Tōma, Jessica Musashi

[Dischord]

Name: Jessica Musashi Tōma
Nickname: Musa-chan, Jessie, Chainer Jess, Tenjou Tsubame
Age: 25
Gender: Female
Birthplace: Kanto
Family: Unnamed (Father; Deceased?), Miyamoto Tōma (Mother; Deceased?), Unnamed (Foster Mother)

Trainer Orientation: Neutral
Team Affiliation: Team Rocket, Republic of Seafoam
Trainer Class: Sandestin Gym Leader, Rocket Commander, Coordinator, Performer
Starter Pokémon: Unknown, presumed to be Starmie or Ekans.

Must Save Jane - Rebirth
Context: Character Theme

Epic Soul Factory - Seeking Freedom
Context: Personal vs. Theme

Team Rocket Battle Remix
Context: Team Rocket vs. Theme

2BAM - Double Trouble
Context: Obligatory Nostalgic Team Rocket Theme

Ishtar [Female Absol] — "We dance like marionettes, swaying to the symphony of destruction."
Absol was caught by a stroke of pure luck during her travels across Mount Coronet.  Despite Absol's usual penchant for being referred to as the herald of destruction, the beauty and elegance of the Pokémon caught her attention immediately.   Unafraid of what the sight of her might mean, Musashi engaged in a fierce battle with Absol.  However, Absol's appearance was indeed the forbearer of bad news, and an intense storm settled across the mountain summit.  A mudslide cut their battle short as both woman and Pokémon were swept towards the edge of the mountain.  Rather than take the opportunity to capture the Pokémon, Musashi instead used her whip to lash onto a rocky outcropping and instead focused on saving the Absol and then herself.  It was this act that eventually caused Absol to relent.  Even knowing its nature, Musashi had not balked in battle against it, and had risked herself to keep it from harm.  Absol accepted the name Ishtar, and has been with Musashi ever since.
—Caught on Mt. Coronet's summit.

Ability: Super Luck
Move Pool: Megahorn, Taunt, Rock Slide, Night Slash, Psycho Cut, Magic Coat, Aerial Ace, Secret Power, Shadow Claw, Cut

Karait [Male Seviper] — "You're poison runnin 'thru my veins."
Seviper was Musashi's primary battling Pokémon for a long time.  Recognizing its strength after it defeated a Treecko, Musashi became determined to obtain him.  Of course, Seviper, being the intelligent pokémon he is, managed to outsmart and elude both Musashi and Kojiro for some time.  It wasn't until Seviper made the mistake of biting off a chunk of Musashi's hair that he was finally captured, not through the use of a pokémon, but by Musashi physically thrashing him, mangling the poor thing.  Despite their rocky start, Seviper was with Musashi for a long time before he was returned to Rocket HQ.  When she and her partner went their separate ways, she retrieved Seviper, and he has remained with her since.  It should be noted he has an intense hatred of all Zangoose just as most Seviper do, which lends itself in part to Musashi's nickname for him.
—Caught in Petalburg Woods.

Ability: Shed Skin
Move Pool: Sludge Bomb, Glare, Poison Jab, Night Slash, Aqua Tail, Body Slam, Toxic, Earthquake, Flamethrower, Hidden Power (Ice)

Tira-olhos [Female Yanmega] — "My little dragonfly, on dark wings you come to me."
Musashi got Yanmega completely by accident.  Musashi snatched the pokémon out from beneath the nose of a young trainer named Tyler after it had been weakened.  After it's capture, Yanma was sent to Giovanni, who immediately sent the pokémon back, analyzing her strength and deciding she wasn't fit, the fact that they had 'plenty' of Yanma aside.  Musashi instead decided to train Yanma herself, not realizing that Yanma already knew Ancient Power.  She was surprised when Yanma quickly evolved into Yanmega.  Despite the fact that Musashi doesn't exactly refer to the pokémon now called Tira as 'pretty', she was used quite a bit in Musa's contest circuit.  Regardless of that, Musashi does care a great deal for the massive dragonfly.
—Stolen around Route 213.

Ability: Speed Boost
Move Pool: Ancient Power, Air Slash, Bug Buzz, Hidden Power (Water), Silver Wind, Roost, Whirlwind, Defog, Double Team, Flash

Juvia [Female Milotic] — "Can you hear the calling of the raving wind and water?"
Have you ever just had one of those days?  Musashi did the day she fished up the Feebas that would eventually become Milotic.  While on Mt. Coronet, shortly after the events with Ishtar, Musashi pulled up a line hoping to find dinner, and was instead smacked in the face with the fishy Feebas.  While Feebas didn't suit her aesthetic taste, recognizing that Milotic would, she battled and quickly captured the Feebas.  Careful training and intense use of Juvia during her contest circuit eventually led the pokémon to evolution, and she has been a core part of Musashi's battling team ever since.
—"Caught" while trying to find dinner on Mt. Coronet.

Ability: Swift Swim
Move Pool: Recover, Attract, Rain Dance, Ice Beam, Surf, Protect, Dragon Pulse, Mud Sport, Hypnosis, Mirror Coat

Sasaki [Male Gardevoir] — "Soshite boku no uchuu ni kimi ga ite."(And in my universe, there is you.)
Shortly after her departure from Team Rocket, Musashi went into the Andes to see if she could find any signs of her mother.  Despite the fact that it was a large place, Musashi spent almost a year hunting for her.  During the end of this journey, Musashi was trapped under an avalanche.  Spending hours before the cold began to grow too intense, her body giving itself over to shock and frost bite, and she wondered if maybe this wasn't how it was supposed to end.  She began muttering her goodbyes to Kojiro, Meowth, and her Mother, when the snow above her split open, revealing a Gardevoir.  In her shock induced hallucinations, she at first believed the pokémon to be Kojiro based on the deep blue and tan color of the creature.  After warming her, the Gardevoir helped her and they departed the mountain together.  Once they were back in warmer climates, Musashi attempted to let the Gardevoir go, but it continued to follow her, regardless of her direct wishes.  While she will not openly admit it, she privately believes that he was sent by her mother to guide her out of the Andes, and has since given up on locating her mother, believing her to be dead.  Because the pokémon bears such a strong resemblance to the only person Musashi truly loves besides herself, she named him Sasaki.
—Obtained in the Andes.

Ability: Trace
Move Pool: Wish, Calm Mind, Psychic, Will-O-Wisp, Signal Beam, Focus Blast, Thunder Wave, Hidden Power (Poison), Thunderpunch, Reflect

Maja [Female Mismagius]— "No escape, from my vision of the World."
First found as a Misdreavus, the way in which Musashi caught Maja is a bit funny.  After the incident with Seviper, Musashi has always been a little overprotective of her hair, so when she was walking through Eterna Forest and felt a pull on her hair, she immediately turned to sock the offender, punching the Misdreavus square in the face.  Both were equally surprised, she at the fact it was a ghost she had hit, and Misdreavus at the fact that someone had punched her.  With the assistance of Ishtar, Musashi quickly overcame the Misdreavus that she eventually named Maja.  Maja is still mischievous, even as a Mismagius, and enjoys playing practical jokes on Musashi, though the pokémon staunchly avoids going near her owners' hair.
—Caught in Eterna Forest.

Ability: Levitate
Move Pool: Shadow Ball, Thunderbolt, Pain Split, Energy Ball, Thunder Wave, Dark Pulse, Hidden Power (Ice), Destiny Bond, Snatch, Power Gem

Musashi has been accused of being many things, but ugly has never been on that extensive list.  She's aged gracefully, growing from a somewhat awkward teenager into an exceptionally pretty young woman.  A face that was once childish has become mature, her features softening with her age.  Hair that was once a brilliant shade of red has lightened, from a combination of long exposure to the sun and the necessary stripping of her hair's color for various assignments.  Her natural hair color is now a light shade of red that almost borders on orange in the right lighting.  Gone are the days of extensive makeup, now the woman rarely even wears lipstick if she can help it, preferring a cleaner complexion.  She no longer wears her hair in an insanely long point behind her head, instead preferring to let it hang long, and sometimes loose around her face, though she keeps it cut so that it still tapers into a point, that has never changed, even in all the other alterations she's made to her appearance over the past half-decade.  Her previously slender physique is now accented by the long and lean muscle of someone who spends much of her time either on the run, or active in the field.  This has given her a slightly more toned appearance, the 'baby fat' of her youth gone.  

She still wears her trademark large jade earrings, though beyond that her preferred clothing style has altered somewhat substantially.  Her personal clothing ranges from blue jeans and t-shirts to fancy dresses that she's learned to tailor herself, to even simple sundresses.  She's not quite as flamboyant as her partner always has been, instead preferring the simpler styles, reflecting both her upbringing and the woman she has become.  Her Rocket uniform has changed substantially, and she no longer wears the same vest and skirt combination.  Now her outfit consists of a pair of leather pants and a leather sleeveless top with a white unmarked vest kept buttoned up atop it.  Gone are her long black gloves and in their place are short red fingerless gloves that don't quite reach her elbows.  Her footwear is usually a pair of black high-heeled boots.  When her hair isn't loose behind her, or if she's fighting, she keeps it drawn back in a pale blue ribbon, though her bangs still fall to either side of her face.  Of note is the fact that she now carries weapons with her, using either a whip made from the shed skin of her Seviper, which is her preference, or wire or a weighted chain, harkening back to her time in the bike gang. She has an alternate outfit that serves as her Rocket Commander uniform, but given as she is presently 'on leave' from Rocket due to the crisis going on in the world, she hasn't had a chance to formally wear it yet.

Despite the physical changes, she still has her magenta red hair when most people see her in the contest circuit, dyeing her hair each and every time to keep up appearances as one of her many coordinator guises.  In these guises, her clothing ranges from the elaborate and elegant to the downright silly.  Over the past few years she's accumulated a number of different costumes to go with each guise.  She spent some time learning to sew, and now tends to wear a slightly different style of costume for each contest.

Musashi also gained herself another alias during her time away, and another appearance.  It is from this alternate appearance that the light blue ribbon which she uses to tie back her hair came from, along with the habit of tying her hair back to begin with.  Assuming the name and persona of a woman named Tenjou Tsubame, she first began stripping the color from her hair.  Somewhere, she still has her ninja outfit tucked away and breaks it out on missions she knows will be difficult or physically taxing, finding it to grant her more freedom of movement than her Rocket uniform.  While dressed as Tsubame, she typically dyes her hair deep red, as opposed to the magenta color when in her contest garbs.  Her garments consist of a blue and white zubon (pants) in flowing design, a fitted and intimately cut blue kimono top with a short vest on top of it.  Kanji on a sash wrapped around one sleeve declares her as 'Rocket'.  A long blue ribbon tying back her hair and tabi complete this outfit.

Artwork by Naso4 (front) and Ulgamothra (back).

Musashi (as she prefers to be known) has been called many things by many different people.  Shallow, vain, temperamental, angry, spiteful, conceited, but most of these things are what she uses to hide the deeper aspects of her personality.  She is possessed of a very short temper, becoming outraged at the simplest things, including being called old, or an old hag.  Or at the very least, she was.  

Much about Musashi has changed in the past half decade since she and Kojiro separated as partners in Team Rocket.  Musashi's field work forced her to get a tight rein on her temper, and she has become more confident in herself and her appearance, no longer letting the simple things that once made her lash out, effect her quite so terribly as they did before.  She still values her appearance highly, but this has become more of a matter of pride, rather than vanity.  

She is known to hold a grudge, and maintains her longstanding rivalry with Cassidy Yamato.  Despite everything that has changed, a lot about Musashi's core personality remains the same.  Things that are long since ingrained in her have remained.  She is quite capable of being shallow and vain, though she doesn't put as much stock in her appearance as she once did.  She is still angry, and still lashes out at the smallest thing.  And after the Seviper incident, she's still highly protective of her hair, despite the fact that the fashion she wears it in now makes it much more difficult to bite off.

All of her negative traits aside, Musa is incredibly afraid of being hurt, both by those around her and those who would attempt to get closer to her.  She has had several romantic interests throughout her life, all of whom have left her or treated her poorly.  This has led her to be quite withdrawn in the romance department, though she holds obvious affection for Kojiro, though the type of interest seems to be undefined, she has stated several times before that their closeness isn't so bad.  Anyone hoping to get close to Musashi in a romantic fashion will find that it is a difficult task.  

Musashi has a sort of secondary personality that is only shown when she's in the guise of Tsubame.  This personality is calm and difficult to shake, usually remaining focused on the task at hand, and using the skills she learned as a ninja to keep herself in check.  That aside, Musashi usually stiffens when addressed by her real name, and is touchy about anyone using it, though she seems to warm to the fact that Kojiro occasionally calls her Jessica.

The woman born Jessica Musashi Tōma has always had an uncertain and rocky path in life.  Being the daughter of Miyamoto, a Class-A Team Rocket agent was never an easy thing, even in her youth.  When Musashi was three, Miyamoto left on a mission for Madame Boss to capture the elusive Mew in the Andes Mountains.  Despite the hardship, Musashi was raised to believe that her mother loved her, and despite the fact that she had been placed in a poor foster home, it was done because it was what Miyamoto thought would be best for her.

The destitution of her family was so low that at times she was forced to eat snow because there was little choice.  At least, this is what she tells people.  When she reached a suitable age, Musashi left her adoptive home to become a Pokémon nurse in Johto.  Unable to find a school that would take her, she instead enrolled in a school for Pokémon nurses (Chansey).  While she completed her classes, she was unable to graduate as she was not a pokémon, and thus dropped out and left, leaving behind the friendship of the only Chansey who showed kindness towards her.  

After her stint there, she returned to Kanto where she enrolled in Pokémon Tech, a Trainer's school.  It was there that she first met James Kojirō Watanabe.  The two flunked out, and joined a bicycle gang.  Their time there was short lived, though Musashi's fondness for spinning a chain above her head as she rode earned her the nickname Chainer Jess.  It was a nickname that she quickly shed once they left the gang.  Despite Musashi and Kojiro leaving the gang at the same time, and their growing bond, they went their own ways.

During the time that they had been apart, she went through several different stages in her life.  She spent time as a weathergirl with a T.V. Station, worked as a model briefly, underwent minor ninja training, and even dipped her toe into the pool of romance, hiding a crush on a fellow schoolmate named Astin.  Still, nothing lasts, and Musashi had good as well as bad times, going through a string of boyfriends who all either treated her badly, or left her behind.  She withdrew for a time and didn't give further thought to anyone or anyone, gaining a selfish streak.  It was also during this time that she obtained a Contest Pass in the Hoenn region.  

A few brief years after their separation from departing the bicycle gang, Musashi and Kojiro joined Team Rocket, neither realizing the other had joined the organization.  The two had independent streaks, and were resistant to being teamed up with anyone.  Eventually this was overcome when their team coordinator paired the two of them up.  During their time apart, the two had grown even more distant, but seeing one another's strengths individually, away from a large group environment, they stopped resisting the bond that was forming and became supportive of one another, forming a lasting bond that would persist for years, changing and deepening as the two grew.

While their service in Team Rocket has been sketchy at best, with neither seeming very proficient, and consistent failure looming over their heads, Musashi enjoyed a number of different past times, including acting as a Pokémon Coordinator, entering every contest she was able to, when not occupied with official Team Rocket missions.  Because of her status as a criminal, Musashi went by a number of various names including Musa-pyon, Pretty Musalin, and Candy Musalina.  She won several contests early on, both official and unofficial.  She managed to earn herself the Solaceon, Majolica, and Neighborly Ribbon.  She technically won the Lilypad Ribbon, or rather Kojiro did while disguised as her.  She was given the Arrowroot Ribbon by someone she assumed was Dawn, though was actually Princess Salvia.  She even managed to place in the top four of the Sinnoh Grand Festival.  She's used assumed names that are variations on Musashi, and Jessica or Jessie, throughout her time in contests.  She had contest passes to compete in Hoenn, Kanto and Sinnoh regions, at the time.  

After a time, Kojiro and Musashi recognized that while they had individually been strong, their reliance on one another had bred a laziness in them that was killing their effectiveness as a team.  Agreeing to meet again when they had discovered themselves, they parted ways, Musashi taking up a position as a field agent, similar to her mother.  Her life took a somewhat drastic turn after their parting.  

Musashi did a number of different things after leaving Kojiro's side.  She retrieved Karait and Tira-olhos from Rocket Headquarters, traveled across the regions collecting more contest passes, accidentally fished up a Feebas while looking for dinner, had a fierce battle with an Absol, was rescued by a Gardevoir while searching the Andes for her mother, punched a Misdreavus in the nose, and learned many things about herself that she had either forgotten, or somehow never known.  She learned to reign in her temper, changed her outfit, and generally grew up.  She tried to shape herself into the kind of woman that Miyamoto would have been proud to call her child.  Still, time has passed and the prodigal daughter is returning home.

Martial Abilities______________________________________
└-Weapon specializations and fighting styles.

Chain: This includes the manipulation of a chain as a fighting implement, including garotte like maneuvers.

│
├─Classification: Physical
├─Category: Weapon Proficiency
└─Power Level: Expert

Ninjutsu: Musashi has exhibited no exceptional or special abilities except persistence, and an unnatural strength when her hair is threatened, even going so far as to fight a pokémon to its exhaustion over it. Still, at one time Musashi had trained as a ninja, and during her time apart from Kojiro, she assumed the name Tenjou Tsubame (Heaven Swallow), and completed her training.

│
├─Classification: Talent, Physical
├─Category: Fighting Style, Skill
└─Power Level: Expert

Whips: Her whip, it should be noted, was made from the shed skin of Karait, her Seviper, and is quite well balanced. She carries this whip at her side at all times, and can use it with enough accuracy to split a falling leaf in half with the sharpened thing.

│
├─Classification: Physical
├─Category: Weapon Proficiency
└─Power Level: Master

Wires: Steel threaded wires that are light and flexible and utilized in various ways to make them incredibly lethal.

│
├─Classification: Physical
├─Category: Weapon Proficiency
└─Power Level: Expert

Supernatural Abilities_________________________________
└-Psychic, aura or astral abilities.

Extrasensory Perception: She has been seen striking things that would otherwise be impossible to hit, including the Misdreavus that she captured in Eterna Forest. Whether this is some foreshadowing of future abilities that could awaken is entirely unknown.

│
├─Classification: Pyschic
├─Category: Precognition
└─Power Level: Inherent

Aside from the usual combat abilities she now possesses, Musashi has become more skilled as a Pokémon coordinator, gaining more ribbons as time passes, not just on her merits, but also those of her Pokémon. Her training methods for her Pokémon have also changed substantially, the woman paying more attention to the strengths and weaknesses of her companions.

Musashi exhaled slowly as she shifted from one position in the high tree to another.  She had been following the woman whose pokémon she was meant to steal for three days now, trying to learn her routine before striking.  As her target had drawn nearer to the next town, Musa realized that she would have to act before the woman was in the safety of the town.  She was still known in Kanto, even with the change in her hair color and clothing, and would prefer not to have any run-ins with Jenny in the local area.  

She'd reached down to her belt, and moved across it, hesitating on her pokéballs, before passing across to the three colored smoke bombs she'd prepared, and finally coming to rest on her whip.  She'd prefer to do this with as minimal violence as she could, but if she lingered any longer she'd end up getting herself caught.  Movement to her left sent Musashi arching back against the tree again, stilling.  She'd been using it as cover for the past three hours and was getting stiff, but not stiff enough to move when a second individual joined her target.  Her mouth creased in a frown and she slid her hand from her whip to the pokéballs containing Ishtar and Sasaki.  

The odds had changed rapidly against her, and she gave a slight smirk in the darkness that enveloped her.  They had no clue what was about to drop onto their head.  Musashi let the balls containing Sasaki and Ishtar expand in her hands, before she tossed them downward, one hand wrapping around the branch she had been perched on before she dropped down and kicked off the base of the tree, launching herself, along with her pokémon, towards the duo.  

No, they had no clue at all.  The fight lasted less than two minutes, and Musashi dipped back into the cover of the surrounding foliage, two extra pokéballs now in place on her belt.  She'd knocked the two out with a precise application of sleeping powder, and would be a considerable distance away when they finally awakened, sans their Pokémon, likely already turning her captured spoils in to a grunt for them to be returned to Rocket Headquarters.  

Humming beneath her breath, Musashi slid her hands into her pockets, Sasaki floating beside her as the two walked off into the evening.  She loved it when a plan came together.