Lorekeeper Zinnia

Name: Zinnia
Moniker: None
Region: Hoenn
Role: Lorekeeper of the Draconid people
Type Specialty: Dragon


BACKGROUND

Though her origins are a great mystery even today, Zinnia is recognized as the Lorekeeper of the Draconid people who first occupied the Hoenn region thousands of years ago and retains loyal duty to this job no matter what the circumstances, all in the hope of warning those in the modern day of the shadows predicted in olden times. Through the best and worst of times, she has held such a position and sacrificed many things prior to the events of the Delta Incident, even potentially losing her child (though this is just a rumor at the moment). The legend of the Draconid people, as told by her, is as follows:

In the beginning, the oceans and the earth are said to have battled constantly for dominance. At this time, the world overflowed with natural energy, and the forces of nature themselves were represented by two monstrous deities. Early humans came to call the beast of the waters Primal Kyogre, and the beast of the land Primal Groudon, with them respectively being the entities responsible for the formation of the oceans and land comprising the Hoenn region. These titans clashed frequently and caused mass devastation as they did so, with the oceans swelling and drowning everything while oppressive heat and light baked and incinerated everything in sight. The two have clashed since the beginning of their incredibly long lives, but with every clash the destruction becomes increasingly worse, and the life of the world is swallowed again and again by their rage. Several thousand years ago, however, when human civilization first began to flourish in the Hoenn region, the two met once again and their fight brought such destruction to the world that the humans of the region cried out for help, asking to help not only end the fight but to end the shower of meteoroids that had descended upon the world at the same time. Their pleas were answered by the legendary dragon of the sky, Rayquaza, who descended from the clouds above and calmed the two raging beasts, forcing them to sleep. A thousand years of peace followed, but again, disaster awoke when a large meteoroid fell to the Earth and punctured it, forming the massive crater now known as the Sootopolis Crater. This event released a massive upwelling of natural energy that awakened Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon, leading them to the fiercest fight they had ever had with each other. For 20 days and 20 nights they raged, and eventually the balance of power was disrupted, forcing the natural energy of the world to spiral out of control. The descendants of the people who called upon Rayquaza did so once more, this time wishing with all of the might in the presence of the fallen meteoroid. Suddenly, the rainbow rock shined brightly, and Rayquaza descended from the clouds, as if attracted by the object. This object would later be known as a Key Stone, and it proved to be vital for, in its presence, Rayquaza shined a brilliant green light, and when the light died down, the people saw a Rayquaza unlike any other…a beast we know call Mega Rayquaza. The creature descended to the ground and, using the golden filaments hanging from its body, drained the Primal energy from the bodies of Kyogre and Groudon and returned it to the Earth from whence it came. The two beasts fell into a deep sleep, and Rayquaza returned to normal, leaving to the sky once again. The people of the Hoenn region built the Sky Pillar in reverence for their savior and embedded the massive Key Stone in it, hoping that one day they would be able to see their savior again. A thousand years of peace followed this event as well, but during this time, the people of the Hoenn region predicted that an even larger meteoroid would hit the Earth again, this time large enough to break the world forever. They thus created the Red and Blue Orbs to contain and control the powers of Kyogre and Groudon (and later the Jade Orb as a wholly symbolic sign of worship for Rayquaza) and entrusted their legend to those of their descendants, the Draconid people, leaving murals in the Sky Pillar to tell their tale to future generations. In addition, some of them turned their sights to the Johto region and constructed the Embedded Tower as a symbol of the power held by these three great deities, and it is said that those who demonstrate their worthiness may even encounter these creatures there, though the reason why is still uncertain.

As foretold in legend by the ancient Draconid people, Rayquaza did indeed require summoning in the recent past to stop another disaster as part of what is now called the Delta Incident, as first named by AZ in observing the actions of Mega Rayquaza from afar over 1,000 years ago. 11 years ago, as part of the Litleonid Meteor Shower, a meteoroid approximately six miles in diameter was observed to approach the Earth and suddenly change direction, so while it had been expected to pass by us safely, it now was on a one-way course for a direct impact with the planet; such an event would have been the end of all, as an object that size would have been enough to wipe the human race off the planet just as the ancient dinosaurs once were. Scientists working at the Mossdeep Space Center and the Devon Corporation planned on using a rocket powered by Infinity Energy (a staple of Devon Corporation technology and the same energy used by AZ to power the Reaper of Ambrotos thousands of years ago) to create a wormhole that would teleport the rock to some other place in the universe…but they were scolded in turn by Zinnia, the last Lorekeeper of the tales of the Draconic people. She knew that the only way to stop this disaster was to once again call upon Rayquaza, and to that, she stole the Key Stones of numerous people, including the leaders of Teams Magma and Aqua, and destroyed the communication device that would have made operating the proposed rocket a possibility in space. Followed by a young trainer caught up in the entire mess, she ascended to the top of the Sky Pillar and summoned Rayquaza…only to find out that the power it once held had been lost from it over time. It would have been the end of all had it not been for the meteorite that the young trainer had received after defeating Teams Magma and Aqua at Mt. Chimney, which shined brilliantly in Rayquaza’s presence. Sensing its power, Rayquaza took the rock and devoured it, providing it enough energy to Mega Evolve once again. After the young trainer defeated Rayquaza in battle to earn its trust, it Mega Evolved and, with the new herald of the Draconid people on its back, travelled into space and destroyed the offending meteoroid with its Dragon Ascent attack. In the aftermath, the trainer realized why the meteoroid had changed path when, in the wreckage of the rock, an alien life form attacked: Deoxys! The enraged creature, which was probably trying to direct its rocky capsule to a planet where it could grow and thrive, attacked the trainer and Mega Rayquaza out of anger, but was ultimately defeated; it plummeted to the Earth and it is not certain if it survived the fall or not. With the job done, the trainer returned to the Earth, and Rayquaza returned to the ozone layer, where it remained for some time. Zinnia retreated to the depths of Meteor Falls one last time to say goodbye to a close friend before disappearing completely, leaving behind the pet Whismur that she treated like her own child in search of something she had lost during her occupation as Lorekeeper and consequently vanishing from the face of the Earth.


BATTLE STRATEGIES

Zinnia takes full advantage of the might of the Dragon-type and uses its penchant for raw, insurmountable power extremely well, focusing on pure offense over any other defensive or tactical methods in battle. On the one hand, this makes her battling style somewhat shallow and easy to overcome, but even so her Pokémon all have access to a wide variety of attacks and can type-trump just about anything that gets thrown onto the battlefield. The fact that Zinnia rarely battles at full strength is merely a testament to not wasting time on battling when more important matters must be attended to, but when confronted as the true Lorekeeper of the Draconid people, she is a fierce battler and will do everything to test her opponent to see if they are worthy of her people’s bloodline and the rights that have descended with it. As such, trainers should bring Pokémon that can take the abuse her Pokémon are capable of dealing out or otherwise go fully-offensive on her to take down her fighters quickly, though a balance of both may be needed to adjust for the different stat advantages each of her Pokémon has.


PRIMARY POKEMON

Altaria: Although this beast is not considered to be among the strongest of Dragon-types, it is nonetheless a decent fighter with access to powerful attacks few other Dragon-types can manage. In battle, this creature will generally stay far from its target where it is safe, launching powerful Dragon Pulse, Moonblast, Flamethrower and Hyper Voice attacks from said positon. This beast has decent defenses and can be a bit annoying at times, but it should still be an easy target to take down with a bit of brute force.

Tyrantrum: This hulking beast of a Dragon is a serious opponent because of its incredible physical strength and Zinnia’s specimen is no exception. In battle, this beast will waste little time being idle and will instead charge straight at its target when it gets the chance, attacking with powerful Dragon Claw and Crunch attacks in close quarters while occasionally falling back and launching Stone Edge and Earthquake attacks from afar. This beast might not have the special defenses needed to survive for very long, but it is nonetheless a tough and rugged beast more than capable of dealing immense damage if allowed.

Goodra: This strange beast is definitely not among the most conventional of Dragon-types but is more than capable of taking a few blows when needed. This beast will usually rely on its special powers in battle and forego actually getting close to its target, instead launching powerful Dragon Pulse, Muddy Water, Thunderbolt and Ice Beam attacks from afar. This beast does not really have the strong offenses most associate with the Dragon-type, but its incredibly high Special Defense stat can still make it a tough nut to crack and should thus be targeted with physical attacks as much as possible.

Noivern: This beast bucks the offensive trend of Zinnia’s other Pokémon in its unique mixture of powerful special attacks and surprising physical might. This beast will generally rely on its speed to get to its opponent quickly and deliver a devastating Super Fang attack so as to weaken them severely without much effort; from there, it will utilize its Air Slash, Shadow Ball and Dragon Pulse attacks from afar to finish the job. The overall stats of this beast might not be high enough in any particle category aside from its Speed stat to be a threat, but its energy-crushing Super Fang attack can nonetheless be a severe threat to any combatant, making this beast a major priority target to defeat once it hits the battlefield.

Salamence: This creature is by far the most powerful member of Zinnia’s team and is more than capable of destroying opponents that can’t get out of its path fast enough. Foregoing the use of long-range special attacks, this monster will generally fly straight at its target without flinching in battle to deliver potent Crunch, Thunder Fang, Fire Fang and Dragon Claw attacks before retreating to avoid counterattack. This Pokémon may not ordinarily have the defensive stats needed to survive very long against an oppressive assault, but Zinnia always makes sure to Mega Evolve this beast into a Mega Salamence the moment it hits the battlefield, so taking it down will require considerable offensive effort to accomplish, though using powerful Ice-type attacks should still be able to do the job quite swiftly.


RESERVE POKEMON

Zinnia does not possess any reserve Pokémon outside of the ones she uses regularly in battle.


OVERALL DIFFICULTY: 3/5

All of Zinnia’s Pokémon are quite strong and more than capable of proving to be a serious threat in battle, but her full reliance on offense only leaves her battling a bit shallow and easy for expert strategists to take down. While it is recognized that her Pokémon can break through even the strongest of defenses with their sheer might, she seems to be unable to raise any of her own defenses and thus does not have much in the way of strategy when confronted with an opponent that has a severe type advantage. All of her Pokémon do have different type combinations to round out some of their weakness, but the fact that all of her Pokémon are Dragon-type means that she is still highly vulnerable to assaults from Ice, Dragon and Fairy-type attackers. Zinnia clearly puts her heart and soul into fighting when it comes to protecting the rights and honors of her people, but she is still quite inexperienced and will only prove to be a mild challenge to the strongest of trainers, though in truth this matters little to her as battling is not the true purpose of her existence.


REWARDS FOR DEFEAT

Defeating Zinnia will grant trainers the right to be the true successor of the Draconid people and a rightful partner for the legendary Pokémon Rayquaza, though this event has only ever happened once.

Professor Wormwood