The Indigo League (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
indigo_league) wrote2024-11-30 07:37 pm
indigo_league) wrote2024-11-30 07:37 pm
Entry tags:
Character Retirement
At the end of a character's arc in Victory Road, some players may feel that their characters are best off remaining a part of the setting itself, effectively putting a cap on their story. Instead of being dropped traditionally, these characters will become background NPCs in the game, becoming a permanent part of the game.
Characters can be eligible for retirement after they have spent at least one year in the game. We encourage players to consider their character's arc, their impact on the game as a whole, and why it would be meaningful for the character to remain in the Pokémon world as opposed to being dropped traditionally.
Did your character start a business that changed the tourism industry in a town? Did they start their own gym? Did they become an important freelance reporter for EV news? Let us know! Your character doesn't need to have solved world hunger--we just want to know what sort of impact they've had, even if it's as small as settling down in a home in New Bark Town and telling new trainers to buzz off.
Note that retiring a character does NOT bar future players from also applying that character. If a player decides that Clark Kent is going to become an NPC EV News reporter, another player can then later apply as Clark Kent. Multiverse shenanigans are afoot, after all.
After your retirement submission has been accepted, your character will be removed from the taken page (if applicable) and a small blurb will be added to the location your character is associated with, with a link to information about that character's retirement.
Additionally, any characters dropped between August 2023 and November 2024 that meets the above requirements can be retroactively submitted for retirement.
Because there are countless ways that a player may decide that a character is ready to be retired, the mod team will be reviewing these submissions on a case-by-case basis. More information can be found on the form itself!
Submissions are checked every Wednesday.
Characters can be eligible for retirement after they have spent at least one year in the game. We encourage players to consider their character's arc, their impact on the game as a whole, and why it would be meaningful for the character to remain in the Pokémon world as opposed to being dropped traditionally.
Did your character start a business that changed the tourism industry in a town? Did they start their own gym? Did they become an important freelance reporter for EV news? Let us know! Your character doesn't need to have solved world hunger--we just want to know what sort of impact they've had, even if it's as small as settling down in a home in New Bark Town and telling new trainers to buzz off.
Note that retiring a character does NOT bar future players from also applying that character. If a player decides that Clark Kent is going to become an NPC EV News reporter, another player can then later apply as Clark Kent. Multiverse shenanigans are afoot, after all.
After your retirement submission has been accepted, your character will be removed from the taken page (if applicable) and a small blurb will be added to the location your character is associated with, with a link to information about that character's retirement.
Additionally, any characters dropped between August 2023 and November 2024 that meets the above requirements can be retroactively submitted for retirement.
Because there are countless ways that a player may decide that a character is ready to be retired, the mod team will be reviewing these submissions on a case-by-case basis. More information can be found on the form itself!
Player: Your name.
Character: The character you plan on retiring.
Time Spent In-Game: Characters can be eligible for retirement after they have spent at least one year in the game.
Retroactive Retirement?: If your character is being retroactively retired, please link us your drop comment OR an AC comment from when you were in the game.
How did your character change in Victory Road?: How did they grow or develop as a result of being in the Pokémon world? This doesn't have to be exhaustive--we just want to know about the highlights!
What did your character do to impact the setting?: What sort of accomplishments did they have? Do they have a legacy/reputation among trainers? These things don't need to be wildly ambitious or remarkable, but should at least matter to the character.
Why do YOU feel your character should be retired?: What it says on the tin! Just tell us why you feel retirement is right for this character.
NPC Info: What will your character be like as an NPC? How can future players expect to handwave interactions with them? Is there any business/organization info you need to provide for future players to understand what your character will be doing?
no subject
Character: Riku
Time Spent In-Game: Since the veeeery beginning of Route 29, so 2010 - 2024.
How did your character change in Victory Road?: Riku spent nearly half his life in the setting, going from a plucky and cocky fifteen year old to a more mellow adult, whose years of experience mellowed him out. He established his Training Center in Celadon City, and he tried carrying on the legacy of the Breeding Center (which I admittedly was unable to keep up with.)
He misses many people from back home, as well as those who have come and gone. If given the opportunity, he would return home to tie up loose ends, but he's also made a life for himself here, with a team of Pokemon that means the world to him. He went from seeing Pokemon as a means to assert his strength to genuine companions and friends.
He definitely became more open and considerate, and he even had a stable relationship with Sora for many years, before his drop.
What did your character do to impact the setting?: In addition to his Training Center, Riku was an active part of the Pokemon Guardian Corps, a group founded by Lightning to act as a line of defense against Team Rocket. After Lightning's departure, he took up the mantle for some time, though the burden of leadership proved quite a struggle.
There was a time when he maintained an in-game training guide for new arrivals, and he also partook in many battles with Team Rocket and other events, including giving Arceus a sandwich at one point. He also was one of the Trainers who faced off with Team Magma and Plasma many, many years ago, and a member of the Indigo League.
Why do YOU feel your character should be retired?: I played him here from the very beginning, and while I cringe a bit at how I handled him back in the game's earlier days and have been flaky for a long time now, Riku's longevity makes me feel as though a simple drop wouldn't cut it.
NPC Info: Riku will continue his work at the Training Center, providing a space for new and experienced trainers to hone their skills or just let their Pokemon have fun and let loose. He also in the past has provided some rental services for transportation, but this was back at an earlier time in the game, so I'm not sure how applicable it is now.
Many of his Pokemon are out and about at a given time, so info on his roster can be found here. His Weavile, Slash, often mans the front desk and is very talkative and eager to show off how he mastered the art of speech! ...Just don't be surprised if he goes on some tangent about how Pokemon can rise above their status quo if they apply themselves. He's like that.
I figure his business can double as his gym. I never entirely settled on a mechanic for it, but I would say his gym battles focus a lot on competitive strategies that encourage trainers to think outside the box (e.g. special Aegislash toxic+sub shenanigans, or Protean tomfoolery with his Greninja). His ace is his Charizard, Flare, who uses the CharizarditeX hold item.
As someone who has tussled with evil teams before, he'd also be open to sharing his information and resources from his PGC days and generally keeping an eye out for any shady activity. He won't be leading the charge this time, because it became too much, but if any anti-Rocket efforts arise, he'd be happy to help provide a safe space to plot, or to even offer eggs. The community is vastly outdated, and I'm not sure how applicable it'd be to have eggs made available by an NPC, but here is the old and crusty egg selection.
At the very least, I'm open to some of his rarer species being donated or sold, in case certain species are too hard to come by for players.
This is a Riku who's nearly thirty, though if NPCs can have canon updates, I wouldn't be opposed to him gradually having the same kinda canon update dreams that player characters have, just to let him experience more of the life he left behind.
no subject
If you'd like him to have him canon update at the time of retirement, that would be fine! Otherwise, you can also have him stay at his current canon point. Let us know what you want to do!
no subject
Also, since I saw it mentioned in another retirement comment, Riku would also be happy to offer support in times of crisis, especially with so many strong Pokemon on his side.
no subject