KPU is a forum RP, which essentially means there are several authors, all with their own "pet characters." Many users even have multiple.So there's a number of characters.
The Atoner: Averted. He does not feel bad for what he did to survive in Orre.
Bag of Holding: His ever-present backpack, just like every Pokemon game's protagonist ever.
Cheerful Child: Weather the Castform qualifies, despite being male and non-human. Justified as he is very young, but remains relatively cheerful in the face of High Octane Nightmare Fuel inducing ghosts.
Dark and Troubled Past: Was a thief in Orre before coming to KPU. Not the best example (he generally admits to it, and doesn't feel badly about it), but close enough to qualify.
Berserk Button: Don't ever insult or threaten his Pokémon. And never, ever, ever accuse him of dating anyone.
Bio-Augmentation: Basically the whole reason for his existence—he started life as a "testing ground" for human genetic engineering.
Can't Have Sex, Ever: Being an experimental clone has its drawbacks. As it is uncertain what would become of any potential offspring, Colin's stepfather forbids him to attempt reproduction. Not to mention the excitement of non-reproductive sex would probably kill him—see One-Hit-Point Wonder below.
Catch Phrase: You know things just got serious when you hear Colin say in a low, almost creepy voice, "This I vow."
Fiery Redhead: Colin would like to pretend to be a Kuudere, but his fuse is as short as they come.
Hand Signals: He occasionally uses these to tell his Pokémon to be on their guard.
Happily Adopted: In general, anyway. He does disagree with his adoptive father's parenting technique on a few counts, but overall, they have a good father/son dynamic.
Interrupted Suicide: Okay, so what was Colin about to do before Kiera brought back his Swablu...
Jukebox Musical: Not nearly as often as Joanie, but he isn't above it.
Last Name Basis: He calls just about everyone solely by their last name, unless he doesn't know it. Getting on a First Name Basis with him when he does know your last name is a sign of real trust.
Narm: Any time his creator tries to write a dramatic scene with him. Lampshaded mercilessly.
Oh My Gods!: Colin is known to take Arceus' name in vain frequently.
Overly-Long Name: His full name is Colin Francis Harry Pierino Sonan.
Meaningful Name: "Colin" could be a corruption of "clone", while "Sonan" could be a corruption of "sundown", referring to his private alias, "Twilight" (no, not that one). "Francis", "Harry" and "Pierino" are references to Francis "Frank" Sinatra, Harry "Bing" Crosby and Pierino "Perry" Como.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: Colin tries to give one of these to Horsley, but being confused and distraught at the time, he doesn't manage anything particularly convincing.
Iron Buttmonkey: His first appearance on campus involves him falling from the sky, smacking his face on a lamp post, and landing upside down in a rubbish bin.
Techno Babble: Always present in scenes where he's working on inventions.
Don't insult or threaten Joanie's back-up girls. Using her second surname (Fulquard) is also likely to get you an earful.
Interrupting Collie while she's having fun is a bad idea if you don't have a burger to offer her.
Never. Hit. On. Bella.
Bi the Way: Joanie and Bella are both bisexual, but Bella tries to come across as completely asexual.
Big Sister Instinct / Cool Big Sis: Joanie toward Bella, never mind the fact that they're pretty much the same age. Heading this way towards Colin, too, despite him being older than she is.
Catch Phrase: Joanie frequently tells people, "I'mma level with you, you ain't lookin' so hot."
In general, all four girls were originally supposed to be lower-to-middle-class citizens who lived next door to each other in the origin story. Eventually, Joanie and Bella both ended up living on the streets in different parts of New York, while Annie ended up being a daring upper-class girl who enjoyed visiting bad neighborhoods for a thrill. Collie was the only one who stayed lower-to-middle-class. Furthermore, they were supposed to be a rather obscure band that performed exclusively at bars and dinner theaters. They ended up being a studio band with a cult following and a couple of stadium performances to their name.
Joanie was going to be a lot more eccentric and had no trace of big sister qualities. Now, while still a bit eccentric by most people's standards, she comes off as a very caring person.
Collie was going to be a competent second-in-command, though still very flirtatious. Now she's a brain-damaged, sexually depraved furry. It's a wonder she's still straight.
Annie was going to be the quiet one, speaking only when she had something profound to say. Her philosophical disposition was quickly swapped out for a love and talent for all things tech, and she ended up being much more talkative as a result.
Bella, of all people, was originally supposed to have Collie's current qualities. Now she's a shy, emotionally-scarred girl who despises sexuality and is afraid to form friendships because of her bisexuality.
Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Each of the girls wears a differently-colored uniform. They even have their first initials emblazoned on their pants.
Team Pet: Joanie's Bellsprout, Audrey II. Often the band's lead male vocalist.
Sixth Ranger: Shared between live guest performers Buck McIntyre and Scott Rodgers, both on vocals (the former most specifically on metal vocals) and the latter on rhythm guitar.
Fourth Wall Mail Slot: Annie's e-mail address, persephonexxxvi@gmail.com, actually exists.
The Grinch: Amazingly averted. In spite of the tragic loss of her mother one Christmas Eve, which also happened to be the day before her tenth birthday, Joanie still loves Christmas and everything that goes with it. It's people hitting each other that she has grown to loathe.
Subverted slightly in that she's more of a Combat Pragmatist than a martial artist, but the fact that she of all people can hold her own in a hand-to-hand fight means she still qualifies.
Jive Turkey: Played with. Joanie has a pronounced Jive accent, but next to none of the associated lingo.
Waxing Lyrical: When they don't feel like doing a full-blown song, they do this instead.
Meaningful Name / The Artifact: All four girls have names that reference people they're supposed to torment. However, Characterization Marches On, and so this no longer applies. For curiosity's sake, the names were originally applied as follows:
"Joanie" was a reference to Jonny Walker, while "Aimes" was a reference to Akuji Amara. This is why she is bisexual. Her middle name "Teresa" and second surname "Fulquard" were added later; the former is arbitrary, while the latter is a reference to the character Audrey Fulquard from the original 1960 version of The Little Shop of Horrors.
"Collie" was obviously a reference to Colin Sonan, while "Calloway" was a reference to Calvin Dersen, who has since left the game. Her three middle names are explained below, and are meant to reflect the similar theme of Colin's middle names.
"Annie" was meant to reference Andrew Strickland, another character who has since faded into the background, while "Jameson" was a reference to none other than the Tactics instructor himself, James Dalton. Her middle name, "Persephone", was added when her first name was expanded into "Andromeda", to continue the theme.
"Bella" was so named as a joke—her intended target was Edward Cirno. Her last name, "Austin", was a reference to Aurelie Kaltberg; this is why she is bisexual, despite later characterization adjustments making her too shy for an accurate assessment of her sexuality. Her middle name, "Evangeline", is arbitrary.
The Nicknamer: Joanie, who gave herself and her girls their most well-known monikers, as well as nicknaming Kiera ("Ki-Ki") and Horsley ("Horsey") and favoring Jonathan and Melissa's self-applied pet names ("J. J." and "Bliss") over their real names. She is also the only other person who knows about Colin's secret alias, "Twilight", but she seems to prefer his real name in this case.
On a more general note, all four girls are the only characters belonging to Glitchipedia that nickname their Pokémon, although this is nothing unusual when all characters are taken into account.
Joanie's father left when he found out her mother was pregnant. The day before Joanie turned ten, her mother was mugged and beaten to death.
For those of you keeping track, that was Christmas Eve. OUCH.
Collie's real parents were criminals who got themselves arrested when she was three years old. She was subsequently adopted by a couple of drug addicts who shared their addiction with her. Then they overdosed. And she got all the drugs to herself.
The worst part about this is that she regards it as a happy memory. What.
Bella had parents at one point. She doesn't remember them. Nobody does.
Plot Hole: Too many to count, but the most egregious one is a scene in Day Five, "Passing Time": Joanie claims that Collie is legally barred from owning any Pokémon and so doesn't have any. However, following the back-up girls' promotion from NPCs to full player characters, Collie suddenly has an Eevee in the exact same scene. Lampshade Hanging pending.
Robo Speak: Subverted/parodied. Annie's Porygon-Z could well use "Analyzing," and "Okay, that is not normal!" in the same sentence. Porygon-Z:Explorer.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close. Average Joe:Say what now? Porygon-Z:I'm having a stroke, you idiot.
Street Urchin: Joanie and Bella were this for a while. Possibly Collie, too, but her experience is left intentionally ambiguous.
Summon Backup Dancers: Collie, Annie and Bella tend to pop out of thin air for musical numbers. Less often now that they're full-blown characters.
Techno Wizard / Wrench Wench: Annie can make any electronic device bend to her will. She also made most of the band's equipment herself, except, ironically, her own drum kit.
A Tragedy of Impulsiveness: Joanie knowingly allows her lust to get the best of her and ends up creating a love triangle between herself, Jonny Walker and Melissa Tyler. On one hand, she doesn't particularly want to give Jonny up, but on the other hand, neither does she want to hurt Melissa.
Vitriolic Best Buds: Type 2. Joanie and her Bellsprout bicker constantly, yet seem to bear no actual malice toward one another.
What Could Have Been: At one point, before the girls gained personalities of any kind, their creator considered changing them from blondes to sassy black women. However, people preferred them as they had been established—as blondes. So that's how they stayed.
Casanova: In less than a week at the school (RP time of course), Jonny has already been on dates with one girl (Melissa) and has another girl rooming with him (Joanie). Although the rooming situation between Jonny and Joanie was assigned by the school, the school certainly didn't plan on them sharing the bed.
Cool Shades: Jonny is rarely seen without his amber Ray-Ban aviators, and always seems to be flicking them on and off because he thinks it's attractive. To be fair, it usually works.
Lovable Rogue: Jonny isn't the best at following rules or getting to class on time, but his likable charm makes it so no one can really stay mad at him for long.
Meaningful Name: Jonny is named after Johnnie Walker (the scotch). His creator was brainstorming names for the character and happened to look at the empty bottle above his desk. The rest, as they say, is history.
Upper Class Wit: Jonny is well off, having been sent to Eton by his father to learn to be a proper gentleman, he can speak French and Italian fluently... really he has all the makings of a high society young man - except for the fact that he just doesn't care. He'd much rather surf, pick up girls and work out.
Your Cheating Heart: Despite continuing to convince Melissa that he's going to be faithful to her after an incident involving Iris, Jonny ends up spending the night with Joanie.
Kiera Walker (unrelated to Jonny)
Archive Binge: Her solution to the first arts assignment.
Angst? What Angst?: Considering that he's in a university with people he has nothing in common with, has a close childhood friend that is in a coma, and is on a tight deadline to become an experienced trainer by one year to win against his father or else accept that he has to follow in his father's footsteps, he is pretty carefree.
Missing Mom: It is never mentioned where Horsley's mother is
Super Drowning Skills: He sinks like a rock. This is discovered after Jim Gai's Alakazam (Somewhat affectionately referred as "Yeti") teleports Horsley into the middle of the KPU lake.
The Rival: Much to his obliviousness, he is this to Colin Sonan
Lauren Hunter
More than Meets the Eye: The Scarlet Order arc will give her enough Badassity to block out the sun.
Berserk Button: Lyvanis is precious beyond precious. Hurt her, and you're as good as dead.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: To all who don't know she's the leader of the Scarlet Order, she possesses incredible leadership ability for no particular reason.
Depraved Bisexual: A little too good at socializing with gals... And don't get me started on her love for Lyvanis...
Freudian Excuse: Gangsters killed everything she knew and loved.
Beware the Nice Ones: Melissa is supposedly known for being a very kind human being. However, when her Gabite and Venonat begin to annoy her while they're lost in the woods, she mercilessly beats them over the head with a map, causing Cranial Eruptions to appear on their heads.
Break the Cutie: When she hears her abusive grandmother's voice in her head.
No Social Skills: Traveling with barely any human contact for years on end has not helped Nick’s social skills. He has a vague idea of what's proper and what's not, but it often confuses him.
Sour Supporter: Ciaphas the Eevee has nothing but snark and contempt for the world at large.
Purely Aesthetic Glasses: Robert's glasses used to be beneficial to his eyesight, but now he just wears them to look intelligent.
Professors
James Dalton (Tactics)
Apathetic Teacher: Unlike most apathetic teachers that have been beaten down by years of student abuse, it took exactly one class for James to lose all hope in his students. This is because they were acting more like grade school students than college freshmen. But that still isn't an excuse for him to have stopped caring already and leaving crises to his students when he is far more qualified to deal with them.
Alternate History: The creator of the character has a fanfic about James with the same background before going to KPU (injured athlete, regional champion) except he doesn't take a teaching job and is left to his own devices. To say that it doesn't go well for James is an understatement. AU James should be in a mental hospital or a detox facility due to his penchant for illegal narcotics and prescription painkiller abuse.
Badass Teacher: His apathy towards his students aside, James is still incredibly accomplished for a teacher. A top athletic prospect during his college years, he would have had a future as a professional athlete if it wasn't for an untimely knee injury. After said injury, instead of giving up and going back to being a Rich Idiot with No Day Job he became a Champion battler in less than five years.
The Alcoholic: This is implied, but not explicitly stated. James carries a flask around at nearly all times.
Handsome Lech: More of something that is slipped in from time to time, rather than outright stated, its clear if you read carefully that James doesn't care about women at all. Problem is that he's rich, he's famous and he's charming, so no one really cares to notice.
I Need a Freaking Drink: Uttered almost word-for-word by Professor Dalton at the conclusion of the first Tactics class.
Non-Idle Rich: James comes from one of the richest families in Hoenn and could have spent his life lounging by the pool, but instead he became the Champion of the Hoenn region and a teacher.
Scars Are Forever: The scars on James' left knee are from an operation due to a sports related injury. Important to the plot because the injury drove him to succeed at Pokemon battling, thus setting the events that led to him becoming a teacher in motion.
Jim Gai (Tactics, assistant)
Ambiguously Gay: In spite of his registration stating otherwise, one cannot deny the occasional Ho Yay he manages to get himself into.
Ascended Extra: In the handheld Pokémon games, he's the gym caretaker (the "gym guy"), and didn't even have a name at first. Here, he's one of the main cast members.
