[b]Name:[/b] Grace Pascal

[b]Gender:[/b] Female

[b]Age:[/b] 18

[b]Appearance:[/b] 
[img]https://i.imgur.com/8It12Rx.jpg[/img]
In a region known for style, Grace's unkempt appearance ironically makes her stand out. Small and slight, with unassuming features, round glasses and messy dark green pigtails, she cultivates the nerdy bookworm look, wearing high-necked blouses, baggy cardigans and simple skirts. If the colours and patterns don't match, ehh, who cares? She's got better things to do than fret over the latest fashions. She typically carries herself with more confidence than you'd expect, although sometimes her wistful side will show when she lets her guard down.

[b]Personality:[/b] If Grace could describe herself in one word, it would be unapologetic. She strives to be the opposite of the popular, stuck up, image obsessed Lumiosians she's known - without acknowledging this can make her just as judgmental and arrogant as they are. She prides herself on her achievements, academic skills and independence, using this sense of superiority as a defense mechanism. Rarely will she admit to her own mistakes. Basically, she thinks she's more mature than she is.

While her abrasiveness doesn't make her many friends, she doesn't care, or at least she says she doesn't. She thinks most friendships between humans are fake and fickle, and only Pokemon are trustworthy. Besides, she's more focused on web design/graphic design. However, she does often find herself reminiscing about her former friends from long ago.

[b]History:[/b] Grace grew up in Lumiose to a Pokeball engineer mother and a freelance artist father, who both nurtured her creative and intellectual side. To ensure she got a good education, they enrolled her at the best school they could find. While balancing studies with a social life wasn't easy, and the shy, awkward personality she had back then didn't help, she was lucky enough to meet some good friends who accepted her into their group. 

For a short while, they were happy and carefree, however that wasn't to last. One close friend, Andre, as the son of two movie stars, quit to pursue his own acting career. She tried to hold on to those who were still around, but the teenage years changed things, and others' life events started getting in the way of their former bonds. She'd have become completely withdrawn if not for a group of girls who took pity on her. 

At first, she got along well with the confident and charismatic ringleader Camille. Sadly, Camille and the others turned out to be the kinds of people who built others up only to tear them down. Their interests changed to gossip, skipping school, and other risque behaviour expected by their peers. Grace would hear them trash talking her outfits behind her back. When she confronted Camille about it one day, her so called friend later responded by stealing her phone, showing everyone the "outdated and geeky" games on it. She spread rumours about her, and blabbed secrets Grace had confided. The bullying got so bad, Grace was eventually moved to a different school.

From then on, she decided to become the antithesis of the snobs who'd screwed her over so badly. She gave up on anything remotely fashionable and deliberately cultivated a bookish look. She glared at people from over textbooks if they laughed at her, and sometimes even if they didn't. She made no secret of her interests. Her attitude was "you all may be obsessed with the latest phones, but some day I'll be the one making the apps". Not wanting to risk betrayal again, she stayed at arms length from most people. She kept vaguely in touch with some others from Andre's group, but over time lost contact as it became clear they'd drifted apart. To cope with isolation, she threw herself into studies, as well as her hobbies of programming and digital art.

That her standoffish attitude concealed loneliness wasn't lost on her parents. On the day Grace turned sixteen, her mother gave her a Pokeball containing a Porygon. Grace and the Porygon, Vertex, became inseparable over the next two years. It was during those years that Grace considered becoming an official trainer, to prove her skill. To herself, that was! She was above caring what others thought, wasn't she?

The opportunity presented itself in an unexpected way when a letter came through the mail. Reading it brought a swell of anger. Andre, who'd [i]abandoned[/i] her and the others for his fifteen minutes of fame, now had the nerve to invite her on a Pokemon journey? She had a good mind to refuse, and go it alone.

Instead, she ended up at Vaniville, not knowing what had gotten into her and only hoping she didn't regret it.

[b]Other:[/b] Secretly a fan of Pokestar Studios movies. While she'd never admit to liking something so mainstream, instead claiming it's to "study special effects" or "compare them to the books" if anyone finds out, deep down she does admire talented actors. And the movies starring Andre make her nostalgic every time.


[b]Nickname:[/b] Vertex
[b]Species:[/b] Porygon
[b]Gender:[/b] None
[b]Personality:[/b] Smart and curious, Vertex loves to learn about the world, and meet others be they human or Pokemon. They're particularly interested in digital devices, and like to explore them in data form, sometimes accidentally corrupting files in the process.
[b]History:[/b] Gifted to Grace on her 16th birthday by her mother, Vertex has since then provided as much emotional support as their limited programming can bring.
[b]Other:[/b] The whites of their eyes are light blue.