Round 3

Round three was preceded by this teaser.

CONTENT WARNING!

Some of the matchup portraits at the end of this page contain mild body horror, gore, blood, and death. Click here for specifics if you feel worried!

Prompt - “Running Down”

Dawn’s light spilled over Hoopa’s pocket dimension as day broke at Base Camp. The tournament’s roster had been cut in half the round prior, and today’s was due to do the same – the judges gathered those who remained, and Merriweather hopped atop her treestump to make another announcement with Hyper Voice.

“GOOD MORNING TO ALL OUR VICTORS FROM ROUND TWO!” She cleared her throat – “I hope you’re excited, today we’re putting your skills to test in a proper Mystery Dungeon – one that’s as tricky as it is terrifying!”

As usual, Hoopa opened a portal with its intact ring. It widened... and widened... and stopped, as if capped by some unseen force. They winced and relented, allowing it to stay a little smaller than normal.

Noticing its expression, Dora stuttered to the crowd - “Q-quickly, everyone! Let’s go!”

Beyond the hoop lay a darkened room – it had windows, but all were boarded up and coated with a thick layer of dust, seemingly untouched for quite some time. Remaining curtains were drawn shut and mouldering; peeling wallpaper and torn carpet adorned the room’s surfaces, peppered with broken picture frames and mysterious stains. Each corner of the room housed a strange metal plate set into the floor.

Faint giggling could be heard from within the walls - to the horror of Purrmageddon, who huddled together while ushering the roster through the shrinking hoop, ears perked as they used their ringlike markings as feeble light sources.

Meanwhile, Merriweather put on a little show. Using her Illusion ability, she appeared as a mimicry of Dora, scuttling across the floor. One by one, she transformed into her fellow staff, making her way up a window’s boards and over the curtain rail. Judging by the clattering sounds, her real ascent was clumsier than that of the Psychic-lifted Espurr she pretended to be - but the leap she made to the room’s central chandelier while masquerading as Gran was impressive regardless.

With a rattling clunk, its chain rolled through ancient mechanisms, the fixture descending until she stood level with the crowd’s eyeline. The real Gran chuckled as Merriweather’s Illusion faded, revealing the Zorua standing on her hind legs with her paws raised before taking a bow.

“Thank you, thank you! Just a silly trick - I’d have looked even sillier getting up here otherwise,” she explained with a nervous laugh. Her colleagues gathered, and Hoopa closed the portal with a relieved grunt while Merri used Sunny Day to illuminate the room.

“Welcome… To the top of LILAC TOWER!” she exclaimed, Hyper Voice shaking dust from the ceiling. “Some say it’s haunted… I guess they’re right! Your task here is simple - a race to the bottom. First Pokémon from each matchup to leave through the front door wins for their team! But it’s not so easy as running down the stairs - this place is full of dead ends, traps, and broken floorboards, so watch your step!”

“Y-you may have encountered Effect Tiles b-before the tournament,” said Dora. “There are lots of those here - th-they do all sorts of things. M-most of them are quite bad, but you might need Warp Tiles to progress!”

“C-climbing the whole way down the outside is cheating,” explained Espurr, peeking over her brother’s shoulder. “Hoopa will be checking to make sure you don’t go m-more than one floor.”

“And it’s super dark,” said Espurr in an uncharacteristically small voice, “but we’ve put some glowy things up so you can see stuff anyway… We might have missed some rooms, I dunno.”

“The locals might give you a fright,” continues Merriweather - “some of them are just being friendly! Others… not so much. Be ready for them to hinder you, but don’t worry: snapped floorboards aside, the building itself is structurally sound!” In an attempt to prove her point, she stamped forcefully on the chandelier…

Which promptly swung free from its chain and crashed partway through the floorboards, sending up a geyser of dust and debris.

The Espurr twins let out frightened mewls as Dora and Hoopa rushed to help Merri out of her predicament. Gran heaved a sigh.

“Let this be a lesson - don’t go playin’ on anythin’ ya shouldn’t! Come take a look in this here mirror,” he said, beckoning the competitors away from his frantic associates to a huge frame on the wall, draped with frayed cloth. “It’ll show ya who yer matched against this round, see?” He tugged the cover away.

Robert saw a battle-hardened Sawk; Alex saw Unova’s darling Snom.

Shivers saw a reckless Aipom; Stitches saw a desperate, torn Shuppet.

Belladonna saw a placid, scarred Lucario; Hux saw a jolly Munchlax.

Samantha saw a violent Zangoose; Louise saw a kind old Tropius.

Ray saw a conspiratorial Lopunny; Mo saw a lost young Raboot.

Mylo saw a dead, bitter Zorua; Frankie saw a grief-stricken Mimikyu.

Kuroku saw a dishonest Meowscarada; Cheezo saw a caring Grimmsnarl.

Zephyr saw a despondent Larvesta; Ms Mandarin saw a tortured Scolipede.

“We’ll take you to your Warp Tiles,” the green-scarfed Espurr explained. “One f-for each matchup, so you start a bit spread out from the others.”

“You might meet each other further down though,” added her brother.

Now rescued, Merriweather wagged her tail and yipped - “Once you’ve all warped, it’s time to get going!”

And so began round three.

This description of events may be altered to suit your entry, so long as the prompt and matchups themselves are consistent.

Prompt Details

The following detailed information is available to competing expedition teams (on signs erected by Purrmageddon) should they choose to read it (Judge NPCs except Hoopa may also read information aloud to help illiterate contestants). Here, it serves as a guide to you! No need to follow this to the letter; take it as a jumping-off point.

Labyrinthine Layout

Lilac Tower’s construction is baffling - don’t expect it to make any sense. How they got their plans signed off isn’t our concern - just remember you might have to rely on Warp Tiles, jump through holes in the floor, or climb through broken windows - remember not to climb too far, or Hoopa will disqualify you. The rest of us will mostly travel down a central, locked-off staircase to gauge what’s happening as you zip around on all sides. Don’t bother trying to get in, we’ll usher you out - travelling down the staircase isn’t allowed.

The Locals

You will mostly find terrifying ghost, dark, and bug Pokémon. Keep them away from the central staircase, please. Their behaviour can be cryptic, erratic, or aggressive - sometimes all three.

Effect Tiles

Most Effect Tiles may also be called “Traps”. Those here are diverse, but most resemble ones which can be found in Mystery Dungeons across the multiverse; some of you might be familiar with them. When you stand on (or hover over) them, they will affect you in some way - dealing damage, inflicting a status condition, summoning local Pokémon, teleportation (for better or worse), affecting your combative abilities, exploding, etc. Be careful! If you discover a new kind of Effect Tile, please let us know.

Escape

To win, only one team member needs to cross the finish line (by walking out of the front door at ground level) before either member of the opposing team. Whether you stick together, split up, or abandon your teammate in pursuit of victory is up to you. We will not (officially) judge based on your decisions. Anybody left behind will be retrieved by tournament staff. Hoopa will open a Hyperspace Hole back to camp for them at its earliest convenience.

Dimension

Weather condition: none (keep in mind this round takes place indoors, unless you decide to feature any balconies or gardens) - there may be rain, snow, fog, or hail outside.

Terrain: none or psychic.

Pokémon: inhabited by many creepy species - most common are ghost, followed by dark, followed by bug-types. Notably, Cubone can be found amongst the rabble. The locals are antagonistic, though the reasons for their disorderly behaviour can vary. If you wish, other species could be hiding away in the Tower!

Architecture: a tall abandoned building. Almost all its windows are covered, so natural light is scarce inside. Each room is filled with Effect Tiles (excluding Progress Points) and other hazards such as large broken furniture and mischievous Pokémon. Most doors are locked and staircases blocked - sometimes progress may only be possible via Warp Zones, Warp Traps, or trapdoors. Lilac Tower's original purpose and surrounding area are up to you.

Playlist (these are just for fun):
Area themes
Battle themes

Inspirations:
Images from various Mystery Dungeon games.

Rules

You must show one or both of your characters exit Lilac Tower via its front door before either member of the opposing team for your entry to be counted (for a team to forfeit in-universe, both members must agree to it). What obstacles they face - and whether the teams battle - is up to you. Lilac Tower is at least three storeys tall (including the top and ground floors), beyond that you may make it as tall as you'd like!

Please keep in mind our regulations for round three -

You cannot confirm the outcome of any other matchup (i.e. who passed passed or failed). You can show that they returned to base camp - just don't allude to their status in the tournament.
You may show -
- your opponent's characters: evolve, learn new moves, and sustain minor injuries.
- judge NPCs: sustain minor injuries.

You must ask permission from a character's creator to show -
- your opponent's characters: sustain grave injuries or die.

You may not show -
- your characters: become unable to compete.
- judge NPCs: evolve or learn new moves.
- other competitors' characters: evolve, learn new moves, sustain any injuries, or reach the ground floor.
Information under "Prompt Details'' and "Dimension" may be bent within reason. Rigid exceptions are the Judge NPCs' leave-nobody-behind policy, no-maiming-opponents, and no-climbing-outside-for-more-than-one-floor rules.
If you choose to include a legendary in your entry, we encourage you make it fitting for the setting and prompt and/or your overall story. We discourage featuring multiple legendaries unless for strong reasons.
You may make your own weather conditions, terrains, and Effect Tiles.

…And the tournament in general -

Do not edit your entry after the deadline. If you wish to make slight changes (which don't alter the story, just its presentation), you have two options; make a separate version or make changes after judging is complete. We prefer the first! Don't make drastic changes as this becomes confusing - if you'd like to write an alternate version, feel free to do so, but the canon the tournament follows will always be in line with official submissions. Breaking this rule will result in a 0/5 for Rule Adherence and possibly disqualification.
Do not depict characters in base camp besides competitors, spectators, and judge NPCs. Don't make your own NPCs in base camp; it can create confusion and unfairness. Ours suffice.
Be communicative with your opponent (and anyone else who has questions about your characters)! Please email us if your opponent doesn't respond for a long while and it disrupts your entry's creation - we'll take this into consideration.
At least one of your characters should want to win (but may have doubts).
Contestants who’ve been knocked out stay at base camp until the tournament ends - Hoopa will take them to a dimension solely inhabited by Pokémon (of the character’s choice) to live in for the rest of their lives. This is an in-universe rule: things may happen differently in finalists’ entries.
Hyperspace Holes can’t lead to dimensions which harbour any species other than Pokémon (they’re limited to PMD-like dimensions), thus they cannot appear in round prompts.
Characterise the Judge NPCs how you like whilst obeying the info on their refs.

Good luck in there - don't forget to check under the beds!

Deadline

20th of December, 23:59GMT. 10th of January, 23:59GMT. If you need to request more time, see the Individual Extensions page!

Our deadlines are rigid, and entries will not be accepted past them - the only exception is "grace" (a 2-hour grace period granted under certain conditions). To be granted grace, you must:

Specifically request it via email,
Provide us with an admissible entry - which we will judge if you don't submit a "final" one by the end of grace (e.g. a version in which elements are rushed or sketched, which you polish during grace).