@tag, NOTES

Valerie's parents were the talk of the traditional Enju City as she grew up, mostly from her father's status as a Kalosian foreigner who sought employment at her grandfather's shop and married into the city's prized kimono making family. Valerie likes to joke that she wasn't born with a silver spoon in her mouth as much as she was a thimble. It was only natural she learned her trade from her family, squinting at the embroidery of kimono for hours to get just the right stitch to flow with hand-painted silks. Though some might find it stifling, the girl was comforted by it. Even still though, Valerie always wanted more. She wanted to be the kimono girls in the theater her family made robes for, putting on performances and battling with elegance. Her opportunity arose one day while watching coverage of a Contest on television, her fingers idling pulling thread into a doll outfit she'd been making for practice. The woman on the screen, Anastasia Marie Gala, was surrounded by Pokemon of such beauty, grace, and ferocity she was a spectacle to behold; to Valerie, her performance on TV was like a godsend.

The kimono-girls weren't looking for another member, but to challenge the contest circuit? That was something that the grey-eyed girl thought she stood a chance at. Sharing her plans with her family, even facing the ridicule of some of them for wanting to leave the comforts of home behind, Valerie was urged on by her father whose own travel bug had led him across the seas to Johto in the first place. Valerie's parents gifted her a Pokemon Egg she hatched on the night of a full moon, revealing a Cleffa. Her messenger bag could only hold so many essentials (Pokeballs, medicines, rations) that Valerie wound up opting to also tote along a rolling suitcase with some of her costuming supplies and make up in it, as well as more practical items like sleeping bag and tent for those rare nights when she couldn't make it to a Pokemon Center to sleep.

Her journey began on a sour note however; the event in Kikyo City's Madatsubomi Tower spread like wild fire across the region, the knowledge of the infected and Team Virus shocking many. Media ran rampant with the news, and true to Machiavelli's word, Anastasia was gone. Her idol lost to the world, a mysterious man declaring his intent to dominate the Johto Region, and a "Fairy" possibly spreading the phantom virus? It was more information than the girl felt like she could process at first, and she was only getting it second hand. Yet, despite all these threats lurking around the corner the kimono-clad girl didn't turn tail and run back to her family with tears in her big grey eyes. Anastasia's performance had given her the inspiration to take her creativity and whims and truly do something with it; Valerie couldn't let a kindred soul be held captive by such brutes or the ilk of Team Virus dictate how she would live her life with Pokemon.

Friendships, romances, and enemies,

Becoming Valerie's friend isn't too difficult; she's a pretty charismatic person, if you can look past her occasional oddity and her fashion sense. That said, she doesn't take well to brutish types with one track minds, and can come across as a little haughty when she giggles behind a sleeve. Anyone willing to lend themselves or their Pokemon as models for some of her creations winds up on her good side fast; especially someone willing to pay for some of her work. She is an artist, after all.

As for romance? The thought's occasionally crossed the girl's mind, especially when she's gotten the chance to...appreciate the karate-fighter types training in dojos across towns. Just because a girl teases a boy doesn't mean she's not interested. Muscles are nice and all, but what's really important is someone who can keep up with her mind in the end.

Enemies aren't something that Valerie has much experience with in the end. She was raised around her family mostly, and adores her cousins and aunts and uncles at the workshop as well as her family. Snobbish types, particularly those who try to nit-pick her fashion sense, often cross her in the end which has made making female friends when she grew up challenging for the girl. Following the media coverage around the events at Madatsubomi Tower, she's come to view Team Virus and their leader as a deplorable lot, particularly for spiriting away her idol from the public eye for some nefarious reason. Though she's well aware she's still somewhat of a greenhorn, if the opportunity arose for Valerie to help the Top Coordinator in any way, she'd probably take it.

Extra notes;  found a template and hope the link to the creator's still good 'cause I'm horrible at coding. -.-