Wild and Feral, Once and Now

[Storybook]

We live in a feral world, hearts clasped by the will only to survive. But do not doubt the world we live in, do not doubt our feral hearts. We are not like you- we do not extend our reign over greed, we do not take more than we need, we do not live solely out of malice.
We may not be civilized, we may not have a code of right and wrong, we may throw off grief in order to live. But we are Pokemon. We are wild. We might live to pass on our genes and only then rest content, but, if given the chance, if given the need, we will rise to be much more than raw, feral minds.

To be more specific, this RP takes place long after humans have collapsed and left their creations behind, to be torn and withered by time. The structure of Pokemon, now, no longer taught to live like humans, but like the animals they are, has slowly degraded until the world is truly wild and feral again. Do not think that every turn is blood-shed and malevolence- those were creatures the humans had created out of their greed for power, money, and fame. No, the world is much more peaceful, with every creature rising only to the height they need to to survive.

There are still flaws in this world, of course. The predator and prey cycle has grown back into use, and Pokemon, separated into their own tribes, have little to no regard for anything that is not a threat to them and their families. Battles are either for territory or food, and someone who has been seriously injured has little to no chance of living. It could be said that society has been forgotten, and that the basics of a community are cast away. There is no medicine. If the creature in question is not of their family or clan, there is little to no sympathy without reason.

This story is one of discovery, as a few Pokemon, straying from their tribes, stumble upon one of the few ruins standing and learn of the past, and of themselves. And perhaps, along the way, they might just be able to find friendship in a world were it has long been forgotten.

Rules
So that we fully embrace this world, we must follow a set of 'rules'. In addition to normal RP forum rules, here are a few others;
Character
Though your character can be more 'human' than most, keep in mind that they are not human. They might be colder or, they might hold more sympathy in their hearts, but keep in mind the world they were raised in when creating the character.
Language
In a setting like this, it is only expected that different languages have arisen, different dialects exist, and many words exist that do not today. Please keep this in mind. In addition, if your Pokemon is not of the same general species as another, it will be hard to understand one another. In order to work with this, there will be a general language called "Omni." Please write in English (unless you are using words created in this world, like "Omni"), but keep in mind that they are speaking in different languages. And have fun with the dialects! Imagine how you would expect a creature like them to speak.
- All 'new' words must be posted here and/or explained in brackets in the post.
- In the making of 'new' words and dialects, think of how the creature would speak. For example, a Buneary would probably talk in very light, fluffy words, while an Aron's words would be sharper and more gravelly.
- "New" words exist for phrases that would be used often for that species (for example, using "chehfay" for the act of collecting berries in a Fletchling's or Dedenne's vocabulary, but not for a Sableye or Aron, who gather gems and iron to eat).
Names
Names need to make sense. They can be simple things like "River" or they can be a word of the creature's language like "Nidraken" (The venom of a Nidoking) or sounds they hear daily like "Kri" (the sound of claws scratching on stone). Human names like "Abby" or "Jake" can not be used as they, though used in the past, would be a very rare exception to be called. Keep in mind in making names that while we are using English in our writing, technically every word has an equivalent in their language, so words like "Rahrah" (iron) are also okay for names.
Beliefs, Legendaries, and Stories/Tales
Legendaries are not thought of often and have quickly fallen out of the general knowledge. Most Pokemon believe in a 'god,' or god figure, although this can differ through-out species. For example, a rabbit-like creature could 'worship' the sun, as it is what grows their grass and brings them out of the earth, while a cave-dwelling creature would be more inclined to believe in a 'god' who dwells deep withing the earth. However, these are all just different names for the same face- that is, each interpretation of the gods comes from ancient legends of the legendaries and an explanation for things unexplainable, like life and death and what comes after death. Stories and tales are variations of ancient legends and possibly new ones depicting times of when humans did roam earth. Keep in mind the species when speaking of or creating them.
Time
Of course, there are no clocks in this world, and no "9:30 pm." There is no "week" or "month." Time is generally more based off the sun or star's course, and words for year, week, and month don't exist.


This thread is for discussing and questioning the RP. If you wish to join, message me or simply post below. I am looking for three to four-ish people. However, since this is my first attempt at setting up an RP and I am fully aware of how unnecessarily complicated I create things, I am prepared for this to not work out. I'd like to learn from this, so if you find this RP set-up to be rather dull or uninteresting, any criticism or suggestions you have will be received with relish. That said, if you find this interesting (which I believe would be a rather unexpected miracle), post below and the first four or so people will be accepted. Make sure you fill out this form;

Name:
Species:
How the species lives:
Personality:
Background:
Appearance (if it strays from the species):
Age group (childish, teenish, adult, old, etc, and general lvl, for move purposes):
What leads them to the ruin:
Catchphrase (what do they live by? Optional):

Here is mine, for reference.
Name: Kithrah (Thistle)
Species: Nidoran male
How the species lives: They live in wide, open fields of grass, commonly making their homes in short, disused burrows of other creatures. This species keeps to themselves even in their own species and share their homes only with their families, but loosely group together in general colonies. Normally one or two nidoran/nidorina/nidorino live in a burrow and only more are found when there are kits or eggs present. Nidoking and queen live in caves in much rougher terrain, away from the main Nidoran colonies. Kithrah's colony lives on the edge of a forest, which hides the ruin. Nidoran are not predatory, and are considered prey.
Personality: Wary and blunt, his personality is rather hard to explain. Kithrah is solitary and holds a dark view of the world. He prefers to watch than to take action, and this causes him to take notice of many things others don't. Queer and rather lonely, he is a down-to-earth character that believes he must twist others around his hand, but adventure wells inside his steady heart all the same and, though unapparent, he has a strong sense of curiosity.
Background: As many of his species, he grew up in his colony rather peacefully for a short while. Trouble rose when two Pokemon warred over the grassland and forest, driving the Nidoran and Nidorino/a colonies away. Kithrah was left behind in their haste, still considered a 'child' by our human standards. Rediscovered by his family when the colonies were able to return, he is haunted by the memory when strife fades and life slows down. A few years before now, he, an adolescent, remained at his home when the colony moved on.
Appearance: Horn is a bit on the small side, and he is a rather small fellow himself.
Age group: Young adult-ish, near adolescence. Around level 20, he has yet to evolve, although he isn't all too sure as to why.
What leads them to the ruin: Restless, he wanders farther and farther into the forest edging his home until stumbling upon them.
Catchphrase: You sense it, don't you? In this world, losers die, and winners live to lose again tomorrow.

 

[Quake]

I've always wanted someone to do this sort of thing in this particular fashion. LOVE IT.

Here's a question for you, though. How can you be sure that ALL the world's Pokemon would convert back to their wild state when no longer domesticated? Take into consideration that Pokemon are extremely intelligent- able to understand human language and express complex emotions. In my opinion, their pretty much completely sentient beings. Maybe they have ALWAYS been sentient, and that the origins between the relationship of Humans and Pokemon is far more complicated than one would think. I suppose one religion could say that their strangely close bond is the result of a higher power, but I won't get into that.

That said, who's to say that not even a few pokemon would be able to adopt human knowledge and technology for their own benefit? And that we'd be looking at a sort of hyper-complex post-human Mystery Dungeon setting, split between civilized mons, wild mons, and even some in-between? After all, you did mention the creation of various languages, tribes, and even potential belief systems. Sounds like more than just a "eat and survive" kind of scenario.

...Or is this enlightenment the plot of the main characters perhaps?

 

[Storybook]

As I had seen the message this morning, I have spent much of my rather dull time today thinking on the topic. It is true I had considered this, to some extent, but, as I have stated, I have a rather nasty habit of making things too complicated, because in anything, there are always too many factors to contend with, and if I meddle with one, I dabble in all. Perhaps that is why I am so indecisive. Anyways, this is the conclusion I have drawn;

In our society, in human culture, we have grown to be as we are because we have gone past the will to just survive. We have gone past eat and drink and eat and drink and eat, and we have instead focused on expanding and learning and growing to fit our own personal benefit. This has made us intelligent and the master race, but it has implanted a certain materialism not found within most animals (the exceptions being animals like magpies and pack-rats who obtain items through an urge to find a mate or some other evolutionary advantage, and even that really can not be compared to the extent we grow to obtain money, power, and items) that is very prominent in our species, and that is why we have, to such extremes, our greed and urge for wealth and bigger and better.

Applying that idea to Pokemon, it is clear that this also happens in their universe. Fine examples are many of the evil teams themselves, the heightened technology and inventions and even the research that is, quite literally, the springboard of every game. To learn more. However, we don't see this in the Pokemon. As far as I can recall, no Pokemon have shown an urge to do more than just live, despite them being in a rather pleasant position in their coexistence with trainers, as we do, and without that they can't expand and grow into such a materialistic yet advanced society that we are in. It is not to say that the Pokemon are not sentient or do not feel complex emotions- it is that they do not have the drive to become like us. They might be hyper intelligent, but they have shown no urge to become humans- they have kept their animalistic values. Elephants have been seen grieving for their dead, and so do the most advanced Pokemon show such traits as grief that we nail down so ignorantly as human. However, elephants have not been seen being human, and neither have the meerkats, spiders, or beavers, with their hyper complex homes that cause the most poetic of us relate them to engineers. But the simple fact is, they lack the drive- or at least, I can not recall a moment in which they had the drive or show that they have the drive to grow and expand and learn. So if an Alakazam, when society was at the brink of doom, happened to glance at our technology, it is right to assume, from patterns in how they act now, that the majority would not be inclined to take it upon themselves to be us, or to create as we do.

Then again, with the humans gone and the creatures they co-evolved with for so many years died out, it is plausible that they might see being 'human,' or rather, taking our technology and, to an extent, our way of living, would give them a better chance of survival. But I highly doubt they would go past our simple architecture, or.... the word slips my mind, so I'll just say crops, unless they had showed signs of that drive. But even as rather 'safe' creatures when humans were around, I can find no evidence that they have cultivated such an urge to grow and learn and be materialistic. But please, if you find some, do share.

With that in mind, it can be safe to say it is probable that there is some level of 'society,' so to say, among those few who have taken that up, but it is fairly hard to nail down how they would react and grow in such a long period of time. It could be that they abandoned clinging to our remnants and living like we did in favor of living more wild, or it could be that, over time, they have settled into it and perhaps formed more of a structure of beliefs as we did- that is to say, our complex set of emotions and general awareness of not just ourselves. However, it is still plausible that they are rather isolated, like animals today, not caring for the death and life of others beyond their own kind and species or beyond some benefit to their own selves, and so it can be determined that, though rather sentient, they haven't really become 'human,' or something close to it. It is, in fact, rather probable that the most able-limbed of them have taken to building homes of some small magnitude just as the beavers chop trees for dams and the spiders spin with their intricate threads, but, although having a small sense of community among their own families and species, and perhaps even ones that have co-evolved to have symbiotic relationships with them, they would still be rather feral, just a little less so. Life is always a range, and there is never a definite point, just as how you can never pin down where electrons are at one specific moment, and so, too, is the wild nature of these creatures.

It is rather unfortunate factor of humans that their viewpoints are rather muddled, though, so criticize as you see fit. No one mind can discover the whole picture, and I am sure that, though sound in my mind, there is much I am missing in this theory. This is just where I landed when creating this RP, and what led me to it. Of course, the world of the RP is also greatly defined by the RPer.

 

[Quake]

You make many great points that show there is no fine line between civilization and savagery, that you can't compare the intelligence of all species from only one perspective. I believe I have been simple-minded in my questions, questions that would be better asked in the RP itself. I'm not trying to challenge the RP's plot or anything. I was just interested in what you had to say about these topics. It's not as if we need to know the absolute truth- that's what RPing is for. These complicated matters sure are enjoyable to talk about, though. I learned much.

Welp, I suppose I'll develop some sort of character. I'll try to make it interesting.

 

[Storybook]

Good luck! I find it rather interesting to talk and look into these things myself, and you had brought up a point only slightly in my consideration and attention. The more we challenge, whether with intentions to change or not, the more we learn. I am grateful for that when it arises.

 

[lil_lady_mew]

Can I play with a human who is turned into a Pokemon?

 

[Storybook]

I do not believe so. The race of humans ended long before our story begins, and I cannot come up with a feasible explanation for why one would somehow exist, but as a pokemon instead. If you believe there is a good reason that actually makes sense, try it on me, but until I am convinced, no human turned pokemon in this world.