d_s_t_e's Wattpad Reviews

PC Zero Continued: Shelly

* Spoilers everywhere. Stop reading if you haven't read the book.

Shelly is a shy Oshawott with a hidden past. He wears a headband with a color-changing leaf known as a gospel vibe and is proficient in the use of ancient artes, especially those used for protection and healing. If not for him, our intrepid group of shining warriors would have died about twenty times over during the course of the book.

Just fourteen years old, he was married to the princess of Celadon Island as a child but ran away from home four years before the events of the book begin.

He has no real parents, having been adopted by the queen of Celadon Island. At the beginning of the story, he has no friends, and his only meaningful connections are to the royal family he abandoned and Kusha, the Wigglytuff servant who was sent after him.

His Motivation

Shelly's desires are more or less clear from the first moment that Crystal meets him. Just look at this quote from their first meeting at RBY Academy:

"...someone finally entered the room, a Pokémon that was clearly my tour guide, since he looked similar in age and size to me.

'Oh! A-ah, what?' he greeted, throwing himself backwards. My heart jumped, but I avoided doing the same overreacted stumble as him. It was an otter Pokémon wearing two iconic accessories: a yellow shell on his stomach, and a headband that held a blue leaf. The headband went over one ear and under the other, impressing me with his style.

'Well that's an odd way to say hello. Did I do something?' I replied. The otter Pokémon gawked for a moment, turning sideways to try and hide his face. He did a very poor job of hiding the fact that he was blushing..." - Episode 3: The shy one and the angry one

It's clear that he wasn't expecting to get a roommate like Crystal, but his reaction goes far beyond simply surprised. From being easily startled to blushing to difficulty in responding, he's showing signs of social anxiety. As the book goes on, it's painfully obvious that he feels nervous around Crystal. More than that, we either learn or can easily guess that he doesn't talk much to anyone at the school and displays a certain degree of social awkwardness with everyone.

Now, I'm going to start by saying that there's nothing wrong with being introverted. Introversion is a perfectly natural personality trait in which a person enjoys spending time alone and tends to be reserved and quiet, preferring a less stimulating environment. Being introverted is different from being shy, and the difference is in the person's desires. An introverted person desires to be alone. A shy person is alone because of fear. It is possible to be both introverted and shy, as is probably the case for Shelly. Introverts enjoy spending time alone, but no one wants to be alone all the time and not have any friends at all. Even introverts crave some level of social interaction, and a shy introvert is a person who is held back from having that desired level of interaction because of their fear. Social anxiety takes shyness to the next level and causes actual mental and physical symptoms of distress. It's not a personality trait but a problematic condition.

It makes nothing but sense that Shelly would want to be able to have healthy relationships. Knowing what we do about his past after having read the entire book, we know that even the relationships he does have are broken ones. Friends, family, and romance all represent relationships that he wishes he could have, and this makes for an excellent character arc.

His Character Arc

Shelly starts off the book in a state of tension. We can see upon his first meeting with Crystal that he is painfully shy and very unhappy about it. He has difficulty talking to her and runs away at her suggestion of a battle.