kaisoumods | Changing Factions

Look, we get it: sometimes life doesn't go like you plan. Sometimes your character decides that having a tree name and studying the Spirit Realm sounds like a good career path. Sometimes they realize that maybe joining the murderous church group wasn't their best decision. In other words, if you are interested in having your character join or leave either POKEGO or The Black Order, this is the post for you.

Please bear in mind this will result in long term consequences for your character and cannot be easily reversed, so think it over carefully before making a decision!

Joining The Black Order

Joining the Black Order can happen in one of two ways: either voluntarily, or as part of a probation sentence due to some supernaturally related crime. Characters that join the Black Order will go under a 6-month training program in which they must do missions with different Guardians in the Order- or people approved by the Black Order to be worthy stand-ins. That said, the training may take longer depending on the conduct of the character and other circumstances.

General Guidelines

Characters must be 18 years of age in order to join.
Joining characters must be approved by at least two Black Order members.
The missions that they complete can either be done through the monthly Black Order missions, missions given by a senior Black Order member, or by engaging with side quests. While threads are not necessary, they are encouraged!
Enlisting Black Order members will get a yearly starting salary of $60k. However during their training months, they will be given a living stipend of $2k per month. Once they complete their training, they will receive back-payments for held wages.
Both AU and OU characters can join the Black Order. Once they complete training, their character status will be changed to the Black Order. POKEGO characters would be required to leave POKEGO before they can join the Order.
Should a character complete their training but then drop, they will remain a member of the Black Order and be transferred elsewhere. Probably Florida. Should they drop before completing their training, they will just return to normal NPCs.
Outside of drops, a character that abandons their training will have one of two options. If they joined voluntarily and choose to leave without any incident, they will be allowed to do so with no problem. If they joined as part of a probation OR they have failed their training due to serious incident (committing serious crimes or what not), they will be Sealed. Sealing will cause characters to lose abilities and/or memories based on dice rolls done by the mods. This will result in permanent consequences, so think over CAREFULLY before pursuing this route.
While you can only app 1 character directly as a Black Order character, Players who have a Black Order character may still have another character take on a Black Order trainee and become a member through that way since with the time and effort this route takes - we understand this isn't being done impulsively.

If you want your character to join the Order, please fill out the following form and comment to this post with the subject header "BLACK ORDER RECRUIT". Two Black Order characters must reply to your comment in order to show this recruitment has been approved.

Leaving The Black Order

Black Order members who have been in Kaisou at least 6 months will have the option of permanently leaving the Black Order. If a character attempts either of these methods BEFORE six months, it will not work as they simply don't have the spirit power to pull it off. Leaving the Black Order can be done in two different ways:

Now that the leadership of the Black Order has been changed, the process for leaving the Black Order is relatively easy. They will be asked to give up their uniform, lose access to the group chat, have their memory wiped of anything that'd be considered confidential in POKEGO (locations of stable gates, research that could be used dangerously, etc), and will be barred from using any Black Order facilities.

Former Black Order members will have two options for what happens to their character after departure:

Option A: They will fully become like the regular Normal/Paranormal AUs. This means in the case that they drop from the game, they will lose all their past life memories, as well as some of their abilities/regain points (11 points worth). You can select which abilities you wish to give up, or just pay in straight regain points.
Option B: They will be in a situation similar to how they were before the Black Order where they are able to retain past life memories and abilities even if they drop - however OOCly they will get reclassified as a "Ronin" character and it will count as your singular ronin slot.

If you plan to leave the Black Order, please fill out this form and put "LEAVING THE BLACK ORDER" in the subject. Please note that this decision CANNOT be reversed.

Joining POKEGO

Characters who are interested in joining POKEGO can become an apprentice to a POKEGO member. The apprentice will undergo a waiting period in which they undergo background checks as well as a training program to help them prepare for joining POKEGO. Once they have completed the training and resolved any issues that's connected to their background check, they will graduate and become a full fledged POKEGO member. For most characters, this process will take a minimum of 6 months. However, it may take longer should your characters struggle to pass the training program or their background check has some extra complications.

Please note that the apprentice recruitment program while has been used in some form or another throughout POKEGO's history, this specific version of the program is pretty new and was created with the Kaisou situation in mind.

Some guidelines to keep in mind are:

Mentor Guidelines (aka the POKEGO member)

Mentors must be at least 18 year old and no longer a POKEPUP to take on an apprentice.
Graduates of the apprenticeship program may take on apprentices after an amount of time that's determined by their age and teaching experience.
- Under 21: 2 years after graduation.
- Ages 21-24: 1 year after graduation.
- Ages 21-24 with teaching experience: 6 months after graduation.
- Over 25: 6 months after graduation.
- Over 25 with teaching experience: 3 months after graduation.
A mentor can only host two apprentices at a time.
POKEGO mentors are responsible for their apprentices' training and wellbeing. Those who are found to be mistreating apprentices will face consequences.
POKEGO member are highly encouraged to live with their apprentice in order to keep an eye on them. However, this rule is not mandatory and plenty of exceptions can be made to the rule (like the apprentice is a minor, has a family they can't abandon, etc.), though they will like some system put in place so they can regularly check on the apprentice to make sure they aren't up to any suspicious behavior.
While there are some standardized lessons that all apprentices must be taught, the mentors have a lot of freedom in what lessons they impart on their apprentices.
It is entirely up to a POKEGO member if they wish to take on an apprentice. If they need some IC pressuring, that can be arranged - but OOCly POKEGO players should only take on an apprentice if they wish to.

Apprentice Guidelines

Apprentices must undergo a background check. This include three different types of check: a traditional background check done via technology, a magical background check using NPC seers (so the background of OUs are still accessible), and a psychological evaluation. These background checks will focus on looking for any red flags they should be worried about. Red flags include things like serious crimes, forged identities, unusual amounts of debt (we mean debt that goes past the usual student/credit card/medical debt an average person might have), a worrying disregard for ethics - the usual stuff that'd be concerning!
Should any red flags pop up, they will be dealt with case by case. Like a reformed villain might have to prove they are truly reformed or be put under more supervision, a person with UNUSUAL levels of debt well be expected to settle that debt, a person with forged documents needs to disclose their real identity, etc. Characters who are actively still planning to do awful shit in general will be denied and removed from the program.
Apprentices will be allowed to choose a code name (their mentors can weigh in) and a Pokemon. Caring for this Pokemon is part of their training, and is either one they catch with their mentor present - or is given to them by their mentor. The Pokemon can be any kind EXCEPT for Legendary Pokemon.
They will be expected to complete a training program. This training program while having a few mandatory lessons they all must complete, a lot of it is made up by their mentors based on what they view as important for their apprentice to learn. In other words, good luck some of you.
During their apprenticeship, they are not allowed to publish their own work or take on POKEGO missions by themselves.
Apprentices who are under 18 will also be considered a POKEPUP. Once they graduate from training, they will become a POKEPUP until they turn 18 and graduate high school.
Apprentices will have access to the POKEGO group chat, however they cannot make filters within the chat while the full members can.
While doing Apprentice duties, they will be expected to wear a uniform that's similar to the look of a Pokemon Trainer. While these uniforms look different to allow for personalization, all of them carry emblems of the POKEGO symbol as well as a Seedot badge indicating their apprenticeship status. Upon graduation, they will receive a proper lab coat.

General OOC Guidelines

Both AU and OU characters can apply to be apprentices. Once they complete their apprenticeship, their character status on the taken page and everywhere else will be switched over to POKEGO
Should a mentor drop before the apprentice completes their apprenticeship, the apprentice will either continue under their tutelage as an NPC or be transferred to another POKEGO member.
An apprentice that graduates to become a full POKEGO member but drops will be able to retain their past life memories. However should they reapp, their regains will be reduced to whatever they can spend 16 points on.
While you can only app 1 character directly as a POKEGO character, Players who have a POKEGO character may still have another character take on a POKEGO apprenticeship and become a member through that way since with the time and effort this route takes - we understand this isn't being done willy nilly. However POKEGO players cannot take on their other character as their apprentice.
Unavailable tree code names are: Oak, Willow, Elm, Birch, Rowan, Juniper, Sycamore, Kukui, Magnolia, Sonia, Laventon, Sada, Turo, Rosewood, Wisteria, Azalea, Dracaena, Zelkova, Juneberry, Olive, Laurel, and Larch.

If you want your character to become an apprentice, please fill out the following form and comment to this post with the subject header "POKEGO APPRENTICESHIP". The player of the mentor must reply to your comment in order to show both of you have agreed to this.

Player Name:
Character Name:
Mentor: (name of the character mentoring them. Must be a player character unless given special permission by mod)

Code Name: (Pick a tree-based code name for your character. Fruits are okay as long as it grows on a tree.)
Starter Pokemon: (What pokemon do they plan to start with. It can be any kind except legendaries)
Start Date of Apprenticeship: (The general month and year is fine, just for reference.)
Area of Specialty: (What do they plan to specialize in?)
Potential Red Flags: (Is there anything going in with their life or in their past that would considered a red flag? We're talking violent or major crimes, fake identities, troubling psychological profile, etc? Please go into detail so we can figure out if this will cause a delay to their graduation. Please note that people who are ACTIVELY engaging in evil stuff would be kicked out of the program )
Other: (do you have any other notes that you think may affect their admission into POKEGO?)

Leaving POKEGO

Should a character choose to leave POKEGO, the process is relatively easy. They will be asked to give up their labcoat (or uniform if they're an apprentice), lose access to the group chat, have their memory wiped of anything that'd be considered confidential in POKEGO (locations of stable gates, research that could be used dangerously, etc), and will be barred from using their tree code name. In fact they will find that they are magically unable to use it as their own name moving forward, strange! OOCLy, these characters status will be changed to normal Paranormal AUs.

Former POKEGO members will have two options with their past life memories:

Option A: They will fully become like the regular Normal/Paranormal AUs. This means in the case that they drop from the game, they will lose all their past life memories, as well as some of their abilities/regain points (11 points worth). You can select which abilities you wish to give up, or just pay in straight regain points.
Option B: They will be in a situation similar to how they were before POKEGO where they are able to retain past life memories and abilities even if they drop - however OOCly they will get reclassified as a "Ronin" character and it will count as your singular ronin slot.

If you plan to leave POKEGO, please fill out this form and put "LEAVING POKEGO" in the subject. Please note that this decision CANNOT be reversed.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Player Name: Usagi
Character Name: Yasuho Hirose
Mentor: Waver Velvet

Code Name: Bauhinia
Starter Pokemon: Fomantis
Start Date of Apprenticeship: Sep 30, 2024
Area of Specialty: Psychotherapy and Cartography
Potential Red Flags:

Early suicide attempt in her young teens; attended therapy for this, and has had no relapse in recent years.

Experienced highly traumatic incidents due to the Black Order's activities the last number of months; is in fact now activelly seeing a therapist recommended to her via Waver, who himself spoke to Pokego therapists to do this.

Currently works for Gil- if were to come up, she's gotten his go-ahead to apply (provided she show him the 'weird dogs'), and she's willing to take less pokego-pay if necessary. She's already on Gil's payroll after all.

Other: ICly part of the reason Yasuho is applying to join Pokego relates to her existing career goals in counselling and therapy. She'll make this clear during any interviews, but her hope is to work with Pokego when the time comes for her to do the practicals of her program. Late program students are expected to work within a practice as part of their training, and Pokego specifically allows her to gain that experience as one working with an awareness of the supernatural- as any connections her university has are mundane.

She also has a deep personal love for map making (hence Cartography as a specialty), having been attempting to map Hyrule in her free time. She'd be happy to join in similar map-making efforts to that end (though suffice to say, she's no professional- just a very passionate hobbyist).

confirmin he is a magnet for nerdy teens and whatever frieren is

Your mentorship has been approved! Within a week of submitting the proper paperwork, Waver will receive a package from POKEGO. Inside the package will be a mentor guidebook, lesson materials and manuals covering any of the courses that are considered required to be taught. There is also a letter attached from Professor Oak that explains the purpose of the manuals and will emphasize that Waver is responsible in educating his apprentice and preparing him to become a full-fledged POKEGO member.

From this point on, Waver will have a lot of freedom in how he wants to go about educating his pupil! What he teaches him outside the mandatory topics will be entirely up to Waver as well as the method.

Should everything go smoothly with Yasuho's education, she may be eligible to take the final assessment in March or April. However, Waver will be given the final say whether or not his apprentice is ready for the final assessment or if it needs to be delayed longer.

Good luck Waver!

Your apprenticeship has been approved! Within a week of submitting the proper paperwork, Yasuho will receive a package from POKEGO. Inside the package will be a welcome letter from Professor Oak, her apprentice uniform (you can decide what it looks like based on the linked examples above), some textbooks, a pokeball for catching her starter Pokemon, and a piece of parchment paper and a calligraphy brush.

The parchment will have instructions indicating that Yasuho should write her tree code name on this paper when she's ready. Whenever she writes it down, the name will glow briefly before the parchment and brush disappear. From that point onward, the name she wrote on the parchment will feel as much like her name as Yasuho does.

Some extra notes:

Yasuho will be requested to she continue with her counseling sessions. They'll praise her for her initiative on already starting that!

Should everything go smoothly with her coursework (which her mentor will be the judge of), Yasuho will have her final assessment in March or April. Her assessment will be oversaw by Professor Rowan, and it will consist of a written exam for general knowledge, a paper or presentation about psychotherapy and cartography (a paper/presentation for each field since she's double majoring basically), and a practical exam that examines how well she's been working with her Pokemon (is she treating them well? Has she trained them? How do they work as a team? etc).

Should it not go smoothly, then her apprenticeship will continue until she's ready.

Good luck Yasuho!

Congratulations Yasuho, you have completed your apprenticeship!

Starting today, Yasuho will be considered a full member of POKEGO. This means she will get a monthly stipend, full access to POKEGO research materials, and her very own labcoat! This labcoat will be personalized, with the code name "Bauhinia" embroidered on the front pocket and a Bauhinia leaf patch on the arm. He is free to personalize it further, if she wants.

Since her status will be switching from Normal AU to POKEGO, you will get 20 additional points, leaving her a total of 29 points.

Congratulations Bauhinia! You've earned it!

Changing Factions

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Mentorship Approved!

Apprenticeship Approved!

Apprenticeship Complete!