Pokemon Trainers Pearl and Platinum [Inactive]

Born in Jubilife, Sinnoh, Pearl was an accident, oops; his arrival forced his fairly young mother to end her ballet career. His father, Palmer, had been about to divorce his wife; Pearl's arrival made him do it faster. Being all his mother had left of his father, she simultaneously adored Pearl and couldn't stand him. She blamed Pearl for Palmer's departure, but at the same time, he looked too much like his daddy for her to put him up for adoption. So she moved to Twinleaf to start over someplace where no one knew her.

As the child grew up, his mother spent some days clinging to him and others pushing him away; she told him endless stories about Palmer; she heroworshipped him and wanted Pearl to know the god of a man who was his father. The woman was jealous over affection her son gave to other people; if she was stuck with him then he was going to give all her attention to her. And so Pearl developed a coping mechanism; be in a constant rush and you'll never be around long enough for the words to stick or to notice when she turned away from him. He made friends with a shy young boy from Jubilife, Lucas, who he nicknamed Diamond because of the phrase "diamond in the rough." He and Diamond became fast, close friends, though he kept his mother's nature hidden from him to avoid the humiliation of his mother's behavior.

Pearl's mother was reluctant to let him set out on his journey with Diamond, but did so under the impression he'd soon come home. The boys met Platinum thanks to the fiasco on the shores of lake Verity in which they nearly got murdered by territorial Starly, and it was not long before they formed a tight knit group. Pearl's personal mission for this journey: find dad.

Then Galactic happened. Pearl's personal mission was set aside as he and his friends struggled to stop the group and their terrifying mission. As he helped his friends quell the organization's efforts, Pearl realized he would not come out of this the same when he failed to save Uxie from Jupiter. It was a sobering thought, something he reflected quietly on by himself after their unprecedented adventure while Platinum and Diamond went on to challenge the Champion. He beat the gyms, but he was no match for the E4, and some self reflection would be preferable to embarrassing himself in front of so many cool people at the Pokemon League. Thankfully this self reflection was cut short by Diamond and Pearl's victories and their subsequent departure for the Battle Resort; while insightful, it was somewhat painful to come to terms with his own weaknesses, and he'd been stressed enough before this started. A break was desperately needes.

It was not something he'd get.

Upon arriving at the Battle Resort, Pearl found his father; amazed at how far he'd gone in the realm of battling, he was totally awed by him. He constantly feared not living up to his father's expectations, afraid that Palmer would no longer want him if he realized he was just an ordinary Trainer instead of the child wonders his friends were. The two bonded, but Palmer was too afraid of his insane former wife to want to deal with her by helping Pearl, finding excuses to ditch the boy whenever he brought up needing help with her. When Pearl finally ventured home and seemed way too close to his friends for comfort, his mother begged him never to date or marry.

"What would you know about that kind of love; you've never seen it!  Broken kids from broken homes can't make that sort of thing work; stay with me. I'll give you all the love you'll ever need."

He refused to not date, but agreed to stay with her, taking pity on the woman who had nothing else but the son she half didn't want and half could not live without. Occasionally she would become too much and he would have to leave for a time, staying at the Villa that Platinum had purchased, where he would frequently find his friends. It wasn't a super peaceful life, bouncing from his childhood home and abusive mother to his escape home to spend time among his friends and father, but it was something, at least, and he was appreciative of that.  

Then one day his father merely vanished from his home; though he suspected his mother finally found him and was part of why he was missing, she refused to confirm or deny that.

The epidemic rolled through just weeks later and Pearl was devastated to find his mother missing when he left the villa to find her. However, his Diamond and Platinum were there, and he stuck by them, grateful for that one small mercy in this world of death. They survived together just as they always had, their strength and the power of their Pokemon granting them a fair amount of safety in the violence of this new world. It would be three and a half years before he and Platinum finally became an item, and now things are starting to get interesting.

Pearl has read about this cave, and if he's right, help may lie just inside...

:leo: Lucas "Diamond": His childhood friend, Pearl and Diamond are very close.  Despite this, conceals as much about his home life as he can from him.  With only some success.  His mother is thankfully not willing to be a full on bitch in front of other people, but she's not above embarrassing passive aggression which Diamond noticed but does not know the reason behind.  He was nicknamed "Diamond" because of Pearl's assertion when they were children that he is a "diamond in the rough."

:leo: Platinum: BFF and also girlfriend; fears losing her love and is very confused as to why she'll date him but not be affectionate with him... yet she'll be sweet with Diamond, often cuddling him and speaking lovingly to him.  It drives Pearl insane; he can't understand it and it frightens him, that she may leave him because he isn't good enough.  He desperately needs this to work.

:leo: Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf: met them because of Galactic; he does not pray to them because Pearl knows they are not omnipotent or omnipresent, but he rubs the Uxie figurine on his necklace whenever he is praying to Arceus for wisdom, as if hoping Uxie can somehow hear him and will grant him the intelligence he's sure he doesn't have.  He feels a special connection to Uxie, likely because of the Lake Acuity incident, but possibly also because he is more intelligent than he believes he is.

:leo: Palmer: His father. Convinced he can do no wrong, despite the fact that the man refused to help him with his abusive mother.  Was devastated when he vanished.

:leo: Jupiter: fuck this lady

-we changed things from game canon around so that all three kids had a hand in Galactic's downfall instead of the protag doing almost all the work and the professor's assistance being shunted
-slow the fuck down you dumbass
-this kid went from fairly lighthearted to needing therapy in my development of him rip Pearl

Born into one of the oldest and wealthiest families of Sinnoh, Platinum was harshly trained to uphold her family's perfect image; from the time she could walk she was taught all the nuances of doing so. How to walk, how to dress, how to speak, the correct amount to eat so she wouldn't get fat. While other children were learning how to scribble shapes onto paper with crayon and their ABCs, Platinum was writing small words. Her tutors smoothed out the harsh edges of her development, slapping her hand or face when the answer was incorrect, the movement wrong, or the child rebellious. She became aware of an affair her father had with a house maid that looked more like her than her supposed mother and began to realize a likely reason why her mother refused to show her affection of any sort. At age ten Platinum was allowed to leave, her parents deciding it was time the world see what would be their legacy, though her journey had some stipulations.

She was not to partake in pokemon battles, a practice her parents found to be barbaric; instead she was to do only contests, using preapproved pokemon that her mother would obtain for her.  She was to stay with a bodyguard at all times, and call in weekly to tell them where she was and what she was doing.  She was not to embarrass their family or be too familiar with the little people.  She was to please those of her own societal standing when possible, even if it meant doing something she did not want to.  Platinum agreed to all these things and left with a Ponyta her mother gifted to her as a start to what the woman demanded be a successful contest career.

The girl promptly ran the fuck away once let loose, drugging her bodyguard and giving him the slip. Having planned this day for the past year, she set about disguising herself immediately, cutting her hair and ditching her upper class clothing. She'd never been allowed outside the mansion walls or near the media, and her parents wouldn't want a big scandal over this, so Platinum was banking on the idea that using the news to locate her would be considered an impossible option for them. Therefore, as long as she stayed out of any limelight, she should be fine. And so, she traveled to the other side of the region and settled into Sandgem, living in the streets of the little town. After a short time she was taken in by a family of three and adopted a new persona in order to make herself more marketable to them, so they would want to keep her. It wasn't long before the girl attracted the attention of Professor Rowan and became his assistant against what may have been her better judgement, not wanting to try to come up with a believable (because there wasn't one) excuse as to why she would not jump at the opportunity. And thus, Platinum picked a starter of her own and got to work, refusing to appear on television so as to continue to hide from her biological family. Rowan was surprisingly acceptive of her aversion to cameras and protected the girl from the public eye, letting her work and learn in peace. She maintained the secret of her past and her new persona for a very long time, all through Galactic's nonsense, even helping on some occasions to take them down a few pegs. Through the adventures she found herself genuinely enjoying her companions and allowed bits of her true self to shine through, dropping the bubbly persona at times and finding they still liked her even when she was dry and sarcastic.

Galactic itself was a nightmare. The insane ideas they had would result in the destruction of everything, and while a thoughtful, perceptive teenager, Platinum was overwhelmed by just how big Galactic's plans were. It was with great determination and anger that she set about crushing the group's efforts, particularly enraged by their mistreatment of the three pixies she rescued from Veilstone. Though a harrowing ordeal, she and her friends emerged victorious, quelling Giratina's rage and watching the Legend retreat. Their trip to Stark Mountain marked the end of that ordeal and Platinum could not have been more relieved.  

After the events of Galactic she revealed her true first name to her friends and told them she was 'adopted,' though maintained most of the lie she'd wrought. The three friends resumed their adventures across the region, picking up badges; Platinum even beat the Champion, though she handed the title right back and disappeared before the media even knew Cynthia had been defeated. From there the teenagers went to the Resort, hitting the three major areas on the island, Platinum negotiating the purchase of the Villa for them and spending so much time at the Battle Frontier that the vendors came to know her by name. For a while, life overall was quiet and peaceful; Platinum made some progress towards finding herself as she continued to allow herself, little by little, to contemplate things she never had before. For so much of her life, the wants of others had dictated her actions; even when her parents were out of the picture, she had maintained a persona so that her adoptive family would like her. All of her choices in their home had been based on what she thought they would most like to see. But here, in this villa where she spent most of her time, there was nobody to appease. Her boys knew her for the person she truly was, even if they did not know the truth of her past, exactly, and they liked that person. With nobody to please, her room became a reflection of her changing soul as she began to fill it with things she liked, becoming a blend of the girly aesthetic she had back at her room with her adoptive parents and something a little more resembling punk-rock. At an age where teenagers would try on selves and discard them like old jeans until they found something they truly liked, Platinum realized the same opportunity was open to her, too. She was young, and healthy, and free. There was nobody to cater to. She could take as much time trying to figure herself out as she liked.

But then within a few years the epidemic swept through and destroyed the life Platinum had so grown to love, had felt so much hope for. Unwilling to fold, and grateful that her best friends survived, she led them across the ravaged lands in search of someplace safe to settle down, in the process drawing closer to them than ever before and even admitting her feelings for her silly, scatterbrained Pearl, though she had to once again withdraw into her shell. Only one 'self' would do in these times, and that was the stoic, no-nonsense girl who had first set out into the world all that time ago.

Now Pearl has stopped them at a cave, babbling that he knows there is a legend within it. Might as well humor him; the three of them can hopefully seek the sleeping legend's help and are no doubt strong enough to reach him.

:cancer: Pearl:  She loves Pearl dearly and finds his recklessness and hyperactivity endearing, but can just as easily be exasperated or even annoyed by it depending on her mood.  She has seen his sweet side but due to the fact that he does not seem to need her affection the way Diamond does, she makes the mistake of refusing to reciprocate his affections in any way he can understand.  Essentially her failing with him is communication, and the same can be said of him, as he doesn't plainly state that he needs attention and affection from her.

:cancer: Diamond: She adores him and protects him fiercely, giving him extra attention and affection because of his emotional frailty.  Despite generally not being an affectionate person, Diamond's sweetness draws it out of her, both because of her desire to protect and her desire to encourage him.  She is all to happy to bolster him because he is very obvious in his need for occasional help.    

Cynthia:  Enjoyed the Champion's assistance and company throughout the ordeal with Galactic; later took her on for the Champion title and won by the skin of her teeth, but passed the title back.  She'd merely wanted to win, not keep the position.

:leo: Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf: met these three because of Galactic; she doesn't pray to any of them but feels a special connection to Azelf, probably due to being such a willful person.  She would like to see them again.

:cancer: Saturn: Utterly despised him for what he did to Valor and the way he spoke of the pixies when she found him.  Pearl's recap of his conversation with the commander after things had settled and he found him surprised her.  She never really forgave him so much as she forgot about him; nothing he said got under her skin, so she didn't really have any lasting emotional scars from her encounter with him.

:cancer: Mars:  I dunno which kid encountered her yet oops

:cancer: [url=???]Jupiter[/url]:  Hates her; she can go burn.  Jupiter's remarks to Pearl continues to effect the boy and while they urged some maturity in him, they did so in a harsh, unforgivable way.  

:cancer: Palmer:  Never really understood what was up with Pearl's father.  She prefers to let him talk about it whenever he is ready, and honestly does not suspect his family affairs are as bad as they are.

:cancer: [url=???]Charon[/url]: Creepy old man.  She saw him a total of twice and was pleased to hear he was apprehended.

-Platinum has some things from game canon as well as manga canon, mashed together
-"Dawn" was the alias she went by when her new family took her in