Zhilan Ouyang

## Zhilan Ouyang / Cure Torch

"The Shining Dragon, illuminating the darkness! Cure Torch!"

Fire

Boxing

Light Manipulation

Zhilan Ouyang is a main character and Pretty Cure on the team for **Roar! Mighty Dragon Precure**. Their theme colors are red and gold, with black as a sub color.

They are the reincarnation of the Elder One Zhulong.

## Appearance

### General Appearance

Zhilan is a masculine-presenting teen who has short, spiky auburn hair that naturally flips upwards. They have brown eyes and a square jaw, and their resting expressions usually look disinterested. They are very muscular and fit, and is usually seen wearing gym or workout clothes. They don't take much care of their appearance aside from working out. They are never seen without their bracelets, which hold their Gilded Scales.

### Cure Torch

As Cure Torch, their hair becomes much fluffier, and bright red in color with golden tips. Their ears are pointed, and their teeth are sharper. Their muscles are also much more shown off in their Cure form. When fighting, flames are visible from the tops of the wraps around their arms. In their powered-up form, they get scales around their eyes and fangs.

## Personality

*"I can be blunt, I can be a jerk sometimes, and I don’t always say the right thing, but I hope my actions can speak louder than my voice can."*

Zhilan is stoic, hard to impress, and generally gruff. They're well-meaning, but can often come off as blunt and cold. They have a lot of common sense and street smarts, and sometimes they're even seen as wise, but they have little to no book smarts. Underneath their initial demeanor, they are a passionate, driven person who just requires a nudge in the right direction to get going. When Zhilan is first introduced to the Dragons, they push them away out of a desire to keep themselves from getting hurt, both emotionally and physically. Soon, the others help them realize the way they had been approaching life was too negative, and they needed to become the same brave, proud person they were as a child. They vow to be as outspoken and passionate as they once were and to help others in need after becoming a Cure.

Zhilan is a boxer, and is very competitive in everything physical. They love to workout with Fayre, and train with Tarragon. They also enjoy walks, amusement parks, and window shopping. They fluently speak English and Mandarin.

## History

As a child, Zhilan was outgoing and scrappy, often getting in fights to defend others. This was how they met their childhood friend, Charity, after defending her from bullies. The two quickly became inseparable, but Zhilan's parents had strict ideas for how they wanted their child to be, and told them not to get in any more fights. They couldn't stop helping others, though, and eventually ended up getting in one more to protect somebody. This led to their parents sending them to live with their Aunt, who was physical with her kids and wanted to send them to reform school. They ran away, and went to their grandparents, who ended up taking them in and raising them. As such, Zhilan has a negative view of their parents who sent them away, and consider their grandparents the perfect family.

Shortly after they went to live with their grandparents, Charity moved away, and they were left alone, as the people they once protected no longer cared for them since they stopped getting in fights for them. Zhilan developed a "take care of yourself first" mentality, and took up boxing to fill the physical outlet they used to have. They originally intended to box to impress Charity before she moved, but by then it was too late. They filled every waking moment with school and workouts and training, occasionally stopping to help their grandparents at their clinic. Then, they met **Fayre** and the Dragons, and realized they were the reincarnation of Zhulong. This opened their eyes, and they realized they could be good again, and be passionate about something for the sake of others. They take the Oath to become a Cure, and dedicate themselves to becoming a better person.

## Cure Torch

*"Roar, the Heart of a Dragon! ... The Shining Dragon, illuminating the darkness! Cure Torch!"*

### Transformation

* **Transformation Item**: Shining Scales
* **Transformation Call**: “Roar, the heart of a dragon!”
* **Tagline**: “The Shining Dragon, illuminating the darkness! Cure Torch!”

### Powers

**Abilities**

* **Enhanced Strength:** They are several times stronger than a normal human in their Cure form, able to do things like crush objects in their grip with ease, or punch through objects a human shouldn't. This makes them one of the more physically offensive Cures on the team.
* **Fire Manipulation**: They can produce flames and control fire, putting it out or starting it at will. They are also able to breathe it and use it as energy, absorbing it to replenish their strength.
* **Light Manipulation**: They can produce light, make the environment around them brighter, and their eyes can glow brightly when they are overcome with any sort of emotion. Their light is warm and comforting. They eventually learn how to make hard light constructs later in the series.
* **Heightened Thought Process**: They are even quicker to think on their feet, being a brilliant tactician on the battlefield and able to make snap judgements regarding fighting situations. This ability really only works in fights, and doesn't affect their ability to read normal situations.
* **Numen**: Using the ancient Dragon magic, Numen, they are able to use various spells which they learn throughout the series. This includes locating other sources of Numen, changing their appearance, and even learning new powers and forms. It can also be used to increase one's strength, making their physical hits even more devastating.

**Finishing Attacks**

* **Shining Flame** (1st Finisher)
	+ **Call**: "Follow the Light! Precure... Shining Flame!"
	+ The scales on their bracelets turn into a double-ended glaive, which becomes cloaked in flame. With one swift, massive slice, the Panoply's armor is torn in half, and flames burst out from the cut, purifying the monster.
* **Shining Wildfire** (2nd Finisher)
	+ **Call**: "Follow the Light! Precure... Shining Wildfire!"
	+ Torch, using the glaive in a spinning motion, creates a funnel of flames, which engulf the Panoply, melting its armor. Smaller, hard light crystals spin into the flames, cutting into the Panoply to purify it, bursting into large light beams.

## Relationships

* **Fayre McCoy**: Zhilan views Fayre as a capable and kind leader, the perfect one for the job. They find her easy to joke with and gets along well with her, and is proud to call her a friend. Zhilan considers Fayre like a sibling, and enjoys working out with her.
* **Yaretzi Vasquez**: Being the same age, Zhilan feels close to Yaretzi. They get along very well, and Zhilan even feels a bit protective of her. They are happy to help her and give her advice, and they are constantly looking out for her well-being.
* **Charity Howell**: Zhilan's childhood friend and crush. She and Zhilan are nearly inseparable once they find out she's back in town, and even more so after they discover she's also a Cure. They are overprotective of Charity, and defensive when talking about her. They really care for her, and are often seen reminiscing about her.
* **Josie Laghari**: The two can sometimes butt heads, as Zhilan doesn't like being fussed over, and Josie loves to be a mother hen, but they understand each other most of the time. Zhilan and Josie have a mutual respect for one another, and are supportive of each others' goals. Josie is often the one Zhilan will go to to get patched up for minor things like cuts and bruises, just to make Josie feel better.
* **Tarragon Drake**: At first, Tarragon is a bit wary of Zhilan's negative approach, but they quickly come to an understanding and are happy to work together. Zhilan views them as a great leader and loves to train with him, as well as get a cultural understanding of the Dragons from him. Zhilan and Tarragon become good friends eventually, and enjoy sparring matches.
* **Scout Rynn**: Scout has a massive dislike for Zhilan initially, but they don't seem to mind. Eventually, they have their issues worked out, and Scout warms up to them. Zhilan has an intense overprotective streak when it comes to Scout, and even decides to become a Cure and do good for his sake. Zhilan views Scout like a younger brother, teaching him about boxing and taking him out to do normal kid stuff so he can feel normal.

## Trivia

* In Chinese mythology, Zhulong is known both as the Shining Dragon and the Torch Dragon, which is where Cure Torch's name comes from.
* Zhilan was originally planned to be more androgynous, but eventually ended up being masculine presenting.
* Cure Torch's weapons were originally going to be just their fists, but this was scrapped, as they already have a lot of fighting with their fists throughout the series aside from their finishing move.
* It is revealed in the series that Charity originally gifted Zhilan the bracelets with their scales, but the scales were always meant for Zhilan, and merely went through Charity to eventually get to them.