NOCT2 has opened!

 Welcome to the Second Nuzlocke OCT

What's NOCT2 gonna be?  Well, here's a teaser...

Every year, the peninsula city of Galida hosts a tournament that draws trainers from far and wide, with a spectacular stadium like those seen usually only in League competitions like Indigo Plateau and Pummelo Island that can change terrain frequently.  Not surprisingly, the organizers of the Galida Summer Open have quite a bit of prize money to distribute each year - and the tournament experience is great for all trainers who show up.  The accommodations are lavish, the food and ceremonies are amazing, and all transportation is covered.

Trainers come in by the busloads for a shot at the top four in the main tournament, especially since the top two also get "badges" that can be used to join League tournaments, as does the winner of the Open's side tournament.  The bus route is quite scenic, running up the peninsula between the sea and a small mountain ridge, with wild Sandshrew, Wingull, Luvdisc, Skiddo, Dedenne, and many others frequently in view.  The trainers love coming each year, win or lose, just because of the whole experience of such a fun, carefree tournament.

But this year, it won't be so carefree for one particular bus full of participants...  So will YOU join the NOCT2 and find out what situation your team gets thrust in to??

Enjoy the plot teaser?  More will be revealed once we have a fair amount of applications in!  (People who get in apps early even have a chance to be featured in the official NOCT2 prologue!)  Blank applications (11 colors of the art app and 1 writing app) can be found at the back of the NOCT Application folder in our gallery.

But what is an OCT, you ask?  Well, in a Pokemon Original Character Tournament, you create a trainer character and a team of Pokemon for them.  The tournament consists of several rounds where participants create art or lit to impress either a set of judges or their peers, and with each round someone gets closer to winning!

The NOCT2 will be five rounds of five weeks each with one off week between each - so there's more time per round than NOCT1 but a smaller overall time commitment.  Each round will be a set of battles where participants are paired against each other, and - since we like Nuzlockes - losing a battle means losing a team member!  (In our plot, this death rule isn't part of the Galida Summer Open - you'll see how the "situation" makes this happen.  Yes, we have a centralized plot this year, unlike NOCT1's create-your-own-plot!)  Also, we will have a separate lit division from the art division if we get enough writers applying.  But battle winners will be decided by a ballot that's open to the entire group, as in NOCT1.

What's in it for you?  Well, it's fun!  An we try to make it less intense than other OCTs - in one view, it's just another group event instead of such a big, time-consuming ordeal (hence expanding the time per round and staying away from intense, detailed judging).  Also, we'll play down the "competition" aspect a little in the sense that, as long as you don't voluntarily drop or completely waff a round without warning us, you won't be forced out of the main tournament.  We also will have a side contest that will open in May if the main tournament still sounds like too much for you.  But we will have prizes at the end as well!  We have a good list already - but if you want to participate as a prize-giver instead of a contestant, or know someone who could provide prizes, we'd love to the pot to be sweetened as well!

The four winners from NOCT1 have been helping organize this when they can, so hopefully NOCT2 goes smoother than NOCT1 while being even better!  For full details of the tournament, please check the documents below:

Plot summary: (will be filled in as plot is revealed!)
Tournament structures: docs.google.com/document/d/14o…
Application guidelines: docs.google.com/document/d/1e9…
Basic FAQ: docs.google.com/document/d/1aG…
Current prize list: docs.google.com/document/d/1kQ…
NOCT2 schedule: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…
Current participant list: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…