[hider=Cora] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/07IZ4eu.jpg[/img] [b][color=#34eb77]Name:[/color][/b] Cora [b][color=#34eb77]Age:[/color][/b] 15 [b][color=#34eb77]Gender:[/color][/b] Female [b][color=#34eb77]Nationality:[/color][/b] Hoennian [/center] [hr] [b][color=#34eb77]Personality:[/color][/b] Cora is a reserved girl, though not for dislike of others. While she does often need time alone and in quiet, she's still social in the sense that she enjoys the company of others, and is almost never seen without a soft smile on her face--she just has always had a bit of a hard time making real friends due to her family so often moving around, resulting in her appearing content to simply stay off to the side in peace and quiet. She comes off as collected at first appearance, and while that impression isn't exactly false, she is actually rather excitable at heart. In the presence of those she's comfortable with, her guard is let down and she'll show this side of her more often--a bit socially inept, but earnest, determined and quietly passionate. Outside of these moments, she is often deep in her own thoughts, every word she says and every action taken measured beforehand for fear of looking silly. Though this sometimes results in just that when she's so caught up in overanalyzing that she misses the most obvious things, like somebody simply trying to get her attention. In this sense, she can be self-absorbed and maybe not so thoughtful due to inaction when she doesn't want to do something wrong. As a result of her tendency to overthink when given the time, she does best in situations where she simply [i]doesn't[/i] have the opportunity to dwell. Her first instincts are usually the right ones, allowing her to display an impressive quick-wittedness when self-created mental blocks aren't in the way. This is part of the reason she's found she really enjoys being a Pokemon Trainer--active battle leaves her with a very clear, very finite amount of time to consider her course of action. Rather than being uncomfortable with this, it's these kinds of situations that have her feeling as confident as ever--something she still finds herself surprised by, having convinced herself her entire life she could never be good at something so exciting. Maybe it really shouldn't be a surprise, though. Cora's been an adventurous girl since she could crawl. Her feelings that she couldn't ever be as accomplished as the other members of her family--and her difficulty being open with others--may have tempered the adrenaline and attention-seeking nature hers, but it was always there, just a breath below the surface. [b][color=#34eb77]Biography:[/color][/b] [hider] Cora led an active life, born in Hoenn to parents who could never stay in one place for any significant amount of time. As a result, she lived always feeling like she needed to keep up, and struggled to do so. Her father was an enthusiastic Pokemon Trainer who successfully completed Gym Challenges in several regions over a pair of decades, while her mother was a Pokemon Nurse that was more than happy to follow her husband around the world, finding work wherever they went easily enough thanks to her talent. On top of that, Cora had a brother eight years older than her named Soren. For as long as she's known, Soren had effortlessly been following in their father's footsteps, exploring Sinnoh and Unova alongside his father. Cora sat by with her mother and watched the two from afar, wishing to be able to do the same. She was too young though. She also was very different from the rest of her family--where they all seemed to ooze confidence and talent at the things they tried, the young Cora had a hard time speaking in front of any unfamiliar face and would flinch when large pokemon came near her. The girl convinced herself early on that she was different and unexceptional, choosing to keep her real desires to herself and simply allow herself to be dragged along with her family--something that helped satiate those desires, as she got to explore a great many different regions. To help her with her apparent discomfort around pokemon as a child, her father began to catch pokemon with the intention to raise them up and give them to young trustworthy trainers he met along the way. These pokemon were usually at the family's home, with Cora helping care for them. Along with this, her father's pokemon were often around her, trained very well and happy to keep the child company. The exposure therapy of sorts worked, and it was due to this habit of her father's that Cora officially received her first pokemon. Despite all constant company of pokemon in the house, she had found herself feeling perpetually lonely and sad. Her brother had recently left the family household to travel to Kanto and better himself as a trainer there. What got her out of this rut was her father bringing home a pokemon egg one day. Having never seen one before, Cora's curiosity was piqued and she found herself caring for the egg every chance she got under the guidance of her mother. Of course, the egg eventually hatched with Cora being lucky enough to have been watching as it happened, revealing a little Snorunt. It was love at first sight for the girl. For the Snorunt's part, she was more than happy to accept the affections of Cora, and the two quickly grew inseparable as she cared for it like it was her own pokemon. A couple of months later, Cora turned eleven years old, and for the occasion her father let her know that Snorunt was officially hers now. Somehow, the girl hadn't been expecting that, even though there was no chance their parents could have ever even considered the idea of giving the pokemon away to someone else. She was overjoyed, to say the least, and gave her pokemon the name 'Yuki.' [hr] Life continued, with Cora more willing to head out into the different places her family visited with Yuki by her side to help keep her safe. The pair found that the Snorunt rarely ever had to defend her though, as she seemed to have a very easy time befriending pokemon--it also helped that they never ventured anywhere that more aggressive pokemon were known to be. With this apparent talent discovered, Cora enjoyed helping her father gather pokemon to give out to young kids like her, hoping that they'd be as happy to have a companion as she was with Yuki. As Cora's father aged, he began to slow down, finding himself satisfied enough with his career as a Trainer. The family spent longer and longer periods of time at each new home. Currently living in Damascus Town in the Chromis region--a place they had lived in before when Cora's father and brother had participated in the International League. Evidently, her parents had greatly enjoyed their time there, making quick friends with many of the locals. Cora found herself wondering about the International League, realizing it would be occurring again within a year's time. Her brother would certainly be coming to the region to participate, though her father told her he himself wasn't planning on taking part this time around. With the event looming and buzzing in the back of her mind, she found herself exploring the Damascus Mines with Yuki again, though on this day she went a bit deeper than usual, a pounding in her chest pushing her forward. It was here that she encountered a Mawile that had a poor attitude, to put it one way. The creature immediately acted hostile, leaping towards the pair and snapping at them with its large jaws. Though Yuki went to strike at it immediately to protect Cora, the girl stopped her pokemon, noticing something off. In the dim light, she could see the Mawile's leg was badly wounded. Cora slowly approached the pokemon, taking a potion out of her knapsack. Despite her efforts, the Mawile was still off-put enough to snap at her again, this time clamping it's jaw down on the girl's arm. Cora bit her tongue hard to avoid yelping, not wanting to aggravate the Mawile further. Yuki rustled, clearly stressed by the situation and seeing her trainer being hurt, but obeyed Cora's gentle order to stay put. With her attention back to the Mawile that had a grip on her, she reassured the pokemon and slowly applied a spray of the potion to its wound. The Mawile's real face's expression slowly began to shift from the anger it had been showing, confused as to why the human it was attacking wasn't doing anything in retaliation. Its grip on Cora's arm began to loosen. After the full application of the potion, the Mawile visibly began to relax, finally relenting and fully letting go of Cora's now bloodied arm. The pokemon dropped in exhaustion, having been running on adrenaline for a long while by Cora's guess. It let itself be gently scooped up by the girl, and she hurried back to her mother, who was not the happiest camper at the sight she was met with. A few days later, the Mawile had made a full recovery. Cora herself was on her way, more than a little sore from the stitched wounds beneath the tight medical bandage that wrapped around her forearm, but happy as could be--especially seeing the Mawile willfully hanging around her. The pokemon always stayed at least a couple feet away in public, but when there was no one else around, she would often gently cling to Cora's clothing with either an arm or her large mouth. 'Ku' was the name Cora gave her. And Cora realized she had her second pokemon. [hr] With the experience of that encounter under her belt, she found the International League once again at the front of her thoughts. Maybe she [i]could[/i] be a decent Pokemon Trainer. And if she were to finally try her hand at that dream, what better place to begin than this league. The fact that it was extremely competitive was certainly more than a little nerve-wracking, but with all her effort, there was no better way to learn and improve than to be in the thick of it with Trainers from around the world. At first, she voiced these thoughts to Yuki and Ku, and she could tell they were on board. With the boost in confidence, she spoke with her parents, and they were more than happy to support her--evidently having been waiting for something of the sort for a few years now. Cora had picked up on a lot of information second-hand with all the pokemon talk that had happened in her household, but she still felt clueless overall. In the months leading up to the start of the league after the girl's mind had been properly made up, her father began to teach her. There wasn't much time, so it was very much a crash course, but by the end of it her father declared her 'graduated' and a real Trainer, and somehow, this informal celebration was the proudest Cora had ever felt--it helped that her father was seemingly even more excited to see her take the step. As a last gift and bit of help, Cora was given an egg by her father for the second time, courtesy of a pokemon breeder in the town. Flooded with memories of her time caring for Yuki when the Snorunt was a baby, Cora did much the same for this egg, though this time completely independent from the help of her mother. To Cora's excitement, it soon hatched into a Magby--the baby stage of Magmortar, a pokemon that had been on her father's team for years and that Cora had always thought was the coolest he had ever had. Like his typing, the young Magby immediately exhibited a fiery and passionate nature, ready to meet all of life's challenges head-on--perhaps the perfect boost to Cora's own attitude. As she began to raise the pokemon she had named 'Boo,' and watched him fight on and dive into things he had never tried before, her own deeply buried passion was slowly being dug up. And just in time for the International League, her own long-coming challenge. She was as ready as she'd ever be to dive into the world of pokemon battling.[/hider] [b][color=#34eb77]Trainer Bonus:[/color][/b] Breeder [b][color=#34eb77]Items:[/color][/b] [indent]- 5 Potions - 5 Pokeballs - 1 Revive[/indent] [hider=Pokemon Team] [img]https://img.pokemondb.net/sprites/black-white/normal/snorunt.png[/img] [indent] [b][color=#34eb77]Name:[/color][/b] Yuki [b][color=#34eb77]Species:[/color][/b] Snorunt [b][color=#34eb77]Gender:[/color][/b] Female [b][color=#34eb77]Ability:[/color][/b] Inner Focus [b][color=#34eb77]Battle Experience:[/color][/b] 3 [b][color=#34eb77]Moves:[/color][/b] [indent]- Icy Wind - Double Team - Protect - Astonish[/indent] [b][color=#34eb77]Extra Notes:[/color][/b] Hatched from an egg given to Cora by her father over half a decade ago, the two formed an instant connection and have been together since.[/indent] [hr] [img]https://img.pokemondb.net/sprites/black-white/normal/mawile.png[/img] [indent] [b][color=#34eb77]Name:[/color][/b] Ku [b][color=#34eb77]Species:[/color][/b] Mawile [b][color=#34eb77]Gender:[/color][/b] Female [b][color=#34eb77]Ability:[/color][/b] Intimidate [b][color=#34eb77]Battle Experience:[/color][/b] 3 [b][color=#34eb77]Moves:[/color][/b] [indent]- Iron Head - Bite - Fairy Wind - Iron Defense[/indent] [b][color=#34eb77]Extra Notes:[/color][/b] Encountered in the Damascus Mines when Cora went off exploring a bit too far. Ku had been recently injured and was quick to lash out against Cora, but the girl calmed the Mawile down and helped nurse her back to health. Ku became very attached to her afterwards.[/indent] [hr] [img]https://img.pokemondb.net/sprites/black-white/normal/magby.png[/img] [indent] [b][color=#34eb77]Name:[/color][/b] Boo [b][color=#34eb77]Species:[/color][/b] Magby [b][color=#34eb77]Gender:[/color][/b] Male [b][color=#34eb77]Ability:[/color][/b] Vital Spirit [b][color=#34eb77]Battle Experience:[/color][/b] 0 [b][color=#34eb77]Moves:[/color][/b] [indent]- Ember - Smog - Smokescreen - Barrier[/indent] [b][color=#34eb77]Extra Notes:[/color][/b] Cora's newest pokemon, received as an egg from a Pokemon Breeder in Damascus Town to celebrate her decision to participate in the International League. [/indent] [/hider] [/hider]