Gale

**Gale** is a rookie member of the Heroes Guild, partnered with Sol. The daughter of two martial arts masters, she ran away from home to escape her Emboar father's harsh teachings and become a prizefighter. Gale's failures in the ring have not only tempered her reckless fighting style but given her reason to pursue a more altruistic career path.

## History

Gale's history begins with the settling of Mt. Dojo, a martial arts institute built high among the peaks of the Volcanic Isles. Her parents, the boar Gaillard and the hen Godiva, were both star pupils of Sensei Houwang, one of the school's three founders. Gale (born Abigail) would grow up as the elder and more troublesome of the couple's two offspring—her brother Desmond being docile in comparison. Although they had two parents, an uncle, and a wise old monkey they could count on, theirs was not an easy childhood. Gale's parents were disciplinarians by necessity, and she was enrolled in the institute's rigorous training regimen at a young age. She struggled to find pick up new techniques and find purpose in practicing them.

As Gale matured and ultimately evolved into a strong Blaziken hen, she lagged behind her peers—even Desmond was rapidly catching up. She grew frustrated trying to succeed on her own terms, rather than rehearse the forms found in the family's dusty scrolls. In the midst of Gale's emotional turmoil, it was reported to the institute that a mad harlequin was brutalizing the sacred burial grounds beneath the mountain. Godiva, a proud warrior-hen with a rare Blazikenite, left immediately with her daughter to combat the defiler. They met the "harlequin"—in reality a Mewtwo gladiator from antiquity—and failed miserably in spite of their prowess. Making a final stand, Godiva bade her daughter to retreat. Gale fled blindly through the volcanic tunnels, hounded by the harlequin's dogs and haunted by his demoniac laughter, until Sensei Houwang found her bitten and blithering incoherently in the dark. She would not see her mother alive again.

The following days were the most difficult of Gale's life. She was traumatized by the battle under the volcano—to this day, she is frightened of caves—and her remaining family was greatly pained by the loss of Godiva. Other teachers and learners lent their support, but her father responded poorly in his grief. Sensei Gaillard doubled down on his flinty austerity, pushing his children to train harder than ever before, that way he might never lose them as he did their mother. This was the final straw for Gale. After a bad shouting match, she hugged her brother goodbye and departed for the continent, leaving the Blazikenite in her father's hands.

Gale's foray into mainland life was shameful. She found work as an underground prizefighter in Auril City, making the most of her training but dishonoring it all the same. It may be said that Gale had the endowments to work the crowd in her favor, but she often left the ring in a stretcher and seldom turned a profit. It was not until she partnered with another Blaziken, an adventurer named Sol, that her fortunes started to improve. She would join him as a founding member of the new Heroes Guild.

## Personality

More than anything else, Gale values hard work and independence. She rejects the benefits of a Mega Stone because she does not feel she has earned the same distinction as her late mother; alternatively, it may be that she desires to earn the particular stone that is her birthright. Instead she makes do with an emera-studded badge gifted to her by her guildmaster. As a prizefighter and an adventurer, Gale's battle technique remains vastly different from the Mt. Dojo curriculum, making heavy use of desperation attacks.