On the day of the training session, fluffy white clouds dotted the sky and occasionally drifted across the sun, and though it was quite warm outside, it wasn't as hot as it could've been given the time of year. A perfect day for a training session, in Avery's opinion. Dressed in shorts, a short-sleeved shirt, sneakers, with his scruffy brown hair sticking out from under a hat the shape and color of the upper half of a googly-eyed Carvanha - complete with fangs encircling his forehead - the officer practically bounced in place as he watched the various participants arrive. A few yards to each side of him sat the beginnings of two obstacle courses, each stretching out quite a distance and curving around in a semi-circle to meet back at the ends. Each course had a signpost at the start of every obstacle that had words scrawled all over the front with a permanent marker, and scattered throughout the courses and on the sidelines were a myriad of Pokémon. Nestled between both courses sat a number of picnic tables with umbrellas shading them from the sun. Packages of various kinds of food were piled on one table, and on the grass nearby sat two coolers full of ice cubes, bottled water and cans of soda. A few officers in casual-wear milled about around the picnic tables to finish opening all the umbrellas, filling the coolers with more bottles or cans, and setting out all the food on one of the tables. Anyone arriving by air might notice the whole setup was distinctly pokéball-shaped.
"All right guys, welcome to the training session!" Avery said with an eager clap of his hands once his watch ticked over to the session's scheduled start time. "For those of you who don't know me, my name's Avery. As you can probably see, we've set up two sets of obstacle courses for you guys to go through! You can pick one or the other - or both, if you're feeling up for it - and once you finish, you can head to the picnic tables in the middle for something to eat or drink, or to hang out with everyone else. So, about the courses: One of them is the physical course," the brunet gestured to the course on his right that consisted of a variety of obstacles, then gestured to the course on his left that contained a variety of Pokémon and said, "and the aptly-named Pokémon course. Each one has a bunch of Pokémon stationed at various points to help or hinder you - mostly hinder, if we're being honest - so don't be surprised if you find one suddenly blasting you with water or anything. This isn't timed so don't feel the need to rush through it or anything, and you can switch courses in the middle of one of them if you feel like it, but I do expect you to finish at least one course. Keep in mind that if you fall during one of the obstacles, you'll have to start that obstacle from the beginning. Now, we set up both courses to test all of our volunteers and officers, not their Pokémon, so I'm gonna have to ask you guys to leave your Pokémon on the sidelines to watch, or leave them in their pokéballs. I think that's about it..." He scrunched up his face a bit as he thought about it for a moment, then smiled brightly at the assembled group and said, "Yep, that's it. If you're ready to jump right in you can go ahead and pick a course, or if you have any questions, feel free to ask them now." With that said, he bounced on his toes a bit, eagerly scanning the assembled participants in case anyone had any questions.
PHYSICAL COURSE
Obstacle One
A few sets of tires laying across the ground in double lines make up the simple first obstacle. A few flying-type Pokémon wait on the sidelines, keenly watching any participants that approach. A sign posted at the beginning of the obstacle has a warning on it, as well as instructions:
- WARNING: Unless you're very lucky, you will get dirty on this course.
For the first obstacle, pick a line of tires and run through them to get to the other side! Simple enough, right? Watch out though, it gets a little windy around here...
Obstacle Two
Several sets of monkey bars have been set up for the next obstacle, each at varying heights ranging from short to quite tall. Water-type Pokémon lounge around beneath and beside the monkey bars. The sign here reads:
- First verse same as the first, pick a set of monkey bars that are a good height for you and swing across them to the other side. Try not to lose your grip on the way!
Obstacle Three
A wide dip in the ground has a few long beams set across it, roughly six or so inches in width, with the supports beneath the beams giving them added height to keep them about six inches off the ground at the beginning and end, while the middle of each stands at least two feet high. Each beam is spaced well enough apart that if someone were to fall off, they wouldn't land on another beam. More flying-type Pokémon await here. There's another sign posted at the start of the balance beams:
- I hope you have good balance, because you have to walk across one of these beams to get past this obstacle. These signs are starting to get a little obvious though, aren't they?
Obstacle Four
Up next is a large wooden structure; thick, knotted ropes are draped down the front half to help participants climb up the slanted wall that stands at a sharp angle and is no less than seven feet tall, while the back half is a set of a few steps to easily descend back down to the ground. Waiting on either side of the ramp are several eager water-types. The sign in front of this obstacle reads:
- This one should be pretty easy to figure out too, but just in case it isn't: Grab a rope and climb up to the top! Once you're at the top, just hop down the stairs and head to the next obstacle! Just make sure you have a good grip on those ropes!
Obstacle Five
Last but certainly not least, the final obstacle awaits anyone who's passed all four previous obstacles. A few short steps lead up to a platform no more than two feet wide and at least a few yards long, with a wall on one side and a drop to the ground on the other. Wide, thin panels are affixed at certain points along the walkway and jut out from the wall, spanning the width of the platform and impeding progress; each is three feet tall and alternate between either sitting on the floor, or hanging three feet above the surface of the platform. A few squares along the platform and the wall sport hinges, hinting at swinging or trap doors that are only a foot or two wide. Water-types wait along the side here, too, though because of the angle it's difficult to see what exactly waits behind any of the wall's small, swinging doors. A sign, of course, awaits those making their way to this final obstacle:
- You made it! You're almost there, you just have to make it across this platform first! Be careful: It isn't wide enough to run on, and you'll need to crawl under and climb over all those panels to get across. Watch out for those trap doors, too; they'll be difficult to avoid...
POKÉMON COURSE
Obstacle One
A steep wooden ramp leads to the first obstacle of the Pokémon course, its other three sides covered in simple wooden paneling. The top of the ramp levels out to create a platform a few yards long, with a tall, thin wall erected across its entire width halfway down. Numerous supports on either side of the wall give it more than enough stability to keep it upright. Several rectangular holes are cut out across the wall's surface, each roughly the size and height of standard windows, minus the glass. On either side of the wall are large squares on the ground in front and behind each window that hint at the possibility of trap doors. Behind the wall of empty windows, the platform extends another few feet before dropping down into a few steep steps back to the ground. A signpost in front of the ramp's beginning welcomes every participant with a brief, dramatic story, rather than instructions about the obstacle:
- Oh no!! There's a shady operation up ahead that's holding stolen Pokémon hostage! Thanks for coming to rescue them, but before you can get to them, you'll have to sneak through one of these conveniently open windows. Try to be quiet on your way in though, I thought I heard voices nearby...
Obstacle Two
Behind the first obstacle, the somewhat squiggly outline of a large square has been spray painted on the grass in red paint. Strewn about the interior of the square are Pokémon in various states of mock distress; some are merely doing their best to look upset or afraid, while other more melodramatic Pokémon have flung themselves on the grass with a paw to their forehead, looking for all the world as if they're on the brink of death if they aren't 'rescued' soon. Those on the grass include one Eevee, two Vulpix, two Meowth, one Riolu, one Ralts, and numerous Oddish, Caterpie, Spinarak, Buneary, Budew, Purrloin, Scraggy and Flabebe. Stuck in the ground right on the edge of the square is a sign for the second obstacle, which doesn't really look like much of an obstacle at all:
- Good job sneaking through the window! It looks like no one knows you're here yet, that's good. And you found the stolen Pokémon! Since you can only carry one with you at a time for its safety and yours, approach one and try to reassure it that you'll get it out to safety so it'll go with you. You definitely don't want to upset any of them, because their cries might inadvertently alert the guards...
Obstacle Three
At the third obstacle the not-completely-straight, spray painted lines make a return in the form of long rectangles about four to five feet wide and no less than fifteen feet long. Halfway down each rectangle and taking up a majority of the width rests a rather large Pokémon - some of which include Snorlax, Ampharos and Arcanine - that all appear to either be asleep or focusing away from their respective rectangles. Just in front of the rectangles rests the sign for this obstacle:
- Now that you have your Pokémon to rescue, it's time to make your escape! But... uh oh! It looks like the corridor up ahead has a guard Pokémon! They look distracted or asleep though, so if you're quiet - or lucky - you might be able to sneak past them to the next room!
Obstacle Four
The next obstacle appears similar to the last; a few Pokémon - Ampharos, Charizard, and Gallade to name a few - stand beside each other with a couple yards of space between them, except this time there are no spray painted lines on the ground, and these Pokémon look much more alert and expectant than the previous ones. The sign in front of this obstacle reads:
- Oh no, you've attracted some attention - there's a guard waiting for you! How will you get past it?! Sneaking won't work this time, you'll have to get creative!
Obstacle Five
Not far behind the fourth obstacle rests the fifth and final one in this course. A couple Ponyta, Rapidash and Arcanine stand in front of an almost impossibly long rectangle outlined in red spray paint. The whole interior of the rectangle is coated in red squiggly lines, so much so that if one were to look closely, they'd be able to pick out a few faded lines that hinted at the untimely end of an unfortunate can of red spray paint. Scattered throughout the long spray painted area are a handful of fire-types like Torkoal, Growlithe and Flareon, all of them comfortably sprawled out on the painted grass. One of the Ponyta is standing beside this obstacle's signpost, stuck into the ground in front of the sea of spray paint:
- You did it! You escaped and you're home free-- OH NO!! Those devious fiends have a pool of lava in their yard, and the only way to escape is to go right through it! Lucky for you a trusty steed is waiting to ferry you across, just be careful guiding them through the lava! There may be ferocious Pokémon lurking in the lava that'll try to spook your ride and knock you off! Whatever you do, don't fall into the lava!!
OOC RULES/INFO
- This is a training session for KSO officers or volunteers, although civilians interested in the KSO are welcome to participate as well. Rockets aren't allowed in this ORP. You may play as many characters as you'd like as long as they aren't a Rocket.
Whenever you post, please include your character's name as well as which obstacle/course they're currently in (or if they're checking out the food in the middle) using bold font at the top of your post.
Each time you make a post with your character attempting to pass an obstacle in either course, roll one six-sided die (1d6) to find out if your character may continue, if they must try again, or if they must start the obstacle over. While you can't ask for better luck with rolls, you can request more bad luck to make it more difficult (or frustrating) for your character.
You can get one Pokémon from this ORP (per person, not per character), but only from Obstacle Two in the Pokémon course. If you'd like to keep the Pokémon your character picked, you must say so in your heading when you roll. The more uncommon or rare Pokémon are limited to just one or two, and they will be removed from the list as soon as someone asks to keep them. Common Pokémon are unlimited and thus won't be removed from the list. Each Pokémon will be unique in some small way; they'll all have non-standard eye colors, and their bodies or markings may or may not be a different color. You'll see what each looks like when they're dropped off!
This ORP will be open for rolling between now and 8PM EST on Sunday, August 21st (unless it's extended), but will be open for RP indefinitely.
Have fun, and feel free to ask questions if you have any!
