Character: Aerie Author: Adrian Tymes (handle used on a.g.n.p) E-mail: wingcat@pacbell.net Appearance: Aerie was originally Doppler's warped attempt to create a "perfect" daughter, combining traits from many creatures but primarily himself and Minax. His lab was destroyed before he could suceed...or so everyone thought, until Aerie emerged from the wreckage years later. Although Aerie has a Ditto's ability to shapeshift (and Doppler's ability to remember shapes for later use, not to mention memories of various shapes and powers to use for this collected over 20+ years - see notes), she was raised thinking she was a human, and is always in a human shape (even when unconcious) unless she has reason to be something else. Specifically: 4 feet even, appearing roughly 13 years old, gray eyes (which turn violet when her emotions run high), and clothes that vary according to her mood (though her most common dress is a simple red vest/pink shirt/dark pants and shoes, as pictured in the Fifth Anniversary Cast Picture when she looked younger). Personality: Aerie is a confused child. She was raised by herself from an alternate (and no longer possible) future, staying always inside the destroyed lab until her alternate self could no longer maintain her link to this reality, at which time Aerie's alternate sent this Aerie in search of her parents. Her alternate self brought her up believing that her true mother and father were two of the most murderous beings around - specifically, a top Team Rocket assassin who got her kicks from her duties, and a "freedom fighter" pokemon who personally killed thousands before his private army turned against him. When she finally encountered these two, however, she found that Minax, now Marcia, had retired from Team Rocket and shunned her former self entirely, and that Doppler, now more often called Dee, had given up his former means, if not his dreams. It was difficult for her to accept Marcia and Dee as her parents at first, but she is starting to come around. Of more immediate importance, she has a crush on the hybrid-like alien known as Kitsu, with whom she is completely honest about her feelings - often to Kitsu's embarassment, although Aerie acknowledges that Kitsu only wishes to be friends. Aerie still yearns for approval from her parents and friends, and is learning that the power she was born with is of limited use next to the wisdom she must learn. Objectives: Underneath her powers and her history, she is a normal young girl, curious about the world and trying to find her place in it...not to mention enjoy herself in the mean time. She is secretly afraid of being used for her powers, like her alternate self was, and wants to make sure she can enjoy life as a person rather than a tool. It is this fear which makes her greatest nightmare being trapped by a pokeball. (Although, if a pokeball did try to capture her and was not stopped, she would merely be ripped in half at the cellular level - ditto half captured, human half not - and die. Even a moment of direct exposure has caused her great pain.) Her place may be at Kitsu's side for a while, although she knows that someday Kitsu will reunite with her own romantic interest Jordan. Aerie's second greatest nightmare is currently having to say goodbye to Kitsu, to avoid infringing on her friend's true happiness. Current Pokemon: None/self, depending on whether she counts as one. She also carries the shiny unown Cue (see Unown Quest), but well aware of the danger of mental takeover the shiny unown can bring, she keeps it asleep within herself most of the time and has no intention of using it in pokemon battles. Allies: Kitsu, Kitsu, Kitsu - and most of those she's travelled with: Marcia (Minax), Dee (Doppler), Mimic, Keaton, Alex, Cass, Bob, Trent (if she employs him again), Smasher, Amber, Vixxen Enemies: Anyone who endangers her friends, especially enemies of Kitsu Other notes: Aerie's alternate self was programmed, conditioned, and trained by that reality's Doppler. Part of this was downloading of all manner of pokemon moves and tactics, in situations usually more oriented towards survival and life-and-death battles than what most Pokemon League trainers ever see. While raising herself in this reality, she copied this knowledge base over telepathically, along with the basic facts from college-equivalent education. The volume of knowledge was such that it is still settling in, and will continue to do so for years to come: not all of it is available at any one time, and there were times when Aerie was unaware of her own actions. These episodes have mostly ended, although Aerie still has flashes of insight from them - especially after Dee reinforced that aspect through a previous telepathic link, having been inspired by the technique's result (ironically, a technique his alternate self invented at about the same time).