Serena

Player name: James
Age: 21
Contact: trilies @ plurk and aim.
Other characters:
Paarthurnax (Skyrim, OU)
Saix (Kingdom Hearts, V)

Character name: Serena
Series: Pokemon Y
Canon point: End game, after the Looker storyline

Summary:
Once upon a time, a massive war broke out. It dragged in Human and Pokemon alike, causing many deaths. Even the King's own beloved Pokemon could not be spared. In his grief, he created a device using the power of a legendary Pokemon of destruction- Yveltal. Using its power, he brought his Pokemon back to life... and then used its power to cause massive destruction which stopped the war.

This all become very relevant again some three thousand years later, and it became very relevant to five young adults in particular...

Serena was the only child of Grace, a famous Rhyhorn racer. Mother and daughter had just recently moved to the quiet and small town of Vaniville. Serena had grown up around Pokemon all her life, not unlike many other children in Kalos. Her mother's Rhyhorn was a presumably constant presence, and a small Fletchling was also an addition to their family. Serena did not know many people in her little town, but that all changed when she stepped out of her house one day. There, she was met with two local teenagers. One was her next door neighbor Calem, and the other was a girl her age named Shauna. They informed her that she had been chosen, along with four other people, to do work under Professor Sycamore of Lumiose City. They all rendezvoused at Aquacorde City, where Serena met the other two individuals chosen: a dance obsessed teenager named Tierno and an intelligent young man named Trevor. They all got along quite well, and this was where Serena chose the first of many Pokemon that would accompany her on her journey- a Frogadier. The five of them interacted quite a bit on the first stretch of their journey, racing through Santalune Forest and learning how to adapt on their own for their Pokemon journey. Serena had her first Gym Battle before she made it to Lumiose City, and earned herself the Bug Badge after defeating the gym leader Viola.

So far, things had been more or less a normal trainer journey. As the many games have shown, it's not unusual for trainers to get a pokemon and then go on a journey of sorts. It's sort of like a right of passage for young adults, like when you learn about sex or get your first period. Only... with miniature monsters which can do things like shoot out lasers and explode you with your mind. Hmm.

Things changed for Serena and her friends when they finally arrived at Professor Sycamore's lab. The five friends are instructed to go on their journeys as pokemon trainers, but also to look into an interesting phenomenon called "Mega Evolution", which few know about. Only Calem and Serena seem truly interested in this goal, with Tierno being focused on his dance, Trevor wanting to complete his Pokedex, and Shauna simply wanting to create fond memories with all of her friends. Sycamore is not the only one of importance who Serena meets, however. Before she can leave the lab, she runs into a man named Lysandre who remarks on her potential. Not too long after, she meets him once again in a cafe where he is trying to convince Diantha about eternal life. He also talked to Serena of his vision for a perfect world. From the start, something seems strange.

Nothing particularly special happened as Serena tried to make her way to the second gym in Cyllage City. She helped two old friends reconnect while also getting a Snorlax out of her path, and watched fireworks with her dear friend Shauna. However, she was then advised to go visit Ambrette Town to see if fossils could tell them anything about Mega Evolution. In the end, it turned out there was nothing to be found about it in the Glittering Caves... but Serena and Calem did find something else. They found strange people in bright red suits who claimed they went by the name of Team Flare. The pair of them defeated the goons, and were left wondering just what was up with the mysterious group. With no answers immediately available, Serena made her way to the next gym. Another gym leader defeated, she traveled to Geosenge Town which held mysterious stones... and which had a familiar face in the form of a Team Flare grunt. Serena chased after the grunt, only to find they had disappeared. With a feeling of unease, she set off for the next city after running into the Shalour Gym Leader once again after their last encounter on Route 5. After having gotten a message from Professor Sycamore that there was a clue to Mega Evolution in Shalour City, it was even more important to get there.

After getting an eager Lapras from a man who wished to see his Pokemon be more free, Serena traveled across bays and rivers to get to Shalour City. She also met Tierno and Trevor before she could make it to Mastery Tower. After some discussion, she tried to make her way there only to be stopped once again by Tierno. Her friend admitted to her that he had found a strange stone, and thought it might be connected to Mega Evolution. He wished for her to have it. When they finally talked to the Mega Evolution Guru, however, Serena freely admitted despite Tierno's protests that he was the one who had given the stone to her. While the stone was just an ordinary (although cool looking) rock, the Guru commended her on her honesty. The group of five friends were then told about Mega Evolution before the Guru admitted he only had one Megaring to give freely. Tierno and Trevor passed, saying they had other goals and were not suited for it. Shauna stated that Calem and Serena were the best suited for it. Calem agreed, wanting to test his strength against Serena who he knew was quite the accomplished Pokemon battler. This was just one of the many battles the two would partake in between one another, and it was a battle that Serena won. She had the right to battle the successor of the Megaring, Korrina. When she went to go challenge the other on the top of the tower, one of Korrina's own Lucarios sided with Serena. The pair battled fiercely with their Mega Evolved Lucarios, and this, too, Serena won just like she would go on to win the proper gym battle with Korrina.

After Shalour, Serena would make her way to Coumarine. She and Calem would have yet another battle before she would go into the Coumarine Gym to win the Plant Badge. However, a snag happened. Route 13 meant to take her into Lumiose City once again, but there were strange issues with the Power Plant that made getting any farther impossible. Serena soon discovered the cause: Team Flare. A grunt of theirs was blocking the way, and after defeating him, Serena found his pass before he could and made her way into the Power Plant. She swept through the various grunts blocking her way, and came face to face with a Team Flare Admin and the scientist accompanying them. Serena managed to chase them off, but only after they had managed to accomplish some of their goals... Unsure of what their end plan was, Serena had little choice but to continue onto Lumiose City once again.

With the power restored, things could once again return to normal in the enormous town. After watching the tower light up with Shauna, Serena went on to challenge the Lumiose City gym leader. On the way to Laverre City, the four of them (minus Calem who wanted to train) stopped by a supposed haunted house. It wasn't much of an experience, but it was still a fun time between the four of them. Laverre City was meant to be a simply stop, but she ended up going with Tierno, Trevor, and Shauna to the Pokeball Factory. A strange man was blocking their way... Team Flare again. While Shauna lured away the front door guard, Serena and Calem dashed inside. It turned out that, like with the Power Plant, Team Flare had taken over the factory and was holding its workers hostage. Together, Calem and Serena beat the grunts and defeated the Admin and Scientists. The Team had obviously needed many Pokeballs... But they still didn't know why.

After defeating the Laverre Gym, Serena went to Dendemille Town. While a quiet little place, she was met up with Professor Sycamore and one of his assistants. She was told about a Legendary Pokemon of destruction, and how someone might know about the legend in Anistar City. Before she could go there, however, she had to investigate where a Mamoswine guide had gone. Without the Mamoswine, there's no way to make it through the snow and boulders blocking the way. Serena and Trevor soon discovered that the Mamoswine was worried about something happening in a nearby cave. It turned out that Team Flare was up to their usual tricks, trying to capture an Abomasnow who had been a friend of the Mamoswine. Trevor was tentative about battling, but Serena managed to take out one of the scientists and the Admin. They were chased away, and the reasoning for why they had taken so many Pokeballs was a little clearer. They needed lots of pokeballs to capture Pokemon... But why? That much was still unclear. Just like before, all Serena could do was move onto the next city, Anistar.

While the Anistar Gym was beaten more or less smoothly, things soon became horrible. Lysandre came out as the leader of Team Flare and announced that the world would be ending for any who were not in his team. This set the world into a state of panic, and the five friends knew they had to do something to stop them. The key was finding out where their headquarters was. For Serena, it didn't take long to figure out. She knew that Lysandre had a cafe in Lumiose City, so she went there immediately. After getting the passwords from the two grunts in the cafe, she descended into the secret laboratory. There she confronted Lysandre in a Pokemon battle. The man admitted to her that one of the scientists had the key, and she would need that to go any further. Battling through, Serena got the key and descended into the lower floors. There, she met the immortal man named AZ, and learned of his story. She learned of the ultimate weapon Lysandre planned to use, and how the legendary Yveltal played into this. In the end, she was presented with a choice of two buttons. One would unleash the weapon, and one would not. This turned out to be a lie, as the head scientist planned on releasing it no matter what. In Geosenge city, the weapon surfaced. Serena knew she had to hurry there to stop it.

While Trevor and Tierno helped to move the Pokemon stones along the route to Geosenge, Serena darted into the base of Team Flare. There, she and Calem confronted Lysandre once more. He revealed his plan in full, how he was disgusted with the nature of humans and that he would put the world back into a "clean slate" so that there would be no fighting over limited resources. So that Pokemon could not be used, he would use the legendary weapon to also wipe them all away. Dismayed at this, Serena and Calem went down deeper into the base to stop this from happening. They were soon accompanied by Shauna, who wanted to help in any way she could. They soon arrived at the heart of the legendary weapon. Shauna ran off, leading a good few of the Team Flare grunts away so that Serena could handle the rest. After that done, she slowly approached the enormous egg...

A burst of energy was released from it. The weapon was at 99% but the process was halted as the egg burst open, revealing the enormous Bird of Destruction, Yveltal. With no other choice and wanting Lysandre's plan to fail, Serena battled the Pokemon and used her sole Master Ball to capture it. Before she could celebrate with Shauna and Calem, Lysandre showed up. He was enraged to have his plan foiled, and once again Serena battled him. With Yveltal now on her side, the battle was finished in a heartbeat. Despite Shauna trying to reason with him, Lysandre was beyond help. He activated what power there was left in the weapon in an effort to bring them down with him. However, Serena, Shauna, and Calem managed to escape... Lysandre did not.

After recovering from the battle, Serena decided to continue on her journey. She met up with Professor Sycamore again in Couriway Town. They talked about Lysandre and the regrets they had, before a small battle was had once again. With that done, Serena went on to get her final badge in Snowbelle City. With that accomplished, she was now fully prepared to traverse Victory Road... and confront the Elite 4 along with the Champion of the Kalos League.

It was a tough battle, with Serena battling many experienced trainers and even her rival Calem who wished to improve himself against her in battle. Finally, however, she and her Team made it to the Elite Four. Things were even tougher than before, but soon, she had beat every member of Elite Four and only had to face the Champion. To her surprise, it turned out to be Diantha- a famous actress who was familiar with both Lysandre and Professor Sycamore, and who Serena had met a few times. After both trainers got over their shock, they battled. In the end, Serena managed to win over the Champion of Kalos. When she returned to Lumiose, she was surprised that Professor Sycamore had organized a parade for her and her four friends and all to award them a medal of honor for the help they gave against Team Flare. Before the parade could end, however, AZ appeared once again. He requested a battle against the New Champion. With his defeat, he relinquished the anger that had been in his heart... and his beloved Pokemon came back to him.

It was more or less a happy ending, but Serena's journey did not end there. After traveling around and to Southern Kalos for a bit, Serena got a message while she was visiting Lumiose City. This ended up with her becoming the partner of a so-called detective named Looker. The two of them started to solve cases, one of which involved the man taking in a young girl named Emma under his wing. As they continued to solve cases, the three of them (plus Mimi the Espurr) grew very close. They were worried when Emma turned out to be going out more and more with no explanation, but they had another case to take care of. A mysterious stranger was stealing Pokemon from trainers after battling them. Looker and Serena chased after this mysterious armored person, and during their final confrontation... Mimi suddenly appeared, excited at the person.

Looker realized that this was somehow Emma, and took a hit for Mimi when Emma started to lose it. Emma disappeared, and Looker seemed injured although he tried to play it off. Claiming to go to a hospital, he pleaded with Serena not to tell Emma of what had happened. Emma seemed to have no memory of what was going on. Soon, Serena got a message from a butler telling her his mistress wished to see her. After battling the butler, Serena went to the Hotel.. only to meet Malva of the Elite 4, who also happened to have been a former Team Flare Admin. She told Serena the whole story of how Emma was being brainwashed by the suit, which was created by the very same Team Flare scientist which had gave Serena the false choice of buttons to press in the Team Flare labs. Malva helped Serena gain access to this secret area of the lab, where she made her way through the complicated place. After finally running into the man, he forced Emma "Essentia" to battle. Serena defeated each and every Pokemon that was tossed at her, and soon, Looker arrived at the scene. After Essentia starts to malfunction in response to Mimi again, Xerosic finally agreed to let her go, and agreed to be put into custody.

Looker could not stay, however, and despite pleaful protests from Emma, said he was leaving. He revealed the truth of who he was, and told both Emma and Serena that they would never forget one another. He told Emma that she was now in charge of the Looker Bureau, and she would never have to worry about money ever again. In the endgame, Emma wants to truly see how powerful Serena is as a battler considering all she's done, and battles her as nothing but herself. They remained good friends.

So, now you apparently don't need to play Pokemon Y since there's the plot.

Being a more or less Silent Protagonist, it might be hard to attribute a personality to Serena. However, in that case, it's often helpful to look more at her actions, which speak for themselves more than any words could. If one goes through with all they can throughout the game, it becomes apparent that Serena is a very kind hearted soul. She helps Shauna look for a man's missing Furfrou, and can give an old man a Pokemon to keep him company in his final days. This kindness mixes in quite well with Serena's apparent sense of justice. There's no need for Serena to get herself so heavily involved in Team Flare's shenanigans. The incident at the cave could nearly be considered unavoidable, but she could have easily walked away from the incident at the Power Plant. That's a job for the police, after all. Now, of course you can't do this in-game, because if you did, the plot would go nowhere, but still. It could also be looked at as something she as a character would not do. She has taken on Team Flare before, and knows her capabilities. Someone has to stop them, and so she goes on into the Power Plant. This also speaks of Serena's courage. You need to be at least a little bit daring in the first place to go out into the world nearly all on your own when you're still fairly young. Serena doesn't just travel, however. She goes against a criminal organization. She balances herself on a gigantic web in her very first gym battle. She looks up straight into the face of a giant deathbird and decides "Yeah I could probably stick that into a little ball". She agrees to be the bait that will lure out a criminal who's already proven themselves to be dangerous. When using Fly, you're who knows how high up on the air, riding a giant bird with no saddle.

Serena also seems to be fairly determined. You'd have to be, if your goal is to go through every gym throughout the country and face the very best trainers there are. She might deviate, now and then, because of other responsibilities or just to satisfy a teenager's natural curiosity, but she inevitably returns to her main goal of Being the Very Best There Ever Was. A lot of people could have probably called it quits after beating Team Flare and catching a life draining phoenix thing. That's more than a lot of people accomplish in their lives. That's even a pretty decent run for any other progonist. However, Serena still has one thing she has to finish, so she goes and finishes it.

This isn't to say she's perfect or fearless- when Yveltal's coccoon starts to react, she steps back with a clear look of shock and hesitation on her face. When she battles Lysandre for the final time, she deviates from her usual cheerful fist pump animation to give a sigh of relief. To me, that shows that on some level, Serena wasn't entirely sure she could beat him and can't help but show that relief. Even with Yveltal backing her up, it was still a situation that one can't help but feel over their head in. Also, she can't climb up ledges she just hopped over.

Some of the other characters mention aspects of Serena. Emma from the Looker quests mentions that Serena seems very mature, which seems to match with one of the Trainer PR videos where there's an "elegant" option. Valeria refers to her as captivating, and many trainers comment on the relationship between Serena and her pokemon. It's never said how old Serena is, but she can be guessed to be in the middle of her teens at the very least. It's apparent that she's matured very quickly in her teenage years. Possible explanations could be because she's the daughter in a single parent household (the father missing) and the daughter of someone who seems pretty famous as well. When you live in a single parent household, you inevitably end up taking on some of the responsibilities no matter how much your parent does their best on their own. As the child of someone famous, you occasionally are in the spotlight and must be on your best behavior. With this in mind, it probably isn't surprising that Serena has turned out to be a mature and responsible young woman. As the daughter of a famous Rhyhorn racer, it is also no surprise that she ends up kicking a lot of ass.

Powers:
Serena herself does not have any special powers! Not really, at any rate, unless you count being really athletic as a power. (Girl walks, rollerblades, and bikes around an entire country, don't tell me that isn't metal.) However, she does have a full team of Pokemon, all with their own unique powers!

Talonflame ♀ // Violette
--Nature: Relaxed, highly curious
--Level: 60
--Ability: Flame Body
--Moveset: Roost, Acrobatics, Steel Wing, Flame Charge
--Found: On Route 2. She was still a low level Fletchling when Serena made her way to Anistar City and was given to be a companion to an old man who resided in the city. Serena visited a few times, and on one of her visits, she realized the old man had passed away. Since then, she's resolutely kept the bird Pokemon by her side and it's evolved to its final form. Holding a necklace with a Comet Shard in it.

Hawlucha ♀ // Noisettier
--Nature: Hardy, highly curious
--Level: 60
--Ability: Unburden
--Moveset: Roost, Aerial Ace, Sky Attack, Flying Press
--Found: On Route 10. Serena found herself admiring the perseverance of the colorful little bird Pokemon, and ended up catching it. It's clung to her side tightly ever since. Holding Fist Plate.

Greninja ♀ // Fongère
--Nature: Lonely, sturdy body
--Level: 60
--Ability: Torrent
--Moveset: Water Pulse, Water Shuriken, Rock Smash, Hydro Pump
--Found: Serena's very first starter! Well, it was a Frogradier when she was just starting her Pokemon journey. However, she's kept it with her for her entire journey and the pair of them have become very close. Holding Mystic Water.

Charizard ♂ // Cerisier
--Nature: Sassy, Likes to trash about
--Level: 60
--Ability: Blaze
--Moveset: Flameburst, Dragon Rage, Wing Attack, Flamethrower
--Found: Serena's second starter, given to her personally after she battled Professor Sycamore. He and Fongère are quite close considering how long the pair of them have been with Serena since pretty much the very start. They are also gossipy little brats with one another. Holding Charazardite Y.

Lucario ♂ // Soleil
--Nature: Hasty, Alert to Sounds
--Level: 60
--Ability: Steadfast
--Moveset: Power-Up Punch, Aura Sphere, Strength, Bone Rush
--Found: Serena ran into Soleil quite a few times throughout her journey. At that time, he was the Pokemon of the Shalour City Gym Leader Korrina. The Lucario found himself drawn to Serena's aura. She ran into him first on Route 5, and then again in Geosenge City. Serena and Korrina eventually met in Shalour City, where they would agree to battle one another on the top of the Tower of Mastery for the right to be the Megastone successor. It was then that Soleil decided to ally himself with Serena, to both trainers' shock. Serena soon accepted him, however, and was asked by Korrina to watch over the Lucario. Since then, Soleil has been a valuable addition to Serena's team with his strength and quick feet. Holding Lucarioite.

Fennekin ♂ // Kinniekins
--Nature: Modest, Mischievous
--Level: 5
--Ability: Blaze
--Moveset: Scratch, Tail Whip, Ember
--Found: Originally, Kinniekins was a Pokemon hatched by Shauna. However, after the whole events of the Champion battle, the parade, and the battle with Az, Serena walked out of her home in Vaniville only run into her close friend. Shauna wished to trade Pokemon with Serena so that the two of them would remember one another and all their precious memories of each other. Serena agreed, and ended up with Kinniekins the Fennekin. He's the youngest of her current team, and still doesn't have much experience yet. Holding Lucky Egg.

Entry: Serena will be able to make her way to the Bastion, thanks to the aid of her Pokemon.
Other: So. Serena's bag. That bag can apparently hold a ridiculous amount of stuff. Considering Pokemon's premise, this might actually not be that strange, even if it is just lazy video game logic. Upon entering, however, Serena will lose a considerable amount of her items, and be left with just the following: 10 potions, 2 super potions, 1 max potion, a Pokedex, 17 Pokeballs, 2 great balls, EXP Share, Cut, Surf, Fly, Will o' Wisp, a fold up bike, a contact lens case, an old rod, and a badge case with her Gym badges and the Honor of Kalos badge. She'll also have one spare outfit. I based this somewhat off of my own inventory in-game and tried to cut out enough of what she would have gotten.