(Avatar courtesy of PokemonDB.net)
Like most of his kind, Karpov stands about as tall as some humans at 5 feet 3 inches. Wickedly sharp blades jut from his wrists, and an axe-like crest protrudes from his head. While he certainly looks formidable enough, he's not the quickest on his feet, so he always has a group of Pawniard underlings in tow, in many ways miniature versions of himself at not even 2 feet tall and spear points where hands would be, with him acting as their commander.
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Karpov (Bisharp)
The leader of the Black Knights, working with the Revolution to maintain a fragile status quo.
0 · 1,684 views · located in 
Virbank City
a character in “The Multiverse”, as played by LawOfTheLand
Description
Personality
Karpov is one that takes pains to know all the options and possible consequences when determining a future course of action. The way he got to where he is today was fraught with backstabbing and betrayal, and he knows that if he doesn't pick his fights carefully, his own men will turn on him at the first sign of weakness in their hopes to do the same. By the same token, he will do almost anything to ensure his own safety. When doing business with a possible ally or enemy outside the organization, however, he is unfailingly polite, but never gambles more than he can afford to lose. His habit of sprinkling chess terms into his speech might be a bit off-putting to some, though...indeed, he takes his name from the former human chess champion, and his underlings share similar monikers. The eight Pawniard he takes with him are referred to as Chigorin, Tarrasch, Tal, Korchnoi, Spassky, Alekhine, Botvinnik and Smyslov--each formidable in their own right. Tal in particular is very useful in interrogation because of his special hidden ability of Pressure, Korchnoi and Alekhine are both strongly Defiant, while the others have Inner Focus.
Equipment
What little the Revolution's leadership allows him to spare, Karpov shares generously with others in the hope of building a network of mutual support. He's no fool, though, and when it comes to a fight, he has a number of powerful moves, each of which can turn the tide of a close fight if used at the right time.
Weaknesses and Resistances:
Karpov enjoys a complete immunity to mental powers and toxins, as well as resistance to a broad range of other attacks thanks to his metal armor. Aquatic and electric assaults still affect him normally, as well as the sorts of tactics insects tend to employ, and his armor fails against fire and ground attacks. If the opponent is lucky enough to know proper martial arts techniques, they can smash right through Karpov and his gang with those.
Abilities (always active):
Inner Focus: Karpov never lets anything stop him from achieving a goal he has chosen to pursue, not even moves that would normally cause him to flinch.
Defiant: Karpov has learned time and again that conflict must be met head-on and that one should never back down from a challenge. The more opponents try to weaken his battle capabilities, the harder he hits back in response.
Pressure: Handy for interrogation scenarios and other protracted contests, this ability allows Karpov to more easily wear down the opposition.
Moves: Karpov has learned a broad variety of techniques for combat. When using each one, it is his habit to call out a chess term, but he's smart enough to forgo such if surprise is crucial.
Attacks:
"En passant" - Sucker Punch. Just as the opponent prepares to launch an attack, Karpov surprises the enemy by launching one of his own. While it generally is able to hit first, it fails if Karpov's prediction of an attack turns out to be false.
"Fork" - Brick Break. A precisely aimed chop that can smash through even the toughest barrier. Useful for keeping his troops in line.
"Pin" - Iron Head. An attack that utilizes the axe blade on Karpov's crest to deal damage. If Karpov should be lucky enough to move faster than the enemy, such as after a boost from Rock Polish or if the foe is suffering from the effect of a Thunder Wave, they might even flinch from the attack, giving enough time for Karpov to use another move.
"Skewer" - Stone Edge. While stabbing the foe with a sharp rock from below sounds like fun, in reality it's one of his less reliable options. Still, such a technique is useful in situations where his other attacks are not likely to have much effect, and it is more likely to deal extra damage by finding a vulnerable point than his other moves.
"Checkmate" - Guillotine. As the name of the technique implies, this attack uses his wrist blades in a powerful and precise descending motion to knock out or even kill targets with a single blow. He is loath to use this move under any but the most desperate of combat situations, owing mostly to the ease with which it can be dodged, preferring instead to save it for after his Pawniard has flushed prey into the perfect location.
Set-up moves:
"Castle" - Iron Defense. Karpov stiffens his body's muscles to greatly increase his already impressive ability to withstand physical punishment.
"Zugzwang" - Double Team. Despite his normally plodding movements, he is capable of moving so quickly that illusory copies of himself are created, thus making most attacks less likely to find him.
"Fianchetto" - Swords Dance. Karpov performs a dance to lift his fighting spirit, making his attacks hit much harder.
"Gambit" - Rock Polish. The name given to this move bears no relation to the original owner of the most infamous bar in town. In the sense Karpov uses it, it merely lets him hone his body so that he can move and act much faster than normal during a fight.
Support moves:
"Prophylaxis" - Stealth Rock. A trap of levitating stones is summoned to encircle a foe's position. While this has no immediate effect, those who dare try to take the foe's place will take some damage in the process as the stones dig into their flesh.
"Blockade" - Embargo. A particularly nasty surprise to use against those that depend on the support of the items they carry into battle, this move makes it so that they cannot benefit from those items.
"J'adoube" - Thunder Wave. A quick, weak jolt of electricity is launched at the foe, inducing paralysis. Very useful against faster and nimbler opposition.
"Interposition" - Substitute. Karpov puts some of his energy into a decoy of himself, which not only blocks most non-damaging attacks but takes damage for him until the initial energy investment is exhausted.
Karpov is also a well-respected commander, organizing his Pawniard into formations and taking out targets with team-based tactics. He also carries a well-kept magnetic chess set around with him, pulling it out during downtime to study problems.
History
Ever since learning about the plight of Titania, Karpov has wished to offer his services to the beleaguered Trainer in which he saw much of himself, but he knew that the only thing that awaited his ragtag group of do-gooders was destruction at the hands of Ahriman and his minions. He has been forced to be content to watch from afar, noting the power shifts in the criminal underworld, and when the Krows came out on top, he knew he had a fight that he stood a good chance of winning if he made the right moves at the right time.
After Ahriman's death at the hands of his own son Tungsten, he feels safe in taking a more active role in Pokemon politics, even formally joining the Revolution. However, this is only to offer him cover for his real activity of watching the doings of the various factions, selling information about them all to whoever will pay well for it.
So begins...
Karpov (Bisharp)'s Story
DIN-01 Blue stopped what she was doing and clutched at her ripped up body, as if unable to believe what had happened without physically assessing the damage. An odd liquid dripped from her ever so slowly, and she frowned at it. Looking back up, she scanned the crowds, rapidly picking Karpov up. She didn't seem to notice those around her, rather she stared him down. Yes, that's right. The cute android girl is staring you down, Karpov. She definitely had no respect for his pride.
Karpov (Bisharp) wasn't focused on the thing. He wanted the Pikachu. In light of a lack of commands from her, Karpov whiled away the time mirroring Pikachu's little afterimage trick. This thing packed a hell of a punch, and he couldn't afford to be in the path of its attacks.
The pikachu's cheeks crackled dangerously with electricity. It seemed very intent to do it's job, despite it's robotic owner. One had to wonder how a flesh and bone pokemon felt about this sort of thing. Blue produced yet another pokeball.
Time for a gamble. "J'adoube." The French phrase, habitually uttered by chess players when they wish to reposition a piece that was out of its square, was Karpov's code for Thunder Wave. That ought to put a damper in all those speedy shenanigans Pikachu was famous for.
DIN-01 Blue The pikachu shuddered as an electric shock gripped her, on to retaliate by abruptly lunging in Karpov's general direction with yet another volt tackle, rather violently knocking several innocent bystanders out of the way in her process.
Karpov (Bisharp) gritted his teeth and braced himself. There was no way his Sucker Punch would get through the electric field, but he did have another surprise. Running forward to meet the mouse in the middle of the impromptu clearing, Karpov got ready to slam down the interloper with an Iron Head as crews of various types waited for the scene to finish before doing cleanup. Others simply jockeyed for position with their camera phones, trying to get a piece of the action.
DIN-01 Blue held her side, which was dangerously torn up. It could've easily killed a human, but she was made of tougher stuff. Her Pikachu kept coming, but Karpov's plan had one fatal flaw—Quite simply, the two attacks would hit simultaneously, meaning there was no /real/ potential for either of them to avoid taking the hit. Pikachu would slide back several feet in response. It was questionable whether she could stand, but for the moment being she hadn't collapsed.
Karpov (Bisharp) must have had some serious rust on his blades. The two attacks collided, and there was a brief moment of lucidity. Too much time in the war room and not enough time on the actual field of battle--his instincts had grown dull. As Pikachu's tremendous electrical shocks ran through his bladed body, all this and more was made clear to his brain an instant before getting blown back by the tremendous force of the impact.
"Resign! Resign!" One by one, the lot of them picked themselves up and staggered away, clearly defeated.
"Resign! Resign!" One by one, the lot of them picked themselves up and staggered away, clearly defeated.
The setting changes from PokeStage Entertainment Studios to Gambit's Bar
Karpov (Bisharp) stood at a table, all 5 foot 3 of him pondering over a complicated chess position while some of his hangers-on the size of children chittered at him, as if offering advice and opinions.
Nadya carried to small stack of papers into the bar lips spread wide with glee. She placed them on the bar and then grinned at the bartender. "That's the last of them for the day. Man! I can't believe I get to give a bar newspapers. The house mom would flip if she knew." But she didn't.
So long as Nadya's grades didn't slip, she never would either. She was a nice lady and all, but Nadya wanted the pocket money she got form paper delivery bad enough that she was willing to seek out extra routes. Gambit's was a bit of an extension of her old route, but she could just manage it.
"Eh, I don't see what I'd be scared of mister. I just deliver the paper. No one hurts the delivery girl." she said, all too cheerfully to Isaac. Rafael she didn't even notice, not really. "This place is weird, I guess, but I'm a Wing City native! There's a lot weirder places."
So long as Nadya's grades didn't slip, she never would either. She was a nice lady and all, but Nadya wanted the pocket money she got form paper delivery bad enough that she was willing to seek out extra routes. Gambit's was a bit of an extension of her old route, but she could just manage it.
"Eh, I don't see what I'd be scared of mister. I just deliver the paper. No one hurts the delivery girl." she said, all too cheerfully to Isaac. Rafael she didn't even notice, not really. "This place is weird, I guess, but I'm a Wing City native! There's a lot weirder places."
The edgy armored...thing...looked up from his chess problem long enough to notice that the paper had been delivered. "Greetings," it said in a camp Russian accent. "I say, do you happen to play chess? Learning strategy, tactics and bravery. Very important for young humans. Come, play with me." He seemed zeroed in on Nadya, but really it was more of an open invitation.
"That may be so but most of the stuff that happens here tends to reject reality entirely. Hell I rarely stop by here anymore mostly due to the fear I'm going to have stand off with some god." Isaac thanked the bartender as he set his drink down in front of him.
"Never played chess a day in my life and I'm still alive. I know a thing or two those three topics you just spoke of." Isaac replied to the Russian accented thing.
"I bet you do old man. You look like you're straight out of a Frontier reenactment scene." Rafael was now looking over at the man his eyes bloodshot still and his drink now gone. It was obvious the fellow had enough to drink. But Isaac ignored the man for now as he took the first sip of his whiskey.
"Never played chess a day in my life and I'm still alive. I know a thing or two those three topics you just spoke of." Isaac replied to the Russian accented thing.
"I bet you do old man. You look like you're straight out of a Frontier reenactment scene." Rafael was now looking over at the man his eyes bloodshot still and his drink now gone. It was obvious the fellow had enough to drink. But Isaac ignored the man for now as he took the first sip of his whiskey.
"I don't know how to play chess!" she said. "But I know those are pawns, and that's the queen and that's the king." She had the king and queen mixed up. "But I'm plenty brave, so I don't need to learn bravery." She beamed and looked to him, clearly pleased. "I'm the only paper girl brave enough to put Gambit's on her route, after all." And they got a bunch of papers, now that she did.
Still, things at Gambit's did tend to reject reality just a bit. she considered this and shrugged. "Nah. I'm not too worried. Like I said, I'm a native here. It's normal, for me, to have the rejected reality thing." Things didn't always work right in Wing City. There was a reason Nadya was an orphan after all. That didn't matter though. It was home.
Still, things at Gambit's did tend to reject reality just a bit. she considered this and shrugged. "Nah. I'm not too worried. Like I said, I'm a native here. It's normal, for me, to have the rejected reality thing." Things didn't always work right in Wing City. There was a reason Nadya was an orphan after all. That didn't matter though. It was home.
"I see you are on a schedule. Go, little pawn. I sense untapped potential in you," Karpov nodded to Nadya. Then over to the rough and tumble sorts. "Chess is not merely a game for the young. Indeed, many great masters of the game have played well into their sixties and seventies at a very high level. I myself was named after one, so great as to be considered a world champion."
He made a formal bow to the other gentlemen. "I am called Anatoly Karpov. These are my eight students, each of them also named after a fine player. Perhaps I can at least teach you the rules, so that you may spread the Game of Kings to others in your circle? Many a friendly wager to be had over these 64 squares, if nothing else."
He made a formal bow to the other gentlemen. "I am called Anatoly Karpov. These are my eight students, each of them also named after a fine player. Perhaps I can at least teach you the rules, so that you may spread the Game of Kings to others in your circle? Many a friendly wager to be had over these 64 squares, if nothing else."
"The only thing I spread is death." Isaac and Rafael said in rather perfect unison. The two men looked at each other for a few moments. It would seem they were two of the same just worlds apart.
"Well I would hate to have to show this city slicker up in a game of chess." Isaac scoffed at Rafael who was still standing.
"I would hate to show this relic how horrible he would be at chess." Rafaels retorted.
"Well I would hate to have to show this city slicker up in a game of chess." Isaac scoffed at Rafael who was still standing.
"I would hate to show this relic how horrible he would be at chess." Rafaels retorted.
Nadya grinned. "You'd all kick my butt in chess." she said, still in good cheer. She considered thing, and her schedule. "I don't have to go yet. Gambit's is the last stop in my route." She said and considered things carefully. She did have a curfew, but she checked the watch on her wrist and she had lots of time still.
"Um. I can watch you two play. But I got to be back at the house in...two hours. And no one can tell the house mother I was here. She gets grumpy if I hang around here." Very grumpy, and annoyed and she threatened to ground Nadya, but frankly that wasn't about to happen. There were too many other kids in that house. The wars on Terra had caused a lot of orphans.
"Um. I can watch you two play. But I got to be back at the house in...two hours. And no one can tell the house mother I was here. She gets grumpy if I hang around here." Very grumpy, and annoyed and she threatened to ground Nadya, but frankly that wasn't about to happen. There were too many other kids in that house. The wars on Terra had caused a lot of orphans.
"All right," Karpov said with a nod. "Pawn, sit there. You two, I will teach you this war simulator. I sense a strong rivalry between the two of you. This should be, how you say, fun to watch?" Moving with speed rivaling the best con artists in the shell game, Karpov set up the starting position.
"How you place the board is important. White on this lower right corner here," he said with a tap where the rook was sitting. "Queens on their color. Finally, queens and kings face each other. This is the starting position. You are at least familiar with how the men move and capture without having played a game yourself, da?"
"How you place the board is important. White on this lower right corner here," he said with a tap where the rook was sitting. "Queens on their color. Finally, queens and kings face each other. This is the starting position. You are at least familiar with how the men move and capture without having played a game yourself, da?"
"Well I tend to just kill most of them off. Makes it easier later on." Isaac said as he removed a pack of smokes from the pocket on his vest he lit one with a wood match.
"I tend to try to keep the bloodshed minimal at best. It's better to not have a trail leading to me." Rafael's voice entered after Issac's.
Isaac only snorted in reply as he took a long drag on the cigarette.
"If you need an escort home Miss I'm sure either myself or this morally right warrior beside me can take you back. As long as I don't beat him to bad at his board game." Isaac chuckled a bit at that his voice holding the western twang.
"I tend to try to keep the bloodshed minimal at best. It's better to not have a trail leading to me." Rafael's voice entered after Issac's.
Isaac only snorted in reply as he took a long drag on the cigarette.
"If you need an escort home Miss I'm sure either myself or this morally right warrior beside me can take you back. As long as I don't beat him to bad at his board game." Isaac chuckled a bit at that his voice holding the western twang.
"I don't quite get how they all move, but if I watch, I'm sure I will." she assured Karpov, curious to watch. "And a war simulator? How come those...those foreigners couldn't have done that instead of fought over Terra?" She didn't have polite words for them, at all, but the house mother didn't let them use impolite language. Her mama never had either.
"And I won't need anybody to take me back. I can ride my bike, and I'll be safe enough." It was always obvious who was a Terran native and who wasn't. The natives tended to blend in a lot more, and besides, sometimes, it seemed like the colors non natives wore were always so much brighter. It was something Nadya didn't understand. Still, she took her set, and leaned forward, eager to watch. "But thanks."
"And I won't need anybody to take me back. I can ride my bike, and I'll be safe enough." It was always obvious who was a Terran native and who wasn't. The natives tended to blend in a lot more, and besides, sometimes, it seemed like the colors non natives wore were always so much brighter. It was something Nadya didn't understand. Still, she took her set, and leaned forward, eager to watch. "But thanks."
"Very well, then. Now, as with any properly fought war, there are rules. The knights move in an L, two squares up and one square over, always ending on a square of the opposite color. Bishops are forever tied to one color, only able to move on diagonals, but capable of long-range attacks to open up and snipe through defenses. Rooks move back and forth, up and down. They must commit to a course, but they are frequent players in the endgame. The queen can move like a rook or a bishop. All should cower before her might, and all must run to her aid if she is endangered. The King even more so. One square in any direction, each step taken with deliberate purpose, but should it ever be impossible for him to evade capture, the game is over."
Karpov nodded to the two men and the girl. "And finally, the pawns. Like my children here, they are weak individually. Together, they are quite powerful, and within each of them is the power to become more than they are should they reach the other side of the board. Forever forward they march one square at a time, yet they strike to the side." The Pawniard gang behind him eagerly tittered and rubbed their knife hands against each other as they received such praise. "By convention, the player with the white pieces moves first. Do you understand the rules as I have explained them, or should I begin again? If you do understand, then let the battle begin."
Karpov nodded to the two men and the girl. "And finally, the pawns. Like my children here, they are weak individually. Together, they are quite powerful, and within each of them is the power to become more than they are should they reach the other side of the board. Forever forward they march one square at a time, yet they strike to the side." The Pawniard gang behind him eagerly tittered and rubbed their knife hands against each other as they received such praise. "By convention, the player with the white pieces moves first. Do you understand the rules as I have explained them, or should I begin again? If you do understand, then let the battle begin."