So here's a preliminary bio for this particular young lady:
Name: Riley Andrea Archer
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Current Residence: Fortree City, Hoenn.
Appearance: A tall, willowy redhead with a pale, lightly-freckled complexion and midnight blue eyes, Riley keeps her wavy hair at slightly longer than shoulder length and often dresses in rather loose clothing made of light fabric, often in greens or blues.
Identifying Marks: None in particular.
Personality: Having spent most her life growing up in Fortree and quite a few years of it taking care of the house while her parents were away caused Riley to grow into an independent person who appreciates her peace and quiet. She's the sort of person you would find sitting by the window with a cup of mint tea and a good book listening to the wind and the birds as she reads - you know, the simple things in life. Riley is immensely fond of books - certainly preferring their company to that of people. Her particular passions lie in mythology, folk tales and philosophy - but she also has a keen interest in biology, mechanics and other things more nestled in the present than the past. She doesn't tend to worry about the future - she finds that it comes at its own pace.
Skills: Riley was blessed with both a very good memory and a knack for finding and cross-referencing information coupled with creative problem-solving skills - meaning that if she ends up caught in a situation she'd have probably read something about it and would be able to combine information with a healthy degree of fscking around to pull herself out of it. She also enjoys cooking and baking (well, she has to feed herself) and occasionally singing (when nobody's really watching, anyway).
History and Family: Riley Andrea Archer lived in Fortree City all her life, surrounded by nature and Pokémon. She was raised to be independent from an early age as her parents' jobs often kept one or both of them away from home for prolonged periods of time - especially once she was old enough to not require continuous supervision. She was always the sort to get along with people but not form long-lasting attachments and friendships - with the most major exception her cousin Jordan, who was a year older than her and lived nearby (though not quite next door) in Fortree. The two had a more sister-like than cousin-like relationship as children, but when Jordan turned 14 she was accepted to Pokémon Ranger School and set off to the Almia region - and while they still keep in touch, the duties of a ranger mean that long conversations and actual meetings are few and far between.
For most of her life she had little interest in Pokémon battles, content to learn about these mysterious creatures humanity shares its life with from the creatures around her and from books. In recent years, however, she started becoming curious about the notion of leaving her house and becoming a proper trainer, with all that entails. A series of events when she was 16 (involving a visit from her cousin, a rock slide on Route 120 and an impromptu battle with a Pokémon she befriended against a rampaging Wild Pokémon displaced by the rock slide) led her to finally set out on a journey across the Hoenn region. In accordance with her interest in history and myth she chose to take the scenic route across the region and spend time at various heritage sites and historical locations - and thus her journey stretched out over nearly two years. She has fairly recently (a few months prior to the events of the RP) returned home to Fortree (for more than a brief visit at least!) and probably did not expect things to go sideways in the unique way they are about to. Where that adventure would lead is anybody's guess.
Love Relationships: She has yet to meet anyone she's been particularly interested in, and that's probably how it's going to stay for a good long time.
Pokémon on hand:
Species: Galvantula
Nickname: Audax
Gender: Female
Ability: Compound Eyes
History: Riley found a wild Joltik after it strayed into her house and apparently decided to settle down. She found herself befriending the little creature, who occasionally tagged along with her as she went out, sometimes straying off only to return to her house later. One excursion the Joltik chose to accompany her to was to the nearby Route 120, where a mysterious rock slide displaced some of the local wildlife - and her cousin Jordan, currently on vacation in Hoenn, felt it was her duty to use her ranger training to assist in the situation. Unfortunately, while Jordan was focusing her attention on clearing the rock slide, a rampaging wild Absol attempted to attack Riley. Fortunately, the Joltik sprung to Riley's defense, taking on the larger Dark-type and defeating it with some help from Riley's tactical guidance. Their bond now sealed in battle, the Joltik became Riley's first Pokémon companion. It was this event - and the newly christened Audax's bravery - that convinced Riley to actually go on a journey. Audax and Riley have been inseparable since, with the Joltik usually staying outside of her Pokéball until her evolution, which is when her size made it impractical. Even so, she is still somewhat of an outdoorsy Pokémon and Riley attempts to accomodate for that when she can.
Personality: Audax is an outgoing, inquisitive, playful sort - and as her name implies, a ball of unwavering spirit and conviction, especially in the face of bigger, meaner threats. As a Joltik, this was often comical - and opponents tended to underestimate the little arachnid until it was too late. While she lost this element of surprise as a fully evolved Galvantula, the sheer power boost she received more than makes up for it.
Species: Mismagius
Nickname: Strega
Gender: Female
Ability: Levitate
History: Like many Ghost-types, the Misdreavus that would one day be Strega was drawn to Mount Pyre - where her relative strength and natural abilities allowed her to become a 'queen bee' of sorts for a group of trouble-making Shuppets who have been terrorizing visitors to the mountain for a while.
For a while she felt she had it all - and in spite of a certain nagging hollow feeling at the back of her mind and continuous thoughts of letting it all go and seeking a new path, she was lulled into complacence by her feelings of power and the admiration and toadying of her cronies... which eventually got to her head, leading to a certain degree of overconfidence.
Pride, as the say, goeth before a fall - and soon enough the Misdreavus found herself suffering a crushing defeat in battle. But when she turned to what she thought as her friends for help, she found nothing but mockery. The Shuppets, in all actuality, did not give a singular fuck about their "dethroned queen" - they followed her because her power was useful to them - and now that she has shown weakness, she was of more use as a feast of negative emotions than anything else - a feast that they have been "fattening her up" for since day one. Needless to say, that was a world-shattering revelation for the Misdreavus, who fell right for it - the feelings of betrayal and powerlessness on one hand and the desire to take vengeance on those who dared wrong her burned brightly in her mind and the Shuppets fed.
It was Riley and Audax who drove the Shuppets away - Riley unaware of the Misdreavus' past associations with them and Audax unwilling to allow "a bunch of bullies" to torment a weakened individual in this manner. With the immediate danger driven away, the exhausted Misdreavus could muster the energy to phase away into hiding.
It was only afterwards that Riley heard of the Misdreavus being the former ringleader of the Shuppet group and that most of the other visitors to Mount Pyre thought that she got what she deserved. Remembering what she read about Shuppets, and how they fed on negative emotions - and feeling that this lingering negativity could make things even worse in the long run, she sought out the Misdreavus out of interest in 'hearing her side of the story'. With the help of a local 'Hex Maniac', Riley finally found and communicated with the ghost - who recognized her and was surprised by her actively searching for her. Suspicious of her motives and obviously still very bitter, the Misdreavus has nonetheless agreed to share her experience with Riley - who proceeded to remind the Ghost-type that she has had her suspicions all along and that now it an excellent time to walk away and leave that life behind, as she so often wanted to do. She was free now - and that line of thought is a whole lot more helpful and less troll-feeding than the Negative loop she was stuck on.
But the negativity that was already there was a giant beacon and the Shuppets came again - still fairly drunk and empowered by all the negativity they absorbed already - and this time they intended to finish the job. Riley and the Hex Maniac joined forces to drive away the Shuppets - but the battle was mostly one of attrition until finally, the Misdreavus had a eureka moment as what Riley told her finally set in and rational thought had time to percolate and produce an emotional effect.
And the newly revitalized Misdreavus proceeded to kick the entire Shuppet flock's ethereal asses into next Tuesday.
Deciding that this victory was quite enough for her and admitting to herself that she still has much to learn, the Misdreavus decided to leave Mount Pyre and travel again. Riley asked the Misdreavus if she wanted to come with her - and the Misdreavus agreed, officially joining Riley's team.
She evolved within a certain ruin somewhere in Hoenn - drawn to a specific mural on a wall, she phased through it - and when she emerged again, she was bathed in the glow of evolution, having apparently been exposed a Dusk Stone within the rocky matrix of the wall the mural has been painted on. Curiously enough, the mural in question and what it depicted confused Riley at the time, though its meaning would become clear soon enough...
Personality: Strega has a certain strange, ghostly allure to her - and she knows it. She often uses it to her advantage and is quite flirtatious. She still has a tendency to follow her heart more than her mind - if anything, her past made her realize that she should trust her intuition even more, even when things seem promising - and is, as such, occasionally prone to acting first and thinking later. She shares Riley's interest in ruins and tales of the past, sometimes drawing inspiration from them for her "incantations".
Species: Dragalge
Nickname: Rhea
Gender: Female
Ability: Adaptability
History: Rhea was fished out as a Skrelp off the coast of Slateport City. Largely indifferent to anything and everything at first, the Poison/Water-type took her capture as yet another new location that the currents of life made her drift to and figured she may as well enjoy the journey. Eventually evolving, the Dragalge seemed to face a mental block of some sort when it came to tapping into her Dragon side. Having heard of a tribe of Dragon Users that made their home in Meteor Falls - and already fascinated by their lore and histories - Riley made her way there and met with the Draconid People, asking to learn what they could teach her. She lived among the Draconids for a while, training with them and learning their ways and their mythology and developing a close Dragon/Dragon Tamer bond with Rhea - which eventually allowed her to come into her own as the full-on toxic sea dragon that she was meant to be. Both trainer and Pokémon have completed their training and learned much from the experience - and often harken back to this training when engaged in combat.
Personality: A very laid-back individual, Rhea is at her most content drifting around - enjoying the sun, the surf and no worries, mate. She is slow to anger, but do not let her calm demeanor fool you - she is still very much a Dragon-type, and the ancient primal power of her type courses through her veins, as if the powerfully corrosive venom she may produce was not deterrent enough.
Species: Roserade
Nickname: Antheia
Gender: Female
Ability: Natural Cure
History: Antheia was caught as a Roselia, when Riley accidentally disturbed a patch of flowers on Route 117 that the Grass/Poison-Type has been obsessively caring for. The Roselia attacked fiercely - but was ultimately defeated and captured. After a period of confusion and adaptation, in which the newly-named Antheia was even more high-strung and fussy than usual, she eventually settled down and found her niche in Riley's team.
Riley found that the Roselia responded well to structure and routine and had a difficulty adjusting to changes - and that tending for flowers was a sort of a meditative activity that the Roselia adapted to help herself cope. Due to the technical difficulties that come from gardening whilst on the go and the fact that the life of a Pokémon on a journey is far more filled with changes than the life of a Pokémon living its life in one route, Riley found herself with an increasingly stressed Roselia and realized there had to be something else the Grass/Poison-type could pick up as a new meditative routine. The solution came from a new training regiment - part dance, part martial art - that the Thorn Pokémon could immerse herself in, serving the dual purpose of calming her mind and increasing her grace in battle.
Both Trainer and Pokémon however came to the realization that in spite of the beauty and grace the Roselia possessed, she was sorely lacking in power - and the Grass/Poison-type's perfectionist streak would not have it. A solution seemed to present itself in the form of a Shiny Stone that came into Riley's possession - and with its power, Antheia blossomed into a Roserade.
Personality: Prim, confident and elegant, Antheia maintains poise and grace in face of adversity. She has a need for routine, meticulous order and beauty in her life and strives for perfection in motion and in battle - and she can sometimes get utterly high-strung about it. This, unfortunately, leads to some rather rigid thinking on her part and particularly chaotic opponents may lead her to the verge of panic attacks, As such, Riley is wary of using her in combat against certain types of opponents as she attempts to work with the creature towards a solution.
Species: Zangoose
Nickname: Invictus
Gender: Male
Ability: Toxic Boost
History: The runt of its litter, Invictus faced many struggles growing up. His small size and relative physical weakness made it difficult for him to compete with his siblings for food as a juvenile and to keep up with the rest of of the group while hunting - until at last, the group rejected him altogether. When Riley found him, the Zangoose was an emaciated, injured and exhausted creature, clinging tenaciously to life as he was scavenging in Fallarbor Town. Quickly capturing him and rushing him to the local Pokémon Center, where his injuries were taken care of and a longer-term treatment plan was devised - Riley nursed the Cat Ferret Pokémon back to health through a combination of proper nutrition, exercise and loving care, allowing him to catch up to the average Zangoose size and strength.
Personality: Though his life with his trainer has given him what he needed and more, Invictus has not forgotten his difficult early years and has a strong survival instinct. Out of battle he has a far less aggressive temperament than most others of his species, and he is certainly not one to pick fights on his own. If threatened, however, he will fight fiercely and has a higher tolerance for injuries and pain - including a degree of self inflicted pain, where he may sometimes poison himself to trigger his ability for a possibly tide-turning strength boost. Riley is not particularly happy about this habit, and Invictus tends to only use it as a last resort.
Species: Metagross.
Nickname: TBD.
Gender: N/A
Ability: Clear Body.
History: TBD.
Personality: TBD.
), I've asked @StellarWind Elsydeon and @Kyubeon to help me run this thing. Depending what ideas we get depends on how we divvy up the RP since we may or may not need more than one thread for it. Below I have tagged all of the remaining participants that I know of.
