Species: Servine
Other Names: N/A
Relatives: Currently none living.
Current Moveset:
Vine Whip Bind Leaf Blade Aerial Ace
History: Chai was born in Prismatic Jungle about 200 years in the past. Due to the harsh, predatory nature of the jungle, he never met his parents nor any of his siblings, but he never missed them. All his life, he only had himself to rely on. He tried making friends in his early days, but all those friendships were very short-lived, either due to them being killed or eventually attempting to kill him, and by the time he evolved into a Servine, he decided to renounce all hope of being nice to people.
He also considered evolving further, but upon encountering an actual Serperior and barely surviving due to his Aerial Ace and the advantages that his limbs provided, decided that evolving (and therefore losing said limbs) would be a bad idea. It’s also said that the reason Chai’s two back leaves are missing was because they were bitten off in a battle against a powerful Scyther who was trying to eat him.
All his life, he lived on the island in the middle of a vast lake in the jungle, and could never make it out. He’d always wonder what it was like, though, and secretly hoped that one day he would find a way to explore outside. The only thing that he believed in was the word of Goddess Loire, even though there wasn’t much evidence that her word was true. He also began to get into a rivalry with Tivoli, the local Tyranitar with legions of dragons who worked for him. No matter how many times Tivoli tried to convince Chai to join his army, Chai refused to be pinned down as anyone’s slave, believing Tivoli to be nothing but a coward for having to rely on an army of his own.
One day, (during what was considered Mission 7 for the guilds) a bunch of weird-looking Pokémon Chai had never seen before appeared in the middle of nowhere, right on the very day Tivoli overthrew the rule of Goddess Loire and claimed the entire jungle for himself. Chikorita was among those who were teleported, and upon seeing one of Tivoli’s minions kidnap Grass-type Sherri, Chai figured that Tivoli was after Grass-types now. He planned to capture Chikorita and use her as a bargaining chip in order to protect himself from Tivoli, and possibly get a way out of the jungle.
Though he succeeded in easily capturing Chikorita, he ended up being surprised by what she told him and where she came from. Even more surprising (to him), she was the nicest person he ever met. He agreed to form a truce with her and see if they could both escape the jungle together by hijacking one of Tivoli’s hard-to-convince minions. Unfortunately, that plan went very wrong, and Tivoli captured them both.
However, he and Chikorita defied the odds, burst out of jail, defeated Tivoli, and in the ensuing panic, managed to hijack one of Tivoli’s minions and rescue Sherri at the same time. With Chikorita’s navigational help, they flew out of the jungle and into where Chikorita THOUGHT Tao Village would be…until she found to her horror that she had apparently not only been teleported in space, but 200 years in the past. Chai, however, was amazed and enthralled to finally be able to explore the outside world for the first time, and became very curious about everything. He vowed to Chikorita that he would repay her in any way he could for helping him escape Prismatic Jungle for the very first time.
They were all teleported 100 years later, but still not quite close enough, and worse yet, Jasmine was close to dying. As if that weren’t enough, there was an entire Zoroark army coming to attack the next day. Though Chikorita was terrified, Chai promised that he could handle however many of these enemies it took in order to keep her safe. He also watched her write a letter to Amy and Darren in the future with much interest, wondering just what those strange symbols she was scribbling on the piece of paper meant.
In Tao Village 100 years in the past, he helped defend Chikorita until Amy and Darren showed up from a time portal in the sky to take her back to the present and was dragged along with them. He is currently living with Chikorita's parents as their newest adopted son, a fun playmate for his new older brothers Kale and Chard.
Current Personality: Chai had built up many, many defenses around his heart that prevents him from being easily broken or influenced by those who are out to kill him, and has absolutely no qualms about killing others in order to survive. He can be blunt, cold, ruthless, and very unforgiving. But at the same time, unusual amounts of kindness and gentleness from others throw him off and get him confused. He usually suspects such things to be traps, so if it turns out to not be a trap, he can get quiet and nervous, not sure how to respond to people like that.
He is also very curious about things unfamiliar to those in Prismatic Jungle. He’ll always ask questions like “What’s this? What’s that?” and “What does THAT thing do?” He sometimes can even get himself into trouble by poking stuff he shouldn’t touch, like piles of sludge, or Fire-type Pokémon, but at least he’s a quick learner.
The only Pokémon he’ll ever trust is Chikorita, and he becomes nervous whenever she’s not around. Though the more he learns about this outside world, the more he expects he’ll be able to operate through it without her help. He still appreciates her company, though, and will see to it that no one and nothing in the world leads her to her untimely demise.
When meeting someone new for the first time, his first instinct is to keep his distance and stare at the person, analyzing them to see if they’re a threat or not. If they are, he’ll gladly fight them to the death, and if they’re not…well, he’ll get really awkward and nervous. He’s still trying to figure out how to carry on a decent conversation with people besides Chikorita, and wonders why even when people fight, they seem to be having fun instead of trying to kill each other.
He tends to get along better with people like Tori the Pawniard who share his mindset, in a way, though he hasn’t met her yet…for now.
Also, he doesn't mind the team name being called "Team Pecha" at all; in fact, due to his typing, he has to say that the Pecha Berry has been by far the most useful berry he's ever eaten, and always makes sure to carry one with him hidden in his yellow collar in case he ever gets poisoned.
Hobbies and Skills: Constant vigilance. Growing up in Prismatic Jungle…well, can do this to anyone due to the vicious nature of the place. Chai needs very little sleep, and is a very light sleeper for this matter, too. The slightest touch to his skin when he’s asleep will make him wake up instantly, ready for a fight. Swinging through jungles, Tarzan-style. In fact, he can do this way better than Chikorita. He sees it as more of a necessity of survival, though, unlike her, and wonders why she seems to be having so much fun whenever she does it. Unintentionally challenging Pokémon to battles. Due to his suspicious, ready-to-fight nature (or his curiosity that can get him into trouble), he ends up in way more battles than a careful person like Chikorita would get into. Luckily, his battle skills are very sharp, though he still…has to learn about the whole “no killing” issue. Life goals: To get to know Chikorita better, meet all her friends, find out all about this brand new world she comes from, understand it, and stay friends with her for as long as he can; forever, if possible.
Trivia: Chai was inspired by an in-game Servine I have in my Pokémon Black 2 game…in name only, that is. The name itself came from a salamander of the same name from the DS game Magical Starsign. Aside from Joe the Bisharp (16) and Ellie the Kirlia (14), he’s the only teenage character (14) in my PMD-E roster. He is the only PMD-E character in my roster who has absolutely no qualms about killing people in battle. He is also the only PMD-E character in my roster who has some sort of permanent mutilation from a battle; in this case, his two back leaves being bitten off and never grown back. I originally never planned for this guy to even join Team Pecha, as technically, they were already complete with Amy, Chikorita, and Darren. The main reason he joined was a result of the way the PMD-E plot went with it sending Chikorita to the past, and him being her way of getting out of there, as well as helping her with any more trials on her way back home. (And maybe in the far, far future, as a possible—*SPOILERS*)
