Finally have a bio for this lady.
Name: Tamara Lauren Crawford
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Current Residence: Mahogany Town
Appearance: Tamara is dark skinned, her eyes are brownish hazel (though more brown than hazel) and her hair is dark brown, frizzy and at a length that ends a bit above her shoulders. Her natural build is pear-shaped and fairly compact (at about 1.63m of height), though years of swimming have toned her shoulder muscles, which makes them appear a bit broader than they actually are. She tends to favor sporty outfits, somewhat tight-fitted crop tops, knee-length shorts and walking shoes, and has a fondness for shades of blue.
Identifying Marks: None to be particularly worth mentioning.
Personality: Tamara is a generally cheerful, active and lively sort, with an appreciation for the simple things in life. She likes being on the move, and swimming in particular - much of her free time around her hometown is spent in and around the Lake of Rage, or taking walks (or the occasional jog) through the nearby routes. Even though she strives for constant self improvement, she is not on the whole very competitive when it comes to other people. Her active nature aside, she is also fairly musically inclined - and her instrument of choice is her voice. She has taken lessons for a while when she was younger - and even these days, quite often she may be found listening to her Pokégear's radio and singing or humming along, especially when taking one of her long walks.
Skills: Swimming and singing are her strongest suites. She is also quite knowledgeable on Lapras as she spent the past couple of years handling them, but otherwise she is still fairly new to the Pokémon training and battling scene.
History: Tamara has lived in Mahogany Town for as long as she can remember, and the first few years of her life have been fairly unremarkable - just a typical child's life in a rural mountain town. As neither of her parents were serious trainers, the only constant Pokémon presence she grew up with was the family dog - an old Houndoom who, while appearing quite fierce, was generally a placid, gentle sort of creature. Unlike her two-years-younger little sister - who was always running around and having mock Pokémon battles with other neighborhood kids, and dreamed of journeying ever since she was eight years old - Tamara generally appreciated Pokémon but did not feel the urge to go on a huge world-spanning journey. Her parents, either way, were rather sensible people and had fairly strong objections to the idea of any of their children going out on their own for any prolonged duration of time before they were at least 15, and she didn't particularly mind either way (also unlike her sister, who just couldn't wait to get out there and kick tail, and didn't take her "imprisonment" all too well).
When she was 16, Tamara started volunteering at the local Gym, where Pryce, the Gym Leader, was conducting a conservation project/breeding program meant to eventually restore Lapras to the waters of Johto and Kanto after their near-extinction. Working with these creatures appealed to her greatly as Lapras are swimming creatures which communicate through song - something she felt a kinship to. After passing a few initial evaluations, she was finally interviewed by Pryce, who held the final decision on the subject matter. After looking her over and a brief conversation about her interest in bringing Lapras back to the wild, he chose to assign her to care for a small, pale and frail recently-born female - cryptically saying that after some time passes, he will know.
Nurturing the creature - which would have had a very low chance of survival in the wild - was no easy feat, but Tamara persevered, and it wasn't too long before the female grew stronger and caught up with the other Laprases. Over time, Tamara noticed that "her" Lapras and those assigned to several other volunteers who received similar tasks, began exhibiting unusual traits - minor morphological differences that did not resemble 'pure' Lapras stock, and some unusual moves. As it turned out - in order to increase the variations in the gene and move pool of the offspring, several non-Lapras male lines have been introduced into the breeding program. The resulting offspring varied greatly, with some individuals clearly demonstrating higher chances of survival than others - and the individuals raised by her and others like her were those of the lowest chances. This was a test and a lesson in one for the volunteers - to see what manner of people they are, how they handle challenging situations, how they would treat not only the strongest, fittest individuals in a pod but also the weakest ones - as well as to teach them that even what appeared like a lost cause could be attained, and that the harsh lessons of life are necessary to truly flourish. "When the ice and snow melt, spring arrives" the elderly Gym Leader said - and spring truly did. The Lapras was now a force to be reckoned with, and with the deep bond formed between Tamara and the water-type, she was permitted to keep her for her own, in lieu of a starter Pokémon.
As she turned 19, Pryce encouraged her to take a break and go on a journey with her Lapras - because while her help was appreciated, it was time for her and her Lapras to have new experiences together - something he believed is important for both the girl and the Lapras. Tamara considered this for a while, and was eventually convinced. This is where her adventure starts.
Family: Her parents aside, She is pretty close to her sister, who left on her trainer journey the day after her 15th birthday, and is currently in a different region, having collected the gym badges of Johto and Kanto in the past two years. They talk fairly often via Pokégear, her sister often prodding her about starting her own journey so they can battle someday. Until recently, she never thought of this seriously. Now she is somewhat uneasy about the idea, though at the same time she certainly wishes to, when she gets skilled enough to actually do that - give her sister quite the battle.
Love Relationships: None.
Pokémon on hand:
Nickname: Eira
Species: Lapras
Type: [type]water[/type] / [type]ice[/type]
Gender: Female
Ability: Water Absorb
History/Personality: Eira's male parent was a rather powerful Aurorus, and as a result, she possesses some morphological changes in comparison to the average Lapras - mainly in the form of a faint iridescence to her scales and markings somewhat resembling those of Aurorus, icy crystals embedded in the spikes of her shell and a short, sail-like 'fin' running along her neck, which may change color with her mood. Her appearance was not the only thing she inherited from her fossil parent, though - Eira has also inherited the ability to utilize Freeze-Dry and Ancient Power in combat, increasing her diversity further.
Eira, like many of her species, is serene, contemplative, and slow to anger - and seems to radiate a certain sense of silent, resolute strength that suggests that getting on her bad side would not be a wise idea. She has a deep bond with Tamara due to their mutual history.
Nickname: Rhonwen
Species: Heracross
Type: [type]bug[/type] / [type]fighting[/type]
Gender: Female
Ability: Guts
History/Personality: Rhonwen was Tamara's first capture, encountered on Route 42 on her way from Mahogany Town to Ecruteak City. Tamara engaged in battle with the Heracross after a surprise attack on the creature failed due to an elemental resistance she was not aware of. It was a fairly close battle, but eventually Tamara defeated the insect through a combination of Brine and Freeze-Dry, finally testing it in proper battle. To her surprise, the Heracross took her capture humbly, taking to the trainer as a mentor figure. Rhonwen is a fairly new capture, and the two have not yet had time to bond. However, Rhonwen has demonstrated a fierce battle spirit, which will indubitably be an asset to Tamara's team.
Her tentative final planned team will additionally include Sandslash, Noctowl, Ditto and possibly Bulbasaur. Bit of an oddball team, but it might just work.
