Childhood

Cassia's childhood was idyllic. Loved by her parents and indulged by family, she has very fond memories of her childhood. Her parents are rather protective of her and insistent that she have a childhood that is as normal as possible. That being said, her parents are often called away on important issues, leading to her being possessive her time with them. Regardless, her parents have a large number of possible babysitters to rely on, which means Cassia picks up a variety of odd tricks and gets rather used to spending time in different and unfamiliar locations.

When her psychic abilities present themselves, she spends time with the children of House Prometheus in mana lessons. It's an awkward experience, especially since she's not familiar with them - she mostly sticks to her second cousins. The other children, for the most part, are divided in how to treat her: some children see her as an outsider, while some are overly polite and deferential - either way, she finds the experience discomforting and rarely consorts with House Prometheus beyond her relatives.

Her teachers find her a quiet, clever child who picks up on lessons quickly. Although she's polite and friendly to everyone, she rarely makes deep connections, and any teasing or violence is swiftly met with retaliation. Both parents are heavily invested in her education - they do lot of reading together and times tables work. Due to Cynthia and Lucian's tendency towards languages and humanities, Cassia is strong in those subjects, but weak in maths.

As Cassia gets older and closer to the traditional journeying age, she becomes more nervous about societal expectations and her own high standards for herself. An increased amount of passing comments from acquaintances about how she's certain to be "just like her mother," or to "make her parents proud," eventually lead to a frustrated breakdown, spontaneous haircut, and a tear-filled explanation to her parents.

At a loss, her parents suggest she think about what she likes or wants to do instead of what she believes she should do. This leads to her decision to delay the beginning of her journey, instead taking extra years of schooling to attend further education on best archaeological practices. This allows her to pick up certification that grants her access to restricted dig sites.

On the road

At the end of her extra schooling, Cassia picks up an internship opportunity with Lenora and the Nacrene Museum. Her parents suggest that she use the opportunity to start her journey, as they hope that the start in another region will give her the cover she needs to remain under the radar.

While in Unova, she comes into the possession of a puzzle box - upon solving the puzzle, she opens it up to discover its contents: a curious ancient artifact that appears to have some musical capabilities. Untangling its mysteries becomes a long term goal of hers, which she begins in earnest after her internship comes to an end.

Cassia collects gym badges, especially since gyms tend to be a good place to check in and say an obligatory hello to various family acquaintances. They're also good places to get information about the region and surrounding area, since gym leaders tend to be rather on top of these things. Mostly indifferent to the concept of rivalry, she rarely challenges strangers to battle outside of gym matches, although she'll oblige if you ask.

Partway through her travels in Johto, she receives troubling news: her cousin, Tanith, has gone missing. Her grandparents request her help in finding her, and Uncle Will lends her Iphigenia, his Xatu, in hopes that her wings will make the search faster. Mildy miffed at being interrupted from her time exploring the historical buildings of Ecruteak, she finds Tanith rather quickly, but comes across another complication in the form of her cousin refusing to return home or contact her parents. In response, Cassia strikes a deal: they'll have a one-on-one battle - if Tanith wins, Cassia'll tell Tanith's parents that Tanith is on a journey and does not wish to see them; if she wins, Tanith has to call her parents to inform them of her journey and keep in regular contact. The second scenario occurs, which annoys Tanith. However, it does spark a reconnection with Sophia, who was extremely concerned about her sister's whereabouts, and from this point onwards, Cassia and Sophia make a point to keep in touch.

Plot

During one of their video chats, Cassia learns that her mother is stepping down as Champion in the next year, and that the Sinnoh League is likely to undergo a period of transition, with various gym leaders stepping down. It's then that she realizes how much time she's spent travelling thinking that nothing would change at home, and instead resolves to come home to challenge the league of her childhood properly so that she can meet the necessary criteria to have full 6 on 6 battles with her mother.

Coda

In the aftermath, Cassia spends some time at Celestic's Historical Research Centre with her parents and great-grandparents. This leads to her identification of the mysterious artifact as the Azure Flute. On the advice of her great-grandmother, she continues to carry it with her, and keeps its identity a secret.

Abilities

Cassia has significant psychic abilities, which she keeps a tight handle on. They tend towards the more physical aspect - she can influence matter through telekinesis, but does not have empathetic or prophetic abilities. Cassia can also handle a sword, but prefers to use her intelligence and words to get out of conflicts instead.

Powers

Telekinesis: Cassia is adept at telekinesis - out of the things she can do with her psychic powers, this is the ability that she is most comfortable with.

Forcefield Generation: She's classically trained in shielding, but she'd prefer not to be in situations where she has to use it.

Immediate Family

Cynthia (mother): Cassia's relationship with her mother is...complicated. Cassia loves her mother to pieces, but Cynthia's shadow is not the easiest place to be, and it doesn't help that the second thing people notice is probably the shared blond hair. Cassia keeps it short once she realizes this, and it stays short throughout the angsty teen years, until she starts growing it out when she decides to challenge the Sinnoh League. She is very proud of her mother and her accomplishments, but hates that her mother's reputation preceeds her and affects how other people perceive her.

On the other hand, they get along really well and are super compatible outside of external world influences. Cynthia teaches her Ancient Sinnohan very early on (alongside Common), and fosters a love for mythology and history that they share. Cassia usually reads Cynthia's papers before they get published, and is her (second) sounding board for theories and ideas. Naturally, this started when she was younger for reading practice and before she could actually talk back and bounce off those ideas, but habits die hard and they've kept it up as she grew older. These days, Cynthia returns the favour, reading over Cassia's reports and discussing theories through video call.

Lucian (father): Cassia's relationship with her father is a little less complicated - she doesn't feel the same pressure to measure up. She also loves her father to pieces - she's been daddy's little princess for a long time, and will continue to be even if she's all grown up. Bedtime stories, carrying her around, piggyback rides, hair braiding, the works. He also taught her to control her powers, after toddler Cassia decided it was much more fun to chuck her breakfast at Flint and Aaron with her mind rather than eating it. He influences a lot of Cassia's reading choices and critical thinking, back when he would suggest supplemental books and papers for reading to help and guide her through her schoolwork.

In general, she shares both her parents' love for reading and the search for knowledge. The ideal family outing would probably be a nice, quiet, uneventful trip to Canalave Library, although it's rare that they get the time.

Cassia is pretty possessive over the time she gets with her parents - they're often busy dealing with regional concerns, league things, or training. She likes it best when she gets parts of them to herself.

Family

Ajax (maternal great-grandfather): Ajax is getting on in years, but Cassia enjoys her time in his company very much. He has an excellent storytelling voice, and has a solid comforting presence that brings her peaceful contentment.

Carolina (maternal great-grandmother): As a child, Cassia was of the opinion that her great-grandmother had the best workplace out of the adults she knew. Who doesn't want to run around a place filled with old ancient stuff? Carolina, while obliging of Cassia' interests, is a bit strict about safety protocol and things like appearance, so she finds her great-grandmother strict at times, but willing to indulge in others.

Maelstrom (maternal grandfather): Since this part of family drama played out long before she was born, Cassia's not sure what the details are, but knows her mother's relationship with her grandfather is awkward at times. While that wariness led to shyness on her part as a child, she finds that he's not quite sure what to do with children, but is more than willing to spend time with her, and folds to her requests quite easily.

Regulus (paternal grandfather): Cassia is very fond of her grandfather, who spent a portion of her childhood cheerfully acquiescing to her demands to be thrown into the air and carried around. His hugs are the best.

Andromeda (paternal grandmother): Cassia thinks her grandmother is wonderful and a dispensary of wise advice that takes a while to sink in. She does get tired of all her fussing and questions, but supposes that's true of most grandparents, so she tolerates it. Besides, her grandmother has the best shortbread cookies.

Will (paternal uncle): Cassia's close with her uncle, despite the distance between Sinnoh and Johto. She's very fond of him.

Sophia (second cousin): As children, Cassia often butted heads with Sophia because both of them were quite insistent on getting their way. Now that they're older and have their own separate spheres of influence, they're much closer - it turns out they share a similar sense of snark and humour. During Tanith's brief disappearance, they were united in the desire to find her - this brought them closer, as does their shared interest in making sure she stays in touch.

Tanith (second cousin): Cassia and Tanith used to get along much better as children, but their relationship is a bit strained after Cassia found her in Johto after she ran away from home. Cassia understands and empathizes with some of her plight, but doesn't understand how she could leave her parents and family in the dark - she's insistent that Tanith keeps in touch with them. Tanith is rather annoyed, these days.

Flint: Flint is somewhat of a cross between uncle and annoying older brother. He annoys her in that sort of way - teasing, stupid nicknames, ruffled hair, lording his height advantage, etc. He also has the uncanny ability to see right through her bullshit in a way that Aaron can't - she suspects it's his years of looking after Buck combined with his ability to read his opponents. Regardless, she counts on him to cut to the chase in her times of need.

Bertha: Cassia has very fond memories of baking cookies and knitting with Grandma Bertha. She taught Cassie the proper way to throw a punch and how to pick locks (among other important life skills). She always tells stories of her adventures when she was a young woman, but no one is quite sure if they're embellished, or real, and are too afraid to ask. Cassia takes most of her stories at face value: there's not much explanation otherwise for why Bertha knows all these terrifying skills.

Aaron: Cassia's other 'older brother' figure, she finds him more relatable and willing to goof off. They'll often team up against Flint, who has his own antics. Usually, it's all in good fun. Aaron and Flint taught her to play video games, which she is alright at. It's not her favourite pastime, but she remembers it fondly because of the time spent with both of them.

Main Pokémon

Evening: The daughter of Cynthia's Glaceon and Lucian's Espeon, Evening and Cassia have been inseparable since she hatched from the egg. She evolves during a showdown with Diana, Cynthia's Garchomp, and is often seen outside her Pokéball with a feeler around Cassia's arm. She's more outspoken and expressive than Cassie, and serves as a good litmus test for how the duo feels about you. Very tactile with those she trusts.

Nimue: A gift from Cassie's great-grandfather on her 10th birthday. Nimue likes fashion, pretty things, and knowing all there is to know. In short, she likes to gossip. This skill is only further enhanced by her empathetic and telepathic powers. She says she doesn't gossip to harm, but instead to keep tabs on her friends, in case she can help them with anything. (Rivals and enemies are another matter.) However, she can be catty at times. As a Ralts, she didn't get along with Cory (a Riolu at the time), because she thought Cory was no fun. Now, they're rather attached, and she showers her Lucario girlfriend in affection.

Cory (Corona): Gifted to Cassia as an egg, Cory is quiet and stoic, preferring to observe and unintentionally intimidate with her strength and presence. Cassia's most battle oriented Pokemon, she enjoys testing her strength against others, which is brought to its natural conclusion with Mega-Evolution. Whenever she speaks, it's usually very sensible and down to earth. Unfortunately, she lacks a sense of humour - she wouldn't know a joke if it hit her. Takes everything too literally. Nimue used to annoy her with her chattiness, but as they've evolved and trained together, they've grown super close and are exceptionally fond of each other.

Poffin: The first Pokemon that Cassia caught, Poffin is an excellent lamp and light source in dark tunnels and tombs. Unfortunately, Poffin is not the brightest in the smarts department. He was originally interested in eating Cassie's soul, but was persuaded to eat poffins instead. However, this resulted in him not answering to anything but Poffin, hence the name. Easily bribed. Opted not to evolve into Chandelure because sometimes those dark tunnels are a tight squeeze.

Twil (Twilight Sparkle): A real grump. Cassia met him at a ranch while looking to rent a Ride Pokemon. While the ranch was out of rentable Pokemon, the ranch owner had a troublesome Ponyta that he was looking to get rid of. He was originally intended as a gift for his daughter, but he became unexpectedly violent and belligerent, and she was removed from his presence for safety concerns. The owner offered him to Cassia if she could connect with the Ponyta. Cassia won him over by not laughing at him, quickly shortening his name to Twil, and untangling the sparkly ribbons out of his hair.

Trinket: Cassia's keeper of USBs. A troublemaker and prankster that caused chaos at the dig site before getting caught. Remains a trickster, although their pranks have been toned down after receiving a very stern talk about the difference between harmful and harmless tricks. Trinket is an avid collector of shiny things, and takes their duty as Guardian of the Spare USBs very seriously. Opts to remove the USBs before battling to avoid damaging them.

Lacey: Very shy, meek, and mild-mannered - she gets scared very easily. However, she's very curious, which led to her quietly following the team around for a couple of days before they noticed. She's very good at hiding and sneaking around, which comes in handy in all sorts of situations. She is easily entranced by shiny gems, and gets along very well with Trinket, who is good at coaxing her out of her shell. Thankfully, she has also reined in some of their more dangerous pranks.

Vivi (Viviane): Vivi prefers to listen rather than to participate in conversation. She gets along very well with Nimue, and they understand each other very well. She likes to know the gossip, but is uninterested in involving herself in drama. Has a very intimidating presence and knows how to use it to her advantage. Doesn't care for elegance, would prefer to get the job done, no matter how she does it, and expects the same determination from her teammates, which can make her a little difficult to get along with.

Andante: Andante has a sweet and friendly disposition. She keeps an open mind and is very accepting of others and their differences. Very difficult to anger, and is conflict-adverse, which makes her the peacemaker in the group. She has an excellent singing voice, but would prefer to sing with her friends rather than sing alone. Dislikes the spotlight. Encourages everyone to be the best versions of themselves.

Curtana: Curtana was discovered guarding the entrance to a network of ancient tombs. After facing off against Poffin, he decided to join the party. Speaks in old-timey speech, and does not understand many things about the new world he's found himself in. Is easily delighted by whenever he encounters any new aspect of the world. He is fascinated by Pokéballs, which are a new concept to him. Lives for battle and victory - a surprisingly bloodthirsty blade despite his gentlemanly noble demeanour outside of battles.

Frey (Freya): Best friends with Nimue and Vivi, Frey enjoys the gossip, but is more interested in stopping drama by settling petty disputes and arguments, even by means of force. Will complain loudly and vehemently if others are too noisy. Really likes her beauty sleep, and looking pretty. Loud advocate of meditation, she often leads group meditation and mindfulness for the party.

Elpis: Pan the Togekiss gifted Cassia with an egg sometime after the Lily of the Valley Conference, which hatched into Elpis the Togepi. She got really attached to Nimue and Cory - she is essentially their big baby. Since evolving into Togekiss, she's sad that she can't be carried around anymore, and underestimates her own size and weight to smother unsuspecting people with hugs. She is very proud of her fluff, and will be very unhappy and sulk if anyone messes it up.

Befriended Pokémon

Aleph: Playing the right tune on the Azure Flute wakes Aleph from their millenia long slumber. Endlessly curious about the world that moved on after them, Aleph doesn't hesitate to try new things, make a fool of themselves, or ask endless questions. In short, Cassia plays tour guide for an ancient being.

Cassia is the English translation of the character 桂, which refers to various fragrant flowering trees of the laurel family, among which are the cinnamon species. Said trees are associated with immortality in Chinese legends, whether as a tree that continuously grows despite being cut down, or their fruit or leaves conferring immortality when consumed. Often, they are also located on the moon. In modern usage, the particular species of tree is determined depending on additional characters or context.

The cinnamon species in particular that Cassia refers to is Cinnamomum cassia, or Chinese cinnamon (肉桂), which is often used as a spice in cooking and baking. It is one of the 50 fundamental herbs of Chinese medicine. Often a substitute for the more popular Ceylon cinnamon.

Cassia tends to avoid giving out her last name - she goes by Ariste when she's travelling. This is mostly to avoid familial association with her mother. After her battle with her mother, she drops the pretense and goes by Aidos most of the time, unless she's really uncomfortable with giving out her real name, for whatever reason.

Although her birth certificate has Aidos-Adrasteia on it, neither her nor Lucian really use Adrasteia, since the line of Ariste is matrilinear, and Lucian has effectively removed himself from House Prometheus' line of succession at this point.

Cassia takes her caffeinated beverages with plenty of milk and sugar. She prefers tea, but will drink coffee, she's not very particular about how she gets her liquid caffeine. Hot chocolate is always a pleasure. She's not sure she understands the craze about cold forms of caffeinated beverages: she'll drink them, but prefers the hot versions.

Since Cassia learned Ancient Sinnohan at the same time as Common, she gets mixed up sometimes when certain words don't translate over. Her notes are a mess of Common, Ancient Sinnohan, and whatever ancient language belonging to culture she's studying at the time, so they're rather indecipherable to anyone passing by.

Cassia prefers to handwrite her notes and thought processes in her notebook, supplementing them with sticky notes instead of using her laptop. She claims it helps her with her thinking and overall understanding.

If she's relaxed and lost in thought, she'll either absent-mindedly float items around her, or twirl her hair.

She has a ribbon she carries around for a bookmark - she does not dog-ear her book pages.

Although the line of House Ariste is well-known for healing abilities, Cassia seems to have none. Childhood scrapes and bruises were usually quickly taken care of by her mother, and she tends to be on the cautious side while adventuring, so she hasn't encountered any grave injuries yet.

Notable Inventory

Key Stone: Her key stone is set in a keychain, which she keeps in a pocket, or in her bag. It's a simple design, with a silver chain.

Azure Flute: This is Cassia's mystery item that she picks up early on in her journey in Unova - she travels for almost eight more years and seven more regions before she figures it out. Also known as the Heaven Flute, this is the artifact believed to possess the ability to summon Arceus onto the mortal plane, should the right melody be played in the right place. After it's been used, Aleph tells her to keep it — she can use it to summon them if she needs to.