Development Prompt Answers

* Prompt #1: Show /describe this Pokemon doing their favorite move! How did they learn it and why is it their favorite?
Of the four moves she uses regularly, Pepper's favorite is Boomburst. She inherited the use of it from her grandfather - a Noivern named Nightshade - who learned the technique himself through hard work and dedication. When his own son came of age, he, in turn, passed the knowledge on down to the young Swellow. Thus, the first time Pepper herself successfully let off a Boomburst, her chest swelled with pride! By learning the move, she knew she was following her grandfather's flight-path and continuing a family tradition that's now three generations strong. She hopes to make it four someday! Plus, aside from all the tradition stuff, Boomburst is just a wicked move. It's super loud and super strong and absolutely PERFECT for knocking all the fruit off a tree when you aim the center of the blast at its trunk. Furthermore, a Boomburst at 1/3 power is JUST loud enough to scare the metaphorical pants (and sometimes the literal ones!) off your target without doing any damage. Super great for a laugh, especially when you can sneak up from behind and let loose without being spotted. No one EVER expects a tiny bird like Pepper to be able to make such a HUGE noise!



* Prompt #2: Has your Pokemon ever encountered a legendary? what was this like and how did it impact them?
Pepper has never encountered a legendary Pokemon. To her, they're just that - legendary - and they don't bear worrying about in the REAL world. Though she isn't completely clueless! Lugia, Zapidos, Articuno, Moltres, Ho-Oh.... she knows them all. Her childhood bedtime stories were absolutely filled with the great and powerful heroes of old, and as their exploits came to life in the eye of her young imagination, she hung on her parents' every word. Back then, she DREAMED of being able to meet one of them! Her particular favorite legendary to hear about was the Rainbow Pokemon, Ho-Oh. She'd ask over and over to see the illustration in the book - the one showing Ho-oh's beautiful feathers - and she'd gaze at it while the tale of the great war between humans and the legendary bird's disappearance was related to her. But now that she's all gown up, she has her doubts. A Pokemon with the power to bring back the dead? To grant eternal happiness? Impossible.



* Prompt #3: What was your Pokemon's life like before joining the team?
Before going off on her own and starting a Pokemon rescue team, Pepper worked for a team called the Sandsifters. A large Sandshrew known as Kinetix headed up the operation, and they were a very outgoing Pokemon. Their energy was contagious! You couldn't be in a room with them for very long without picking up on it, and if you went in feeling low you'd inevitably come out with a big grin on your face. Needless to say, everyone liked them! Their agents respected their opinions and threw themselves into their missions with gusto - the Sandsifters were like one big family! That's why Pepper was happy when her younger sister Penny signed on as well. Getting to hang out with her only made the office seem like even MORE of a home away from home! But after several years of working for Kenetix, Pepper began to grow restless. The Sandsifters were a mid-tier operation, meaning that they mostly got mid-tier assignments: Escort missions, delivery quests, and the occasional community improvement project. But Pepper wanted MORE. Sure, she was helping Pokemon, but... she wasn't having much of an impact outside Firth. And when she shared her concerns with Kenetix, the older Sandshrew simply smiled and shook his head, telling her that there were different KINDS of helping, and that she'd understand when she was older. Pepper didn't feel like she was being taken seriously. So, bidding farewell to Penny, she left the Team and set off to go her own way.



* Prompt #4: Draw or Describe your Pokemon's pokeball!
Pepper doesn't have a trainer so she doesn't have a Pokeball, though in some alternate universe where she does, her pokeball would be pretty simple: a plain 'ol Timer ball with the only decoration being a red spade sticker stuck in the center of the round catch. "But... that's so GENERIC!" you may say. "Get CREATIVE with it!" you may insist. Well... have you ever SEEN a timer ball? It looks exactly - I kid you not - like a Pikipek. It's almost as if it was designed for them by the Pokemon Company itself! Thus, I can not imagine a better Pokeball for Pepper. Furthermore, with her straightforward and down-to-earth personality, I imagine she'd appreciate the visual compliment while also approving of the simplicity of the idea. So a Timer ball it is! The spade sticker is just the icing on the cake. Pepper would, however, appreciate a ball capsule. That little extra flair as she burst forth from its confines would delight her!

The above is Pepper's Ball Capsule design, which I put together in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond.



And this is the Ball capsule in action, using my Starraptor B52 as a model. Since... Pikipek isn't in this game. Pardon the quality - it took a bit to get the GIF made/rotated/uploaded, and I'm afraid it lost a bit in translation...

* Prompt #5: What is your Pokémons personality?
This can be found on Pepper's main page, in the center section of the 'General Info' box! It was submitted verbatim.



* Prompt #6: What is your Pokémon backstory/history? Where did they come from? Did they originally live somewhere else?
This can be found on Pepper's main page, in the 'origins' section of the 'History' box! It was submitted verbatim.



* Prompt #7: What are your Pokemon’s relationships with others like?
Pepper tends to polarize people - they either love her or hate hate her, work with her perfectly or clash like milk and orange juice. And she's fine with this. She realizes that she can't please everyone, and has no desire to! There's no room in her life for falsehood and pretenses. For the purposes of this prompt, focus is given to the relationships Pepper has with her family, rather than the ones she has with her friends and team.

* Gatsby; Swellow; Pepper's father: Pepper loves her father dearly, and recognizes in him a kindred spirit; he's a hard core of steel wrapped in fluffy feathers that will NOT let life keep him down! They don't always get along - they're far too similar not to butt heads sometimes - but Pepper has earned Gatsby's respect with her determination and quick wit while he's earned hers with his experience and resilience. It's from him that she learned Boomblast and Brave bird! Her father always offers wonderful advice, and was the primary one to help her train for her Pokemon team entrance exams. He learned a lot from his old trainer before he was rejected, and he was only too happy to pass it on if it would help Pepper achieve her dreams. Pepper firmly believes that said trainer was a moron for not recognizing the wonderful Pokemon that Gatsby truly is!

* Delora; Tranquill; Pepper's mother: Pepper will never not miss her hatch-mother. No Pokemon will ever fill that space in her heart. At the same time though, Delora has been nothing if not patient and understanding, supportive and kind, though her frustration occasionally bubbled just below the surface. Pepper loves to see her father happy again, and once the initial resentment wore off - once she began to understand that no one was TRYING to replace her hatch-mother.... she discovered that she could feel happy again too. The pair began to bond, and, slowly, Pepper started to consider the pretty Tranquil to be her mother V.2. Delora is an excellent listener, and is always willing to lend an ear whenever Pepper needs someone to talk to. Furthermore, she's endlessly creative, and while Pepper isn't very artistic herself, she can't argue that Delora's sculptures and mobiles really brighten up the family home. Really, the only point of contention between them is the fact that Pepper believes Delora is too meek.

* Eddard; Pidove; Older brother: Older is a loose term. Eddard is really only a few months older than Pepper. But... as children, it was enough for the nerdy little Pidove to get a complex. He was constantly trying to throw his meager weight around, claiming greater intelligence on the basis of age and barking out inane orders that would only tick off his sisters and make him sulky when they refused to obey. To, Pepper, Eddard was nothing more than a whiny little brat with a tendency to be clingy. And he was always getting into her stuff! It was enough to make her want to punt him across the room. He could be cool too though - rarely... Like when he'd help her with her homework, or come up with really cool science experiments, or cover for her when she was about to get in trouble. In return, Pepper would stick up for him - no one was allowed to tease him but her - help him out in gym, and do her best to not to thump him, even when he was being really REALLY annoying. As the pair matured, their relationship grew more solid. The juvenile arguments abated and actual discussions began. Eddard will never be as close to Pepper as Penny is, but these days they're at least fast friends, and both know that the other will always be there to help out if it's within their power. All they have to do is reach out!

* Penny; Pikipek; Younger sister: Penny and Pepper are a year apart, but look similar enough to one another that folks outside the family were always assuming they were twins. They are, and always have been, closer than close. The real foundation of their bond is simply the fact that they're so similar. As children, the two were always putting their heads together and getting up to mischief, covering for one another, and inventing their own games to play alone. In short, they were thick as thieves! Then their mother died. Already close, the pair became inseparable. The two girls leaned on each other heavily, sharing their pain and building strength through memory. It was years before they opened up to anyone else - they kept their own counsel well into their teens - and whenever one of the sisters began to feel overwhelmed they'd go straight to the other for support. Unsurprisingly, this bond lasts up until the modern day, though with the help of their father and stepmother they've both healed significantly. Pepper and Penny still share secrets between them that'd never share with any other Pokemon, and visit each other regularly, taking time out of their busy rescue-team schedules to touch base and reconnect.

* Saul; Unpheasent; Maternal grandfather: To put it simply, Pepper doesn't like her grandfather and she never will. He's a crotchety, close-minded old coot and she can't begin to fathom how someone as kind, thoughtful, and accepting as Delora could be related to him! They only pretend to get along as much as they do for the benefit of the family - when no one else is looking they're openly hostile. In light of this strained relationship, it may come as no surprise that It's completely because of her Step-grandad that Pepper moved out of the family home so soon. Furthermore, while every other member of her family is welcome in her NEW home at any hour of any day, Saul doesn't count. Saul can rot out on the lawn in full view of the neighbors.



* Prompt #8: Where does your pokemon live? Do they have a house? Live with a trainer? Etc.
Pepper lives in an eastern suburb of Firth, on the crest of a hill overlooking the ocean. The fieldstone building - which she owns outright - isn't new, and it's far from high-class; in fact, it's in the oldest section of town and looks a bit shabby at first glance! However, closer inspection will reveal that the place is quite lovingly maintained. It's clean, freshly painted, and full of colour both inside and out! The second floor of the building is where Pepper herself lives. It consists of three rooms: a bedroom (the only part of the house she ever lets fall into clutter), a small study/library that's crammed with books of all kinds, and a bathroom that boasts a 'pink' motif. They sit at the top a flight of stairs and surround a modest landing like the leaves of a clover. Bedroom on the left, bathroom straight ahead, and Pepper's personal study/library to the right. The first floor - which is slightly larger than the area above - contains a modest kitchen, comfortable sitting room, tiny storage room, and secondary study. It also functions as the main office of Pepper's Rescue Agency! Clients are shown through the tiled foyer and into the sitting area, where they're directed to a species-appropriate seat and interviewed to discover what sort of job they have for the team to do. Gear is stored in the storage room (what else would they do with it?), while socializing is done either in the kitchen or the sitting room - when the the team's not in the field - though sometimes, if the weather is nice, they'll adjourn to the back yard and much poffins while staring out at the sea. The ground-floor study is the heart of the operation. It's crowded with several desks, one for each of Pepper's division heads, while cabinets containing the team's records and paperwork line the walls. Each desk is easily identifiable as belonging to a specific Pokemon. Partly, this is because of the fancy plates bearing their names. But the various knickknacks and photos scattered across the top of each one certainly helps! Pepper likes to encourage individual expression in her team.



* Prompt #9: What do your Pokémon do? Do they battle with their trainer, live on their own, explore in a guild, etc?
As you may have already gathered, Pepper makes a living by heading up her very own Rescue Agency! It's small yet - she hasn't even really settled on a name for it - but Pepper dreams big, and hopes to one day take all SORTS of cases! Right now they don't get much. Low-level fetch quests, mostly, with the occasional delivery request or lost item. The Agency hasn't gained enough publicity - or hired enough hands - to take on anything larger. Regardless, each mission is taken seriously and handled with care, weather it's a 'mon asking them to take something to the next town over or a 'mon wanting help with painting their house. Beggars can't really be choosers. And a paycheck is a paycheck...



* Prompt #10: What is your pokemons full moveset and when did they learn them?
Pepper's full moveset, for now, as a Pikipek is as follows -

Flame Charge - Pepper learned this one by accident, in the heat of a search and rescue mission she'd been sent on while with the Sandsifters. No pun intended. To put it simply, when she and her teammates found the Pokemon they'd been sent to locate, it was being attacked by a pair of rogue Zubats, seemingly for no other reason than the bullies got a kick out of it. Pepper had already had a rough day, having had an argument with her sister right before reporting for duty, and she was in NO mood to deal with such meanness. Channeling her anger at the Zubats into ever fiber of her being, she charged forward... and only later (from taking to her friends) did she learn that done a Flame Charge. She hadn't even noticed the fire danging across her wings. She'd been too busy showing those jerks what for!

Pluck - Pepper learned this one through many years of roughhousing with her siblings in the woods around their home. They'd frequently play keep-away, the goal of which was, obviously, to hold onto an object as long as you could without it being stolen by your brother or sister. Pepper really enjoyed this game! She and Penny would frequently gang up on Eddard - one serving as a distraction while the other swept in and grabbed the object of the day. Though once one of hem had it, the truce would end and it was every Pokemon for themselves! During one particular game, where the object in question happened to be the last of their mum's fresh-baked berry scones, Pepper was feeling particularly cheeky. So, the instant she got the scone away from Penny... she scarfed it right down! Never mind that both Penny and Eddard got grumpy with her - it was delicious!

Boomburst - This move was taught to Pepper by her father, who had inherited the technique from HIS father. He took her aside and schooled her in its use when she was studying for her Pokemon Team entrance exams. As it's a very powerful move it took her quite a long time to get the technique down, and she failed countless times. But she persevered, and gradually, bit by bit, the tiny Pikipek's voice grew in volume until she unleashed her first genuine Boomburst! It actually startled her - she was beginning to think she'd never get it - but as the echoes died away, both Pepper and her father started jumping around the yard like happy kids with a sugar-high!

Brave Bird - This is another move Pepper learned from her father. Unlike Boomburst though, they never fully executed the move. Her father simply coached her through soaring to a height, tucking her wings, and diving down... but they always pulled because up at the last second. This is because, Gatsby told his daughter, Brave bird is a risky move that's just as likely to knock YOU out as it is to knock out your opponent! It should only be used in emergencies, and only if you're sure you can take out whatever - or whomever - you're aiming at. You may not be in good enough shape afterword to mount a good defense if you don't! To this day, Pepper hasn't actually had to USE Brave Bird. And she hopes she'll remember her training when the time comes!