($15) Vera

Spring Sawsbuck x Mega Gyarados 

Vera is the guardian of Illusive Fen, a dangerous wetland that constantly turns Pokémon around and leads them into traps and ambushes. It's incredibly difficult to navigate thanks to the pervasive fog and hard to spot waters, and has gone mostly unexplored for many years because of these factors. Vera's duty is to uphold the balance in the area and the lesser dungeons that surround it, as the order is incredibly unstable and vulnerable to devastating shifts without their assistance. They've come to expect that anyone who makes it to the heart of Illusive Fen without their guidance or that of their followers must be there to cause chaos within their territory. As a result, they defeat any and all unexpected visitors without hesitation, and very few attempt to crawl their way back through the dungeon afterwards. Well, that was the case until Team Wisp came through in order to rescue the friend of their client, Min. The wetland got the better of them on numerous occasions, but the duo was persistent, and eventually made their way to Vera, demanding to know where the Pokémon they were sent to rescue was. Vera thought it was a ruse, so they initiated a fight with the rescue team. Surprisingly enough, it ended in a draw, with the intruders too weak to defeat Vera, but far too determined to give up. A truce was called once Min, a Pokémon Vera recognized as being an inhabitant of a small nearby dungeon, intervened and pleaded with the guardian. After a bit of probing from Vera, they helped the travelers find Min's friend, who was found tied up in some of the natural foliage, which was deemed to be the work of Team Dread. Since then, Vera has allowed guild members into Illusive Fen, and has even agreed to act as an informant to the guild and assist on dangerous yet important excursions. 

Vera's moveset is practically set in stone, due to their reluctance to leave the fen in order to visit a shop to change them. The moves they know are Horn Leech, Thrash, Aqua Tail, and Rain Dance. Horn Leech is a way to keep themselves vitalized, seeing as they don't have many items to restore their health with should they get injured. The most they have to work with is what they find during their patrols, so having a move to keep their energy up is practically a must. Thrash is their main damage-dealer, seeing as their hooves  and tail can pack quite a punch. They're not a huge fan of the disorientation that comes after all that flailing about, but it tends to take care of their enemies quickly, so it's not too much of a problem. Aqua Tail makes use of their environment, sending a torrent of water towards their opponent while getting a strong hit in with their muscular tail. Finally, Rain Dance is less of a tool for combat and more to regulate the weather, since having the fen dry up would be catastrophic. They don't feel the need for Sunny Day seeing as the flora and grass types tend to soak up enough rain to prevent flooding, though there have been a few instances where a vicious storm washed away the homes of Pokémon that made them wish they had the move available.

Even though they're willing to help out Vileplume's guild in times of need, Vera finds theirself regretting that decision whenever they have to guide a weak team through a dungeon. Yes, there have been times where their assistance was necessary and has prevented wars between dungeon guardians and legendaries, but it feels like they get saddled with some rescue team just to escort them for a simple job more often than not. Vera believes that they're far too important to spend time acting as a babysitter for young guild members, though they don't refuse out of fear, since they're not certain if Vileplume and Demere would come after them for doing so or not. Even Team Bloom is too much of a threat for them to be willing to decline requests from the guild. So they play along, helping fledgling explorers get through whatever dungeon they need, even though Vera sincerely wishes they could just ditch the others. Their time is precious, and being paired with Pokémon they could wipe out in an instant is downright insulting to their strength. It's clear that the guardian thinks highly of theirself, and their pompous personality mixed with the constant complaints they send towards the Pokémon they're on a mission with makes most teams loathe working with the other. The only ones who are able to handle Vera's haughtiness seems to be Team Wisp, as they're aware of their strength and position, whereas their fellow teams only have a vague understanding of Vera's duty and what they're capable of.