Haru Ito

“I was told to protect you. I’m just a bit overly nervous about things like this.”

–Haru, Love colored fireworks (unfinished)

Appearing innocuous at first glance, Haru is a young woman with many secrets, and a history that she’d prefer not be unraveled.

She’s quiet, and often doesn’t speak unless spoken to; and for the most part, it’s always been this way. Haru’s home life wasn’t particularly pleasant, and she ran away at 14. From that point on, she began to slowly take on the gym challenge, as well as root out Team Rocket goons she kept coming across.

It was when she made it to Goldenrod City that the unthinkable happened – Haru was kidnapped and trapped in Rocket herself. She calls the year she was held captive ‘the lost year’, and very few people know the details of what happened.
The lost year left Haru with scars that were both metaphorical and quite literal, and she was unsure if she’d ever be able to recover.

Though, through chance encounters leading her to meet both a dead princess and a DJ, she’s able to see things being less stormy than before. 

With encouragement and a bit of direct assistance from those two, Haru entered and won the International League Summit Tournament at age 19 – and though she was directly scouted by Cynthia, denied a position as a seated champion.

She currently lives in the countryside between Olivine and Ecruteak with Basil, and is often visited by Kaguya. She loves the two of them dearly, and with their support among everyone else’s, she’s determined to keep going.



Appearance

Haru is 5’4″ (162cm) and rather thin. She has dark brown eyes, and a scar over her mouth she often covers with a mask while in public. Her hair is dark brown, and in a straight or messy bob style.

She most often wears a beige sweater over a dress shirt and a long skirt layered over jeans. In the past, she would wear her old school uniform to ‘blend in’, but has since outgrown it.

The quiet lost girl

NicknamesSol (Basil)
GenderFemale
Age18 (2029)
24 (Postgame)
BirthdayOctober 31sr
OccupationOff-duty champion
EthnicityJohtoan
BirthplaceNew Bark Town
OrientationLesbian
S/OBasil & Kaguya
Legend affiliationN/A
Theme
Futatsuiwa from Gensokyo - ZUN


Personality

Haru has always been relatively quiet, but her passiveness and secretive nature are a result of trauma from the lost year. While she’s trying to work back her confidence in speaking, she usually only says what she has to and almost entirely avoids conversations.

Though, in a situation where she feels truly safe, she almost acts like a different person. She’s content to listen and make conversation, even if it’s about something she doesn’t know much about. It’s hard to remember she’s typically shy and reserved when she gets comfortable around somebody – she’s a truly sweet person who loves to hear about what others are enthusiastic about.
She also has a sense of humor quite similar to Kaguya’s, and has to catch herself to not laugh at her pranks. In fact, Haru causing her own bit of trouble isn’t uncommon – she simply doesn’t get caught.

She makes an attempt to always be polite, and will usually apologize profusely if she ever feels like shes come across as rude.


Story

This section is old and outdated. It currently only goes up to the in-universe year of 2027 and is due for an update!

Early life (0-14)

In the beginning, Haru’s home life was perfectly average; a bit idealistic, even. Her parents loved her more than anything – though, her mother was prone to angry outbursts. Due to this, Haru was always closer to her father. While she didn’t really have any friends in school, her performance was good, so her parents didn’t worry.

Though, it all changed when her father went missing.

Show more – Warnings for implied abuse

It was sudden – one night, he just didn’t come home. Attempts to contact him would reveal his cell phone had been disconnected, and the situation became all the more concerning. Haru was only 5 at the time – she just couldn’t understand why her father wasn’t coming back. Investigations were called, but no evidence or body was ever found – he had simply vanished.

While Haru was sad and confused, her mother fell into a dark state. Her angry outbursts occurred more often and were more severe, and some nights she would outright ignore Haru altogether, leaving her to take care of herself. Because of her mother’s treatment, Haru herself began to fall deeper into a dark hole – as she began to feel like it was somehow all her fault. Her grades started to slip, and while she hadn’t been the most sociable before, she had started to completely involuntarily isolate herself.

Haru wished she could get away from it all – by any means possible.

On her own (14)

Haru was fed up. She couldn’t deal with her mother’s mistreatment any longer – so she discreetly packed what she could fit in her backpack and left in the middle of the night, never to return.

Haru could smell the moisture in the air as soon as she left – it was about to rain soon. Still, she ran off in the direction of the Route 29 – the road to Cherrygrove city. The road was dimly lit by streetlights, and the road next to the trainer’s trail was completely absent of any vehicles. About 30 minutes into her walk, Haru found a bus stop and sat down to take a break. That’s when the reality of her decision hit her – she really wasn’t going back, was she? She just wanted out so badly that she hadn’t stopped to think about where she’d go next… and the feeling became overwhelming.
Haru was scared, more than anything. Though, her thoughts wandered to the support systems in place for young traveling trainers, which eased her worries a little. But Haru wasn’t a trainer – so she figured that becoming one would have to be the first thing on her agenda.

She got up, and began walking down the straight road again. But soon enough, it started to rain. The rain escalated into a downpour, and Haru suddenly found herself in the middle of a lonely road in a thunderstorm. There was nowhere to turn for shelter – or so she had thought.
Haru didn’t know this, but ever since she had left home, she was being watched.
A loud bark from behind caught Haru off guard, and she quickly turned around – fearing for the worst that it was an aggressive wild pokemon. In front of her was an umbreon, yellow rings shining brightly through the midnight storm. She could see the pokemon wagging its tail, indicating it must’ve been friendly.

It barked at Haru again, and padded off into the forest that bordered the path, yellow light illuminating the foliage around it. It stood there, almost beckoning to Haru, and as she cautiously moved towards the pokemon, it backed deeper into the woods. Haru decided she didn’t really have much other choice than to follow the pokemon, so she chased after it through the trees.
It didn’t take long before the umbreon stopped in front of a sizable hole in the ground. It barked at Haru and cocked it’s head before diving into the ground. It clicked in Haru’s head all of a sudden – the umbreon must’ve led her to its den to escape the storm.

The den was just large enough to accommodate Haru if she crouched, so she crawled down inside. It was dark, but the soft glow of the umbreon illuminated something that made Haru’s eyes grew big – huddled inside the den was a litter of about 5 eevee. They were adorable, and while they were still young, they looked about the age that they were ready to leave the nest.
Haru did her best to shift around the sleeping litter without disturbing them, but one of the eevee woke up, and looked at Haru with about the same wonderstruck expression she was looking at it with. To Haru’s surprise, the eevee crawled up into her lap and got comfy there. She turned to the umbreon, who had settled down next to it’s litter, and it just slowly smiled with its eyes.
Haru wasn’t sure what she’d do when the storm cleared and the sun came up, but for the time being, she felt safe.

When Haru awoke, she could hear bird pokemon chirping from outside the den. She carefully scooped the still sleeping eevee off of her lap and crawled out of the den, to be greeted by the sun’s bright rays. She was soon followed by the umbreon, who barked at Haru happily. Haru would feel bad if she didn’t pay back the pokemon’s good deed, so she dug up a sandwich she packed in her bag and took out some of the meat inside, and gave it to the umbreon, who happily ate it.

Just as Haru was about to leave, the eevee who had taken an interest in Haru earlier ran out of the den and bounced up on Haru’s leg. Haru petted it and went to continue walking back to Route 29, but the eevee followed her. She turned around, and the eevee stretched it’s front paws on her once more. It looked at though the eevee wanted to come with her, but Haru wasn’t sure of what the eevee’s mother umbreon would think.
There was some chittering between the eevee and umbreon, as if they were discussing what to do. Eventually, the umbreon simply nodded, and the eevee bounced happily in the air and looked towards Haru with an expecting look.

“Is it ok if they come with me?” Haru asked the umbreon – to which the umbreon simply nodded.
Haru smiled and carefully picked up her new partner. She smiled and thanked the umbreon once more, who barked happily as Haru left to go to the bus stop.

Haru officially had her first pokemon – now all that was left was to get herself registered as a trainer. She took the bus on Route 29 to Cherrygrove, where she got herself registered as a trainer along with her new companion, who she decided to name Madoka. She used her new trainer card to get herself a room for the day at the Center, where she collapsed into bed.
She wasn’t quite sure what she’d be doing from now on, but she figured it’d be the best course of action to take on the gym challenges to get some money. She also figured that it’d be the best idea to wear her old school uniform most of the time, as to blend in – since she was technically a runaway, after all.

Haru and Madoka were very in sync in battles – despite being a previously wild eevee, Madoka was able to understand Haru’s commands well. As for Haru, she seemed to liven up in battle quite a bit, and even joined a small traveling party of trainers for a short period of time – though she was mostly silent. It was this traveling party that brought her to the location of the first gym on her journey, the gym of Violet City. It was here that she parted ways with the party to go train on her own.

While training just outside of Violet, Haru caught her second pokemon – a mareep she named Buttercup. With Buttercup’s help as an electric-type, Haru was easily able to take down Violet City’s gym, and she continued her journey.

Along her travels, Haru came into contact with the infamous criminal syndicate of Team Rocket – though she wasn’t aware of their affiliation and just thought they were common thugs. Particularly, in Azalea Town, Haru was able to singlehandedly route Rocket’s operation of illegally poaching slowpoke, thanks to her battling prowess. She continued to cause trouble for Team Rocket all the way through Ilex forest, as well.

Though Haru moved at a slower pace than most, she took extra time to train her pokemon, and by the time she had reached the capital of Goldenrod City, Madoka had evolved into espeon, while Buttercup had evolved into ampharos. It was at this point that Haru also gained telepathy with Madoka, and the two became not only partners in battle, but best friends who could talk to eachother as well.

But as Haru chased trouble by tackling Team Rocket, she had unwillingly attracted the attention of a very dangerous enemy.

The lost year (14-15)

Haru’s attacks on Team Rocket didn’t end in Azalea Town – because the city seemed to be crawling with Rocket grunts. It was Haru who foiled Rocket’s plans on smuggling goods illegally through the Goldenrod tunnels, and it seemed she was defeating grunts left and right. 

But one night, as Haru was leaving the Goldenrod tunnels, the unthinkable happened.

Show more – warnings for kidnapping, abuse, violence, and murder. Feel free to skip this section.

Haru was already on edge – it was dark, quiet, and there nobody around. Suddenly, Madoka turned around and started chittering in alarm. Before Haru could turn around and react, she received a heavy blow to the back of the head, and blacked out.

When Haru awoke, she realized her hands were restrained behind her back with handcuffs. Her vision slowly came into focus again, and that’s when she noticed her surroundings; she was in what appeared to be a jail cell, and there was a man dressed in black sitting in a chair in front of her cell.

So, you’re finally awake?” he said, his voice gruff and notably accented. Haru held her ground and didn’t say a word to the man, and scooted further back into her cell away from him. The man just let out a low, intimidating laugh before explaining Haru’s situation. The man introduced himself as Giovanni, the boss of Team Rocket. He was very well aware of who Haru was – and all the trouble she’d been causing for Team Rocket. He admitted he was impressed with her, and expressed the pure rage he felt towards her. He said he was once defeated by a meddling child, but he wouldn’t let it happen again.
Haru asked what he wanted from her, her tone trying to stay strong, though her anxiety could definitely be heard in her voice. Giovanni simply tilted his head, and gave Haru her answer.

He explained how he previously had a son – but he was weak and unfit for such a title as the heir of Rocket. So, Giovanni’s request was simple – Haru would be his new daughter, the heiress to Team Rocket. Haru angrily refused, but Giovanni simply laughed at her words.
Do you really think you have a choice?”
He held up two pokeballs, and from the psychic energy alone, Haru could tell one of them was Madoka’s – and she could only assume Buttercup was in the other one. Giovanni told Haru that if she cooperated, no harm would come upon her pokemon. But if she didn’t, well… that was for her to figure out.

Haru was terrified. She didn’t want to submit to some evil mob’s plans, but she didn’t want her companions to be harmed, or worse. Begrudgingly, Haru ‘accepted’ Giovanni’s request.
That was the beginning.
Haru tried to resist at first, whether it was simply being uncooperative, or even attempting to harm the high-ranked Rockets assigned to accompany her. But each time, Haru would face severe punishment for her actions – and sometimes, she’d be punished for no reason at all. It was to keep her in line, and it worked. Haru’s will to rebel had been broken, and she had essentially become a puppet of Giovanni and the high-ranked rockets.

This continued for 11 months. Haru’s suffering was silent, as she knew she’d be punished for speaking up. As Giovanni began to trust that Haru was effectively brainwashed, he changed her escorts from high-ranked officials to regular grunts. That’s when Haru met Lyra – a grunt who had been blackmailed into joining rocket.
Their friendship was quick to bloom, even if they had to do any talking discreetly as to not cause any alarm. The two began formulating a plan – a plan to escape, together.

The night of the escape, Haru and Lyra snuck their way through Rocket HQ, and when they thought they had made it out, the gut-wrenching noise of a gun being cocked could be heard from behind. The one spark of hope Haru had after being broken down had vanished in an instant. Giovanni and some high-ranked Rockets had caught them, and as Haru was dragged off, she could only watch as one of the Rocket officials set their pokemon to attack Lyra.
Haru was thrown back into the prison cell she had arrived in, and Giovanni ordered his persian to attack her. Persian’s claws etched a permanent scar on Haru’s face – so she’d never forget that night.

 The next morning, Haru was told that Lyra had been killed, and was manipulated into believing it was all her fault. The next month was almost a living hell for Haru, as a punishment for her attempted escape. At the end of it, she felt nothing – it had all gone numb.

She felt like she had nothing left.

Escape (15)

Interpol was getting closer to finding Team Rocket’s hideout, and Giovanni knew this. He had to come up with a plan to set them back, and he was getting desperate.

Show more – warnings for murder and canon character death (Giovanni)

Giovanni sent a pre-recorded message to Interpol’s boss. In it, Haru was standing right next to him, almost robotically, as he spoke. His plan was simple – Interpol was to pay a ransom in exchange for Haru’s life. It was rigged either way – either Haru’s body was to be brought to Interpol’s HQ, or if the ransom was paid, Haru would be sent to Interpol HQ to kill the boss under the guise of being a rescued captive – as Haru had been trained to kill during her time in Rocket. She’d be monitored by Giovanni through a secret camera in her sweater, though in Giovanni’s mind, any chance of her going against his plans was zero to none.

It was a rainy night when Haru and Giovanni arrived at the unspecified bridge where an unspecified driver was to pick up Haru and deliver her to Interpol HQ, dead or alive. Despite her previous numbness, Haru was truly and honestly afraid for her life. The ransom hadn’t been paid, and minutes were winding down to the deadline time. She was expected to obediently follow her fate either way, but…
She didn’t want that.
She didn’t want this.
She didn’t wan’t to die here

A sudden rush of rage and energy filled Haru. It was just Giovanni and her, alone. No other Rockets for miles. And right now, Giovanni had his back turned on her.
She knew what to do.

The moment was quick, but to Haru, it felt like it lasted forever. From the first second Haru grabbed Giovanni from behind, to the last moment as she pushed him over the bridge – Haru knew exactly what she was doing. Thunder cracked in the background as Haru stood back and realized what she had done. After a year of suffering, it was finally… over? 
Giovanni was dead.

Haru’s breathing grew heavy as she stood silently in the rain, a trance that was only broken by the noise of a car pulling up on the bridge. The driver was just a simple rideshare worker, who had no idea they were even a part of this. Haru quickly disposed of her tracked sweater and slowly got into the car, soaking wet from the rain. She sat in silence as the car drove her to Interpol HQ, contemplating what she had just done. It felt surreal, and her sense of time became muddled. The car ride seemed like it lasted only a few seconds, and soon enough, the car was stopped by Interpol officers, who seemed surprised to see Haru alive. Haru got out of the car and proclaimed that Giovanni was dead, before bursting into tears.

Haru was taken into Interpol’s custody, where she also revealed the location of Rocket HQ before falling completely silent. Interpol was sent into a frenzy, but Haru felt… empty. She had finally escaped her living nightmare, but at what cost? She didn’t feel like herself anymore – she wasn’t even sure if she knew who she was anymore. She simply sat silently in her holding room, waiting.

After the initial frenzy became organized, the interviews started. But Haru didn’t say anything. She wasn’t sure what to say – she didn’t feel like she could trust any of the detectives, even though she knew they were trying to help. Interview after interview, none of the detectives could get a word out of Haru.
Haru was exhausted, and ended up falling asleep. The next day was the same, full of interviews. She ended up breaking into tears during one of the interviews, as she couldn’t deal with the pressure from it all.

Eventually, a man and a woman came to visit Haru, presumably for an interview. But this time, the man was holding a pokeball – and Haru could sense the psychic energy coming from it, and the headache she’d been having eased up. She couldn’t believe it, there’s no way it was…
But it was. The man released the pokeball, and out came Madoka. She stretched her hind legs and yawned, and dashed towards Haru when she saw her. Haru had no words to say, and only hugged her companion tightly as she jumped up onto her lap.

Through telepathy, the two communicated. Haru didn’t have to say anything – Madoka read her memories and knew. Madoka nuzzled Haru in an attempt to comfort her, and as a result of being reunited, Haru began to cry. After a moment of silence between the two, Haru asked about the man and the woman. Madoka read the man’s memories, but for some odd reason, she couldn’t read the woman’s. Madoka concluded that he could be trusted, and assured Haru he was there to help. While hesitant, Haru took Madoka’s word.

The man stepped into the room and introduced himself as Diego Oliveira, detective. He was just another one in the stream of detectives trying to get a word out of Haru, but with Madoka’s return and word of confidence, Haru felt like she could actually speak.
Diego looked surprised to hear Haru speak, but he continued on with his interview. He was very understanding of how Haru was largely overwhelmed, and kept it brief. Haru mostly answered questions about herself; who she was, how long she’d been in Rocket, her relation to Giovanni – the last question causing her to freeze up. Upon seeing Haru was uncomfortable, Diego called off the interview, and said they’d continue later.
Diego seemed kind to Haru, and while she wasn’t necessarily comfortable around anyone, the tone in which he spoke in made her feel less on-edge – in addition to Madoka being there, of course.

Haru was moved to an upscale hotel, and interviews continued. She continued to work with Diego, discussing the inner workings of Rocket, and eventually, the events of the year Haru was in rocket. It was difficult for Haru to put into words what had happened, and there were points where she broke down crying, but Diego had created an environment where she felt safe enough to be truthful. Outside of interviews, he would also check up on Haru in the hotel to make sure she was doing alright.

Haru couldn’t really understand why he was being so kind, but she appreciated it nonetheless. She was confident the case he was going to present was accurate to what had happened, and thanked him profusely for doing so.
Eventually, Haru was confronted by the woman she had originally seen with Diego the day they met – she introduced herself as Franziska, and got straight to the point: Haru, being responsible for Giovanni’s death, was to receive the hefty bounty Giovanni’s name carried. Haru refused, believing she had no need for the money – and instead requested the money go to Diego. Franziska was a bit shocked, and asked if she was sure of herself, to which Haru confirmed. She believed she was in an incredible debt to Diego for all of his help, and didn’t want that to go unnoticed.

After about a month of grueling interviews, investigations, and miscellaneous shuffling around, it was over. The case of Giovanni had finally been closed for good, and Rocket was quickly imploding – and it was all thanks to Haru, and in part to Diego.
Haru was checked out of the hotel, and declined all offers from Interpol for housing or care. She wanted to be on her own from now on.

Though, after everything that had happened, Haru still couldn’t help but feel lost. She had been irreversibly scarred, both figuratively and quite literally. She was alone with her pokemon once again, and though she had all the freedom in the world, she didn’t quite know what to do.

Kaguya and Basil (16-17)

With doubts about her future, Haru continued on her way nonetheless. She felt alone and vulnerable, but buried those feelings as she continued on the gym challenge. She picked up where she left off in Goldenrod, and soon found herself on her way to Ecruteak city.

One fateful evening, Haru was walking by herself down the street when she could hear a commotion coming from Ecruteak’s famous dance theatre. Her choice to investigate would change her life forever.

Peeking into the blown open door of the theatre, Haru could see a man in a dark grey jumpsuit threatening the sisters of the theatre for money. Even from behind, Haru could recognize the fashion choices all too well – it had to have been a Rocket grunt. Telepathically, Haru commanded Madoka to use psychic on the man, which promptly caused him to double over, grasping his head in pain. The man turned to Haru fearfully, and Haru lowered her facemask so that her mouth’s scar was visible. The grunt’s eyes widened, as he knew exactly who Haru was from the identifying scar alone. He quickly turned tail and dashed out of the theatre without a word.

One of the sisters of the theatre profusely thanked Haru for her help, and offered some kind of reward, which Haru refused. She then offered Haru a free seat at a performance at the theatre in a couple of days, which Haru did accept, as she was planning on attending anyway. As Haru wrapped up her conversation, she made eye contact with a mysterious girl staring from the hallway behind the stage – once the girl noticed Haru saw her, however, she quickly ducked back into the hallway.
Haru didn’t think much of it at the time, if only finding it a little bit odd.

The day of the performance went as normal. Haru stayed behind afterward because she wanted to ask the kimono sisters if they’d let her stay at the theatre while she was in Ecruteak, but as she was asking, the girl Haru had caught a glimpse of earlier barged in. She introduced herself quickly as Kaguya, and demanded to know how she could scare off a criminal so easily like that. Haru was a bit shocked at the sudden intrusion, but introduced herself anyways – as she believed it’d be a good idea if she was staying at the theatre.

As Haru entered the house behind the theatre, she quickly noticed the floor seemed suspiciously slick, and quickly gathered her balance. These strange occurrences kept happening during Haru’s stay – plastic wrap in front of doors, ice in her socks; all kinds of strange practical jokes that fell flat thanks to Haru’s awareness of her environment. One day, Haru was finally confronted by the culprit – Kaguya.
Kaguya seemed frustrated that none of her pranks were working, but she also greatly intrigued. The two had a good conversation, and Haru couldn’t help but feel intrigued by the ‘secret’ resident of the dance theatre.

Over time, Kaguya took an ever greater interest in Haru and her activities outside the theatre, and the two would spend hours talking about it once Haru was back for the night. They became fast friends, and Haru found that she felt comfortable and safe in Kaguya’s presence – a feeling she hadn’t had for years.
Eventually, though, the time came for Haru to leave for other towns on her gym challenge. Kaguya was almost heartbroken – it seemed to Haru that she was Kaguya’s only true friend as well. Haru promised the princess that she’d keep in touch through phone, and would return in between gyms.

Haru kept her word, and in between Olivine and Mahogany’s gyms, she returned to Ecruteak to spend time with Kaguya, often bringing keepsakes and sweets with her. It was the first time Haru or Kaguya had really had a close friend, and they both cherished the time they had together.

Like clockwork, after he stop in Ecruteak, Haru was off again. This time she had her sights set on Cianwood, which she needed to take a ferry to reach. The ferry ride started as normal, but about halfway through Haru could hear someone walking up behind her, and she froze. She tried to telepathically ask Madoka about it, but Madoka seemed… preoccupied? Haru could hear her chittering with what sounded like another pokemon, so Haru cautiously turned around, only to see Madoka conversing with a flareon, and someone around Haru’s age was standing in front of her.

The person introduced themselves as Basil, and tried to make small talk, but Haru was on edge about strangers, and didn’t say anything. Basil eventually paused and apologized for the inconvenience, and went to grab their flareon and go off. But the flareon was too squirmy and heavy for Basil to hold, and they fell to the ground as the flareon escaped their grip. Haru cautiously moved towards them, holding out her hand and asking if they were alright. Basil brushed themselves off, replying that they were. Haru apologized for all the hassle Madoka has caused, but Basil said to not sweat it.
The two of them decided it’d be for the best to stay together for the moment to allow their pokemon to communicate, though they barely talked.

The two left the ferry together, and Basil called out to someone who presumably was their father as the crowd cleared. Haru darted her eyes to see who it was, and when she saw him, her eyes widened.
Mr. Oliveira!” she cried out, running towards Diego. He looked about as surprised as Haru was to see him. Basil caught up, and just seemed confused. The reunion was brief, and Diego tried to remain as discreet as he could when explaining how the two knew each other to Basil. When he heard that Haru was going to be taking on the gym in the town, he offered to let her stay at his house, to which she agreed.

Haru was able to warm up to Basil more quickly knowing they were related to Diego, and while they didn’t have much in common as far as interests were concerned, they still found lots of things to make conversation about.
Haru also met someone else new thanks to Diego – a man named Yuuto. He told Haru he already knew quite a bit about her, and that he’d be there if she needed any help. He also revealed to Haru that he was an anti-Rocket delinquent in the past, which particularly piqued Haru’s interest. During her time in Cianwood, Haru would form a friendship with Yuuto and seek advice from him about going back to a ‘normal life’.

Eventually, Haru’s time in Cianwood came to an end, and she was planning on making her way back to Ecruteak – but she was stopped by Basil. They truly enjoyed Haru’s company and asked if they could come with her to Ecruteak, which Haru happily agreed to. So, the two were off to Ecruteak, and through their journey there, they grew ever closer. Haru was excited to introduce her two best friends to each other at last.

Though, the first meeting didn’t quite go as planned. Kaguya had set a trap for Basil when they first arrived, and even though Haru scolded her for it, she still thought it was hilarious and continued to act sour towards Basil.
Though, thankfully, with time, Kaguya warmed up to Basil, and the three became a tight-knit friendgroup, bonding over the spirit of adventure and music.
That settled Haru’s new arrangement – she’d bounce in between Cianwood and Ecruteak, spending time with her friends and training to take on the Pokemon League.

While in Cianwood, on a warm summer evening, Basil confessed their feelings to Haru. She was shocked, and wasn’t truly sure what to think of it. She cared deeply for Basil as well, but worried she had too much difficulty expressing those feelings. Still, she accepted Basil’s feelings, and the two began dating. She couldn’t quite explain it after hiding her emotions for so long, but Haru was filled with a warm fuzzy feeling – was this love?

After so long, she finally felt safe.

Present day

Haru has grown an incredible amount since the day she first decided to leave home. She has a support group of those who love and care for her, all people she feels safe around. She still goes between Cianwood and Ecruteak, but has started to more permanently live in Cianwood full-time, as Kaguya has started to visit in Cianwood as well. 

Speaking of Kaguya, the situation between Kaguya, Basil, and Haru has become a bit… complicated. Kaguya admitted to having feelings for Haru, as well as for Basil, and in the end, the three of them decided to get together. While the officiality of it is a bit up in the air, Basil and Kaguya would always be her best friends, no matter what, and she wouldn’t trade spending time with them for anything in the world.

Through Yuuto, Haru has been able to connect to more anti- and ex-Rockets, including an unexpected but welcome face – Lyra! The small group bonds over their shared experiences and offers a great amount of support for each other.

Haru has begun to take pokemon training more seriously, and as she recently earned her 8th gym badge, she now qualifies to take on the League. She’s determined and confident in herself, and whether it be in the League, or simply in life, Haru feels like she’s finally emerged from the darkness and is ready to take on the world.


Skills

Combat:

  • During her time in Rocket, Haru was trained in a multitude of combat methods. While she considers it ‘the lost year’, she still retains what she was taught and is able to fight with her own hands or a weapon as opposed to relying on pokemon for everything – though she much prefers the latter.
    • She has very quick reflexes and is able to quickly assess a combat situation, which comes in useful for league battles.
    • She very commonly relies on intimidation though, as she prefers to end anything before it can start.

Survival:

  • Living as a wanderer has led Haru to develop varied survival skills, and she’s more than capable of fending for herself when she has to.
    • She has unmatched situational awareness, though she can be hyper-aware of her surroundings at times, causing her to become paranoid.
    • She’s no stranger to sleeping outside or in wooded areas, and is able to fall asleep almost anywhere.s first, she won’t hesitate to use force.

Telepathy

  • So like this is the thing with psychic types; trainers/humans who form a close bond with a psychic type often gain small amounts of psychic power and are able to telepathically communicate with said pokemon, which Haru is capable with her espeon Madoka.
    • The two’s bond is so close that Haru will suffer migraines and have trouble thinking if separated from Madoka because of the sheer power of the psychic bond, which Madoka will suffer from as well.

Team

Haru

Off-duty champion

Madoka Lv. 90

Buttercup Lv. 88

Kaguya Lv. 100


Relationships

Basil – Wife

Haru finds that Basil is someone she can truly lean on. She loves her immensely, and despite having very different personalities, the two live and work together very well. Haru loves just listening to Basil ramble on.


Kaguya – Legendary retainer

As Kaguya’s legendary retainer, Haru is deeply connected to her, in more ways than one. Haru considers Kaguya to be her first true friend, and would do anything to ensure her safety and happiness.


Diego – Father-in-law

Haru feels eternally greatful for Diego, and can’t really imagine how the investigation would have gone without his assistance. Though, Haru gets a little flustered when he refers to her as family still.


Yuuto – Father-in-law

She often went to Yuuto for advice, though as Haru has grown up, their dynamic has almost reversed in a way. Haru cares for Yuuto a lot, but she holds concern about how he copes.


Kotone – Friend

The two were conspiring friends while Haru was trapped in Team Rocket, and while Haru is overjoyed Kotone survived that night, seeing her reminds Haru of that time and makes her feel guilty for the punishment she faced.


Silver – Friend

Haru and Silver connect over shared hardships and dislike over Giovanni, and are sparring partners as well.


Cynthia – Ally

Despite being a league participant, Haru never really idolized Cynthia as much as other trainers do. While Haru was personally offered the position of Global League Coordinator by Cynthia, Haru denied the role as she was already overwhelmed by the attention she was getting.


Giovanni – Nightmare

She still has nightmares about him sometimes.


Trivia

  • Kaguya has not once been successfully able to prank Haru. She’s tried though, a lot.
  • While she’s not trapped in the underground of crime anymore, she still maintains some habits normal people would think are a bit odd.
  • She’s fond of cat pokemon despite her previous experiences. She feeds strays, causing them to swarm around her house. After moving out with Basil, she likes to keep the doors open and allow wild meowth to visit as they please.
  • When in public without her mask, she’ll often make up an outlandish story of how she got her scar.
  • She’s up there next to Pearl in the ‘everyone loves her’ stats, though it’s more in part to how she’s an incredible problemsolver and able to get things together.