GoldenHouou
antagoonist
Aaaand I'm done! Been a while since I've written an SU, but here we go. Also, I wasn't sure if a Mage could become a Trainer Champion or not, but I figured that if they just don't fight alongside their Pokémon, it'd be possible...? If not, I'll just change that part, say Jo didn't know that (or, alternatively, make her goal to try and do it anyway against the system/realize she might as well aspire to become the Mage Champion at some point) and call it a day, no problem!
Human
Name: Jocelyn “Jo” Petal
Age: 18
Rank: Novice Mage (will be explained)
Goal: To become the Trainer Champion and find out what happened to her sister (as well as surpass her)
Description: The general feel and impression Jocelyn gives out is rather peculiar, a mix of two extremes; when it comes to her clothes and physique she seems very ladylike and mild, while her expressions and body language give off the vibe of someone tough and even boyish. She stands at a fairly average 5'6'', with a slender build and an average weight. She isn’t extremely curvy, but she does have the figure of a woman, unmistakable even from afar. She doesn’t have almost any visible muscle either, leaving her physically rather weak and needing to depend on her Pokémon a lot when it comes to more physically demanding tasks. Although her skin is in a good condition otherwise, her hands are really ragged, rendered so by the many years she spent gardening and climbing trees when young. There are also a few cuts and the like present around her legs, left untreated because she didn’t consider them important enough to mend. Her skin is slightly tanned, and her face heart-shaped and delicate.
Jocelyn’s hair is light brown in color, but the right amount of light from the right angle can make it have a reddish tone to it at times. Some curly strands fall down to frame her face, with most of her hair going down across her back, also naturally curly. Her hair reaches down around her mid-back, with the strands in front stopping somewhere around the half-way of her neck. She has attempted to comb her hair straight in the past, and so some parts look a bit straighter than others. Usually, she has a few flowers decorating her hair here and there, a habit she never did manage to shake from her younger days. Her eyes are blue, her right one slightly hidden underneath her locks. Although her eyes are big and bright, the look found in them is often hard and calculating, to the point it makes her eyes seem smaller and colder than they really are.
As for clothes, Jocelyn is a rather striking sight, and her peculiar manner of dress instantly betrays her origins as one of the daughters of Pretty Petal Flowershop. She wears a rather elegant if strange dress, slightly resembling Bellossom’s petals in design and color. The top part of the dress is sleeveless, with straps hanging loosely slightly below her shoulders, the dress held up more by its tightness than the straps. It’s green in color, with the straps being red. The neckline goes low just a tad above her chest, with a flower decoration in place just between her breasts. Going down, the dress parts into petal-like pieces of fabric bending behind her legs and bum, so that her legs are left exposed from the front. This is not how the dress was originally meant to be used, but Jocelyn had to modify it a tad to allow for easier walking. Underneath she wears dark green, skin-tight shorts reaching just above her knees, with socks and ballerinas on her feet. When she needs to do some serious training she can’t manage in her usual getup, she’ll take off the dress’s lower part (as the ‘petals’ are detachable), throws on a brown bolero and changes her ballerinas for sneakers. She carries a purse with her to keep her stuff in, and her Pokéballs are fastened on her belt.
Personality: Jocelyn’s appearance is quick to give others the impression of a delicate, rich girl with the manners to go along her manner of dress, but the second she opens her mouth that illusion is more than destroyed. While not exactly crude, Jocelyn doesn’t watch her mouth all that much. If she feels she has something to say, she will voice it no matter where she is or with whom. She’s grumpy, cold in demeanor and not one to make friends with others easily. She scrapes her knees and doesn’t fix them up because she thinks small injuries like that can’t bring her down anyway, and she’s stubborn to the point it’s often considered annoying; all traits not readily linked with her family or what it represents. Surprisingly enough however, as people would expect of her, Jocelyn does like flowers. She’s not as enthusiastic about them as the rest of her family, but she does love to spend some time alone in the wilderness surrounded by nothing but greenery from time to time. She enjoys the silence and, as she has a habit of thinking out loud, she can finally talk to herself all she wants without being seen as crazy or strange. She’s tried to tone down the thinking aloud thing when in a crowd, but it still prevails especially if it’s otherwise quiet. In part this is because she considers long silences awkward; it was usually bustling in her family's shop where she grew up in, after all.
Jocelyn is also, mostly due to her background, extremely knowledgeable when it comes to nature and plants. She carries a lot of berries with her and knows what they do, and she can easily point out herbs and plants that can be used for medicine or food. She’s also knowledgeable about Grass and Bug types themselves, having spent a lot of time around them when young. She still holds a fondness for both said types as well, and should anyone badmouth them in her presence, they would be sure to get told off in an instant. She's this way with most of her opinions, and isn't one to care for mature debates. Even though she might seem and sound a bit explosive at times however, Jocelyn would never resort to violence. Partly because she considers it unsightly, partly because she knows she wouldn’t hold much of a chance should things come down to a physical brawl anyway. She’s also a tad bit clumsy, and has been known to break things in her haste sometimes, something she takes great embarrassment in.
Like mentioned Jocelyn is very grumpy, and although she is talkative, she isn’t exactly friendly. She doesn’t make it a point to cuss out whoever talks to her, but she won’t censor the stuff she says either. Smiles and happy thoughts are reserved for the times she actually succeeds or wins something, though they do leave her in a good mood for a while. During this time she’s a bit more agreeable, more like she used to be when young, back when she still tried to make an effort to be nice. She’s very serious, and although she isn’t one to condemn humor, it often gets lost to her. It seems like everything she’d ever think about is getting better, stronger and more famous for her skills. She spends a lot of her time training her Pokémon and is very eager to go investigate any scene where something peculiar has happened, to the point she can run away in the middle of a battle or an important meeting to chase something she finds out of the norm. Many mistake this for curiosity or for just her having fun, but really, it’s neither. She’s doing it for no other reason than to see if she could find some clues about what happened to her sister or somehow improve herself. Becoming strong and winning has become an obsession to her, and she’s a very sore loser. She doesn’t much use emotions when deciding things, always going with the most logical and efficient choices possible and rarely finds the time to make friends, effectively giving the impression she’s aloof and isn’t interested in company at all. However, while yes she does consider other things more important, she isn’t exactly completely cold and uncaring, however. She does want friends and to make small talk, she’s just afraid to do so, fearing it might make her forget her goal or look foolish. That, and she doesn’t see the point, and thinks wanting to find friends and companions is just her being weak. And she hates being weak. She wants to be seen as tough and determined, strong girl you do not want to mess with. This also leads to her acting more cocky than she really is at times. To her, being a jerk means you’re confident, which is why she won’t particularly care if someone’s mean to her either; she’ll just think they’re “cool”.
Although she’d like to think of herself as extremely tough and able to handle everything by herself, there are still a number of things that are able to make her embarrassed, fidgety or even anxious, and her self-confidence isn’t as good as she’d like to pretend it is. Her lack of confidence manifests as envy and a fear of failure. She hates it when other people get praised and is often very competitive towards them even if they don’t share her sentiments. She spent a good portion of her life engaging in a friendly sibling rivalry, and although many kids grow out of that, she never did. Her sister became better than her and then just died; she never got the chance to resolve their little fights. Her jealousy often makes her come out as bitter to the people she feels that way towards, and it’s not even something she tries to hide; partly because she isn’t aware of it. Also, as mentioned, she absolutely fears failure, to the point she often leaves undone things because she thinks she wouldn’t be any good at it anyway, and tends to get embarrassed and nervous even over small slip ups. She’d rather not compete with someone good, even if she really wants to, and she’s very afraid of learning new things. Due to that she’s a very uncertain and timid when it comes to being a Mage. The only thing that acts as an exception to this all are Pokémon training and battling. Yes, she does still fear losing should she ever attempt to try and fight her way through the Pokémon league, but since it’s been her dream ever since young, she half-pushes herself to do it anyway. Because if she can’t even succeed in that one thing she’s supposed to be good at, that one thing she’s prepared for her entire life, then what the hell is she good for?
Still, even though she wouldn’t readily admit it, Jocelyn does also have a few lady-like and kind qualities to her. She never had anything against being proper, friendly and girly in the first place; it’s just that she wasn’t good at it and thus ended up not even wanting to try, especially since she had other things she was more interested in at the time. So, nowadays she keeps these aspects hidden because she’s afraid she would just fail and be ridiculed for trying. She can never compare with others in her family in that area, so why try? And yet, give her a chance in the form of a ball or some other big social event, and you might just catch a glimpse of her more feminine and refined side on an accident. She can dance for example, and although she has some trouble when it comes to etiquette, she always dines like she’d be in the company of kings. You will not find a single speck of leftover food anywhere on her face, and her posture will be nothing short of perfect. At least that much she managed to pick up before abandoning that whole route. She can also show sudden displays of her younger self when she’s surprised or not paying attention. As for those kind qualities, Jocelyn has always been a bit of a worrywart when it comes to physical injuries, and tends to fuzz over even small cuts a lot – unless they’re her own, of course. She’d be fine even if her neck was broken! But seeing bruises on others throws her into an ovebearing mode she does her best to hide whenever she notices it surfacing. She’s always been this way, and her sister’s death just made it worse. She’s also not one to tolerate bullying or injustice, and will sometimes gather the courage to stand up, probably in a more pronounced manner than would suit the situation. Point any of these traits out to her though, and she’ll cuss you out, thinking you’re making fun of her. She doesn’t want you to realize she might care for your well being, after all.
Also worth a mention is that Jocelyn has a deep-rooted fear for anything bigger than her head that flies, especially if it’s an avian of some sort. She doesn’t mind bugs or obviously grass-typed Pokémon as much (meaning a Ninjask or a Tropius wouldn’t freak her out) but anything else will make her very nervous and, if not offered an escape route fast enough, anxious and panicky.
It should be noted that even though Jocelyn did decide to become a Mage in the end, it should be noted that her passion lies with Pokémon training. She’s always been more interested in it than spell casting, even if it’s mostly because it’s the only thing she’s good at. Due to that, she’s a far better trainer than she will be a Mage, at least unless she undergoes some serious changes in attitude. She loves being complimented and praised, and is easy to get envious if she hears someone else praised in her presence.
One last thing to mention and to help understand her a tad is that Jocelyn holds a lot of guilt for things she’s done and thought in the past. That's because even though she wants to come off as tough, she still likes to think she’s a good person deep down and doesn’t want to really hurt anyone. Injuring someone, either physically or mentally, is not something she enjoys and she will be sorry if she ever ends up doing it, partly because she genuinely feels sorry, partly because she hopes to avoid feeling guilty that way. That's also why she so rigorously tries to deny she partly became a Mage not to help her family but just to best her sister – her dead sister, once more; how could she ever live with herself after admitting something so horrible? No, it’s better to just say she did it for selfless reasons and that it’s just her way of saying sorry to her family since she can’t bear to face them again anyway.
History: In many ways, Jocelyn has always been the odd one out of her family. She was born to the owners of Pretty Petal Flowershop near Rustboro City, and ever since young her life was filled with nothing but plants, flowers and learning how to better take care of them. She had a twin sister Madeline when growing up, and ever since they learned to talk the two were rivals in absolutely everything they could think of. Watering the plants in their garden was not a chore, it was a competition of who could finish their side of the garden faster, and whenever they ventured into the woods to pick up berries, seeds and train the family’s few Pokémon, the first one to leave was always the loser. One of the most important things they fought over was something as simple as who would inherit the family’s Nincada. It was a fine Pokémon born from fine, well-trained parents, and it packed both quite a few egg moves and a prestige that would allow it to fare well in contests. It was a tradition that the oldest child would get it, but since the two were twins and their birth time only minutes apart, the two’s parents figured it wasn’t a fair way to judge. Not that Jo complained; she was the one born a few minutes after. Meanwhile, while the Nincada remained in the care of their mother, the two were both given a Budew to help them with their chores.
As years passed and the two were taught the ways of a proper lady however, their similarities started to diminish; Madeline was fast to adapt whatever was taught to her from manners to etiquette, while Jo really wasn’t. She didn’t have as much interest to learn as her sister in the first place, and constant failures to walk properly or hold her utensils in the proper angle made her even less eager to keep going. Her sister was always better than her at everything they were taught and for someone whose entire childhood had consisted of nothing but competing with her, it was really tough. As such, Jocelyn decided not to even try anymore. She went back to being the over-energetic kid rolling around in mud all day long with her Budew, trying to catch Pokémon and train her partner to be “the best ever” as she put it. She was more interested in training than etiquette anyway, and she was better at it too, to boot. It was clear she had no will to inherit the shop by that point. She also wasn’t that interested in magic and Mages, unlike her sister and most of the rest of her family. Her father was a wizard and her mother a Mage, both specializing in grass types as the family’s tradition had it. It was expected, then, that at least one of the two should also have the potential to become a Mage and continue the tradition. Jocelyn wasn’t interested. Having watched so many trainers pass by and train in the forest, she was much more interested in pursuing that particular career. She trained her Budew for fighting, not for contests, showing off or acting as a Mage’s aid or helping around the shop. Her Budew was powerful, and using it for anything else but battling would be a waste to her. And so, Jocelyn started to gather a team of Pokémon for herself. She caught a Lotad from the area South-East to their home, and had a horde of Wurmple she trained and evolved. Most of them left once they were adults and could fly, but she didn’t mind. She had fun. Her family had never owned anything but Bug and Grass types, and when young she followed at least that tradition… for a while.
Both of the girls took the tests to find out their potential for magic, and both of them passed. Madeline was always the one more interested in the job however, and since her parents didn’t want to force her, they mostly left Jo to her own devices while they taught her sister spells and the way of magic. Jo was perfectly happy with this set up too; more time for her to train! And yet, as she grew older still, she found out that she just wasn’t pleased with merely Bug and Grass types. She felt it limited her skill as a trainer, and that there was absolutely no reason why she shouldn’t strengthen her team with types that could, for example, counter the nasty Flying types that proved a constant threat to her dream of greatness.
At first, Jocelyn did try to find an alternative route to defeating flying types, however. She took her Pokémon and wandered off into the depths of the forest one day, looking for a flock of Taillow. She started throwing rocks at them in an attempt to get them mad and make them attack, as she wanted to train her Pokémon to try and be able to counter their pecks. That backfired horribly, however; not only were her Pokémon partners quick to faint under the birds’ relentless attacks, Jocelyn herself got hurt as well. That made her develop a certain trauma for flying types and especially birds, and want to branch out of using just Bug and Grass types even more. So, as her father traveled around the region selling flowers, Jocelyn hoped along and kept an eye out for any Pokémon she might want to add to her collection. This is when she caught her Numel. Her parents weren’t happy about her bringing a fire type – and a young and inexperienced one at that – near all the precious flowers and Pokémon it might destroy or hurt on accident however, and so the Numel had to be kept outside the house and garden at all times. Jocelyn protested to no avail, and ended up just spending even more time out of the house herself.
Madeline’s ceremony came and went, and eventually it was time for her to set out into the world as a Novice Mage. Her parents were joyous and as a parting gift they gave her the Nincada the two sisters had been fighting over ever since young. While an understandable decision given Jo’s attitude, she still felt deeply betrayed by it. The Nincada wasn’t just a thing to be inherited; it had become her friend during all her years of training it along with her other Pokémon. It wasn’t supposed to be used just as a trophy to show off. It was strong, it should have gotten to battle! Nincada itself didn’t really mind however, and so Jocelyn’s protests went unheard. She was also told that now that her sister left, she would need to assume more responsibility over the shop. You can probably guess how well that went over. After a few months of constant fights, frustration and bickering, she finally set out as well in order to pursue her dream of becoming the Trainer Champion at the age of 14. She had a little brother aged four anyway, he could take care of her parents and the shop once he grew up.
The last time she saw her sister was when they met during a festival and she acquired her Shedinja two years later. The next she heard of her, she… had lost most of her Mage powers and had fallen very ill. And, by the time Jocelyn had gotten home to see her, she had already passed away. To this day it isn't known what in the world happened to her, but there are a lot of theories going around. Regardless, the family was in mild state of chaos after her passing, and it was evident her parents had been really stressed out even before it. Everyone grieved and Jocelyn felt, above everything else, guilty for having hated her the last time she saw her for abandoning her Shedinja. She also felt guilty for having abandoned her family when they had seriously needed someone to help them with the shop. She never could say that, however. She never apologized, never offered her condolences, and never stuck around. All she did was shed her tears and then run off again, not at all sure of her destination.
Then, once she turned eighteen, she made her decision. While Pokémon training was still close to her heart and her dream, she decided to become a Mage as well. Her family considered it very important to have one in the family and so her becoming one was her way to make amends. She never told about it to her parents however, as she couldn’t return home out of guilt. Also, perhaps, just perhaps if she became a Mage and traveled some more, she could find out what happened to her sister. That, and, although she feels like a horrible human being admitting it (which is why she never does admit it), she wants to best her sister once more. Madeline was a rather well-known Mage before her passing. Now, she would become an even better one.
Spells Known:
Detect Magic: Standard issue.
Mail: Standard issue.
Growth: By steadying her aura and focusing her powers, Jocelyn’s magical prowess grows for a while and makes any subsequent spells more powerful. This also causes whatever vegetation is near her to grow a tad (for example, it can turn buds into flowers and speed up the growth of saplings).
Absorb: Using her magic, Jo concentrates a green aura around her target, and then has it close in. As it does, it saps the target’s life energy and then rushes it back to her, revitalizing her a tad. If something interrupts her mid-spell before the energy can return to her, it’s returned to the target. This requires concentration which she… often doesn’t have, unfortunately.
Guardian
Name: Rosemary, “Rosie”
Species: Petilil
Ability: Own Tempo
Personality: When Jo named her Pokémon she used flowers, picking ones whose meanings were true to the Pokémon’s personality. The same goes for her Guardian. Rosemary symbolizes remembrance, which is exactly why Jo uses this particular name before she even realizes it; the young Petilil reminds her of herself when she was young and trying to be like her sister, to the point she finds it both annoying and slightly unnerving, and is basis for the way she sometimes mistreats her. It’s more out of fear of remembering than anything else. She’ll also take the habit to call her “Rosie” really fast for the same reason.
Rosemary’s very ladylike and proper, polite, kind and calm and always looking out for others and wanting to make a good impression – all the things her human partner isn’t anymore (or at least, won’t admit to being). In that sense, Rosie represents the hidden, forgotten traits Jocelyn used to have when young, the ones she first denied out of fear of failure and then genuinely forgot were ever even part of her. Similarly, Rosemary also has a hidden temper and a sense of recklessness her human partner has, even if she won’t admit it to herself. In a way, the both of them represent what the other lacks or hides, and should the both of them learn to accept all aspects of themselves, they would turn out very similar.
Moves: Absorb, Growth
Pokémon
Name: Edelweiss
Species: Roserade
Gender: Male
Origin: Edelweiss was Jocelyn’s first Pokémon, given to her as a Budew when she was around five to help out around the shop. Jo has been training him ever since, and he has become arguably the most powerful member of her team. Her family gave her the needed evolution stone around the same time her sister completed her ceremony, to try and make Jocelyn not feel so left out of the festivities.
Ability: Natural Cure
Personality: Edelweiss symbolizes noble purity and courage, and this Pokémon does indeed possess both. Having a good sense of justice and the maturity of someone way beyond his years, Edelweiss is often the voice of reason among the team. He’s calm and reasonable, and has charisma – at least among Pokémon – to make others actually listen to him. Jocelyn both loves and respects him a great deal, and isn’t above listening to his advice when the situation calls for it.
Although seeming to be always serene and peace-loving, Edelweiss is actually a very proud creature who surprisingly enough loves to do battle. He loves testing his skills and says battling is good for keeping both the mind and the body active. He always strives to be number one and win, and when every other Pokémon has stopped training for the day, he often continues on late into the night. Also, even though he is often very mature, losing is not something he takes all that well, a trait he shares with his trainer. Whenever he has been bested, he tends to grow quieter and start to push himself a bit too hard to make sure the same thing never repeats. At this point, it’s often Jo who has to knock some sense into her companion. When winning Edelweiss appears really humble however, and he absolutely does not want credit for a win he doesn’t feel he deserves.
Even if he’s usually generally nice and rather fatherly, Edelweiss is not a good Pokémon to go to for confidence boosts. He thinks that if a person doesn’t believe in themselves, then no other person will and should, either. He isn’t one to comfort Jo when she’s sad, but he’s definitely the one to give her a speech on how unsightly she looks crying over things she could very well change which, in Jocelyn’s case, works a lot better in making her stand up again anyway. No matter what however, Edelweiss doesn’t mean ill, and respects his trainer much the same way as she respects him.
Moves: Petal Dance, Grasswhistle, Giga Drain, Leech Seed
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Name: Oleander, “Olly”
Species: Lombre
Gender: Male
Origin: The second Pokémon Jo caught when around eight years old. Oleander, sometimes referred to simply as Ol or Olly, has been with her ever since. She found him lost near the Southern exit of Petalburg Woods, and managed to catch him with her Budew’s help. He hasn’t yet evolved, because Jo still hasn’t managed to get her mitts on the stone that would allow him to do so. It’s one of her goals to find that Water Stone soon however.
Ability: Rain Dish
Personality: Oleander means caution. This Lombre is very shy and reluctant to get to know people, always preferring to hide behind her trainer’s leg or spend time inside his Pokéball whenever possible. He’s very careful about trusting or liking people, for the sole reason that that’s how he is. At the same time, he’s very rational and logical, able to come up with solutions her trainer never could due to her hot-headedness. Olly is a rather intelligent Pokémon ad a good strategist, often being able to act in battles on his own without being directed. He shares his trainer’s fear of flying types and birds however, and is bound to become a nervous wreck whenever one is near. Introverted and shy, Oleander is also very quiet. This is doubly so whenever he’s around females; for as long as he can remember it was just Jo, him and Roserade, so he isn’t used to dealing with pretty ladies. He never really interacted with Jo’s sister or family, after all.
Still, even though often humble and the first one to step back should conflict arise, Oleander takes battles very seriously. If he absolutely has to fight he will, and he will do it to the very last breath. He’s also very proud whenever he manages to win and it acts as a big, well-needed boost to his otherwise lackluster self-confidence. He’s a very poor choice for double battles though; the pride he always feels during battles hardly allows him to accept help. Unless, of course, it comes in the form of a delicious berry to restore health; he’s a glutton at heart, even if he hides it out of embarrassment.
Moves: Fake Out, Nature Power, Bubblebeam, Mega Drain
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Name: Balm
Species: Camerupt
Gender: Female
Origin: Jo captured her as a Numel during one of her father’s trips to sell flowers near Hoenn’s hot springs to tourists. She was something Jocelyn deliberately went to look for, as she believed a fire type would be great in taking care of all the nasty ice and bug types that might threaten her team.
Ability: Solid Rock
Personality: With a name meaning empathy, Balm acts as a mother hen to both Jo and her team. While she used to be rather timid when a Numel, evolving has since given her self-confidence and a very caring nature. She’s a pacifist through and through, and hates pointless violence and arguments. She tries to get through every problem without having to resort to an exchange of blows, and dislikes her trainer’s short temper and pride. She doesn’t hate Jo for them, but they make her seem like a child in need of guidance to this fire type. She’s very soft-spoken and mild, and anything she does she does with an aura of tranquility about her. She is also admittedly lazy; work isn’t much to her liking, and there is nothing more relaxing to her than enjoying a quiet day outside in the sun. In that vein, she acts a bit older than she really is; like an ever-wise grandmother to the rest of the team.
Although not a fan of them, she doesn’t mind battles that much. She isn’t one to engage in them for fun, but won’t refuse to partake in them either, as long as the battle has been agreed upon in advance and is friendly. She doesn’t really like helping in catching wild Pokémon, however. She’s also very clumsy; a trait she hasn’t shed even after evolving.
Moves: Lava Plume, Magnitude, Focus Energy, Flame Burst
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Name: Teasel
Species: Shedinja
Gender: Genderless, referred to as a male
Origin: When Madeline’s Nincada evolved and left behind the empty shell it used to reside in, this Shedinja was born. As it turned out though, her sister didn’t take it with her. Not only did she not know the empty shell was a Pokémon as well, she had no room for any more Pokémon in her team. The Shedinja, of course, didn’t know that, and thought the abandoning was deliberate. Jo came across him very soon afterwards and, after having seen her sister with a Ninjask, instantly realized what had happened. As such, she was quick to pick the poor boy up and take him for herself. Well, at least, she refers to it as a boy since Nincada was one. Teasel doesn’t seem to have any objections. He knows a few egg moves due to the tradition of breeding a new Nincada for the family’s children to inherit when old enough.
Ability: Wonder Guard
Personality: Teasel symbolizes Misanthropy, and that describes this Ghost-type rather well. Having been abandoned soon after birth, this Pokémon holds great resentment towards humans – and humanity in general. To begin with, all the positive feelings he held as a Nincada went away with the newly born Ninjask, so there was never any chance for him to be a positive Pokémon in the first place. Being abandoned just made it worse, and now the only things left are hatred and fear, sadness and solitude, as well as mistrust of anything human.
Teasel is a very stoic and solemn Pokémon, as well as a mute; he never speaks, he rarely moves, and the rare times he feels anything it’s bound to be negative. He’s cold as a glacier once he enters battle. He’s not ruthless nor cruel; just cold. He feels nothing if he loses nor if he wins, he just continues to exist. Teasel also hates most other Pokémon, considering them luckier than he is for actually having been born of parents unlike him. He doesn’t view himself as a proper Pokémon, more a ghost, and is very bitter. He thinks it’s the reason he wasn’t allowed to go with his previous trainer.
Yet, underneath it all, Teasel still feels a certain attachment to the family that used to raise him, especially to his current trainer. While he used to love both twin sisters when he was a Nincada, when he evolved, all the feelings and the love he held for Madeline became a part of the Ninjask she left with. The same thing happened with his memories; all he remembers of the other sister now is her leaving him behind. He has a fear of abandonment due to that, and whenever he’s out f his Pokéball, he gets very clingy and never leaves Jo’s side. He’s also extremely protective, so approaching her when he’s around should be done with extreme caution.
Moves: Fury Swipes, Spite, Faint Attack (egg move), Bug Bite (egg move)
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Name: Eupatorium, “Eupy"
Species: Chinchou
Gender: Male
Origin: Another Pokémon Jocelyn actually went to look for. Due to her fear of Flying types, she felt like she needed an Electric Pokémon to protect her should she ever be faced with a bunch of them. Although there were quite a few options as far as Electric Pokémon went, she also wanted a water type to help with Fire Pokémon; another type her two strongest Pokémon wouldn’t fare that well against. Her choice was easy after that. It took her quite a bit of searching the Oceans after leaving home, but eventually she did come across what she was looking for with the help of her Lombre. She caught the first Chinchou she found, and admittedly sometimes wonders if she should have been a bit more patient and waited for another one; this one drives her up the wall at times.
Ability: Volt Absorb
Personality: His name means delay, and that’s exactly something that can be observed in him whatever he does. Whenever he’s given an order to attack, to retreat or dodge he’ll be slow to respond, seeming like he’s constantly in his own little world from which he only occasionally returns to the present. Jo herself has described him as acting like someone cast Confuse Ray on him and he never snapped out of the confusion. When left to his own devices he tends to just float around, not always even aware of the danger he might face and not looking where he’s going. He’s a daydreamer of the worst sort, and his dream? Impossible. You see, even though his trainer hates flying types more than anything, this particular sea Pokémon has always had a fascination with the skies, and his dream is to one day just float around among the clouds with no care in the world.
His overly carefree, lazy attitude often makes Jo lose her marbles, but she still cares for the Pokémon and actually depends on him a lot. He’s the only one fully capable of fending off birds and the like, after all. It might be that Euphy notices that, as when Jo is seriously in danger, a much more serious side of the Pokémon gets revealed – if only momentarily. He’s capable of some really powerful attacks every now and then, but most of the time he’s very difficult to train as he isn’t exactly suited for battle. Still, he’s very loyal.
Moves: Spark, Confuse Ray, Thunder Wave, Water Gun
Human
Name: Jocelyn “Jo” Petal
Age: 18
Rank: Novice Mage (will be explained)
Goal: To become the Trainer Champion and find out what happened to her sister (as well as surpass her)
Description: The general feel and impression Jocelyn gives out is rather peculiar, a mix of two extremes; when it comes to her clothes and physique she seems very ladylike and mild, while her expressions and body language give off the vibe of someone tough and even boyish. She stands at a fairly average 5'6'', with a slender build and an average weight. She isn’t extremely curvy, but she does have the figure of a woman, unmistakable even from afar. She doesn’t have almost any visible muscle either, leaving her physically rather weak and needing to depend on her Pokémon a lot when it comes to more physically demanding tasks. Although her skin is in a good condition otherwise, her hands are really ragged, rendered so by the many years she spent gardening and climbing trees when young. There are also a few cuts and the like present around her legs, left untreated because she didn’t consider them important enough to mend. Her skin is slightly tanned, and her face heart-shaped and delicate.
Jocelyn’s hair is light brown in color, but the right amount of light from the right angle can make it have a reddish tone to it at times. Some curly strands fall down to frame her face, with most of her hair going down across her back, also naturally curly. Her hair reaches down around her mid-back, with the strands in front stopping somewhere around the half-way of her neck. She has attempted to comb her hair straight in the past, and so some parts look a bit straighter than others. Usually, she has a few flowers decorating her hair here and there, a habit she never did manage to shake from her younger days. Her eyes are blue, her right one slightly hidden underneath her locks. Although her eyes are big and bright, the look found in them is often hard and calculating, to the point it makes her eyes seem smaller and colder than they really are.
As for clothes, Jocelyn is a rather striking sight, and her peculiar manner of dress instantly betrays her origins as one of the daughters of Pretty Petal Flowershop. She wears a rather elegant if strange dress, slightly resembling Bellossom’s petals in design and color. The top part of the dress is sleeveless, with straps hanging loosely slightly below her shoulders, the dress held up more by its tightness than the straps. It’s green in color, with the straps being red. The neckline goes low just a tad above her chest, with a flower decoration in place just between her breasts. Going down, the dress parts into petal-like pieces of fabric bending behind her legs and bum, so that her legs are left exposed from the front. This is not how the dress was originally meant to be used, but Jocelyn had to modify it a tad to allow for easier walking. Underneath she wears dark green, skin-tight shorts reaching just above her knees, with socks and ballerinas on her feet. When she needs to do some serious training she can’t manage in her usual getup, she’ll take off the dress’s lower part (as the ‘petals’ are detachable), throws on a brown bolero and changes her ballerinas for sneakers. She carries a purse with her to keep her stuff in, and her Pokéballs are fastened on her belt.
Personality: Jocelyn’s appearance is quick to give others the impression of a delicate, rich girl with the manners to go along her manner of dress, but the second she opens her mouth that illusion is more than destroyed. While not exactly crude, Jocelyn doesn’t watch her mouth all that much. If she feels she has something to say, she will voice it no matter where she is or with whom. She’s grumpy, cold in demeanor and not one to make friends with others easily. She scrapes her knees and doesn’t fix them up because she thinks small injuries like that can’t bring her down anyway, and she’s stubborn to the point it’s often considered annoying; all traits not readily linked with her family or what it represents. Surprisingly enough however, as people would expect of her, Jocelyn does like flowers. She’s not as enthusiastic about them as the rest of her family, but she does love to spend some time alone in the wilderness surrounded by nothing but greenery from time to time. She enjoys the silence and, as she has a habit of thinking out loud, she can finally talk to herself all she wants without being seen as crazy or strange. She’s tried to tone down the thinking aloud thing when in a crowd, but it still prevails especially if it’s otherwise quiet. In part this is because she considers long silences awkward; it was usually bustling in her family's shop where she grew up in, after all.
Jocelyn is also, mostly due to her background, extremely knowledgeable when it comes to nature and plants. She carries a lot of berries with her and knows what they do, and she can easily point out herbs and plants that can be used for medicine or food. She’s also knowledgeable about Grass and Bug types themselves, having spent a lot of time around them when young. She still holds a fondness for both said types as well, and should anyone badmouth them in her presence, they would be sure to get told off in an instant. She's this way with most of her opinions, and isn't one to care for mature debates. Even though she might seem and sound a bit explosive at times however, Jocelyn would never resort to violence. Partly because she considers it unsightly, partly because she knows she wouldn’t hold much of a chance should things come down to a physical brawl anyway. She’s also a tad bit clumsy, and has been known to break things in her haste sometimes, something she takes great embarrassment in.
Like mentioned Jocelyn is very grumpy, and although she is talkative, she isn’t exactly friendly. She doesn’t make it a point to cuss out whoever talks to her, but she won’t censor the stuff she says either. Smiles and happy thoughts are reserved for the times she actually succeeds or wins something, though they do leave her in a good mood for a while. During this time she’s a bit more agreeable, more like she used to be when young, back when she still tried to make an effort to be nice. She’s very serious, and although she isn’t one to condemn humor, it often gets lost to her. It seems like everything she’d ever think about is getting better, stronger and more famous for her skills. She spends a lot of her time training her Pokémon and is very eager to go investigate any scene where something peculiar has happened, to the point she can run away in the middle of a battle or an important meeting to chase something she finds out of the norm. Many mistake this for curiosity or for just her having fun, but really, it’s neither. She’s doing it for no other reason than to see if she could find some clues about what happened to her sister or somehow improve herself. Becoming strong and winning has become an obsession to her, and she’s a very sore loser. She doesn’t much use emotions when deciding things, always going with the most logical and efficient choices possible and rarely finds the time to make friends, effectively giving the impression she’s aloof and isn’t interested in company at all. However, while yes she does consider other things more important, she isn’t exactly completely cold and uncaring, however. She does want friends and to make small talk, she’s just afraid to do so, fearing it might make her forget her goal or look foolish. That, and she doesn’t see the point, and thinks wanting to find friends and companions is just her being weak. And she hates being weak. She wants to be seen as tough and determined, strong girl you do not want to mess with. This also leads to her acting more cocky than she really is at times. To her, being a jerk means you’re confident, which is why she won’t particularly care if someone’s mean to her either; she’ll just think they’re “cool”.
Although she’d like to think of herself as extremely tough and able to handle everything by herself, there are still a number of things that are able to make her embarrassed, fidgety or even anxious, and her self-confidence isn’t as good as she’d like to pretend it is. Her lack of confidence manifests as envy and a fear of failure. She hates it when other people get praised and is often very competitive towards them even if they don’t share her sentiments. She spent a good portion of her life engaging in a friendly sibling rivalry, and although many kids grow out of that, she never did. Her sister became better than her and then just died; she never got the chance to resolve their little fights. Her jealousy often makes her come out as bitter to the people she feels that way towards, and it’s not even something she tries to hide; partly because she isn’t aware of it. Also, as mentioned, she absolutely fears failure, to the point she often leaves undone things because she thinks she wouldn’t be any good at it anyway, and tends to get embarrassed and nervous even over small slip ups. She’d rather not compete with someone good, even if she really wants to, and she’s very afraid of learning new things. Due to that she’s a very uncertain and timid when it comes to being a Mage. The only thing that acts as an exception to this all are Pokémon training and battling. Yes, she does still fear losing should she ever attempt to try and fight her way through the Pokémon league, but since it’s been her dream ever since young, she half-pushes herself to do it anyway. Because if she can’t even succeed in that one thing she’s supposed to be good at, that one thing she’s prepared for her entire life, then what the hell is she good for?
Still, even though she wouldn’t readily admit it, Jocelyn does also have a few lady-like and kind qualities to her. She never had anything against being proper, friendly and girly in the first place; it’s just that she wasn’t good at it and thus ended up not even wanting to try, especially since she had other things she was more interested in at the time. So, nowadays she keeps these aspects hidden because she’s afraid she would just fail and be ridiculed for trying. She can never compare with others in her family in that area, so why try? And yet, give her a chance in the form of a ball or some other big social event, and you might just catch a glimpse of her more feminine and refined side on an accident. She can dance for example, and although she has some trouble when it comes to etiquette, she always dines like she’d be in the company of kings. You will not find a single speck of leftover food anywhere on her face, and her posture will be nothing short of perfect. At least that much she managed to pick up before abandoning that whole route. She can also show sudden displays of her younger self when she’s surprised or not paying attention. As for those kind qualities, Jocelyn has always been a bit of a worrywart when it comes to physical injuries, and tends to fuzz over even small cuts a lot – unless they’re her own, of course. She’d be fine even if her neck was broken! But seeing bruises on others throws her into an ovebearing mode she does her best to hide whenever she notices it surfacing. She’s always been this way, and her sister’s death just made it worse. She’s also not one to tolerate bullying or injustice, and will sometimes gather the courage to stand up, probably in a more pronounced manner than would suit the situation. Point any of these traits out to her though, and she’ll cuss you out, thinking you’re making fun of her. She doesn’t want you to realize she might care for your well being, after all.
Also worth a mention is that Jocelyn has a deep-rooted fear for anything bigger than her head that flies, especially if it’s an avian of some sort. She doesn’t mind bugs or obviously grass-typed Pokémon as much (meaning a Ninjask or a Tropius wouldn’t freak her out) but anything else will make her very nervous and, if not offered an escape route fast enough, anxious and panicky.
It should be noted that even though Jocelyn did decide to become a Mage in the end, it should be noted that her passion lies with Pokémon training. She’s always been more interested in it than spell casting, even if it’s mostly because it’s the only thing she’s good at. Due to that, she’s a far better trainer than she will be a Mage, at least unless she undergoes some serious changes in attitude. She loves being complimented and praised, and is easy to get envious if she hears someone else praised in her presence.
One last thing to mention and to help understand her a tad is that Jocelyn holds a lot of guilt for things she’s done and thought in the past. That's because even though she wants to come off as tough, she still likes to think she’s a good person deep down and doesn’t want to really hurt anyone. Injuring someone, either physically or mentally, is not something she enjoys and she will be sorry if she ever ends up doing it, partly because she genuinely feels sorry, partly because she hopes to avoid feeling guilty that way. That's also why she so rigorously tries to deny she partly became a Mage not to help her family but just to best her sister – her dead sister, once more; how could she ever live with herself after admitting something so horrible? No, it’s better to just say she did it for selfless reasons and that it’s just her way of saying sorry to her family since she can’t bear to face them again anyway.
History: In many ways, Jocelyn has always been the odd one out of her family. She was born to the owners of Pretty Petal Flowershop near Rustboro City, and ever since young her life was filled with nothing but plants, flowers and learning how to better take care of them. She had a twin sister Madeline when growing up, and ever since they learned to talk the two were rivals in absolutely everything they could think of. Watering the plants in their garden was not a chore, it was a competition of who could finish their side of the garden faster, and whenever they ventured into the woods to pick up berries, seeds and train the family’s few Pokémon, the first one to leave was always the loser. One of the most important things they fought over was something as simple as who would inherit the family’s Nincada. It was a fine Pokémon born from fine, well-trained parents, and it packed both quite a few egg moves and a prestige that would allow it to fare well in contests. It was a tradition that the oldest child would get it, but since the two were twins and their birth time only minutes apart, the two’s parents figured it wasn’t a fair way to judge. Not that Jo complained; she was the one born a few minutes after. Meanwhile, while the Nincada remained in the care of their mother, the two were both given a Budew to help them with their chores.
As years passed and the two were taught the ways of a proper lady however, their similarities started to diminish; Madeline was fast to adapt whatever was taught to her from manners to etiquette, while Jo really wasn’t. She didn’t have as much interest to learn as her sister in the first place, and constant failures to walk properly or hold her utensils in the proper angle made her even less eager to keep going. Her sister was always better than her at everything they were taught and for someone whose entire childhood had consisted of nothing but competing with her, it was really tough. As such, Jocelyn decided not to even try anymore. She went back to being the over-energetic kid rolling around in mud all day long with her Budew, trying to catch Pokémon and train her partner to be “the best ever” as she put it. She was more interested in training than etiquette anyway, and she was better at it too, to boot. It was clear she had no will to inherit the shop by that point. She also wasn’t that interested in magic and Mages, unlike her sister and most of the rest of her family. Her father was a wizard and her mother a Mage, both specializing in grass types as the family’s tradition had it. It was expected, then, that at least one of the two should also have the potential to become a Mage and continue the tradition. Jocelyn wasn’t interested. Having watched so many trainers pass by and train in the forest, she was much more interested in pursuing that particular career. She trained her Budew for fighting, not for contests, showing off or acting as a Mage’s aid or helping around the shop. Her Budew was powerful, and using it for anything else but battling would be a waste to her. And so, Jocelyn started to gather a team of Pokémon for herself. She caught a Lotad from the area South-East to their home, and had a horde of Wurmple she trained and evolved. Most of them left once they were adults and could fly, but she didn’t mind. She had fun. Her family had never owned anything but Bug and Grass types, and when young she followed at least that tradition… for a while.
Both of the girls took the tests to find out their potential for magic, and both of them passed. Madeline was always the one more interested in the job however, and since her parents didn’t want to force her, they mostly left Jo to her own devices while they taught her sister spells and the way of magic. Jo was perfectly happy with this set up too; more time for her to train! And yet, as she grew older still, she found out that she just wasn’t pleased with merely Bug and Grass types. She felt it limited her skill as a trainer, and that there was absolutely no reason why she shouldn’t strengthen her team with types that could, for example, counter the nasty Flying types that proved a constant threat to her dream of greatness.
At first, Jocelyn did try to find an alternative route to defeating flying types, however. She took her Pokémon and wandered off into the depths of the forest one day, looking for a flock of Taillow. She started throwing rocks at them in an attempt to get them mad and make them attack, as she wanted to train her Pokémon to try and be able to counter their pecks. That backfired horribly, however; not only were her Pokémon partners quick to faint under the birds’ relentless attacks, Jocelyn herself got hurt as well. That made her develop a certain trauma for flying types and especially birds, and want to branch out of using just Bug and Grass types even more. So, as her father traveled around the region selling flowers, Jocelyn hoped along and kept an eye out for any Pokémon she might want to add to her collection. This is when she caught her Numel. Her parents weren’t happy about her bringing a fire type – and a young and inexperienced one at that – near all the precious flowers and Pokémon it might destroy or hurt on accident however, and so the Numel had to be kept outside the house and garden at all times. Jocelyn protested to no avail, and ended up just spending even more time out of the house herself.
Madeline’s ceremony came and went, and eventually it was time for her to set out into the world as a Novice Mage. Her parents were joyous and as a parting gift they gave her the Nincada the two sisters had been fighting over ever since young. While an understandable decision given Jo’s attitude, she still felt deeply betrayed by it. The Nincada wasn’t just a thing to be inherited; it had become her friend during all her years of training it along with her other Pokémon. It wasn’t supposed to be used just as a trophy to show off. It was strong, it should have gotten to battle! Nincada itself didn’t really mind however, and so Jocelyn’s protests went unheard. She was also told that now that her sister left, she would need to assume more responsibility over the shop. You can probably guess how well that went over. After a few months of constant fights, frustration and bickering, she finally set out as well in order to pursue her dream of becoming the Trainer Champion at the age of 14. She had a little brother aged four anyway, he could take care of her parents and the shop once he grew up.
The last time she saw her sister was when they met during a festival and she acquired her Shedinja two years later. The next she heard of her, she… had lost most of her Mage powers and had fallen very ill. And, by the time Jocelyn had gotten home to see her, she had already passed away. To this day it isn't known what in the world happened to her, but there are a lot of theories going around. Regardless, the family was in mild state of chaos after her passing, and it was evident her parents had been really stressed out even before it. Everyone grieved and Jocelyn felt, above everything else, guilty for having hated her the last time she saw her for abandoning her Shedinja. She also felt guilty for having abandoned her family when they had seriously needed someone to help them with the shop. She never could say that, however. She never apologized, never offered her condolences, and never stuck around. All she did was shed her tears and then run off again, not at all sure of her destination.
Then, once she turned eighteen, she made her decision. While Pokémon training was still close to her heart and her dream, she decided to become a Mage as well. Her family considered it very important to have one in the family and so her becoming one was her way to make amends. She never told about it to her parents however, as she couldn’t return home out of guilt. Also, perhaps, just perhaps if she became a Mage and traveled some more, she could find out what happened to her sister. That, and, although she feels like a horrible human being admitting it (which is why she never does admit it), she wants to best her sister once more. Madeline was a rather well-known Mage before her passing. Now, she would become an even better one.
Spells Known:
Detect Magic: Standard issue.
Mail: Standard issue.
Growth: By steadying her aura and focusing her powers, Jocelyn’s magical prowess grows for a while and makes any subsequent spells more powerful. This also causes whatever vegetation is near her to grow a tad (for example, it can turn buds into flowers and speed up the growth of saplings).
Absorb: Using her magic, Jo concentrates a green aura around her target, and then has it close in. As it does, it saps the target’s life energy and then rushes it back to her, revitalizing her a tad. If something interrupts her mid-spell before the energy can return to her, it’s returned to the target. This requires concentration which she… often doesn’t have, unfortunately.
Guardian
Name: Rosemary, “Rosie”
Species: Petilil
Ability: Own Tempo
Personality: When Jo named her Pokémon she used flowers, picking ones whose meanings were true to the Pokémon’s personality. The same goes for her Guardian. Rosemary symbolizes remembrance, which is exactly why Jo uses this particular name before she even realizes it; the young Petilil reminds her of herself when she was young and trying to be like her sister, to the point she finds it both annoying and slightly unnerving, and is basis for the way she sometimes mistreats her. It’s more out of fear of remembering than anything else. She’ll also take the habit to call her “Rosie” really fast for the same reason.
Rosemary’s very ladylike and proper, polite, kind and calm and always looking out for others and wanting to make a good impression – all the things her human partner isn’t anymore (or at least, won’t admit to being). In that sense, Rosie represents the hidden, forgotten traits Jocelyn used to have when young, the ones she first denied out of fear of failure and then genuinely forgot were ever even part of her. Similarly, Rosemary also has a hidden temper and a sense of recklessness her human partner has, even if she won’t admit it to herself. In a way, the both of them represent what the other lacks or hides, and should the both of them learn to accept all aspects of themselves, they would turn out very similar.
Moves: Absorb, Growth
Pokémon
Name: Edelweiss
Species: Roserade
Gender: Male
Origin: Edelweiss was Jocelyn’s first Pokémon, given to her as a Budew when she was around five to help out around the shop. Jo has been training him ever since, and he has become arguably the most powerful member of her team. Her family gave her the needed evolution stone around the same time her sister completed her ceremony, to try and make Jocelyn not feel so left out of the festivities.
Ability: Natural Cure
Personality: Edelweiss symbolizes noble purity and courage, and this Pokémon does indeed possess both. Having a good sense of justice and the maturity of someone way beyond his years, Edelweiss is often the voice of reason among the team. He’s calm and reasonable, and has charisma – at least among Pokémon – to make others actually listen to him. Jocelyn both loves and respects him a great deal, and isn’t above listening to his advice when the situation calls for it.
Although seeming to be always serene and peace-loving, Edelweiss is actually a very proud creature who surprisingly enough loves to do battle. He loves testing his skills and says battling is good for keeping both the mind and the body active. He always strives to be number one and win, and when every other Pokémon has stopped training for the day, he often continues on late into the night. Also, even though he is often very mature, losing is not something he takes all that well, a trait he shares with his trainer. Whenever he has been bested, he tends to grow quieter and start to push himself a bit too hard to make sure the same thing never repeats. At this point, it’s often Jo who has to knock some sense into her companion. When winning Edelweiss appears really humble however, and he absolutely does not want credit for a win he doesn’t feel he deserves.
Even if he’s usually generally nice and rather fatherly, Edelweiss is not a good Pokémon to go to for confidence boosts. He thinks that if a person doesn’t believe in themselves, then no other person will and should, either. He isn’t one to comfort Jo when she’s sad, but he’s definitely the one to give her a speech on how unsightly she looks crying over things she could very well change which, in Jocelyn’s case, works a lot better in making her stand up again anyway. No matter what however, Edelweiss doesn’t mean ill, and respects his trainer much the same way as she respects him.
Moves: Petal Dance, Grasswhistle, Giga Drain, Leech Seed
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Name: Oleander, “Olly”
Species: Lombre
Gender: Male
Origin: The second Pokémon Jo caught when around eight years old. Oleander, sometimes referred to simply as Ol or Olly, has been with her ever since. She found him lost near the Southern exit of Petalburg Woods, and managed to catch him with her Budew’s help. He hasn’t yet evolved, because Jo still hasn’t managed to get her mitts on the stone that would allow him to do so. It’s one of her goals to find that Water Stone soon however.
Ability: Rain Dish
Personality: Oleander means caution. This Lombre is very shy and reluctant to get to know people, always preferring to hide behind her trainer’s leg or spend time inside his Pokéball whenever possible. He’s very careful about trusting or liking people, for the sole reason that that’s how he is. At the same time, he’s very rational and logical, able to come up with solutions her trainer never could due to her hot-headedness. Olly is a rather intelligent Pokémon ad a good strategist, often being able to act in battles on his own without being directed. He shares his trainer’s fear of flying types and birds however, and is bound to become a nervous wreck whenever one is near. Introverted and shy, Oleander is also very quiet. This is doubly so whenever he’s around females; for as long as he can remember it was just Jo, him and Roserade, so he isn’t used to dealing with pretty ladies. He never really interacted with Jo’s sister or family, after all.
Still, even though often humble and the first one to step back should conflict arise, Oleander takes battles very seriously. If he absolutely has to fight he will, and he will do it to the very last breath. He’s also very proud whenever he manages to win and it acts as a big, well-needed boost to his otherwise lackluster self-confidence. He’s a very poor choice for double battles though; the pride he always feels during battles hardly allows him to accept help. Unless, of course, it comes in the form of a delicious berry to restore health; he’s a glutton at heart, even if he hides it out of embarrassment.
Moves: Fake Out, Nature Power, Bubblebeam, Mega Drain
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Name: Balm
Species: Camerupt
Gender: Female
Origin: Jo captured her as a Numel during one of her father’s trips to sell flowers near Hoenn’s hot springs to tourists. She was something Jocelyn deliberately went to look for, as she believed a fire type would be great in taking care of all the nasty ice and bug types that might threaten her team.
Ability: Solid Rock
Personality: With a name meaning empathy, Balm acts as a mother hen to both Jo and her team. While she used to be rather timid when a Numel, evolving has since given her self-confidence and a very caring nature. She’s a pacifist through and through, and hates pointless violence and arguments. She tries to get through every problem without having to resort to an exchange of blows, and dislikes her trainer’s short temper and pride. She doesn’t hate Jo for them, but they make her seem like a child in need of guidance to this fire type. She’s very soft-spoken and mild, and anything she does she does with an aura of tranquility about her. She is also admittedly lazy; work isn’t much to her liking, and there is nothing more relaxing to her than enjoying a quiet day outside in the sun. In that vein, she acts a bit older than she really is; like an ever-wise grandmother to the rest of the team.
Although not a fan of them, she doesn’t mind battles that much. She isn’t one to engage in them for fun, but won’t refuse to partake in them either, as long as the battle has been agreed upon in advance and is friendly. She doesn’t really like helping in catching wild Pokémon, however. She’s also very clumsy; a trait she hasn’t shed even after evolving.
Moves: Lava Plume, Magnitude, Focus Energy, Flame Burst
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Name: Teasel
Species: Shedinja
Gender: Genderless, referred to as a male
Origin: When Madeline’s Nincada evolved and left behind the empty shell it used to reside in, this Shedinja was born. As it turned out though, her sister didn’t take it with her. Not only did she not know the empty shell was a Pokémon as well, she had no room for any more Pokémon in her team. The Shedinja, of course, didn’t know that, and thought the abandoning was deliberate. Jo came across him very soon afterwards and, after having seen her sister with a Ninjask, instantly realized what had happened. As such, she was quick to pick the poor boy up and take him for herself. Well, at least, she refers to it as a boy since Nincada was one. Teasel doesn’t seem to have any objections. He knows a few egg moves due to the tradition of breeding a new Nincada for the family’s children to inherit when old enough.
Ability: Wonder Guard
Personality: Teasel symbolizes Misanthropy, and that describes this Ghost-type rather well. Having been abandoned soon after birth, this Pokémon holds great resentment towards humans – and humanity in general. To begin with, all the positive feelings he held as a Nincada went away with the newly born Ninjask, so there was never any chance for him to be a positive Pokémon in the first place. Being abandoned just made it worse, and now the only things left are hatred and fear, sadness and solitude, as well as mistrust of anything human.
Teasel is a very stoic and solemn Pokémon, as well as a mute; he never speaks, he rarely moves, and the rare times he feels anything it’s bound to be negative. He’s cold as a glacier once he enters battle. He’s not ruthless nor cruel; just cold. He feels nothing if he loses nor if he wins, he just continues to exist. Teasel also hates most other Pokémon, considering them luckier than he is for actually having been born of parents unlike him. He doesn’t view himself as a proper Pokémon, more a ghost, and is very bitter. He thinks it’s the reason he wasn’t allowed to go with his previous trainer.
Yet, underneath it all, Teasel still feels a certain attachment to the family that used to raise him, especially to his current trainer. While he used to love both twin sisters when he was a Nincada, when he evolved, all the feelings and the love he held for Madeline became a part of the Ninjask she left with. The same thing happened with his memories; all he remembers of the other sister now is her leaving him behind. He has a fear of abandonment due to that, and whenever he’s out f his Pokéball, he gets very clingy and never leaves Jo’s side. He’s also extremely protective, so approaching her when he’s around should be done with extreme caution.
Moves: Fury Swipes, Spite, Faint Attack (egg move), Bug Bite (egg move)
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Name: Eupatorium, “Eupy"
Species: Chinchou
Gender: Male
Origin: Another Pokémon Jocelyn actually went to look for. Due to her fear of Flying types, she felt like she needed an Electric Pokémon to protect her should she ever be faced with a bunch of them. Although there were quite a few options as far as Electric Pokémon went, she also wanted a water type to help with Fire Pokémon; another type her two strongest Pokémon wouldn’t fare that well against. Her choice was easy after that. It took her quite a bit of searching the Oceans after leaving home, but eventually she did come across what she was looking for with the help of her Lombre. She caught the first Chinchou she found, and admittedly sometimes wonders if she should have been a bit more patient and waited for another one; this one drives her up the wall at times.
Ability: Volt Absorb
Personality: His name means delay, and that’s exactly something that can be observed in him whatever he does. Whenever he’s given an order to attack, to retreat or dodge he’ll be slow to respond, seeming like he’s constantly in his own little world from which he only occasionally returns to the present. Jo herself has described him as acting like someone cast Confuse Ray on him and he never snapped out of the confusion. When left to his own devices he tends to just float around, not always even aware of the danger he might face and not looking where he’s going. He’s a daydreamer of the worst sort, and his dream? Impossible. You see, even though his trainer hates flying types more than anything, this particular sea Pokémon has always had a fascination with the skies, and his dream is to one day just float around among the clouds with no care in the world.
His overly carefree, lazy attitude often makes Jo lose her marbles, but she still cares for the Pokémon and actually depends on him a lot. He’s the only one fully capable of fending off birds and the like, after all. It might be that Euphy notices that, as when Jo is seriously in danger, a much more serious side of the Pokémon gets revealed – if only momentarily. He’s capable of some really powerful attacks every now and then, but most of the time he’s very difficult to train as he isn’t exactly suited for battle. Still, he’s very loyal.
Moves: Spark, Confuse Ray, Thunder Wave, Water Gun