Pearl

"Pearl" is a main protagonist in Steven Universe.

One of Rose Quartz's closest followers, Pearl is one of the last surviving Gems on Earth who joined the Crystal Gems in their rebellion against the Gem Homeworld. Pearl would afterwards protect the Earth over the next several millennia alongside her friends while later teaching Rose's son, Steven, the ways of her people.

Personality
"Pearl is like a Samurai. She is, like, incredibly precise."

Pearl is a perfectionist and strategist who values thought and reason. She is very intelligent, graceful, and controlled, having a wide range of knowledge on many topics. Although she gets easily flustered when her plans fail, or when Amethyst says something she doesn't think Steven should hear, she is very caring and motherly toward Steven, to the point of occasionally being overbearing, but always well-meaning. Despite her intelligent and calm demeanor, she has been known to be overwhelmed when confronted by an unknown force, ability, or situation she does not understand. She is rather organized, impaling M.C. Bear Bear to maintain symmetry in a pile of various appliances and school supplies. She can sometimes let more slip out than she means to, and end up backing herself into a corner when interrogated.

Of the Crystal Gems, Pearl appears to be the most poorly adjusted to life on earth, generally being unaware of human social conventions and activities, such as jokes, games, arcades, food, and birthday parties. She expressed a great desire to leave Earth in "Space Race", going so far as to risk her and Steven's life. Pearl seems to have a generally negative view of humanity, as evidenced by her statement in "Keep Beach City Weird:"

"Humans just live short, boring, insignificant lives, so they make up stories to feel like they're a part of something bigger. They want to blame all the world's problems on some single enemy they can fight, instead of a complex network of interrelated forces beyond anyone's control."

Despite this, she is dedicated to her cause in protecting humanity more or less out of her love, loyalty and admiration to Rose Quartz. She does, however, find certain aspects of Earth rather amazing, and despite her poor understanding of human society, she was able to pay for the Cookie Cats in "Gem Glow," drive Greg's van in "Ocean Gem," and subsequently fix it in "House Guest."

Appearance
Pearl is slender, with a pale-white skin tone. Her hair is peach/tangerine, and styled into a pixie-cut. She has sky-blue eyes, a pointy nose and thin lips. She is usually drawn without eyelashes or pupils, however they are seen in some closeups. She is a few inches shorter than Garnet.

When she debuted, she wore a sky-blue tunic that had a diaphanous chest and transferred into a ballet skirt on the lower half. She also wore short peach colored leggings, light green ankle stockings, and flats that match her tunic.

Pearl currently wears a bright teal tunic with a slightly darker sash ribbon around her waist. She wears short orange leggings, peach colored stockings, and flats that match her tunic.

Abilities


Pearl possesses standard Gem abilities, including weapon-summoning, shape-shifting, bubbling, regeneration, fusion, agelessness, and superhuman strength/durability. She can fuse with Amethyst to form Opal, Amethyst and Garnet to form Alexandrite, and Rose Quartz to create Rainbow Quartz.

Pearl is shown to be quite knowledgeable in human engineering, despite her naivete towards human culture overall; she was able to repair and upgrade Greg's destroyed van and was able to construct a spaceship out of scrap.

Pearl is shown to be considerably tough too, as she can take many hits before succumbing to her wounds. In "Coach Steven," she took a headbutt from Sugilite, and could still move, given Steven's encouragement. In "On the Run," she took an explosion from Amethyst's whip directly and was fine almost immediately after, despite being briefly immobilized and scratched.

Skillset

 * Spear Proficiency: Pearl is very skilled in the art of spear-wielding, and goes in tandem with her pattern of fighting that involves dancing. She moves gracefully and swiftly, attacking with grace and poise. She handles herself well in melee skirmishes.
 * Dual Wielding: Pearl is capable of wielding dual spears in battle, implying she may be ambidextrous.
 * Energy Projection: Pearl can fire arrow-like blasts of energy from the tip of her spear. This can be done as rapid-fire, or charged to unleash a more powerful blast. In Attack the Light, this ability is named "Fireball".
 * Swordsmanship: Pearl possesses expert knowledge and skill with a sword, and, like her spears, can wield two at once.

Unique Abilities

 * Holographic Projection: Pearl can project holographic images from her gemstone, which she uses mainly as a visual aid when lecturing Steven. While most of the holograms seem to be intangible, some, like Holo-Pearl, are able to interact with solid matter. Furthermore, the holograms can function without Pearl's presence up to two weeks, implying that her holograms can live independently. In "Chille Tid" it is shown Pearl's dreams are projected as holograms as she sleeps.
 * Psammokinesis: Pearl is shown manipulating a small amount of sand to create figurines in "Giant Woman". It is currently unknown how much sand she can control at one time.
 * Water-Walking: Pearl can walk on water, as seen in "Together Breakfast".
 * Pocket Dimension: By performing a specialized dance, Pearl can summon and store objects with her gemstone. However, in "Sworn to the Sword", she did this with no dance.
 * Nephelokinesis: In "Sworn to the Sword", Pearl is able to channel clouds in the direction of her choice. Able to gather clouds surrounding the arena around her to create a fine mist, reducing visibility and able to quickly dissipate it.
 * Photokinesis: In "Keeping it Together" Pearl can be seen using her gem like a flashlight. In "Chille Tid", she shows that she can project her dreams through this ability.

Steven
"All that matters is that Steven is happy."

Pearl acts as a kind, maternal figure towards Steven. She loves teaching Steven about Gem history and culture, as well as teaching him other things such as the art of sword fighting.

As opposed to Garnet's more pragmatic and Amethyst's more fun-loving personalities, Pearl acts as a mentor. She always tries to speak gently to him and is usually the first to show concern when taking him on a dangerous mission. However, in "Space Race", she allows her own interest in returning to space to cloud her better judgement despite trying to attain her original goal of showing Steven the cosmos.

Pearl also tends to patronize Steven and frequently underestimates his abilities, thus viewing him more as a child than as a fellow Crystal Gem. She is surprised to find that Steven is able to summon his shield in "Gem Glow", return to normal after transforming his fingers into cats in "Cat Fingers", think of strategies to escape the obstacles that they encounter in "Cheeseburger Backpack", as well as the Pyramid Temple in "Serious Steven". She ignores Steven when he brings up the idea of everyone eating breakfast together in "Together Breakfast". She also does not feel that Steven is prepared to learn about the dark side of gem history, when she tells Amethyst that Steven "isn't ready" to learn about the bad history of Gems in "On the Run". In "Sworn to the Sword", it is shown Pearl's maternal feelings towards Steven stems from her love and admiration for Rose Quartz.

Garnet
Like the other Gems, Pearl respects and follows Garnet's orders without question. She does, however, believe that the Gems are a team and may not exactly see Garnet as a leader, most likely because she will always see Rose Quartz as leader despite her being gone. When there are signs of danger, however, Pearl usually turns to Garnet, often hiding behind her or holding onto her arm. In "Secret Team", it is clear that she shares an unprecedented fear towards her with Amethyst, so afraid of Garnet's disapproval (as well as what she would do if she found out) that both she and Amethyst willing to put past their differences to keep the popped Gem-bubble a secret. She has known about her true identities for several thousand years.

Amethyst
"I hope you can forgive me...You're the one good thing that came out of this mess, I always thought you were proud of that."

The two have a strained relationship which is likely due to their contrasting personalities. Pearl is often seen scolding Amethyst, who often teases Pearl in return. Regardless of their differences, Pearl and Amethyst have been shown to be able to put their differences on multiple occasions in order to work together. For example, in "Secret Team", Pearl and Amethyst are forced to fight together, and complement each others' skills, even sharing appreciative smiles; in "Warp Tour", they praise and admire each others' fighting techniques; in "On the Run", the two reveal that they really do deeply care about each other, despite their differences and frequent fights. In "Story for Steven" they are shown having a much closer relationship before the events of the series, close enough to be perfectly content hugging and resting in each other's arms. It can be inferred that Rose's departure and Steven's birth somehow lead to their relationship deteriorating with time.

Greg
"Greg is... nice, Steven, but I doubt Rose would've entrust someone like him with such a powerful weapon."

She is on speaking terms with Greg and has shown to at least try to be civil towards him, even fixing his van after it was wrecked in "Ocean Gem". In "House Guest" she was anxious about him living with the Crystal Gems and she is usually the first (and often the only one) of the Crystal Gems to get irritated or even mad at him as shown in "The Message". Because of Pearl's close relationship with Rose Quartz it is possible that her negative view of Greg stems from her blaming him for his part in Rose's "death" in giving birth to Steven, much like she harbors a similar resentment towards Steven as revealed in "Rose's Scabbard".

In "Reformed", however, the two are seen casually tinkering with his van together and seemingly getting along very well, showing an improvement of their relationship.

The episode "We Need to Talk" further explores their relationship in the past when Rose was still alive. Pearl is shown to be very jealous of Rose's new-found affection for him and goes to great lengths of trying to challenge him and dissuade him from pursuing a relationship with Rose. This, combined with the fact that she sees Greg partially responsible for Rose's demise, explains why she seems to be uncomfortable, condescending and resentful towards him in episodes set in the current time.

Sugilite
Pearl dislikes Sugilite due to her reckless and violent nature. Pearl almost grudgingly admits that she's jealous of Sugilite's strength (in a song), but she cuts herself off before finishing the line. Her dislike for Sugilite also stems from concern over Garnet and Amethyst as she believes it is dangerous for them to stay fused for longer periods of time; they might start losing their own individuality.

Rose Quartz
"Everything I ever did, I did for her. Now she's gone... but I'm still here."

Pearl's closest relationship was with Rose. She was loyal enough to fight alongside her against her own Homeworld at the Strawberry Battlefield, before they even found Amethyst, and believed herself to be Rose's "sole confidant" and privy to all her secrets. She became jealous and eventually devastated upon learning that this was not the case. Pearl looked up to Rose for guidance and support and often speaks very fondly of her, being shown to love her enough to stay on Earth and defend it instead of returning home alone. Like Amethyst, she grew emotional when they spoke of their relationship with her. In "Story for Steven", when Rose bragged about Greg's singing, Pearl is quick to note as soon as he is out of earshot that she can also sing, much to the amusement of the other three Crystal Gems. "Sworn to the Sword" reveals that she was so devoted to protecting Rose that she sacrificed herself constantly for her, having adopted the human title of a "knight" to heart to the point of obsessive recklessness.

"We Need to Talk" further explores the relationship between the two. Set in the 80's like the previous episode "Story for Steven" it reveals that Pearl was very jealous of Greg, constantly trying to persuade him that Rose's affections for him were just a "phase" because as a human he was eventually going to pass away while Rose, being a Gem, would live on. She also challenges him by defiantly convincing Rose to fuse with her in front of Greg, and later rubbing it in his face that as a human he would never know such intimacy with Rose. This jealousy, when put into perspective along with other episodes involving Pearl's affection for Rose, seemed to imply that her feelings for Rose were, like those between Ruby and Sapphire, of the romantic kind. This was later confirmed by show writer Matt Burnett via a tweet after the episode aired. As such, Pearl carries a great deal of grief for her loss, but finds comfort in her son, Steven.

Despite Pearl's unrequited feelings, they were able to very easily fuse into the Fusion Gem "Rainbow Quartz" which shows that, while Rose was not romantically interested in Pearl, their relationship was a very close one for them to be able to so easily and casually fuse.

In "Chille Tid" Pearl has a dream in which she suggests to Rose that they forget about Greg and explore the universe together.

Lion
Originally, Pearl saw Lion as just an average wild animal, being a little uneasy about Steven keeping him because of his probably dangerous nature. However, in "Rose's Scabbard", she gains a different kind of unease due to him containing Rose's Sword and thus having some connection to Rose. This knowledge distressed her greatly as Rose supposedly told her everything, causing her to resent Lion a bit to the point where she ran away with Rose's Scabbard to the Gem Battlefield. After gaining encouragement from Steven, she seems to respect Lion a bit more while still feeling tenuous about him in general.

Connie
"Remember, Connie. In the heat of battle, Steven is what matters. You don't matter."

Pearl saw Connie just as Steven's friend, but in "Sworn to the Sword", Pearl became touched by Connie's willingness to defend Steven, thus mentors her in the art of sword fighting, and related Connie as herself and Steven as Rose during the training. Now, Pearl thinks that Connie is practically an expert on sword fighting and that she and Steven can be great knights together.

Quotes
See Pearl/Quotes.

Trivia

 * In the transition from the pilot to the series, Pearl underwent the most drastic change of the three Gems. Among these changes are:
 * Removal of gold ring around her gem
 * Removal of earrings
 * Skin color changed (from blue to white)
 * Pointier nose
 * Rounder face
 * Slimmer, more cartoonish build
 * Drastically different outfit
 * Different hairstyle, pointing backwards instead of forwards and covering ears
 * Rose-pink hair color to peach
 * Eye color changed (black to a light blue)
 * Removal of hearts on slippers and slipper color changed (dark blue to light blue)
 * In "Together Breakfast," it is revealed that Pearl owns a wide collection of swords.
 * In "So Many Birthdays," Pearl revealed that all Gems (excluding Steven) are ageless.
 * It is shown that when Pearl blushes, she blushes light blue. This was first seen in "Cat Fingers."
 * The Gems' fighting style's are based off of dancing styles. Pearl's fighting/dancing style is ballet.1
 * In "Fusion Cuisine", Pearl states that she hates eating.
 * Pearl agrees to consume human food, expresses interest in eating, or admits to a preference for certain foods in "Together Breakfast", "Bubble Buddies", "Serious Steven", and "So Many Birthdays". These episodes all take place before "Steven the Sword Fighter". This could mean that Pearl used to like human food.
 * In a Twitter response to a fan, Matt Burnett explained that Pearl likes the process of pie, aka baking, rather than the consumption of it.
 * She is shown to enjoy tea, however, as shown when she brings a teapot to Funland in "Serious Steven", and when she talks about finding out Connie's favorite tea in "Bubble Buddies".
 * Rebecca Sugar confirmed Pearl is a lot like her.
 * In "Keep Beach City Weird", Pearl has shown a reluctance to shapeshift and is the only Crystal Gem who has not shown an ability to shapeshift outside regeneration.
 * Despite having sang the most songs of any full Crystal Gem yet, she has yet to sing anything other than a duet (Strong in the Real Way was sang with Steven and Do It For Her with Connie)
 * Pearl had a replicator wand which was destroyed in "Onion Trade" by Garnet and currently still has a collection of swords and a battle axe.
 * Pearl is the first Gem that's actually shown retreating into her gemstone to regenerate after sustaining serious injuries, as seen in "Steven the Sword Fighter".
 * She is also the first Gem in the series to have a gemstone on her forehead (the second being Peridot).
 * Pearl sings for the first time in the episode "Coach Steven".
 * "Joking Victim" is the first episode in which Pearl does not make an appearance, the second being "Garnet's Universe".
 * In "Steven and the Stevens", she is seen playing the violin.
 * It was shown in "Monster Buddies" that Steven keeps a framed picture of Pearl on the side of their fridge. It was later destroyed by the Centipeetle Mother.
 * Pearl appears to have her face on several coin-types.
 * Pearl is the first gem who shown to be able to harness energy within their weapon for an attack in "Watermelon Steven".
 * In "Lion 3: Straight to Video", Pearl admits that she often watches Steven sleep.
 * "Warp Tour" is the first episode Pearl and Steven have an argument.
 * It was Pearl who revealed that the Crystal Gems chose Earth over their true home.
 * It's confirmed by Steven in "Steven the Sword Fighter" that organizing messes is one of Pearl's favorite hobbies.
 * Considering the fact that Garnet is a fusion, Pearl is the second tallest non-fused Crystal Gem, right next to Rose Quartz.
 * It is revealed in "Reformed" that Pearl was always irked by Amethyst's crooked shoulder strap.
 * Pearl is ambidextrous.
 * This is shown in "Mirror Gem" when Pearl is shown to be able to wield two spears at a time.
 * In terms of which hand she uses, she writes in cursive, as shown in Keeping it Together.
 * Rebecca Sugar stated in an interview that the crystal gem Steven knows the least about at this point is Pearl.
 * In "Sworn to the Sword", Pearl says she was only a few thousand years old when she began fighting alongside Rose Quartz.
 * It was on Earth that Pearl learned of sword fighting.
 * In a flashback, it appears that Pearl engaged a gem (similar to Jasper) multiple times for Rose Quartz.
 * In "Chille Tid" Pearl shows her dreams via her gem.

Gemology
Gemstone Information

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 * Pearls are the birthstone for those born in June, and are also used to commemorate the third and thirtieth anniversaries. Pearl is also an astral gemstone for the signs, Gemini and Cancer.
 * In gemstone mythology, pearls are often associated with virginity, beauty, modesty, purity, and happiness.
 * Pearls are organic gemstones that are formed by shelled mollusks, mainly bivalved oysters and mussels.
 * Pearls are available in a variety of colors. Colors of pearls include the following: White, pink, silver, cream, golden, green, blue and black. Some pearls exhibit iridescence, which is known as orient.
 * Pearl's chemical formula is CaC03•C30H48O11N9•n(H2O)•X. This is because pearls are made of:
 * Aragonite (CaC03)
 * Conquiolin (a protein made by molluscs) (C30H48O11N9)
 * Unknown amount of Water (n(H2O))
 * An unknown base-like object. Molluscs create pearls around this intruder object in their body

Gemstone
Perla pt-br:Pérola