Gardevoirs are known as the Embrace Pokemon, known best for being selfless individuals that are willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of protecting their loved ones. Nigel missed that memo, apparently...or so he prefers to make people believe, anyway. You see, ever since he was still a Ralts he's had a noticeable dislike of getting too physical with anyone save those he is most closest to, including a young Luxio girl who was his next-door neighbor and best friend at the time. On the day that he and his twin brother Joshua, then Kirlia, were to go to the family gathering to celebrate their evolutionary Rite of Passage, Nigel ran away just as he was about to be given his own Dawn Stone to become a Gallade. The very idea of becoming half-Fighting and being forced to use his body to battle sickened him, and would rather live his life as a feminine-looking Gardevoir than to submit himself to that. Sadly, this forced his family, a community of rich aristocrats who still hold on to old Hoenn traditions to get by, to heavily consider disowning the would-be heir to the Garkirl line, and most probably would have had Joshua not stepped in and offer the family a proposal: Let Nigel finish his schooling up until his graduation, then decide his fate once he is old enough to fend for himself. A risky move, but thankfully it worked.

During that time, the young Luxio that was his friend for a great deal of Nigel's youug life, was forced to move by her family due to said family having disputes with the Garkirls. More on her story here: https://www.weasyl.com/character/9813

As for the school Nigel was forced to enroll with against his wishes, he was sent to a prestigious combat academy, a school that encompassed training of the body as well as the mind, something that made the teen lash out in rebellion despite knowing well the reasons for his coming there. Adding to his woes was the fact that he was assigned to be part of a school Team as a means of learning to quell said rebellious nature and perhaps show him "a little discipline", as they said. He now (grudgingly) plays the support specialist for the experimental Team Crossroads, so called because of its members hailing from different corners of the world, with Nigel being its Hoenn-born representative.

Nigel's dislike of getting overly physical have made him develop a fighting style consisting heavily on both manipulative (like Imprison and, yes, Psychic) and defensive (Magic Coat, Protect Reflect) moves to keep foes at bay, all so he can keep his hands clean. He has ways to go before he can truly be a team player, of course, but with any luck he'll get there someday. He's in luck, though: an upside to his joining the team is that Charla, his Luxio childhood friend, is part of the same team as well and a full-fledged Luxray woman. And the two couldn't be happier being together again.

Fun facts:

-Nigel is the older twin by one minute. Not that you could tell from his attitude, as many swear that Joshua is the more mature of the two...and for the most part, they'd be right.

• Nigel, much like his brother, has an English accent (RP) and a fairly eloquent vocabulary thanks to his upbringing...which he will often ruin with swearing when he gets the chance/is angry enough.

• Nigel. Hates. Hugs. Unless they're from Charla or his mother, of course, but even then, his old phobias of being too in contact with other people can get the best of him. It's improved vastly overtimes, but it's still not a battle that has been won yet.

• Due to said old fears, he is often spotted sported a bubble shield when in crowded areas. More on the "Garkirl Shield" can be read here.

• He loves drinking and tea. The drinking is a problem, as he's technically still a minor and only really drinks when he's at home (a glass during dinner is not frowned upon by his mother...it's when he goes beyond the one glass that's the issue). Also, he's a very very dangerously emotional drunk, which is probably a good thing it's only happened twice so far.

• In case you ask? Favorite drinks are rum and sherry and his favorite tea is anything black. He detests iced tea.

• Speaking of emotional, half the reason he tries to be antisocial? His empathy horn is very, VERY sensitive and the anti-socialism is his means of fighting back bouts of empathy to complete strangers. He has been known to give in to the horn's reaction from time to time, usually with friends, though it's rare. Also, feeling up the horn is strictly prohibited to anyone except Charla...as it makes him "tingle".

• Charla was Nigel's "first". Not his first attempt at dating a girl, mind - that award goes to a Castform girl he met a couple years prior to Charla that didn't take off mostly because 1) she moved and 2) he was too clingy. His first time going "third base", though. Yup, all Charla and has been exclusively her ever since.

• The only family he tolerates at all is his mother Destine (a blind shiny Gardevoir who had her children at a late age), his brother Joshua (barely), Panthercap the family butler (Breloom) who has been like the father figure he never had, a certain cousin he has limited patience for and a very, VERY select group of relatives who are themselves misfits of sorts. But beyond that, he wants as little to do with his extended family as he possibly can.

• Other hobbies of his include watching movies, writing songs, singing (though he's really bashful about this), dancing (ditto) and using his Teleport to travel around town. He abuses Teleport so much, in fact, he has yet to get a driver's license, even though he's of age.