Thank you all for the positive feedback! When I wrote the original post, I wanted to pitch the idea more than anything. It will be up to the RP Committee / Mods to decide on things like UC payout, prizes, etc. I just provided what I thought would be a good base. Let me answer a few of these questions.
I think this was answered well on IRC, but I thought I'd address the main idea here on the forums. The movepool limit serves to diversify our competitive attractions in ASB. Almost everything runs full movepools (tournies / halls / gym / TLR / raids / etc), so I feel that it would be a good change of pace to switch to 40 moves. It also allows newer players to have a bit more skin in the game by being able to participate early on. Finally, 40 moves is still largely generous, especially since you can select which 40 moves to bring. As Zarator pointed out on IRC, Tier 1 Pokemon all have massive movepools, and that is no coincidence. I am hoping this will be an exercise in something new and exciting. And if that still bugs you, you can still fight with full movepools everywhere else in ASB.
Yes, this was a typo/misunderstanding on my part. You get a Ferry Pass for beating a Grand Trial. You get to go to a Grand Trial by defeating the individual island challenges. If you lose a Grand Challenge, you may rechallenge without having to go through the previous island challenges. I hope that clarifies it!
A fair question, Ooraloo. The answer is simple: they cannot. If you really wanted to challenge your own island, you would need to forfeit your position and then battle your replacement. This may sound harsh, but consider that each island gives you the same prize: a Ferry Pass. You do not gain anything specifically from beating each island, so you can really challenge whichever one you like. There may be a few people who churn out Ferry Passes by battling the same island over and over, but I think most will enjoy the variety of travelling to different islands for a challenge. If this becomes an egregious issue (i.e. down the road, you get something for clearing all four islands), we'll let those who lead an island (captains / kahunas) automatically qualify for their island.
I'm glad you're on board with the idea, Zarator! That means a lot coming from the guy who invented Raids. People will be allowed to be a Gym Leader and a Captain/Kahuna, of course. I wouldn't want to force users to choose between Gym and Island Challenge. That being said, I will be banning Gym Leaders from specializing in their Gym type on the Island Challenge. The reason for this has been listed on IRC: variety. If the Ground-type Gym leader just copies and pastes their team from Gym into their Grand Trial, that isn't adding any variety.
In response to your cons, kahunas should know what they are getting into when they apply for the position. It is a manager position, so they will need to work hard to make sure their island challenge is a success. I would argue that new Gym leaders should not apply for the position and focus on strengthening their gym and applying here as a Captain. The position of kahuna will probably be the easiest one to feel burn-out, so they will need to be users looking to bite off something big. The bolded rule I mentioned above should answer your "carbon copy" argument as well.
I have very little planned for Aether Paradise as of right now. It is not a gift, and it certainly isn't the length of a TLR. I would expect something in-between, but this information will be kept strictly guarded by the kahunas. I will say this: I have always felt miffed that the Capture Mechanics are so expertly crafted, yet see almost no use in ASB. I would like to change that ;)
This is a great question that segues into what I'd like to post about here. As the creator of the Island Challenge, I will work extremely hard to get this started off right. I would like to position myself as the initial kahuna and test the position. As this initial kahuna, I will serve as a mentor to the other kahunas, from helping them create their Grand Trial, to choosing captains, to balancing Island Trials. To help balance the requirements of this initial kahuna position, I will only take on one captain at a time; seems only fair, right? That way, I will have more time to dedicate to other kahunas and their Island Trials. Eventually, I will retire from the position and hand off the initial kahuna position to the most senior and/or most capable existing kahuna. If you question my qualifications as a leader and battler, please post about it. I have multiple tournament wins, run a successful and creative gym, and serve as a super moderator on this site. But still, I believe that my most important credential is I really want this thing to succeed and will go to great lengths to do so.
Therefore, I am asking the RP Committee / Moderators to approve me to test the position of kahuna to get this thing started. I will post applications for captain, select one, and work on developing a single Island Trial and Grand Trial. Once completed, we'll give it a dry run test (no prize included) to the public, and receive feedback about it along the way. Once we feel generally stable with it, I will select three more kahunas and we'll get completely started. To answer zarator's initial question, I will not be looking for captains nor kahunas with a specified type. In fact, I am barely prepared to run a type that isn't Fighting-type myself! Rather, I will be looking at other leadership skills, popularity, activity, the ability to train Pokemon, battling ability, and flavor. At least, that's the standard I will hold for kahunas and my captain. Other kahunas may value other skills more than others! But for me, the training of a type can come at a later time, whereas important leadership skills cannot.
So please let me know if we're approved to give this a test run. I am always interested in more feedback, so please post here if you have more! Thanks again.
I think this was answered well on IRC, but I thought I'd address the main idea here on the forums. The movepool limit serves to diversify our competitive attractions in ASB. Almost everything runs full movepools (tournies / halls / gym / TLR / raids / etc), so I feel that it would be a good change of pace to switch to 40 moves. It also allows newer players to have a bit more skin in the game by being able to participate early on. Finally, 40 moves is still largely generous, especially since you can select which 40 moves to bring. As Zarator pointed out on IRC, Tier 1 Pokemon all have massive movepools, and that is no coincidence. I am hoping this will be an exercise in something new and exciting. And if that still bugs you, you can still fight with full movepools everywhere else in ASB.
Yes, this was a typo/misunderstanding on my part. You get a Ferry Pass for beating a Grand Trial. You get to go to a Grand Trial by defeating the individual island challenges. If you lose a Grand Challenge, you may rechallenge without having to go through the previous island challenges. I hope that clarifies it!
A fair question, Ooraloo. The answer is simple: they cannot. If you really wanted to challenge your own island, you would need to forfeit your position and then battle your replacement. This may sound harsh, but consider that each island gives you the same prize: a Ferry Pass. You do not gain anything specifically from beating each island, so you can really challenge whichever one you like. There may be a few people who churn out Ferry Passes by battling the same island over and over, but I think most will enjoy the variety of travelling to different islands for a challenge. If this becomes an egregious issue (i.e. down the road, you get something for clearing all four islands), we'll let those who lead an island (captains / kahunas) automatically qualify for their island.
I'm glad you're on board with the idea, Zarator! That means a lot coming from the guy who invented Raids. People will be allowed to be a Gym Leader and a Captain/Kahuna, of course. I wouldn't want to force users to choose between Gym and Island Challenge. That being said, I will be banning Gym Leaders from specializing in their Gym type on the Island Challenge. The reason for this has been listed on IRC: variety. If the Ground-type Gym leader just copies and pastes their team from Gym into their Grand Trial, that isn't adding any variety.
In response to your cons, kahunas should know what they are getting into when they apply for the position. It is a manager position, so they will need to work hard to make sure their island challenge is a success. I would argue that new Gym leaders should not apply for the position and focus on strengthening their gym and applying here as a Captain. The position of kahuna will probably be the easiest one to feel burn-out, so they will need to be users looking to bite off something big. The bolded rule I mentioned above should answer your "carbon copy" argument as well.
I have very little planned for Aether Paradise as of right now. It is not a gift, and it certainly isn't the length of a TLR. I would expect something in-between, but this information will be kept strictly guarded by the kahunas. I will say this: I have always felt miffed that the Capture Mechanics are so expertly crafted, yet see almost no use in ASB. I would like to change that ;)
This is a great question that segues into what I'd like to post about here. As the creator of the Island Challenge, I will work extremely hard to get this started off right. I would like to position myself as the initial kahuna and test the position. As this initial kahuna, I will serve as a mentor to the other kahunas, from helping them create their Grand Trial, to choosing captains, to balancing Island Trials. To help balance the requirements of this initial kahuna position, I will only take on one captain at a time; seems only fair, right? That way, I will have more time to dedicate to other kahunas and their Island Trials. Eventually, I will retire from the position and hand off the initial kahuna position to the most senior and/or most capable existing kahuna. If you question my qualifications as a leader and battler, please post about it. I have multiple tournament wins, run a successful and creative gym, and serve as a super moderator on this site. But still, I believe that my most important credential is I really want this thing to succeed and will go to great lengths to do so.
Therefore, I am asking the RP Committee / Moderators to approve me to test the position of kahuna to get this thing started. I will post applications for captain, select one, and work on developing a single Island Trial and Grand Trial. Once completed, we'll give it a dry run test (no prize included) to the public, and receive feedback about it along the way. Once we feel generally stable with it, I will select three more kahunas and we'll get completely started. To answer zarator's initial question, I will not be looking for captains nor kahunas with a specified type. In fact, I am barely prepared to run a type that isn't Fighting-type myself! Rather, I will be looking at other leadership skills, popularity, activity, the ability to train Pokemon, battling ability, and flavor. At least, that's the standard I will hold for kahunas and my captain. Other kahunas may value other skills more than others! But for me, the training of a type can come at a later time, whereas important leadership skills cannot.
So please let me know if we're approved to give this a test run. I am always interested in more feedback, so please post here if you have more! Thanks again.
