Yaeko Draft

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Mishima Yaeko (18, born 95 AC (December 12))

Yaeko has rainbow dyed hair, is of moderate to short stature. She has a friendly smile on her face and is polite despite her general feelings. Yaeko wears a kimono in formal situations, but has a lot more clothing geared to being out in the wilderness for longer periods of time, or in hotter temperatures.

She is of moderate to muscular build, extremely well-endowed, and carries herself as if she's used to more rougher and wilder terrain.

Background

Yaeko was born to Yamada Shimizu (born 66 AC) and Mishima Kiryuu (born 67 AC). Her mother was a Pokemon Ranger often assigned to the Johto and Sinjoh Regions, and they settled in Mahogany Town (94 AC). Her father worked for a Pokemon tourist company nearby, and her mother often had enough downtime that Yaeko would have time with her.

It is perhaps natural that she would develop a strong affinity with Pokezoology, studying local Pidgey, Rattata and Sentret as a younger child, even if the study and conclusions were childish. She developed a lot of friendships with people who wanted to be trainers, and Yaeko looked forward to seeing how other pokemon were.

It is of note that her mother supported her, but her father did not feel it proper for her to be a pokemon trainer. He never explained reasons. Her life would be derailed with her mother's death in the line of duty in 108 AC as she tried to help re-enforce levees with her water-type pokemon. The flooding reached Blackthorn City all the way from the Sinjoh Ruins.

Her father moved from Mahogany Town that year to Rachenn, taking a job promotion offer. While Yaeko and her father often were distant, this increased the distance as he never explained more than this was good for his job. For one thing, Johto did it's journeys in the spring to summer, but Rachenn started it in January to July. By the time Yaeko could consider the journey without being devastated, it was 107 AC. And Yaeko was buried under in classes and long distance learning her father arranged to travel. In fairness, and Yaeko understood, it was a lot of survival and outdoors training, as well as classes to keep her current in school.

She didn't get suspicious until her 13th birthday, when she had to go stay with her grandmother and aunt on her mothers side for what became a full year, helping them with their health problems. She picked up a lot of handy-tricks, but it became clear her father was trying to delay her from taking her journey.

So, on 111 AC, Yaeko flatly took an apprenticeship with Pokemon Professor Cypress, to help work the pokemon reserves and ensure she could start the journey something near the halfway point of spring. Her father objected, but Yaeko pointed out the age requirements for the Rachennian League and the fact she only ever intended to travel for a year no matter what outcome before settling down for another career with Pokemon. Her father agreed to that.

At the time the Rachennian Pokemon League required 8 badges or equivalent - each badge needed to proved you were a qualified trainer, and some badges were tests of pokemon command or lateral thinking about pokemon tactics. The League had been in decay for many years, from it's peak of 20 possible badges to exactly 8 in 111 AC, meaning the journey could not be put off. Yaeko was also entrusted with some observations of several Pokemon Protected Reserves, and was credited with author status for her writeups of observations and analysis of some of the rarer Pokemon in Rachenn as well as some of the growing reserves.

On December 27th, 111 AC, she became the Champion of the Rachenn League - while noting that it was a surprisingly easy Championship due to being very few trainers who had 8 badges. On January 10th, 112 AC, the League lost accreditation, and in May, she lost her Champion status and many companies and asked her to repay awards.

This, however, outraged Professor Cypress, and many of the wider trainers who felt the report had targeted her (who was at the time, 14) as a way to target former gym leaders and punish them. While they could not do much, they were able to help cover her debts and raise attention to the ruling. In fact, APIL was then banned by the Rachenian Parliament that year, and they began restructuring local gyms as part of the official government. However, she was pressured by the new organization to not bring as many pokemon outside of Rachenn, which Yaeko found .. somewhat stressful, as she was letting go of friends. In the end, she let her pokemon decide, and kept only two.

Unable to sustain traveling, Yaeko was forced to return with her father to Johto, who immediately left her with his sister in Palm Hills, and Yaeko's relationship with her family on her fathers side became more and more strained as her aunt also disagreed with her decisions. Seeing they would only assist in the bare basics due to law, she joined one of the local co-ops doing logging in the nearby woods. Initially viewed with suspicion, her willingness to work hard and surprising strength, as well as her pokemon knowledge (and assistance of Lily) won her a measure of respect.

She left for New Bark Town as soon as was feasible the next spring as she had always been a temporary worker.

Pokemon (as of start of Chapter 1)

• Hisuian Petlil (Grass) “Lily” [Female]- gift from mother at age 10. Although it was more of the petlil refusing to leave Yaeko, and her mother asking Lily to help take care of Yaeko. Has opted to not evolve for now. Sunny but protective personality, usually rides on Yaeko's shoulder or with it's head out of her backpack in a special pocket Yakeo made and reinforced for her. [~Lv. 26]

• Rachennian Pichu (Electric/Fairy) “Takeshi” [See notes] - followed her out of the ravine/cavern she had been doing observational status on the rare Rachennian Pichu/Pikachu population. Mischievous and playful, Takeshi has opted to not evolve as well, although that's largely because Takeshi would like to evolve as soon as possible to Raichu and Yaeko cannot afford a Thunder Stone at this time (was planning on doing it with championship honorariums and awards, before the investigation.). [Takeshi is one of the 20% of Rachennian Pichu with no gender, and Pikachu all have a gender. Evolving to Raichu would return Takeshi to no gender.]

Rachennian Pichu have pink ear tips and cheek spots but look like Pichu elsewise (black leading to a pink tip) - Yaeko was able to prove the fairy-type auracite theory in their habitats. Peculiarly, she should have been affected, but wasn't.

Former Pokemon (that will come up)

• Noctowl “Inahime” [Female, Lv. 45] - Left to rebuild flock, also because the former officials of the league were anxious for her to take her pokemon out with the revocation of the official badges. Inahime can find Yakeo anywhere, and is planning to visit once things settle in her new flock.

• Frostlass “Caleri” [Female, Lv. 43] - Returned to Mount Enabright on winning the league, was simply traveling with Yaeko to prove her strength. Her and Yaeko seemed to have a relationship not quite like friendship, but of coworkers who liked each other.

• Golduck, Lv. 44 “Ceri” [Male] - Helped Yaeko after her mother passed, and willingly parted ways after Yaeko achieved championship, joining the Ranger Union Swimmer Program, and other rescue programs. Active exchanging of emails* (see notes re: psychic pokemon)

Continuity Notes

• Psychic Pokemon can be trained to use specialized systems, including email. Many sufficiently powerful psychic pokemon send e-letters all the time to people they have encountered.

• HoloCasters are typically rich trainers or champions; PokeNavs are experienced trainers or medium-high strata trainers, PokeGears (5th gen, current) are standard across. Orre is the exception to all of this.) It should be noted that the Rotom Phone is an *upcoming* technology. So is the PoryPhone. We are -5 years from SM and -10 from SwSh/SV.

Traits

• Poor - had to repay any gifts on her championship revoking. Most of her pokemon she let back to their origins, tearfully, but her former Noctowl plans to visit - capable of flying from Rachenn to Johto. Has almost no liquid funds that she cannot spare against expenses, will need to rebuild, prefers to do so via normal subsidy rather than fighting competitions. But may be forced into contests.

• Outdated Technology - With her father giving her bare minimum, she has an older-model P*DA (they were on sale) and has not upgraded to the newer PokeGear, PokeNav or HoloCaster. She has a much older gen model PokeDex given to her by Professor Sawara Cypress (older native Rachenn who focuses on pokemon variants and natural preserves. (see notes about phones)

• Budding Pokezoologist - Has studied extensively from published works and open courses she did on correspondence. Used largely to complete pokedex entries and notes for many of the endangered-Pokemon on reserves. (This is where she picked up her Pichu - it followed her.). Is taking moderate college level classes, and has some published papers in conjunction with Cypress.

• Older Than Peers - Yaeko started later, and is later than the majority of kids doing their first journey, and younger than the college-kids doing their professional journies. At this point, she's effectively doing both, which makes it difficult.

• Strained Family Connections - Yaeko has hostile relations with her aunt (even as much as she understands her aunts position) and extremely strained with her dad.

• PokeProfessor Friendships - Cypress and Elm to some extent are willing to assist her in giving her opportunities, and making connections for her. Cypress more than Elm.

Published Papers

Yaeko has second author on the Rachennian Pichu study, as she contributed a substantial bit of analysis. She has third author on an observation of the endangered Rachnnian Vulpix (which have since migrated deeper into the exclusion zone) and observations and understanding of two unique to Rachen Pokemon types (Aura Wraith/Phantom Moth)

She has submitted some papers under her own name for review to some university journals, but none have been accepted.

Author Notes

Yaeko's motivation is a form of nostalgia. She misses her friends from growing up, and hopes to regain her Champion title, or at least reach 4th place. But most importantly, she can't return home and must find a new one.

(Current thinking is that she'll find that she likes traveling too much and while she might regain some of her friends, it's unlikely she'll settle down or get all of her friends back.)

Yaeko is fairy-aligned as aura goes, which means that she's got an easier time dealing with fairy type pokemon and has a corresponding harder time dealing with dark type pokemon. It also means she can go into area with heavier fairy aura. She strangely has very few problems dealing with heavy ghost aura, but is not an aura guardian, nor can she consciously use her aura.

She also is considered someone the Ranger Union might call in if they need trainers, albeit, most of the time, this really means 'emergency backup', as she has taken most of the classes they require in volunteers. This is not unusual for trainers that reach her level, however.