test drive!

[these_balls]

TEST DRIVE MEME


➞ Post with a character you wish to test drive in this game's setting.
➞ Tag other people's starters and thread out shenanigans!
➞ Invite your friends! Try out new characters! Come play with us!
➞ Have fun!


NOT SURE WHERE TO BEGIN YOUR TEST-DRIVE JOURNEY?
CHECK OUT ALL THE LOCATIONS WE HAVE AVAILABLE IN:

JOHTO | and | KANTO

✭ ✭ ✭


As usual, we've created a Google Doc so you can submit your wanted characters for a big Route game ad on this month's ATP!
FIND IT HERE
CUTOFF FOR ADDING CHARACTER WANT ADS TO THE GDOC IS:
6:00 PM, EST, ON SATURDAY, APRIL 25TH!

Comments

Izabel | Saga.

[sunsetsitter]

[There was still plenty Izabel wasn't quite used to -- smaller ears, no one trying to kill her friends, legs... In fact, the whole pokemon thing was the easiest change she'd had to make. Keeping a bouncy Aipom in line wasn't that much different from making sure Hazel was safe and sound. Easier even, most of the time. And hey, it hadn't taken too long for her to quiet the urge to fly through walls.

Walking sure sucked, though. Running? Even worse. Having to chase a cackling purple monkey through the halls of an inn while the natives shot her dirty looks was definitely making her wish away her second chance at living.]

PK! Get back here, you adorable freakazoid, or so help me -- ! Give me back that pokegear!

Serah Farron | Final Fantasy XIII

[failnought]

A

[ Serah's looking... well, a little more than curious. Ending up in a strange place like this? Definitely not on the agenda. And right after defeating that proto Fal'Cie, too. In addition to her curiosity, she's also... pretty worn out. ]

I guess this isn't the weirdest thing that's ever happened. [ She takes a look in her bag and nods. ] At least I'll be prepared for whatever it is I decide to do.

B

[ Enter Violet City and you'll find Serah standing in front of the gym, hands on her hips. She's looking pretty curious, and next to her is a Piplup. ]

What do you think, Snow? Think we should head on in and take it on?

A

[bylight]

[Lightning had decided to go to Kanto. The fastest way there was the train, but she didn't want to go back to Goldenrod. So New Bark was her destination. The ferry there would take her to Kanto.

She wasn't paying much attention as she walked into town, lost in her thoughts about various events. She didn't realize that Sinopa, her Vulpix, had run up to a girl ahead of them and was sniffing at her feet.]

Vul'?

Torri Feiiji | Conception II.

[asabird]

[Torri cradles an egg as she walks through the busy streets of Goldenrod, whistling sharply to match the song of the Staravia perched on her head. If the bird's size or the sharpness of her talons bothers her, she doesn't show it, apparently completely absorbed in taking care of the soon-to-hatch bundle in her arms.

To...the detriment of those also on the street... So far the other trainers have done their part and jumped out of the way, but if her focus carries on much longer then Torri's luck might run out.]

Torriiiiii

[babel_hacker]

[Yeah, Torri's luck may eventually run out if she doesn't pay attention. Just as she went past a corner, Atsuro comes out from around it and--]

Whoa!

[--walk right into her.]

Steven | Steven Universe

[cookiecats]

[Pay no attention to the small child bounding across Johto on the back of a Pyoroar. He's just doing his thing, and seems pretty enthused by it.]

Thiiiis iiiiiis SOOOO COOL.

[HE'S ON THE BACK OF A GIANT FIRE BREATHING LION. NOTHING CAN POSSIBLY GO WRONG.]

Hey, big guy, can you do any tricks?

[...and he is met with silence. Steven shrugs it off.] Okay then, no tricks. I'll just pet you. You're so warm. Wooow.

[dangerousidol]

[Rise is minding her own business when she sees the Pyroar and what appeared to be a boy on its back. Oh. That wasn't too unusual. Fukuro, her Noctowl, is curious and takes off. It only takes a moment before he's side by side with the Pyroar.

Rise, of course, panics.]

F-Fukuro! Stop bothering everyone!

YES

[the_pilgrim]

GREG GET OFF THE LION-

Ah! Oh, gosh! S-Sorry, you uh...I mistook you for my brother.

Emil | NieR (gestalt)

[stonebones]

[Catching an Abra was hard enough without being blindfolded, but he still hadn't plucked up the courage to test his eyes out. If he'd gotten his body back, maybe his curse had returned, too? That was why he wanted to get a hold on a psychic type in the first place. His Duskull was great and did its best, but their communication was definitely...limited.

A rustle behind him gets Emil to turn around, finger pointing where he estimated the sound to have come from. Even if it wasn't his target, he figured that a bit of training couldn't hurt.]

Weiss! Hit it with a Confuse Ray, quick!

[adumbrates]

[That voice, it couldn't be...

Kainé can hardly believe her ears, staring from Emil to the strange... creature beside him. Definitely not a shade, and definitely... tame, whatever it is. She hasn't bothered to press the button on the thing she found next to her upon waking up, so she has no idea about her own Pokemon companion hidden away.]

Emil?

[She's still stunned.]

Phi | Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward.

[surpassedjupiter]

Well this is a jump.

[Ah well. Even if Venus was back to an Oddish, it didn't mean Phi's opinion on her had reversed too. She picks up her humming plant for a hug, then sets her mind to looking around the area again. Sure was New Bark Town.]

So, are we dealing with that nightmare place again soon? It doesn't look like October. At least we can get a headstart on getting you that Leaf Stone, huh?

...And try out option B, I suppose.

Kuon Glamred Stroheim | XBLAZE

[blazingwitch]

A

[Just a few minutes walk down the Route 29, one can find a teenage girl dressed in reds and pinks standing a little off the main road with her eyes closed and arms extended, fully focused on something. Finally, she takes a deep breath as her eyes snap open and... nothing happens. She sighs in resignation, looking down at a Fennekin that has been watching her all this time.]

It seems that even my fire magic won't work... That's never happened before. I wonder what─

[Hearing her mention "fire", the Fennekin decides to help her new trainer and immediately sets the grass in front of her on fire with a well-aimed Ember, turning to the girl and waiting to be praised. However, Kuon simply stares at the performance, wide-eyed and speechless. They didn't cover that in Magic Guild.

Neither did they cover putting out Pokémon-induced fires, apparently.]

B

[While the smaller towns on the way certainly had their charm, Kuon would lie if she said she wasn't relieved upon finally reaching a big city. As such, she takes this chance to take a refreshing stroll late in the evening. It was really nice until she was stopped by a man dressed in black with a characteristic red "R" painted on the shirt. Clearly unaware of what he's getting himself into, he demands the girl hands over her Pokémon (and money while at it) to him. To that, Kuon has one answer: she grabs the Rocket grunt by the collar and throws him over her shoulder before smashing him on the ground with a loud thud. She flips her hair, letting out a sigh.]

To think people like this can be found in this world, too... I suppose it can't be helped, although it's rather disappointing.

[It looks like someone has yet to learn to solve their life problems via Pokémon battles.]

[stonebones]

[Given her stillness, Emil didn't expect to be coming upon anyone until she starts talking again. It makes him hesitate -- aside from a small few, he hadn't been around people for a long time, and for good reason. He considers leaving again, sticking around closer to the edge of town until there was less traffic, but the mention of "magic" gets him to pause. The crackle of flames and the smell of smoke is what gets him to jolt forward and make his presence known. His blindfold is secure.]

Oh! Are you okay? Y-you didn't catch fire, did you?

[seasaltkey]

[Roxas was running around Goldenrod with his Swablu, Sky, right behind him. He'd finally made it there! With a big smile he comes to stop in front of the biggest department store in town.]

See, Sky? That guy was right! It's huge! I wonder if we can go to the very top...

[Never having been one to be scared of heights, Roxas was determined to see if he could get to the top floor and then onto the roof. Then he could just hang out, maybe get some ice cream, and watch the clouds.... it'd be better if he had friends there with him.]

[faintwaves]

[Wherever there's one cloud-bird, another tends to follow. Thus Roxas will soon find himself not just bumped into by but essentially hugged by what seems to be a much, much larger version of his Swablu.]

Kawa! Don't do that!

[Thankfully "Kawa" does as he's commanded and sweeps back to where he came from, revealing a very tiny girl that apparently gave the order.]

I'm sorry, he--

[The penny drops, Xion realizes who exactly her Altaria decided to drive-by snuggle. She finds herself frozen, unable to speak, just staring at this boy that was (no, is) her friend.]

Rox...

[No, he won't remember her, she already knew he wouldn't. Somehow still she hadn't prepared herself for the day when they would actually meet again. It shouldn't have been possible, right? They can't exist at the same time. But the rules of this world changed everything.]

...He's...enthusiastic. [How did nobody notice he was here? Had it really slipped by all of them?]

Mayu Arita | Death Parade

[idolwild]

...Eh? Outside...?

[Somewhere in the middle of the woods on Route 29, there's a puzzled-looking girl in a school uniform wandering around like an absolute tourist, her head cocked back as she looks around at everything and her mouth hanging slightly open, like she's taking in every single nuance of what are, by all appearances, a set of incredibly ordinary trees.]

How did I get outside...? I thought I...

[She frowns a little, pulling at the pink scrunchie on her wrist in absentminded thought.]

...Well, at least I'm away from that grouchy guy. Mnyah!

[She sticks out her tongue at the thought, despite the fact that honey there's literally no one watching right now — but unfortunately, the moment doesn't last for long, as all of a sudden something abruptly seems to hit her like an oncoming bus.]

A-Ah, wait—! Where's Harada-kun?! Harada-kun! HARADA-KUUUUN!

[And with that, she will just be...running around here and there, yelling for some guy she knows (apparently), and paying absolutely no mind to the fact that she's running off the path without actually making sure she knows how to get back on it.]

[shuttermouse]

[ Chie just happens to be sitting in a nearby tree with her back against the trunk, one leg pulled up and the other dangling over the side of the branch. She peers down at the yelling girl when she runs past and in a spur of the moment decision she decides to throw a Pokéball at her.

...At least she's aiming for her back and not her head, um. ]

[nullorvoid]

[...He really shouldn't be surprised by this.

There are probably a lot of reasons why that girl shouldn't be here right now; he can think of at least two very large ones right off the top of his damn head, and a third that has everything to do with the fact that he's not exactly expecting to be outside all of a sudden, either. If the sudden weird-as-hell locale change had to happen, he would have expected it to happen to another arbiter, not...her. He would have expected Clavis before her.

But here she is because of course she is, and thankfully he didn't bear witness to the display of blatant maturity before she abruptly realized that she's short a Backstreet Boy, and it would really, really be in his best interests to let her get horribly lost, wouldn't it.

Just let it go, Ginti. You don't have to - ]

Oi. Get back here.

[Nona's gonna kill him if he doesn't get involved. He can't even die and Nona's gonna kill him.

Either way, his tone is incredibly sharp, and he doesn't seem like he's going to be loosening up anytime soon.]

Tora | Donten ni Warau

[fakescales]

[ a ]

[ When you've spent most of your life inside a lab as a lab rat, fresh air is always appreciated. That being said, he has spent about a few months in freedom, so nature isn't new to him. Except there are a lot of differences.

Biggest differences? Not having to hide in a hole and hope you won't get dragged back to the research facility, the weird music that is absolutely fucking everywhere, and these seriously weird things that might or might not be animals. Tora thinks they're more likely to be some kind of demons, but what does he know? He's not read very much.

He swats after the Drifloon circling his head while a Vulpix sits watching, and Tora glares at the flying thing through slitted eyes when he catches one of its tails with a scale covered hand. ]

The hell are you, anyway? Some weird-ass disillusioned teru teru bouzu?


[ b ]

[ Tora is not used to being surrounded by weird-ass music. And it's pissing him off to no end. He's looking everywhere, lifting lids, moving things, trying to follow the direction of the sounds, to find them and crush them. This might result in him lifting an end of a park bench you might be sitting on, or climbing up in a tree causing fruits to rain down on you, (or him, if he doesn't see you under the tree when he jumps down), or whatever else that might be possible to move. Maybe he causes a barrel with something in it and spill the contents all over you and himself in the process. Or maybe you just see him mutter curses about "weird pieces of shit sounds" or something like that.

Maybe you should just stay away from the odd guy covered in thick snake scales. Scales completely visible, because he's ditched wearing a shirt or anything on his feet, and has found a loose-fitting pair of pants (that he might or might not have stolen). The only things he's wearing comfortably are the bracelets around wrists and ankles, the choker around his neck -- and the nudity. ]

Yosuke Hanamura | Persona 4

[garudynamic]

[Yosuke's been in alternate worlds. He's seen friendly creatures decide to atach themselves to him. So when the two happen again he can only assume one thing]

Great, I fell in my 3DS.

[He frowns down at the blue frog thing, which he quickly figures out is something similar to the battle critters in a game he refused to admit he still played instead of a Shadow. The frog puffs up it's throat in pride at the attention]

Who am I, Kanji? How am I gonna look him in the eye when they find out I fell somewhere in my sleep or something?

[The Froakie shrugs, and Yosuke scowls]

You're a great help, thanks.

1/2

[idolwild]

Ah—! Harada-kuuuuuuuun!!

[Hey, Yosuke, guess what, you have the dubious honor of looking a hell of a lot like a guy this girl knows, at least from a distance.

...Not that there's going to be much distance for very long, given the way she's charging over at approximately the speed of sound.]

Ha! Ra! Da! Kuuuuuun! There you are, I've been looking everywhere for —

[grapeeater]

[Micchy and Yuudai are just passing through, but the shiny Greninja grabs his trainer's arm and pulls him along.]

Woah - hey! Careful, Yuudai...

[The Greninja stops and lets Micchy go once they're close.]

... Are you new?

[dangerousidol]

[!!! Rise looks excited now! She knows this guy. Sure, it's not her Sempai, who she would rather have here, but hey, nothing she can do about that.]

Yosuke-senpai!

[She runs over, followed by several creatures, including a rather big owl that dives right at Yosuke. She gasps and squeals.]

F-Fukuro! Don't attack my senpai!

Dave Strider | Homestuck

[callbacks]

Ruins of Alph:

Hey? Hello?

[Someone's calling, kind of hoarsely at this point, from the third trap chamber down in the ruins. He managed to stumble down through the first two fine, with a little help from his Happiny and the Espurr he caught on Route 29, but now he's kind of. Uh.

Stuck.]

If anyone else has seen their way to falling down all these fuckin' traps, I guess we could use a hand. Or a rope, maybe.

[Dave sweeps the dim light of his Pokégear across the room and rubs his poor, abused tuchus.]

Or 'water,' I guess?

[He looks up again, the corners of his mouth pulled down in annoyance that teeters on the edge of, but hasn't yet plunged down, the slope to real worry.]

But seriously, how about a rope. I'm sick of tumbling down these Stone Age trapdoors all day like a useless piece of shit. Ow, Jesus, Eltee.

[The Happiny just makes a little hmph! noise and dusts her hands off after judiciously using Pound on Dave's foot.

Language, Strider.]

[buddyfaiight]

[After a while there's the sound of footsteps from the room above, silence, then more footsteps. Suddenly the trapdoor opens and a kid with truly ridiculous hair falls through it and flat onto his ass with an 'oof'. A Chingling bounces worriedly around him.]

Chillax, Bel, I'm fine.

[He stands up, does a single full-body shake get out any residual aches, and looks at Dave with an apologetic expression in the dim light.]

Sorry, bro. I thought I could jump off the door before it opened and then pull you up. Turns out not even I'm that good! If my buddy were here he could just lift us back up, but...

[He gives a half-shrug. It still sucks that he no longer has a ten foot tall purple demon gallivanting around by his side and he keeps being an idiot and reminding himself.]

So, uh. Guess we're stuck together now. My bad?