This article is about Pink Diamond's original Pearl, who was possessed by White Diamond. You may be looking for another Pearl. |
“ |
Oh, no. I know what a nickname is. It's just that it reminds me so much of Pink. She used to give silly little names to everything. She was so funny like that. |
” |
—"Volleyball" |
Pearl (or Pink Pearl as she is referred to by the Crewniverse) is a Homeworld Gem who was Pink Diamond's original Pearl before being taken from her and placed under the ownership of White Diamond, who used her powers to take control of Pink Pearl remotely, rendering her devoid of color (referred to as White Pearl outside of the series). She first appeared in "Legs From Here to Homeworld". As White Diamond's only known and final Pearl, she was used as a remote camera of sorts, being a container of White's power. It is presumed she had been using her this way for thousands of years. Following White Diamond's defeat, she woke up in Era 3 from late Era 1. She immediately ceased to be White's Pearl, just as Era 3 truly began.
In "Volleyball", she was given the nickname "Volleyball" to distinguish her from Pearl of the Crystal Gems. After understanding and confronting her repressed trauma associated with White and Pink Diamonds through Pearl and fusing with her, she has been shown to now be living a new free life on Earth, and is enrolled at Little Homeschool and lives in Little Homeworld.
Appearance
Pink Pearl has all of the typical features of a Pearl, with a thin and flexible build and a pointed beak-like nose. She has an overall pink color scheme, with her skin being light pink and her eyes are a very pale magenta, and her lilac hair is twisted into two Princess Leia-inspired buns (presumably meant to resemble roses) that are held to the sides of her head. Her clothing consists of a hot pink and dark rose cropped top, with lilac glove-sleeves. She wears dark rose tights with hot pink leggings, as well as very pale magenta flats and a transparent lilac skirt with an opening at the front.Her gemstone is located on the upper part of her navel and is an oval-shaped cabochon, bearing similarities to that of the Crystal Gems Pearl's gemstone.
Her most prominent feature is the atypical scarring over her left eye, which is lined with cracks that extend to the chin, hairline, and hair bun of her physical form, completely covering the missing eye. In "Volleyball", it is revealed that the scar was caused by one of Pink Diamond's outbursts, similar to the ones Steven demonstrates in Steven Universe Future. It is further explained to be psychological damage manifesting itself in her physical form despite her gem being unharmed.
While under White Diamond's control, her color scheme was changed to a monochrome black-and-white one, with her skin being an off-white color and her bodice being off-black with gray sleeves and legs, as well as her skirt changing to white and her flats changing to light gray.
After being freed from White Diamond's control in "Change Your Mind", she regains her original pink color scheme. She still has the same scar as before.
In "Volleyball" her eye becomes further cracked while making excuses for Pink Diamond's treatment of her. However, it is currently unknown if she still has a cracked eye, as her left eye has been hidden from the viewer since that episode.
Personality
In Steven's dream in "Together Alone", she is portrayed as having a playful and happy personality, playing with Pink Diamond and keeping their friendship a secret from the other Diamonds.
While under White Diamond's control, Pink Pearl was shown to express rather unsettling, robotic behavior. She absently gazed into the distance when speaking, bore a constant smile, remained poised en pointe with her arms held upward in a graceful position, and moved without physically making an effort, as though she were simply floating along on her toes (through the assistance of White's pod). These attributes gave the impression of a vacant mind, making her appear robotic. Her voice was different from the other Pearls, having White Diamond's voice. Prior to being released, it was revealed she was a literal (not figurative) mouthpiece.
Pink Pearl is usually cheerful and sweet, being always calm and polite. She is very gracious and spoke fondly of Pink Diamond. She also always forgives people, no matter how much damage they've caused her. Pink Pearl seemed entirely fine with the fact that she lost eight thousand years' worth of memories due to White Diamond's control over her, which demonstrates the more problematic aspects of her personality. She routinely excuses Pink's actions, even though it was her owner's scream that began the crack on her face, and the (unintentional) mistreatment that caused it to be unhealable or even worsen. However, Pink Pearl is able to realize she was not seeing the whole picture and recognizes she was trying to justify why Pink harmed her. Through Mega Pearl, she discovers Pink Diamond wasn't the solid, unchanging Gem she saw. They state that they have each other now, and upon unfusing, Pink Pearl leans against her gently.
In Unleash the Light, Pink Pearl was shown to have the same mindset as other Homeworld Gems despite her calm demeanor, as she agreed with the other Pearls to shatter Pyrope and Demantoid, however, Steven quickly denied it.
History
According to Steven's dream in "Together Alone", Pink Pearl served Pink Diamond thousands of years prior to Pink Diamond's colonization of the Earth. The crack on her left eye was caused after Pink Diamond was very upset with the outcome and answer of her asking White Diamond to give her a colony, though the injury happened as she was standing near her when she screamed. As foreshadowed in "Change Your Mind", she was later taken away from Pink Diamond by White Diamond, in response to Pink's behavior, and eventually replaced by another Pearl, likely due to the physical and psychological damage caused to her first. For the next 8,000 years, she was under White Diamond's control.
"Legs From Here to Homeworld"
White Pearl approaches the Crystal Gems and the Diamonds when they arrive on Homeworld. She emphasizes the fact that Pink Diamond, and only she, is wished to be seen by White Diamond. White Pearl suddenly encloses herself and Steven inside her shell and transports him to White. Once she has done so, White Pearl phases through a wall, disappearing.
"Together Alone"
She appears in White Diamond's place at Steven's Era 3 ball as the former had opted not to come. She stands on White Diamond's throne as the evening goes on. While smiling blankly for most of the event, she suddenly looks displeased when Connie and Steven fuse in front of the assembled Gems.
"Change Your Mind"
White Pearl appears as Steven and Connie are attempting to escape Homeworld with Pink's ship, telling them they aren't going anywhere. She then teleports into White's ship and later appears when Steven and the Gems confront White. She also helps attack the pink hologram Steven along with the rest of White's mind-controlled slaves, but this fails and she reverts to her normal pink form when White loses control. She asks what happened and where she is, and Steven welcomes her back.
Unleash the Light
Pink Pearl along with Yellow and Blue Pearl assist Steven in his Era 3 Rules For Dismantling the Empire. She is excited about the new Era and hopes that nothing goes wrong. When Yellow Pearl mentions the remaining two Light Prisms, and that Pyrope and Demantoid would not answer her attempts to reach them, Blue Pearl then suggests using force to which Steven quickly refuses. Pink Pearl asks Steven what to do and he and the Crystal Gems liberate the other Prisms from Pyrope and Demantoid.
"Volleyball"
She enters the clinic that Steven has set up for healing gems. Pink Pearl is curious to see if Steven can fix her cracked eye. Although he attempts to, he cannot. Once Pink Pearl mentions that White didn't cause the injury, but rather Pink Diamond, Steven decides to search for Pearl. They meet and talk about her crack. While talking, it is shown that Pearl and Pink Pearl (recently nicknamed Volleyball) seem to have tension over the way Pink treated them both. Both Pearls decide to go to The Reef, which is a central care center for all Pearls and is even revealed they used to be made there. Shell (The Reef's A.I.) greets them and takes them to a room in The Reef where Pink Pearl can be healed. Later, they arrive at a room with a large clamshell in the center, where Pearls can be fixed and even rejuvenated. After scanning Pink Pearl, Shell concludes that although her gem is perfect, her physical form is extremely damaged and cannot be repaired. It is concluded that the damage is psychological, and with this revelation, her cracks grow.
Then, Pink Pearl explains that the reason why she has a cracked eye is that Pink Diamond got angry after all of the times she asked for and was denied a colony. She threw a fit and accidentally hit Pink Pearl with her "destructive" powers. This angers Pearl, and she starts an argument about how Pink Diamond really acted. This angers Steven, and he turns pink (partially destroying the room). This causes Shell to attempt to rejuvenate the Pearls. After some consolation inside the clamshell, the Pearls fuse and escapes rejuvenation. After escaping The Reef, and returning to Beach City, the Pearl fusion tells Steven that her components now understand each other and Pink Diamond better. They unfuse, and both Pearls are seen embracing each other.
"Everything's Fine"
At the end of "Volleyball," because of the way Pink Pearl was positioned in the final shot of the episode when she and Pearl unfuse, it was made deliberately unclear whether her crack had healed. She appears in "Everything's Fine" in Little Homeworld attending Peridot's horticulture class in the greenhouse, before Steven comes along and makes a bunch of sentient Steven-shaped plants, causing her and her classmates to flee.
"The Future"
She is seen taking Flint and Chert's picture, while Steven is driving away.
Abilities
Pink Pearl possesses standard Gem abilities: bubbling, shapeshifting, fusion, regeneration, agelessness, gravity shifting, photokinesis, gem storage, and superhuman strength/durability. She also presumably has the same abilities as the Crystal Gem's Pearl has, such as a holographic projection, self-duplication, psammokinesis and nephelokinesis.
Fusions
- When fused with Pearl, they form Mega Pearl.
Skillset
- Ribbon Wand Proficiency: Pink Pearl can summon and is shown to be skilled with her ribbon wand (which was a gift from Pink Diamond), twirling it around to show it off, hypothetically using this as her personal "weapon." When forming Mega Pearl when fusing with Pearl, the Ribbon Wand is upgraded, gaining a "bladed" version (probably gaining attributes that are similar to Pearl's spear).
Natural Abilities
- Enhanced Strength: Pink Pearl was able to hold her ribbon wand with enough force to stop Pearl from taking it.
Unique Abilities
- Interdimensional Storage: Due to her gem type, Pink Pearl is able to compactly store large amount of items inside her gemstone's special plane.
Clandestine Abilities
- White Capsule Generation: While controlled by White Diamond, Pink Pearl can create a kind of white capsule around herself or other Gems, with several utilities.
- Levitational Transport: The capsule can also float around, as seen in "Legs From Here to Homeworld" and "Change Your Mind".
- Teleportation: The capsule can also teleport Pink Pearl, as seen in "Together Alone" and "Change Your Mind".
- Intangibility: While controlled by White Diamond, Pink Pearl has the ability to traverse solid materials such as the structure of the White Diamond ship. However, it is not yet known if this is, in fact, a skill or just the technology of the ship.
- Levitation: While controlled by White Diamond, Pink Pearl has the ability to, indirectly, suspend her body.
- White Burst: While under White Diamond's control, Pink Pearl was capable of shooting a white energy beam equivalent to White Diamond's aura through her eye. This energy beam can take over the affected Gems' mind.
Relationships
Pink Diamond
“ |
She didn't mean to hurt me. |
” |
—Pink Pearl, "Volleyball" |
In Steven's dream in "Together Alone", White Pearl (then Pink Pearl) is shown interacting with Steven dressed as Pink Diamond, strongly suggesting White Pearl belonged to Pink Diamond. The two appear to have had a close relationship, having fun together and keeping their friendship a secret from the other Diamonds. Pink Pearl was then given to White Diamond, although it is uncertain when and why. It is possible that she was taken away by White Diamond as punishment to Pink Diamond as Blue had warned her. It is also possible that she was taken away after Pink permanently damaged her during a tantrum.
In "Volleyball", Pink Pearl appeared to be the only one aware of Pink's "destructive" powers. While she fondly reminisces over Pink Diamond, she reveals the crack on her face was Pink's doing, stating Pink hurt her during a tantrum. Despite learning the crack was psychosomatic damage, Pink Pearl repeatedly defended her Diamond's actions, explaining it as accidental and that she was only in the way. Later on, while speaking with Pearl, she came to the realization that she hadn't recovered from her trauma and had only been making up excuses. Mega Pearl later states Pink Pearl never realized Pink Diamond would or even could change and was only seeing half the picture.
Steven Universe
“ |
You came to the right place. I'll have you fixed up in a jiffy! |
” |
—Steven, "Volleyball" |
White Pearl, revealed later to be a Whitened Pink Pearl, was used to fetch him to speak with White Diamond upon his arrival to Homeworld. She promptly disappears upon leaving him there, likely to keep up the illusion of being White's Pearl. She later captures White's facial expression of a shocked frown upon witnessing Stevonnie. Later, in White's head, it's revealed she can be used as a transmitter like other Whitened gems, however, her disabled eye cannot be used.
After she is freed from White Diamond's control and becomes pink and colorful again, Steven places a hand on her shoulder and welcomes her back from her former diamond superior White's control.
In Unleash the Light, Pink Pearl supports Steven's attempts at changing Homeworld for the better, hoping his efforts will work well.
In "Volleyball", she visits Steven in his clinic for healing Gems, entrusting Steven with fixing her cracked eye. It appears that Steven has known her for some time, as the two speak casually and Steven calls Pink Pearl his friend. However, he gets angry when Pink Pearl reveals that her cracked eye was Pink Diamond's doing, as he does not want to keep having to fix her mistakes, but keeps his anger under control. When the both of them (along with Pearl) visit The Reef, they even bond over Pink Pearl's nostalgic feelings of the items stored there, as it was here Pearls, including the Crystal Gem Pearl and Pink Pearl, were created. When Steven accidentally causes Pink Pearl to become trapped in a shell that will rejuvenate her, he feels horribly guilty and tries to free her. After all three of them are back in Beach City he expresses remorse over not being able to heal Pink Pearl's eye, feeling the mission was for nothing, but he smiled when Mega Pearl explained that the mission help her understand the situation with Pink Diamond better.
Pearl
“ |
Pink Pearl: How did you stop hurting? |
” |
—"Volleyball" |
In "Volleyball" she bonds with Pearl over the negative and hurtful things Pink Diamond has done and fuses with her, forming Mega Pearl. Their fusion later mentions that although they still both miss Pink, they still have each other and with each other's help, they were finally able to see "the full picture". Pink Pearl appears to have grown quite fond of Pearl.
White Diamond
“ |
To those in attendance of the Era 3 ball, White Diamond... has more important things to attend to. |
” |
—White Pearl, "Together Alone" |
White Pearl has been shown acting as an envoy for White Diamond. As her representative and mouthpiece, White Pearl is treated as having the same level of authority as White Diamond, giving orders to the other Diamonds and even standing on White Diamond's throne during the latter's absence from Steven's Era 3 ball. However, "Together Alone" casts doubt on whether she always belonged to White Diamond. It is then revealed in "Change Your Mind" that White Pearl was in fact mind-controlled by White Diamond, a state she is freed from when White Diamond is defeated. As White Pearl, her body had access to White's powers, though her broken eye was disabled for use. In this, it was revealed White has a magical pod ability.
In "Volleyball", she does not appear resentful over White Diamond mind-controlling her and is willing to clear up the misunderstanding when Steven and Pearl believe White to have been the one who cracked her eye. It can be assumed White caused her no damage at all, apart from the 8 thousand year gap in her memory.
Yellow & Blue Diamond
“ |
It's White's Pearl... |
” |
—Blue Diamond, "Legs From Here to Homeworld" |
White Pearl is shown to be dismissive of Yellow and Blue Diamond, denying them entrance into White Diamond's ship without a complaint from either of them. The two even showed a degree of trepidation towards her. However, since during this time she was being mind controlled by White Diamond, it's unclear how much of this reflects Pink Pearl herself. It's expressed that they do know of White Pearl seeing everything, though the illusion of White Pearl being a seperate entity appears to be there. During Steven's dream in "Together Alone", Pink Pearl is shown saluting to Yellow Diamond when the latter enters Pink Diamond's room.
Yellow Pearl & Blue Pearl
As she was the personal Pearl of Pink Diamond, it is likely that Pink Pearl knew Blue and Yellow Pearl prior to her being taken away and subsequently mind-controlled by White Diamond. Following the initiation of Era 3, as well as her own liberation from White Diamond's control, Pink Pearl aids Steven to establish new rules for Homeworld in order to change it for the better working alongside Yellow Pearl and Blue Pearl in the process.
Episode Appearances
Season 5 | |||||
1. "Stuck Together": | Absent | 15. "Pool Hopping": | Absent | ||
2. "The Trial": | Absent | 16. "Letters to Lars": | Absent | ||
3. "Off Colors": | Absent | 17. "Can't Go Back": | Absent | ||
4. "Lars' Head": | Absent | 18. "A Single Pale Rose": | Absent | ||
5. "Dewey Wins": | Absent | 19. "Now We're Only Falling Apart": | Absent | ||
6. "Gemcation": | Absent | 20. "What's Your Problem?": | Absent | ||
7. "Raising the Barn": | Absent | 21. "The Question": | Absent | ||
8. "Back to the Kindergarten": | Absent | 22. "Made of Honor": | Absent | ||
9. "Sadie Killer": | Absent | 23/24. "Reunited": | Absent | ||
10. "Kevin Party": | Absent | 25. "Legs From Here to Homeworld": | Debut | ||
11. "Lars of the Stars": | Absent | 26. "Familiar": | Absent | ||
12. "Jungle Moon": | Absent | 27. "Together Alone": | Appears | ||
13. "Your Mother and Mine": | Absent | 28. "Escapism": | Absent | ||
14. "The Big Show": | Absent | 29-32. "Change Your Mind": | Appears |
Future | |||||
1. "Little Homeschool": | Absent | 11. "In Dreams": | Absent | ||
2. "Guidance": | Absent | 12. "Bismuth Casual": | Absent | ||
3. "Rose Buds": | Absent | 13. "Together Forever": | Absent | ||
4. "Volleyball": | Appears | 14. "Growing Pains": | Absent | ||
5. "Bluebird": | Absent | 15. "Mr. Universe": | Absent | ||
6. "A Very Special Episode": | Absent | 16. "Fragments": | Absent | ||
7. "Snow Day": | Absent | 17. "Homeworld Bound": | Absent | ||
8. "Why So Blue?": | Absent | 18. "Everything's Fine": | Non-speaking | ||
9. "Little Graduation": | Absent | 19. "I Am My Monster": | Absent | ||
10. "Prickly Pair": | Absent | 20. "The Future": | Non-speaking |
Trivia
- As White Pearl, she was the only Pearl not to be voiced by Deedee Magno Hall, instead being voiced by Christine Ebersole, White Diamond's voice actress.
- Pink Pearl is the first Gem to possess physical damage to her form despite not being corrupted or cracked.
- It is possible that this damage began as a crack, however, as it began with one of Pink's material-cracking screams.
- Pink Pearl (as White Pearl) is currently the only subordinate of White Diamond to be named and/or shown.
- Pink Pearl's hairstyle is similar to that of Princess Leia from the media franchise Star Wars.
- Pink Pearl is older than Pearl, as she herself states in "Volleyball", since she was Pink Diamond's first Pearl.
- This is backed up by what Pearl had said in "Now We're Only Falling Apart" about being given to Pink Diamond a few thousand years before she was given the Earth. Given the amounts of time given, Pink Pearl would seem to be 11 to 14 thousand years old.
- Pink Pearl had been under White Diamond's control for eight thousand years and Pink's rebellion happened almost six thousand years before the beginning of the series, causing Pearl to have been made after Pink Pearl was taken from Pink Diamond.
- Pink Pearl being nicknamed "Volleyball" was thought up by Hilary Florido[2].
- Steven Universe: End of an Era contains a scan of the "Top Secret Visual Timeline" that Rebecca Sugar mapped out for the show's internal mythology in 2016 - in which the story of Pink Diamond's original Pearl is somewhat different. In this version, Pink's original Pearl saw how hurt she was by the other Diamonds ignoring her and shutting her out of their endeavors for being too childish - until one day she finally could stand the suffering of her beloved Pink no longer, "snaps" and shouts at the other three Diamonds for how they are treating Pink: "Flabbergasted, Yellow, Blue & White destroy the Pearl immediately". A new, "more sensible" Pearl was then custom-ordered and delivered to Pink Diamond, about 11,000 years ago. This was later changed by Season 5, which simply showed White Diamond taking Pink's original Pearl away from her, apparently as punishment, but without an exact explanation of events.
Gemstone
Image | Description |
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Pink Pearl's gemstone is located on her navel. It is an ellipsoidal cabochon that is light pink in color.
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When controlled by White Diamond, Pink Pearl's gemstone is devoid of color, appearing gray-white. |
Galleries
v • eHomeworld Gems | ||||
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