Grusha

Grusha is a slim young man with smooth, pale skin and a slightly androgynous appearance. He has icy blue hair with two overhanging fringes and a curly bang. His eyes are blue as well, with yellow shading below the pupils and long eyelashes, giving him a feminine look.

Befitting his type specialty, Grusha wears an outfit that's tailored for cold weather. It consists of a yellow and black coat with spiky shoulders, blue pants, and dark blue gloves. On his feet, he wears thick blue boots with light blue toes, black soles, and yellow fluff at the tops. The fluff matches his coat, and he additionally has x-shaped boot laces in the same color.

Grusha also wears a long red and blue scarf with a Poké Ball-shaped bauble at the end. The scarf usually covers his face and mouth, but he pulls it down occasionally while talking.

Grusha is a coolheaded person most of the time. He typically keeps his emotions pushed down, rarely if ever showing them. However, when the heat of battle gets to him, he begins to show the feelings that he buries within himself. He enjoys snowboarding, but was forced to give up being a professional snowboarder following a grievous injury and becoming a Gym Leader.

Grusha is extremely stoic due to an undisclosed injury that ended his snowboarding career and appears to suffer from a lack of self-esteem as shown during his rematch, where he remarks that if he was dismissed as a Gym Leader, he would have nothing else to offer. After losing in his rematch, he realizes that true passion comes from overcoming all odds and he resolves to better himself as a Gym Leader and not hide behind excuses.

Before being the Gym Leader of Glaseado Gym, Grusha used to be a professional snowboarder, and the second best in the world — at one point having won six times in a row at Paldean major competitions. He was forced to retire from the sport after sustaining an injury from an accident. He usually keeps his cool, but will show his hidden emotions in the heat of battle. Because being a Gym Leader is the only thing he has left, he is overly worried about maintaining his position. After Tom defeats him in a rematch during a Gym Inspection, Grusha regains his former determined side, intrigued by Tom's skills, he develops feelings for him.

One crucial aspect of Grusha's character is his evolving feelings towards Tom. Initially, Grusha respected Tom as a formidable opponent, someone whose skills challenged him both physically and emotionally. Over time, however, Grusha found himself drawn to Tom on a more personal level, developing romantic feelings that he had been too afraid to acknowledge until now.