Aerith Gainsborough

• Final Fantasy VII
• Final Fantasy VII (Remake)

“	All I know is... the Cetra were born from the Planet, speak with the Planet, and unlock the Planet. And... then... the Cetra will return to the Promised Land. A land that promises supreme happiness. [...] Someday I'll get out of Midgar... Speak with the Planet and find my Promised Land... That's what mom said.	„
	~ Aerith Gainsborough

Character Synopsis

Aerith Gainsborough is a secondary protagonist in Final Fantasy VII and takes a backseat role in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Aerith is the daughter of Professor Gast Faremis and the Cetra Ifalna, with her father being killed by the Shinra Electric Power Company. Aerith and her Ifalna were kidnapped for research but managed to escape from Shinra's clutches. Ifalna, however, was greatly injured and she requested that Elmyra Gainsborough take care of Aerith. Despite escaping Shinra, she would have many hardships trying to conceal her cetra nature and as such, they kept watch of her ability to hear the voice of the Planet. She would meat a member of Shinra's private military SOLDIER named Zack Fair and would grow close with him until he went on a mission and never returned. Later down the road, she would meet Cloud Strife, of which happens twice. The first encounter was brief but the second one submitted their friendship and this caused her to tag alongside Cloud and his party to uncover the mysteries of the world 

Character Statistics

Tiering: High 6-A | High 5-A, at most 4-A | Unknown

Verse: Final Fantasy, especially Final Fantasy VII

Name: Aerith Gainsborough (Also known as Aeris Gainsborough by translations)

Gender: Female 

Age: 15-17 in Crisis Core; 22 In Final Fantasy VIII

Classification:Half-Cetra, The Last Ancient 

Special Abilities:

• Final Fantasy VII
• Advent Children
• Support Abilities

Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Weapon Mastery (Adept in the use of weapons such as Staves and Rods), Clairvoyance/Emotion, Memory and Mind Reading (Cetra can read the emotions across the planet. Cetra can read the minds and emotions of others and Kadaj has been shown to be able to scan the memories of other people. Naturally connected to the Planet and can listen to the voice of the Lifestream, gathering new knowledge and even telling distant events such as a person's passing), Energy Manipulation (Her attacks draw from spiritual energy and can empower his attacks with perpetual energy), Non-Physical Interaction (Can fend off and even kill  The Ghosts of The Gi Tribe), Telepathy (Capable of communicating with others through their dreams and through connecting with the planet), Healing (Aerith is a natural healer and purify the land due to her connection with the planet and The Lifestream. Many techniques such as Healing Wind, Pulse of Life and Great Gospel are byproducts of this nature), Purification (Her Cetra DNA allows her to purify beings and the planet itself, of which is manifested in her limit breaks), Time Manipulation, Power Nullification (Seal Evil causes Aerith to stop time and depower her opponents, leaving them "silenced" and frozen in time), Empathic Manipulation (Fury Brand increases the anger in others, allowing them to reach their Limit Break much faster), Negation (Up to Low-High, the pieces of Jenova, even cells, destroyed by the party are gone for good and can't be used for the Reunion to rebuild Jenova's body. Can permanently kill Jenova and her pieces, who aside from being extremely durable is able to regenerate from single cells, as well as survive as long as just her cells remain, through which she can enforce her will, even through other people injected with them. Additionally, can permanently finish off the souls and spectres of the Gi Tribe)

• Has the following thanks to Spirit Energy: Magic (Has access to magic due to his Mako and connection with The Earth), Matter Manipulation, Explosion Manipulation (Flare causes an explosion through the colliding of the opponent's atoms), Elemental Manipulation (In the form of  Fire, Ice, Lightning, Wind and Earth), Gravity Manipulation (Through Gravity, which intensifies gravity on a target), Purification (Esuna and Poison can achieve this), Improved Time Manipulation (Spells such as Haste, Slow and Stop make alterations to time in their respective manners), Poison Manipulation (Bio spells involve poisoning opponents through manipulating toxicity), Transmutation, Statistics Reduction (Frog transmutes opponents into frogs and reduces the enemy’s offensive capabilities), Size Manipulation (Small turns opponents into a much shorter height than their usually present in), Sleep Manipulation (Sleepel causes opponents to go to sleep instantly), Madness Manipulation, Mind Manipulation (Confu causes opponents to become confused and an even cause them to go mad. This can also be a side effect of Tornado), BFR (Remove sends opponents to another location off the battlefield), Regeneration (Mid-Low via Regen), Attack Reflection (Reflect sends attacks right back at opponents), Healing (via the Cure spells and FullCure), Teleportation (Exit allows Cloud to escape the battlefield at any time), Damage Reduction via Barrier Creation (the Barrier, MBarrier and Shield effects reduce damage instead of blocking attacks), Biological Manipulation (Manipulate allows Cloud to control ones body), Information Analysis (Sense allows Cloud to learn about his opponents and the surrounding area), Can attack two to four times almost simultaneously through 2x-Cut and 4x-Cut, Can cast  two different Spells or Summons through W-Magic and W-Summon, Power Mimicry vis E-Skills 
• Resistance to Soul Absorption and Soul Manipulation (as a Cetra her spirit is not absorbed nor diffused upon death, and she will join the collective current of souls only if she wishes to); Mind Manipulation, Empathic Manipulation and Memory Manipulation (Cetras have such a strong individuality that Aerith was unaffected by the Lifestream, managing to keep her emotions and memories despite the process that takes away all traces of them from each soul to assimilate it in the flow); Corruption (The Cetra interacted with the Lifestream as part of their daily lives, yet despite this exposure to Spirit Energy, they don't become Makonoids. Additionally, Aerith was unaffected by Jenova's virus despite confronting her directly). Power Mimicry and Power Absorption (Limit Breaks are born from the user's Spirit Energy, which shapes their mind and soul, and cannot be copied or imitated, the sole exception being Zack who is acknowledged as an unusual case, and even then creates a variant of the original move).

All previous abilities, minus the physical ones. Enhanced Senses (Spirits are unbound by the parliaments of flesh, of which elevates their knowledge to a higher level and allows them to assess the true nature of all things), Clairvoyance (Her knowledge allows her to see all events and emotions that occur across the entire planet), Astral Projection (Capable of showcasing herself to the physical plane as a spiritual projection), Empathic Manipulation, Soul Manipulation and Memory Manipulation (Can interact with souls in the Lifestream, restore their individuality and, through memories, she can ease the hatred and other negative feelings of those trapped in the Negative Lifestream, so they can rest), Avatar Creation (Capable of creating manifestations of herself from The Lifestream, but later refused to do so out of respect for Cloud)

Elemental Attacks of the Fire, Absolute Zero Ice, Lightning, Earth, Wind, Water, Gravity and Holy variety (via the Elemental Materia, which grants the user different attributes when linked with different Magic and Summon Materia in their weapons), and Status Effect Inducement of the Poison Manipulation, Sleep Inducement, Berserk Inducement, Madness Manipulation, Petrification, Transmutation into Frogs, Size Minimization, Silence Inducement, Time Slowdown, Time Stop and Instant Death variety (via the Added Effect Materia, which allows the user to inflict several Status Ailments when linked with different Magic and Summon Materia in their weapons), and raw power boost via Magic Attack Boost (via MP Turbo); Life Absorption (via HP Absorb) and Energy Absorption (via MP Absorb); Instinctive Reaction of different varieties: Counterattacking (via Counter Attack or Counter, Magic Counter and Final Attack linked with certain offensive Materia), Automatic Healing (via Magic Counter or Final Attack linked with a healing Materia, or the Life or Phoenix Materia to save the user from near death), Automatic Follow-Up (via Added Cut) and Instinctive Initiative (via First Strike); Enhanced Awareness and Stealth (via Pre-Emptive, which allows to sneak on and attack enemies by surpise and prevents the user from being ambushed or being caught off-guard); Additionally, can use the same Spell or Summon four times at once at half power (via Quadra Magic, except for Knights of the Round); can turn the single-targeting of several of Commands and Spells into an Area of Effect (via the All and Mega All Materia); regular attacks can reach a few meters beyond their actual physical reach (via the Long Range Materia). Resistance to Elemental Manipulation of the Fire, Absolute Zero Ice, Lightning, Wind, Earth, Water, Gravity and Holy variety (via the Elemental Materia, which protects the user from different elements when linked with Magic and Summon Materia in their armour); Status Effect Inducement which includes Poison Manipulation (as well as Acid Manipulation); Sleep Inducement; Silence Inducement; Transmutation; Power Nullification; Petrification; Size Manipulation; Madness Manipulation; Berserk Inducement; Time Manipulation, Time Stop and Death Manipulation (via Added Effect, which protects the user from different ailments when combined with Magic and Summon Materia in their armour); as well as to Extreme Pressure (via Underwater, which prevents the user from being affected by the conditions of the bottom of the ocean).

Destructive Ability: Multi-Continent Level (As a result of being comparable to Cloud and the Midgar party, Aerith should be capable of easily destroy Sweepers, who are treated as regular enemies, the same weaponry considered formidable by Ifrit, who can burn down the entire planet and reduce it to ashes. By the end of Midgar, Aerith could easily defeat 3rd Class SOLDIER units) | Dwarf Star Level (Has grown in power significantly, being able to control summons much stronger than Ifrit, including Leviathan, who has control over the world's ocean and Typhon, who's power can flip earth upside-down, yielding this much force as a result), at most Multi-Solar System Level (At the height of her power, Aerith is on par with, if not above Red XII, who's Stardust Ray is capable of creating a dimension with countless stars contained inside. Destroyed aspects of Jenova, whom of which should be superior to the likes of Bahamut Fury, being such a fundamental threat to Gaia that seven WEAPONS were needed to thwart her) | Unknown (After having been killed, she was freed of her physical form, at the cost of all physical combat-related abilities. She's implied to have gotten stronger over time but never displays any form of combat to gauge her power)

Speed: Sub-Relativistic (Can dodge lasers from Shinra's security system and their weapons that also project beams of light) | Sub-Relativistic normally (Stronger than before), at most Massively FTL+ (Comparable to or above Red XII, who's Stardust Ray is capable of causing attacks than originate from other stars outside the solar system. Fought fragments of Jenova, who should be as powerful as her past self, who was miles superior to the likes of Bahamut Fury) | Infinite (Spirits are not bound by time and space due to existing in a layer of The Lifestream where neither exist. The concept of distance within The Lifestream is different than that of the physical world)

Lifting Ability: Class 1 (Physically on par with other Shinra Infantrymen, who can move uproot trees of immense size and likely comparable to Cloud in strength) | Class G (Comparable to both Jenova's psychic abilities and Tifa, the latter can easily lift monsters many times her size like the Weapons) | Unknown

Striking Ability: Multi-Continental Class (Casually takes out Sweepers and Guard Scorpions, who of which are considered worthy by Ifrit in terms of power and thus are comparable) | Dwarf Star Class (Has control over summons much stronger than Ifrit, such as Leviathan and even Typhon, who can flip earth upside-down to produce this much energy), at most Multi-Solar System Class (Can harm fragments of Jenova, who should be above summons such as Bahamut Fury, who can create realms that contain a starry sky as a part of their personal dimension) | Unknown (Has lost all her physical properties, existing as a spiritual unbound by time and space)

Durability: Multi-Continent Level (Can survive blows from strong Shinra weapons such as Sweepers, Guard Scorpions and even 3rd Class SOLDIER units) | Dwarf Star Level (Has control over stronger summons than Ifrit, including the likes of Typhon), at most Multi-Solar System Level (Can endure attacks from Jenova·BIRTH and comparable forms of Jenova. Could only be killed by Jenova Life, who had to strike her off guard in order to fully kill Aerith) | Possibly Multi-Galaxy Level (Attempted to stop Sephiroth when he was spreading Geostigma on the surface. Sephiroth only chased her off and continued to mock Aerith. This implies she could fight Sephiroth but he would still be a danger to her, albeit it's hard to truly gauge)

Stamina: Extremely High (fights against entire gauntlets of monsters with no signs of exhaustion. While initially not on the level of Cloud, she overtime became comparable to him, being able to take off on her own to the other side of the Planet to the Forgotten City.)

Range: Extended melee range with staves, much higher with Materia. At least several kilometers as a Spirit in the Lifestream.

Intelligence: High (Aerith is very street smart and cunning, knowing how to handle and adapt herself very well in the dangerous environments of lower Midgar, which, aside from many criminals, also have monsters running around. In addition, she spent a good amount of time in a dangerous journey fighting specialized combatants, such as the Shinra military, SOLDIER members, the Turks, as well as dangerous monsters while travelling with the party. Lastly, as a Cetra, Aerith has a natural connection to the Planet and can hear and understand the voices in the Lifestream to learn new knowledge and secrets that nobody else would have access to in the present day.)

Weaknesses: Aerith can only use her limit breaks when under pressure, in other words, when pressed due to emotions fluctuating. For this reason, Aerith can't use limit breaks right away nor repeatedly. Not physically into battle, preferring to utilize magic and her Cetra abilities over anything else. Aerith can be impulsive and stubborn

Versions: Midgar | Post-Midgar | Lifestream Form (Advent Children)

Other Attributes

List of Equipment:

• Guard Stick: Aerith's initial weapon, a simple metal pole she wields to fight off enemies.
• Princess Guard: Aerith's Ultimate Weapon, found in the Temple of the Ancients. This ornamental staff has the power to increase its wielder's strength if its allies have fallen in battle. If more allies are defeated this boost becomes stronger.
• Materia: Rarely, the Spirit Energy of Lifestream may be particularly abundant in an area on the Planet's surface, and for years it can concentrate in that certain spot to then condense and crystalize, eventually becoming Materia. In the modern-day, the Shinra Electric Power Company artificially manufactures Materia through its extraction of Mako, the term they've given to the Spirit Energy they've extracted through reactors. Contained in it is the wisdom of the Cetra, an ancient race who were spiritually connected to the Planet and knew how to access its powers. Materia allows the access to this knowledge to be able to call upon those powers, just like the Cetra did, in many different ways, most notably Magic.
  • There are different kinds of Materia, represented by different colors: green (Magic), red (Summoning), yellow (Commands), blue (Support) and purple (Independent).
  • Materia can be equipped in many different ways: Cloud and the party slot them into their weapons and armor, Vincent can additionally put them in keychains attached to his guns, Zack can carry up to six in his person, while the Remnants of Sephiroth, due to their nature, can absorb them directly into their bodies.
• White Materia: A one of a kind Materia, that the Cetra pass down through generations and Aerith received as a memento from her mother, Ifalna. This Materia is the only possible way to cast Holy, the ultimate White Magic, which summons the power of the Planet itself in the form of a gigantic wave to eradicate any threats to it. Though initially unaware of its purpose, Aerith eventually found out about the true importance of this Materia and resorted to praying to the Planet for Holy as a last resort to stop Sephiroth when he revealed his plan to summon Meteor, the ultimate Black Magic, to wound the Planet to such a scale that it would mean its destruction. As Bugenhagen explains, if the prayer for Holy, using the White Materia is answered then its white color would turn into a greenish glow, similar to that of the Lifestream, meaning the prayer was accepted. It is unknown if the White Materia can be combined with Support Materia like other Magic or Summon Materia.
• Pink Ribbon: An accessory Aerith received as a gift from Zack in their first date as a "first date anniversary", which Aerith has held to dearly ever since and worn in her hair along with the White Materia. Unlike the Ribbons Cloud and the others wear in honor to Aerith after the events of the game, Aerith's doesn't seem to have special protective properties of any kind.

Notable Attacks/Techniques:

Limit Breaks

• Healing Wind: Aerith's Spirit Energy becomes a sky blue breeze that embraces the whole party, restoring their health by half their maximum amount.
• Seal Evil: Aerith raises her staff and her Spirit Energy become sparks that gather on enemies and, with a flash, they find themselves frozen in time and silenced.
• Breath of the Earth: Aerith's Spirit Energy becomes streams of light that surround the party and rise from the ground up, healing any ailment they have.
• Fury Brand: Aerith waves her staff above her and her Spirit Energy becomes a discharge of electricity that makes the Spirit Energy of her teammates overflow in the form of a sphere, putting them in a state ready to use their Limit Breaks.
• Planet Protector: Aerith spins around and several golden stars engulf the party and they are surrounded by a golden aura, making them invulnerable to all damage, status infliction and healing for a limited amount of time.
• Pulse of Life: Aerith throws her staff forward and kneels to pray, causing a gentle light to fall on the party healing all wounds and ailments.
• Great Gospel: Aerith tosses her staff and puts her hands together, as rain is called on the party. The downpour stops and the clouds above clear, and through the rays of the suns, a trio of angels descend leaving their blessing on the party in the form of beams of light, healing everyone completely and rendering invulnerable to damage for a limited amount of time.

Magic & Other Skills 

• Ice: Obtained in Sector 1 Train Station, part of Cloud's starting equipment. Bestows Ice (Blizzard), Ice2 (Blizzara) and Ice3 (Blizzaga).
• Lightning: Obtained in Sector 1 Train Station, part of Cloud's starting equipment. Bestows Bolt (Thunder), Bolt2 (Thundara) and Bolt3 (Thundaga).
• Restore: Obtained in Sector 1 reactor, just before the Guard Scorpion boss fight. Bestows Cure (Cure), Cure2 (Cura), Regen (Regen) and Cure3 (Curaga).
• Poison: Obtained in the Shinra Headquarters, after seeing the Jenova containment scene. Bestows Bio (Bio), Bio2 (Biora) and Bio3 (Bioga).
• Fire: Obtained in Shinra Headquarters, part of Red XIII's starting equipment. Bestows Fire (Fire), Fire2 (Fira) and Fire3 (Firaga).
• All: Obtained in Shinra Headquarters, part of Red XIII's starting equipment. Allows Area of Effect attacks.
• Sense: Obtained in Shinra Headquarters, part of Red XIII's starting equipment. Allows to Scan the capabilities and weaknesses of enemies.
• Enemy Skill: Obtained in Shinra Headquarters, after defeating Sample H0512. Allows learning specific abilities from enemies for personal use. The following abilities are likely to be learned during the story:
  • Frog Song: Learned from Toxic Frogs in the Temple of the Ancients and Christopher in the Northern Crater.
  • Bad Breath: Learned from Malboros in Gaea's Cliff and the Northern Cave.
  • Aqualung: Learned from Jenova*LIFE at the Forgotten City and the Serpent in the Sunken Gelnika.
  • Trine: Learned from the Materia Keeper in Mt. Nibel, Godo in the Wutai Pagoda and Stilvas in Gaea's Cliff.
  • Magic Breath: Learned from Stilvas in Gaea's Cliff and Parasites in the Northern Cave.
  • Death Sentence: Learned from Sneaky Steps and Gi Spectres in the Cave of the Gi, and Boundfats in Corel Valley.
  • Shadow Flare: Learned from Dragon Zombie in the Northern Crater and Safer Sephiroth in the Planet's Core.
  • Pandora's Box: Learned from the Dragon Zombie in the Planet's Core.
• Long Range: Obtained in Mithril Mines, lying around. Allows to deal full damage regardless of the row and reach faraway enemies with regular attacks.
• All: Obtained in the Cargo Ship, next to the spot where Yuffie was. Allows Area of Effect attacks.
• Transform: Obtained in the Gold Saucer, part of Cait Sith's starting equipment. Bestows Toad and Mini.
• Manipulate: Obtained in the Gold Saucer, part of Cait Sith's starting equipment. Allows to take control of an enemy
• Ramuh: Obtained in the Gold Saucer, Chochobo Jockey Room. Summons Ramuh to deal Lightning damage to all enemies.
• Added Effect: Obtained in the Cave of the Gi, by exploring its paths. Weapons inflict status ailments, while armor protects from them.
• Gravity: Obtained in the Cave of the Gi in Cosmo Canyon, after defeating Gi Nattak. Bestows Demi (Gravity), Demi2 (Gravira) and Demi3 (Graviga).
• Destruct: Obtained at the Shinra Mansion, left by Sephiroth's copy. Bestows DeBarrier, DeSpell (Dispel) and Death. While the Shinra Mansion is a sidequest, it is how Vincent is recruited into the party, and, as the compilation shows, him joining is canon. Vincent also will not join until after the encounter with Sephiroth in the library of the mansion, meaning this Materia is obtained story-wise. Side materials also acknowledge this encounter with Sephiroth as canon.
• All: Obtained in Mt. Nibel, room of the Materia Keeper. Allows Area of Effect attacks.
• Elemental: Obtained in Mt. Nibel, next to the natural Materia Spring. Gives weapons elemental properties, armor protects from elemental damage.
• Counter Attack: Obtained in Mt. Nibel, after defeating Materia Keeper. Allows countering enemy moves with Physical Attacks.
• MP Absorb: Obtained in Wutai while looking for Yuffie. She steals it as well but returns it once the sidequest is over. User can absorb 1% of the damage inflicted as MP. While Wutai is a sidequest, Yuffie joining the team is canon, as the compilation shows, so the events indeed took place within the story.
• Morph: Obtained in the Temple of the Ancients, before the Spring with Sephiroth's vision. Turn defeated enemies into items.
• Comet: Obtained in the Forgotten Capital, atop of the building with the gate leading where Aerith is praying. Bestows Comet and Comet2 (Cometeor). The English Script included in the Collector's Set for the Advent Children movie reveals that Yazoo and Loz used Comet among the Spells cast in their suicide attack at the end of the movie. Given the Materia the Remnants of Sephiroth used in the movie were stolen from Cloud, it would mean Cometn was in his possession since the original game.
• MP Turbo: Obtained in the Whirlwind Maze, after defeating Jenova*DEATH. Increases the cost and power of Spells and Summons by up to x1.5 depending on the level of the Materia.
• Contain: Obtained in Mideel, by feeding the Sylkis Greens to the white Chocobo. Bestows Freeze, Break, Tornado and Flare. While the Materia does seem out of the way at first, the English Script included in the Collector's Set for the Advent Children movie reveals that Yazoo and Loz used Flare, the last ability taught by this Materia, among the Spells cast in their suicide attack at the end of the movie. Given the Materia the Remnants of Sephiroth used in the movie were stolen from Cloud, it would mean Contain was in his possession since the original game.
• Ultima: Obtained in Corel from the boy as thanks for stopping the train with the Huge Materia or sold if the train wasn't stopped. Bestows Ultima.
• Double Cut: Obtained in the Sunken Gelnika. Bestows 2x and 4x Cut, which allow several almost simultaneous physical attacks. While the Sunken Gelnika is a sidequest, it is where Cid's Highwind Limit Break Manual is found. Side Materials acknowledge Cid's Highwind as a move he possessed, which can be taken as the visit of the Sunken Gelnika taking place within the story events.
• HP Absorb: Obtained in the Northern Crater in the cliff descent area. Absorbs 10% of the dealt damage as health.
• Note: The following Materia are found after the party needs to split in the Northern Crater. While it seems optional at first, it's precisely given that the party splits in the previous section and that the game plays as if the group went through the different routes that the possibility that the parties, aside Cloud's, finding the Materia in each section is not unlikely. Moreover, depending on the routes taken, the party members may give Cloud the Materis found around the Northern Crater right before entering the Planet's Core.
• Shield: Obtained in the Northern Crater in the Swamp Area. Bestows Shield.
• W-Magic: Obtained in the Northern Crater, past the swamp area, in the path of the room with the glowing core. Allows casting two spells simultaneously.
• Counter: Obtained in the Northern Crater, past the swamp area, in the glowing core of the following cavern. Allows countering an enemy move with the paired Command Materia.
• Mega-All: Obtained in the Northern Crater in the caverns after the Swamp Area, next to a Lifestream waterfall. All abilities become Area of Effect moves.
• Magic Counter: Obtained in the Northern Crater in the Lifestream waterfall following the Swamp Area. Allows to counter an enemy move with the paired Magic or Summon Materia.

Others

Notable Victories:

Notable Losses:

Inconclusive Matches: