FABER, Gertrude Helena [WIP]

[Affectionate Zombie]

I haven't yet bought a Pokemorph character slot, but I plan to when the Shoppe is open. I just wanted to have this WIP up somewhere haha.

And she has a shiny starter because I got it from the promo. 8>

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ART 1! by me ; ART 2! by valensia ; ART 3! by sometimes

NOTE: All of the speaking bits in this are translated from Dutasch, which is meant to be the Pokemon universe equivalent of German. They are not speaking English.

NAME
Gertrude Helena Faber.
NICKNAMES
Gertie! She doesn't mind whatever else you might come up with, though, so long as it isn't anything rude.
AGE
Sixteen; birthday is November 20th.
GENDER
Female.
SEXUALITY
Straight.
OCCUPATION
WHATEVER SHE WANTS, YOU CAN'T STOP HER! Trainer.

APPEARANCE

Gertie looks, plain and simple, absolutely ridiculous. She has a wild, poofy mane of curly white hair, and then a collar of the same cottony fluff around her neck; she looks like she has a sheep wrapped around her head. Her large Flaaffy ears are furry and pink-and-black-striped. She has a big, round nose, plump lips, and round black eyes. Her eyebrows are small and white, so would be nearly invisible if they weren't set against her extremely rosy skin.

She has a tail, which is about the length of her arm from her elbow to her wrist; it is pink-and-black-striped, like her ears, and has a shiny blue orb on the end that occasionally glows. For all that she's a very spunky thing, she's also rather short at only 5'2", and though she is in shape, she does not have an especially athletic build. Her arms are thin, her hips are wide, her thighs are a bit thick, and her bust is unimpressive.

While her Pokemorph features do make her stand out and look rather bizarre, her fashion sense is really what makes her look so silly and ridiculous. She has yet to adapt to the Steampunk fashion of the Lanorae Region, and instead wears all manner of brightly-colored, tacky, plastic jewelry, neon-colored tank tops and tees, and shorts with all sorts of wild patterns that one would never really expect pants to come in. Plastic rings of all colors adorn her stubby fingers, bangles jangle from her wrists, and necklaces that would not look out of place during Mardi Gras hang from beneath her wooly collar. She likes skateboard-brand shoes with patterns and bright colors, as well as huge socks that go up to her mid-thigh when they aren't busy sliding down her legs. She always seems to have at least one bandage slapped on her elbows and/or knees. There is a yellow lightning bolt tattoo on her right upper-arm. Even her backpack is brightly-colored! It is neon-yellow and decorated by cute little buttons and pins. Keychains and charms hang from the zippers.

All of these colors don't usually mesh, but they do make her stick out even more like a sore thumb, and they sure are colorful and exciting! She thinks it's all quite cute and fun. On that note, she always seems to be having fun and looking energetic, prancing around with a little bounce in her step. There's a sort of fire in her eyes, or a twinkle of mischief and joy when she's feeling particularly playful, and nothing about her implies that she might care what you think about how she looks or acts. That's Gertie.

PERSONALITY

Likes: Excitement, roughhousing, sports, friendly competition, Pokemon, having fun, family and friends, music, bright colors, tacky jewelry, cute things, "awesome" things (her definition of "awesome" is not very defined, though), being accepted for who and what she is, the outdoors
Dislikes: Discrimination, being told that she can't or isn't allowed to do something, meat (she is a vegetarian), salty foods

You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone else quite like Gertie. She's a bouncy, chipper little ball of fluff, always grinning and always looking for amusement and excitement. Chatty, energetic, and very friendly, she's quite a nice girl for the most part, though calling her "obnoxious" would be an understatement in some cases. She seems to be shameless and bold to a fault, prone to doing ridiculous things just for the fun of it and not even acting embarrassed afterward. No, she's not stupid, but she isn't the brightest tool in the shed, either. On top of that, she has a very short temper; when she gets frustrated or feels offended, she's quick to start yelling her head off and throwing punches.

She's a very emotional individual, quick to anger or smile. However, making her upset is surprisingly hard to do; for years she has refused to let herself be put down by others, and instead of getting sad, she just gets madder. It's a rare sight indeed to see Gertie cry, especially since she'll only do it when she thinks she's alone and when things get really tough.

Gertrude is a hard worker and very steadfast -- hard-headed, really. When she sets her mind to something, she won't give up or quit unless what she's trying to do is literally impossible. (Even then she'll give it a good go.) She'll tackle every challenge enthusiastically and without relent, and when the challenge is social rather than anything she can overcome physically or emotionally, she gets even more fired up. No doubt about it, this girl is spunky.

With her friends, she's basically her usual self, happy and energetic. She'll support them and help them out however she can; she's quite loyal, especially since she's not used to having a lot of friends and those who are willing to pal around with her will be greatly appreciated. With those she dislikes, though, she is different. She'll be snarky, impatient, and possibly violent when they do something to infuriate her, and even when they're behaving, she'll give them the cold shoulder. (She may or may not also speak to them only in Dutasch if she talks to them at all.) Of course, some people will manage to earn her respect or attention again after making her angry, and they will have to deal with her constant ribbing and "playful" banter. She isn't usually a mean person, but she can be.

Though she's a friendly person, it's arguable that she likes Pokemon more than people. They don't do nearly as much judging, and being a Pokemorph means that she can communicate with them, unlike other humans. She'll treat even the most unruly Pokemon like a friend, and she won't hesitate to chatter and banter with them like she would a person. She also won't hesitate to wrestle with them, hence why she almost always has scrapes on her knees and elbows; she's sort of a tomboy, and she loves to roughhouse and play-battle. (She has thick skin and can even generate a teeny bit of electricity, so she can hold her own pretty well, too!)

Where other people might despair or lose confidence, Gertie only gets more fiery. She's loud, she's ridiculous, and if you have a problem with it, that's just too bad. Most of all, though, she's happy, and there's nothing you can do about it.

HISTORY

Hometown: Kleinstadt, Dutasch Region.
Family: Ana Faber (mother), Josef Faber (father)

Ana and Josef Faber were looking to have their first child after five years of marriage. They lived a simple, pleasant life; together they owned a grocery, and they were well-liked in the suburban town they inhabited. They were fun-loving, happy, and rather normal. No one expected that their child would be any different.

Unfortunately, a visit to the doctor while Ana was pregnant showed trouble. The fetus was unhealthy, and it was likely that the baby would not be able to last long if she even managed to pull through birth. The parents were, of course, upset; however, the doctor had a suggestion.

Fifteen years prior, an lab in the Dutasch Region had been busted for illegal experimentation on humans. They had been splicing human and Pokemon DNA, and once those in charge of the operation were arrested, the creatures made by the experiments were first screened (to be sure that they weren't dangerous) and then released. They were called Pokemorphs, and though some had almost horrific mutations and some were prone to violence and had been kept contained in government facilities to protect the general public, most were safe and quite eager to simply have a normal life.

The scientists of Dutasch were fascinated by these creatures. They had worked for years, trying to find a way that the things discovered by the lab could be used to help people. They had, over the course of their research, found that even weak, unhealthy human fetuses would develop into strong, healthy babies when Pokemon DNA was injected into them in the early developmental stages.

"It's technically still experimental," explained the doctor, "but all studies are showing success so far. With this, we can make your child healthy. She will... not be fully human, but rest assured, she will not be dangerous."

Ana and Josef weren't sure. It was explained that while the procedure was not risk-free, this was the best chance their child might have. They wanted to save their daughter and see her born, see her grow... but would it be fair to make her something that society would surely judge harshly? They, too, were not fond of Pokemorphs, though they would have to quickly adjust if this was the only way.

In the end, they agreed. Their unborn daughter's life was too important to them.

When Gertrude Faber was born, she was indeed healthy, and this didn't change as she grew older. She was always flushed and energetic, eager to learn and explore and make friends. Her parents had decided that it didn't matter what she was; she was alive, and she was their child, and they loved her despite the fact that she was not normal or even fully human.

Others were not so kind or accepting. It was hard for Gertie, growing up; people judged her the second they saw her tail, her ears. The children called her names, the adults looked at her like she was some strange thing, and everyone in the town wondered how such a bizarre little creature could have come from Ana and Josef. Their close friends knew about the experimental procedure that had saved their child's life, but the rest spoke in hushed whispers of scandal, of abuse, of ridiculous things that were certainly not true.

Gertie had it the worst. Though her parents had to deal with the rumors and the loss of their good reputation, Gertie had to live with constant judgment from her peers, teachers, and everyone else around her. She had trouble making friends. She was constantly bullied and teased. She cried often, threw fits often, and seemed to suffer from low self-esteem. Her parents tried to soothe her and did their very best to make her happy, but when they were the only friendly faces around, it was... hard, especially for such a young girl.

Her parents worried constantly. What could they do to help her? "Don't take what they say to heart, Gertie," they told her. "They're just being mean because they don't know you."

"They don't want to know me," she protested tearfully.

It wasn't until the sixth grade that Gertie finally got a break. When she walked into maths class on the first day of school, she noticed all of the other students acting strangely, and not just because of her. She saw, at the front of the room, her new teacher. The woman was a Pokemorph.

Ms. June was her name, and the other children didn't like her because they had grown up under the impression that Pokemorphs were unnatural creatures, freaks that didn't belong in human society. Their parents had thought it and so they thought it, and now this woman was at the mercy of it like Gertie had been all her life. She had a smile on her face anyway.

She was a very patient, pleasant lady who clearly knew the material she was teaching. The other students might not have liked her, but Gertie loved her, and always was eager to get to the class; Ms. June made her feel less alone, less like she was the only one dealing with the prejudice. After about a week, Ms. June called Gertie up to her desk after class.

"Gertrude," she began, "I have to ask... How are the other children treating you?"

Gertie, at this point, was a rather quiet and solemn girl. She shrugged awkwardly. "Bad. That's normal, though."

Ms. June nodded in understanding, smiling sadly at the child. "I'm not surprised. And how have you been handling it?"

Another shrug. "I don't know."

The teacher watched her for a moment, then put a comforting hand on Gertie's shoulder. "Gertrude, do you want to spend time in here with me at lunch? You aren't being punished, of course. I could just use a hand with errands and things, and I think you'd be a great help."

Gertrude didn't have any friends to sit with at lunch, and that was usually when she had the most trouble with the other kids. She agreed.

Over the course of the school year, Gertie spent time with Ms. June, who told the girl her story. She was a Kadabra Pokemorph, and she had been one of the many Morphs created in that illegal lab years ago. After being freed, she had gone to school, yearning for knowledge; there she had been faced with the prejudice of others, who feared things that were different and that they did not understand. She told Gertie that for years, she too suffered. She had been upset, and she had hated them, even.

And then, Ms. June had realized something. The others, they did not hate her. They were afraid, and they were uneducated, and they were foolish, and many probably did hate. But she was not their only target. They blindly hated all who were like her, and because of this, they couldn't see beyond what she was. She needed not to take it so personally, because they would destroy her with their senseless hate if she continued to. Her hate simply perpetuated the cycle, and really, there was enough anger in the world without her contributing more.

Gertie didn't understand. "It isn't fair," she murmured, pressing the heels of her palms against her closed eyelids. "We shouldn't have to deal with it at all."

"No," agreed Ms. June. "We shouldn't. But it's a lot easier if we don't let what they say get to us. We know that they are being foolish, and rather than being angry and upset, we should simply try to make them see that we are more than just Pokemorphs: we are people."

"How can't I be upset?" Gertie frowned, shaking her head. "It won't help anything to just ignore them."

Ms. June nodded slowly. "True. We shouldn't turn the other cheek. I'm not saying that would be the best solution, since it would simply be inviting them to abuse, would give them the impression that we do not feel. I think, instead, we should be defiant."

Gertie was quiet for a bit, considering this. "How?" she asked.

"Smile."

That caught the girl by surprise. She couldn't see how that would help anything at all. Apparently the perplexed look on her face was enough to convey this to Ms. June, who laughed quietly. "If we don't let them get to us, and if we can smile right at them despite all they say, we are showing that their hate is pointless and serves no purpose. We show them that despite them, we can be happy. We show them that we feel, but we are stronger than to feel despair."

Gertie sometimes found it hard to understand Ms. June. The woman was very smart, extremely smart, and was also much older than Gertrude was. The girl didn't think that she could ever protest by simply smiling.

However, she did see what Ms. June was trying to say. She couldn't let them break her. She could smile right in their faces, and she could show that she was strong. In her naivete, she thought that perhaps doing so might change their opinions of her; she could prove to them that she was better than they knew.

Gertie smiled, and Ms. June smiled back.

Slowly, there was a change in Gertie. She smiled more, and she laughed more, and she just seemed happier. Her parents were amazed by the transformation; suddenly they were seeing again the happy toddler they had known before school had brought Gertrude down so much.

With her joy came anger and fire, though. She started fighting back against the children who teased her. She got in trouble often, and seemed not to care. Ms. June talked to her about it more than once, reprimanding her; did this mean she was giving in to hate or anger?

"No," Gertie insisted. "I don't hate them. I just think they're stupid." She seemed to be under the impression that she needed to beat the stupid out of them.

Ms. June continued to try and get Gertie under control, but the girl was happier than she had been for most of her life. She was showing the other kids that she wasn't weak, and she wouldn't take their abuse anymore. She could laugh in their faces if they tried to upset her. She wouldn't take it. She wouldn't.

Gertie got expelled. The excessive violence had been more than enough reason to get her out of the school for good. This seemed to sober her some; her parents, and Ms. June, made it clear that they were sad and disappointed. Perhaps being wild wasn't the way to do it, either. In her new school, she tried a sort of combination of what Ms. June had told her and what she herself wanted. She smiled often, and she fought back against those who would try to bring her down, but she didn't do so physically unless they were very persistent or started fights themselves.

A few years passed, and Gertie grew smarter and more mature. She got to be good at choosing her battles, deciding that some people simply weren't worth the trouble, and that others needed to be fought back against. She joined the football (soccer) team even though the coach hated her, and she did so well that they couldn't kick her out. She sought the friendship of others, and when her efforts were fruitless, she made friends with the wild Pokemon around the area. She was happy, and she refused to be brought down.

When she turned sixteen, she was eager to get out of there. She loved her parents and was close to them, but she wouldn't stay in the region any longer. Though she kept her head held high and did not let others get to her, she didn't enjoy needing to. With a bag full of supplies, she headed to the region's Pokemon Lab, and asked for a starter Pokemon.

They told her to get out.

At first, Gertie couldn't believe it. She protested, and demanded what she had come for. They told her no. For fifteen minutes straight she argued with them, screamed at them, tried to convince them, but no luck. They were cold and harsh and said that if she wouldn't leave, they'd kick her out.

Fuming, she had stormed from the building. Those bastards were ridiculous, this was -- surely this wasn't legal. She had rights! They couldn't deny her, could they?! ... Whatever. Whatever! She didn't want anything from them, if that was the way they were going to be. She'd find some random Pokemon in the forest and wrestle it to the ground and catch it herself. She wasn't going to just tuck her tail between her legs and walk home empty-handed.

Gertie stomped and raged through a nearby forest, screaming obscenities and hating as she hadn't hated in ages. She was angry, but more than that, she was determined that the first creature she saw would be the one she captured. As luck would have it, another creature in the forest was just as angry as Gertie; a shiny Shroomish was raging in her direction. He was coming back from a particularly nasty confrontation with some other Shroomish, who had for ages taken delight in treating him like a freak for his coloration. Stupid idiots. He'd show them.

They came across each other, and they froze. They stared. And then, it was like a switch had been flipped; the Shroomish launched himself at Gertie, who let out an angry cry and grappled at him, letting loose little electric shocks and clawing, punching, grabbing. They fought until the both of them were spent, and their frustration and anger had been vented.

The pair collapsed into the grass, panting and wheezing. Both felt rather stiff and achy; electricity had paralyzed the Shroomish just as spores had paralyzed Gertie. They simply tried to rest and catch their breath for a good, long time, feeling strangely at peace after all of that scuffling.

Then, Gertie stiffly turned her head to blink at the Shroomish. "Hi," she said.

+Hey,+ he replied.

"Want to come with me? I want to be a trainer, but they won't let me get a Pokemon."

He was quiet for a bit, and then he made a curious little humming sound. +Why not?+

"Because I'm a Pokemorph, and they're jerks."

He grunted. +Yeah, I'll come with you.+

That was that. The Shroomish allowed himself to be captured, though he made sure beforehand that Gertie knew he wouldn't just follow her orders. He was going with her because he wanted to, not because she was making him. She said that was fine -- perfect, actually. She wouldn't want it any other way.

He said his name was Stark, and she introduced herself as well. After a brief respite in the woods, then a visit to the Pokemon Center for a bit of healing and a little more rest, they set off. Gertie didn't want to stay in Dutasch, though. It was clear that she could never be completely happy there. No, she needed to leave, she needed to go far away.

She spent what money she had on a ticket to Lanorae, a region that she knew was far-off and that she knew was just as bizarre as Stark and herself. Hopefully, it would be a match made in heaven.

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STARTING POKEMON

NAME Stark
SPECIES Shiny Shroomish
GENDER Male
ABILITY Effect Spore. There's a chance that those who attack Stark physically will be inflicted with sleep, poison, or paralysis.
HAPPINESS ooo
EXPERIENCE ooo
LEVEL oo5
ATTACKS Absorb, Tackle
PERSONALITY Stark is extremely feisty! He gets angry easily and is easily provoked into doing things due to his short temper and gullibility. Though all of his spunk and eagerness to fight makes him stronger, he is not very intelligent and can't strategize much beyond "see enemy, brutalize enemy, enemy lose." He's an energetic little thing, and when he's not busy being angry or at least mildly aggravated (which he almost always is), he can enjoy having some fun and playing games. He doesn't trust Gertie much yet, nor does he harbor a whole lot of respect for her, but he likes her well enough and they tentatively consider each other friends at the moment. They argue and banter constantly, but this seems to suit them both fine.

STARTING ITEMS

Soon.

STARTING TOWN
Konika Village.