PERSONALITY,

Bookworm
While not a complete introvert, Melody always enjoys the company of books and pencils more than human interaction. Additionally, she absolutely loves learning new things. The more trivial, the better!

Calm and Collected
Melody is very hard to stress out. While she won’t always adapt perfectly to a crisis, she is generally able to maintain her composure well. The only exception to this are bears. She will absolutely lose her shit and lose any sense of composure around bear-like Pokemon.

Christopher Columbus-like Sense of Direction
When Christopher Columbus discovered America, he was originally aiming for India. Likewise, Melody is just not very good at this whole geography deal. Maps may very well be intricate pieces of modern art for her, which she will equally not understand.

Natural Cook
Given the proper ingredients (and sometimes even through makeshift means), Melody can satisfy even the pickiest set of taste buds. It’s very rare to see someone dislike Melody’s cooking.

Pyromaniac
Melody seems to have a bit of a fascination with fire. Fire Pokemon, Fire Moves, even fire-fire. Her… *ahem* ‘intrigue’ towards fire even seems intense to the point where a psychologist should check her out. Oh well, it's probably nothing. It's just a world where fire-breathing creatures are everywhere, anyway. Hey, where’d my lighter go? What smells like burning hair?

HISTORY,

Melody’s parents had always despised the notion of becoming a Pokemon Trainer. To them, it was impractical, vagrant, and barbaric, a primitive lifestyle that only served to get irresponsible parents a break after ten years of parenting. It didn’t help that their son, a young, 10-year old boy named Matthew absolutely rejected this idea, and showed large amounts of interest in the creatures living amongst him. Despite their best efforts to keep him from becoming a Pokemon Trainer, he simply ran away from home to pursue his dream for both the love of Pokemon, and spite to his parents (spite probably being one of the bigger defining factors). Having learned from their experiences with Matt, Mr. and Mrs. Taylors decided they would not go through the same experiences with the younger child, a then 4-year old Melody.

Melody was raised to be much more sheltered than Matthew. Her parents became much more strict towards her access to the outside world, limiting access to where she was allowed to go, how long she could stay out, and who she hung out with. Her parents tried to raise her with the same mentality they tried with Matt: “Pokemon are not friends. Pokemon are just our helpers. Pokemon are just tools; lower than us.”

Naturally, Melody was not quite as receptive of this doctrine, because she has a full working soul and everything. Nevertheless, her parents refused to budge. The punishments grew increasingly harsher, up to the point where Melody was simply not allowed outside any more. She became a prisoner in her own home. With metal bars covering each window, and a home security system sensitive to even a Rattata’s squeak, it felt like a prison anyway.

For Melody, this had to stop. She had been confined since her fourth birthday, and she was not going to take it anymore. Melody snuck around her house, watching as her parents inputted the code to the security system. Paying close attention to their fingers, she memorized the code (a very original 1-2-3-4), and returned back to her room. Once night fell, she’d be ready to escape.

Having packed some essential items she “borrowed” from home, and some money she “borrowed” from her mother’s purse, alongside a small switchblade knife she “borrowed” from her father’s closet (because running around in a skirt is dangerous, even in Johto) Melody crept around her house, feeling like a ninja. Escaping her house proved to be remarkably easy, and Melody kicked herself for not thinking of the idea earlier. Either way, she was now free to embark on her journey.

But to where, really? Melody had no idea where to go. She had been vaguely taught geography during her lame home-schooling sessions, and all she really knew was that going outside was the devil. Route 38 was the devil, Route 37 was the devil, and even Route 42, with all that water, was the devil. Melody even thought that lake must be boiling hot. Deciding to begin her journey at the start, she thought it was best to head to Violet City (again, the devil), perhaps to learn something at the Pokemon Academy. Instead, her abysmal sense of direction made her stumble around Route 38 for most of the following day, and before she knew it, she was standing right by Olivine City’s Lighthouse, watching the sun set along the coastline.

Instead of backtracking, or giving up, an uncharacteristically impulsive thought went through Melody’s head.


It was completely viable: all she had to do was catch the last boat out of Olivine, wherever it may go. Her parents might be searching for her, so maybe it would’ve been best if she really, really left home. The way she saw it, she had until sunrise before her parents woke up and figured out she was gone.

Most of the ships had already departed the docks, save for one. Its captain, an old sailor, was simply hanging around the docks with his Poliwhirl, attempting to light his pipe, something that proved to be a futile exercise as the winds blew a bit harder. To Melody, this old sailor was her ticket out of the region, and onto her new adventure. Melody took out a small lighter from her pocket and helped the old sailor out. She never left home without a source of fire, be it a lighter, or a box of matches, and this time it came in handy for less-destructive purposes.

The inquisitive sailor asked Melody where she was headed, to which the wheels in Melody’s head turned. This was it. It was finally time to get out of Johto.


The sailor laughed heartily at Melody’s haste, understanding just what it’s like to leave for new frontiers. Guiding the girl to his boat, the two set sail. Melody watched as the sun slowly began to rise over the horizon, as Olivine City became smaller, and smaller, eventually swallowed by the edge.

Sighing dreamily, Melody held her hand to her chest, feeling her heart thump quickly with excitement. This was it. It was about time to start anew.

FACE CLAIM

Mimi wo Sumaseba, AKIRA SHIMAZU, Melody Taylors