pokémon list. The following information is entirely headcanon based on the events of Pokémon Legends Arceus. Akari's exact set of Pokémon usually isn't that important in RP, and I like to keep things flexible, but I also think it's useful to have this information plotted out, so! By her own admission, Akari is not a competitive battler or a particularly good Trainer. She's more reliant on her own personal stealth and strength than her Pokémon. Catching 50 Pokémon before breakfast is just something that she does for a living, but she's also released the vast majority of Pokémon that she's caught, even ones that she personally spent time raising and evolving. She feels slightly guilty about not really being able to tout strong emotional connections with Pokémon; the Pokémon in Hisui just tend to have more wild, aggressive, and independent temperaments than most, so she prefers to release them back into their habitats once she's spent a certain amount of time with them. In contrast to Volo, who, despite being the villain of the game, has a variety of Pokémon that only evolve via high friendship and appear to be genuinely aligned with his goals, Akari does not appear to have a particularly good relationship with her Pokémon. Oddly enough, she lacks the undying bonds of friendship that characterize most Pokémon protagonists and their teams. Most of the Pokémon she actually keeps are grizzled warrior types who literally just don't want to be friends with anybody; they're like a pack of wandering samurai that have all converged in her house, eat her food, and take her orders, but they don't really treat her with much affection. Make no mistake, though, they're all fond of her in their own ways — the depth of their loyalty just doesn't really show itself until it's tested, and when it is tested, they will fight for her with feral intensity (then go back to seemingly ignoring her once the danger is settled). It'd be accurate to say that Akari trusts her Pokémon more than she loves them, and vice versa, but trust is a form of love, too. Akari is still prone to losing battles against competitive battlers, mostly because her Pokémon don't really go all-out unless it's an actual matter of life-or-death. Samurott, for example, will surrender with honor once he finds himself yielding. Zoroark is an inconsistent psycho who will withdraw from a casual battle once he starts getting bored. She won't use Arceus or Darkrai in a casual battle. She generally favors large and intimidating Pokémon; most of her Pokémon are bigger and more aggressive than the average members of their species. I am not limiting her to the pool below, but these are the ones most likely to be referenced in a thread.
SAMUROTT
 | The only Pokémon here with the distinction of being Akari's partner from the very beginning. Samurott was cute and rather innocent as an Oshawott, but by the time he evolved into a Dewott, he'd developed a more cynical personality and started to become more ferociously protective of Akari, who at this time was more prone to taking hits herself rather than calling upon him in his ball. At this point, knowing that she rarely thinks to call on him, he will come out without being called to defend her if need be. Hard of heart and deft of blade, Samurott is a man of few words — er, grunts — who spends most of his time meditating silently, legs folded, paws on his blades. He does not like it when she attempts to tame his unruly whiskers and wishes she would stop trying. |
RAPIDASH
 | The guaranteed shiny from her game, Rapidash is every bit like a stereotypically fussy unicorn who will only allow beautiful girls to approach him. He will snort disdainfully at women who don't meet his standards, and will viciously kick most men who even try. He has a haughty and arrogant temperament, but this ferocity serves him well in battles, where he tends to be a swift hard-hitter with no mercy for his opponents. His seeming narcissism may in fact stem from trauma over being ostracized for his odd color during his days as a Ponyta, but Akari tells him that he's beautiful often enough, so he's not exactly insecure about it anymore. She has Ride Pokémon for use within Hisui, but Rapidash is most often her preferred mode of transportation outside of her region. |
ZOROARK
 | A mischievous trickster, Zoroark loves to use his powers of illusion to cause general mayhem for people in Akari's vicinity. His favorite trick is to turn into various men she knows and try to get them into trouble while wearing their faces; this is possibly because he gets territorial over Akari, but also possibly just because he's a jerk. He comes off as being the most affectionate of her Pokémon and will even solicit light petting, but he's also one of the more dangerous members of her team to be around without her supervision. Folks more accustomed to Zoroark from other regions may think this one is as normal as the ones they know, but make no mistake: Hisuian Zoroark have a reputation for being ferociously hostile for a reason, and there's a reason that they're known as embodiments of death. Akari's Zoroark just seems a bit more friendly on the surface. The smile never lasts for long. |
DARKRAI
 | Despite being her starter and her closest partner, Samurott is not the Pokémon that Akari would consider her "ace." That distinct honor goes to Darkrai, one of Akari's most mysterious and rarely-seen Pokémon. Darkrai is quite comfortable with spending its days in eternal slumber and rarely slips out of its Ball — it cannot be moved for anything less than a life-or-death situation, and it will only act in Akari's defense — but on the rare occasions that Akari does need to call upon her Darkrai, onlookers may find that the two move and communicate in such unison that Akari does not issue verbal commands. In fact, Akari never speaks at all when Darkrai is out on the field with her, and one may wonder: is it truly the Trainer who commands her Pokémon, or is it the girl who is haunted by the nightmare in the silent night? (Why a Darkrai in particular? Honestly, it's just a popular Pokémon for her to have in fandom circles. She looks a lot like a Darkrai when she's wearing her white kerchief and red scarf.) |
ARCEUS
 | If you found a reason to make her actually call upon God, something is horribly wrong. She won't even show it to close friends. She keeps Arceus a secret and normally only pulls it out so that it can eat cake in her room. It's hard to say whether or not it actually appreciates the cake. Truthfully, Akari has complicated feelings about Arceus, but in recognition of her divine mission, she shows it as much affection as she can manage and fulfills its demands with unflagging devotion. Still, sometimes she also wonders: why me? |
|
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
outrage
