Alice Corin Hope

Name: Alice Hope
Nickname: Acchan, Aarin, Milky
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Rank: Trainer/Coordinator
Birthplace: Ascorbia Islands, Orange Archipelago
Battle Style: Aggressive, relying on immunities/variety and wide movepools.

Spoiler:

Looks: Alice is only 4”9, with a petite stature. She lacks much of a chest, something which upsets her greatly, and although her behind is a big enough asset enough, she insists on wearing flattering tops and lingerie to maintain an illusion. Her skin is a pasty white, suggesting she goes outdoors very rarely, and despite her place of birth, the sun burns and rarely tans her fair skin. Her dark blue eyes are nearly always behind thinned down glasses lenses due to her naturally bad sight, and the young woman prefers her blonde hair long, usually maintained in a loose, messy style – although fashion states it can be done all sorts of ways. Her nails are usually always manicured and painted, and whilst her fingers are long, they are very thin and both her hands and feet quite small. Her teeth aren’t straight, but overcrowded. (Artwork by Slowpoke.)

Personality: Alice has what one could call ‘princess syndrome’. She is a stickler for manners, and follows them at all times, but is also quite the spoiled brat. She is vain, materialistic, and can go to crazed lengths to get whatever she wants. When she’s upset, she tends to hide herself away, sometimes for petty reasons, and can be jealous of other’s relationships or possessions. As it is, years of bullying and wondering if she’s absolutely mental has shaped her to be kind and sympathetic to others, and with her intelligence, she makes both a great leader and follower – if others can get a word in edgewise. Surprisingly, she’s a positive person at her roots, and easily hides her esteem and other issues behind her procrastinating, chattering and random bursts of hyperactivity. As it is, it takes a lot to unleash her temper, and more often than not, Alice suffers ‘second-hand rage’: if someone she cares about is done wrongly, the girl will kick up a mighty fight for them. In terms of herself, if it can’t be settled amicably or with wittily caused embarrassment on the other side (or something that involves her getting money or a lot of positive attention), she will let it go. Unless Alice really wants something or wants to do something, her laziness will dominate, and she will sleep or eat or do whatever she wishes, the wants of other parties being damned. But it must be noted that when others really need her, she will be there for them as best she can, and even if they don’t, she tries to be polite, kind and cause as little unnecessary drama as possible – it’s just that chances are, she’ll be secretly unhappy if things aren’t going her way.

Alice lives with her head in the clouds a lot of the time, and this interferes with her romantic notions as well. She has had no relationship to speak of, and so can be shy or underconfident when genuinely approached. But she’s a cynic and has a realistic point of view, also, and the ‘corruption’ within society has done its influence.

Unexpectedly, she is perverse, and when among friends is happy to flirt hard, talk dirty, cuddle up, steal kisses and all the rest. She has a dry sense of humour, and if a partner could unlock that, they’d find their innocent princess isn’t quite so innocent after all... With the right teacher, of course.

Likes/Dislikes: Alice can pretend not to be fussy, but this is merely a polite facade. She is known for her addiction to milk and hate of hot drinks, as well as food like most fish, mashed food, sweetcorn and the inability to handle food that’s intensely spicy or too slimy like cucumber. She has a terrible sweet tooth, but enjoys cooking properly, especially dumplings, pastas and lentil dahl among many other dishes. When she likes someone, it’s easy to tell, as she will happily spend hours creating snacks for them. She is a lover of video games, but when not doing that, watching movies/dramas/comedies or reading books, the trainer enjoys being pampered or partaking in certain sports. Being lazy and picky and not naturally sporty brings a multitude of handicaps, but the rookie trainer enjoys swimming, the gym, trampolining, absailing and a few dances: namely ballet, salsa and pole dancing. However, behind her laid back attitude there are many fears: fire is the worst, but the young woman fears loneliness and failure, and sometimes struggles with storms, especially when caught in one and lots of insects, like bees and spiders. Spoiled as she is, she also doesn’t like sleeping rough and would prefer a hotel or Pokemon Centre to rest in, nor does she like carrying too much or walking too far. A big Pokemon to ride? Yes, please!

Her dream, aside from figuring out what happened to her, is to become an idol and a great trainer who had/is on a great adventure. Singing, dancing, radio, dramas – being the centre of attention with a bottomless wallet is high up on the material girl’s list, as well as a dramatic romance and a good circle of friends, Pokemon and human alike.

History: Kyna Hope was a co-ordinator of nineteen years of age when she met a handsome man in her home of Olivine City. She had just returned from Sinnoh, where she had been partaking in contests, and he seemed interesting and perfect: tall, handsome, a strong trainer and mysterious. She would attend parties with him, listen to him play the drums and go on all sorts of dates between his busy work schedule and her travels they would meet up as much as they could. Less than a year after, Kyna had become pregnant, but she wished she hadn't. She had found out he was a member of Team Rocket, and she left him without saying a word about the baby.

Fast forwarding to Alice's birth, and the former contest-player had moved to a quiet island in the Orange Archipelago by then. With help from family and friends who would visit, she raised the little girl by herself, watching over the baby as she learned to quickly walk and talk and cause trouble. Kyna was lonely, but she soon found a job as a teacher at a Pokemon Academy, and she could leave Alice at a creche there where people and Pokemon would take care of her. It was during these early years that Kyna Hope met Radley, an engineer from the islands. He loved kids, and spoiled the small child, who loved doing art with his Smeargle (even though it was not a particular talent of hers, and never would be).

What Alice did like was singing and dancing. Along with swimming, she took ballet and choir lessons, and was also a student at the Pokemon academy worked at, teaching students contest techniques and basic maths. Alice seemed to have a natural rapport with Pokemon, and when she was home she would happily run off along the shoreline or into the forest. With people, however... Not so much. The children at school would bully her relentlessly over almost everything. One of the names they would call her was 'Slowpoke', so it was no surprise that she found one near an Ascorbia lake to bond with. Taking treats from class and home, Alice would confide all of her hopes, happiness and pain into the water-psychic, who was a good listener. Sometimes he would even play with her, on his less dopey days.

By the age of eight, her mother had married Radley, who she already saw as a genuine father figure. However, one day a year later, Alice never came home from playing in the forest, and her parents couldn't find her. Her real father, now a high-ranking Executive within the Rocket gang, had come to collect what he saw as rightfully his. A mysterious signal of energy had been showing up on scans of Mandarin Island South and regularly on Ascorbia Island, and an investigation into it was how he discovered that he had a daughter. Having decided that she was of use to the team-- and feeling a paternal and betrayed tug to the heartstrings-- he took her in. The wild Pokemon that tried to protect the girl was no match for his own team, and only meant he had an extra haul of monsters to hand over at HQ.

Alice remained in the facility for months, in her own little room, where her father would visit between missions and help oversee the project that related to her. There was no point in using ruthless techniques, for the scientists soon realised that unless the girl was confident and happy, the mysterious powers she had wouldn't trigger. She missed her mother and her friends, and to her father's rage, the man who had taken his rightful place. It didn't matter, though, because they were confident nobody would find Alice anyway... Until she went missing from there, too. Rescued by a legendary psychic, and put to sleep somewhere safe, to awaken over ten years later.

In her sleep world, Alice thought she was adopted by a doctor and a casino manager in the north of a country called 'England'. With Pokemon not considered real, she was put through therapy and repeatedly misdiagnosed, but considered afflicted by 'retrograde amnesia' for not knowing what happened to make her suddenly appear alone in the city of Newcastle. She attended a private girls school for primary and secondary, and then went on to a performing arts school in London. It seemed a natural choice: pretending to be someone she wasn't helped escape the bore of reality, and as long as Alice put on a farce of recovery, there was nothing doctors or her parents could do. Still, she could never shake off the idea that something was wrong, that she did not belong and was alone. Recovery was hard.

Then one day, Alice woke up alone on an island with a Slowpoke beside her, and she began to wonder if her dreams and Pokemon were real after all...

Ability/Dawn of the Idol: Alice has a connection to Pokemon akin to the way an idol connects to an audience. Through her singing especially, she is able to affect Pokemon, whether it be bring them closer, buffer them, etc. The song she sings or hums can also play a part: a song about the beach may speak closer to those who inhabit the ocean, for example, whereas a girlpower song might only affect females. However, Alice has to be in a certain mindset for her powers to take any real effect. If she hesitates too much or feels too shaken or distracted, the powers may not work. However, when doing something with true determination be it singing, fighting or even just playing a game with all of her spirit, she can be enveloped in a radiant aura with a goddess or idol-like glow.