I. Signups: Similar to past poetry contests, you’ll make a reservation post that gives us the bare essentials. This is to show that you’ve put some thought into your entry and have read the rules.
Signups will be open throughout the entire process. While you must have your final product ready by the deadline for voting, you are not limited to a seven-day window and are free to join even the day before voting begins (so long as you complete the requirements).
II. Content: In this contest, you’ll be creating some sort of Pokémon trainer. Whether you explore canon occupations like gym leaders or create brand new roles in a made up government/organization, you are free to create so long as you describe it. Your trainer is allowed to have one to two Pokémon in possession, each with a backstory as well. In your initial post, you’re only required to write a one-sentence logline of your plans. If you write your entry too early, your post may be drowned in others’ signups.
Signups will be open throughout the entire process. While you must have your final product ready by the deadline for voting, you are not limited to a seven-day window and are free to join even the day before voting begins (so long as you complete the requirements).
II. Content: In this contest, you’ll be creating some sort of Pokémon trainer. Whether you explore canon occupations like gym leaders or create brand new roles in a made up government/organization, you are free to create so long as you describe it. Your trainer is allowed to have one to two Pokémon in possession, each with a backstory as well. In your initial post, you’re only required to write a one-sentence logline of your plans. If you write your entry too early, your post may be drowned in others’ signups.
- Trainers: For trainers, you’ll be expected to provide the gender (any expression welcome), age, occupation/passion, and physical description--the latter including whatever you feel necessary to add: race, eye / hair color, clothing, accessories, etc. Other physical details are encouraged (such as how someone wears a hat or makes a certain gesture often) as well. After the initial post, a more detailed (300 word+) backstory is required by the end so we all know what your character has gone through and where they may be going.
For example, if you’re writing about the first gym leader in Alola, we need to know how that person got to the position and what is going on in the region. What struggles are they going through, what choices do they have to make? Why do they specialize in whatever type?
- Pokémon: Just like with trainers, we want to know about the Pokémon. Please include any unique physical characteristics (a scar, a pattern, shiny) as well! We also want to know that Pokémon’s ability, nature, moveset, how it was caught/added, etc. If your Pokémon can evolve, will it? What’s stopping it?
III. Restrictions: Please remember Creative Works’ rules against plagiarism of content (including last year's round). Any plagiarized entries will be disqualified and consequences may arise. Also, don’t rewrite an already-existing character in the Pokémon universe. Your character cannot be Sinnoh Champion Cynthia, but you can talk about her daughter’s struggles to live up to her mother’s standards.
There is no required word count for the reservation post since your post should be very short. For the final version, we ask for ~300 words for the trainer (which is a couple paragraphs), and 100-150 words for each Pokémon. Remember, longer descriptions give more vivid detail but can also be too long for others to read!
IV. Formatting:
For reservation post:
Trainer Name, Gender, Age:
Passion/Occupation:
Physical Description:
Possible Backstory: #Only one or two sentences for now
Pokémon acquired: #List up to three Pokémon here
Passion/Occupation:
Physical Description:
Possible Backstory: #Only one or two sentences for now
Pokémon acquired: #List up to three Pokémon here
Remember you only need a few words’ description for most of the fields, and just a sentence or two in the backstory. You’ll develop all that for the final product, which will be due in two weeks.
For final post:
Trainer Name, Gender, Age:
Physical Description:
Hometown/region:
Occupation:
Backstory: #300 words minimum
Pokémon 1:
Caught: #time and place
Ability:
Nature:
Learnset: #4 moves max
Backstory: #100 words minimum
Optional:
Pokéball:
Unique characteristics:
Pokémon 2:
Caught: #time and place
Nature:
Learnset: #4 moves max
Backstory: #100 words minimum
Optional:
Pokéball:
Unique characteristics:
Physical Description:
Hometown/region:
Occupation:
Backstory: #300 words minimum
Pokémon 1:
Caught: #time and place
Ability:
Nature:
Learnset: #4 moves max
Backstory: #100 words minimum
Optional:
Pokéball:
Unique characteristics:
Pokémon 2:
Caught: #time and place
Nature:
Learnset: #4 moves max
Backstory: #100 words minimum
Optional:
Pokéball:
Unique characteristics:
You can also see an example from OCC's first winner @Vom at the bottom of this post.
V. Prize: That’s right, this Creative Works contest comes with a prize for the highest-voted character: reprising his role from last year is our very own @scattered mind, who has offered his creative talent to draw the chosen trainer and Pokémon! He will begin his work after the voting phase ends and a winner is announced.
VI. Voting: Unlike the PokéPoetry! Contest, you can like every submission if you want! We want you to feel comfortable sharing thoughts/feedback on submissions since this is a writing exercise. It's also a contest, of course, but at the end of the day we all want to create something special. Feel free to encourage and discuss everything at any point in the competition because we will be using an outside voting platform (YouPoll) to do official voting. This keeps the process more private. Please DM me on here or discord (turtwig#1542) if you don’t feel comfortable.
VII. Dates:
5/30: Signups begin, entries allowed at any time. Character discussion is encouraged throughout process.
6/16: Entries are due. I will make a post that compiles all of the submissions and provide a link for the voting process, which will remain anonymous.
6/20: Voting is over, winner is announced, @scattered mind will begin drawing the winner! We will also start brainstorming the CYOA
Vom's past submission for reference:
Trainer Name, Gender, Age: Anna Razzo, Female, Age 17
Physical Description: Medium height, light skin, dark eyes. Long, wavy dark red hair down to mid-back.
Possible Backstory: Silver's twin sister, runs away from foster home after her past catches up to her. Initially only having Zorua by her side, she has met a couple Pokémon along her journey, though avoiding Psychic types for...reasons.
Pokémon acquired: Zoroark, Dartrix
Physical Description: Medium height, light skin, dark eyes. Long, wavy dark red hair down to mid-back.
Possible Backstory: Silver's twin sister, runs away from foster home after her past catches up to her. Initially only having Zorua by her side, she has met a couple Pokémon along her journey, though avoiding Psychic types for...reasons.
Pokémon acquired: Zoroark, Dartrix
And here’s an example for the final product:
Trainer Name, Gender, Age: Anna Razzo, Female, Age 17
Physical Description: Medium height, light skin, dark eyes. Long, wavy dark red hair down to mid-back.
Hometown/region: Born in Kanto, been to pretty much every region but is currently in Johto.
Occupation: Street Performer
Backstory: When Helena found out she was pregnant, she didn't know what she'd do with the baby. She'd always wanted children, but...not like this. She knew it would be a mistake to get with her new boss, but she did it anyway. That man...there was something intriguing about him. She could clearly tell he was different, but not whether that was good or bad. Either way, even his name had a certain charm around it: Giovanni.
As soon as her pregnancy became the slightest bit noticeable, she took an assignment that would keep her children away from Giovanni's shady operation: a desk job at Silph Co. This was perfect for her - it was both a relatively safe undercover operation to one day take over the company, and a way to keep the head of Team Rocket in the dark.
The months passed, and eventually she gave birth to two red-haired twins: Anna and Silver Razzo. However, wanting a better future for her children than Team Rocket's operations (and afraid of what might happen if Giovanni found out she hid the children from him), she gave them up for adoption. A nice couple from Unova happened to be staying in Saffron City at the time, and they fell in love with the children. Having given the foster parents explicit instructions to disappear if something were to happen to her, she parted ways with her children, though she did visit every few weeks if she deemed it safe.
However, this would not last, as the line of duty called her to a remote island for a top secret project. She said her goodbyes to her children, who were only a couple of years old at the time, and left to work under Dr. Fuji, a man who had devoted his life to researching cloning after his daughter Amber died.
Despite the secrecy that surrounded her new assignment, with a bit of digging, Helena was able to find Team Rocket's true motivation for funding Dr. Fuji's research - if left unchecked, it could spell doom for the entire planet. Aware of the potential consequences, she repeatedly tried to sabotage the whole thing from the inside. Nevertheless, the team of scientists pressed on, and her efforts proved futile: four clones were manufactured and put in capsules for development.
Determined to stop Team Rocket at all costs, she sneaked into the lab one night and messed with the clones' life support system. The day after, as she arrived with her friends for the night shift, the lab exploded, putting an end to the experiment and all of the personnel present.
The news of the explosion was broadcast worldwide: reporters on TV, columnists online, even conspiracy theorists were all over the incident. It spread like wildfire, quickly reaching inner Kanto and Saffron City. Though regrettable, it did not set off any alarms in Anna's foster parents at first - it wasn't until a few days after the death toll was calculated and the dead revealed that they remembered their promise to Anna's mother. True to their word, they quickly packed all their things and sorted their affairs with the now Rocket-controlled city to go back to Unova, hoping it wasn't too late.
During a stop at Johto's Goldenrod city, the train was stopped and boarded by a few Rocket grunts - they were looking for two adults with red-haired twins. Realizing that Giovanni had found the children, the brave parents did their best to hide them, but when the Rockets got to their wagon, they quickly spotted Silver's shaking legs under some covers. When the parents refused to tell them where the other child was, the grunts executed them right where they were - as per orders. Unable to find Anna, they simply took Silver and let the train continue its course. Unbeknownst to Anna, her twin would escape capture a few years later and live on the streets as a criminal, eventually making his way to New Bark Town.
In Unova, alone in a foreign land, Anna Razzo would have been doomed if it wasn't for a charitable teacher at the Trainer's School that took her under his wing and took care of her until she graduated. On the day of her graduation, the teacher walked in on Anna talking to her Zorua while the latter had taken the appearance of Anna's birth mother, Helena. Recognizing the woman's face immediately and realizing the implications, he chose not to say anything until the next day.
The next morning, he called Anna for breakfast and told her everything. About the explosion, her original foster parents, and Zorua's appearance. She could barely remember these events, but somehow it all made sense. At school, she had always been ostracized and called names, but she could never understand why. Now she knew the truth. Overflowing with emotions, she just exploded at her adoptive father - though she knew it was not his fault, she had not learned to deal with her feelings and reacted the only way she knew. She would come to regret this, however, as the heated argument proved to be too much for the old teacher's heart.
Horrified and ashamed, she took Zorua and set off on a journey of her own - to detroy Team Rocket as much as Team Rocket had destroyed her life.
Pokémon 1: Zoroark
Caught: Trainer School in Aspertia City, Unova
Ability: Illusion
Nature: Rash
Learnset: Night Daze, Extrasensory, Double Team, Psych Up
Backstory: Anna and Zorua met in the Trainer School. At first, the little Zorua was intrigued by the newcomer, and in a matter of days the little fox started playing little pranks on Anna to get her attention. An apple on the ground one day, her teacher the other, even her own adoptive father at one point. Little Anna was amused by Zorua's expression when she pulled its tail while under an illusion, and that simple, pure fun led to the start of a friendship. It eventually turned into Anna's mother at her request, allowing her to talk to her mother in her own way.
After they left Aspertia City, Zorua became the backbone of both Anna's team and Anna's means of earning money. While they had room for improvement, Zorua's illusions were often enough to trick people into giving them money, and as far as battling was concerned, Zorua may have been Rash, but it was precisely because of this that after using an illusion to stun little Pokémon that they had no time to compose themselves before being caught off guard.
Since Anna didn't bother with gym challenges as much as she did tracking down Team Rocket, Zorua's evolution inevitably took place at a Rocket dungeon. Having tricked the guards into thinking they were both Team Rocket members and thinking themselves safe, Zorua turned off the illusion once they were inside. A couple of grunts saw this, and since Zorua was largely negligible to their combined forces, they started attacking the girl instead.
Seeing its partner like that, now it was Zorua's turn to defend her. It selflessly charged into battle, and in the midst of the chaos it evolved into the mighty Zoroark it is today. Its current moveset is very useful during street performances as well as battling in conjunction with its more advanced illusions.
Pokémon 2: Dartrix
Caught: Upon arriving to Kalos
Nature: Calm
Learnset: Razor Leaf, Seed Bomb, Phantom Force
Backstory: Anna found Dartrix abandoned in the train station when she arrived to Kalos. Remembering her own origins, she did her best to nurse it back to health with Zoroark's help. Once it recovered, ir proved to be an extremely valuable member of Anna's team, unleashing powerful ranged attacks from the shadows and overall working very well in tandem with Zoroark's illusions.
Outside of combat, most of the time Zoroark disguises it as the common Pikachu as to not draw attention, as well as tactical purposes for the surprise attack from Anna's shoulder. As for performing, Dartrix's Seed Bombs create surreal effects combined with Razor Leaf. Phantom Force is no pushover either; disappearing and reappearing at will can become very hard to follow if combined with Zoroark.
Its Calm nature is also a great asset: it allows Dartrix to strike at the exact moment it needs to; and when performing, it's able to wait and calculate until the perfect moment to make the most of its arsenal.
Zoroark and Dartrix have particularly amusing interactions as far as Anna is concerned, the former being more of a hothead and the latter always willing to listen to reason and think things through. In their own way, they both help Anna make the right decisions and stay away from bad ones when needed: their duality helps stabilize Anna when she needs it.
Physical Description: Medium height, light skin, dark eyes. Long, wavy dark red hair down to mid-back.
Hometown/region: Born in Kanto, been to pretty much every region but is currently in Johto.
Occupation: Street Performer
Backstory: When Helena found out she was pregnant, she didn't know what she'd do with the baby. She'd always wanted children, but...not like this. She knew it would be a mistake to get with her new boss, but she did it anyway. That man...there was something intriguing about him. She could clearly tell he was different, but not whether that was good or bad. Either way, even his name had a certain charm around it: Giovanni.
As soon as her pregnancy became the slightest bit noticeable, she took an assignment that would keep her children away from Giovanni's shady operation: a desk job at Silph Co. This was perfect for her - it was both a relatively safe undercover operation to one day take over the company, and a way to keep the head of Team Rocket in the dark.
The months passed, and eventually she gave birth to two red-haired twins: Anna and Silver Razzo. However, wanting a better future for her children than Team Rocket's operations (and afraid of what might happen if Giovanni found out she hid the children from him), she gave them up for adoption. A nice couple from Unova happened to be staying in Saffron City at the time, and they fell in love with the children. Having given the foster parents explicit instructions to disappear if something were to happen to her, she parted ways with her children, though she did visit every few weeks if she deemed it safe.
However, this would not last, as the line of duty called her to a remote island for a top secret project. She said her goodbyes to her children, who were only a couple of years old at the time, and left to work under Dr. Fuji, a man who had devoted his life to researching cloning after his daughter Amber died.
Despite the secrecy that surrounded her new assignment, with a bit of digging, Helena was able to find Team Rocket's true motivation for funding Dr. Fuji's research - if left unchecked, it could spell doom for the entire planet. Aware of the potential consequences, she repeatedly tried to sabotage the whole thing from the inside. Nevertheless, the team of scientists pressed on, and her efforts proved futile: four clones were manufactured and put in capsules for development.
Determined to stop Team Rocket at all costs, she sneaked into the lab one night and messed with the clones' life support system. The day after, as she arrived with her friends for the night shift, the lab exploded, putting an end to the experiment and all of the personnel present.
The news of the explosion was broadcast worldwide: reporters on TV, columnists online, even conspiracy theorists were all over the incident. It spread like wildfire, quickly reaching inner Kanto and Saffron City. Though regrettable, it did not set off any alarms in Anna's foster parents at first - it wasn't until a few days after the death toll was calculated and the dead revealed that they remembered their promise to Anna's mother. True to their word, they quickly packed all their things and sorted their affairs with the now Rocket-controlled city to go back to Unova, hoping it wasn't too late.
During a stop at Johto's Goldenrod city, the train was stopped and boarded by a few Rocket grunts - they were looking for two adults with red-haired twins. Realizing that Giovanni had found the children, the brave parents did their best to hide them, but when the Rockets got to their wagon, they quickly spotted Silver's shaking legs under some covers. When the parents refused to tell them where the other child was, the grunts executed them right where they were - as per orders. Unable to find Anna, they simply took Silver and let the train continue its course. Unbeknownst to Anna, her twin would escape capture a few years later and live on the streets as a criminal, eventually making his way to New Bark Town.
In Unova, alone in a foreign land, Anna Razzo would have been doomed if it wasn't for a charitable teacher at the Trainer's School that took her under his wing and took care of her until she graduated. On the day of her graduation, the teacher walked in on Anna talking to her Zorua while the latter had taken the appearance of Anna's birth mother, Helena. Recognizing the woman's face immediately and realizing the implications, he chose not to say anything until the next day.
The next morning, he called Anna for breakfast and told her everything. About the explosion, her original foster parents, and Zorua's appearance. She could barely remember these events, but somehow it all made sense. At school, she had always been ostracized and called names, but she could never understand why. Now she knew the truth. Overflowing with emotions, she just exploded at her adoptive father - though she knew it was not his fault, she had not learned to deal with her feelings and reacted the only way she knew. She would come to regret this, however, as the heated argument proved to be too much for the old teacher's heart.
Horrified and ashamed, she took Zorua and set off on a journey of her own - to detroy Team Rocket as much as Team Rocket had destroyed her life.
Pokémon 1: Zoroark
Caught: Trainer School in Aspertia City, Unova
Ability: Illusion
Nature: Rash
Learnset: Night Daze, Extrasensory, Double Team, Psych Up
Backstory: Anna and Zorua met in the Trainer School. At first, the little Zorua was intrigued by the newcomer, and in a matter of days the little fox started playing little pranks on Anna to get her attention. An apple on the ground one day, her teacher the other, even her own adoptive father at one point. Little Anna was amused by Zorua's expression when she pulled its tail while under an illusion, and that simple, pure fun led to the start of a friendship. It eventually turned into Anna's mother at her request, allowing her to talk to her mother in her own way.
After they left Aspertia City, Zorua became the backbone of both Anna's team and Anna's means of earning money. While they had room for improvement, Zorua's illusions were often enough to trick people into giving them money, and as far as battling was concerned, Zorua may have been Rash, but it was precisely because of this that after using an illusion to stun little Pokémon that they had no time to compose themselves before being caught off guard.
Since Anna didn't bother with gym challenges as much as she did tracking down Team Rocket, Zorua's evolution inevitably took place at a Rocket dungeon. Having tricked the guards into thinking they were both Team Rocket members and thinking themselves safe, Zorua turned off the illusion once they were inside. A couple of grunts saw this, and since Zorua was largely negligible to their combined forces, they started attacking the girl instead.
Seeing its partner like that, now it was Zorua's turn to defend her. It selflessly charged into battle, and in the midst of the chaos it evolved into the mighty Zoroark it is today. Its current moveset is very useful during street performances as well as battling in conjunction with its more advanced illusions.
Pokémon 2: Dartrix
Caught: Upon arriving to Kalos
Nature: Calm
Learnset: Razor Leaf, Seed Bomb, Phantom Force
Backstory: Anna found Dartrix abandoned in the train station when she arrived to Kalos. Remembering her own origins, she did her best to nurse it back to health with Zoroark's help. Once it recovered, ir proved to be an extremely valuable member of Anna's team, unleashing powerful ranged attacks from the shadows and overall working very well in tandem with Zoroark's illusions.
Outside of combat, most of the time Zoroark disguises it as the common Pikachu as to not draw attention, as well as tactical purposes for the surprise attack from Anna's shoulder. As for performing, Dartrix's Seed Bombs create surreal effects combined with Razor Leaf. Phantom Force is no pushover either; disappearing and reappearing at will can become very hard to follow if combined with Zoroark.
Its Calm nature is also a great asset: it allows Dartrix to strike at the exact moment it needs to; and when performing, it's able to wait and calculate until the perfect moment to make the most of its arsenal.
Zoroark and Dartrix have particularly amusing interactions as far as Anna is concerned, the former being more of a hothead and the latter always willing to listen to reason and think things through. In their own way, they both help Anna make the right decisions and stay away from bad ones when needed: their duality helps stabilize Anna when she needs it.
And here's our round from last year! Thank you for reading this massive OP, I'm excited to see your posts!!
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