History
Carona’s history is much like the ‘normal’ Marona… up to a point. Born to Haze and Jasmine, she spent her childhood smothered with love from both of her parents, who worked as Chromas - basically, mercenaries for hire. It was also, inevitably, one surrounded by Phantoms; for this Marona (Carona being a nickname to differentiate the two) had, like her other, inherited a form of her father’s ability. Her power was called Chartreuse Gale, and allowed her to see, confine, and otherwise interact with Phantoms. It was also considered a fairly creepy power by most of her world, leading to much prejudice. But that was okay, because as her parents put it, the people would one day understand. So long as she used her powers for good, one day… one day, the people would understand and embrace her for it.
This lifestyle, filled with love and relative bliss, continued until Marona’s fifth birthday. It wasn’t such a big deal at first. Her parents and Ash had a job to do, and once they were done, they would return and come home to celebrate Marona’s birthday. That’s why she had to be a good little girl and wait patiently, and leave her present alone until they came back. And so, little Marona waited eagerly for their return.
And waited.
…And waited.
In the end, they never returned. Suddenly, Marona, barely five years old, found herself all alone.
It’s never made clear how she managed to fend for herself at first. However, at some point or another, she became a Chroma in memory of her parents. The work was hard, and people paid her less than what she deserved due to her reputation as the Possessed. Eventually, the jobs became sparser, and the ones she was able to get were often stolen by Chroma Oxides, particularly a certain man named Walnut. With no other choice for survival, she became a Chroma Oxide herself.
This decision came with a whole new slew of problems. For one thing, the White Wolf Army was now after her, as they worked to prevent Oxides in general from getting their way. This also meant she was targeted by the fangirls of the leader of the White Wolf Army, and one of the Nine Swords of Ivoire: Raphael. Still, she made enough to live, and that was all she could do.
At some point or another, she was taken in by one of the other Nine Swords, a grizzled, bitter old man named Sprout. With a blade that had absorbed many a wicked spirit, he sought revenge on a monster called Sulphur, known for terrorizing Ivoire thirty years prior. It had taken the power of a hero named Scarlet the Brave to drive Sulphur back, but not before there were many deaths, including Sprout’s family. The old man had been seeking out Sulphur through its shadows - smaller creatures called wraiths which held fragments of its power and signaled imminent return. When she heard him tell of a time when he fought off a wraith who had killed three Chromas on the Island of Evil some years ago, Marona put two and two together and realized that Ash and her parents had been victims of Sulphur as well. Wishing to avenge them, she begged Sprout to train her so she might become strong enough to take on the beast upon his return. Sprout agreed.
The training was hell. Sprout took Marona to various monster-infested places and left her to fight her way through. Through this, she learned to be tactically minded, as well as how to battle with a blade. During this time, she also developed her Chartreuse Gale ability, allowing her to confine Phantoms for even longer than before. If she had to, she would be able to confine a Phantom for days instead of mere moments.
Finally, the day came when Sulphur returned. It was sooner than expected, but Marona and Sprout moved to fight him nonetheless. However, he proved to be too strong; they were unable to defeat him.
That was when Eryngi appeared, also known as the Merchant of Death. Looking like a holy Funguy (or mushroom person), he told Marona that Sulphur was his to command. If he wanted, he could have Sulphur destroy the entire world. But… if Marona agreed to become one of his weapons, he would leave her world be. Though she was bitter towards the people for treating her so cruelly, even she did not wish for all their deaths. Desperate to save her world, she agreed. And so, she became the Merchant of Death’s new weapon.
With her power to confine Phantoms, the best way to utilize Marona’s skills was to have a powerful Phantom for her to summon. So, Eryngi set about preparing a powerful Phantom for her to use - namely, a Marona from an alternate dimension. The plan was, Eryngi would turn all the world’s inhabitants to Phantoms with a death curse. Marona would then confine the other Marona for as long as she could, to make it seem as though she were still living. Eryngi would pose as a benevolent god and warn her and the other Phantoms of Sulphur’s return, and tell them how he would bring everyone back once he was defeated. The weapon Marona would then be put in charge of training them to prepare for the ‘fight’. In the end, the other Marona would return to being a Phantom once the confine ran out, and Eryngi would offer to resurrect everyone if she agreed to become one of his weapons as well. Though she didn’t like the idea of dragging another of herself into Eryngi’s clutches, Marona had no choice but to agree - Eryngi had made it clear what would happen to her world should she ever disobey.
And so, the plan was set into motion. Marona confined the other, Phantom Marona, and observed as she was joined by Raphael, Sprout, Walnut, and various other Phantoms. However, what was more surprising was the presence of a familiar face - for in this world, Ash had survived as a Phantom, and was always by his Marona’s side. Eryngi’s Marona found herself becoming jealous as she watched her younger, cheerful, Phantom self constantly looked after by Ash. Eventually, Eryngi appeared to them and gave his story, and his Marona staged a fight with them to prove their weakness. She was introduced as another Marona, whose world had fallen to Sulphur. In an effort to stop him from taking another world, she had been brought to help them grow strong enough to take him on, though she was weakened from her own battle with the creature.
Returning to the Phantom Marona’s home, it was decided that Eryngi’s Marona would be called Carona for convenience. All of the Phantoms and Marona would be subject to her training, which was put under a time limit for what Eryngi said was the limit of his resurrection skills. In actuality, it was the limit of Carona’s confine, and the moment when Marona would return to being a Phantom along with anyone else she had confined at the time.
And so, Carona’s Sprout-style training began, in an effort to get the Phantoms to learn how to battle within their limits and Marona to strengthen her own powers. Though she acted coldly, Carona had come up with a plan of her own, secret from Eryngi. If she could make them strong enough, they might truly be able to take on Eryngi. Then, they would be able to kill him and break the curse, returning everyone to life. It was a risk, but if she could free everyone from Eryngi’s grasp, she might be able to save this new world and her own all at once…
Well, that’s what she wanted to do, anyway. Until she ended up in Johto as a Team Rocket member.
This lifestyle, filled with love and relative bliss, continued until Marona’s fifth birthday. It wasn’t such a big deal at first. Her parents and Ash had a job to do, and once they were done, they would return and come home to celebrate Marona’s birthday. That’s why she had to be a good little girl and wait patiently, and leave her present alone until they came back. And so, little Marona waited eagerly for their return.
And waited.
…And waited.
In the end, they never returned. Suddenly, Marona, barely five years old, found herself all alone.
It’s never made clear how she managed to fend for herself at first. However, at some point or another, she became a Chroma in memory of her parents. The work was hard, and people paid her less than what she deserved due to her reputation as the Possessed. Eventually, the jobs became sparser, and the ones she was able to get were often stolen by Chroma Oxides, particularly a certain man named Walnut. With no other choice for survival, she became a Chroma Oxide herself.
This decision came with a whole new slew of problems. For one thing, the White Wolf Army was now after her, as they worked to prevent Oxides in general from getting their way. This also meant she was targeted by the fangirls of the leader of the White Wolf Army, and one of the Nine Swords of Ivoire: Raphael. Still, she made enough to live, and that was all she could do.
At some point or another, she was taken in by one of the other Nine Swords, a grizzled, bitter old man named Sprout. With a blade that had absorbed many a wicked spirit, he sought revenge on a monster called Sulphur, known for terrorizing Ivoire thirty years prior. It had taken the power of a hero named Scarlet the Brave to drive Sulphur back, but not before there were many deaths, including Sprout’s family. The old man had been seeking out Sulphur through its shadows - smaller creatures called wraiths which held fragments of its power and signaled imminent return. When she heard him tell of a time when he fought off a wraith who had killed three Chromas on the Island of Evil some years ago, Marona put two and two together and realized that Ash and her parents had been victims of Sulphur as well. Wishing to avenge them, she begged Sprout to train her so she might become strong enough to take on the beast upon his return. Sprout agreed.
The training was hell. Sprout took Marona to various monster-infested places and left her to fight her way through. Through this, she learned to be tactically minded, as well as how to battle with a blade. During this time, she also developed her Chartreuse Gale ability, allowing her to confine Phantoms for even longer than before. If she had to, she would be able to confine a Phantom for days instead of mere moments.
Finally, the day came when Sulphur returned. It was sooner than expected, but Marona and Sprout moved to fight him nonetheless. However, he proved to be too strong; they were unable to defeat him.
That was when Eryngi appeared, also known as the Merchant of Death. Looking like a holy Funguy (or mushroom person), he told Marona that Sulphur was his to command. If he wanted, he could have Sulphur destroy the entire world. But… if Marona agreed to become one of his weapons, he would leave her world be. Though she was bitter towards the people for treating her so cruelly, even she did not wish for all their deaths. Desperate to save her world, she agreed. And so, she became the Merchant of Death’s new weapon.
With her power to confine Phantoms, the best way to utilize Marona’s skills was to have a powerful Phantom for her to summon. So, Eryngi set about preparing a powerful Phantom for her to use - namely, a Marona from an alternate dimension. The plan was, Eryngi would turn all the world’s inhabitants to Phantoms with a death curse. Marona would then confine the other Marona for as long as she could, to make it seem as though she were still living. Eryngi would pose as a benevolent god and warn her and the other Phantoms of Sulphur’s return, and tell them how he would bring everyone back once he was defeated. The weapon Marona would then be put in charge of training them to prepare for the ‘fight’. In the end, the other Marona would return to being a Phantom once the confine ran out, and Eryngi would offer to resurrect everyone if she agreed to become one of his weapons as well. Though she didn’t like the idea of dragging another of herself into Eryngi’s clutches, Marona had no choice but to agree - Eryngi had made it clear what would happen to her world should she ever disobey.
And so, the plan was set into motion. Marona confined the other, Phantom Marona, and observed as she was joined by Raphael, Sprout, Walnut, and various other Phantoms. However, what was more surprising was the presence of a familiar face - for in this world, Ash had survived as a Phantom, and was always by his Marona’s side. Eryngi’s Marona found herself becoming jealous as she watched her younger, cheerful, Phantom self constantly looked after by Ash. Eventually, Eryngi appeared to them and gave his story, and his Marona staged a fight with them to prove their weakness. She was introduced as another Marona, whose world had fallen to Sulphur. In an effort to stop him from taking another world, she had been brought to help them grow strong enough to take him on, though she was weakened from her own battle with the creature.
Returning to the Phantom Marona’s home, it was decided that Eryngi’s Marona would be called Carona for convenience. All of the Phantoms and Marona would be subject to her training, which was put under a time limit for what Eryngi said was the limit of his resurrection skills. In actuality, it was the limit of Carona’s confine, and the moment when Marona would return to being a Phantom along with anyone else she had confined at the time.
And so, Carona’s Sprout-style training began, in an effort to get the Phantoms to learn how to battle within their limits and Marona to strengthen her own powers. Though she acted coldly, Carona had come up with a plan of her own, secret from Eryngi. If she could make them strong enough, they might truly be able to take on Eryngi. Then, they would be able to kill him and break the curse, returning everyone to life. It was a risk, but if she could free everyone from Eryngi’s grasp, she might be able to save this new world and her own all at once…
Well, that’s what she wanted to do, anyway. Until she ended up in Johto as a Team Rocket member.