[System] Ranks & Ranking Up

[astralprogenitor]

What are ranks?​

Ranks are the system Pokémon Expeditions uses to show how strong or capable an individual is, whether human or pokémon. Each rank up means more physical and social attributes to distribute, showing progress as that being gains experience.

Ranks also indicate what level of trainer command a human exudes; a trainer cannot battle with, explore with, or train pokémon that are higher rank than themselves, and they cannot push pokémon of their own rank to one higher.

Ranks are denoted by name instead of numbers, allowing easy recognition of where something is in terms of experience. These ranks, and the stat bonuses they give are:

• Starter
  • No bonuses!
• Beginner
  • +2 Phys, +2 Soc
• Amateur
  • +2 Phys, +2 Soc
• Ace
  • +2 Phys, +2 Soc
• Pro
  • +1 Phys, +1 Soc
• Master
  • +1 Phys, +1 Soc
• Champion
  • No stat increase

Humans gain ranks by participating in Expeditions, training their pokémon, and simply by taking part in every day life on Nauwill (roleplay).

Pokémon gain ranks by working with their trainer in training sessions.

 

[astralprogenitor]

Human Advancement​

Human characters advance through going on Expeditions, training their pokémon, and participating in the world via roleplay. All human characters start at the Beginner rank, since Nauwillian officials won't allow completely fresh faces into the region due to potential danger, but they must progress through all ranks manually from there.

Each rank has its requirements listed under it; use this as a checklist to keep track of what your characters need to rank up.

A single thread can only be used for one human character's requirements per player; if you write a solo roleplay between two of your own characters, that may only be counted as a roleplay requirement for one of them!

Roleplay requirements may be filled by writing solo roleplays/stories as well as group RP. It only requires that you meet the word requirement, regardless of your chosen method.

A roleplay requires a human to have written 500 words to be able to count; if you write 500 and I write 300, you could use the RP as a rank up requirement, but I could not, even though the overall total is 800. It's on a per-person basis.

Events labeled as Meta Events count as a whole Meta as long as you reach the word count.

Games labeled as Mini-Meta events are smaller, story-centric games or events not big enough to be a huge development, but still mark an opportunity to get credit towards Meta Events. It takes 4 Mini-Meta event participations to count as one Meta event participation. You still need the word total / other player participation in order for it to count!

Pokémon Rank Ups indicate that the character needs to have a pokémon that belongs to them that has been ranked up to their current rank. This means it must be actively assigned to them and be a higher rank than it started as and must also be at the trainer's rank. You may only use a single rank up one time. If you have a Nauwillian scatterbug that you raise to Beginner, rank up your trainer, then trade that scatterbug to another Beginner trainer, you still may not use it again until it's been raised to Amateur.

We will be tracking this and repeated attempts to game the system will be met with warnings or punishment!

Beginner -> Amateur

• 5x Expeditions
• 2x Roleplay

Amateur -> Ace

• 10x Expeditions
• 4x Roleplays
• 2x Evolve/Power Well
  • Free RLC Power Wells do not count
• 2x Pokémon Rank Ups

Ace -> Pro

• 20x Expeditions
• 10x Roleplays
• 6x Evolve/Power Well
  • Free RLC Power Wells do not count
• 4x Pokémon Rank Ups

Pro -> Master

• 2x Expeditions in 10x Areas
  • This is a total of 20x Expeditions
• 10x Roleplays
  • 5x of these must be with other players
• 1x Meta Roleplay Requirement
  • 2500 words of roleplay(s) taking place during and involving main shop events labeled as Meta Plots
    • 1000 words of this must be in threads with other players
• 6x Pokémon Rank Ups

Master -> Champion

• 2x Expeditions in 15x Areas
• 20x Roleplays
  • 10x of these must be with other players
• 2x Meta Roleplay Requirement
  • 2500 words of roleplay(s) taking place during and involving main shop events labeled as Meta Plots
    • 1000 words of this must be in threads with other players
• Champion Accomplishment
  • Master characters who fill all other requirements can request a Champion's Quest: a guided, individual event leading to a notable, unique accomplishment that will mark their name in Nauwill's history. Completion of the quest fulfills the Champion's Accomplishment.

 

[astralprogenitor]

Applying Human Advancement​

Once your trainer character has all the requirements filled to raise their rank, you can do so at the Trainer Rank Certification thread. Fill out the form with the required information, then post it. It will be processed as soon as a moderator can get to it.

Please note that a moderator will mark the thread in some way noting it has been used for a particular character, and in the instance of completed roleplays will be locked so that it cannot be edited going forward. This will be updated in the event that say, another player uses a cooperative thread for their character as well.

 

[astralprogenitor]

Pokémon Advancement​

Pokémon find it very difficult to grow stronger naturally, with evolution generally being the only way. However, with the help of a trainer, they can overcome their natural tendencies and grow far more powerful than their typical wild cousins.

Pokémon advance in rank solely through training with their partner, relying on their partner's wisdom, skill, and dedication to help them reach new heights.

In technical terms, a player will use Training Certificates purchased from the Discord bot or earned from Ko-Fi rewards to raise a pokémon's rank. The number of Certificates required depends on the pokémon's current rank, and it can never be raised above their trainer's rank; an Amateur trainer cannot raise a mon to Ace, and a Pro trainer cannot raise one to Master.

The number of Certificates needed per rank is:

• Starter: 2
• Beginner: 4
• Amateur: 8
• Ace: 16
• Pro: 32
• Master: 64

Ranks may be raised through the Discord bot once you have enough Certificates in your inventory.