IMPORTANT NOTICE

Please be patient with us with regards to signups, we all have lives and may take a bit to notice or get to you so bear with us.

The WAAPT Signup Thread!

You may or may not have heard of the RP We Are All Pokémon Trainers before, said knowledge or lack thereof being the likely reason you're here. Here's where you get a more detailed explanation!

So, what the heck is a Waahpt anyway?

We Are All Pokemon Trainers, or WAAPT for short, began in February 2011 as a forum game, with very loose continuity. Since then, the number of players has grown to a couple dozen (though not necessarily that many at once!), and the setting has evolved into a unique Pokemon fanverse of its own. The RP's world is primarily based on the main series Pokemon games, but spinoff games, the anime, the TCG, and some of the various manga series have all had an influence on it, as well as stuff we made up ourselves. In addition, we like making references to media other than Pokemon as well! Typical plots involve either exploring and socializing, or facing off against some menacing threat.

Due to evolving from a forum game, this RP has a few differences from most. The main one is that there's no single GM - different plots and NPCs are run by different people, and everyone works together to plan stuff. Tagg and Tangent are on-paper G Ms but only for meta affairs, and they are assisted by an active mod team.

For more info on the RP, its history, and how it works please see this page.

Also, we're very much a LGBTQ+-friendly RP, so if you're on the spectrum feel free to hop aboard!

Ooh, sounds neat. What does it take to be a WAAPTer?

You have to be the very best, like no one ever was Not TOO much. This RP welcomes anyone who enjoys creative writing and has a decent knowledge of and enthusiasm for the Pokemon franchise in any of its major incarnations, bar folks like Genwunners and other fandom jerks (like, if you've only played up to G2 aside from dabbling in Pokemon Go and/or only watched a few seasons of the anime series or something like that there'll be a steeper learning curve but we'll gladly let you in provided you follow the other rules and are willing to work with rather than reject new franchise developments). Other than that, it's generally more about what you shouldn't do in order to maintain a safe and healthy environment for your fellow players:

• Don't harass people: Don't flame other people's RPing, don't dismiss or ostracize other people in general (especially if they are trying to help you or you're being cliquey), don't be condescending or put others down in any way, don't go after people over disagreements over anything, don't be a jerk to other RPers with different tastes than you, don't insult things just because they're brought up, just... be civil when you have a problem with someone or what they do or whatever, alright?

• Don't be obnoxious: Spamming the chatroom or Discussion Thread with shitposts, constantly asking Captain Obvious questions, intentionally tying to get a rise out of people, being unnecessarily negative during something positive or gushy for no reason but being a joykiller, being cold, inconsiderate or worse flippant when someone is genuinely upset over an issue that's legitimately wounded them... yeah, all that annoys us fast.

• Make sure your grammar isn't painful on the eyes: This is a play-by-post RP. It should be obvious your writing should be coherent and not eyebleed-worthy on the technical end if you want to join. On that note, though...

• Be reasonable in your RPing: Note we don't say "good"; again, we accept anyone who likes creative writing, likes Pokemon, and is willing to work with aspects of the Pokemon franchise they're unfamiliar with, and we consider this fun writing practice anyway, so if you like to write but have cold feet regarding your skills, we heartily encourage you to give us a try! However, that doesn't mean you can drop a blatant Mary Sue/Gary Stu/etc. on us, start breaking in-universe rules willy-nilly, and call it a day. This is decidedly no high-end writing competition, but we still have standards you need to follow so everyone else can have fun too - and so you can learn to be a better writer.

• Don't be sociopolitically insensitive: It should be clear that intolerance of any national, racial, ethnic, religious, LGBT+, neurodivergent, etc. group will not be tolerated in and of itself, especially if you pull stereotypically politically incorrect arguments out of your ass trying to defend yourself. Yes, yes, it sounds like stereotypical Tumblr, but we're a diverse group whose needs as a whole need to be respected.

If you are technically following all of the rules but are still being rude, obstructive, or just generally acting in a way that people would rather you not in an egregious and/or consistent manner, you are still liable to get in trouble. Please use your best judgement; if that is not enough we will probably say something.

This RP is meant to be a safe, enjoyable place for its members, and making people feel too uncomfortable over any of the above will require us to take action. We've banned people for these things and would rather not do so again, so while we'll accept genuine slipups to a point, if you outright aren't willing to comply with the above rules or the ones in the required reading later in this post... Sorry, find another RP. If you are willing... Great, let's get started!

(If you do break the rules, you'll have to deal with this. Don't say we didn't warn you.)

Okay, I'll play by the rules, I want in on this. How do I join?

Well...

Be warned that it is possible for you to not be accepted. This is nothing personal, we just want to make sure whether or not you'll fit in in our community.

Also please be aware that this RP operates in somewhat real-time, and is not uncommonly fast paced. And keep in mind that Pokemon are nearly as important as humans as characters, so be prepared to actually write for them.

First, read the following two essays:

Every's Essay: Essentially the basic meta rules of the RP, and very important.

The Tone Essay Basically a PSA about what kind of RP this is and what kind of content we're aiming for. Also very important.

Both essays contain important terms of service you need to copypaste part of in your signup sheet, so read them very carefully.

It may seem like a lot to read, but trust us, it's worth it to get you properly acclimated!

Next, post your Trainer's bio. Note this RP's setting is rather unique, so it's recommended you start out with a character made for it from scratch. That said, adapting a character from another RP to this one is still pretty much fine, but harder to do when you're less familiar with the setting, so make sure to read the rules and setting notes extra-carefully, and be open to extra review rounds during the signup for easier adapting - especially if said character originates from a Pokemon-free setting. As a general guideline though, if you can get your character to the point they wouldn't raise too many eyebrows as a civilian within the world of the main-series games or adaptations of them like the anime or Pokemon Special/Adventures, you should likely be fine.

Anyway, the bio goes like this:

• Your Trainer's name: You can use your troper handle as a basis or something completely different. Just not unpronounceable strings of characters. Names like Tagg, Umbramatic, and Amaterasu Crescendo are fine, Kwygibothulukarzan is not.

• Age: A general range works instead of something specific, though not too unspecific.

• Gender: male/female (specifying cis or trans is completely optional and specifying/revealing which later on can be discussed as long as it's not transphobic), genderfluid,genderqueer, agender, etc.

• Ethnicity: So you're probably wondering what we mean by that. Basically, it means "If your character existed in the real world, what real-world ethnicity would they likely identify as?" Any analogue of a RL ethnicity is acceptable, as long as they don't play into any stereotypes. If you feel uncomfortable giving your character a defined ethnicity you are free to say that they're ambiguous, and you're also free to give them a defined ethnicity at any later time. (Examples can be general, like White, Black, etc. or more specific like Tamil, Siddhi, Romani, Ainu, or Lakota. Though, some general terms ,like European, Asian, etc. that encompass a multitude of ethnic groups that may be dissimilar to each other can be too general, so try to steer clear of those).

• Brief description of their appearance: Note the brief. This should be detailed, but not insanely so, and Purple Prose here is a major red flag anyway. You can use a picture of some sort as a visual aide if you like, but the description comes before and is required.

• Any ties to an organization (i.e Pokemon Rangers, regional evil team, many possibilities beyond those): Is your Trainer a regretful ex-member of an evil team? A devotee of some Legendary religion? Or just a Joe Shmoe who somehow got sucked into the craziness? Tell us here! Just don't surprise us with something outlandish down the line without discussion. (Also, being a PEFE member needs to be earned in-RP unless you're an intern or something.)

• Region of origin: What it says on the tin. Where's your Trainer's hometown? Canon regions/locations (including most spinoff game regions, anime locations, and such, though a bit more caution's required with both than with main-series ones) are best, ambiguity is acceptable, and non-canon areas (at least those that don't already exist in-RP) will require discussion. Note that locations are closest to the anime scale-wise, and so it's possible to be from a nameless suburb of a big city like Celadon or Castelia, so long as it's in a canon region.

• Backstory: What's your Trainer's life been like? What makes them tick? Again, detailed but not overly so; we don't want a Freudian analysis, just the stuff we need to know about where they are in life and what they're like personality-wise. Also again, we will be taking this at face value, so please don't surprise us with twists down the line without discussing with someone. You can eventually change your character in a meaningful / fundamental manner with input from the other players once you've gotten more established. Please also see this list of in-RP events your character would likely be aware of. This can also help.

If you need help with any of these, read this. And you may want to read this too. Not to mention the syntax guide being a very good read for formatting everything correctly, both in your signup and in the RP.

Also, please include your timezone. It helps us better coordinate posts and when we can have someone interacting with you in-RP.

Next comes the mons. A team of one to six, no more, no less, is best for keeping things under control at first. Most characters in the RP can understand and speak to their Pokemon, but kinda like being a PEFE member this has to be earned, unless a justification is discussed. (Monese is usually in brackets like <this> for all Pokemon dialogue.) Even more so for not having mons at all - this is an RP about Pokemon Trainers, after all.

Mon profiles go like this:

• Species: Anything goes, so long as it isn't a Legendary (or Mythical), fakemon, creature that isn't a Pokemon at all, or a Pokemon that requires special permission to obtain (See list below). HOWEVER! If it is a mon from a game that is less than a month old as of your signup, you will have to wait until that month is over to get it, Eg. if a game comes out on November 32nd you would have to wait until December 32nd to include it. (For DLC this is shortened to two weeks.)

Pokemon that require special permission to obtain and need RP experience to acquire:

-Deltas

-Ultra Beasts

-The Type: Null Line

-The Meltan line

-The Kubfu line

-Pokemon with the Battle Bond ability

-Pokemon with their Mega Stones or Z-Crystals (see Every's Essay and the FAQ)

-Pokemon that can Gigantimax

-Large numbers of Shiny Pokemon

-Paradox Pokemon

Pokemon that can't be part of character teams at all:

-Legendaries and Mythicals other than the Type: Null, Meltan, and Kubfu lines (can only be written in NPC roles by more experienced players bar extenuating circumstances)

-Things that are neither human or Pokemon (only allowed in extenuating circumstances)

-Fakemon (just straight up barred except like one or two instances)

• Nickname: Very much optional, (the games don't judge you for no nicknames, neither do we) though still recommended so we can help distinguish your Salamence or Zoroark or Eevee or whatever from the others.

• Gender: Male, female, or none. (Canonically genderless mons can "lean" male or female in voice and personality to whatever degree you desire, and canonically gendered mons can also be transgender, genderfluid, genderqueer, agender, etc. and discover or reveal they're such as long as, once again, you aren't transphobic about it.)

• Ability: Any ability legal for the species in the games works here.

• Personality/Bio: What's your Pokemon like? Nice guy? Jerk? Shy? And why? They can be simple/flat, as long as there's something (Though that "something" still shouldn't be monosyllabic sentences.)

Also, indicating which mon is your starter (read: the first Pokemon your Trainer ever obtained, official starter or otherwise) is a requirement. And there's no four-move limit, so listing moves isn't necessary unless you want to establish egg moves.

USEFUL COPYPASTEABLE CHARACTER TEMPLATE HERE

If you have any questions about your characters or how the RP works or just need advice, feel free to PM me, Umbramatic! If you're willing to listen I'll be glad to tell you what works, what doesn't and generally how things roll.

Once we feel a Signup application has no glaring issues, you are free to get an invite to our Spectra Castle Discord server in order to have your characters workshopped further and get better acquainted with the community.

The FAQ and Background Lore Index are required reading post-Signups. (Though if you read it pre-Signups you're perfectly okay to and you don't need to do it again)

AFTER being accepted but BEFORE making your first post you need to:

1) Have read at least 25 pages, either by going 25 pages back from the current page of arrival or waiting until 25 pages have been made, supplemented by last month's Current events page and what's currently on Current Events. Alternatively or in tandem with the former you can follow along with the thread for a week before posting. Once you've done so,

2) You should be able to name the most recent thing you can remember, and once you've done that we can move on to

3) Your first interaction! Preferably with an experienced player.

However, remember that we reserve the right to accept or reject any player, and give a reason as to why for the latter. If you want to avoid this, here are some common and/or notable newbie mistakes and why you should steer clear of them beyond or expanded upon what is stated in the Essays:

• CHARACTERS WITH FETISHES AS CENTRAL PARTS OF THEIR PERSONALITIES: This is decidedly against this RP's rules, RP board rules, and TVT rules in general. Please keep sexual stuff PG at worst in signups.

• Non-human, non-Pokemon characters: It's said in the Tone Essay but ignored often enough to be worth repeating that your characters should be some variety of humans and Pokemon. We have strict rules on sapient beings that are neither and have had severe problems when players have tried to spring robots and such on us before so please do not do this. We have a huge cast of fucked-up perfectly good monkeys with quirks both natural and supernatural as well as several hundred species of collectible murderbeasts who are much the same; we have no need for androids or Xenomorphs or homunculi or demons unless you know how to work them into the setting - which you are guaranteed NOT to if you're just starting out.

• On a related note, characters tailored more for a non-Pokemon setting and/or ignoring what sort of Pokemon setting this is: This is a Pokemon RP. Flavor from other works of fiction should be mild and homage-y and/or have little effect on how your characters function as a Pokemon trainer and team. Also, we are not a grimderp creepypasta or Nuzlocke fic where everyone's trying to kill each other.

• On a similar note, characters not conducive to being a Pokemon trainer at all. Characters who refuse to be Trainers have precedent, but in a singular exception meant to stay an exception, and characters who have every Pokemon disobey or act hostile twoard them is ill conducive twoards training a team and creates a "reverse godmodding" effect of forcing Pokemon characters who normally wouldn't do that to act out of character. On the flip side, Trainers who outright abuse their Pokemon are in poor taste.

• Working in worldbuilding elements like new organizations, moves, etc. in from the get-go: You'll need to understand and work with the RP's setting before doing anything like this, especially if it's potentially plot-derailing. Stick with canon to start out, please.
  • Additionally, do not join solely because you want to play out a story idea you can't manage work into another RP or turn into a fanfic.Learn to put the words on paper and put them out yourself if that's the case - it takes learning, but you gotta be willing to learn.

• Antagonistic P Cs: Having a PC with former ties to a villainous organization is A-OK (though Cipher and Flare have complications you'll need to work around), but new P Cs actively opposed to the main group of P Cs historically don't work out very well, and villains are best left off as NP Cs introduced later.
  • On that note, having your PC be chased by a mysteriously shady figure as part of their backstory is a huge I'M OUT TO CAUSE TROUBLE sign over your head and is massively cliche for newbie signups, so don't do it.

• Cliche-for-species mon personalities: While less vital than with PC ethnicity, try to avoid falling back on stereotypes. For example, Lucario, a mon that often falls victim to this in newbie signups: Instead of just going with the default "super-noble and super-loyal to their Trainer" archetype, try to be more creative; maybe your character's Lucario has a fair amount of Jerk Jock tendencies instead, or is crazy into video games, or a chill dude who's a surprisingly good mentor figure, or a highly dramatic master chef, or names and styles themselves after a fictional character from another franchise, anything! In this RP, Pokemon of all sorts are pretty much people, and people aren't all the same so they shouldn't be either.

• At the same time don't create flat inverse stereotypes solely for the sake of avoiding this, that's just hacky.

• Characters with large amounts of wealth and/or influential families: This has historically been abused heavily by newbies, so avoid, please.

• Characters with an overemphasis on battle prowess: It's a-OK for your character to strive to be the very best like no one ever was, but already having that reputation and struggling to maintain it tends to lead to godmodding and over-emphasis on Smogon-y mentalites not suited for this RP.

• Defying/excessive arguing against/over-the-top loopholing of any of these or anything else the existing members criticise your signup for: Please, you're new, we've been here a while, if we have a problem you need to properly fix it. Fighting the existing playerbase over wanting something that causes problems kept in your signup, ignoring their requests to remove it, or attempting to abuse workarounds to keep it in gets you nowhere but out.

Anything else I need to know?

Well... As mentioned, here's our Discussion thread and a wiki with a handy-dandy FAQ.

We also have chatrooms on Discord and XMPP, but due to issues with spambots they cannot be accessed publicly; instructions can be provided on request once you've been approved to try and join the RP. Joining the Discord (or XMPP in a pinch) is STRONGLY recommended and it is highly advised any person joining this RP should get a Discord account in addition to their TV Tropes account if they don't have one already.

We also also have a second forum.

Also, while signups are never permanently closed, some story arcs are off-limits to new people and signups may go under temporary lockdown to accomodate if they are large-scale enough.

So... If you do decide to try and join, we'll be glad to help you get started. We love new faces!

(Please note: This OP is subject to ROLLING UPDATES to iron out any issues. As such, things may change a bit from time to time as we work stuff out and to accomodate new developments. Thank you for understanding.)

Edited by Umbramatic on Feb 2nd 2024 at 7:12:58 AM

I would like to join...

With a completely new Character!

• Name: Jake Parland
• Age: 15
• Gender: Male
• Appearance: Short, black hair, a yellow body warmer, that is unzipped, revealing a red shirt. Blue denim jeans, and brown steel toed boots.
• Affiliations: No, unless pokedex holder counts.
• Reigon of Origin: Mahogony, Johto
• Backstory: Jake is a normal kid, who lived a normal life, with nothing strange happening to him. When he was fifteen, he finally got a pokemon and dex from Proffesor Oak (incidentally, LEMON DROPS). He chose a Bulbasaur, and set out on his quest to explore the lesser known spots of Kanjoh, starting back at his hometown if Mahogony and the lake of rage.

• Species: Bulbasaur
• Nickname: Kermit
• Ability: Overgrow
• Gender: Male
• Personality: Kermit is quite disobedient, due to not respecting Jake, considering himself better than him. He is also quite rude, due to having a Druddigin in his lineage.

edited 4th Jan '13 5:46:26 PM by MusikMaestro

Directions to join are in the post above yours.

Hello! ^_^

Just look right up there and follow all the directions. It looks a little intimidating, but it's really not as bad as it seems.

Okay, seems like I've been given the job of producing a prompt...

Congratulations, Jake Parland! You've just awoken a Rhyhorn from its first nap of the week! While it hasn't made any move to attack, it certainly looks grumpy. What do you do?

Please respond with the post you would make if this situation showed up IRP.

Jake backs up at first trying to slowly move away, without aggravating the Ryhorn. Kermit, on the other hand has other ideas, charging at the Rhyhorn with a fierce battle cry, launching a leech seed his way.

Jake: Oh, Crap!

edited 4th Jan '13 6:21:20 PM by MusikMaestro

-The Rhyhorn is hit by the Leech Seed, and lets out an angry snarl as its strength is sapped. It proceeds to charge Kermit with a Take Down- <ROAAAAAR!>

Jake: Oh, Crap!, Oh, Crap!, Oh, Crap!... Errm... Kermit, jump on his back!?

Kermit senses the doubt in Jakes words, and completely ignores him, instead choosing to use his vines as poles, vaulting himself over the coming Rhyhorn, before firing razor leaves at his back.

Rhyhorn: -snarls again, flailing madly as the Razor Leaves connect, and again at Leech Seed- <I'll smash you!>

-the Rhyhorn swings about, striking wildly for a Fury Attack-

At this point, Jake is literally covering his eyes, hoping it will all go away.

The Fury attack hits Kermit, sending him flying into a tree. <You can speak? Funny, I didn't think you were smart enough>.

Kermit then used vine whip, hoping to pin Rhyhorn down with the vines.

-the Rhyhorn is struck by the vines, but not held very still due to size disparities- <The only not-smart one here is you for trying to fight me!>

-and rushes Kermit with Take Down again-

Kermit is pushed back, and would be on his last legs, if not for the leech seed. <Hehe... You mean stupid, right? Like you?>

Deciding to take Jakes advice, he launches onto Rhyhorns back, trying to secure himself with the vines once again.

I presume this means the thing is at a relatively easy point for jumping in?

• Code Phrase: "Lemon Drops"

• Trainer Name: Jack Jackson, Jr.

• Age: 25

• Gender: Male

• Appearance: Six foot man with short hair, a perpetual 5 o'clock shadow, and generally an unkempt appearance. Not muscular by any means, but certainly not unfit. Clothing leans towards what would be suitable for the outdoors. Wears a large brimmed fendoraish hat that's seen more than it's fair share of wear and tear over the years, but Jack does his best to fix it and keep it as long as he can.

• Organization: Freelance Photojournalist

• Region of Origin: Viridian City, Kanto

• History: A man with a love for the truth, especially in light of the activities of Team Rocket that those around him had to deal with. While he tried to initially help by becoming a police officer and pokemon ranger, his immensely brief stints with each helped him discover a better means to find what he was looking for: Photojournalism. Since then, he's slowly drifted from his initial focus, instead traveling the world wherever good photos and a good story may call him. Even so, one thing he hasn't lost is his integrity, knowing not to sacrifice the truth in the interest of a 'better story'.

• Pokemon:
  • Species: Abra (Starter Pokemon)
  • Nickname: Runt
  • Gender: Male
  • Ability: Inner Focus
  • Personality: Originally thought to suffer from some disorder preventing evolution. Served as a source of angst for Runt. After being adopted by Jack and tough how to be useful and fight even in its basic form, discovered a newfound source of self-confidence and a greater source of energy than one might expect from an Abra. So much so that after it was discovered his inability to evolve was psychological rather than biological, Runt still remains an Abra by choice. Even so, mostly serves as Jack's source of transportation and is saved as a backup combatant. Wears a pair of Cool Goggles. Mostly just for style.
  • Egg Move: Skill Swap

  • Species: Onix
  • Nickname: Groot
  • Gender: Male
  • Ability: Sturdy
  • Personality: Jacks 'big gun' and go-to pokemon in combat. A Gentle Giant at heart, but protective as well and not afraid to throw his weight around if needed. Jack obtained Groot after he and Runt formed a friendship on their own.

  • Species: Beedrill
  • Nickname: Penny
  • Gender: Female
  • Ability: Swarm
  • Personality: Angry, fight happy Beedrill with rage issues. Jack and her originally met in a Noodle Incident involving an offense Jack committed. Still isn't sure himself what happened, and Penny refuses to share the details he'd need to figure it out to the point where Jack suspects she just didn't like him for some reason. Even after both getting away from her and defeating her in combat, she kept showing up like "a bad penny" (hence the name), at which point Jack caught her just to make sure she was fighting for him instead of against him. Even so, Jack prefers not to use her since she can be unpredictable or get to focused on her opponents during combat, instead usually keeping her in her pokeball where she can cause the least damage. This only serves to compound her typically bad mood.

edited 4th Jan '13 9:23:27 PM by SpaceJawa

Please read the essay linked in the OP

Looks good, except for two things:

1. I'm a little iffy on introducing disorders that prevent evolution; it would probably be better if Runt simply had an aversion to evolving for whatever reason.

A. You still need to read the essay. There's a little tidbit from there you're missing.

1) Changed the lack of evolution bit - made it so that it was thought to be biological, only to be discovered to be psychological later on and all that stuff.

2) I read through the essay a couple times (read it before writing my app, too), so if I'm still missing something, you'll probably need to point it out to me.

There's a certain two words you need to put in.

Like that?

If you need to ask, you're not reading the essay closely enough. Please try again.

I should be posting in the discussion thread first?

That's not it (Though we should probably update that part of it) Keep looking.

Let's see:

1) Is my grammar/spelling not good enough? I thought I did a good job with that.

2) Pokemon RP - yeah, I got that one down. I think.

3) Battle Mechanics - I've read over it, but it doesn't seem like something that would affect what I have here.

4) Powers - Did I give someone of a power and not realize it still?

5) Shipping - Not sure how it would be applicable till I get to the RP itself (or at least the discussion thread)

6) Again, going to the discussion thread first and talking with people there (and reading the wiki more) seems the most obvious one. Does my app not fit the universe?

7) Plot arc stuff - Something else that looks like it becomes more important once I actually get past the application stage.

8) Politeness - am I being rude?

9) Not the main character - I understand that entirely.

If I'm still as clueless as I think I am, I may need someone to give me a hint as to what I'm missing.

Please read article six very carefully.

Did I finally get it right?

Yes. Thank you.