Round 1

This prompt is for those who wish to participate in our Spectator Tournament that runs adjacent to the central OCT! Remember you can't compete in both tournaments at the same time (those knocked out of the central tournament can join in on spectator prompts, though).

Prompt - “Rocky Road”

After the competitors set off on their journey through Salandit Swamp, Dora sheepishly called Merriweather aside.  She in turn called upon the green-scarfed Espurr, who hesitated to leave her post observing the contest before striding over to their huddle.

“Hey there,” Merri groaned awkwardly.  “We were thinking our plan might involve a little too much for Dora to do between now and the second round.”

Espurr sighed, reaching a paw into her Magic Room and withdrawing a blueprint, which she spread upon a rock for the three to look over.  “Like I told you.”

After a moment of thought, Merri perked up and snapped her head toward Dora - “Grand Aid used to be part of the Rescue Team Federation, right?”

“Y-yes, that would be correct,” the arachnid confirmed, “w-why do you ask?”

“I can’t believe I forgot to tell you…  There was a landslide near where you used to live, and a bunch of bug-type Pokémon got trapped!  Yeah, they’d help you, right?”

Dora stared at Merri, paralysed between a drive to help and the dread of how much work she was already shouldering for the Hyperspace Tournament.

“Get the others to do it,” suggested Espurr, “in base camp.  You can ask them.”

“Brilliant!” yapped Merriweather.  “You go ahead - I’ll send Hoopa over to open the necessary portals, then I’ve gotta get back to refereeing!”  With that, she turned tail and ran.

“...Good luck with that,” said Espurr, following the Zorua.

Dora felt no less worried than when she asked their companions for help - but as Hoopa begrudgingly used its functional ring to open a portal to base camp for her, she knew requesting the spectators’ assistance was better than drowning in work alone.

Back at base camp, she and Hoopa gathered the expedition teams who’d agreed to help with the tournament and falteringly explained the task at hand; rescue the bug-types trapped in Sandstorm Quarry, and pick up any tasty-looking berries along the way!

Hoopa will only open the portal there for a brief moment before returning to Salandit Swamp - but its unspoken promise to return to retrieve everyone from Sandstorm Quarry later should provide some reassurance…

Spectators who are gathered while Round 1 of the Hyperspace Tournament occurs must pass through a portal to Sandstorm Quarry and save the trapped Pokémon and/or collect berries for Dora.

Rescued Pokémon brought back to Hoopa's pocket dimension should all have something in common: knowing the move String Shot, Spider Web, Silk Trap, or Sticky Web.

This description of events may be altered to suit your entry, so long as the prompt itself is consistent.

Dimension

Weather condition: none, sunlight, sandstorm; the weather seems to worsen while traveling further into the caves.

Terrain: none.

Pokémon: most common are rock, dark, bug, fighting, and ground types.

Geography: stone quarry on the side of a mountain; berry bushes grow inbetween the cracks of the crag - the plant life seems to greatly affect the erosion of the rocks.

Inspirations:

Images from various Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games.

Rules

Show your character(s) rescuing Pokémon (which know String Shot, Spider Web, Silk Trap, or Sticky Web) from Sandstorm Quarry's rockfalls and/or gathering berries! You can show additional context, such as them departing from and returning to Hoopa's pocket dimension, but the base requirement is showing your characters saving Pokémon or harvesting berries. 

Submit entries (after submitting your characters to be screened, as described on our Character Creation and How to Enter pages - the process is very similar for competitors and sepectators) via email to HyperspaceOCT@gmail.com (it helps us if your subject line includes "Spectator Round 1 entry").

Please keep in mind our regulations for the spectator tournament:

• Spectator entries don’t need to be as extensive as entries in the main tournament to be accepted, but they can be if you’d like! They may be as brief as one illustration or a few paragraphs, just make sure we can see what your characters are doing.

• Don’t show characters who are competing in the main tournament taking part in spectator prompts. Spectator prompts happen at the same time as the main tournament and prepare the staff for the next round. You may show competitors in Hoopa’s pocket dimension.

One additional ticket will be granted for depicting your character(s) doing each of:

• BOTH halves of the prompt (rescuing a Pokémon AND collecting berries),

• destroying a boulder,

• encountering a hazard in the prompt dimension (an aggressive Pokémon or a rockslide, for example). 

For details on earning base tickets with your entry, see the Spectator Tournament page.  Good luck!

Deadline

17th June 2023, 23:59 GMT 13th July 2023, 23:59GMT.

If you need to request more time, see the Individual Extensions page!