Character Details:
Name: Rika Beryl
Age: 16
Personality: If Rika could be described as a dessert it would be a chocolate topped strawberry cheesecake: an elegant looking dessert that tastes sweet but is also filling and a clash of flavors that somehow works. Rika is high maintenance, someone who values making sure their hair is brushed just right and their clothes remain as spotless as can be, but she's also someone who isn't afraid to get her knees dirty (though will absolutely complain about it well after the fact). Self taught about many things, Rika is fairly self-reliant but moreso out of necessity than desire. Prone to hyperbole and tiring easily, Rika's idea of a good time is shopping, eating, and going to the salon - often in that exact order.
Her greatest asset is her creative mind. Because she was on her own for much of her youth, Rika filled the void with hobbies. Some she stuck with: cooking, reading, drawing. Others not so much: sports, ceramics, cards, electronic games, music. She does enjoy board games..though if she senses she's about to lose she has mastered the art of crying to get her opponent to let her win. It works. Sometimes. On one particular opponent. But that's better than nothing.
If Rika were interested she could likely be a serious competitor in whatever she chooses to focus her Pokemon efforts on. Fortunately, her goals aren't that of a future Champion, but rather something more personal.
Background: Rika was a quiet girl for her early childhood being part of two worlds. Her father traveled often as he was a scouting and casting agent for PokeStar studios in Unova who, after a stay in the Johto region, fell in love both with the region and a woman from Ecruteak City. They married in Goldenrod, honeymooned on an Alolan island tour, and settled eventually in Kanto. Rika's father's job took him away from home often and her mother worked a lot which led to a lot of store-bought meals and looking after herself at far too young an age. She was saved from her quiet, indoor playing self by someone who refused to listen to anything and practically kidnapped Rika to go play. Rika still remembers going home with skinned knees and her mother having a fit.
Pokemon was never quite something that interested Rika beyond the norm; she had no grand desire to be the best trainer or anything. Her mother got along well with her Umbreon and her father was never seen without his Talonflame, but Rika was content merely to sit on the sidelines. Things changed, as they often did, when she was swept up in a story, relayed second hand - possibly third - that was nevertheless told with such enthusiasm that she couldn't help but start to look a little more closely. But Rika had little experience with Pokemon training, battling, or anything really so threw herself at the mercy of books and informative videos. If she could learn to cook for herself using technology, she could at least learn that fire moves were effective against grass moves.
There is no substitute for actual experience, though, and when she told her parents that she was considering going on a journey, her mother pulled her into a hug and her father flew in the next day after hearing the news. They had been waiting for Rika to want to explore and broaden her horizons, as they had done at her age, and phoned Professor Oak to get things started.
What her parents don't realize - because Rika hasn't told them - is that her goal is different than most. But it's the only way she can think of to show her appreciation. Not to them, but to the other important person in her life. The one who got her out of her room.
Inventory: 15,000 Pokecoins, a sticker set for her Pokeballs, a portable poffin maker.
Misc.: Rika is childhood friends with Kyoko and though Kyoko doesn't know it (because Kyoko is an idiot), Rika fully intends on building her team around being a doubles battler with Kyoko.
Pokémon Details:
Name: Dandy the Cottonee
Overview: Dandy's favorite position is atop Rika's head, like a little whimsical cotton beret. She doesn't mind it. It's cute.
Ability: Prankster
Move Pool: - Helping Hand
- Fairy Wind
- Absorb
- TBD