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[these_balls]

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<u><b>Player</u></b> <b>Name:</b> <b>Personal Journal:</b> <user name=""> <b>E-mail:</b> <b>AIM/Plurk/Etc.:</b> <b>Timezone:</b> <b>Current Characters in Route:</b> <b><u>Character</u></b> <b>Name:</b> <b>Series:</b> <b>Timeline:</b> <b>Canon Resource Links:</b> Here we would have the links to wikis and other information sites. If none of those seem to provide enough information, feel free to add more about the character here. However, please do not use this section as a full history section unless your canon is ridiculously obscure. General rule of thumb: if there are a good amount of descriptive resources, please just link them and use this section to add in what may have been left out, as opposed to writing an entire history section. <b>Personality:</b> Give us at minimum 2-3 full paragraphs of how you understand your character's personality. Talk about basic characteristics, any major developments over the course of their canon, their motives, their social behavior, and anything else you can think of that shows off your knowledge of this character. <b>Strengths/Weaknesses:</b> Try to cover the good points of what they can do, their life skills (not necessarily powers, but things they're just good at). Go into their biggest fears and what they just can’t do. <b><u>Pokémon Information</u></b> <b>Affiliation:</b> What career path will your character be taking? Breeder, Trainer? Or maybe even down the dark path of becoming a member of Team Rocket? Note: All Rocket members start as grunts. (For right now, only those three positions are available, whether your character chooses to follow their assigned path or not.) <b>Starter:</b> What starter pokémon do you want your character to have? Please use the list linked above to choose from. Certain pokémon have an orange star next to their names; if you choose one of these starters (Deino, Zorua, Litwick, Pikachu, Scyther, Dratini, Bagon, Gible, Axew, Ralts, Riolu, Beldum, Larvitar, Eevee, or Beldum) you must provide reasoning. You do not need to explain your reasoning for pokémon other than those listed above. <b>Password:</b> This is where you'll put the passwords from the Rules and the F.A.Q. There are two words, to assure you've read both. <b><u>Samples</u></b> <b>First Person Sample:</b> The sample must take place in Route_29's setting. Eight sentences is the minimum. This is a PokéConnect post--one that will be on the character's journal, broadcast to the network. Although it is short, it needs to show how your character would communicate with others, as well as be descriptive enough to express the character's voice without sounding too generic. <b>Third Person Sample:</b> The sample must take place in Route_29's setting. The minimum is 300 words. Please note that what we are looking for is an inner working into the character’s thoughts and actions, and how the character responds to the setting, not something that could be taken as an excerpt fanfic. You may use other characters to bounce your characters actions off of, but everything should still be mostly from their point of view.

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Hikaru Shidou | Magic Knight Rayearth | Reserved

[will_to_burn]

Player
Name: Kana
Personal Journal: point_blank
E-mail: dessertune [at] gmail [dot] com
AIM/MSN: [AIM] dessertune
Timezone: EST
Current Characters in Route: N/A

Character
Name: Hikaru Shidou
Series: Magic Knight Rayearth
Timeline: Post-series (manga) with Route memories intact!
Canon Resource Links: Wikipedia: Magic Knight Rayearth | Wikipedia: Hikaru Shidou

Personality: An enthusiastic, energetic, high-spirited young woman, Hikaru is optimistic, easygoing, and very difficult to bring down. This is made apparent during her very first appearance in the manga when her classmates ask her opinion about the utter lameness of the school's field trip location, Tokyo Tower, and Hikaru is shown to be all of the above, but especially enthusiastic. It's her enthusiasm, even, that attracts the attention of and near-immediately endears her to Fuu. It's with this same enthusiasm that she greets Cephiro, the new world in which she finds herself shortly thereafter, and her purpose in it, not to mention her newfound companions. In fact, she's the first of the magic knights to accept her purpose in this new world and embrace the responsibility she was told came along with it.

Although she is a tomboy in the simplest sense of the word, she is very much a girl in that she wears her heart on her sleeve. She smiles, laughs, cries, and is easily embarrassed; however, she is not what one would call worldly by any stretch of the imagination. Passionate, yes, but she is also quite childish and naïve, two qualities which cause people to perceive her as innocent, cute, and in need of protection. That she is, frankly, oblivious when it comes to certain matters does not help. She doesn't always pick up on or get jokes and may not understand the implications of something until someone spells it out for her. A more humorous example of the latter would be when Guru Clef grasps her skirt to examine her 'armor' and Umi begins yelling at him, calling him a pervert. Hikaru, having assumed nothing by Clef's action, honestly has no idea what the resulting fight is about and never gets it because no one ever spells it out for her. Likewise, when Lantis proposes to her, the romantic implications go straight over her head, resulting in her perceiving his proposal as a desire to be friends forever and always.

This brings us to another point about Hikaru's personality. She welcomes people with open arms and has a tendency to assume they have only the best intentions until they prove otherwise. The best example of this is when the magic knights meet Ferio in the Forest of Silence. That oblivious of hers factors in and it just doesn't register in her book that they should be cautious of the stranger, who may very well pose a threat to them. But oh, when someone proves otherwise and threatens her or especially her friends, Hikaru is ready and willing to fight. What's more is that she exercises great confidence in her ability to do so for a fourteen-year old from modern Tokyo. Greater than that, however, is the strength of her desire to protect her friends. She puts her life on the line time and time again throughout the series to protect Umi and Fuu and refuses to raise her sword against her dog, Hikari, when he attacks her as per the Fountain of Eterna's test. She isn't looking to be a martyr, though. She values her life, knowing that her death would bring sadness to her friends and loved ones. That thought alone gives her strength enough to burn through any obstacle that stands in her path and continue down her path with vigor. What's more is that she isn't one to hold a grudge. She doesn't hold a grudge against Lafarga in the first arc when he reforms after nearly killing her, nor does she begrudge Ascot or Caldina for their assault on her and her friends. Rather, she is the sort to forgive and greet a person with the same open armed approach as she does strangers, and with ease.

To put it simply, Hikaru derives her strength of will from her love of others and, in a world where everything is decided by will, by one's strength of the heart, she is not weak in terms of power. Determined and headstrong, when she sets out to do something, she won't turn back until she's seen it through, and she will see it through. It is this alongside her support of her fellow knights that makes her the leader of the group. It is these same qualities that enabled her to became the pillar of Cephiro following Emeraude. The strength of her heart, her will was greater than that of Eagle, who was essentially walking the sad path of Princess Emeraude. Not only that, but she refused to leave Eagle behind in the testing grounds despite knowing that that he didn't have long to live. Her will, her love for others is unfaltering and she holds nothing back.

To say that Hikaru has matured throughout the course of the series would be something of an understatement. When she initially arrived in Cephiro, she called things black and white and didn't think to question them. Zagato was evil for kidnapping and imprisoning the princess; the magic knights were good in that they were supposed to beat the bad guy, rescue the princess from her ivory tower, save the world, and be heroes. It was only after the truth was revealed and the damage done that she realized her error and, though depressed, set out to return to Cephiro and essentially right things. The reality sets in and she embraces it. She learned that everyone has their desires and that it's important to find out what they are and what the person is thinking before you go in swinging. She's aware that there are all manner of shades of gray now.

For all her positives, Hikaru does have some rather notable negatives. She's selfless, but she's selfless to a fault. She worries about her friends first, to the point that she doesn't complain when something is wrong with her and she disregards her own injuries. What's more is that she always tries to take everything upon herself. If she knows trying times are ahead, she will do her utmost best to take the world onto her shoulders so that her friends won't have to suffer them. In this same vein, she's slow to open up and really allow others to help her given that it took until into the second arc for her to do as much with Umi and Fuu. Even then, Umi had to prod her a bit. She is very much the type of person who will sacrifice her own happiness for the sake others.

Strengths/Weaknesses:

Strengths
+ Hikaru is a leader for her enthusiasm and strength of heart.
+ Hikaru cares deeply for her friends and will do everything in her power to protect them. On more than one occasion throughout the series, she has pushed herself to the brink of death to protect her loved ones. She's a very passionate, loyal person.
+ Hikaru won't hesitate to stand up for herself, but especially for her friends should the need arise.
+ From her pet dog to giant flying pet fish to griffons to gumdrop-shaped creator gods with a derpy expression permanently fixed upon their faces, Hikaru excels in understanding and communicating with animals to the point that it's canonically listed as a specialty of hers. She does not, however, literally speak animal language or hear animal's thoughts. It's just basic understanding, similar to how trainers in the pokeverse understand and communicate with their Pokemon. She's just really good at it canonically.
+ Hikaru was taught kendo from the time she was a small girl and is also a member of her school's kendo club. She excels in sword techniques to the point that the sword is the weapon that chooses her.
+ Hikaru is very agile and capable of performing incredible jumps. She is canonically capable of jumping the height a three-story(?) building to cut a monster in half.
+ Hikaru has been in Johto before. She has got this!

Weaknesses
- Hikaru tends to greet everyone with open arms and assume they have the best intentions towards her until they prove otherwise, which can prove an ample weakness.. She would take candy from strangers, people. Candy. From. Strangers. And talk with them openly. No, really.
- Hikaru can be very stubborn and very headstrong, which can be a huge detriment should she be on the wrong side of the looking glass given that her will is very strong and she is very much the type of person who puts her whole heart into her beliefs, whatever they may be. She isn't much of one for taking the time to second guess herself really, which can lead to regrets despite good intentions.
- She is not above trying to do things on her own in order to prevent her friends from worrying or suffering, which can lead to her taking the world on her shoulders. As if that wasn't enough, she isn't above sacrificing her own happiness for everyone else's sakes, which isn't exactly healthy, and it takes her time to get to the point she's willing to share the burden, really.
- Hikaru loses her energy and becomes virtually useless when she's hungry. It doesn't help that she doesn't always remember to eat, which can be a serious detriment when you're constantly on the move.
- Hikaru is vertically challenged. When she tells Umi and Fuu that she is the same age as them, they can't believe it and Fuu reveals she mistook Hikaru for an elementary schooler back at Tokyo Tower. She's short enough that she can't see new schools arriving on the same floor of Tokyo Tower for the heights of those around her. She's a little conscious about it and it can be a bit problematic.
- Hikaru will not raise a hand against a friend, even in self defense. During the trial at the Spring of Eterna, she is attacked by what she perceives to be the dog that grew up with her—her best friend, Hikari—and it really shakes her up. She does manage to raise her sword to Hikari once, but her thoughts are only for her friend and not herself. Had Princess Emeraude not helped her open her eyes to the truth, that the beast attacking her wasn't Hikari, she very likely would have been killed.

Pokémon Information
Affiliation: Trainer
Starter: Cyndaquil
Password: Raspberry Lemonade

Samples
First Person Sample: [ The video opens to a brand, spanking newly evolved Quilava, who promptly winks at Clover the camera before shifting coolly, casually to one side of his trainer, who... is apparently packing for a roadtrip that requires her to completely empty the contents of her room's drawers and closet into the backpack on her bed. Curled up by said backpack is none other than the baby Eevee that hatched from the egg Ven gave her for Christmas; Misaki the Snover can be seen chasing an actively discharging baby Shinx around the room. The cameraman? Probably Shun the Ditto, if that tiny bit of pink over the lower left-hand corner is any indication, whilst Youta stands at the end of the bed opposite the backpack and Eevee, observing the shenanigans of his fellow party members coolly. Someone grew up a little bit. ]

Fuu-chan and I are leaving tomorrow morning to pick up Umi-chan from Newbark Town, so I was wondering, is there anybody already in Goldenrod who'd be willing to move the tree for us? I really don't wanna keep Umi-chan waiting too long, so I'd be thankful for the help!

[ A quil sounds and Rai the Shinx stops discharging, after which Misaki and Youta the Quilava dialogue briefly. Rai winds up being deposited on the bed beside Satou the Eevee, who stirs with a tired vee~. Hikaru's just about done packing now, and still talking. ]

I'm gonna look for Sora-kun on the way, too. I don't think he could've gotten very far, but if he did go toward Newbark Town, I'll find him for sure!

[ And she's sitting down on the bed now with a huff to look directly at the camera because this part is really important! Nevermind that Youta is taking this opportunity to slide into his trainer's lap for pets like the derp he still is, she's talking to you, Team Shouta. ]

I know it'll be kind of a long trip going to Newbark Town and back, but I promise we'll be back as soon as we can! I'll keep in touch in the meantime, too! Just... you'll let me know if you guys decide to move on before we get back, right?

Oh, oh! Rise-chan! I was shopping in the department store today and I found this stuff called GRO-LITHE that's supposed to make your grow really fast. I bought some for you! Do you wanna try it? It might help your hair grow back faster!

[ Kicking her feet idly, she offers the camera a smile, jumping topics one last time. ]

Anyway, let me know if you can help!

[ And the feed is cut by a fumbling Ditto. ]

Third Person Sample: It had been some time since Hikaru and and her companion, a Cyndaquil, had stumbled out of what seemed the umpteenth patch of pidgey-infested tall grass. It definitely wouldn't be the last, but the pair were of the mind to enjoy the break while they could. The constantly streaming music was pretty catchy, catchy enough that Hikaru was humming along. There was good music and she was in good—no, great company! She and her Pokemon partner clicked like, like—well, she wasn't really sure, but they got along really well, and that's what counted! The smile on her face widened at the thought that they'd reach Cherrygrove in no time if they kept up the pace they were going, but—and she paused, looking at her Cyndaquil—she was worried about her new friend. There had been a lot of Pidgeys in the tall grass, after all, and while they'd agreed to fight together, he had gotten hurt worse than she had in the process for protecting her.

“Are you tired?”

The weary chirrup of “quil” with which she was greeted caused the teenager to tilt her head at her pokemon, frowning. It wasn't the first time she had asked that question since they'd started their journey together, but hearing Cyndaquil sounding so tired was enough to make the red-head pause.

“How about I carry you for a little while?” she asked, then turned her eyes ahead again. “I'm not sure how much further the next town is. I'm pretty sure someone said there was a tree with berries a little further down the road and we already ate the whole bento Mom packed us.”

When her pokemon's reply was to stop and flail his stubby arms at her, Hikaru was quick to scoop him up with a giggle. She gave her Cyndaquil an affectionate squeeze that earned a more contented chirrup, then looked to the road ahead. The trainer they had literally ran into had said it wasn't far, so hopefully, hopefully they'd be able to make it to the tree before nightfall. She wouldn't have minded camping so much if they hadn't ran into so many pidgeys, but they had and she could tell Cyndaquil was tired and hungry even if he wasn't complaining.

“Just a little further and we'll set up a camp, okay? I'm sure I'll be able to find us something to eat!”

ACCEPTED

[these_balls]

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Pokemon!
Congratulations, you have a fun and exciting adventure awaiting you.

Now that you've been accepted...
[○] Respond to this with your character's journal. This is a must!
[○] Comment in the Taken Characters post, alphabetized by series: # thru H, I thru R, or S thru Z.
[○] Comment to the Friend Add/Remove, and update your friends list.
[○] Join the following communities: route_29, route_006, route_1065, pokedaycare.
Note! You will not be accepted to the main or logs community until you've commented in the aforementioned places.
[○] If you reserved, please let us know that they've been accepted.
[○] Please make sure to check this week's weather!
[○] Route 29 has an optional spam/meme community; it's slowpoke_gif!

Thank you! See you in Johto!

[will_to_burn]

This will be her journal!