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Name: Astrid Arkwright
Age: 19
Gender: Female

Appearance:

Astrid's figure is very lean and skinny, with not much visible muscle. However, despite the apparent lack of it, she does have a fair amount of strength. Her figure is also curvy, to an extent. She stands at 5'6", and weighs about 137 lbs. Her skin is Caucasian in color, though it's slightly tanned.

Her hair is a light, milky brown, and goes down to her shoulders in length. It's parted at the front, revealing her forehead, and goes over her ears. Her eyebrows are thin, colored the same as her hair. However her rather large eyes stand out, as they are a piercing bright blue. She has a small, straight nose, and overall sharp facial features.

Astrid opts to dress in clothes she made herself, and they are often quite beautiful. Her choice of clothing is hardly extravagant, or overly noticeable; rather, it has a subtle sense of elegance to it.

Personality:

Different people tend to have different impressions of Astrid. Some see her attitude as cold and apathetic, while others see it as timid or introverted. Personally, Astrid herself prefers to think of it as being 'distant' from the world and people around her. This is what she tries to be, at least. It is her desire to become more of an observer than an active participant in the world's affairs, simply because she sees it as potentially harmful, and wishes to keep herself safe. For this reason, she only associates with others when necessary, and would almost never do so otherwise. She keeps any and all interactions as short and emotionless as possible. This isn't because she's rude, nor because she's cold-hearted, but because she easily gets nervous. She can only handle herself in a conversation for a short amount of time before losing her composure. When she does, she begins to get unusually shy and timid. Sometimes she will even make the awfully rude decision to run away. The majority of the time, she's able to keep a cool, level-headed composure when heading into conversation knowingly. However, when unexpectedly confronted with direct human interaction, she usually becomes nervous much faster. The nervousness is painfully obvious to anyone else as well. When she's in this state, Astrid will constantly twiddle her thumbs or readjusts her glasses when unnecessary, and is prone to stumbling over her words and avoiding eye contact.

Astrid has few friends in this world. She has distanced herself from most people, fearing what would happen should they ever get close. Over the past two years, she's only truly had two friends, one of which is the Pokemon known as Wiley, who she spends all her time with. Around Wiley and, presumably, any other friends she may have, Astrid is a far more open individual. Around people she can feel comfortable with, her nervousness is hardly an issue, so she allows the brighter side of her personality to show itself. Astrid becomes far more cheerful and carefree, allowing herself to feel some enjoyment from the world around her and, more importantly, the friend she's with. She's naturally open towards her friends, never hesitating to let them know her deepest secrets, desires, and emotions, because of her confidence that they will understand and be supportive if need be. She isn't one to ask for a favor and not offer one in return, of course. Astrid strives to help her friends with whatever ordeals they may face to the best of her ability, and does her best to be supportive.

Of course, to date, nobody save for Wiley has managed to achieve the status of 'friend' in Astrid's mind, no matter how friendly they may be. She shuts herself off from others intentionally, for one main reason: fear of betrayal. One must attain her absolute confidence in order to befriend her, which isn't easy because she has confidence in no one, and keeps herself from forming that trust. In truth, Astrid is actually a very trusting person by nature, and this is also her greatest downfall. Due to past experiences, she forces herself to distrust others, even though she would like to have some confidence in someone.

History:

Once a peaceful resident of Hearthome Town, Astrid Arkwright lived with her parents and her father's partner, a Scraggy named Liam. Her early life was, for the most part, fairly normal. Her father, Jonas, worked as a guard for the King, while her mother, Marian, was an expert dressmaker. Her dresses were made in the most exquisite taste, and were sold to nobles and people of such high regard. Despite this, she appreciated the advantages of living a modest lifestyle, and refused to make a name for herself as a professional. Because of this, she didn't sell much; however, whenever she did, the payout was high. In truth, dressmaking was more of a hobby than anything else for Marian, and Jonas's wages were more than enough to keep the family afloat.

Astrid took an interesting in her mother's hobby from an early age, and was promptly taken under Marian's tutelage. However, no matter how hard she tried over the years, Astrid was never able to achieve the level of skill her mother had. She was perfectly fine with that, however. Her mother always taught her not to take a hobby too seriously and to simply enjoy it as much as possible, so Astrid never felt any jealousy towards Marian.

She also had an uncle who lived in Hearthome, on her mother's side. The man's name was Julian, and she got along splendidly with him. He was a simple shopkeeper, though despite his simple lifestyle he was an adventurous man. Astrid naturally loved this about him, and grew to trust him more than anyone else. He was her role model, his stories of adventure and his outgoing nature being admirable to the young girl. The one thing that she couldn't help but disdain about him was the small Pancham who always accompanied Julian. The Pancham, named Wiley, was a very violent and grumpy Pokemon, who always seemed to ignore Astrid.

In her youth, Astrid was a very outgoing young girl. She made many friends at school, and treated everyone she met like friends. All people was equal in the young Astrid's eyes, and she rarely showed fear in the face of danger. Trust was something that came easily for her. She stayed this way until about the age of fifteen, when that trust proved to be disastrous.

One day, her uncle Julian paid a visit to her household. However, he was not his usual chipper self. He had come to see Marian, and the two soon got into an argument. Naturally, Astrid was curious and eavesdropped on their conversation from another room. She was shocked to find out that Julian had joined up with a resistance group opposing the new king Tasmus. The purpose of his visit, furthermore, was to convince his sister to leave her husband and join up as well.

As it happened, Astrid wasn't the only one to be eavesdropping on the conversation. The sound of a door swinging violently open could be heard, followed by the screaming voice of her father. She was paralyzed with fear as a raging argument between the two men quickly erupted into a brutal Pokemon fight. Julian and Jonas were brawling on the ground as their Pokemon Pancham and Scraggy fought. After what seemed like an eternity, a sharp crack could be heard, followed by the sound of a body hitting the floor. Astrid could hear her mother's horrified scream.

Julian must have been in a deranged state. Whether it was the adrenaline rushing to his head or his rage, he proceeded to turn his Pancham on his own sister, ordering the Pokemon to beat her to death for refusing to listen to him. At this point Astrid rushed out of her room, panicked, and horrified at the sight of her dead father and his Scraggy. Her uncle turned to her, a crazed look in his eye, and began to approach her. Neither mother nor daughter could react, still terrified and in despair at the death of Jonas.

However, just before Julian could lay a finger on Astrid, another loud snap could be heard as the man's leg was broken. The aggressor: Wiley the Pancham. The Pokemon proceeded to turn on his owner, mercilessly beating him until he was completely unconscious and barely alive.

It must have taken hours, but eventually Marian recollected herself. She knew the police would be here soon, and the fact that her own brother was a member of a resistance could very well see her and her daughter accused of treason as well. Sucking up her grief at the loss of her husband, she packed essentials and took her traumatized daughter away from Hearthome. Oddly enough, Wiley followed the two. Marian tried to get him to leave several times, but the aggressive Pancham would only growl and stand his ground. He didn't seem to mean any harm at this point, so eventually the two just allowed him to follow them.

Before long, they found themselves in Twinleaf Town, in an attempt to get as far away as possible. It took some time, but with the money Marian had saved up from her dresses, she was able to buy a small house in the town in which the two could live. Or rather, three. No matter how hard they tried, they simply could not rid themselves of the Pancham who had once belonged to their murderous uncle, and almost killed them. Eventually they had to put up with the insistent 'mon. Marian never truly liked it, but Astrid managed to convince herself that it was only acting on orders, not of its own accord.

But Astrid had been in the other room; only her mother had seen the wide grin on Wiley's face as he beat Liam, and Jonas, to their dooms.

For a long time, Astrid blamed herself for the terrible incident. She grew increasingly reclusive and did not attend school anymore, instead devoting most of her time to grieving and her hobby of dressmaking. Her depression lasted two years. She received as much support as possible from her mother, who had to force herself to keep going through life. Even now, after the depression has ended, she still partially blames herself for what happened, despite the fact that it's completely illogical to think so. She blames her own trusting personality, and so has chosen to shun it, instead staying away from people as much as possible to prevent such a betrayal from occurring again.

The next two years were relatively peaceful. Astrid presently helps her mother run a clothes shop, which makes enough money for the two to get by. She has befriended Wiley the Pancham and has become very fond of him, despite happenings in her past. After confronting it all, she began to see him as somewhat of a savior, and actually began to trust the little beast.

Hometown: Hearthome Town

Weapon: A...uh... kitchen knife? Yeah, a big-ass kitchen knife works.

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Pokemon Species + Nickname:


Wiley

Gender: Male

Ability: Scrappy

Attacks:

Work Up, Karate Chop, Slash

Personality:

Wiley would be regarded by most as a mean, bad-natured Pokemon. He's naturally violent and aggressive, opting to use violence to solve any problem he may come across. He's relentless and brutal, never stopping until his opponent is either fainted or dead, depending on which the situation calls for. He's very grumpy, preferring not to be bothered by anyone other than Astrid or her mother, and will often keep to himself. Other Pokemon seem to irritate him, and he prefers to keep away from them even more than people. Despite his usual grumpiness, combat is the one thing he truly enjoys. Sometimes, he revels so much in the pain of his opponents that he seems somewhat sadistic...

Wiley's one redeeming quality seems to be his loyalty. Over the past four years, he's shown unyielding loyalty to Astrid and Marian, as well as a strong sense of protectiveness for the two. He will always try his hardest when it involves either of them, and will not tolerate any disrespect towards them whatsoever. Any aggressor, or even potential aggressor towards Astrid or Marian is met with a fist to the face from the ever-violent Wiley.
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Lana DeMino
Age 17 | Female


Appearance: Lana stands at a height of about 5'4" with a somewhat slender body build. She has deep, emerald-green eyes with a fair skin complexion. Lana has oddly colored, bluish hair which is generally kept on the shorter side, reaching down to just the base of her neck. Her bangs delicately line the sides of her face, with two longer pieces of hair on the sides. Lana has a crescent shaped tattoo on her left shoulder, a marking of her upbringing as a gypsy.

In terms of clothing, Lana tends to dress in darker colors. She wears a black, leather top that stops just past her chest, exposing her long and lean torso. She wears a pair of matching, short-like pants on her legs, with a red, decorative skirt over top. The skirt is slit, exposing her right leg while being modest enough not to expose anything inappropriate. The skirt and shorts are held up by a decorative, red, sash-like belt with golden tassels around her waist. A black choker is worn around Lana's neck, with golden bracelets on her upper arms and a circlet around her forehead. Lana's feet are always bare, save for a red, cloth tied around her right ankle.

Personality: Generally a kind and caring soul, Lana is a friendly girl with a charismatic energy about her that seems to help everyone around her find themselves in a better mood. There is a seemingly innocent nature about her, making her quite gullible at times. Spending most of her time out in nature as opposed to in towns and cities, it is quite easy to say that Lana does not actually know how the world truly works. She never really interacts on a personal level with others her own age outside of her troupe, so she seems to lack a few of the more finer social graces. Lana is honest to a fault and a very observational girl. She has a history of stating something how she sees it, regardless of who it might offend or anger, but she generally does mean well in the long run. Lana is deathly afraid of lightning.

History: Born within a close knit, wandering band of gypsies, Lana has never really known a normal life so to speak. Yes, she has a large, loving family and she grew up generally happy and cared for. However, being in a band of gypsies constantly meant roaming the Sinnoh countryside on an almost daily basis. More often than not, the band would set up camp in the wild, choosing to sleep out under a blanket of stars as opposed to under a roof in the comforts of an inn. Freedom and spare time were spent singing and telling stories. They lived off the wealth of the land as opposed to working in the cities. When the family would stop by a town or city, it was for work. By work, this did not mean helping the farmers work on their fields or helping in stores. The gypsy band would put on shows for the townspeople, not working for coin, rather for food, drink, fabrics and other resources they might need. In these shows, Lana herself would work as a dancer.

One day, when Lana was about 14 years old or so, she and the rest of her gypsy family set up camp outside of the Commercial City of Jubilife. The girl decided to go wandering about, exploring the land around them as if having some sort of adventure. While exploring, the girl happened to come upon a lone egg near a pond of water. Lana had often been told to never interfere with nature, letting the Goddess take care of things herself and let what would happen, happen. However, Lana felt a sense of pity for this egg that had been left on its own in the wild. Lana sat quietly, keeping watch over the egg to see if its family would return for it. However, after hours of waiting the egg was still left on its own. Not wanting to see the life extinguished before it could even properly begin, Lana made the decision to bring the egg back to camp with her and hatch it in private.

Lana was not able to keep it a secret long. It was only a matter of time before her mother stumbled upon the girl one night, rubbing the egg gently with a silk blanket in an attempt to keep it warm. She inquired about why Lana had disobeyed the ways of their people and wanted the girl to leave the egg behind when they left the area in the morning. However, when Lana passionately explained why she simply could not obey her mother, a change of heart was had. After some deliberation with Lana's father and the band elder, Lana was allowed to keep the egg, but she would have to raise and fend for the Pokemon inside as if she were its own mother. Lana happily agreed and a few weeks later, an Igglybuff which she affectionately dubbed Melody was born.

Three years later, the bond between Melody the Igglybuff and Lana still remains strong. Keeping true to her word, the gypsy girl has continued to raise and nurture the young Pokemon as if it were her own child. Lana has even been working on trying to incorporate the Igglybuff in the band's performances. Lana and her gypsy family were last seen setting up camp just outside of Twinleaf Town, preparing for another set of performances...

Hometown: Eterna Valley

Weapon: Dual Chakram

Melody
Igglybuff | Female

Ability: Cute Charm

Attacks: Sing, Charm, Pound

Personality: Peaceful and gentle by nature, Melody is not a fighter by nature. In fact, she is quite the opposite. She is easily shaken and somewhat of a coward by nature. Because of this, she generally chooses to stay as close to Lana as possible, looking up to the girl as a sort of mother-figure and protector. Despite her seemingly peaceful nature, she is fiercely loyal to Lana, and if it comes down to it, she will not hesitate to put herself in harms way to protect the human girl.