Hey guys, it's me again, if it wasn't anybody else. I'm back with a new story if that wasn't obvious, and this is going to be the most fun I've had with one because it plays off of one of my favorite board games. Again, OC submission, and the profile has the form. A little side note because I like to listen to my own voice (JK), let it be known that everything I write is on a whim and that would be why it's harder for me to write about some of my other stories. So as I get ready for college, and trying to take two language classes, we'll see if this goes anywhere. Ja nee.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON, BECAUSE IF I DID, CHANDELURE WOULD HAVE LEVITATE.
Prologue: Let the Game Begin
Those two words can haunt you when placed together. Especially in a place where they can mean the difference between victory and failure. You can be attacked one on one, and it will never be said, or you can be attacked by many enemies when you are alone, and it will spell certain doom for you, and failure is assured by that word. You can never be alone when you are in that position, but you can't be surrounded by others to protect yourself. As the king, you have the hardest job in the world in this game...survive. Or accept your fate gracefully at the sound of those two words in one..."checkmate."
You have to do your best not only to defend yourself, but also to command your soldiers in the game that could determine whether you win or lose. But when you can no longer escape from your fate, you are expected to fall down gracefully as the final checkmate is sounded. Even if it means losing respect from others, you will find the respect given back to you by your captors. Often times, nobody is sure whether to surrender or to continue to fight, but in the end, it becomes the choice that turns you into the person you become. Obviously, the context of these words can give one the plot device used when desribing this event. The event, sometimes called a game, sometimes called an obsession, but we know as "chess."
The word Chess is used as a secondary name to an event that happens in the halls of a school off the eastern seaboard of Unova. The island area of this place encompasses an area of more than a quarter of its westward neighbor, and is home only to the academy known as Nix Academy named after its founder. The island itself is as populous as many other places in the world, but is made up of ninety percent student body along with ten percent hired workers, and family members of students. The family members are mostly future students who live with their older siblings.
All throughout the entire island, the climate and topography change as though it were an entire continent with beaches, mountains, forests, cities, and everything in order to make it a sovereign region with no official name. Governments from the other five regions, and other areas such as Oblivia have been trying to settle what is to be owner of the island, or if it is to be its own region. As such, many of the students are self-governed, and listen only to the true elites of the academy.
Aside from the official name for the academy as well, the school is often called Checkmate Academy given its focus on the classic chess game. The school houses six different dorm rooms, each with their own elemental theme, eventually encompassing the entirety of the seventeen elements. Each of the dorms is based on an old styling of architecture, most likely Victorian in origin, and has a total of five floors with the first being a communal area, second through fourth used for the three diferent grades of students, and the top floor used for the elites mentioned earlier.
The six dorms are as follows with the elements following each; MoonBeam which houses the dark, ghost, and electric types, SunLight which houses fire, grass, and bug types, GalaxyStorm houses normal and dragon types, CraterStrike houses fighting, steel, and rock types, SuperNova houses psychic, ice, and poison types, PlanetFoundation houses water, ground, and flying types. Each of these dorms is expected to select what is called their "Chess Team," or the Elite trainers for the game of chess that takes place over the course of the year along with the normal academic curriculum.
Each of the people in the team are given a rank based on the Pokémon they use, and the tactics they're known to use. The ranks are based on the different chess pieces; King, Queen, Bishop, Rook, Knight, and Pawn, and the game can only begin when the six people are chosen by the dorm's yearly election for such. When two chess pieces battle a result after the battle is based on who is battling, and who is defeated. But before the explanation of winning, the roles must be relayed about each piece.
The first is the Pawn, often, and incorrectly, seen as the weakest piece in the game. The pawn's position is the basic soldier, and is always chosen from the first year students. The Pawn is chosen by the ideals of versatility, and ability to change from tactic to tactic. Just as the Pawn is able to change into another piece after reaching the other end of the game board, a Pawn is expected to be able to fight in all the styles of their fellow comrades. In the Chess War Game, a Pawn must be defeated before another team can advance to defeat the other pieces on the gameboard.
The second piece is the first specialized piece set next to the Queen and King pieces on the gameboard; the Bishop. The Bishop, based on a church man is always chosen from a student who believes more into the spirituality of the game, and of Pokémon. The Bishop, like any of the other pieces aside from a pawn is chosen from the upper classmen, and can only be a person with no disciplinary record. A Bishop is said to be able to fight from a distance, and often in more directions than straight, often times, attacking from the sides and to an angle much like how a bishop piece moves in the game.
The third is the most battle ready piece, and the only one able to challenge anyone without going through the regular channels; the Knight. A Knight, seen as the true warrior of the game, is often chosen out of the athletic students who show the desire for battle. Traditionally in the academy, there have been two demographics of the knight. The first being the wild warrior wanting to find battle, instead of having come to it. The second is the seasoned warrior who waits for the foe to come to them, and fight in order to protect, not advance.
The fourth is, by far, the piece that most would rarely fight, and the one, aside from the royalty, that is the strongest; the Rook. The Rook is often portrayed as a tower, or castle, and as such, becomes much stronger physically. The Rook is chosen from the third year classes, and is one who is strongest in academics, able to calculate a situation, and use the stregnth of their Pokémon in order to win. Rook's are also seen as silent people making their presence unknown, and allowing opponents to come and strike them without thought of consequence. The Rook is the piece one must defeat before having a chance of defeating the royalty.
The first royalty piece is the one that is chosen for their beauty rather than battle experience; the Queen. The Queen, much the like the Rook and other royalty, is chosen from a third year class, and required to be female, a trait not shared with the other royalty. A Queen is expected to be able to fight by itself, and unguarded, but the piece that must never be caught is they are to represent the heart and soul of the army. The Queen who is part of the winning army, is also the one who is named queen of the academy at the prom at the end of year.
The second royalty piece is also the most important, and chosen from the top of the class to be the leader of the army; the King. The King, while being relaitvely immobile in the game, is the strongest battler among the army, and is chosen for their charisma, experience, and their ability to lead an army. A common demographic is that the King is a male, but for the last fifteen years, the winning King has indeed been female. There is always a relatively equal ratio of female to male kings, but none has been able to match the King from the dorm MoonBeam.
For the past fifteen years, MoonBeam dorm has been the winner of the annual Chess War Game. No one is sure whether it is their King, their strategy, their memorization and exploitation of the rules, or the supporting pieces, but everyone in the academy; alumni, alumna, students past, present, and future, and teachers are aware of the power that the MoonBeam dorm boasts in this game. A requirement of all in coming sophomore students is that they know the rules of the game as it is played out over the course of their first year in school.
The rules of the game are simple, but extensive. The game begins only when the six dorms have declared their six army members, and have marked them as such. Each member of the army is required to have the chess piece that they represent on their person at all times, and in the open either as a earring, necklace, part of a hair-extension, etc. so as not to confuse the other members of the army. As said before, a Pawn must defeated before moving to the specialty pieces.
A battle can be declared at any time during the day or night, and must be done so in the presence of a teacher or administrator. The battle plays out as a normal one on one battle, and in the end, the person who is able to win determines the verdict. Should the challenger win, the player they challenged must remove themselves for a single month from the game before being able to enter again. Should the challenged piece win, the battle is considered null and void, as though it never happened, and the challenger is to have no further contact with the challenged piece for a month.
After defeating a piece, whether the challenger or challenged person wins, a series of points is given to the team dependant on the piece defeated. When a Pawn is defeated, one point is issued, when it is a Bishop or Knight, three, should it be a Rook, five, and if it is a Queen, nine. After receiving one hundred points, an army is allowed to battle the king for a chance to defeat the army in its entirety. Should the challenger win, the army is removed for the duration of the school year, but if they were to lose, the challenger is removed from the game for three months, and is unable to battle against the King again.
The only exception for the "Pawn Comes First" rule, is owned by the Knight who can challenge any piece he wants, but must do so by special request. The same rules apply, however, when challenging a king. Any piece may challenge a King, but another rule upon losing to a king is the subtraction fo fifty points from their total. In the same way, when a King is defeated, the army loses no matter whether it was the King who challenged, or was challenged.
Other special rules are in place only for the Bishop, Queen, and Rook. As the Pawn has its special tactics, the Knight has a special ruling, and the King has ultimate control, the uses for a Bishop, Knight, and Queen is rather overlooked. When a battle challenge is made to a Bishop, the person in question is allowed to reject the request once per month. As a Rook, a person is allowed twice per month to challenge a person without the consent of a teacher or administrator, but must bring the challenged piece to the administrators office should the Rook win. The Queen's rule is being able to go anywhere she so desires to make a challenge, whether it be the dorms, or other private areas in order to catch people unawares.
Throughout the year, the pieces are also given certain trials for extra points, which is the best way for a failing team to get the points buffer. If a team has less than forty points by the end of March, they are automatically disqualified, and must submit a written request of ten pages per person as to why they should be allowed back in with thirty points.
Supposedly, the rules are in place to give no army a clear advantage over another, but in the end, the common belief between the dorms is that the MoonBeam dorm has won before the battles begin. The stranger thing about this belief, aside from it being true, is that one can expect much of the same demographical characters from the MoonBeam's team. Since they original won fifteen years ago, their King has always been female, and much more popular in that respect to the queen, and in the same way the ratios of the pieces' genders and their respective positions has gone unchanged. The team this year, as usual, features the strongest students, and who some believe is the strongest incoming sophomore; Akemi Tomomiya (Pawn, Female), Sacha Tatarinov (Bishop, Male), Devon Anderson (Knight, Male), Donato Jacaruso (Rook, Male), Fiona Hendricks (Queen, Female), and Arisu Senjougahara (King, Female). The information following is for those of you who wish to know more about your opponents in the slight chance it will give you their weaknesses. But if history is any indication, you could know their entire back story, and it wouldn't help you.
The first, Akemi Tomomiya, is a young sixteen year old girl who, as the pawn, is the newest to the team. Akemi is approximately five foot two in height with a relatively underdeveloped body type, but with a fast runner's build. Her hair is a darker color, and reaches nearly to her shoulder blades with the bangs framing her blue eyes. Despite her innocent look, Akemi is more of a stalker to nayone that she would find attractice, and already has the entire layout of the school memorized to heart Considered to be the strongest incoming sophomore, Akemi was chosen for the position due to her Pokémon, and its seemingly convenient ability for the Pawn; Rotom. This will be your easiest opponent.
The second, Sacha Tatarinov, is a sixteen year old junior who exemplifies the Bishop position by knowing more about the mythology of the Pokémon world than it's physical history. Sacha is very cryptic in his appearance with longer black hair than most males boast that reaches past the base of his neck, and only slightly over on eye. Sacha has a more pale complexion than his comrades in battle, is much taller and lankier than most his age at five foot eleven, and often gives short, one word answers in a Slavic based tongue. This language, most likely Russian, is also how he commands his Pokémon so as to confuse his opponent. While in battle he is known for a ruthless strategy with his Pokémon, and one that will not shake him no matter what state his opponent is left in. Chosen solely for his regard for the rules, and his completely spirit based Pokémon, Lampent. Considered the one most people will battle after Akemi.
The third is Devon Anderson, seventeen year junior, and Sacha's roommate. Devon takes on the personification of the Knight to an extreme with his wild behavior in battle, and his immature attitude towards people, even within his own army. Devon makes sure that no matter how fast an opponent is, he's faster, but he tends to grow more and more insane as the battle progresses, so any powerful combo moves that are to be made, need to be made fast or you will lose within the first five minutes, or suffer the wrath that Devon keeps inside. Devon is shorter than sacha by at least five inches with dark brown hair that he keeps uncombed no matter how it looks in the morning. He much stronger in his arms and legs than his core, mostly for weight lifting, soccer and other running based sports. As said before, the insane mind of Devon also leads him to victory, but only because his Pokémon acts as that important foil; Absol.
The fourth is Donato Jacaruso, seventeen year old senior, and the only one who is currently living off campus, but an official member of the MoonBeam dorm. Donato isn't as cryptic as Sacha, and not as outgoing as Devon, but instead is a mixture between the two. Donato is your classic polite person who treats everyone with the same respect, but tends more towards the girls that surround him daily. Donato can be puffed up at times, but in battle he rarely gives his Pokémon orders, and allows them to fight how they wish. Donato is almost as tall as Sacha, but shorter by an inch or two, and with light blond colored hair only reaching to the base of his neck, and the middle of his forehead. His complexion is as fair as any, but by no means dwelled upon by Donato. Donato was chosen for his quiet and polite nature towards the people of his dorm, but also for his stoic Pokémon; Scrafty.
The fifth, the Queen, the most loved girl next to the King is Fiona Hendricks. Eighteen years old with a body that has matured very early and continues to stay in the same place as it did when she first arrived. Fiona, like Donato, can be very vain at times, but uses it to her advantage to defeat her opponents even before the battle. She is sometimes seen as jealous to her King, Arisu, and sometimes entertains the idea of taking her place. With her other teammates, she enjoys teasing Sacha to try and break his darker mood. As said before, Fiona is a very beautiful young woman with a matured body that she makes note of at every turn, with long brown hair, much like Devon's color reaching to the middle of her back tied up in a ponytail. In battle, she's known to be ruthless like Sacha, but unlike Sacha's stoic personality, Fiona enjoys the sight of watching her opponent attempt to find a way out of any situation, and will often laugh at the sight. Chosen for both her beauty, and her merciless battling with her Pokémon; Froslass, Fiona is the last person one would wish to be stuck battling against.
The final, and most feared woman on the island, the King, Arisu Senjougahara. The same age as Fiona, and with a similar body type, Arisu is also one of the tallest in the group, second only to Sacha by and inch, and often finds it irritating when its pointed out. Arisu also boasts the most memorable appearance with her crimson hair reaching to the end of her back, and having it left open instead of tying it off. Arisu, unlike Fiona, is very straightforward in her approaches to the other armies when it is time to battle. She uses no tricks, but instead, uses an even more powerful tool, her ability to seemingly communicate with her Pokémon on a mindset. This had been proven wrong and wrong again, but many claim that she is able to communicate with Pokémon without speaking. Having the spot slated for the first ten years she lived on the island, Arisu and Eelektross show the entire academy the meaning of the King position. If you wish to have honor, do not battle her lightly.
The information given is your only tool against them, and I suggest you use it well. The other thirty people that are slated to become the other armies are among you somewhere reading this, and if the fates would allow it, you may become the army to finally de-thrown the MoonBeam kingdom. Good luck to you all.
Prologue complete. Well, I guess you could call it more of a explanation of how things are with a story like element. Well, you now know you're opponents, all made by yours truly, and with luck, you'll be able to defeat them. But first you have to fill out the form, and remember those two all important words rolled into one..."CHECKMATE!"