Name: Otani IkedaNickname(s): Tan-Tan (pronounced like "Tauntaun," that thing that Han Solo cut open and shoved Luke into to keep him from freezing to death on Hoth).
Gender: Female
Height: 4' 7"
Weight: 89lbs
Age: 16
Birthday: October 15th
Home Town: Pacifidlog Town, Hoenn
Personality: Otani is a gentle, easygoing girl. She has a bright outlook on life as well as a deep thirst to live to the fullest extent, but takes everything with a grain of salt to protect herself from being hurt too badly. While she may be friendly to others, she doesn't reveal too much about herself unless she knows she can trust the people outside her immediate family and the Pokemon she is getting to know. She loves her pokemon as if they're children
Orientation: Demisexual. She tends to stare when she finds someone to be aesthetically pleasing, regardless of gender. Don't be fooled though.
Likes: Swimming, flying, drawing and coloring, and exploring. She has a soft spot for Pokemon that have a more reptilian appearance, but her biggest love is for the soft fluffy things.
Skills: Otani is a doodler, but she also finds she is a decent chef when left to her own accord. She has some very basic first-aid and self-defense knowledge under her belt, but most of her talent lies with escaping and getting to difficult-to-reach places and getting back to safety unassisted. Living most of her life on the swaying platforms and raft bridges of Pacifidlog Town have given her a superb sense of balance on moving ground and narrow walkways. She is a practiced contortionist, making restraining her quite a task. Growing up in Pacifidlog made her a very good swimmer, as she is rather fit from years of swimming against the notoriously strong currents between Slateport and her hometown.
Dislikes: Active neglect and abuse of Pokemon, whether its trainer knows it or not. She's not all too fond of bugs, but she tolerates a select number of species of bug-types.
Fears: Otani has always been afraid of losing contact with her family, as well as losing the trust of her friends and Pokemon, particularly Uyama.
Goals/Dreams: Otani is a self-proclaimed "Professional Doodler." Much like her older brother Tsubin, she enjoys sketching, though enjoys it more as a record of everyday events. She doesn't have much of a goal set for herself, but the ability to share her experience of life with others through visual media and the internet has always been a rewarding hobby. She hopes to share more during her travels.
Appearance/Physical Description: Otani is on the small side. Despite her slim form, her musculature is quite toned and firm, her upper body difficult to distinguish under the loose-fitting tank top and cropped cheongsam-style jacket she always seems to be wearing. Her long smoky blue hair is layered, with the longer section of her hair braided and hanging just below her rib cage, with her tail drawn into a tight braid and intertwined with the bigger one. Unbraided, the overall length reaches just past her knees. Her eyes are deep dark brown, similar to her brother's. She likes wearing shorts in any weather or temperature, accompanied by black thigh-high socks and black ankle-high boots. She keeps a holster-style bag at her left hip for her important stuff like her Pokeballs, phone, and wallet, and a backpack for her miscellaneous possessions, including her clothes, drawing pads, pens, and markers.
Theme Song: Kaze no Ne - Kumi Tanioka ft. Yae
History: Otani and Tsubin have a shared history as siblings. Both of their parents were from the Kanto region: an otherwise ordinary woman and a man who left the Kanto region to settle in a remote area in Hoenn: Pacifidlog Town.
Away from the hustle and bustle of the larger cities and city life, Pacifidlog was perfect for them. It was a calm life in a small house floating in the middle of the ocean among other homes and buildings, and they raised a total of four children, all separated by a year or so in age. They were a loud and lively bunch, almost always seen swimming through the currents to the west of town or running around together with the other children on the log paths connecting all the homes and businesses. Otani is the youngest daughter with two brothers and a sister, and one of the most rambunctious of the four. The siblings are very close and were rarely seen without each other, at least until they were off in Rustboro City for school; they all had to leave Pacifidlog one at a time as they came of age to be in school, and only returned to their home whenever weekends and breaks came along. Luckily for them, they have an uncle, Haru, who was willing to house them every semester.
When she was in the middle of her sophomore year of high school, the man had a fossil in his possession that he decided to get resurrected at Devon Corp. It was a piece of Old Amber, which brought back a rather feisty Aerodactyl. Otani was enthralled by it, but slightly off-put by the prospect of never being able to get one for herself due to the somewhat busy life she had, being stuck with studies and school activities. But still, she knew it would be a big responsibility to be raising a brand new baby Pokemon on her own. And it was a challenge she was willing to accept if the chance ever came around. About a month before their school would let its students out for the scheduled summer break, Uncle Haru surprised her with an egg, which was about ready to hatch soon after she received it.
The resulting baby was quite a handful, but Otani was already quite smitten with the baby Aerodactyl; though he was almost a splitting image of his apparent father, his temperament seemed to be the opposite, where he was gentle and inquisitive of everything going on around him. Young Uyama was very responsive to her and learned quickly from what simple commands she taught him, always keeping her in his sight whenever he could. He also grew quickly and adapted to their life at their uncle's home in Rustboro, though he was still not ready to fly yet. Transitioning him to life back in Pacifidlog would be quite a task, but for the time being, he would get used to those who were currently around him. The two were as close as Tsubin and Hikari, though he seemed to be the more anxious Pokemon whenever she had to leave the house for school or run errands.
After Tsubin decided to have a different kind of summer break to try his hand at a Pokemon journey, Otani decided to follow suit. Instead of following her older brother though, she wanted to explore the region her parents had come from. She knew Uyama would still need a bit of time to learn how to fly, but she was more than willing to wait until then. After all, there was a whole world for both of them to explore! At least until it was time to get back to school for another year.
