Bio: Penny was born in Lacunosa, though her life there was very brief. At 7 years old, she had a tendency to wander, her itch to explore always taking over her better judgement to stay out of trouble. It was on a particularly busy day at her parents’ flower shop that Penny decided to wander out of town toward Village Bridge. The young girl decided to explore around the edge of the river, hopping from stone to stone as she went. However, her foot slipped on a stone closer to the center of the river and she fell into the water. It should be noted that penny is not the strongest swimmer, so she began to sink further and further under the water despite all her efforts, the river’s current only working against her. It was then that she felt something pushing up on her chest from below, and before she could process what was happening she was being led to the surface by something resembling a yellow inflatable tube. It was only when she was brought to the surface and led to shore that she realized what it truly was that saved her; a Buizel. After that, the Buizel had followed the girl home, though it was unclear to Penny whether it was because it had grown attached to her or if it merely did not trust her to get home safely. Regardless, Buizel never left her side that day on. At first, he was a mere house pet, but as Penny got older and their bond grew, they began to take their hand in battles. Penny had even bought a pokeball once the day came for the move to Heahea City in Alola, marking the day that Penny and Buizel decided to be partners. The sudden relocation was due to her parents’ decision to move the shop, spotting an opportunity to sell their plants and flowers to a whole new demographic. Penny was sad to leave her home, but at the same time she could see nothing but potential as they made their way to their new home, imagining all the new pokemon she could meet. And once the moving in had finished, that is exactly what she set out to do, setting out every chance she could in search of new pokemon and trainers. Over the years she had found many different pokemon, even catching a Makuhita and Vulpix of her own. And it was only a matter of time before she had been accepted into Alola Academy, giving her a chance to truly put her skills to the test.
Team:
A. Payback B. Icy Wind C. Confuse Ray D. Draining Kiss
A. Knock Off B. Force Palm C. Fake Out D. Whirlwind
Name: Tommy Pratt Age: 14 Home Region/Town: Goldenrod City, Johto.
Typically wears the school uniform, but whenever he is out of school or allowed to wear casual attire, he will wear work clothes that one would expect a construction worker to wear - he occasionally even wears a hard hat.
Bio: Personality wise, Tommy can only be described as obsessed - every moment he can, he is either talking about or watching martial arts - doesn't matter the kind. Boxing, Wrestling, the style doesn't matter to him - all that matters is that it is people clobbering each other. This led to his personality traits being heavily exaggerated - he constantly tries to be the center of attention, and has adopted a loud and obnoxious voice in order to make his presence known. He is nice, but can be very overbearing and intense, and his obsession will get old quick for those around him. While he is very physically fit, Tommy isn't the brightest guy out there. He's not dumb, he just never focuses on things outside his narrow field of focus, leading to fairly bad grades. Along with this, he's honestly a bad trainer - he relies too heavily on his own Pokemon being smart enough to dodge attacks and understand what he wants them to do, and he barely understands how type advantage works - he mainly just tries to overpower an opponent with raw strength rather than using strategy.
Tommy only picks moves for his Pokemon based on their names - if it has a name that sounds like something a professional fighter would yell, it's okay. He also idolizes gym leaders like Chuck and Crasher Wake, for obvious reasons. He is a hard worker who gives 110% and never gives up, which is the only explanation for how he managed to make it this far without realizing how bad he is at battling. His dream is to wrestle an Ursaring into submission. Other than fighting, Tommy is interested in weightlifting, video games, scary things, and Pokemon battles. He doesn't plan on becoming a trainer, but decided that learning how Pokemon fight could be a bonding experience with his own Pokemon.
History: Born to an upper middle class family, Tommy lived a life of relative peace most of his life. His father owned a construction company, while his mother was a housewife. For years, Tommy was constantly sheltered, kept in the house and taught so he could one day inherit the family business. His father and mother had him at a late age (Dad was 48, Mom was 39), and since he was an only child, there care and constant attention was understandable. Still, that didn't mean Tommy appreciated the constant supervision - unlike other kids his age, he wasn't allowed to go out and play, or even own a pet. The only thing he was allowed to do was stay inside, which wasn't too hard with television and the internet. Not much happened, until he reached 10 - this was when he discovered the world of martial arts. The fantastic Crasher Wake wrestling down opponents before delivering a cool line or singing his amazing songs, and fighting type Pokemon fighting each other with tournament rules! Everything he wasn't allowed to do was right there so, in secret, he began to train.
He lacked any sort of weights, but he did body weight exercises and stole building materials from his dad. By 11, his parents mercifully bought him a bench press, a squat rack, and weights, and while his father or a construction Pokemon from work was watching, he was allowed to exercise as much as he wished. All the while, he practiced boxing moves from watching television, whether it was from professionals or Hitmonchans didn't matter. He didn't practice anything else for fear of messing up techniques, and with his parents always watching over him, he didn't want to make loud noises by practicing kicks. By 12, he was more stronger than most 15 year olds, but he was slowing down. Without proper guidance on things like nutrition and routines, he slowly was plateauing, something that terrified him. Not much growth happened during this time, and by 13, he was only slightly stronger. Luckily, this was when he received the present of the lifetime.
Knowing that he was slowly becoming an independent person, Tommy's parents got him something all kids wished for - a Pokemon! He was only a few months old, but the Machop that hatched from one of the construction Pokemon's eggs was a fitting gift. While they apologized for not getting him one that was cooler or cuter, Tommy was overjoyed to have a training partner. The two spent every moment together, playing, eating, working out, even sleeping. Their relationship was almost creepy to Tommy's parets, but the two were the best of friends. In the next few months, the Machop became the friend that Tommy never had. One night, however, his father brought home an egg.
Tommy's father was slowly growing tired of the construction business, but still did his best to help his employees - this included watching any eggs the Pokemon laid. Normally, the eggs are sold to breeders or young trainers, but there were a large number this year and this egg hadn't been bought for awhile - thanks to the excess stock, it had to be kept somewhere, and Tommy's father volunteered to keep it until they could sell it. It was only a few seconds - Tommy's father left to use the bathroom, and with only Tommy and the Egg left in the room,it began to shake, crack, and reveal a baby Timburr. By the time Tommy's father came back, it was too late - it had already imprinted on Tommy, and his father reluctantly allowed it to stay. The next few months were relatively hectic - Tommy's father decided to retire, allowing his board of directors to make decisions in his steed and, wanting to relax of the rest of his life, moved to the hectic city of Hau'oli City. Tommy's mother, rather disapprovingly, allowed Tommy to enroll in the nearby school, Alola academy. Since school was starting in only a few months, Tommy decided to flesh out his team a bit more.
His parents always told him to be careful, and never go outside unless he had to... But when Tommy just saw a Croagunk lying on ground near route 1, he just had to take the opportunity to catch it! Using a pokeball he had bought from the local pokemart, he easily caught the unconscious Pokemon. Tommy being Tommy, he never pondered why a croagunk was just lying on the ground in a region where they were not native, and he never discovered that Croagunk was released by a breeder due to it's disobedient nature. Croagunk was healed at a Pokemon center, but thanks to the trauma it endured, it was far from docile, and it took a few days before he could even be released safely. Croagunk never joined in on the training sessions Tommy had with his other Pokemon, and constantly disobeyed his commands. In the two months that they knew each other, an outsider looking in would think they absolutely hated each other.
Finally, the time had come - after two months of constantly counting days, Tommy was finally headed to the Alola academy. Despite not planning on being a trainer, the chance to make his friends stronger was all too enticing. With hope in his heart, Tommy entered the academy!
Team:
Level 5
Moves: -Focus Energy -Bullet Punch -Low Kick
The first Pokemon that Tommy ever got, given to him on his 13th birthday by his father. The two have grown very close over their time together, watching martial arts and wrestling together whenever they are not exercising or fighting. Arguably the closest friend that Tommy has, the two are practically inseparable - it doesn't help that Machop shares nearly the same personality as Tommy, being brash and over-the-top. He and Croagunk often get into fights. Male, has a brave nature.
Level 5
Moves: -Pound -Force Palm -Focus Energy
The second Pokemon that Tommy ever received, given to him when he was 13 and 7 months. While Machop is more similar to him in personality, Timburr is far more calm and relaxed, if a little apathetic. He only ever feels energetic when throwing his weight around, both literally and metaphorically. He isn't loyal as Machop, but is not as rebellious as Croahunk, making him a middle ground. Male, has a lax nature.
Level 5
Moves: -Astonish -Mud Slap -Bullet Punch
Tommy's most recent Pokemon, the first one he ever caught on his own about 2 months ago. While the other two have lived with Tommy and are used to him, Croagunk is blatantly rebellious to his trainer, refusing to use certain moves in favor of others and disobeying orders. This would be a problem if Croagunk wasn't far better at battling then Tommy - the only reason Croagunk was caught in the first place was because it was sick at the time. He is very intelligent, and while Tommy comes to heads with him often, the two care about one another. Croagunk, unlike Tommy's other pokemon (and even Tommy himself), is actually good at strategizing and using type advantage, something Tommy completely ignores. Male, has a Naughty Nature.
Attention, everyone! I'm getting very eager to get started, and I'm really looking forward to roleplaying with all of you! You have great students, and I can already tell this is going to be a fun story!
With that being said, as I write this post, it is currently Thursday, October 12.
I will be making the first IC post in two days' time!
Please have your character sheets in by Saturday if at all possible! I will only accept late entries up to a certain point, after which no new entries will be permitted!