Here's the Wiki low-down on Cerulean City's Gym Leader! I appreciate the overwhelming response I've had so far-in just the first day of this story's publication, it's gotten about two-thirds worth of the traffic Iron Chef Symphonia: Aselia Cup has gotten all month! And special thanks to my reviewers so far...you know who you are.
Misty Waterflower
Misty Waterflower (born March 2, 1986) is the Cerulean City Gym Leader and a Pokélympic Medalist in swimming. She has won five medals over three Pokélympics, two of them gold.
Early Life
Born the youngest of four in Cerulean City, Waterflower was born into a family of performers. Her sisters Daisy, Violet, and Lily jointly ran the Cerulean Gym, where they frequently put on water shows. Misty, too young to take part in these shows until the age of 10, would learn how to swim from some of the water Pokémon who inhabited the Gym. She quickly gained the trust of her first swimming coach, a Staryu, and took it with her when she began her Pokémon journey.
Even before she became Gym Leader, Waterflower gained a reputation as a bit of a tomboy. A 2005 interview on Johto Radio's Places and People! revealed that said reputation developed from her shyness around her sisters and her athletic tendencies. By age 9 she was already competing on the regional swimming level, and by 14 she was competing on the national level.
Her fascination with water Pokémon began even before she became a trainer. Growing up, she said in the interview, she always admired Elite Four member Lorelei von Kleinheardt and aspired to be just like her, hoping to battle her one day.
As Gym Leader
Waterflower says her tenure as Gym Leader began "on accident". Her sisters were traveling the Kanto region in late 1996, as their show went on tour throughout the country. They left control of the Gym to her while away. The sign outside the Gym bills her as "The Tomboyish Mermaid", possibly referencing her hidden desire to be included in her sisters' water shows (citation needed).
Her team consists of Starmie (her original Staryu that she evolved), Lapras, Golduck, and Quagsire. She is also known to have included a Dewgong, Seadra, Poliwhirl, and Blastoise. It was rumored that she also used Dragonair at one point.
According to Pokémon League HQ, Waterflower's career Gym record is 264-199-8 as of December 13, 2010. This does not include her appearances in special tournaments or battles against other Gym Leaders.
Her most famous battle against another Gym Leader came in 2002 against Vermilion Gym Leader Lt. Mayfield Surge. Whilst Surge kept teasing her for her weakness against his electric-type Pokémon, Waterflower defeated Surge in the 3-on-3 match, as Surge failed to realize her second Pokémon, Quagsire, was part ground-type. Quagsire single-handedly knocked out all three of Surge's Pokémon.
She finally had her chance to battle her idol von Kleinheardt in 2007, as part of a special exhibition match. The 3-on-3 match ended in a draw, as each trainer's last Pokémon went down to her Lapras's Perish Song when both were unable to move after being paralyzed—von Kleinheardt's Dewgong by way of Lapras's Body Slam, Waterflower's Lapras by way of a Thunder wave from von Kleinheardt's Slowbro, which had been knocked out five turns earlier. Of the battle, Waterflower later said, "I'm just amazed I tied her. She's an incredible trainer, you know. But I feel like a winner regardless. I just couldn't let her get away without getting her autograph and a picture first."
Pokélympic Career
Waterflower made her Pokélympic debut in 2002, at the Cinnabar Island Games, after winning the 2001 Kanto Swimming Championships in the 100m butterfly. She won her first medal, a bronze, in that event.
After a successful 2003 Kanto Championship, she returned for her second Pokélympics in Blackthorn City, winning her first gold medal in the 200m individual medley. She repeated as medalist in the 100m butterfly that year, taking the silver.
She returned most recently for the 2010 Goldenrod City Games, where she won her second gold medal in her signature 100m butterfly. Her hopes of repeating as Pokélympic champion in the 200m individual medley were dashed when she was disqualified for a one-hand touch to the wall after completing the breaststroke leg of the race. Had she not been disqualified, Waterflower would have won her third gold. She did, however, win a bronze medal that year in her first appearance in the 100m backstroke.
She will return for the 2014 Pokélympics in Fuchsia City, though her program has not yet been confirmed.
===INSET===
Misty Waterflower's Medal Record
2002 Cinnabar—Women's Swimming
Competitor for Cerulean City
BRONZE-100m butterfly… 58.32
5th—200m freestyle….. 1:57.29
2006 Blackthorn—Women's Swimming
Competitor for Cerulean City
SILVER—100m butterfly…. 57.97
GOLD—200m individual medley….. 1:50.63
4th—200m freestyle….. 1:57.01
2010 Goldenrod—Women's Swimming
Competitor for Cerulean City
GOLD—100m butterfly… 55.82
BRONZE—100m backstroke…. 1:03.32
DQ—200m individual medley…. 1:48.99*
*Hypothetical time had Waterflower not been DQ'd.
===INSET===
Accomplishments
In addition to her Pokélympic accomplishments listed above, Waterflower is a certified lifeguard and offers weekly clinics for those wishing to be certified at her Gym.
Waterflower remains close friends with Pewter City Gym Leader Brock Slate. The two are slated to open the Kanto Pokémon Humane Society, a shelter for abandoned and mistreated Pokémon, in February 2011.
She and fellow Gym Leader Erika Aoyama of Celadon City were guest question readers on the Blaine O'Donnell-hosted game show Poké Quiz Attack 25 for two weeks in 2008. A notable incident during Waterflower's time on the show was when, on her last day as question reader, she read a question to which she was the correct answer, which none of the contestants knew. This prompted host O'Donnell to quip, "We probably should've mentioned in the question that she has a very short temper, especially when no one knows where she comes from!" She stormed out of the studio, not to be seen again for the rest of that show. Aoyama, who would be the guest reader for the next week of shows, took her place.
The Lieutenant is next in line. Please review!