The URPG Times (8/14 - 8/28)

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Content

1. A Word From Your Editor
2. The Buzz
3. Announcements
4. Trading Section
5. FFAs
6. Comics
7. Interactive Article
8. Featured Gym Leader Interview Q&A
9. Pokemon Of The Week Article
10. Roleplayer Of The Week
11. Story Of The Week
12. Closing Comment

A Word From Your Editor
By Gmandiddy

It has been a busy past few weeks, well from my perspective. I am proud to announce a new Interactive Article, which involves a certain URPG Member dying and a list of clues scattered around URPG from the killer. Without further or do, let’s get the show on the road.


The Buzz
By SLCalamity


Hey guys, welcome to [email protected], just summing up what events are coming up for the URPG, just in case you've missed anything after a while away, or just missed out on something.

National Park Halloween Event

The National Park Halloween Event is almost upon us! Starting on the 1st of September, you will have the chance to travel down the dark and murky caves in an attempt to find a team of missing scouts that vanished several days ago. Along the way, you can grab fabulous prizes such as apricots (which can be converted into special Parkballs) and items which give you points! Just a reminder: last event at Christmas '10, there were prizes given out to all participants, as well as people with the fastest finish time and the most points! All you need is to buy a Scarecrow Mask (and possibly other event items, to help you out) at the Park Shop. Although you cannot capture encountered Pokémon, it doesn't rule out the possibility of them being available as prizes!

It does sound fabulous, and the focus is on progression rather than super-detailed posts, so even the most inexperienced of rangers can try out the park for the first time! Good luck, and I look forward to meeting you in the caverns!

Master and Apprentice Program II: REBOOT

Although the second incarnation of the Master and Apprentice Program II started several weeks ago, the recent absence of Alaska has led to it being taken over by our very own WTP. The thread, located here requires any previous pairings to re-register. Any newcomers to the URPG are seriously encouraged to visit the thread and be paired up with a master. The last one was a huge success for the most part, even concluding with a tournament between the newer members. It really is worth a try, and helped me improve when I went through it. God knows what I would've turned out like if I ignored it.

Battle Factory Round 2

Chris is back from holiday, and you have just a few days to complete your match ups if you haven't done so already. Find your match-ups in this thread. On that note, congratulations to Mubz, Xali, Bumblebee, Syn, TE, ST, Derian, Pidge, FD and anyone else who may have won their battles since then. I wish you all luck in future rounds, and apologies to anyone who didn't make it through. Better luck in future tournaments.

Summer Writing Contest 2011

Voting for the Summer Writing Contest has begun, and I recommend you start reading for a nice cash prize. Just a reminder that you need to give a brief synopsis of the stories you're gonna vote for - it's not a popularity contest! The winner will receive a legendary and $10000, while second gets a Complex ranked mon and $5000! Good luck to all participants.

Grand Festival 2011

Be sure to send your moves for the Grand Festival! The prizes are great as an incentive to win, so make sure that you don't forget! Can you be contest master 2011?

Announcements

Trading Section
By Gmandiddy


The following are UFT offers. Do check the the Trading Machine if you see a Pokémon that you're interested in!

• Roulette: Roserade, Flygon, Walrein, Empoleon, Honchkrow, Lucario, Bastiodon, Tangrowth, Sawsbuck, Dunsparce. (Looking for Story Deals Mons of the same tier)
  
  
• Scourge of Nemo: Arcanine, (Story Mons only)
  
  
• Bumblebee: Skuntank, Dragonite, Butterfree, Dustox, Mothim, Rhyperior, Wormadam, Pikachu
  

FFA’s

By: Gmandiddy


Here is a recap of this months FFA’s so far, there won’t be any prizes handed out, but you can congratulate or do what ever to these people.

• 1st/13: Ash K. with Medicham – reffed by Mubz, Special Rule: Use a Pokemon with M, U, B or Z in its name for +1 in a random stat.
  
  
• 1st/15: ChainReaction01 with Scrafty – reffed by Ask K., Special Rule: None
  
  
• 1st/8: Dog of Hellsing with Chandelure – reffed by The pokemaster, Special Rule: All Pokemon have their normal abilities, but have Illusion as a secondary ability. Each Pokemon will have their Illusion randomly rolled.

Comics

Each week, besides the submissions from our employees for the Comics section of the URPG Times, we also welcome submissions from the community! Remember, I pay $1,500 for each submission usually. The amount paid might be adjusted accordingly based on your comic and permanent employees will be paid slightly higher. You don't have to be a professional as well; the only criteria is for it to be funny! PM comic submissions to me, Gmandiddy



I'M JOKING ALASKA by SLCalamity

 

Interactive Article
Idea by Alaskapidgeon
Written out by Buoysel


Detective Chief Inspector Buoysel was quite sure he was in for a normal day at the office, dealing with things simply one at a time - there had hardly been any murders in the URPG during the last few years. In fact, his job, apart from investigating small petty matters, had become quite boring. He relished a challenge - something he knew he shouldn't, because it would probably involve a murder, and death was a bad thing to wish on someone, especially if one wanted entertainment.

His left hand grasping a mug of tea (milk and two sugars), his right clutching a rolled-up newspaper, DCI Buoysel entered his own office, after greeting all his colleagues, as he was an amiable kind of person. He slid into his seat behind his desk, slapping his newspaper out in front of him and letting his mug rest on a coaster. In between articles, he'd take a sip or a gulp of his tea, but otherwise wasn't troubled.

After about an hour of reading the newspaper, however, someone burst into his room melodramatically. Their face was clearly worried, and DCI Buoysel knew that this was going to be something interesting - usually, his colleagues came in with rather bored, yet sullen, expressions on their faces, as if it was the norm around there for whatever kind of criminal activity to be happening - thievery from the Pokémart, cheating to attempt to get more money and items, adding Pokémon to their stats when they didn't belong there.

However, with a few words being exchanged between DCI Buoysel and PC Gmandiddy, both were on their way to a murder crime scene. On arrival, DCI Buoysel flashed his badge to gain entry to the crime scene, and ducked underneath the yellow tape in order to get a closer look at the body. Crouching down beside the body, Buoy - as his colleagues called him - slipped on some plastic gloves.

"Can we get an identity check?" he asked gently.

"There's, uh, no need, Buoy," PC Gmandiddy said in a thick German accent. "That's Fawkes."

"Oh, I've heard of him. That Scottish person, isn't he?"

"That's right, Buoy."

"Nasty, him getting his throat slit," Buoy said - and this was indeed true. There was dried blood around his throat, and Buoy thought that the murder weapon was perhaps some sort of dagger. "The poor person. We'll just have to hope to catch whoever killed him-- wait, what's this?"

Buoy uncurled the dead man's fist, and in there was a crumpled note. Unfurling it, he found that it read something strange:

Aha, so you have found the first clue,
but the rest shall be spread in threes and twos,
they're in various threads, waiting for yous.
Through URPG you must search,
to find the killer's perch.

The first of these clues you can find right here,
the thread in which you can find the next is quite clear:
just search through Joseph Farnsworth's paradise of fun,
until you find the investigator's first run.​

"What can this mean?"

***

Okay, so basically, this is a little mini-thing that Gmandiddy and I have put together, although I think Alaskapigeon was also going to do this before her untimely departure [not from life itself, of course, just from URPG]. As you can see, Fawkes has been murdered, but we don't know who by. This is where you come in. You follow the clues that are left to certain threads, and in those threads will be posts - they could be by me or someone else.

This will carry over three issues. These posts can be on BMGF or PE2K, don't expect them to be on just one. Anyhoo, the last clue will be half a clue, and the next half will be revealed in the next issue of the URPG times. All in all, there's about... nine or ten clues? I don't know, Gman's been a bit stupid about it all. ANYWAY, winners are determined by who gathers the most clues the fastest - once you've found a clue, post a link to the post in which it was found and PM it to Gmandiddy and Buoysel. Whoever posts the clue the fastest wins that clue and reveals it to the police. Of course, it's entirely possible for you to win all three clues [half-clues can count], but others will be working fast, too, so you should get a move on.

The prize will be announced once the killer has been named.

 

Featured Gym Leader Interview Q&A
By The pokemaster


So, for this issue, I sat down and had a chat to SLCalamity, who has been hanging around the URPG for a little over a year now. We had a nice little chat about the gym he currently holds, Oreburgh Gym; one of the three Rock type Gyms in the URPG.

SLCalamity is a brand new Gym Leader to Oreburgh, being given the Gym only a week ago. However, since then, he has already racked up a total of sixteen battles in his Gym, with five wins to only eleven loses. So far, his record isn't amazing, but thankfully, he has started to pull through with the wins.

Oreburgh is SLCalamity's first Gym, having apparantly only applied to a few gyms previously. I asked him why he decided to apply for Oreburgh, and he explained that he never even planned to own a Rock Gym. He had just been meaning to snag himself a Gym for a while, and Oreburgh had recently opened up, with very little applicants, so he went for it. He was given the position soon after.

So I asked SLCalamity about his current Gym record. I asked him if it was disheartening for him to have a high amount of losses in the first week of his first Gym, and he told me, "... I was thinking of quitting early on when I went 0-7, but I've pulled back a couple of victories more recently." I asked him how he had managed to do this, and he simply told me that, with the help of Synthesis, and experience, he's starting to learn what his Rock types can do in different situations, and how to counter some paticularly nasty threats.

Leading from that, I asked SLCalamity what it was like for him to be a Rock type Gym Leader. He told me that, despite having ten Pokemon in his roster, his choices always felt very limited, and I understand where that's coming from. Going against a nasty Swampert or Metagross, there isn't an overly large amount he can do. He also told me that it takes a bit to get used to the large amount of losses. The plus side of that, however, is that he does get a decent amount of money, even from constantly losing.

Apparantly, before he became a Gym Leader, SLCalamity didn't have a large fancy for Rock types, Tyranitar being the only Rock type he had. However, on applying for the Gym, he quickly gathered himself a plethora of Rock types to add to his team. On his team, he also has his Wildcard, Excadrill. Excadrill was his only choice for a Wildcard, apart from Steelix, his starter. Ataro was uncertain at letting him have it as his Wildcard, but SlCalamity managed to convince him otherwise.

SlCalamity, like most people, regrets picking his starter Pokemon, Steelix. According to him, he's only ever used it a few times, and doesn't think he'll ever use it again anytime soon. Perhaps one day, we'll all be allowed to repick our terrible starters.

So SLCalamity told me about his first successful Gym defend, against our own editor, Gmandiddy. He explained how he managed to use Conhax from Aerodactyl to take down Kingdra, and then successfully managed to set up his Excadrill in the sand, and sweep. However, he did admit that it was a really close battle, and could have gone either way.

And with that, I conclude this fortnight's Gym Leader Interview. A big thanks to you all to reading, and to SLCalamity, our upstart new Oreburgh Gym Leader. Watch out for this kid, he's gunna go places. So feel free to challenge him. Or Ayotui. Or the other Rock Gym. Or maybe not Ayotui. He's like the Rock master. But challenge SLCalamity, even if you have his badge, because he wants you to.


Pokemon Of The Week
Randomly rolled by Gmandiddy

In every issue of the URPG Times, I will randomly choose a "Pokémon Of The Week". If you're a member of the URPG, and you happen to have that Pokémon, you will win $1,000! Just reply to this thread to claim your money! It's that simple!



Think you know those Pokémon? That's right! It's Musharna! All of you owners of these unusual critters just reply to this thread to claim your $1,000!

Starting from today, we are going to publish an article about the Pokemon of the Week, which will give you in depth guide how to use it to it’s full potential, how to obtain it and what TM’s to buy it.


Pokemon Of The Week Article
By SLCalamity

Hello guys, I hope you've all had a good two weeks, and I'm here to cover Syn on his new role as article writer for Pokémon of the Bi-Week. I'm hoping to make this a much more informative article, and not just something where you can get easy money out of, but also some tips on bringing that Pokémon to its full potential. This weeks POTBW is Musharna, so first things first, if you own one of these pig-like species or its pre-evolution, you can add $1000 to your URPG bank account.

How to Obtain One

If you want to own one of these creatures, you'll either have to trade with someone who owns one, or write a story. Munna is a medium rank Pokémon, meaning you'll have to only churn out 10000 characters if you want to obtain it! Alternatively, you can go to Meteor Valley in the park, and capture it through the medium of role play. The MCR for Munna (and other 'uncommon' Pokémon) is 9000, which means when you encounter it you'll need to write slightly less than through stories. Types of Pokémon found in Meteor Valley include Dark-types, Psychic-types, Ghost-types and a handful of Steel-types. If you are a fan of these types and are in need of a Musharna, Meteor Valley is the place to be.

At a Glance

Quickly looking at Musharna's base stats, it seems to have a somewhat bulky HP, defence and special defence. It's attack is what you would expect from a Psychic-type, putting it on almost equal levels with Sigilyph and Lunatone. It's Special. Attack stat is reasonable, but there are many better options – it has the 10th highest Special. Attack out of all of the non-legendary Psychic types. However, what sets Musharna away from the rest is it's ability as a Trick Room user – it is slower than both Bronzong and Slowbro. Having a higher Special Attack than either, it makes Trick Room an interesting move to use on Musharna. The only thing that lets it down is its type coverage. Although learning powerful STAB moves like Psychic and Dream Eater, it is let down by lack of other-typed powerful special moves. The only major ones are Energy Ball, Shadow Ball and possibly Charge Beam if you want the boost.

The Shopping List

Basically, these are the basic moves you'll want to obtain for your own Musharna, complete with costs for you to obtain the best moves possible. These are:

Code:

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Barrier - 5k [DC] (Increases the bulkiness, good to Baton Pass to frail Pokémon)
Baton Pass - 5k [DC] (Can Baton Pass a Calm Mind or Barrier)
Magic Coat - 5k [DC] (Always helpful to have)
Psyshock - 5.5k (More useful version of Zen Headbutt)
Hidden Power - 4k (To help coverage, in an ideal world you'll get Fire; as well as beating the Bugs, it has nice coverage across the board.)
Light Screen - 3.5k (Gives a longer lifespan, also will support other members of your team)
Protect - 9k (Works well with Yawn)
Shadow Ball - 6k (Pretty important to have)
Reflect - 3.5k (See Light Screen)
Attract - 3.5k (Should be pretty good for stalling the opponent so you can get some stat boosts up.
Energy Ball - 5k (See Shadow Ball)
Charge Beam - 4.5k (Although somewhat weak, the good chance of a boost is nice)
Psych Up - 3.5k (If you come in on a boosted opponant, it'll be nice to steal his boosts)
Trick Room - 5k (Possibly the single-most important move to buy)

That comes up to a hefty 68000, meaning it can be used to its full potential if you have quite a bit of cash to splash.

Strategies

So now you have your TM'd Musharna, and need to know how to utilize it to its full potential. Unfortunately, it's main niche is its use in double and triple battles, which are quite uncommon in URPG. I will come to that later on, but for now I'm sure you want to know how to use it in regular battles.

Sleep Stall: The main feature that Musharna is that Game Freak designed it to be the 'dreamer' Pokémon, which is also supported in one of the in-game quests at the beginning of Pokémon Black and White. They have given Musharna a good sleeping move in the means of Yawn, and stat-boosting moves such as Calm Mind and Barrier. My tip would be to bring it in against a physical attacker (a fighting type, barring Scrafty?) to either scare it off (if it's fighting) or to absorb the hit. If you can take another hit, use a Yawn. This could potentially make him switch, but if not you can Protect on the next hit, before using Trick Room and proceeding to set up. If you've taken heavy damage, you have Moonlight at your disposal. Then, you can choose to Baton Pass the defence boosts from Barrier or the Special Attack and Defence to a Special Attacker, or proceed to attack anyone with your own moves.

Multibattles: Musharna's niche, and pretty much the job it was created to do. It gets a bunch of supporting moves to help out the team in doubles or triples; Reflect, Light Screen, Helping Hand, Synchronoise and Safeguard are all useful in combination with your partner. In addition, Musharna's Dream World ability is Telepathy, which means that it can't take hits from its partner. Basically, any slow, bulky Pokémon make ideal partners – Eelektross, Escavalier, Conkeldurr are all good choices, with respectable power. It should be used as more of a supporter, as it's a lot harder to deal with two Pokémon, so it's probably best to stick with the role I've described above.

This is it for me, I'm afraid. I'm hoping this is a decent enough article and maybe it will continue like this. I'll be filling in for Syn whenever he isn't around, so until next time, have a good two weeks.


Roleplayer Of The Week
By WinterVines

This week's Role Player of the week is Chainy. He's currently a Ranger on a run and a Trainer on a run, and he had the brilliant idea of trying to do a similar storyline in each one. They're linked while being separate threads, and I think they smooth pretty nicely. Each one lets you see a different focus of his character. He's also got a bunch of great ideas regarding battles and how Pokémon appear. Check it out if you've got the time, just want a good read, or are looking at examples for better Ranger or Trainer posts. Congratulations Chainy, you can receive $1,500.


Story Of The Week
By Buoysel

Our Story of the Week for this issue is WinterVines' Frogsong, yet another submission for the SWC. It just shows how biased I am towards SWC stories for some reason. I won't be putting a summary because of all you sly lazy dogs who want to vote for Winter in the round her story's going to appear in. SORRY FOLKS, YOU'LL HAVE TO READ THE STORY. It's about 120k or so, so it's extremely long and not many people have the patience to read a story like that. WinterVines has been dedicated to this story, as proved when she wrote seventeen pages in real life, by campfire light. HOW MUCH MORE DEDICATED CAN YOU GET? That is why I've selected WinterVines. Plus, we both have an undying passion for Chainy. Congratulations Winter, you receive $1,500.

Closing Comment

Hope you have fun trying to find those clues, remember they can be scattered across BMG and PE2K URPG Board. See you all in two weeks. Wages will be posted soon. This is Gmandiddy, signing off.

 

Thanks for SOTW, @Buoysel., but you forgot the whips D:

Claiming 1.5k

 

what fag killed me >:[

can i ghostspeak!?

 

Sure you can. ;P

 

Yay, finally won ROTW. Claiming my monies ^^

 

Yo, so, after about FIFTEEN TRILLION PMs, we actually have the winners of this Times's three clues. They are as follows:

1st clue = The pokemaster.
2nd clue = The pokemaster.
3rd clue = We The Pichus...

So, that puts current stats like this:
The pokemaster = 2.
WTP = 1.

I'm p. sure that I'll make more than three clues for next issue. >_>;
o and roulette's mad that he didn't get to do this lulz.

 

If you're going to do that again, you should specify the time it's going to get posted so it's fair for everyone.

 

Herp, while this isn't up to me, I've already suggested it myself. ^_^.

 

A quick note, I will set a time for when the next times issue is out, to make it fair. I am sorry if you felt hard done. However you may still compete, because in order to guess the next clues, you must find this issues clues and send them to me. So if you have not found all the clues before the next issue, you will not be able to carry on with the clue hunt. There will be a prize for everyone who finds all the clues over the period of the next 3 issues, with the fastest person gaining something extra. Also please send all the clues in one PM. Sorry for the inconvenience.

 

Oh, thanks, could've said that before I went and found them all :s Now I've got to rifle through the threads and find them again.

 

claim 1k for kingdra

 

What