Zhorken
groove out!
- Pronoun
- they or she
The Challenge Board
The Challenge Board lies West of ASB Central on the side of a well-worn road. An old, broad plank of wood stands fixed to a post, worn smooth by time and the weather. Hundreds of paper notes flutter in the breeze, pinned on in layers, each one describing a challenge in a hastily written scrawl or a meticulously typed form. This is where the battlers of Asber issue challenges, whether open to anybody or to a particular trainer in a long-running vendetta. Every now and then you'll see an ASB administrative trying to navigate the layers of paper notes, taking old posts down, but most of the traffic is from active trainers seeking to test their abilities. All battles function via the Challenge Board. This is where you take up a challenge or start your own battle, and wait for a referee to claim it and start a new thread. Challenges generally work by this format:
Format: This is where you determine what kind of battle you’ll be playing. Key elements here are the number of Pokémon each team uses, and how many Pokémon each player has out at once. For example, 3vs3 single would mean that each player has three Pokémon, but only one is on field at a time. 4vs4 double means each player has four Pokémon, and each player has two Pokémon on field.
Style: This describes how easily you can switch out Pokémon. In set style, when a Pokémon is recalled it is considered knocked out and can no longer be used in battle. In switch style, Pokémon can be withdrawn out of battle freely without being considered knocked out.
DQ Time: The disqualification time is how long a player has to post commands in the battle threads before being disqualified. This is also how long a referee has to post a reffing before an emergency referee can step in to continue the battle. The standard DQ time is one week. DQ times for players can be amended by a post in the Absence Sheet.
Damage Cap: The maximum amount of damage a Pokémon can be dealt by opponents in one round (self-inflicted damage does not count towards the damage cap). This is to discourage opponents merely spamming powerful, supereffective attacks to quickly bring down an opponent without regard for strategy. Damage Caps are generally between 25% and 40%. Playing without a damage cap is possible, but is not recommended.
Banned/Restricted Moves: Moves that cannot be played or are restricted in this battle. This can be dependent on the arena conditions - for example, banning weather-based moves in an enclosed arena - or in the interest of fair play or the challenger’s preferences. One-hit knockout moves (OHKOs) and direct recovery moves (such as Roost or Recover) are often banned. Chills are also generally restricted on how many can be used by each Pokémon.
Arena Description: What kind of arena are you battling in? This can range from something very simple to something incredibly complex. The arena should be described in detail, including information like the size of the arena and what effects the arena has on the battlers. For example, if your battle takes place in a forest where trees can be knocked down on opponents, you need to define what kind of attacks can do that, and how much damage would be dealt.
Additional Rules: Any other restrictions or notes should go in here, like if abilities should be ignored, if only baby Pokémon are allowed, if Pokémon heavier than 200kg are banned, etc.
You can also define whether you’re challenging a particular person or not, to prevent someone else from accepting your challenge. It’s usually a good idea to message the person you’re challenging as well, to make sure they notice. Generally, challenges are open to anyone.
Here is an example of a challenge:
ultraviolet said:
You can use this template to make your own challenge, if you wish:
Code:
[PLAIN]
[b]Format:[/b]
[b]Style:[/b]
[b]DQ:[/b]
[b]Damage Cap:[/b]
[b]Banned/Restricted Moves:[/b]
[b]Arena Description:[/b]
[b]Additional Rules:[/b][/PLAIN]Accepting a Challenge
Once you’ve posted your challenge, it will be added to the second post in this thread under ‘Open Challenges’, until someone comes along and accepts it. To accept a challenge, you should quote the original post and accept the challenge. There is no need to post your profile link anymore, as ASB profile links now appear in the postbit.When your challenge has been accepted, it will be added into the second post, under 'Challenges Needing Referees'. This is where it will wait until a referee decides to take the battle and make a new thread for it. Do not complain if a referee has not taken your battle; everyone has to wait for battles to get taken, and this is probably going to make it less likely for a referee to take your battle.
Most battlers may only have a maximum of three battles and challenges at a time, while active referees may have a maximum of four.
Battles will remain here for a month before being taken down if a referee has not taken it. If both battlers are still willing, they can repost the battle where it will stay up for another month; if a referee still has not taken the battle, it will be removed regardless of common interest.
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