Application

[makesitcool]

Out-of-Character Information

Name: Angela
Are you over 15?: No, I'm only 5 feet something.
Time Zone: Pacific
Personal Journal: aliformed
Reliable Method of Contact: AIM: Either dizzywings or MoonlitAngel007. PM is also accepted.
Plurk: wingything

In-Character Information

Name: Cress
Game/Series: Pokemon
Teacher/Student/Other: Student
Canon Point: A year after the game events of Black and White.
Age: 16
Grade Level/Class Taught/Job: Sophomore
Dorm or Living Arrangement: A dorm, please.

Personality:
Cress is the cool Water-type gym leader of Striaton City, where he and his brothers form the type trio of fire, water, and grass.

Most valuable to Cress are his brothers and his Pokémon. Cilan and Chili grew up alongside him, and their bond is tight. They know each other front to back, and even though they occasionally don’t see eye-to-eye (here's looking at YOU, Chili), he loves them deeply. It's difficult to be separated from his siblings for long periods at a time, and it doesn't take long stretches of absence before he starts to miss them terribly. Cress's Pokémon, especially Panpour, are also very dear to him, and he dedicates plentiful amounts of time and effort learning how to most effectively raise them so that their most outstanding aspects shine. He still has a ways to go.

What he strives for most right now is to sharpen his skills as a trainer; being relatively fresh off his feet, especially for a novice, he feels he has much to learn. For his whole life, he's been obscured by the shadows of his brothers, almost never being seen by public eye as much of an individual when considering his merits as a Pokemon trainer and a person. It's always been "The Striaton Triplets" this and "those three gym leaders" that. He just... doesn't stand out. None of them do. In a way, he resents this. It isn't as though he doesn't appreciate working alongside his brothers, since he would never want to give that up. But being a triplet, his individuality has always been threatened, and he longs to claim a higher sense of independence. He likes being able to rely on his brothers like he does, but he doesn't want his skills to have to depend on them like they do now. Since the Striaton gym was heavily geared toward teaching the significance of type match-ups, Cress is well-versed on this subject. He also tends to focus heavily on the technical sides of Pokémon battling, considering defensive tactics as important as offensive, if not more than. He has high standards- not to mention for other areas of his life where he exhibits all the right symptoms for being a perfectionist and expecting the same from others. This tiresome habit doesn't help in that he has an eye for detail. He's sort of made himself out to be the unofficial micro-manager of the group, filling in all the cracks his brothers might leave behind. He also believes that he is actually the best of the three brothers when it boils down to it. Many have argued that Cress is probably the most difficult of the brothers to defeat in a match, but who are you gonna listen to? You mean you haven't heard water-types are superior? You must be new to this.

Much of what Cress presents about himself in certain situations, the aura he exudes, is decoration. The main impression you might get from Cress is that he is polite, cool, confident, and sophisticated. But is he?

Most of the time, yes. He's not always as unshaken and self-assured as he so enjoys presenting himself to be, though. He has his spells of instability and doubt. Out of nowhere he can transform from his effortlessly "cool" demeanor into a moody and sensitive wreck when something goes horribly wrong in his book, but if his emotional reaction is going to hinder his performance or goals, he's usually pretty good about keeping it bottled up until it is appropriate to let loose, which he prefers to do privately. Since he's sensitive, he can be easy to offend if it's impressive enough of a slight, and when that happens, he may hold it against you for the longest time, or at least keep it in mind for the future. You never know how he's going to bear his grudge, but most of the time it results in Cress turning cold in your company. The courtesy he normally extends gets a little spoiled with a pinch of passive-aggressiveness. So don't offend him! His way of criticizing people or voicing his opinions are often expressed in an indirect manner, or euphemistically. However, Cress does not speak this way with the original intent, which is to soften the blow. He just does it because he's kind of a little piss sometimes. That, and it's just how he's used to speaking.

His sensitivity isn't just some kind of thin skin; it's also a keen sense of intuition and an eye for discrepancy. He can pick up on subtle changes in his environment or shifts in mood, and sometimes even underlying intent, especially in those who are easy to read. However, sensitive is sensitive, and if someone takes a big bite out of his self-esteem in the right vein, it can come crashing down. It can hurt him big time. Usually it manifests if someone deals a blow to his ego and makes him BELIEVE that it might be true. Most of the time he tries to cover hurt feelings by downplaying and dismissing them rather than outright confronting the matter, but he can't hold that facade for long and will break down into a sobbing mess if it's too much for him. While we're on the subject of natural flaws, it's worth mentioning that Cress can seem a bit superficial and arrogant at times. And sometimes, he may overdo it with flaunting or flirting or any other kinds of histrionics that draw attention to himself (and how big his ego is). It might make people who aren't swayed by them in the least roll their eyes. He's full of himself and likes to view himself as the best of the three brothers. He's a bit out of touch with reality sometimes.

Even though he traipses around like he's cooler than cubes, he's an empathetic young man, and when his caring side is switched on, it inundates from within him. Sometimes, he cares so much that he worries himself sick over other people's problems, especially if the person is close to him, like his brothers. If you do happen to be inside of Cress's inner circle, he will be very protective of you, too. His way of showing that he cares is sometimes irritating if you don't like being nagged or given advice to. It can sound like he's criticizing you, but in most cases he means well. However, feelings are a touchy subject for him sometimes, and he worries that if he deals with other peoples' most vulnerable feelings, he might end up making them feel worse if he doesn't handle them carefully enough. It's somewhat difficult to unlock Cress's deeper, more concealed thoughts, vexations, and secrets; him confiding to you with his walls down speaks volumes about his trust. He's always keeping them below the surface and many times keeps his real thoughts and opinions to himself, unless they won't hurt someone's feelings. In other words, he beats around the bush. A lot. With a lot of things. It's like a guessing game sometimes. He has a habit of speaking in broken fragments that don't quite reveal all the details of what he should be communicating. Incomplete sentences like, "But suppose we..." or "So as for the replacement gym leader..." He'll trail off in an annoyingly clandestine manner. If it's around his brothers, more often than not it's because he knows they can complete the thought for him (unless you're Chili durhurhur). There's a very gentle, sentimental side of him that is deeply affected by touching stories or acts of kindness, which might come as a surprise to people more used to his usual peacocking about. You normally expect an egotist to be self-centered and care little for others, but that is not the case with Cress. He genuinely cares about others. And that is why going the extra mile to please and impress them is so rewarding.

Backstory: Cress is- or was, more accurately- one of the three gym leaders of Striaton City - the water-type specialist, to be precise. Depending on which starter the protagonist chooses, one of the three brothers will be your opponent -- and it is the one which your starter is weak against. If the protagonist chooses Tepig, Cress is your opponent. If not, Cress is the opponent of whoever has a starter weak against his Water-type Pokémon.

Where did the Striaton triplets start their gym leader career? It didn't happen until they had grown past the primary years of childhood. Cress, Cilan, and Chili grew up together in Striaton City, well-bred by a rather affluent family in a tudor-style home. Their mother and father owned an illustrious cafe that attracted many customers. The three brothers had an enriching upbringing where they were exposed to a cornucopia of varieties life could offer them. They were free to develop their own tastes. One passion that each of them seemed to share just as fervently as the other was that of Pokemon. His favorite types were water because they possessed equal parts elegant style (which Cress is mad psyched about) and a perfect balance of strength, not to mention many of them display a terrible appearance of which Cress was fond of (he had a big thing for monsters when he was little). When they went to school, they learned quite a bit about the magical creatures that shared their world and often dreamed up various future scenarios with them together.

On their ninth birthday, the trio received a very important present. Each one became the proud and unbearably excited owner of a Pokémon egg. None of them were told what kind of Pokemon lay in wait inside the shells. They were to take care of them until they hatched. Needless to say, it was all Cress could dedicate his attention to. He lavished it with attention and care, and vigilantly protected it whenever endangerment was on the menu. While he waited for it to be born, he began to stew in his many contemplations. Owning a Pokemon took an awful lot of commitment and responsibility, he realized. Could he handle it when it came time to break out of its shell? Would it be difficult? Tiring? Too much for him? What if it didn't like him? His efforts were rewarded, and the egg hatched into Panpour. The two of them got along famously, like destiny had pulled them together. Both boy and Pokemon were convinced that they had found one another's soulmate. It wasn't a chore having Panpour around at all. Why he had been worried in the first place was beyond him.

Cress dedicated a lot of time learning how to train and maintain Pokémon after that. What trainer in their right mind would want anything less for their prized Pokemon? They bonded over battle sessions and iced tea breaks, training excursions and entertaining the guests at his parent's restaurant. Experience nourished Cress alongside his brothers and their Pokémon, and one day, a brilliant idea sparked. A crazy one, but it just might pan out! They decided that they wanted to be a gym leader some day, but the idea of parting ways just didn't appeal to their tastes. Instead, they envisioned a revolutionary gym that would be run by not just one gym leader, but three! And they would cater to the dynamics of type advantages! Heh, cater! Oh, snap. Cater? What if they reinvented their parents' cafe and turned it into a gym, where not only did they serve exquisite dishes, but battles!

The triplets strove for that goal at every cost. They studied a great deal about the fundamentals of Pokémon at the school and helped each other get stronger. Their efforts paid off in a couple years when they were finally set to open the Striaton gym to challengers and customers alike. Their idea was a golden hit. They became sensational and it almost seemed as if the entire Unova region was raving about them, like they had become overnight celebrities. Trainers were enthralled by the concept of having their match be tailor-fit to the right challenge and girls flocked to the cafe in dreamy corteges. It was a little overwhelming at first, but they adapted quickly, Cress especially.

This new profession the three had acquired did not begin far from the starting pages of a very notable trainer's story: Hilda. Only about a year later or so, a group called Team Plasma rallied to separate trainers from their Pokemon on the claim that their Pokémon were unhappy being contained and authorized by their human partners. When Hilda met the Striaton gym leaders, they had no idea how pivotal this trainer would be in the efforts to stop this gang and its leader's nefarious plans, except for that she seemed to possess a special kind of strength about her character, a diamond in the rough. From then on, the Striaton triplets weren't involved in much, as they had been called to action too late for them to act upon it, and therefore they did not join the rest of the gym leaders at N's castle. Ever since that series of intense events, he developed a quiet intrigue for Hilda. However...

"...We heard about the incident with N's Castle. If we had received the message in time, the three of us could have helped." Cress says this to Hilda, but it's nothing more than an exaggeration of the truth. Cress, Chili and Cilan did indeed receive the message in a timely manner. The reason they didn't show up is more complicated- they were obstructed from joining ranks at the castle by their own fears. They didn't feel strong enough to make it. Deep guilt settled in their hearts about their inability to rise to action; if they had actually managed to be strong enough to go, they could have stopped the Seven Sages and the Shadow Triad from escaping as they had. This continues to bother them. Unova can't seem to forget about it either. They always remember the brothers and their failure to join the rest of the gym leaders, and because of that they are viewed by some as weak, and that the only way they can ever be strong is if they are pooled together. About a year after these events, they were encountered at the trainer's school by the Shadow Triad. They spoke briefly with them before engaging in a triple battle, where they were made short work of. Defeated, the trio vowed to get stronger in their own individual rights, not by standing together as one entity. They are currently taking a break from their role as gym leaders until they are more prepared for the job.

In a few months' time, the Pokémon League was handing out sponsors for some curious school that was very far away from Unova, so it appeared. It piqued the brothers' interests because not only did it look exotic, but it promised opportunities, opportunities that budding gym leaders like themselves could really stand to take. Especially considering recent events... There were problems to be sorted, though, about the responsibilities of running the restaurant, but after some talk and thought, they decided Cress should go. But Chili strongly disagreed and it turned into a back-and-forth dispute about which of them should go until Cilan suggested that both of them should go. It made them uncomfortable to leave Cilan to fend for himself, but Cilan insisted thoughtfully that while they could enrich their experiences abroad, he could stand to gain a little independence.

Anything Else?:
Cress has two Pokémon with him at the moment: Panpour and Basculin. He only caught Basculin just recently when he last visited Striaton City.
His movements tend to be characterized by a calculated but fluid grace. BIG. FAT. SURPRISE. Expect lots of dumb sashaying and smooth palm gestures that flow like... you guessed it... water.
He has an interesting speech quirk on three accounts. First off, he has a lightweight sort of lisp where his sibilants sound like extended hissing. Kisssesss. Ssasssafrasss. Secondly, he has a habit of showcasing a rather lofty, formal way of speaking, a.k.a "what a hoity toity douchenozzle". This becomes less of a rule when he's not making a public show of himself. His third tendency is to occasionally refer to himself in the third person.

In-Character 1st person sample:
[text]

As far as first impressions go, this school has most certainly surpassed any preconceptions I may have had on my first day about it being strange. It was to be expected that I would be surprised, but nothing could have prepared me for the week that transpired. Allow me, Cress, to elaborate.

The Ursaring that serves lunch in the cafeteria? What talent! I wonder where he acquired his culinary finesse? Panpour knows his way around a few pots and pans, but Nancy is a one-bear restaurant. It has been demonstrated that Pokemon have the capability of manifesting a human form... Does Nancy know how to do that, too? I wish to speak with him sometime on the matter...

And is it true that this school has its own host club? Hmm... Interesting. If I may ask who the minds behind it are? I don't doubt the hosts' overall quality, no, but just imagine what an expert could do to spice things up. Cress could help. I promise you will find that luster you might be lacking. Just a thought to consider~.

Oh, and one more... issue I would like to bring to the table. It's difficult to catch a wink of sleep when your neighbors are making obscene rackets past bedtime, every night, rinse and repeat. The cycle never ends. And Cress is something of a light sleeper, and just the slightest peep can rouse him, so this is a polite request for those who find themselves awake after the short hand starts to take a dive to possibly, oh... run a check on their volume levels? It is the most courteous course of action to take when you share a living space, after all. Thank you.

In-Character 3rd person sample:
Gloom marked his face as he stared profoundly past the hands pressed neatly on his lap and into his own thoughts. Nothing shook this statuesque meditation, not even the bubbly chirps of his Panpour companion as he happily explored the new and unfamiliar waters of the fountain. It was a nice fountain, very stately and large, much like the one set in Striaton City. It was here that Cress retired to stew in his thoughts that he feared might pull him under soon if he didn't reserve some solitude for himself.

Had it been such a good idea, his doubts asked, after all? To vacate away from Unova, from his day-to-day duties and plunge into a vastly unknown land far away from the comforts of home? Was it presumptuous to consider himself ready for such a bold change in his life? Smash Academy was an experience all right, that had been promised, but... It was a little too much to swallow at once! Over the past week alone he had been solicited by a gang of speedo-clad men, had to be evacuated from the premises on account of an accident with the zoology lab where all assortments of dangerous creatures ran amok, watched as a floating hand juggled oranges on each of his fingers, and had narrowly avoided getting his face sliced open by a plate shuriken during the food fight of his life, of which he hadn't wanted any part in at all. There had been more pleasurable experiences, yes, but most remarkably his stay had been eventful in all the worst ways.

He missed the routine that came with working as a waiter and a gym leader. Chili came with him; at least there was that. While he was one brother richer, he was still one brother poor, and Cress missed Cilan already. He worried about him at least every hour now- whether he was holding up all right or not, what he might be doing right now... Pondering it sunk him deeper into his melancholy. He shut his eyes. The continuous trickle of water cascading from the fountain brought solace to him, as it reminded him of the nights he would spend quietly by the fountain at the center of Striaton whenever he needed to sort his thoughts. It was nice, but didn't help him stop missing home.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that it was astonishing to feel a gentle tap against his arm. It was Panpour of course, smiling and climbing up onto the stone siding beside him. He appeared to have something rested atop his tuft; a splendidly white lily. The sight of Panpour so blithely expectant about his trainer's pending reaction to this awesome flower he just picked up for him caused Cress to spread into a warm smile, and he scooped Panpour up to bring him close to his chest, not really caring how damp he was at this point.

"...You're right. Cress shouldn't miss home too much. Wherever I go, there will always be something to make me feel a little closer, and most importantly, I will always have you." He plucked the flower from Panpour's head and brought it to his face, its clear and fragrant scent. "New experiences are simply a part of life's course."