Carmine: Difference between revisions

Carmine is a student of [[Blueberry Academy]], and native to the [[Mossui Town]] of [[Kitakami]], having been born there.<ref>''"Anyway, as you all know, this village is where I was born."''</ref>. She and [[Kieran]] are chosen to accompany the incoming students from [[Naranja Academy]]{{sup/9|S}}/[[Uva Academy]]{{sup/9|V}} on a cultural tour of the area under the watch of her teacher [[Briar]]. She is immediately cold, bossy,<ref>''"Seems I’ve got no choice. I’ll let you into town, but only if you become one of my grunts and do every little thing I—"''</ref> and outright unwelcoming presence towards the player from the moment they enter [[Mossui Town]] on the basis that they are an outsider, picking a fight with them upon their arrival.<ref name=Outsiders>"Sorry, but I can’t just let an outsider like you wander into Mossui Town."''</ref><ref>''"Welcome to Kitakami! For your first experience, get ready to eat dirt!"''</ref><ref>''"How’s that for a first taste of Kitakami? Not that I’m enjoying this or anything!"''</ref> After her defeat, she hastily prompts the player to pair with her brother during the orienteering exercise.

Throughout this period, Carmine often puts on a front to hide her insults when in a social situation,<ref>''"It’s a pleasure to meet all you outsiders—I mean, visitors from Paldea! Hee hee!"''</ref> though the students that accompany the player to Kitakami see right through it.<ref>''"That girl, Carmine... I’m not sure I trust that cheery greeting from her."''</ref> In many instances, she showcases her self-absorbed nature, ranging from comments on her own prowess in battle to the way she looks.<ref>''"So, do you NOT know about type matchups? Maybe you should study up!"''</ref><ref>''"Feel free to be dazzled by how great I look in my jinbei. I’ll win while you’re distracted!"''</ref><ref>''"Besides, I tried talking to a few people here and there, but they got all nervous and stuff! I’m just too pretty for my own good."''</ref><ref>''"If we’re talking actual skill, I’m WAY above any of the Elite Four!"''</ref> After the player is introduced to [[Yukito and Hideko]], Carmine and Kieran's grandparents, she encounters the the player and her brother yet again. She chooses to tag along with the pair to the [[Festival of Masks]] (rejecting to invite the partner she was assigned)<ref>''"Carmine went to the festival?! W-we’re supposed to be partners, but she didn’t even invite me..."''</ref> but battles the player after realizing they only have two masks to share between the three. When the three initially arrive at the festival, Carmine makes sure to take a picture to remember the moment.

She challenges the player to beat her high score in [[Ogre Oustin']],<ref>''"I, Carmine, Mossui’s reigning champion of Ogre Balloon busting..."''</ref> which Kieran isn't ever interested in participating in.<ref>''"Kiki’s no use at all! Zero talent for oustin’ ogres, I’m telling you!"''</ref> This constant rudeness begins to impact her [[Kieran|younger brother,]] who she spends a great deal of time telling to be quiet and to ignore,<ref>''"I told you to hush, Kiki!"''</ref><ref>''"Just ignore my little brother."''</ref> routinely berating him for his perspective on the story of the Loyal Three.<ref>''"Kiki’s still a little baby, so of course he thinks some kind of terrible monster’s cool. He likes the ogre more than the Loyal Three."''</ref> On the outskirts of the festival, Carmine and the player have a chance encounter with [[Ogerpon (game)|Ogerpon]], a Pokémon from a local legend that became vilified after a battle with another group of Pokémon called the [[Loyal Three]], who flees after dropping her Teal Mask. Although Carmine feels conflicted, she ultimately decides to lie to Kieran about the event to protect him. Knowing Kieran idolized Ogerpon, she fears he will blame them for missing a chance to meet it.<ref>''"So, if he found out we’d seen the ogre without him... I guess I was afraid he’d feel bad, y’know? Feel left out or something... Am I overthinking it? ’Sides, I didn’t want him running up the mountain to follow the ogre at this hour, either. Well...in any case, we already lied about it, and that’s that. Let’s keep this whole thing our little secret, OK? And maybe hold off on showing Kiki that mask you just picked up, too."''</ref> The next morning, Carmine accompanies the player to give the mask back to her grandfather, who reveals Ogerpon's true story to the duo; that the "Loyal" Three were actually a group of bandits who attacked Ogerpon's Trainer and stole three masks made for her by the siblings' distant ancestor; Ogerpon slew the Loyal Three, but the villagers believed she was attacking them and came to fear her. Upon realizing that the ogre was maligned for what really happened, Carmine immediately moves to tell the village of the truth, though her grandfather prevents her hot-headedness from causing trouble; stating that the truth would only make things worse.<ref>''"The story everyone’s been told is the complete opposite of the truth! They gotta hear about this!"''</ref>

The moment that [[Ogerpon (game)|Ogerpon's]] story is revealed to Carmine in full, she vows to make the Pokémon happy, volunteering to help restore its mask alongside the player.<ref>''"Especially now that I’ve heard the real story... I just want Ogerpon to be happy, you know?"''</ref> Carmine and the player visit the [[Crystal Pool]] to retrieve a [[Crystal Cluster]] in order to fix the mask, where she showcases her extreme pride and knowledge surrounding her home. Although her proclivity to refer to those not from Kitakami as "outsiders"<ref name=Outsiders></ref> causes friction between the girl and others, she appears to have an understanding of the folklore surrounding the [[Crystal Pool]]; where she recalls a rumor that you can meet people there who have passed away.<ref>''"The crystals here are always shining. Isn’t that strange? There’s even a weird rumor that you can meet people here who’ve passed away."''</ref> This is reinforced by the appearance of [[Professor Sada]] or [[Professor Turo|Turo]] at the lake following the player's capture of {{p|Terapagos}}, as well as with the {{p|Milotic}} in the lake that attacks Carmine and the player, due to it's (albeit unused) Ghost Tera-type.

Discovering that that Kieran overheard the conversation and erroneously assumed that the pair were excluding him out of spite, Carmine accompanies the player to the Monument of the Loyal Three, where Kieran, having stolen Ogerpon's mask, does battle with the player. He storms off following his defeat, though in that moment the Lousy Three unexpectedly come back to life, making their way towards Kitakami Hall. These clashes with Kieran often lead her to think that these are simply bouts of teenage angst,<ref>''"Must be teen angst or something. It happens!"''</ref> failing to realize the irony.<ref>''"I sure never let teenage angst get to my head like that. I don’t know what to do with him..."''</ref> The villagers, unaware of the truth behind the original tale, both feed the Loyal Three and present them with the three remaining stolen masks. When Carmine is unable to get a word in to convince them otherwise, she heads to the [[Dreaded Den]] with the player to stop The Loyal Three from harming Ogerpon. After {{p|Munkidori}} is defeated, the trio run off, where Carmine assumes the role as the leader of what she calls the '''"Mask Retrieval Squad"''' in order to get them back. Carmine seems to be good at reading Ogerpon's feelings towards both the player and Kieran,<ref>''"It seems scared... Maybe it’s not good with new people, Kiki."''</ref><ref>''"Player, It seems pretty comfortable around you, Player."''</ref><ref>''"I know you really love Ogerpon. I really, honestly understand. But...you have to think about Ogerpon’s feelings too."''</ref> but fails to realize that it cannot understand her all the same, much to her chagrin.<ref>''"We go in village! You stay here! Ogerpon stay! Do you understand?"''</ref> She and the player accompany Ogerpon to track down and battle the now-[[Titan Pokémon|Titanic-sized]] {{p|Okidogi}}, {{p|Munkidori}} and {{p|Fezandipiti}}, while Kieran returns to Mossui Town to reveal the true nature of Ogerpon's story. With Ogerpon's reputation safely restored among the villagers, the group returns to Ogerpon's mountain home, where Ogerpon chooses the player to be her Trainer.  

To Carmine's annoyance, Kieran demands a final battle with the player for the right to take Ogerpon, irrespective of Ogerpon's wishes. The player defeats Kieran and catches Ogerpon. The following day, Carmine challenges the player, insisting that they use {{p|Ogerpon}} on their team. After their journey in Kitakami, she appears to have something heartfelt to tell the player, but is cut short by a phone call telling her to return to the village.<ref>''"I actually, uh... Sheesh, this is awkward to tell you, but I—"''</ref> Towards the end of The Teal Mask, Carmine realizes that the way she treated those visiting Kitakami was wrong, with her behavior being out of fear that her home was to become a tourist trap for strangers that wouldn't appreciate it.<ref>''"And I’ll be honest—I didn’t want any outsiders coming here at all! It felt like our home was being turned into a tourist trap for a buncha ignorant strangers... But then we spent some time together, and none of you were the way I imagined you’d be at all... I shouldn’t have been so quick to judge people I didn’t know anything about."''</ref> Kieran and Carmine are to return early to Blueberry Academy due to an unexpected development in the [[Great Crater of Paldea]], with Carmine giving the final farewell on behalf of Kieran.