The Stranded Scout Troop Contest

[Oslo]

THE STRANDED SCOUT TROOP CONTEST!

‡ Pre-Round ‡

‡ Round 2 Appeals ‡

BTPoke and Rosalinda are randomly selected to go first. The crowd eyes the pair attentively as Rosalinda begins to glow with a brilliant red light. Using her Psychic prowess, she assembles a mass of various twigs and branches and begins to expertly sculpt them into the frame of some kind of structure. The crowd murmurs in approval as the Ralts then begins slathering the wooden frame with dollops of dark, heavy mud. When at last the tent has been completed, the Rosalinda does an artsy twirl and begins to toss up a crackling veil of tiny blue flames. Some of the flames wriggle into the mud and cause it to harden while others merely hang in the air ominously. The onlookers let out a delighted ooh and offer applause.

Ayeun and Ms. Skittyfantastico wait until the field has been reset before stepping into the center of the clearing. Ms. Skittyfantastico nods to her trainer and then she locates a dead, hollow tree at the furthest edge of the clearing. Purring confidently, she scrunches up her face... before conjuring a dozen tiny blue flames that suspend themselves in the air. Buh? Ms. Skittyfantastico turns her head in confusion but realizes this is not the time to break composure. Instead, she skips jauntily over to the hollowed out tree, which causes the crowd to squint since it's hard for them to see what's going on at the edge of the clearing. Ms. Skittyfantastico charges at the dead tree as her head glows blue, part of the bark to crumble away. Now that she has an entrance, she whips up a Shadow Ball which glows with an eerie purple light. The crowd doesn't seem sure how well this otherworldly aesthetic suits a Skitty, but they offer some weak applause nonetheless.

Firepokemon and Charmander keep the energy going as they step out into the clearing. Charmander locates a large mound of earth and begins Digging furiously into it to create a cave-like structure. The onlookers are forced to squint their eyes and crane their necks forward; after all, the opening isn't much bigger than Charmander herself, which makes it hard for them to watch the appeal! They can just barely make out Charmander hurling great dollops of mud all over the ceiling and floor, but the visibility isn't great. However, the burrow suddenly erupts with a brilliant orange glow as Charmander's Flamethrower kicks into action. The crowd lets out surprised gaps and then watch with interest as great puffs of smoke pop out of the opening one by one. They applause.

Ash0011 and Psyshock prepare to give this appeal their all. The elegant Kirlia uses his Psychic prowess to assemble an assortment of leaves and vines and forms a structure with them. Holding the frame in place, Psyshock covers the thing with a translucent screen that glows with a brilliant silver light, attracting the crowd's interested murmurs. With that done, he suddenly begins to blaze with a dazzling light that rouses a delighted response from the crowd. They appear to like Psyshock's appeal very much!

DarkestLight and Whiptacula finish the second round of appeals as they step out into the clearing. The Snivy starts scurrying around collecting some fallen branches and a stretch of vine, which takes a bit of time due to her petite stature. Once Whiptacula has amassed all the necessary materials, she demonstrates her swords(wo)man prowess with a few elegant slices that successfully cut the branches into manageable lengths. The crows seems to have enjoyed the slicing-and-dicing, though they're perhaps less engaged as Whiptacula gets to work tying them together. However, this part the appeal doesn't take especially long, and she rebounds by kicking up a tornado of wind and leaves that tosses the sticks up into the air before placing them down all splayed out in the shape of a teepee. Finally, Whiptacula kicks up a dazzling array of coloured leaves that flutter throughout the air before settling all over the shelter and providing it with a good cover, though a few flutter away on the breeze which leaves a small gap in the roof. Whiptacula parts some of the leaves to create an opening and voila! The crowd applauds.

‡ Round 2 Scores ‡

BTPoke and Rosalinda: Great work, you two! Your structure was thoughtfully constructed and the crowd rather enjoyed watching you put it together. The Will-O-Wisp was a great touch and the unsettling, otherworldly feel it gave to the appeal definitely suited a Psychic Pokemon like Ralts. You lose a couple of points for not adding an entrance, of course, but other than that this went quite well. 8.5 / 10

Ayeun and Ms. Skittyfantastico: After your excellent Round 1 appeal, this was perhaps slightly disappointing. The idea to use a hollowed tree was a smart decision as they're commonly used for shelter by woodsmen, but the execution didn't entirely play out as you had envisioned. Copycat copies the most recent move used, so Will-O-Wisp was called up instead of Psyshic, and since the crowd had already seen a Will-O-Wisp they were not impressed. Also, since Ms. Skittyfantastico was forced to perform the appeal at the far edge of the clearing, the crowd didn't have great visibility. Finally, the Shadow Ball was not a great choice. Skitty is a cute Pokemon with a silly name, so a frightening move like that just doesn't complement her nature. Fortunately, the great score you got on your first appeal means that you're not out of the running yet. 6.0 / 10

Firepokemon and Charmander: Your appeal was definitely a solid one, though lack of visibility posed a relatively significant problem since the crowd had a difficult time seeing what was going on in the burrow hole. That said, the audience really enjoyed the uniqueness of the appeal, which differed greatly from the other shelters that were constructed. Moreover, the fiery display was enjoyable to watch and definitely suited Charmander's hot personality. Good work. 8.0 / 10

Ash0011 and Psyshock: An excellent appeal. The idea to use Reflect to fortify the shelter was a clever one and it suited Psyshock's nature quite well. Also, I like the Flash beacon you added. Only a smart Boy Scout would realize that it's important not to give up on trying to attract the attention of potential search parties! The only practical consideration I have to offer is the fact that it might be hard to get a lot of shut-eye in such a shelter since the Reflect coupled with the Flash would make everything so bright, but that's a minor foible. Good work. 9.0 / 10

DarkestLight and Whiptacula: Your structure came together quite well. While certain parts of the construction weren't especially enjoyable for the crowd to watch, you nonetheless put together an appeal that worked well with Whiptacula's Grass-type disposition. The Magical Leaf was especially captivating and your decision to create an entrance was a minor addition yet enormously practical. Since there was nothing to fasten the Magical Leaves to the structure, a number blew away and compromised the integrity of your shelter, but other than that the execution went quite well. 8.0 / 10

‡ Post-Round ‡

Notes:

> Things are looking tight as we enter the final Round of the contest! After a good night's sleep, you wake up to discover... one of the Scouts had her cellphone on her all along and has been playing Brick Break (the game, not the attack) this entire time! Are you kidding me?! After texting "lol, lost in woods, plz help" to the search units, you lay back and wait for their eventual arrival. However, as the sun climbs into the sky, things start to get uncomfortably warm. Some of the trees look a little dry and begin... smoking? Uh-oh. Suddenly, without warning, some of the drier branches begin to sizzle and pop as the hot climate begins to cause them to burn! Oh no! Before you can act, five of the tall elm trees (each around 60 ft. high) are blazing with hot flames right in front of your eyes. Ahh! On top of that, you look up to see a bunch of Slakoths in the trees letting out alarmed cries. Okay, Scouts! Serving others is part of your Scoutly duties, so it's time to get to work. Each of you will be assigned an elm tree and it will be your job to put out the fire and get the Slakoth inhabiting your tree down to safety. You will be using both Pokemon and this appeal will consist of four moves which can be split between the two Pokemon 2-2 or 3-1 or 1-3. Remember, this is all pretend, which means the Slakoths aren't in actual danger... so I don't want you to play Mr./Ms. Hero and start putting out any fires or rescuing any Slakoths besides the one to which you're assigned. Good luck!

[BTPoke]

Alright. Sake, Rosa, let's do this.

Rosalinda, start out with a rain dance

Sake, use a bounce to get up to the branch the slakoth is at, and try to grab it and jump back down. if the slakoth refuses to let go of the branch, use a brick break on the branch.

Rosalinda, while he's doing this, use psychic to gather the rain around sake to create a water shield, and also to catch the slakoth (I think that would count on 1 use of a move)

[Ash0011]

Alright leo start by sketching a water sport to protect the other trees while psy uses psychic to save the slackoth, after that I want leo to sketch a controlled water pulse as the concussive waves of water will put out the tree easily without accidentally harming it more and I want psy to finish with a heal pulse targeting the slackoth and the tree to heal any burns and keep the tree standing tall, also make sure to make everything travel a bit higher than the tree to help the scout leaders with their search if at all possible

[Ash0011]

Its been 2 days less than a week whats dq time Oslo?
(not editing my post as that doesn't seem to bump it back to the top)

[Oslo]

It's a tough time of year so I think I'll give everyone until April 28th to post their appeals. Hop to it, folks!

[Ayeun]

Who did I pick again? Okay... lets go!

Skitty - Use teh Helping Hand on Pachi... Then use Captivate on the Slakoth in the treek. Get him to help himself by WANTING to come down.

Pachi - Take that Helping Hand, and then start a Rain Dance. That will put out your fire... But keep it controlled. Don't put out anyone ELSES fire with the rain dance. How you ask? Hit the cloud with a THUNDERSHOCK to keep it small of course!

[firepokemon]

Yeah sorry been trying to come up with something and I've been struggling. But here goes.

--------

Come on out Charmander and Zofis my lovely dratini.

Right Charmander jump straight into action and perform Flamethrower to push the fire back. Do so in a controlled manner as we don't want there to more fire. Now use Brick Break on Slakoth. I know it is going to hurt the pokemon but we don't have time to fool around and as you're male and unable to use attract etc nor use paralysis or sleep this is our best option, and Zofis needs to get that fire out.

Zofis use Aqua Tail to take out the fire and grab Charmander and Slakoth and use Extreme Speed to get us away from here.


There done.

[DarkestLight]

Put out the fire? Hrm. Everyone is using water. Switch mechanics.

Ok. 60 feet up is pretty high.

Whip, hop atop of Femme and you two float up to the Slakoth branch. Whip, you jump off Femme and land on the branch and use Sweet Scent to calm it down. Then use Leaf Tornado. Yeah, it'll make a vortex that the fire will follow. Push all the burning DOWN below you two to the base of the tree.

Femme, now you float down to the fire and use Psychic to shove dirt all over that nasty fire. That should do it. Now, if need be, use Telekinesis to help Slakoth down!

Whip: Sweet Scent (calm Slakoth)-Leaf Tornado(push fire down to base of tree)
Femme: Psychic (Dirt blanket)~Telekinesis (save the slakky!)

[Oslo]

THE STRANDED SCOUT TROOP CONTEST!

‡ Pre-Round ‡

‡ Round 3 Appeals ‡

Firepokemon, Zofis and Charmander begin the round by sharing confident looks. Ever the daring little performer, Charmander steps up to the tree and begins breathing fire all over it. His attempt at fighting fire with fire doesn’t exactly pan out, though, and despite his trainer’s instruction to keep the blaze controlled, the fire merely burns with increased intensity. The trapped Slakoth lets out a distressed yelp as the flames encroach upon her. Charmander, who’s been instructed to use Brick Break, decides the only way to do such is climbing up the truck… through the fire. Though she’s a Fire-type herself, the flames still smart a fair bit! Yowch! When she’s reached the Slakoth, she smacks him with her open palm. The Slakoth lets out a wail and slips off the branch, but fortunately a concerned audience member leaps out and catches the Slakoth. Phew! The crowd seems relieved that a catastrophe was narrowly avoided. Zofis, meanwhile, begins smacking the flames with her tail, but because Charmander’s Flamethrower made them so big and fierce it’s a slow process. Charmander climbs down the tree as the flames are finally subdued. She and the Slakoth hop upon Zofis’s back before the Dratini shoots away. The crowd does not applaud and a couple onlookers even boo. Eek.

DarkestLight, FemmeFetal and Whiptacula step up to show the crowd what they’re made of. Whiptacula grabs onto FemmeFetal as the little Solosis begins to levitate up to the branch where the little Slakoth is trapped. Whiptacula smiles calmly and emits a mollifying scent that washes over the distressed Slakoth, causing the little guy to smile. The crowd lets out a d’aww for Snivy’s sweet gesture. Once the Slakoth has been soothed, Whiptacula turns her attention to the fire and kicks up one hell of a Leaf Tornado. The vortex spins counter-clockwise and blows the blaze down to the base of the tree. Phew! FemmeFetal returns to the base of the tree and rips clods of dirt from the forest floor and tosses them of the flames, successfully outing the fire. However, it’s not done yet: employing her Telekinetic skills, FemmeFetal lifts the poor Slakoth down to safety. Huzzah! The crowd applauds animatedly.

Ayeun, Pachi and Ms. Skittyfantastico are next. They approach the blazing tree with a look of determination as Ms. Skittfantastico drums up some applause by slapping her tail against the ground again and again. Emboldened by her ally’s Helping Hand, Pachi dances about in an animated manner so as to attract the crowd’s attention. The onlookers watch with delight as clouds cluster over the forest before bursting with a plethora of raindrops. As the forest is gradually soaked, Pachi shoots a forked blast of electric current up into the sky, though the effects of such an attack are negligible. As the blaze is slowly subdued by the Rain Dance, Ms. Skittyfantastico peers up at the Slakoth with a Captivating stare. Slakoth sees fire on all sides of him and thus has no way to climb down, but the Captivating stare is too much for him to resist… so he simply leaps out of the tree! Oh noes! Fortunately, one of the audience members interrupts the appeal by surging forward and catching the bewitched Slakoth. The audience members breathe collective sighs of relief and offer no applause. That was a close one! At least the rain has finally quelled the fire, though?

BTPoke, Sake and Rosalinda step up to deliver their appeal. Rosalinda plays to the crowd by shimmying and shaking around as she busts out every Dancing Queen move in her arsenal. Clouds roll in from the west and turn the sky grey before spilling cold, fat raindrops all over the forest. They sizzle against the raging fire and begin to quell the heat, but the poor trapped Slakoth still wails in despair. Heroically, Sake bounds into the air with Superman-esque skills and snatches up the trapped Slakoth in his capable arms. The crowd applauds such a daring feat. The little Pokemon nuzzles Sake as the Fighting-type Pokemon Bounces down to safety. As the weather finally outs the fire, Rosalinda gathers the extraneous rainwater into a massive amorphous blob. Sake and the Slakoth splash into the pool, safe and sound. The audience members cheer.

Ash0011, Sketch and Psyshock close out the round. Psyshock wiggles her hands as a red corona surrounds her body. A similar aura of light surrounds the Slakoth who’s lifted down to safety, much to the crowd’s delight. Sketch draws several splashes of water that sizzle against the fire, quelling the heat for good. Phew. Psy closes out the round by emitting a pink pulse of health-restoring energy. The pulse diffuses from the point of origin and washes over the Slakoth, healing his wounds and burns, while also rushing over the charred and smoking elm. The bark begins to grow lighter as the tree is renewed, healed of any lasting scorch marks. The onlookers respond with a burst of exuberant applause.

‡ Round 3 Scores ‡

Firepokemon, Zofis and Charmander: Your appeal could have probably gone a little better. Flamethrower was a remarkably risky choice because of the high possibility for Charmander’s attack to simply accelerate the flames, which is what happened. Brick Break was also a risky move and violent in a way that does not befit a Girl Scout, which is what Charmander was supposed to be. Had that audience member not caught the falling Slakoth, it could have spelled disaster. Your means of putting out the fire was effective, though the ExtremeSpeed escape attempt wasn’t necessary, especially since the search party was looking for you so it made sense to stay put. 3.5 / 10

DarkestLight, FemmeFetal and Whiptacula: An excellent appeal! I really like the way you used wind and dirt to subdue the blaze as opposed to water, which really set you apart from the crowd. Whiptacula’s Sweet Scent demonstrated the sort of compassion that complements a Girl Scout while the Leaf Tornado fire cyclone provided a brilliant visual for the crowd. Good work, Scout. 9.0 / 10

Ayeun, Pachi and Ms. Skittyfantastico: This appeal had a couple of large flaws that prevented it from turning out as effectively as it might have. I like the teamwork displayed by the Helping Hand—very Scoutish—but Pachi’s Thundershock didn’t work as you had planned. Even the lowest clouds are still 2,000 meters up in the sky so there’s no way the attack could have the kind of range necessary to hit a cloud. However, the Captivate attempt (ie. making the Slakoth “want” to come down) was perhaps more of an oversight. If you’re stuck in a tree that’s on fire, presumably you already want to come down but simply lacks the means to do so without endangering yourself. As a result, Captivating Slakoth was a dangerous move because it made the Pokemon leap out of the tree without a concern for its wellbeing. Better luck in the next Contest. 5.0 / 10

BTPoke, Sake and Rosalinda: Great work, team. You managed to put out the fire capably while also saving the Slakoth. The water shield also demonstrated a good amount of foresight and thoughtfulness that prevented Sake and the Slakoth from harming themselves on the trip to the ground. If there’s any kind of minor critique I might give, it’s the fact that you were one of several coordinators to use water to put out the fire. As well, your appeal could have provided a bit more of a visually arresting display than it did, but these are wee foibles. Overall, excellent job. 8.5 / 10

Ash0011, Sketch and Psyshock: A superb job. You both subdued the blaze and saved the little Slakoth with great aplomb. Though water was sort of an overused tactic among the coordinators, you made up for it with the Heal Pulse. I’m surprised no one tried to imitate you; it was a really good idea! As well, your continued attempt to signal the search party was a smart call. Nicely done. 9.0 / 10


‡ Post-Round ‡

Nice work, guys! Though Darkly and BTPoke came close, Ash0011 is the ultimate winner of the Stranded Scout Troop Contest. Great work! You win four points and the Scout Ribbon… should anyone take it upon themselves to draw one up.

Oh, and the search party arrived. That probably bears mentioning. You've been saved! Whoo!

Thanks for making my first Contest judging experience a fun one! Later!

[BTPoke]

Well, it was my first contest, and I came pretty close to winning it. That's all that matters to me. Great job, ash, for winning, and everyone else for being great participants alongside me.

EDIT: Oh, and thank you Oslo for judging.

[DarkestLight]

wTDEUCE I came close? Amazing.

I say this cause I suck at contests. XD Great job Ash and everyone really, Big ups to Oslo too, great contest

[Ash0011]

YAY 2nd contest for da WIIIIN
claiming points /Dance