For anyone else like 'South Monk' who's curious about JumpChain and locations of other 'BIG' CYOA's (as usual, replace commas with full stops):
The 4chan threads number in the thousands, and the community seems pretty secular, so I'd search up the latest SpaceBattles Jumpchain thread if you want to see all their works (one guy collects 'Drawback Analysis' from other users, several publish their own supplements, etc) or get involved in the process yourself.
This Google Drive contains PRETTY much everything you could ever want, in regards to JumpChain:
drive,google,com/drive/folders/1kGrOvocAj37D5TOCUcVNaT1xvKnnuqjE
Another CYOA you might want to have a look at, is the Conduit CYOA:
1d4chan,org/wiki/Conduit
, and that website has a few more CYOA's worth looking at, like the Magical Realm CYOA:
1d4chan,org/wiki/Magical_Realm_CYOA
Or one of the many Worm CYOA's, helpfully compiled here:
forums,spacebattles,com/threads/worm-cyoa-all-versions.558034/
Some websites like NeoCities have 'interactive' CYOA's published to them, where you can click on options rather than type out builds yourself. If that interests you, the best way to find them is to search:
site:neocities,org "CYOA"
in Google, the 'site:' option will limit the search to JUST NeoCities, and all you have to do then is scroll down and look through the pages.
Alternatively, try:
neocities,org/browse?tag=cyoa
, but either turn on SafeSearch, or don't be surprised when you get dozens of 'lewd' CYOA's that have had way too much effort put into something with very few forums to safely discuss them in (only QuestionableQuesting, to my knowledge, but there's actually some decent writing there that isn't focused solely on the lewding). Not saying some of those Lewd CYOA's, despite being NSFW, aren't actually pretty impressive on their own creative merits, but I don't see them being widely discussed, if you know what I mean.
(On an entirely-related note, I'm doing a JumpChain self-imposed challenge that only uses the Lewd Jumps from the QuestionableQuesting folder in the Google Drive link. It's nowhere near done, or even close to ready to be posted yet, but we'll wait and see how that develops, uh?)
If you just search up 'CYOA' on Google, the results are admittedly mixed, but there's plenty of interesting ideas for writing out there if you're willing to go on Google Images and sift through the trash. Or, make an account on a forum (like SpaceBattles) and find their latest 'General CYOA stuff' thread and ask the locals what they recommend.
Pokemon: Hoenn; City Life50 (Fortree); Actual Starter: Eevee (Shiny50); Freerunning; Swarmed+100 (100)
Priority: Physical Fitness100; Survival Training100; Master Ball*3100; HM Collection50; Rebreather50; Psionics300; Savant600; Blend In300; Egg Move4 (Flail, Wish, Stored Power, Synchronoise)200; Combat Training100; Aura600; Champ In The Making300 (2800)
-Day 2930, Afternoon-
As perhaps expected, N didn't seem to get any more closure from speaking to Cheren's Servine or Bianca's Pignite about what kind of person their Trainer was. In the meantime, Looker came back over to ask me to accompany him and a group of just-arriving local policemen (who, admittedly, had a pretty decent reaction time given how quickly the whole situation had escalated) into Pinwheel Forest and retrieve the fossil while the Gym Leaders kept watch over Nacrene Museum. Pinwheel Forest itself was as much a joke as you might imagine. Gorm's appearance was mildly surprising, given how badly the final Grunt was overwhelmed, but let it never be said the Seven Sages weren't arrogant despite their supposed wisdom. After all, admitting that their research indicated only now that the theft was a wild goose chase, making a blatant threat and then quoting Sun Tzu's 'know thyself, know thy enemy, and you need not fear the result of a hundred battles' passage, while admitting that I was an unofficial Champion of Unova and stating his intent to simply run away, weren't exactly the smartest moves. His Cofagrigus and Sigilyph, unsurprisingly, weren't much of a challenge, though he only sent them out because I telekinetically lifted him and the Grunt off the ground to keep them from running away, so it's entirely possible they weren't very well trained. Honestly, would not surprise me.
A few minutes of giving statements to the local chief of police (and confirming that Cheren, Bianca and N had already left in the short time I'd been away) later, Burgh joined me and Looker in my journey across Skyarrow Bridge and into Castelia City, and before we could even follow him to his Gym, we passed by Prime Pier and found Iris speaking to Cheren and Bianca, the latter two having beaten off a group of Grunts trying to steal Bianca's Munna. How many times are these idiots going to go for the same god-damned trick? They don't even know if Dream Mist works like they think it does! Of course, while they'd easily handled the Grunts, the female one I believe was meant to steal her Munna tried to grab her Pokeball anyway and Bianca, being the expectedly-unfortunate mix of scared for her Pokemon and pissed that not only was she being robbed but also that her Munna was going to get abused again, had whipped up her purse with the arm that wasn't being grabbed and struck her assailant in the side of the head.
Her purse, despite being full of variously-weighty bits and bobs, was padded and barely enough to knock her off her feet. The ground she met head-first, was not.
Suffice to say, Iris had her hands full trying to calm down the panicking and almost-as-shocked-as-Cheren Bianca while the local police and an ambulance pulled up. Of course, I helped the three of them give their testimonies to the cops, while Burgh ensured the two remaining Grunts did not try anything as stupid as their cohort, and the paramedic confirmed that her assailant only had a mild concussion and that it was perfectly normal for head wounds to bleed a lot. Then I spent a good half-hour shouting Cheren and Bianca a Casteliacone each to try and soothe their nerves, and left Iris to continue talking to them about whatever while I rejoined Looker and headed further north to Nimbasa City.
Not even to deal with the two Grunts I expected to magically be present, but just because I… really wasn't sure what to say to make either of them feel better. These sorts of things do happen when criminals start attacking random pedestrians. I'm reminded of the idiot who broke into the house of Frank Corti. And that one time Chuck Norris broke two mugger's arms so bad the bones were sticking out, because they'd seen Texas Ranger and assumed he was merely a rich celebrity faker. And god knows how many times someone's attempted to rob somewhere only for some off-duty police to stumble over the situation, and gun them down because no shit that's what happens. It's not the protector's fault for committing violence in defense of themself or another. And on the subject of comforting them, I'd done what I could, but I barely knew them and I'm a very guarded person by nature. To me, what happened was shocking, but it's hard to get upset about something you weren't completely present for. Besides, it wasn't exactly something I disagreed with to begin with.
But reminding her that she'd 'merely' given her a concussion and made her bleed from the head quite a bit… that would not help, even if I was trying to make the point that it wasn't like she'd killed her or anything. Especially bringing up that possibility. And Cheren, well, I understood that they were both relatively sheltered, having lived in Nuvema Town their whole lives, but if a bleeding head wound was enough to put him off his stride, I doubt whatever I said would improve the situation. Better to let a chatterbox like Iris take their minds off the whole thing and let it fade into the background, I'm not intervening beyond that unless I see a need to.
Thus, we strolled through the front gate and apprehended another pair of Grunts in the process of threatening an innocent old Daycare-runner. As if an elderly babysitter would keep the Pokemon he's supposed to be monitoring on his person, outside of the Daycare. Having moved slightly too quickly to hear their spiel about hiding in the amusement park, I promptly suggested splitting up given how much of a non-threat they'd proven to be thus far, Looker agreeing and taking his newest captives into the city to get them processed while I strolled into the fairgrounds. It's certainly a lot bigger than in the Games, as expected. Also as expected, N was present. Coincidence, definitely not with the Look on his face.
"Today seems destined to be busy, eh N?" I greeted him lightly, Evan busy being enraptured by a Cotton Candy machine.
His look of uncertainty and deep thought didn't abate. "…it seems so." Then he turned back to the ride he was standing in front of. "I've heard that Team Plasma are planning something inside this park. I've yet to find any of them, but there's a ferris wheel here that we could use to scout the area. Would you like to join me?"
"Sure. After today, a little intermission to relax would be nice. Wanna join us, Evan?" I turned to her, getting an inattentive [Sure.] broadcast back at us.
A minute later, we slowly rolled about a quarter of the way through the wheel's rotation in a less-than-comfortable silence, while Evan ignored us and enjoyed the view. "…N." I shattered it, giving him a Look as he jerked in shock and refocused on me. "Why are you so tense? You know I can take any number of Grunts."
"That's- …not, really, what's bothering me." He forced out, returning to his thoughts.
"No, I didn't think it was." I agreed. "Do you want to talk about it, or…?"
"…I had a speech." He began, struggling to find the right starting point. "It was all planned out, and it was going to cover everything in one act. But I'm starting to realise, that isn't how most conversations work in real life. People are, fluid, and like to interrupt to ask questions or request clarification. I'm used to things being, straightforward, and this is no longer as simple as… well, I should probably start by telling you that I am the king of Team Plasma."
I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, that is a thing most people would want to double-check. It does explain a lot of your reactions: you clearly know a lot about Team Plasma, but you were also shocked and disapproving of what you caught them doing. Tell me, did you have any input on the four occasions I've run into them today?"
"No. I didn't even know Ghetsis had ordered those operations." He admitted, visibly uncertain how to discuss his fanatic father figure. "The Dreamyard, I understand the need for Dream Mist, but physically abusing an innocent Munna is exactly what we're trying to stop. Or at least, what we're supposed to be trying to stop. The child who had her Munna stolen instead, that was somewhat understandable, but there are plenty of alternatives. She might grow up to be one of the few who agrees with our methodology, targeting someone so young for reasons they have no control over… when they have yet to make their own choices, does not sit well with me. And the museum…"
"At least four of your members got arrested for that, plus Sage Gorm for thinking he could just run away from me, and it turned out it was pointless from the start." I rolled my eyes.
"The operation should not have gone forward if they weren't certain it was useful to our cause. Gorm wasted time, effort and personnel on a wild goose chase. That is not how I want Team Plasma to conduct itself." He sort-of flickered from 'heated' back to 'anxious' at least twice through his words. I don't think he could look less wise in the ways of the world if he tried. And if I want him to go against them, or at least against his adoptive father, I need to keep up the pressure with cold, hard logic.
"I mean, if Ghetsis is serving as your 'regent' until he deems you capable of leading Team Plasma, then it sounds like it's 'his' Team Plasma, not 'your' Team Plasma." I pointed out none-too-subtly. "If you wouldn't have made those decisions and he did, he seems to be superseding you quite a bit, isn't he?"
"He raised me." He simply responded. "Found me in the woods, took me in as his own son, and adopted my sisters so I'd have a family. The Seven Sages educated me as I grew, and brought me Pokemon abused by other people to show me the wicked ways of humanity and their… you called it 'ownership', of Pokemon."
"Well, that doesn't really answer my question, but let's instead focus on what you just said. He and the rest of the Sages have raised you to be, what, their messiah? That's not something you should put on a child's shoulders to begin with. And they only brought you already-abused Pokemon, presumably to keep you believing in their rhetoric, and not a single one of them was just a normal Trained Pokemon, or a well-treated Pokemon, or a completely Wild Pokemon? That seems rather heavily skewed, in my opinion."
"I am aware of the laws of probability. Imagine my shock over the last day, as I am finally free to travel Unova myself, and… there are no obviously-abused Pokemon in the ownership of the average Trainer. I haven't stumbled on any instances of mistreatment, save my own factions' deliberate work. I've even met a number of other people who are clearly not evil, and only have good intentions that they act on without malice." He stopped talking for several seconds as we neared the halfway point of the wheel, and instead scanned the town. "From here, I can see so much of Nimbasa City, and though I was taught that Pokemon need to be 'saved' from Trainers… I see worryingly little need with my own eyes."
"You may have to excuse me for being so painfully blunt with this next observation," I dryly cut in. "but it sounds as though you have been pushed into a very specific viewpoint that does not necessarily match reality, by a number of people who thought using a child who doesn't know any better, would be easier than trying to convince an adult of their intentions. It also sounds, as though your preconceived notions are starting to crumble under the weight of real life, and that you're not very happy about these… discrepancies."
He visibly flinched at that, and struggled to respond. "My father… he raised me with love, and treated me well, as he did for my sisters. But when I look over this city, I feel as though Team Plasma's stated goals might very well cause more harm than they prevent. Certainly, they have not accomplished much in the last twelve hours. You said that there were four incidents in which my people were causing others trouble? Which one have I missed? Or was it more recent?"
"After Pinwheel Forest, Burgh, Looker and I passed through Castelia City on the way to his Gym and stumbled over an altercation on Prime Pier. Apparently, another group of Grunts attacked Bianca to try and steal her Munna, and after her, Cheren and a Gym Leader from Opelucid called Iris defeated them in a Battle, one of them physically assaulted Bianca and she panicked and struck her in the face with her purse. Not enough to hurt her, but the wooden dock her head bounced off certainly did." That got a jerk of shock as he rounded on me. "Fortunately, the paramedic confirmed that it was a mild concussion and that head wounds simply bleed a lot. Didn't traumatize either of them any less, but Iris is a sweetheart and got them away from the scene while the cops arrested the other two, so hopefully they're a bit better now. Couldn't do much about it myself, sadly, I'm… not very good with people. Most I could do was buy them each a Casteliacone and give them some space. But I hope this exemplifies how cornering someone and making undeniable threats can push them into lashing out when you least expect it. At least no-one died this time, but that doesn't mean accidents can't happen."
"…indeed." He quietly answered, turning back to the window and closing himself off.
Or at least trying to, there was one thing I had left to push. "You still haven't answered my question. I'm not going to ask you to now," I clarified. "it's obviously something you have yet to figure out yourself. But I suggest discussing it with your sisters. Because if you really are supposed to be in complete control of Team Plasma, and these sorts of things are going on behind your back… it doesn't bode well that there's a clear conflict of interest before you've even 'assumed the throne', so to speak, as you were told you would."
I let the silence drift for another half a minute while he… sent off a text message, if I had to guess what he was doing with his Xtransceiver, then turned to Evan, who remained utterly unconcerned until he addressed her. "Evan, wasn't it?"
[You want something?] She started slightly, turning to him as her tail twitched.
"If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that Pokemon never lie. What do you think about Team Plasma?" He asked the only person in the room who probably didn't care.
[Not much.] She immediately responded with a projected 'shoulder-shrug', a mannerism she'd picked up from me. [Humans have all sorts of complicated politics and factions. Most Pokemon don't care about your goals, only what affects us. They're a problem for me and my Trainer, and all the members we've met except for you have been arrogant losers.]
He just stared at her. "…that's, a little harsh, coming from the only Pokemon of a Unovan Champion." He weakly defended them.
[Then they're dumb or ignorant for challenging us.] She continued, unfazed. [All they've done so far is cause problems for us, and your idea of 'Pokemon shouldn't be allowed to be Trained by Humans' is also dumb or ignorant. I wouldn't be an Espeon right now if I didn't have a Trainer to raise me, would I?]
"But… wouldn't Pokemon be happier without humans?"
[I wouldn't. Maybe all the ones you've asked would, but that's a small sample and it's biased. Some Pokemon need Humans to evolve through Friendship or Trading, others might want them for Evolution Stones or special cases like Feebas. We get something out of being trained as well, and it's not like we have any fancy stuff to do like you do.] She paused for a moment. [Not that Ice Cream or that weird sugar-string stuff aren't really cool, we just don't have those sorts of interests. We want to be strong, and you make us strong.]
"But what if they don't?" His frustration started leaking into his voice. "What if you get beaten or abandoned by the Trainer you're supposed to rely on?"
[Pokemon can do that to Humans too, y'know. If a Trainer can't make us strong, then they're not really a Trainer, but at the very least they can give us a happy, comfortable life. And if they don't, then the Moves come out.] She rolled her eyes. [Finding the right Trainer is as much a leap of faith as it is finding the right Pokemon. Sometimes it goes wrong, and you have to find someone else. Sometimes they can't move on, maybe they're delusional and think their Trainer isn't so bad or that they'll change 'one day', or maybe they've made a clan and don't want to leave the other Pokemon behind, or maybe they're in a really awkward position somehow. But this isn't as big of a problem as you're making it out to be. You just said so yourself.]
"That-…admittedly might be true," He acknowledged that point. "I haven't seen enough to be sure yet, but what if there are lots of Pokemon being mistreated, and you just don't know? Humans farm some of your species. Doesn't that upset you at all?"
[Pokemon aren't human. We kill and eat each other in the Wild, it's not that big of a deal that you, 'domesticate'] She carefully 'pronounced'. [some of the Wild Pokemon for food. We can still make friends with Humans and other Pokemon, but we're self-interested at heart. We wouldn't be able to fight each other so much if we weren't.]
"…how do I know you're not just saying that because you haven't been abused like all the others I've met?"
[Maybe I am, but the only way to change that is if Jason starts abusing me, and I know damn well he's too soft for that.] She snorted, getting a mildly-offended "Oi." from me as I watched us pass the three-quarters mark on our 'round trip'. [And if it's only the abused ones saying that, then they're a minority, aren't they?]
"And the proof of a functional democracy is the protection of the minorities!" He instantly countered, frustrated in a 'why doesn't this fit my worldview' kind of tone. "Why should people be allowed to own Pokemon if they can't be trusted to take care of them?"
[Well, you're never going to be able to speak to every single trained Pokemon in Unova, let alone the world, to check on that. If you're saying that all Pokemon should be taken away from Humans whether they're bad or not, just because they might be bad, then you're going against what the rest of us want. Besides, who says you should get to decide who can and can't have Pokemon? One of your guys kicked the crap out of an unevolved Munna!]
"And he will be dealt with, but that doesn't mean the rest of Team Plasma is equally bad."
[But if a few Humans out of the millions who live in this region don't treat their Pokemon well, it's okay to take away all of them?] That brought his train of thought to a screeching halt. [Exactly. Not only is that 'hypocrisy', if you really believe in everyone getting a say, there's no way you'll get a majority who want to just, release all of the Pokemon. Even if you got Zekrom and Reshiram on your side, you'd never be able to make it work by force. You'd just have another one of those civil wars when someone lashes out, and a bunch of other people smart enough to coordinate get together to lash out at the same and worst time.]
"And speaking of 'treating Pokemon well'," I interrupted, a rather relevant thought coming to me. "Didn't Team Plasma resurrect and cybernetically augment a Genesect a while ago? That doesn't sound very 'peaceful' to me. Did they even ask for permission before experimenting on it?"
"!-That-Genesect was a mistake, and I personally shut that project down!"
"Oh, so you've taken responsibility for Team Plasma's actions and put the one they made on your team? Tried to teach it how people live in modern times, shown it some love and affection? Or you've abandoned it to some tiny slot in the PC network, never to see the light of day again, through no fault of its own?" From stunned to righteously angry to stricken in two short paragraphs. "See, the one truth of this world, N, is that the only way to accomplish anything is with power. Maybe political, maybe brute force, maybe financial. And just as power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. If Team Plasma wants to basically outlaw the 'ownership' of Pokemon, and Pokemon training with it, they'll need Pokemon of their own to enforce those rules, the same way the Police enforce the will of the government. And if Team Plasma are the only ones who have Pokemon, what stops them from using them to do bad things? You've already proven that you seemingly can't keep any of them in line, so 'who watches the watchmen', and protects the humans from you? I mean, you seem to want one thing, but if Ghetsis was in charge, why do Team Plasma seem to still be doing things his way and not your way?"
Then the carriage door opened, and Evan and I rose up and calmly strolled out as I continued. "I'm telling you, N, it's a nice thought experiment, but it just ain't gonna work. And let me tell you, when all of the Grunts and half of the Sages I've met thus far are some combination of cartoonishly evil or dumb as dogshit, it's not a good look for the rest of you."
And with that, we walked off to the cotton candy vendor so Evan could try some. I kept his position in the back of my mind as we did, tracking his movements as he eventually walked out way behind us and pulled out his phone, only to tense up and put it back before calling out an Archeops and Flying off. Not sure what I just provoked, hope it wakes him up.
-Day 2930, Evening-
"Well, that was an eventful day." Marshadow decided as the four of us curled up in our penthouse with the heater cranked up. God damn it's cold out there, never gonna get used to what a climate without constant pollution is like, especially after living in Australia my whole life, but we've had below 100C nights and this is still cold.
"Bit of a departure from the norm," I snorted. "usually we have the whole Team wrapped up well before sundown. But N's… kind of a special case, so we can make time for him."
"What, because he's not blatantly evil?"
"And therefore, I want to give him a chance. Also, the whole Tao Trio thing. Lugia has a point, even if the rest of us aren't so sure about the execution of the best plan we have."
"Yeah, I don't see him reacting that well if you just, stroll up to him at Dragonspiral Tower and hand him Zekrom's Dark Stone." He sipped his hot Occa. "Only thing I'm not sure about, is how much he's gonna freak out about you having that thing on you this whole time."
"To be fair, I didn't exactly have proof that Zekrom was sealed in that Stone, and I still don't. Only tomorrow will tell if he's right. Otherwise, well, I have no more reason to hold back. Looker's happy to take longer because we already caught one of his targets, but he's obviously keen to keep up the pressure, and there's only so much I can stuff him around and only so much I want to stuff him around. Especially with the Shadow Triad, I'm going to have to sleep in these clothes and keep my backpack in my arms the whole night."
[You don't actually think they're going to target us in our sleep, do you?] Lugia interjected.
"I'd say not." I considered. "But better safe than sorry, and it's not like you have any other crucial items to hold. Speaking of which, do you want any Battle Items for tomorrow?"
"I'd much rather keep my Marshadium-Z on me, but I get why our Pokeballs are more important. What are 'Battle Items'?"
"You might know them under a different name, X-Items? Dire Hit and Guard Spec?"
Marshadow's contemptuous "Oh, those-" was contrasted rather sharply by Lugia's hesitant […yeah, I do.], making them look at each other. "Given the possibility that all three of you will be fighting," I gave Evan a scritch in my lap and got leaned-into by her sleepy head for my troubles. "I have plenty of Berries that are more effective, but Confuse you if you don't like one of the five specific Flavours. Throwing you a Persim in-between each one or having to play my Yellow Flute for over a minute isn't something I look forward to, so logically, buying a few emergency X-Items seems like a good idea. I don't give a shit if they're performance-enhancing or 'cheating', we're still going up against a national criminal organization who plan to steal massive amounts of Pokemon, whether N supports it or not, and at least one Legendary. Fairness stopped applying the moment they abandoned their honour."
"Be that as it may, I have no interest in putting anything that gives me a temporary boost inside my body." He emphatically shook his head. "Do you really think you'll need them?"
[Probably not, but I'd still rather be 'safe than sorry', especially if I have to fight Reshiram.] Lugia admitted.
"Well, you're both free to your own opinions and preferences, and for the sake of caution, I'll make a quick stop off at the PokeMart tomorrow before we leave." The quiet huff as Evan bumped her head against my stomach reminded me of the time. "And given that Evan's exhausted, I think I'll turn in for tonight. Lugia has keys and Marshadow doesn't need them, so you're both free to come and go as you please. Just get whatever sleep you need, we have a big day tomorrow."
AN: Semi-good news, the Online Classes have been delayed by ~7 weeks due to them taking way too long to process my application.
Definitively-bad news, turns out Repetitive Strain Injury is not about wrist movement, but a lack of it, and 'repetitively' keeping it in an awkward position with no stretching, and the cold weather hasn't been helping either. First of June, slightly sore before I went to bed. Next morning, horizontal and finger movement's fine, but vertical movement and putting pressure on it are agonizing. Thank Christ Mum was a nurse for twenty years, she picked it out as soon as I mentioned it and got my wrist heat-padded and strapped up in minutes. Either way, minimal writing for a good week or two, so my lunar-monthly update schedule isn't changing for the foreseeable future. Least it wasn't my dominant hand.
Honestly, what got me the most was the sheer suddenness of the problem. Least it wasn't my wanking arm. And on that note, I have Age Of Empires Online (Praise be to Celeste for resurrecting the game by both hosting a new server and adding shitloads of new content!) and a big-ass backlog of Pokemon fangames and youtube videos to get to.
And two weeks later as I post this, it's still twinging every now and then, but as long as I take it easy, I'm confident I'll be fine. That's why the chapter's two days late and a little shorter than usual. Might increase chapter uploads to once every fortnight for the next thirty days, but no promises just yet. I've still got my online classes to sort out, after all.