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Appearance:[break]- Stands at 5'9'', with a relatively healthy - but soft - build, and a somewhat androgynous but masc-leaning appearance.
[break]- Their hair is dark brown and straight, cut to roughly chin-length. It can sometimes be a little messy - mainly due to frizzing easily - but is usually kept well-brushed otherwise.
[break]- Eyes are a soft olive-green, with a round shape to them. Their gaze is often quite expressive - wearing one's heart on their sleeve.
[break]- El's skin is on the fair side - with the starting hints of a tan - and is mostly clear, save for a few blemishes like faint acne scars.
[break]- Though they are used to wearing clothes on the baggier side that are easy to move around in, El is no stranger to playing dress-up - enjoying trying on a wide variety of styles. They tend to favor earthy and natural colors, including greens and blues.
[break]- Something they are often seen with is the cane they hold in their left hand - which includes a strap, to go around their wrist and keep it close at hand if they drop it. Their left hand has a glove on for support and to protect their palm.
[break]- They also are sometimes seen with a compression sock and/or knee brace on their right leg - for pain relief and joint support.
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Personality:[break]- El may not necessarily be a social butterfly - but they are friendly as can be, and quite approachable. They often give off the airs of someone that anyone could approach and make friends with, no matter how shy the individual.
[break]- Being somewhere between an introvert and an extrovert, they may not necessarily be one to initiate social interactions - but they are more than happy to reciprocate and hold conversations, when approached by others.
[break]- Being kind and honest - often to a fault - they dislike lying (not that they're good at it in the first place,) and they will always step in if they see someone in need. They are often incapable of saying 'no' to requests for help as well - not wanting to leave others hanging, when they're right there.
[break]- El doesn't have a single mean bone in their body - no one who knows them can really recall the last time they've actually become angry, if they ever have. They tend to take road bumps in stride with a smile on their face - seeing roadblocks as just an opportunity for a scenic detour.
[break]- But that being said, there are things that definitely frustrate or upset them. They dislike being cooped up or looked down upon as some fragile doll that needs protecting - believing themself old enough to look after themself. In addition to this, they cannot abide by cruelty to pokemon or humans.
[break]- Being a nerd at heart, El is no stranger to videogames and fantasy/sci-fi shows and stories. Ask them about their favorite media, and they'll be sure to chatter your ear off if you let them!
[break]- Even besides videogames, it's not unusual for them to have their face shoved into a pokemon encyclopedia or articles talking about the foraging behavior of sentret; they love pokemon, and they love learning more about pokemon, often absorbing that information like a sponge.
[break]- El has a dislike for pokemon battles, even when it's all in good sport - they don't enjoy seeing their pokemon or the other person's pokemon getting hurt. Instead, they have a greater interest in things such as non-traditional challenges, contests, and the occasional sports.
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Background: (CW: Leg injury)[break]- El was born in Lavaridge - 4 years after their brother
Isaac Merlo was born - to a father who is a (now former) minor league gym leader, and a mother who is a nurse at the local pokecenter.
[break]- Of the two brothers, El was regarded as the shining golden child, being regarded as the 'well behaved one' due to their generally quiet and friendly nature. As a result, they were often one to get all of the attention and praise, whilst Isaac was left in their shadow.
[break]- Although, this also meant that El had big shoes to fill - as their father wanted them to one day carry on the mantle of running a gym just like he did. El wasn't sure if they were interested in this - disliking the pressure put on their shoulders - but they nonetheless would passively go along with it.
[break]- To get away from the expectations set upon them, they'd occasionally sneak away from home alongside Isaac to play and spend time with him. They looked up to their older brother greatly, and admired the sense of freedom he often seemed to exude.
[break]- Shortly after Isaac got his first pokemon, El became enamored with the idea of having a pokemon of their own. However, their parents told them to wait until they were older - having only been 9 at the time, and being deemed too young to have one quite yet.
[break]- El was disappointed at this - and Isaac, wanting to do something nice for his sibling, decided to take them out with him to find a pokemon to catch. The two of them would go on one of their usual excursions away from the house - though this time, they went further out, into the wilds surrounding Lavaridge.
[break]- It had been shortly after a storm, and the ground was slick and muddy as a result. When a wild pokemon that the two had been trying to catch turned tail and fled, the siblings would attempt to give chase - but El slipped, tumbling off an incline. They'd end up landing on their knee funny - breaking their leg in the process.
[break]- Even with medical help, El's leg was unable to completely heal - and they would require a crutch or cane to be able to properly walk without pain or injury. El's father blamed Isaac for this - even if El had no hard feelings towards their brother for the accident.
[break]- Still; in the coming years after, things would become awkward between the siblings for the next few years - from a mix of building resentment on Isaac's part, and them both realizing that they wouldn't be able to sneak out and play together the same way they once did.
[break]- And then, one night, Isaac simply disappeared - taking Kiryu with him, and never coming back. El was distraught over this - having essentially lost two people that they dearly cared for as a result.
[break]- In Isaac's absence - without him to distract their parents or to give El an escape - the pressure of expectations became all the stronger. With the dangers that rocked Hoenn time and again, El's parents would keep them on a shorter and shorter leash - wanting to coddle them and keep them safe.
[break]- Though with time, they'd get their first pokemon - a turtwig by the name of Yggdrassil, the daughter to their father's Torterra - as both a future gym pokemon, and to keep El company. And in a package from Isaac came a Kadabra (soon Alakazam) named Bibidi, with the purpose of lending El a hand as need be.
[break]- Even with these newfound companions though, the pressure was overwhelming - and more and more, El desired an out. An excuse to just leave, and get a breath of fresh air outside. This out would come in the form of one of their father's sports magazines - this one mentioning a certain Silph Cup, with a familiar face in the article...
[break]- Realizing that Isaac was still out there somewhere, El would form a plan - namely, asking Bibidi to take them to where Isaac was.
[break]- Bibidi - using Teleport - would bring Isaac to where she last knew him to be; specifically the place where he had sent her off from, which was Fortree. Immediately, El realized the flaw in this plan - and yet, even though they could've asked Bibidi to take them home...
[break]- ... They didn't - because this was the first taste of genuine freedom they've had in awhile, and really, it wasn't like there was any time limit to coming back home. Instead, they'd take this as a chance to simply have the adventure they never got to have - all the while seeking out Isaac, in hopes of asking him to come home.
[break]- In the process though, they'd come to meet a local ranger -
Julia Davis - whilst she was out on a job on one of the nearby routes. Seeing another ranger who - like them - had a physical disability, and yet was able to do good in the world, inspired them greatly.
[break]- And it made them wonder... Could they do that, too? Prove to the world that they weren't some fragile thing - that they were something
more?
[break]- Thus, they'd join up with the Rangers to become a trainee - using it as a chance to do some good in the world, all the while getting some adventuring under their belt, and trying to track down their dear, dear, brother...
