games?
A: No. In fact, we would prefer no mention of canon characters at all. This includes being related to one. The most we would allow is a passing reference in your character's history. Even then, we would prefer that you keep it nonspecific. For instance: "the Lavaridge Gym Leader" rather than directly mentioning Flannery.
Q: Are there any special positions we can play, at least? Gym leaders? Team admins? The champion?
A: Gym leaders will not be playable. The reason for this is that, due to allowing gyms to be challenged in any order, each leader would require multiple teams to meet each possible challenge, and rather than have players plan out three or more teams and set up intricate requirements for what team can be used against what challenger, we decided to just NPC the leaders and tailor each gym battle specifically to the challenger. For anyone really eager to play a gym leader, we apologize. There will be other opportunities.
ON THAT NOTE: Special positions will open up over time, as the RP progresses. New openings will be announced. Vacancies will not. If you want one, be on the lookout. The topic for open positions, as well as team options and requirements for each, can be found on the sidebar.
Q: Do I have to start at the lab?
A: Nope. It can be assumed that you have already been by. In fact, we would prefer it if you did that. The lab threads would pile up very fast.
Q: Do my Pokemon have to come from the lab? Like, can I say my character had them before they started on their journey?
A: That's perfectly fine. Just as a note, unless you specify in your history that you obtained your Pokemon some other way, it will be assumed that they came from the lab.
Q: Why are most areas' spawn lists so small? Can I find any other Pokemon other than what's listed there?
A: Most of them are three times larger than what you'd find on an in-game route. The reason for the small size of most spawn lists (Hapuu Highway and the remote areas are obvious exceptions) was because we didn't want to make finding specific Pokemon much of a chore. We wanted to encourage exploring many areas of the region and looking for lots of different Pokemon rather than constantly running around one area looking for that one Pokemon that never seems to show up. Of course, that could still potentially happen. We can't directly influence the RNG, but we can make it less of a hassle. Of course, rare Pokemon are still much harder to find. They're rare, after all.
As for finding Pokemon not on the list: as a general rule, no. During missions and possibly events, you might find some unusual Pokemon in an area, or even find wild Pokemon in an area that doesn't normally have any. But under normal circumstances, what you see is what you get.
Q: Why do some areas have evolved Pokemon as rare spawns?
A: Flavor, mostly. Would you want to go into an abandoned, overgrown town taken over by Trevenants but not be able to run into a single one?
Q: I want to be a Coordinator. How do contests work here?
A: Short answer: they don't. Long answer: We set up a contest hall and the Coordinator trainer class for members who wanted to do contests, but decided early on in development that those members would have to come up with a contest system and rules themselves. Neither of us have a clue what to do with them. So, feel free to send us your ideas.
Q: What Pokemon can I start with?
A: Look over here.
Q: Why can't I start with any of the uncommon/restricted/rare Pokemon?
A: Balance concerns, mostly. A new trainer starting off with a single stage Pokemon, even a Pachirisu or Dedenne (or anything slightly more powerful than a Luvdisc, really) would have a decisive advantage over anyone who started out with a normal starter. Other Pokemon on the uncommon list either still start out very strong or have been over-picked (which would otherwise result in being placed on the restricted list) on previous sites we've staffed on. Rare Pokemon, naturally, cannot be picked because they're rare. Shocking, I know.
Q: Does this site run on liquid time?
A: The only way we could reasonably get away with not running the site on liquid time would be to restrict everyone to one thread at a time per character. We would rather not do either. So yes, it does.
Q: Can I have one of cosplay versions of Pikachu?
A: There's honestly not much point. It's a neat gimmick, but that's all it is. What you can do, however, is purchase a Special Move to teach a normal Pikachu the moves exclusive to each of its costumes; Meteor Mash, Icicle Crash, Draining Kiss, Electric Terrain or Flying Press. However, this comes under the stipulation that, if you evolve them, they will lose said move(s).
Q: What about Eternal Flower Floette?
A: EF Floette is, for all intents and purposes, regarded as a one-of-a-kind Pokemon. As far as I'm concerned, it still canonically belongs to AZ, so...in short, the answer is no. Also, unlike the cosplay Pikachu, its unique move is exclusive to that particular form. As such, I'm sorry say you will not be able to teach Ruin of Light to a normal Floette.