Rules and Guidelines

[Admin]

Rules and Guidelines
Last Updated: March 19, 2012

It's important that you become familiar with everything on this thread! Not only does it cover all the basic rules, but also lets you know how things are organized around here and how the RP will work.

Index
-General Rules
-Roleplay
--The Main RP
--Other RP
-Characters
--Canon
--OCs
--Pokémon
-Conclusion

[Admin]

General Rules
Basically the number one rule here is don't be an asshole to other members and use common sense, but here are some guidelines.... c:

-No power-playing

Including but not limited to:
~Taking control of a character that is not yours to control
~Playing a character that is invincible or nearly impossible to beat
~Constantly having special things happen to your character
~Doing anything to restrain or harm (etc) someone's character without giving them the choice to avoid it or not in their next post (Instances may be excused if they are minor, or your RP partner agreed to it.)

-No porn

Sorry guys, we personally wouldn't mind, but it's against proboard's rules, and we don't want to be deleted.
This means both roleplaying sex scenes or sharing any images of such content. You may imply that it happened between two characters in your writing, but you'll have to RP it out somewhere else off-site.

-Post quality

Put effort into your RP replies. You do not have to write an essay for every response, but please manage at least a handful of lines for each. There is no word count requirement here, but we recommend 100 at the very minimum. Please don't write one-liners, and please use proper grammar as well.

-Be courteous when joining threads

It can be considered rude to suddenly jump into an RP if the RPers are in the middle of something. Please take into consideration what is going on in the thread before you pop in. When in doubt, ask the thread creator through personal message. Don't take offense if someone would rather not have you join, or if they request that you wait a while before coming in.
If you wish a thread to remain private, it's encouraged that you state this somewhere in the first post.

-Be nice to fellow members

This should go without saying, but you'd be surprised. Please do not start or become involved in any arguments on this site, or act provocatively anywhere out of character. We all gotta get along here, so work everything out politely!

-Activity

If you are a new member that is inactive, you will be allowed a couple weeks to get it together before you lose any claimed canons.
However, we will be fairly lenient about activity if you are a loyal, established RPer here. If life/school gets in the way of posting, we'll understand, but please try to let us know first. Character sitting will not be tolerated if the only thing keeping you from posting in over a month is that you simply do not posses the desire to keep up.

-Signatures

Please no signatures that exceed 575 width or 250 height, as it stretches the forum.

-Warning/Ban System

It will be extremely rare that we issue any bans, if ever. To earn a ban you would practically have to be going out of your way to cause disruption, or blatantly break the most important rules over and over again despite warning. So don't worry if you receive a PM from a staff member regarding a rule violation or character issue. Change whatever it is that isn't working out, and you're all good.
On that note, please respect the mods and their decisions. If you are experiencing a problem with one staff member specifically, PM one of the other moderators with this concern.

[Admin]

The Main RP
Every board under the 'Regions' category is a part of the site's main RPs. All of the threads there are occuring in the same universe, at approximately the same time.

-Plot

Typically, there will be a different plot or event going on in each region, although there may be an overarching world plot as well, in time! News and plot updates for each region will be noted in the tables at the left of the forum, so keep an eye on them!
Feel free to create whatever subplots you desire, as long as it's nothing super ridiculous.

-Gameverse

It's important to note that the site's main RP is set in the game canon, for the most part. Everything is taking place post game, as well.

As far as the versions that differ significantly in plot, we will go by these: Emerald, Platinum, White, and White 2.

See further below for more info on characters and the gameverse. You are indeed allowed to bring in manga or anime characters, with some mind to game canon.

-Thread Creation

You may start anywhere you want in a region, and continue to use that thread for as long as you'd like to or is necessary. It's up to you when you want to begin a fresh thread to continue your character's journey. All that is asked is that if they travel to a new region, you create a new thread there when they leave the previous!

-Liquid Time Policy

A character may only be in one thread at a time in within the main RP boards. However...

Other RP
Once you write at least 1 post, you will automatically gain access to the "Liquid Time" and Free for All RP sections.

-Liquid Time

This is a bit of an 'extension' on the main RP boards, you could say. Claimed canons still apply here, and you may only play accepted characters in this board.
You should do your best to take into account the going-ons of the main board and try to fit these into either a 'before' or 'after' period of your current main thread with a character.
If you incorporate this well, it can be moved to the main boards for archiving purposes when either: a. You leave/conclude your current thread in the main RPs and wish this to become your next active RP there, or b. Your Liquid Time RP is concluded and fits in with the continuity of the main boards.
If it ends up not fitting in so well, don't sweat it. It will simply stay put in the Liquid Time board and be considered slightly AU.

-Free for All

The free for all board is exactly what it sounds like. You may RP pretty much whatever you want here, Pokémon-related or not. Claimed canons do not apply and are decided on a basis of each thread. You need not have a character approved to RP them here, and it is asked that you do not include any characters RPed here in your list of characters for the site. The general rules are still in effect at this board, so remember to heed them.

-Activity

Please maintain your activity on the main RPs first and foremost if you start to play in either Liquid Time or Free for All! For example, if you only RP on the free for all board for a month without touching the main at all, you will be considered inactive and possibly lose a claimed canon.

[Admin]

Characters
You may play as many characters as you wish if all of them remain active. However, to be fair to other members, there is a slight restriction on how many important/popular canon characters each person may claim for themselves.

It is unnecessary to create a new account for each character, as a single main account will do fine.

-NPCs

Minor characters like a random trainer that appears for a scene, or a generic Nurse Joy, etc, can be played without acceptance as long as you don't plan on using them as one of your 'involved' characters. They show up, play their part, then leave again. If they end up becoming a character you want to keep, you can create an application.

Canon Characters
Click here to view a list of claimed canons.

-Characterization

It is very important that you do your best to remain in character if you choose to play a canon. Everyone's take on certain characters may vary slightly, but please do try to keep their overall personality in tact.

-Re: Gameverse

We're sticking to game canon as the base for the main RP, but you may slip in some influence from the manga and anime etc if you can incorporate it without creating inconsistencies. A few manga and anime-exclusive characters will be allowed as well, if you are able to adapt them into a slightly AU incarnate that is integrated into the game's universe.

-Hero Characters

There are two selections for the protagonist in most of the main games, but for the sake of site consistency only one can be considered the hero/player character here. The other will automatically become their 'extra' role given to them in the games. (i.e. The 'extra' in R/S/E is the professor's child. Other roles, like the BW extra, are a lot more open for interpretation/headcanon since their part is far more minor.)

List of heroes:
~Gen I: Red
~Gen II: Lyra
~Gen III: May ("Haruka")
~Gen IV: TBD
~Gen V: Hilbert ("Black") and Nate

-"Temporary" Claims?

Sometimes the need for a certain character to come in and play a part arises, but you don't necessarily want to 'keep' that character under your control permanently. Temporary claims can be issued somewhat leniently and may be passed on as soon as someone shows up who wants to play them actively.

On that note....

-Transferred ownership of canons

If a member loses a character due to inactivity or passes along a temporary claim, the new player is not expected to abide by every single thing that the previous owner had happen to that character. However, if said character had a significant influence on the plot, the new owner may be briefed on any major happenings to keep everything flowing.

-"Crossover Canons"

We will allow claims on characters from other stories/games/etc to RP as an AU, but they must be stripped of any special powers and most connections to their own universe. Also note that they must be human. (And do say in their bio when a character is a crossover/where they're from, because the mods may not always recognize them!)

Please do try to limit crossover characters, however, as we'd like to encourage members to pick up those that are canon to Pokémon first and foremost.

Original Characters

-Starting Point

You may choose to start an OC as a new trainer, a semi-experienced trainer, or almost anything you would like as far as class goes. All that is asked is that you don't overpower them, keep their backstory reasonable, etc. No characters that are 'half Pokémon' etc.

-OC Activity

Activity rules are slightly different for original characters. Due to the fact that they are of your own creation, there is no way you can 'lose' ownership over them if you're inactive.
Please just make sure to write the OC out of their current thread if you plan on becoming inactive with them a while. As long as you don't leave gaps anywhere or keep anyone hanging, you're allowed a break from that character for a limitless amount of time.

Pokémon

-Pokémon Teams

Keep them reasonable/balanced and you can have almost anything on your trainer's team. Variety in strength is good. As long as they're not all ubers, you're probably fine.

-Shinies

If you absolutely must give your trainer a shiny, try to stick with only one, maybe two tops, and create an explanation as to how they obtained it. When everyone has shiny Pokémon they're no longer special, so we want to keep them to a minimum.

While on the subject of differently colored Pokémon, only variations that have appeared in canon are acceptable. No purple pikachus allowed.

-Legendaries

Don't start your character off with a legendary unless they're a canon that received it as a plot point. In addition, please don't capture any legendary Pokémon in RP without permission from the mods, either. It CAN happen to your canon or OC eventually, but there will have to be a decent amount of buildup and a good reason for it.

Although there are multiples of some legendary species in canon, we will stick to only one of each appearing in most cases at the main RP.

-Wild Pokémon

You may have whatever appear as long as it's reasonable. As far as RPing a wild legendary that stays wild, or RPing purely wild Pokémon with other wild Pokémon, we may have this in the future, but for now let's stick to mainly trainers. We'll let you know when this changes.

[Admin]

Most Importantly...

Have fun! Don't stress too much about the rules, because we'll be pretty relaxed for the most part. As noted earlier, just be a decent person, don't do anything incredibly dumb, and you're good! Happy RPing!

-If you have any questions, check the FAQ
-If not, proceed to character application