The Stranded Scout Troop Contest

[Oslo]

Since I am now a Contest Judge, I will be hosting the next Pokemon Contest which will begin… now!

The theme for the Contest is pretty straightforward. You will all pretend to be members of a troop of Boy and Girl Scouts that got lost in the woods! Oh no! You’re stranded from your Scout Leaders in a forest clearing and have absolutely no supplies. Each round you’ll be given a survival-oriented task to perform and you’ll be graded on how effectively you use your Pokemon’s moves to follow instructions and execute said task. As well, you’ll obviously be judged based on regular Contest criteria (whether the appeal is visually arresting, how well it matches your Pokemon’s temperament, and so on).

This Contest will have three rounds and you’ll enter with two Pokemon each. Your first Pokemon will take part in the first round, your second Pokemon will take part in the second round and both Pokemon will take part in the third round. Got it? Cool beans.

This will be a small Contest with only five participants and there will be no eliminations. I want to close sign-ups by the twelfth of April, so be fast!

1. BTPoke with Sake (Mienfoo, m) and Rosalinda (Ralts, f)
2. Ash0011 with Sketch (Smeargle, f) and Psyshock (Kirlia, m)
3. DarkestLight with Whiptacula (Snivy, f) and Femmefetal (Solosis, f)
4. Ayeun with Ms. Skittyfantastico (Skitty, f) and Pachi (Pachirisu, f)
5. Firepokemon with Zofis (Dratini, f) and Charmander (f)

Good luck!

[BTPoke]

Awesome, my first contest! I am so in!

[Oslo]

Yay! Since you're in, you can register your two Pogeys right now.

[BTPoke]

oh, ok then. I'll register my male mienfoo named sake with regenerate, and my female ralts named rosalinda with synchronize.

[Ash0011]

ash0011 with my smeargle and kirlia

[DarkestLight]

o.O. Dude. I love girl Scout cookies!

So registering with ...who the hell do I even have...? Im in. Man is this my third contest evar? Erarrrarara!

[Ayeun]

Girl scout Ayeun reporting!

Ms Skittyfantastico and Pachi, signing in.
(Skitty, Female, Cute charm, and Pachirisu, Female, shiny, Pick up.)

[firepokemon]

firepokemon with Zofis my female Dratini (Shed Skin) and my Charmander (Blaze).

[Oslo]

Terrific! That didn't take long at all. As soon as DL registers his Pokemon then I'll post the instructions for Round One.

I kind of like the idea of keeping Contests at five people. I know it sucks that not everyone gets to participate in every Contest, but it keeps the demand for them high (not that anyone actually "demands" Contests) and prevents general Contest apathy. It also makes it less likely that Contests will drag due to MIA Coordinators.

[DarkestLight]

Im back, im back! Whiptacula f snivy contrary and femmefetal f solosis magic guard! Go

[Oslo]

Excellent!

Alright, Scouts. You have work to do. It's still plenty bright outside so you need to make use of the daylight while you still can. While some of your friends work on surveying the area or gathering food, you lot have been tasked with the creation of distress signals to alert potential overhead aircrafts to your situation. The clearing and the area surrounding it is equipped with random objects that might assist you: rocks, logs, trees, vines, flowers, etc. You'll be graded on the effectiveness of your distress signal and the creativity that goes into it. Regular contest criteria will also factor into your grade.

This appeal will require either one of your two Pokemon and will consist of three moves. Get to work!

[BTPoke]

Alright, let's hope I do this right

Sake, you're up. First, use double team. Then, have each of your clones gather in a circle and form aura spheres. Have each of your clones shoot their aura spheres straight up into the sky. Then, get in the middle of your clones and use sunny day, and make sure the light from the sunny day hits every one of the aura spheres so that the light reflects off of the aura spheres and creates a beacon of light that no plane could possibly miss.

[DarkestLight]

Already epic lol

Ok. Who the hell did I pick. A Psychic and a Grasser.

Uhh ok FemmeFetal, yer up. Ok distress call huh?

First, use Telekinesis to make all the petals of the flowers float up in the air, swiveling with the wind.
Then, use Flash as a beacon, through the petals.
Use Telekinesis again to reform the petals into a simple word-Help! Make sure its big!

[RaZoR LeAf]

Gutted I missed this. I work at an outdoor and camping store, this would have been fun. Or maybe I would have been unfairly advantaged. Oh well, go campers!

[Ash0011]

alright Sketch's first then, Sketch grab some logs and stuff from the clearing along with dead leaves and twigs and pile them into a circle of rocks, then sketch a magnifying glass out of nevermelt ice and light a fire with the sun's rays, then make a generator that will focus electricity into the sky as a beacon while piling wet leaves and vines onto the fire to make smoke, and finally throw a safeguard up around the camp to protect it and light up the area around you

[Ayeun]

Ok, Pachi!

Start with a one turn roll out, gathering up some of the wood, and bring them back here. Two or three should do the trick.

Then, use Quick Attack to stick them in the ground in a tripod.

Finish by sitting on the top, using Discharge, signaling S.O.S. ( ... --- ... )

[firepokemon]

Zofis my lovely Dratini please use Dragon Dance to gather power and speed for the Distress Signal. We'll use Draco Meteor to summon Comets down for our first signal. Make sure the comets hit down on you and finally perform Hyper Beam at the last minute for one piercing beam into the sky and pushing the comets upwards.

Distress Signal complete.

[Oslo]

THE STRANDED SCOUT TROOP CONTEST!

‡ Pre-Round ‡

‡ Round 1 Appeals ‡

Ash0011 and Sketch are randomly selected to go first! A crowd of other Scouts gathers round to see what the Coordinator and his go-to Smeargle will do. Following her trainers commands, Sketch trudges over to the nearest log and hauls it over to the centre of the clearing. Because she's not even four feet tall, it's slow going and takes quite a bit of effort to pull off. She then goes to get another heavy log... followed by leaves and twigs, oh goodie, some even heavier rocks! All of this physical labour drains her energy and begins to bore the crowd. However, the appeal takes a turn when she starts painting. She conjures a magnifying glass that concentrates the sun's light and causes the accumulated materials to begin burning. The crowd watches with interest as Sketch, growing increasingly more weary, draws up a generator and casts lightning into the sky while also loading up the fire with more materials so it smokes. Finally, Sketch draws up a barrier that stops the fire from spreading. She begins panting heavily as the crowd claps.

BTPoke and Sake take to the field once everything has been reset in the wake of Ash's appeal. The Mienfoo saunters into the center of the clearing and does a little spin, causing four little helpers to materialize out of nowhere! The crowd murmurs in amusement as Sake and his clones form a circle. Sake concentrates his thoughts into a concentrated sphere of crackling blue Aura that hovers before him while his clones follow suit. Suddenly, Sake snaps his fingers and causes the clouds to part, allowing the sun to blaze with astonishing force. The crowd is forced to shield their eyes as the clones start to shift and fizzle in the sunlight. The little troop of Mienfoos fire their Aura Spheres skyward. As the sunlight strikes the energy balls, they blaze like five little suns. Dazzling! The appeal gets some oohs and ahhs from the other Scouts.

Ayeun and Pachi prepare to wow the crowd. Pachi curls up into a ball and rolls around playfully in the middle of the clearing, eliciting some giggles from the onlookers. What a goofball. She snatches up some sticks and twigs before darting back to the center without missing a beat. With impressive nimbleness, Pachi places the sticks in a triangular formation and then starts to sizzle with electric current. The Pachirisu scrunches up her eyes and Discharges in a rhythmic sequence which also ignites the sticks and creates three blazing beacons for everyone to see. The crowd seems to have taken a liking to Pachi and her cheeky ways and applauds her for her efforts.

DarkestLight and FemmeFetal get ready for their appeal. FemmeFetal, who would win this entire Contest right away if I was judging on the strength of nicknames alone, glows with a brilliant red corona as she Telekinetically plucks flowers from the ground. The flower petals dance and flutter about in the wind in a way that sharply contrasts the previous appeals. Femme blazes with a brilliant white light that keeps the crowd's interest as she starts psychically manipulating the flower petals. They begin to form letters that spell out the word "HELP" clearly. The audience applauds.

Firepokemon and Zofis round out the first set of appeals. The Dratini begins dancing around energetically (doing the worm, of course) which causes the onlookers to whoop and cheer in delight. After a minute, Zofis puts a halt on the dancing and summons a gargantuan meteor to rain down upon the clearing. The crowd looks up in terror at the approaching meteors, but no fear, Zofis is here! The Dratini fires off a brilliant white beam of energy, the sheer strength of which reverses the direction of the Draco Meteor before it can hit the ground. The blazing comet shoots off into the sky, creating a dazzling display. Their momentary terror notwithstanding, the audience is relatively pleased.

‡ Round 1 Scores ‡

Ash0011 and Sketch: Your appeal was certainly elaborate and definitely caught the crowd's notice. That said, I think you may have been expecting too much of Sketch. All that heavy-lifting really tuckered her out and the fact that her panting was visible didn't really endear Sketch to the crowd. On top of that, the gathering took a while and bored bajeebuz out of the crowd. However, you're mostly redeemed by the fact that you made sure your distress signal didn't turn into a full-on forest fire; for that, your Scout Leaders would be very, very proud. 8 / 10

BTPoke and Sake: A solid appeal. The Aura Sphere/Sunny Day combo would make for a magnificent distress signal and definitely caught the crowd's notice. However, the Sunny Day broke the Double Team's illusion and sort of marred the aesthetic of that part of your appeal, so that cost you. Also, the appeal maybe worked a little too well: the audience had to shield their eyes what with all that harsh light and you ran the risk of blinding any approaching aircrafts, which definitely would not be in your favour. That said, good work. 7.5 / 10

Ayeun and Pachi: A subtle but surprisingly effective appeal. Because Pachirisu is a natural forager (and even has Pickup as an ability), the gathering of materials suited her personally very well. This part of the appeal could have easily been boring for the audience but the Rollout/Quick Attack combo made it fun and amusing for everyone watching. Finally, you get bonus points for arranging the sticks into a triangle, which is an official, internationally recognized distress signal. That, combined with the S.O.S. Discharge, makes you a smart Girl Scout. Well done. 9 / 10

DarkestLight and FemmeFetal: The flower petals certainly made for a pleasant display for the audience and contrasted some of the flashier appeals nicely. I think there was room for you to add another layer to your appeal: had you arranged the flower petals into the word "HELP" with the first Telekinesis, you would have had an extra move to do something else. However, what you did certainly worked, so it's not too major of a concern. 8 / 10

Firepokemon and Zofis: You certainly provided a very aesthetically pleasing appeal. The Draco Meteor combined with the Hyper Beam was visually arresting, though the Dragon Dance seemed slightly out of place. It was entertaining for the crowd to watch, of course, but didn't really gel with what you were doing, especially because Dragon Dance boosts Attack but Draco Meteor and Hyper Beams are both Special moves. Also, the sudden appearance of the meteor really freaked out the crowd (and not in a good way) and there was definitely a major risk factor involved with such a dangerous and volatile move. That said, you still pulled it off. 7.0 / 10

‡ Post-Round ‡

Notes:

> Good work, guys! Though your distress signals were all terrific, they didn't manage to attract any passing aircrafts. It's starting to get dark and you need to get your sleeping arrangements sorted out. For the next round, you'll need to create a shelter. The shelters can take a variety of forms and you're encouraged to be creative while still remembering that practicality is key. This appeal will consist of three moves and you'll be using whichever Pokemon you didn't use for the first round. Good luck!

[BTPoke]

Alright, rosalinda, let's wow this crowd!

First, gather as many twigs and leaves as you can. Use psychic to gather the leaves and twigs, and start shaping them into a tent. Keep the leaves and twigs locked into place while you use mud slap to cover them in mud, keeping them together, and finishing the tent. Then use Will-o-wisp to surround the tent in ethereal fire that will make sure the mud doesn't ever get wet, keep pokemon away, and create a useful light.

[DarkestLight]

Oh noz! The darkness!

Whippy, come on. Lez du this!

Ok we need a shelter for you all. We're pretty small so this can work. Gather up vines and wood. Use Leaf Blade to chop off long sticks, about at least 2 times your height,as well as a good amount of vine. Just need 4 or 5 pieces. When you get that, go over and tie all the sticks together at the top using those vines you chopped. Now we gotta get this up.

Use a Leaf Tornado to help you lift the stick bundle so it stands on the unbound end, and then splay the sticks out in a circle so you have a tepee base! Now all you need is to cover it!

AH! Magical Leaf. Gimme a HUGE one, so all the leaves stick in the wood right next to one another! And we'll have ourselves a leaf tepee! Move some of the leaves away near you at the base to create the door, AND WE'RE DONE!

[firepokemon]

Come on out Charmander.

This shelter business really doesn't pay to your strengths. But find an area with a small hill face and use Dig to burrow into it creating a cave like structure. Now we're going to use Mud Slap to fling mud into the sides of the structure, the ceiling and the floor. Now finish with a mighty Flamethrower and strike all sides of the cave structure to burn the mud. Use that powerful flame of yours to burn the mud into a concrete like setting to finish the job.

[Ash0011]

alright psyshock stay next to the fire and use psychic to make the remaining branches and twigs form a large lean-to esque structure, then overlay it with reflect for extra strength and protection and finish with a flash to light up the area better and provide a beacon for the troop leaders to find us by

[Ayeun]

Ok.

First off Skitty, I want you to watch... There were 2 uses of Psychic so far, so COPYCAT them. Use it to move a large, dead tree here. I want you to then use ZEN HEADBUTT to open an opening in it to act as shelter. Hollowed out tree for shelter, but against the darkness, we need a light, so set up a pair of SHADOW BALLS to give us some low level light to sleep by, but to also ward off the darkness.

[Ash0011]

shadow to ward off darkness... that makes sense!

[BTPoke]

shadow to ward off darkness... that makes sense!

well, shadow ball does give off a faint light

[Ash0011]

... -_-
Stad2 A Ghost-type attack. Has a one-in-five chance of reducing the target Spcl.Def.
GSC An attack that may lower Spcl. Def.
RSE Hurls a black blob that may lower Sp. Def.*
Hurls a dark lump at the foe. It may lower Sp. Def.*
FRLG A shadowy blob is hurled at the foe. May also lower the foe’s Sp. Def.
XD Hurls a black blob that may lower the target's Sp. Def.
DPPtHGSS The user hurls a shadowy blob at the foe. It may also lower the foe's Sp. Def stat.
BW The user hurls a shadowy blob at the target. It may also lower the target's Sp. Def stat.

blobs of shadow giving off light not once have i seen anything suggesting it gives off light
draws in light more than anything

[Oslo]

This is Anime-Style Battling, remember. If you look at anime shots of Shadow Ball being used, there is often a coloured glow or a static-y illumination associated with it. It should allow for the creation of dim lighting.

Anyway, expect this up on Friday or Saturday. I'm kind of in the middle of a punishing week right now.

[DarkestLight]

Black light.

[Ayeun]

I should have gone with my original appeal. I was going to have Skitty 'Interrupt' all of your appeals and charm you all in to building my shelter for me...

[BTPoke]

I should have gone with my original appeal. I was going to have Skitty 'Interrupt' all of your appeals and charm you all in to building my shelter for me...

LOL that would've been hilarious

[Ash0011]

Black light.

is actually purple
although I've only seen shadow ball in the anime twice sooooooo

[BTPoke]

is actually purple
although I've only seen shadow ball in the anime twice sooooooo

*ahem* a black light IS purple

[Ayeun]

LOL that would've been hilarious

Only problem was your all using FEMALE pokemon... Hence why I had to do a real appeal...

[Oslo]

Charm isn't gender-dependent, so that wouldn't matter.

[Ash0011]

*ahem* a black light IS purple

thats what i said
shadow ball is black not purple

[ChobiChibi]

Even the game shot on Bulbapedia is purple:


Source: http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Shadow_Ball
Good day! :3

[BTPoke]

thank you, chobi, for being the deciding factor :3

[DarkestLight]

I said black light to reinforce the concept that shadowball would act like a blacklight, its color would be dark but still bright enough to light up small area around it. Lol@ayay, charm woulda been good, I like that out the box thinking.

Chibi, where's my pic ! I wanna see joor skillz!

[Ash0011]

CURSE YOU BEING GROUNDED i couldn't check anything besides bulbapedia and i didn't think to look there (lame excuse but, hey it works)

[Ayeun]

Oh wells... Unless Oslo lets me, I wont post the appeal I was going to use...