Age: 00 Height: 0'0" (0cm) Weight: 0lbs. (0kg) Skin: Description Hair: Description Eyes: Description Facial Features: Description Physique: Description Clothing: Examples below or description of singular outfit. Common - Description Traveling - Description Hot - Description Cold - Description Miscellaneous: Optional Shoe: US00 (00 EU) Ring Size: 00 Thumb Size: 00 Gear: Description
History
At least 3 paragraphs (3-5 sentences). Use the outline if you like. First paragraph about parents, birthplace, where you grew up, childhood friends, primary education. Second paragraph about adolescence, secondary education, significant life events that shaped you. Third paragraph about adulthood, post-secondary education, significant life events that shaped you.
Important Persons
Optional Name – Relation (Age) Name – Relation (Age) Name – Relation (Age) Name – Relation (Age)
Party
Name (Species) [Ability] Type/Type/Type Height | Weight
At least 2 paragraphs (3-5 sentences each) describing how you obtained the Pokemon and their role in your party.
Field Moves: [Maneuvers used while traveling, for fun and entertainment, for comfort, etc.] Move | Move Default Moves: [Maneuvers that are most commonly used in and out of battle.] Move | Move Battling Moves: [Maneuvers that can and usually do end a battle. Maneuvers that the Pokemon is comfortable performing frequently, efficiently, and with substantial power.] Move | Move Occasional Moves: [Maneuvers used when the Pokemon is pushed or about to lose. The Pokemon does not use these frequently or efficiently but they are significantly effective and powerful.] Move | Move Sacrifical Moves: [Maneuvers used when the Pokemon is about to lose a battle or die. The Pokemon may resent using these moves. These are typically very powerful and exhausting to perform for the Pokemon and can take a relatively long time to perform.] Move | Move
Age: 28 Height: 6'6" (1.9812m) Weight: 260lbs. (117.93kg) Skin: Tanned/Light Brown Hair: Wavy/Loose Curly Brown with some streaks of mahogany-red when sunned. High & Tight style or medium-length high taper undercut. Eyes: Gray Blue Facial Features: Wide/Sharp/Definied jaw. Wide/Thick brows. Wide nose. Full wide lips. Full trimmed beard. Physique: Heavy musculature (10-15% body fat). Wide shoulders. 36' waist (EU 46), 38' inseam (EU 48). Clothing: Common - solid color (usually white) short-sleeve shirt tucked into blue jeans. Wide brown leather belt. Mid-calf length brown laced leather boots. Traveling - plaid long-sleeve button-up shirt. Same pants and boots. Hot - no shirt. Same pants and boots. Cold - solid-color short-sleeve shirt. Plaid long-sleeve button-up shirt. Double-layered canvas coat with hood. Same pants and boots. Miscellaneous: Shoe: 16 (EU 49) Ring Size: 13 Thumb Size: 16 Gear: Hunting knife with 16” blade, Rucksack, Non-filter cigarettes, Cigars, Matchboxes/books, 2 fold-up tends (singles), 2 cocoon sleeping bags
History
Born to Barbara (Agway) Johnson and Herbert Johnson in Cherrygrove City in Johto. Father found work with Prof. Fir in Littleroot Town in Hoenn and moved there soon after his birth. Mother founded the Johnson Academy in Oldale Town, where the family lives now. Parents befriended Mrs. Honnings and her grandson, Mitchell, grew up next to Forrest. They were together since the Johnsons moved to Oldale Town and they are practically brothers today. Forrest and Mitchell set off on their Pokemon Adventure together when they were 12. With Forrest's Sirskit and Mitchell's Poochyena, the two worked long and hard to win the 18 Gym Badges of Hoenn, defeat the Elite Four while they traveled through Victory Road, and ended up facing each other in the finals of the Championship that year. Forrest managed to win, but, like always, it was a close match between the two. His win came with an unexpected surprise. His girlfriend at the time, Jeanne, a better-than-mediocre Coordinator learned she was pregnant. With his winnings from the Championship and his dedication to hard work, they married and he built them a house just outside Petalburg City, just inside the Petildale Forest. He managed to get it into a livable state by the time their son, Jerrek, was born, but there was still much work to be done. Over the next eight years, the two had three more children and Forrest was able to finish their house and Jeanne was able to get it furnished and comfortable. But with Forrest's Championship winnings exhausted by the third year, he started taking up work in his mother's Academy. When that wasn't enough, he started helping Prof. Fir and his assistants on expeditions. When that wasn't enough, he started hunting bounties for the Rangers, though he never told Jeanne or his children about it and they don't know he still works for them to this day. They live a comfortable life, though Forrest is away from home as much as he is there. With the house finished and with most of their food coming from their gardens, Forrest expects to cut back on work and spend much more time at home with his family. Luckily, just in time for his son, Jerrek, now 10, eager to start his own Pokemon Adventure like his father.
Important Persons
Jeanne Maye – Wife (26) Jerrek Warden – Son (10) Elizabeth Joy - Daughter (8) Rowan Edward - Son (6) Shelynn Raye - Daughter (4) Herbert Johnson - Father (50) Barbara Johnson - Mother (46) Mitchell Honnings - Childhood Friend (28) Caleb Rowes - Maternal Cousin (27) Valoria Johnson - Paternal Cousin (22) Chesley Johnson - Paternal Cousin (20)
Shaq-ti was the last Pokemon Forrest obtained. He found a Meditite under some rubble while two Pokemon Trainers were battling close to the summit of Mt. Pyre. Antligon and Kangooroom helped save her and she has a stronger connection with them than the others. Shaq-ti is a surveyor more than anything. Her role is to communicate to her party-mates the current situation at large. Her Psychic and Fighting capabilities aren't proficient enough to cover or cross a field. When she is forced to fight, she takes the defensive and has unbelievable endurance, but her maneuvers are less damaging than the average Medicham.
Forrest noticed a Shuppet following him while he was ascending Mt. Pyre. It attempted to scare him a couple times, but always seemed to fail. Eventually it got frustrated enough with Forrest's dismissive attitude and instigated a battle. Once she saw how powerful the Trainer's Pokemon were, she couldn't help but see a greater path in life than her current one. It was also the first time someone didn't run away in fear at the sight of her. She is very aggressive and cocky. Once hit a couple times, she will get serious. But she enjoys attempting to frighten others, whether in a battle or not. But, it often comes off as goofy to the more-experienced. Still, she is physically strong and relatively quick. She always loses races with Wickengu, but can match him in power. She also relies on evasion and surprise more than brute strength.
Default Moves: Screech | Night Shade | Shadow Sneak | Will-o-Wisp | Feint Attack | Snatch | Taunt | Double Team | Thief | Astonish | Confuse Ray | Moonlight Battling Moves: Knock Off | Hex | Sucker Punch | Shadow Claw | Ominous Wind | Pursuit Occasional Moves: Phantom Force | Teleport | Spite | Shadow Ball | Payback | Foul Play Sacrificial Moves: Curse | Grudge | Dark Pulse | Destiny Bond
Forrest met a curious Feebas while swimming with Mitchell along Route 119. She was quite smaller than most other Feebas around. Her mother, it seemed, was shunning her as well. Forrest took much pity toward the creature and capture her, knowing she'd find some worth in herself some day. And Forrest was correct. Syressa rivals Damselraed's contest abilities and has won as many contests as Damselraed, though this is very few since Forrest doesn't actively pursue Coordination. However, unlike Damselraed, Syressa enjoys battling and can easily lose herself in combat. Once she gets riled up enough, which takes much effort, she unleashes all she has and won't even listen to Forrest until she passes out. Her specialty lies in defense and support, but has wicked offensive capabilities. These offensive tendencies show themselves when she's lost herself and Forrest no longer has control of her, however.
As a Cacnea, he followed Forrest and Mitchell around Central Desert for quite some time. He noticed Forrest's reluctance to capture the Trapinch and was just as determined to join the young man's team. Forrest just chuckled and tossed a Pokeball. He and Marionetta get along great and thoroughly enjoy attempting to frighten passers-by. Halcrow is Forrest's most versatile Pokemon and relies on unexpected attacks and certain attack combinations to overwhelm or surprise his opponents. He and Antligon have yet to lose a battle when working together. None of his skills are particularly amazing, but he lacks in nothing and can change strategies seamlessly.
With Trapinch's Arena Trap, Forrest and Nuzleaf were trapped in a battle with him. He proved to be more diligent and proud than either Forrest or Nuzleaf. When both wished to end the battle and pleaded with Trapinch to allow them to escape, he only shook his head and urged them to continue. Forrest just threw a Pokeball in response. He will always create a Sandstorm when beginning a battle since he knows how to move through it well and attack from any angle where the opponent might be unaware. Outside of a Sandstorm, however, his speed is unremarkable. Like Wickengu and Marionetta, his forte is physical combat, but he knows how to use special maneuvers when pressed.
While camping in Petalburg Woods, a Shroomish started to rummage through Forrest's stuff. He tried to shoo it away, but it seemed more concerned about stealing than the fact it was stealing from a Pokemon trainer. Forrest sent out Seedot and Surskit to work their Bubble Bide technique. Night after night Forrest would have to deal with this Shroomish until he was fed up enough to catch it. Kangooroom is arguably the best with physical offensive strength and physical endurance. He's not known to move quickly during battles, but he can counter almost any attack with one of his own. He's as competitive as Marionetta, but much more personal and reserved about it. When Forrest is asked to help train someone in physical offense or defense, he summons Kangooroom as an example. Kangooroom is too proud to perform any absorbing technique, not only because of his poor Special Attack, but because it believes it betrays his endurance.
After a trainer had defeated a Seedot, Forrest saw it crying while a group of its friend attempted to heal it. He offered it an Oran Berry, which is hastily ate. After that, the Seedot followed him around everywhere until it ended up in a Pokeball. Wickengu combines his speed and accuracy to perform devastating physical blows. However, he's a glass cannon when it comes to combat. Like Kangooroom, he despises the idea of using Synthesis, but is much more likely to perform it when a battle begins to turn for the worse. Wickengu is one of Forrest's only Pokemon, other than Damselraed, that will concede before being beaten to a pulp. If he can't win by skill and perseverance, he's not going to martyr himself and become a punching bag.
Field Moves: Harden | Bide | Flail | Growth Default Moves: Fake Out | Feint Attack | Extrasensory | Theif | Fling | Sunny Day | Nasty Plot Standard Moves: Leaf Blade | Payback | Foul Play | Razor Leaf | Seed Bomb | Quick Attack Occasional Moves: Synthesis | Leaf Tornado | Leaf Storm | Extremespeed Sacrificial Moves: Dark Pulse
Forrest's mother was teaching a class about catching Pokemon on Route 103. During a lunch break, Forrest wandered into Route 102 without her knowing. He came across a wild Surskit. He snuck up behind it, knowing he didn't have a Pokemon of his own to weaken it, and threw the Pokeball he'd stolen off her desk. Now, they're inseparable. She is the only Pokemon that cares more for the aesthetics of performance than pure effectiveness. She's certainly developed highly effective methods, but if it doesn't look perfect in her eyes, she's quick to throw a fit. If a Pokemon disrupts her, she makes sure to punish them, and often with ten times the force. She takes pride in her beauty and wishes Forrest would perform in more Coordinator Competitions.
Field Moves: Sweet Scent | Gust | Tackle | Bubble | String Shot | Soak | Defog | Sticky Web Default Moves: Quiver Dance | Whirlwind | Quick Attack | Scary Face | Rain Dance | Aqua Ring | Reflect | Light Screen | Agility | Double Team | Baton Pass | Water Gun | Struggle Bug | Silver Wind | Acrobatics Standard Moves: Bug Buzz | Bubblebeam | Air Cutter | Air Slash | Aerial Ace | Signal Beam | Water Pulse | Aqua Jet | Pollen Puff Occasional Moves: Hydro Pump | Glare | Hurricane | Ominous Wind Sacrificial Moves: Water Spout
Name: Dr. Noor Baobab Age: 53 History: "Traveler, researcher, and lifelong PokeFan."
There is more to the realm of Pokemon than competition and power, and Noor is a believer in the potential for Pokemon to have equality with their human companions. As a researcher focused on Pokemon intelligence, she is a critic of the Pokemon League and their pushing of the youth to see battling as the primary activity Pokemon are interested in. According to her theories, Pokemon can be artists, scientists, and even philosophers just as well as people can. In fact, determining why some Pokemon are of a lower order intelligence and why some are geniuses is the primary goal of her research, combining evolutionary theory, Pokemon genetics and "Type theory" with Pokepsychology and good old fashioned human psychology in order to create standards of classification and to test Pokemon education methods.
Her doctoral dissertation to the Hoenn Pokemon Research Institute was an in-depth experimental study comparing the intelligence-from-hatching of the Pokemon species Absol and the Flygon evolutionary line. The first is a single-evolution Pokemon, growing only in size from hatching to adulthood, while Trapinch, Vibrava and Flygon each have unique perceptions of the world and unique levels of intelligence related to their instincts, behavior and style of living. After all, some Trapinch and some Vibrava never evolve further in their entire lives, for reasons still not entirely understood.
Before she ever set foot in the Institute, however, she was constantly exposed to Pokemon, as both of her parents were veteran Pokemon Rangers. In fact, her very first Pokemon egg came about from the pairing of her parents' Flygon partners, and she was soaring through the air on a Flygon's back before she even learned to walk. Her parents instilled their values in her at a young age, as they considered their partners to be just as intelligent as themselves, that they were truly partners rather than master and servant. This is a common belief among Rangers and top-level Trainers, but somewhat less common throughout the world, where many Pokemon are seen as pets or, at worst, slaves.
As she grew up, moving from place to place across the region with her parents, she worked together with her little Trapinch, Hermes, to befriend other Pokemon. Like many Ranger kids, her parents were constantly busy on duty, and her Pokemon were some of the only friends she had. She spent many long weeks exploring in the wilderness, observing Pokemon in their natural habitats and laying the foundation for her later research work. Once she was old enough, she convinced her parents that she and the newly-fully-evolved Hermes could fly to meet their extended family in Johto, exposing her to many strange Pokemon that she could never find in Hoenn. These discoveries pushed her to formalize her theories, and once she had cemented her group of partner Pokemon she applied to the Institute.
Ever since her graduation, she has been traveling the Nation, lecturing on human-Pokemon relations and ethical partnership. In recent years, with her parents aging, she has come back to Hoenn to be close to them, and has begun in-depth studies of some of its most unique native Pokemon and Pokemon environments. Her current projects include the eternally dizzy Spinda, weather-manipulating Pokemon Castform, the effects of Dawn Stones on male Kirlia, the incredibly strange Shedinja and one of her favorite Pokemon, the deceptive hunter Mawile.
Party: Generally, as she is a researcher and not a League Trainer, Dr. Baobab does not battle non-wild Pokemon. Even then, her battles with wild Pokemon either end with her fleeing or befriending them rather than knocking them out. Only in rare, desperate circumstances has she gone all-out with her team in a battle. Wild Aggron especially tend to be ornery, and it's more difficult to flee a battle in cramped caves underground. Because wild Pokemon battles don't have any rules, though, and because she usually dislikes holding her field team in their Pokeballs, any wild Pokemon she comes across are subjected to anywhere from three to all six of her partners.
Main Field Team - "Hermes", Flygon (M, Family Egg / First Pokemon)
The eldest of Noor's little family, Hermes sees himself as the dutiful, responsible son. Being a dragon, he is the most physically capable of the team, with a lot of strength and endurance combined with ludicrous speed. This has lead him to relegate himself to the role of "acceptable target", protecting Noor and the others from danger as much as he can by drawing attention to himself.
The other Pokemon tend to defer to him when Noor is indisposed, and he sees them all as his younger siblings. Though he doesn't usually work to befriend Pokemon in the wild, he's known for his patience when dealing with the strange Pokemon Noor does research on. Charybdis is especially trying, as she keeps trying to bite the end of his tail off.
Classification Size - 6'07"/2.0m, 180.8lbs/82kg Descriptor - Mystic Pokemon Type - Ground/Dragon Ability - Friend Guard (Levitate understood) Baobab Sapience Class - 10, full sapience
Research Assistant Hermes' main jobs have always been protection and transportation, and that's how he likes it. He might be patient enough to babysit Pokemon once they've been brought into the group, but he has a hard time befriending them in the wild. He leaves that to Delphi and Orpheus, mainly. In a pinch, he's able to create beautiful songs and terrible sounds by vibrating his wings, and has a few sound-based moves because of this.
With the rest of the team temporarily in their Pokeballs, Hermes can carry Noor anywhere in the region with blinding speed, and is always happy to show off his muscles by breaking down barriers in the team's path. To escape a dangerous wild Pokemon, his MO is to whip up a Sandstorm to lower visibility and then blow the offender away with a Whirlwind. If that proves ineffective, and flying is not an option, he grabs Noor and zips away with Extreme Speed or attempts to knock the offender away with Dragon Tail.
As the main protector of the team, he is the most experienced at battling. Despite Noor's distaste for violence, she knows that many wild Pokemon and some unscrupulous Trainers will attack her, and her team needs someone who can defend them. Hermes has always been the one to volunteer for that role, and secretly, he really does enjoy battling. The rush of combat, overwhelming his opponents with incredible power... perhaps that's the dragon in him.
- "Delphi", Gardevoir (F, Met in the wild, as Ralts)
If Hermes is the stereotypical big brother, Delphi is most certainly the big sister. Kind, intelligent and graceful, Delphi has always been Noor's primary research assistant. During her time as a lecturer, many students called the Gardevoir Dr. Delphi, and they were only half joking. Delphi's development from Ralts to Kirlia to full-grown Gardevoir mirrored Noor's own growth into adulthood so much, she sees her friend as basically an empathic human. She has even submitted a proposal to the Hoenn Pokemon Research Institute to accept Delphi as a student.
Whenever Noor is attempting to befriend Pokemon in the wild, Delphi is there, directing herself, Orpheus and the rest of the team carefully, to avoid scaring the wild Pokemon off. Whenever Noor is doing psychological studies of Pokemon and humans, Delphi is there, providing data through her telepathic and empathic abilities. Without her, Noor's research would become very difficult to achieve.
Classification Size - 5'03"/1.6m, 106.7lbs/48.4kg Descriptor - Embrace Pokemon Type - Psychic/Fairy Ability - Telepathy Baobab Sapience Class - 10, full sapience
Moves Field Moves Teleport | Future Sight | Telekinesis | Gravity | Charm | Captivate | Attract | Hypnosis | Misty Terrain | Moonlight (synergy with Misty Terrain) | Heal Pulse (trained to use on people, but not as effective on non-Pokemon)
Research Assistant As mentioned above, Delphi is Noor's primary research assistant, and most of her moves are focused on befriending wild Pokemon and understanding them empathically. She is also a capable empathic healer, and has several useful Psychic abilities for field work. Most of the time she works together with Orpheus and his musical skill in order to calm down and interact with ornery Pokemon.
In the rare occasions that Hermes and the other more capable battlers of the team need her help in more than a healing/support role, she can use some damaging Psychic and Fairy moves... But like Noor, she abhors violence, and would rather flee than fight. Thus, these damaging moves aren't particularly strong.
Battle Moves Moonblast | Draining Kiss | Dazzling Gleam | Psychic | Dream Eater | Double Team
- "Orpheus", Ludicolo (M, Met in the wild, as Lotad)
The happy-go-lucky Orpheus is not very serious about research or doing anything other than dancing around in the rain and singing. Delphi constantly has to remind him to pay attention to what they're doing, as given any downtime, he and Lethe go off by themselves and instantly get lost. When he is focused on the task at hand, though, he makes a useful assistant to Delphi, and his musical talents are second to none. He's especially handy when dealing with Pokemon of his own types, as Delphi doesn't have much in common with swimmers or plant-like Pokemon.
He is interesting in that he is, as far as Noor can tell, fully sapient, he's just... kind of dim.
Classification Size - 4'11"/1.5m, 121.3lbs/55kg Descriptor - Carefree Pokemon Type - Water/Grass Ability - Rain Dish Baobab Sapience Class - 10, full sapience
Moves Field Moves WIP, mostly musical/sound moves. Definitely Sing, of course, and Rain Dance. Research Assistant Battle Moves
- "Cassandra", Absol (F, Last Pokemon met during her childhood in Hoenn)
Prickly and aloof, Cassandra is a strange friend to have, but a friend nonetheless. Modern science has revealed the "Disaster Pokemon" to be drawn to impending disasters because of their foresight and compassion, but many people still harbor ill will towards any Absol they see. Noor ignores this stigma, and Cassandra travels with the team just like the others.
One night as young Noor and her early team were camped high on a mountaintop, they were visited by the silent Cassandra, who woke them with a simple tap of her paw and led them away from their campsite. The other Pokemon were wary, but Noor knew of the stories and trusted that the Absol was leading them to safety. As they trudged through the snow, she suddenly whipped her head up and stared in the direction of the camp... And moments later, it was completely engulfed by an avalanche. After that harrowing experience, Noor offered Cassandra a place with her and her friends, and for reasons of her own, the Pokemon accepted.
Nowadays, she tends to stick close to Alexander, as despite their differing approaches they share similar instincts. Cassandra is probably the second most capable battler on the team after Hermes, and if people are being threatened or are otherwise in danger, she and Alexander make a magnificent tag team as they guide people to safety.
Classification Size - 4'/1.2m (at the shoulder), 142lbs/64.4kg Descriptor - Disaster Pokemon Type - Dark Ability - Pressure Baobab Sapience Class - 10, full sapience
Moves Field Moves WIP Research Assistant Cassandra's basic role lines up with her natural instinct and the way she and Noor met: she senses danger. Because she has very fine senses, and she's in tune with invisible eddies and floes of energy in the world, she is always on guard, and rarely surprised by anything. Noor travels in a lot of dangerous places, and Cassandra tends to be the one leading the way. Along with Alexander's sense of direction, the pair of them are very effective wilderness guides.
In addition, if there is a battle that cannot be escaped from, Cassandra attacks with silent fury. Noor and the rest of the team are really a little scared of Cassandra when she's battling, but as soon as the threat is ended she returns to her even-keeled (if moody) self. Battle Moves WIP
- "Alexander", Ampharos (M, Met in the wild as Flaafy during her journeys through Johto)
As a newcomer in a strange region, even though she had her early team and Cassandra, Noor had a tendency to get lost. Johto is large and filled with very different Pokemon from Hoenn, and often Noor would get so excited she would rush off of the path whenever she saw something interesting... Which led to her getting lost. The third or fourth time she did this, she consulted some of the family members she was visiting to see if they had any suggestions.
They pointed her in the direction of some Mareep, which in turn led her to the more intelligent Flaafy who shepherded them. After a long day of bad hair-dos and static shocks, she and Delphi managed to explain their predicament and convinced one of the Flaafy to join them. The newly named Alexander was an enthusiastic but unskilled navigator, and Noor didn't know why his kind had been recommended until a good several months later, when Alexander guided them through a particularly tricky cave, and suddenly underwent his evolution into Ampharos. With the evolution came an entirely greater level of intelligence, and his navigation abilities grew manyfold.
Now, he is partnered with Cassandra as the wilderness guides of the team, keeping everyone moving in the right direction. When people are in danger, he leaps into action with his beacon while Cassandra works to shepherd them, and they work so well together they have become inseparable. Alexander is a lot more emotional than Cassandra, and shows his grief when they're apart, even if the most affection she shows outwardly is a tendency to stand next to him rather than off by herself.
Classification Size - 5'06"/1.7m, 157lbs/71kg Descriptor - Light Pokemon Type - Electric Ability - Compass Baobab Sapience Class - 10, full sapience
Moves Field Moves WIP, definitely Flash, of course. Research Assistant Alexander's main role is as the partner to Cassandra. The pair of them guide Noor and her team through dangerous wilderness, with Alexander specifically determining direction and making sure they don't get lost. Battle Moves WIP
- "Lethe", Quagsire (F, Met in the wild as Wooper during her journeys through Johto)
Ah, Lethe. Noor's only main team Pokemon who does not have full sapience according to her scale, Lethe was just a little Wooper who started following the team around once Alexander evolved into Ampharos. Woopers are not known for their intelligence, and more than once the team found themselves saving the little Pokemon from falling off of cliffs or otherwise hurting itself. After a good little while of this going on, Noor decided to study the Wooper's intelligence.
According to her best methods at the time, she was practically catatonic. This comforting fact in hand, Noor gave up trying to understand the and let the team decide what to do. Orpheus developed a liking to the Wooper, as she enjoyed splashing around in his dish, so Noor agreed that they could keep her around. Since then, Lethe has been a less-than-useful part of the team. In fact, after she evolved into a Quagsire, if anything she got less intelligent. She just got bigger. She makes Noor pretty exasperated, so uniquely among the team Lethe is more associated with the other Pokemon than she is with the human of the group.
Classification Size - 4'07"/1.4m, 165.3lbs/75kg Descriptor - Mud Fish Pokemon Type - Water/Ground Ability - Oblivious Baobab Sapience Class - 2, barely intelligent at all
Moves Field Moves WIP Research Assistant Lethe is not a research assistant at all, she's really more of a burden than anything... But the team likes to keep her around, so Noor tries not to complain.
Weird Pokemon / "Projects" - Spinda (F, stumbled into Noor's camp one night and couldn't find her way back home) - Shedinja (?, happened to appear while studying Nincada evolution) - Castform (?, Noor was granted a research grant by the Weather Institute) - "Charybdis", Mawile (F, sought out in Granite Cave) - Male Kirlia (M, raised from a wild Ralts - Noor is preparing to use a Dawn Stone)
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Name: Keeper 2nd Class Maxima "Max" Muroda Age: 25 History: "Hiya, I'm Keeper Max! bzzztcrkkakakshhhhPING And that's, um, that's Staog! How can we... help?"
Even in a region as seemingly natural as Hoenn, modernity reigns, and computers are everywhere. All of the major players of the region, from the corporations to the Pokemon League have extensive computer systems, and where there are systems... there are vulnerabilities. Enter Maxima Muroda, at 21 years old: an ambitious self-taught hacker with a chip on her shoulder and a grudge against the Fairfax family. With the aid of her imported virtual-reality Pokemon, "Staog" (PorygonZ), Maxima quickly made a name for herself in criminal circles. If you wanted data you weren't supposed to have, she and her little collective were the ones to hire... and Jonton Fairfax was quite the reliable employer.
She wasn't always so unethical, though. As a teenager Maxima was a bright computer science student studying information distribution systems. She wanted to find a way to link Gauntlets across regions, allowing specialized Pokemon and items to be easily distributed and traded in digital form. After a few years of work on this pet project, she and her professors neared a major theoretical breakthrough. All they needed was access to a massive supercomputer in order to put the theories into practice. When Fairfax caught wind of the project and offered their own company computers, Maxima was overjoyed. Now not only were they going to revolutionize item materialization, she was going to work with the Fairfax Association! Surely they'd be so impressed with her code that they'd offer her a job, right?
Well, turns out the contract they signed for the use of the supercomputer came a bit of fine print. Fairfax researchers had been working on a similar project, but had gotten stuck half-way through. When they got access to Maxima's code, they were ordered by someone higher-up to quietly appropriate it and claim that it introduced a malignant program into the supercomputers. By doing so, they forced her into an investigation of criminal wrongdoing. By the time the investigation blew over and Maxima was acquitted, the Fairfax team conveniently announced that they were developing a nearly identical program. Even though she had been acquitted, Maxima's young reputation had been ruined by the accusation from a major corporation. Her protestations were not heard.
Expelled from her school for academic misconduct, with nothing but stolen Institute computers and a glitchy Porygon, she began her hacking career just to spite the corporate stooges who ripped her off. As far as the world of underground hacking goes, she was doing pretty well for herself for a while. Fat contracts from Jonton, living large with her friends, taking on "the man"... But it couldn't last forever. Two years ago, a job went bad. It turned out the Air Rangers had been onto her collective for a while, and they set up a sting involving the Fairfax Association. Maxima couldn't resist the low-hanging fruit, and she got her whole team busted.
After several long discussions with the Rangers involving her contracts with Jonton Fairfax, as well as the extent of her programming knowledge and her reasons for forming her collective, she was offered a plea bargain: go through Ranger training and become a white hat, and in return her sentence would be suspended. She cut her hair, got some Ranger tattoos, and started calling herself "Max", in order to separate herself from her criminal reputation. Newly christened, Max was a favorite at the Ranger Academy, passed with flying colors, and joined the Air Rangers' computer intelligence division. After its "upgrade", Staog was never too much use, but she still chose it as her partner, as technically it could fly, if she could convince it to do so.
Right now, she's assigned to a broad-spectrum prevention detail, looking for signs of fraud, hacking and other cybercrimes, as well as occasionally flying to other cities for "real" Ranger work.
Ranger Partner: "Staog 2.42.1.01.z (unstable)", PorygonZ (Genderless, Originally licensed as Porygon 1.0)
Poor Staog has never had much of a personality. As a blocky Porygon 1.0, it was a dutiful programming assistant and stalwart, if dull companion. Though Maxima was never great with Pokemon, Staog was in tune with her interests, and it was always there to help, so she quickly grew fond of it. Once she was accepted into her Institute, she discovered that Silph Co. had years before released a stable second iteration of the Porygon program. Initially leery of the upgrade, thinking it might damage Staog's memory of their time together, she did a lot of research and determined that it would probably be a lot happier as a Porygon2.
So upgraded, Staog 2.0 was her best assistant while she was working on her ill-fated materialization network project, and could often be seen rushing around the Institute gathering research and various computer components. It had some small capacity for battle, so occasionally she would spar with a few of Trainers who also attended the Institute, but neither Staog nor Maxima were ever particularly enthusiastic about it.
After her reputation soured and her grudge with Fairfax began, Staog was basically her only friend. During the trial, a shady former Silph employee noticed her Porygon2 and offered (for a nominal fee) a brand-new, bleeding edge upgrade that hadn't hit the market yet: the Z-Disc! It seemed a little dubious, but she was vectoring for any advantage she could find in the trial, so she bought the disc and "upgraded" Staog that night. It did not go well.
Since then, Staog 2.42.1.01.z has been a glitchy mess. Fantastic help when it decides to work, complete hindrance when it decides to bug out. It flies around shouting binary at people, randomly shifts from small to big to icy cold to shockingly electric, and only sometimes completes programming tasks Max assigns it. Staog's new crazy outlook on the world has led to some innovative hacking methods and (more recently) stress testing for Ranger systems, but her superiors' patience runs thin whenever she relies on Staog for a job, so it's relegated to transportation duty more than it would like.
Classification Size - Various, from around 3' to around 6' Descriptor - Virtual Pokemon Type - Various, default Normal Ability - Glitchy: Staog changes its Type and grows stronger or weaker at random. Its size also fluctuates, and like all PorygonZ, it tends to act erratically.
Moves Field Moves Fly | Conversion | Conversion 2 | Recover | Magnet Rise | Sharpen | Lock On | Flash | Disable | Growth | Minimize Battle Moves Metronome | Copycat | Tri Attack | Uproar | Screech | Supersonic | Substitute | Explosion | Random move relating to its current Type
Name: Nicolas Storm, Current Alias: Johnny Ghastly Age: 34 History:
A Kanto native, Nicolas was born in Saffron City. Nicolas' parents were...disinterested in raising him, with them preferring to spend their time and money in the nearby Celadon City Game Corner, barely keeping enough to feed, house and put Nicolas through a basic education. They did, however, care enough to give him his very own Growlith when he turned eight years old, though he now believes it was simply an unwanted prize from one of their many excursions to the game corner. Naming the Growlith "Bandit", because it was a cool name he heard on TV, and giving him a soon-to-be-signature black bandanna, the two soon became inseparable.
Nicolas sought the attention of parents, first by trying to achieve things in his classes and with Bandit. He'd work hard to earn top marks in his classes, and to win various competitions and contests with Bandit, but this proved fruitless. With his parents growing ever distant, Nicolas began to act out, seeing that as the only way for his parents to care about him. Being caught time after time committing various crimes, from vandalism and destruction of property, to illicit pokemon battles and theft. His parents, more out of insistence by the police than any real desire, tried to punish him by restricting contact with friends, forcing him inside after school, and other punishments of that nature. These proved mostly ineffectual, as Nicolas would simply sneak out while his parents were away at the game corner, or simply wait out the punishment, going back to his criminal activities once the timeframe of the punishment was over.
This life of youth crime deeply impacted Nicolas' school performance in later years, leading to complete failure in all his classes by his final year. His parents did seem to notice their son's failing grades and ill behavior, but generally did not address it. They did try talking to him about it at one point, after some fierce encouragement by a police officer. This conversation lasted about an hour, and was mainly Nicolas trying to drive home his hatred of his parents' gambling addiction, their ineffectual method of raising a child, and so on. It was cut short when his father reminded his mother of a special discount deal at the game corner that evening, and they rushed out the door while Nicolas was in mid-sentence.
Dropping out of school due to poor grades and a desire to leave, and deciding to leave home after another one-sided argument with his parents, Nicolas and Bandit set out on a crime-filled journey through the Kanto region, making acquaintances in the underground and black market, and becoming a dealer for black market products.
Taking up many different aliases, and wandering from region to region, Nicolas would establish contacts with local underground breeders, catchers, and item suppliers, buying product from them before heading to various back alleys and dark street corners to peddle his wares, selling stolen or illegally bred pokemon, fake licenses and badges, and knockoff pokemart items.
Team:
Name: Bandit Species: Arcanine Gender: Male
Bandit is Nicolas' main pokemon, and the one he's had with him the longest. Having raised him as a Growlith, the Fire Stone used to evolve Bandit is one of the few items Nicolas legitimately acquired through legal sources. The two are inseparable, and many attempts to do so have ended with a vicious mauling on Bandit's part. Bandit can be identified by his signature black bandanna tied around his neck, a gift given to him by Nicolas when they first met.
As well as being his main pokemon for battles, Bandit acts as Nicolas' security, protecting him from police, Rangers, thieves, and unhappy customers. He's rarely in his pokeball, usually only if Nicolas has to smuggle himself out of a region. Bandit has a strong distaste for authority figures, both those representing the law, and those of more ill-repute, and Nicolas often has to stop him from nearly mauling those he deals with.
Bandit gets along well with both Butch and Bruno, enjoying training with Butch, and participating in more canine pursuits with Bruno, such as hunting wild pokemon. Bandit still prefers to spend most of his time at Nicolas' side.
Move List: Bandit is Nicolas' main battler, and the one he uses in most of his battles. Focusing primarily on fire and physical moves, Bandit has picked up a few underhanded tricks along the way, and when ordered to use moves of this type, can be considered a 'dirty fighter'.
Bite, Crunch, and Flamethrower are Bandit's go-to attack moves, preferring to burn opponents with a crisp jet of flame before leaping at them and lacerating them with his sharp fangs and strong jaws.
Bandit is also Nicolas' chief method of escape, with Nicolas hopping onto the back of his Canine companion, and Bandit using a quick combo of Double Team and Extreme Speed to fool the enemy with an afterimage, and dash away before being discovered.
Bandit holds several intimidation moves in his repertoire as well, such as Growl, Roar, and Scary Face. Several battles have ended before they've even began with Bandit, by him simply snarling at the opponent's pokemon and baring his massive fangs, leaving them cowering in fear before the opposing trainer calls them back and rushes off.
Name: Butch Species: Machoke Gender: Male
Butch is a Machoke that was given to Nicolas by a friend. The friend was starting an underground fighting-type battle ring in Johto, and had asked Nicolas for help in getting ahold of different fighting type pokemon. In return for his help, Nicolas was given this Machoke, when he was told was named 'Butch'. The two quickly got along, and now Nicolas uses him as his lead in different underground gambling fights to win money, and occasionally in regular battles as well.
Butch also acts as an 'enforcer' for Nicolas' business, being the touch muscle Nicolas uses to either ensure a deal goes through, or to punish those who try to betray or double-cross him. A good beating in a dark warehouse tends to encourage return customers with renewed enthusiasm.
Butch really seems to enjoy working with Nicolas, finding pleasure in all the fighting that accompanies their work, and always eager for his next role in helping Nicolas. He gets along well with both Bandit and Bruno, though he seems to find distaste in Bruno's methods of fighting.
Move List: Butch mainly follows a set of various fighting moves, Submission, Focus Punch, Sky Uppercut, and Close Combat. He fights more like a street brawler than a martial artist, preferring powerful blows and grapples to careful technique. This often catches other, more "professional" fighting types off-guard, as they aren't used to such blunt fighting.
Butch also uses Strength as both a field move and an intimidation piece. Lifting heavy objects, such as street lamps, mailboxes, or an angry customer's car has ways of getting people to listen to you, Butch and Nicolas have found.
Butch is not opposed to attacking humans, and has more than once fought to defend Nicolas from police, gang members, and others who would do him harm. In this case, Butch often holds back some of his strength, going for knockout punches or low-blows to dissuade pursuit as Nicolas and him escape.
Name: Bruno Species: Houndoom Gender: Male
Bruno is an odd situation among Nicolas' pokemon, in that he willingly left someone else to join Nicolas' team. Nicolas was battling a trainer that was angry at him for selling him a fake Marsh Badge that was found out. The trainer sent out Bruno, Nicolas sent out Bandit, and the two fought for quite a while. In the end, Bandit was set to deliver the final blow. Instead, Bruno turned on his trainer, snatching his pokeball from the man's hand and taking it to Nicolas. Since then, Bruno has been a member of Nicolas' team.
Bruno helps with Nicolas' business by acting as "product procurement". Bruno will steal from trainers wandering the streets, midnight delivery to stores, and even customers who are purchasing from Nicolas. Bruno has used these skills to get Nicolas out of several tight spots in the past, from breaking out of his pokeball to steal the handcuff keys off of a police officer, to planting stolen items on random passers-by to frame them for a crime just committed.
Bruno does get along with the rest of the group, though he is much more isolated than any of the others. Being a convert from another trainer's team, Nicolas has had a harder time getting to understand Bruno, and this has led to disagreement between the two, with Bruno occasionally using moves different than the one requested by Nicolas, or by simply not waiting for a command at all. Despite this, the two do enjoy each others company, and Bruno seems to enjoy working with Nicolas.
Move List: In battles, Bruno acts as an odd form of support, using the moves Snatch, Thief, and Embargo to prevent rival trainers from helping their pokemon with items by intercepting them and bringing them to Nicolas.
Bruno can fight, however he is far less skilled than either Butch or Bandit. Using the moves Bite, Pursuit, or Foul Play to attack a target's weak spots such as leg joints, necks, eyes, or other incapacitating body parts, Bruno is a vicious fighter when cornered, or chasing a fleeing opponent.
Son of a relatively successful businessman and a notable gym leader, Diego had a comfortable childhood in Unova. His family lived in Nimbasa City, his mother making the short trip to her gym in the desert to the south every day. Nimbasa City, with its array of amusements, was something of a paradise for Diego and his older brother Marco. Diego and Marco spent every moment they could watching battles at Gear Station, attending shows at the theater, running wild at the amusement park, and getting into trouble as most kids their age do. The attraction that really caught Diego's attention, however, was Nimbasa's sports complex.
An active young boy, Diego was fascinated by the large complex. It was a crowded mess of courts and fields that hosted games from children's leagues all the way to professional sports. While he did enjoy watching the professional matches and did some basketball and swimming himself, Diego found himself increasingly drawn to the section of fields unofficially reserved for Pokemon competitions. While there were plenty of spots around the city sanctioned for Pokemon battling, this was the only place to come see them compete in other ways. The spectacle of the city was enough to make a boy like him lose track of everything else in his life. And he likely would have, if not for Cecilia.
Dominic and Adela loved their children very much. However, they had no business having them in the first place. Despite their love for their children, they were unable to put aside their love of their own success in order to be proper parents. Thus it fell on Cecilia's shoulder to raise her younger brothers and keep them out of trouble. Cecilia was the ideal role model: independent, responsible, intelligent, and one of the best Pokemon trainers in the city. Her influence and steady hand was largely responsible for any sense of responsibility or ambition in the boys. It's an unspoken idea that without Cecilia, Diego and Marcos would probably have lived a semi-comfortable life, never leaving Nimbasa. Ever the dutiful one, Cecilia postponed her own Pokemon journey for years until she felt Diego was old enough to travel with her. Shortly after Diego's twelfth birthday, the three siblings began their own adventure.
It was a long slow journey. Being the patient selfless sister, Cecilia made the journey as much about her brothers' growth as her own. Away from all the distractions of Nimbasa, the two got to know themselves a lot better. Marcos found his place outside the city, among nature and the Pokemon. He looked forward to the nights they spent outdoors and was perfectly content to wander and observe the wild Pokemon while his brother and sister trained their Pokemon.
While Diego found their adventures in the wild fun, the distance from the cities of Unova didn't bring him the same peace as it brought Marcos. Diego was drawn to the energy of Unova's cities and settlements and bridges. He loved to be where there were people. It meant new friends and their Pokemon, it meant battles, it meant competition, it meant comfort, and he could come to see it also meant girls. Though they weren't too official or organized, Diego found himself increasingly interested by the less conventional Pokemon competitions. There were a number of competitions he came across that put he and his Pokemon's non-battling skills to the test. In particular, he enjoyed the athletic events. It wasn't long before this became his focus in training instead of battling. Cecilia only expressed relief that at least no he wouldn't go around challenging trainers way out of his league.
In total they spent roughly two and a half years on their adventure through the region. For Cecilia, who could have stormed the eighteen gyms in about a year, this was significantly longer than expected. She had patiently waited an extra day or two in a city so Diego and Marcos could have more time with new friends and gladly sat and quietly watched a herd of Blitzle with Marcos. While she sacrificed her time for them, she had come to appreciate the slower pace they forced on her. It gave her time to enjoy more of her life, time that she hadn't had back home taking care of their household's needs. In the end, Cecilia and Marcos both made it into the tournament while Diego had forgone five of the gym challenges and only had thirteen badges. He happily cheered Cecilia and Marcos on as they took first and seventh place.
After a full month of celebration back in Nimbasa City, it was time to move on to new adventures. Cecilia was off for the Kanto region, while Marcos had his sights set on Sinnoh. Diego decided to tag along with Cecilia. Their experience, age, and the smaller group meant that the trip through Kanto was noticeably quicker. While Cecilia grew in skill and claimed the region's battles, Diego followed. He would challenge the gyms that interested him, but his focus still remained on training his Pokemon's skills. Through that year, he and his growing team of Pokemon entered dozens of obstacle courses, races, wrestling matches, and various other skill competitions. As he grew closer to his Pokemon and they got to know each other better, he began to learn how to bring out the best in them.
Cecilia competed in the Championship and came in second, bringing their second journey to an end. At this point, Diego parted ways with his sister, as she returned to Unova to begin the process of becoming a gym leader. He, meanwhile, had heard of the Pokeathlon in the next region over. He caught the train in Saffron City to Goldenrod City and began the next page of his life.
The Pokeathlon Dome was everything Diego could have asked for. It wasn't just the organized competition that made the experience. It was being surrounded by so many like-minded individuals. People and Pokemon who trained not just for battle, but to bring out the best in each other. Of course, he found the competition much harder here than he had in any of the variety of contests he'd found in Unova and Kanto.
Despite his confidence, he was outmatched. Where he once thought his Pokemon some of the best trained, he learned they had so much more work to do. Undaunted, Diego rededicated himself, using all the time and the new resources available to him to get better. He settled well into this new life. He felt right at home in the hustle and bustle of Goldenrod City, making his usual trips to the Pokeathlon complex daily. Rent and use of the training facilities were not cheap, however, and he had to spend and unfortunate amount of time working various jobs at the complex, only having time to train after work. This only motivated him further to climb up the ranks to the point where he could get paid. Over the course of his first two years, he trained, competed in Pokeathlon and other events, made friends and enemies, established himself as a constant presence, and became part of a community.
It was a difficult but rewarding way of life, and it eventually paid off when Diego managed to break through the rookie tiers of the Pokeathlon into "The Big Leagues." Once competing in front of big crowds, Diego found the work to have only begun. He and his Pokemon had to push themselves further than ever before to keep up. By this point there was no extra time to really work. Not only did he have to increase his team's training, it also became necessary to promote himself. Still he didn't find it as difficult playing to the crowd as some others did. Diego slowly picked up the sponsorship game, and as a natural at working with his growing following on social media, he eventually managed to make his living off training, competing, and sharing his experiences.
Still even the best training routine can get stale. In order to keep his training fresh, Diego has taken to travelling and training in the outdoors. He'll occasionally take off for a few weeks to train on Mt. Silver, foot of Tohjo Falls, the Seafoam Islands and other areas around the continent. He's a spoiled city boy, however, so he generally returns refreshed but also exhausted. When that isn't enough, he's taken a few trips to other regions, including a few months on the Pokeathlon's exhibition tour of Kalos. In his six years training at the Dome and around the world, he has gained respect and a steady following from his peers and from fans of the Pokeathlon or similar competitions. Recently hitting another plateau in his training, Diego has decided to visit Hoenn and train in the warmer climate.
- Joltik (M, Sister helped catch)
Joltik [Compound Eyes] Bug/Electric 0'4"| .9 lbs. Joltik was Diego's first Pokemon and friend. Cecilia helped her little brother catch this Pokemon shortly before they took off on their first journey. It was scurrying around some of the amusement park lights, feeding off the electricity. Joltik is carefree and friendly. Always excited to meet new people and Pokemon he often startles them by jumping off his resting place in Diego's hair.
Joltik's main strength lies in his webs. A skilled shot, he and Diego take pride in both the accuracy of his web shots as well as the strength of the web itself. A well placed mess of string and web has been the main factor in Diego catching many of his Pokemon. Despite his skill, Joltik's small size is a hindrance. He can move quickly, but it takes a lot more effort for him to move around quickly. Joltik and Diego are both happy with Joltik's current form, however. In battle, Joltik tends to focus on slowing the opponent down, evading attacks as best he can until he can get close, cling to his opponent and attack from there. Field Moves: Cut | Rock Climb | Spider Web | Electroweb | Flash Default Moves: String Shot | Spider Web | Electroweb | Bug Bite | Agility | Discharge Standard Moves: Leech Life | Thunder Wave | Bug Buzz | Charge Beam | Volt Switch Occasional Moves: Screech | Fury Cutter | Electro Ball | Signal Beam
- Sawsbuck (F, Caught in wild as Deerling)
Sawsbuck [Chlorophyll] Normal/Grass 5'9"| 187.5 lbs. Diego's second Pokemon, and the first he and Joltik caught themselves. After a series of failures, they finally managed to chase a Derrling into a well-placed Electroweb. Quick and competitive, Deerling's enthusiasm added fuel to the spark that started Diego on his path. Though they didn't perform well in the first few races Deerling took part in, they eventually began to understand the importance of training.
In competition, she shows of her speed and endurance, really getting into the zone. In battle she tends to rush in and try to overwhelm the opponent. Field Moves: Tackle | Camouflage | Rock Smash | Cut | Aromatherapy Default Moves: Growl | Take Down | Horn Leech | Double Edge | Agility | Headbutt | Quick Attack | Stomp Standard Moves: Energy Ball | Nature Power Occasional Moves: Leech Seed | Sunny Day | Seed Bomb Sacrificial Moves: Solar Beam
- Conkeldurr (M, Caught in wild as Timburr)
Conkeldurr [Guts] Fighting 5'4"| 220.5 lbs. Another of Diego's early catches, Conkeldurr has always been very dedicated to his training. To him, there's no better feeling than becoming stronger than the day before. As Timburr, he often challenged any other vaguely human-shaped Pokemon or Diego himself to friendly wrestling matches. When the two entered a Pokemon and trainer strength competition, Timburr destroyed the competition while Diego failed to keep up. From there he learned that training his own body could only help him in his Pokemon training.
In battle, Conkeldurr gets a lot of use from his concrete pillars. He enjoys grapples and throws, tossing the concrete around, as well as his opponent. Field Moves: Strength | Rock Smash | Brick Break | Rock Climb Default Moves: Low Sweep | Circle Throw | Seismic Toss | Storm Throw | Submission | Vital Throw | Rock Throw* | Smack Down* Standard Moves: Pound | Low Kick | Dynamic Punch | Hammer Arm | Superpower | Counter | Body Slam Occasional Moves: Brick Break
- Emolga (M, Caught in wild)
Emolga [Motor Drive] Electric/Flying 1'5"| 11.8 lbs. Another Pokemon from the early days. Emolga is carefree and honestly not too interested in training. Because he's of a similar temperament to Joltik, the two small electric Pokemon developed a kinship long ago and remain the best of friends. The least disciplined of Diego's Pokemon, Emolga occasionally tries to wander off during training usually to be held back by Joltik. Still, Diego keeps him around as he is a force to be reckoned with.
Quick and agile, Emolga zips through the air in competition and battle, never staying in one spot for long. He's acrobatically talented and can navigate the worst of obstacles, though an extra strong gust of wind can knock him off course. In battle, he zip around and evades attacks. He tries keep a distance from his opponent, attacking from afar and occasionaly coming in for a well placed Acrobatics. When working together, he and Joltik can wreak havoc with their Volt Switch.
- Scyther (F, Caught in wild during Kanto journey)
Scyther [Technician] Bug/Flying 4'9"| 120 lbs. The first Pokemon Diego caught on his second journey, Scyther holds a place on the team as special as any other Pokemon. Scyther takes great pride in her abilities. She brings everything to her training and can become irritated when the others try to take it too easy. In competition she can be a bit of a show-off. When not focused on training or competing, Scyther is easily the biggest sweetheart on the team, showing great affection and care for everyone.
In competition her agility and precision make her shine, and she revels in it. In battle she relies on flying around, keeping constant motion and misdirection. She then waits for the perfect opening and strikes. Field Moves: Fly | Cut | Rock Smash | Defog Default Moves: Quick Attack | Agility | Aerial Ace | Double Team | Substitute | X-Scissor | Slash | Feint Standard Moves: U-Turn | Air Slash | Wing Attack | Substitute | Fury Cutter Occasional Moves: Bug Buzz | Silver Wind | Tail Wind | Bug Bite | Swift
- Poliwrath (M, caught in wild as Poliwhirl)
Poliwrath [Swift Swim] Water/Fighting 4'6"| 126 lbs. Caught fighting the currents and a storm in Vermillion Harbor, Poliwrath has an indomitable will. Probably the least social of Diego's Pokemon, Poliwrath can come across as standoffish and makes little effort to make friends. Still he has grown close to the team, and welcomes all new additions in his own way. He cares very much for them and can be fiercely protective when he has to be.
Poliwrath takes pride in his will and spirit. He's all about endurance. He swims without tiring, takes hits like a champ, and can hold a sustained stream of water for longer than many. He enjoys a challenge and is always ready to push himself. He has a friendly rivalry with Azumarill. In battle he tries to wear his opponent out. He's actually rather slow on land, but he can swim with the best of them. Field Moves: Surf | Waterfall | Dive | Whirlpool | Soak | Strength | Rock Smash Default Moves: Water Pulse | Water Gun | Body Slam | Counter | Focus Punch | Seismic Toss | Endure Standard Moves: Hypnosis | Dynamic Punch | Rain Dance | Hydro Pump | Dynamic Punch | Aqua Jet Occasional Moves: Circle Throw | Bubblebeam | Belly Drum
- Honchkrow (M, caught in wild as Murkrow after moving to Johto)
Honchkrow [Super Luck] Dark/Flying 3'2"| 65 lbs. Confident, conniving, and playful, Honchkrow likes to mess with people. He steals things, tries to plot mischief with any Pokemon he meets, and often gets into trouble. Like the others, he is still devoted to training and competition.
Where Scyther and Emolga zip around in the air trying to evade attacks, Honchkrow soars and owns its piece of the sky. With its mass and powerful wings, Honchkrow takes it own approach to airborne competition. In battle, Honchkrow lets his opponent come to him then attacks without mercy. Field Moves: Fly | Defog | Thief | Gust Default Moves: Taunt | Torment | Night Slash | Dark Pulse | Wing Attack | Pluck | Air Cutter Standard Moves: Nasty Plot | Foul Play | Pursuit | Brave Bird | Sucker Punch | Whirlwind | Tailwind Occasional Moves: Feather Dance | Feint Attack | Roost | Assurance
- Azumarill (F, traded from brother)
Azumarill [Huge Power] Water/Fairy 2'8"| 74.7 lbs. A trade from Marcos. Diego's brother had found himself with a Marill who was active, competitive, but a little overzealous. Failing to control =its power, Marill often went into battle and hurt its opponents more than necessary. It didn't work well with MArcos approach to battling, and he traded the Pokemon to his little brother and received a Flaaffy. With Diego, Azumarill found an outlet in which to channel her power, and energy. She is very competitive and strives to be the best. A gracious winner, but a sore loser, Azumarill is hard to be around after a loss. She has a "friendly" rivalry with Poliwrath.
Azumarill's strength serves her well in many competitions and she's a strong swimmer. Despite her progress, when it comes to battle she has trouble controlling her power. Diego only sends her into battle against strong opponents.
Field Moves: Default Moves: Standard Moves: Occasional Moves: Sacrificial Moves:
- Darmanitan (M, traded from sister)
Darmanitan [Zen Mode] Fire - Psychic/Fire 3'7"| 175 lbs. A trade from Cecilia, it's still unclear whether the trade was meant to be a trick or a challenge or a lesson or a joke. Diego believed he was trading his Phantump for an unstoppable force, he got this Darmanitan. Diego has never seen a Pokemon as timid as Darmanitan. In the beginning the poor Pokemon would go into zen mode at the slightest disturbance. Diego and his team have worked hard in the past few years to help him overcome it. While he was intimidated by the team at first, Darmanitan has grown comfortable around them and now gladly works out alongside them. In addition, Diego now has some experience in training areas other than physical work.
Darmanitan is powerful but he lacks the confidence to use it. He has not competed to this day, as the audience instantly makes him retreat. In battle, he does better. He manages to get in about three good hits before going to zen mode. He then continues the battle with his psychic attacks. Darmanitan is the biggest challenge Diego's training abilites have ever faced, but he believes that down the line Darmanitan with training of both Darmanitan's physical prowess as well as Psychic abilities, he can become that unstoppable force Diego thought he was trading for. Field Moves: Tackle | Rock Smash | Strength Default Moves: Headbutt | Fire Fang | Strength Standard Moves: Incinerate | Thrash | Flare Blitz
Zen Mode Field Moves: Telekinesis Default Moves: Calm Mind | Light Screen | Reflect | Psychic | Heat Wave | Will-o-wisp Standard Moves: Psystrike | Telekinesis | Flamethrower Occasional Moves: Fire Spin | Mind Reader | Inferno Sacrificial Moves: Overheat
- Sneasel (F, newest Pokemon, caught on most recent trip to Mt. Silver)
Sneasel [Tough Claws] Dark/Ice 2'10"|59.8 lbs. The rookie. The most recent addition to the trip, Sneasel was caught the last time Diego went on a training retreat at Mt. Silver. She is eager to prove herself and is a natural at athletic events. She often bites off more than she can chew, however, and its occasionally up to the rest of the team to get her out of trouble.
She's shaping up to be a contender. Looking to be get to Scyther's level she is agile and unforgiving in her attacks. However she does best in quick bursts, and her stamina is lacking. Field Moves: Rock Smash | Cut | Strength Default Moves: Quick Attack | Agility | Feint Attack | Hone Claws | Pursuit | Fake Out | Slash | Ice Punch Standard Moves: Icy Wind | Beat Up | Double Team | Payback | Dark Pulse | Crush Claw Occasional Moves: Hail
Haven was born in Goldenrod City in Johto, the middle of three sisters. Her father left when she was two, just before her sister, Carol, was born. Haven gained a reputation in town when she was younger as a delinquent, whether it was from petty theft, trespassing, or her personal favorite, graffiti. You couldn't walk three blocks of the city's streets without finding her art staining the side of some old corner store or covering up some unfortunate billboard. Her teachers said she was acting out for attention. Her sisters said she was being a brat. Haven said she was just having fun.
One afternoon when she was sixteen the police hauled her back home by the scruff of her neck (again), threatening her with juvie if she didn't get her act together (again). Haven just rolled her eyes and stomped off to her room as her mother frantically apologized and thanked the officers.
That night Haven snuck out of her room to find her mother and her older sister, Rose, sitting at the dining room table. Hiding in the shadows of the hallway, she heard the most heartbreaking thing she could imagine – her mother, crying tears of frustration and helplessness because the water was going to be turned off, she didn't know which bill she should pay with their diminishing funds that month, and to top it all off her second child seemed dead set on making an already stressful life even harder.
Shame hot in her throat, Haven snuck back up the stairs and started packing. She left before dawn.
A month later her mother received an envelope in the mail with ₱30,000.
Haven had channeled her energy into her art, traveling from town to town for inspiration and selling her art at various markets. Eventually, she even started getting commissions – first from local businesses needing a painting to brighten up their walls (or sometimes from students looking to get out of doing their art projects for class) then from town councils, asking for some street art ('graffiti' was too crude a term, apparently) to add color to the asphalt and cement streets. She wasn't a spectacular battler (she'd gone to a standard academic school before she'd dropped out, rather than one that specialized in pokemon careers and had learned most of her skills watching other kids on the streets for fun and had stopped by a gym or two on her travels), but she was decent enough to make some extra cash from that on the side and relieve stress when an art block hit.
It took her almost a year to finally work up the nerve to go home. She'd sent an envelope of money every month to help out her mom. She wasn't causing (much) trouble anymore. She'd technically ran away from home leaving no way to contact her and had probably worried her mother half to death. But… her mom wouldn't be too mad, right?
Haven knocked on the door to her family's shabby apartment. Rose opened the door and stared for a moment at her wayward little sister. Then she smacked Haven on the back of the head and pulled her into a tight hug. Her mom was an overjoyed, sobbing mess.
Haven felt a small bubble of pride rise up in her to see that the apartment, while still old and ramshackle, seemed less like it would fall apart at any moment. There was the same old, dirty refrigerator, but it was stocked full of food. A new faucet had been installed on the sink that had only ever managed to trickle out a thin stream of water before she left.
Her room had been left exactly the same, waiting for her return.
Haven stayed home for a happy week (full of lectures and hugs alike from her family) before she started feeling restless. The wandering life had suited her, she discovered. She liked exploring the region, making art, seeing what the world had to offer.
Her mother was against it. She wanted Haven back home and back in school.
Naturally, Haven was gone that night, out the door with a note on the counter.
Haven still calls her family and sends them a share of her earnings every month. She's sure to visit every once in a while, as well. After she'd explored every corner of Johto she made her way to Kanto for two and a half years before finally deciding to head to Hoenn. The art institute there is famous, even in other regions. Getting something displayed there would put her on a whole new level in the art community, she knows, and she never could resist a challenge. And if not, then maybe she could get some inspiration, at least.
Party:
Blink the Weepinbell (m) [Leaf Guard] Grass/Poison 3'6”|16.3 lbs. Her oldest friend, Haven found Blink as a dying little bellsprout being picked at by some Pidgey. After shooing the birds away, Haven snuck him home and nursed him back to health. It was two weeks before her mom discovered Blink, and by then Haven was too attached to let him go without a fight.
The two have been inseparable ever since. Blink mostly tries to keep Haven out of trouble – if he can't dissuade her from mischief, then he'll settle for just being a lookout. Unfortunately, a Weepinbell is not the most inconspicuous pokemon. He tries.
Out of the entire team, he enjoys battling the least and will avoid it whenever possible. When he does have to battle, he prefers to keep his distance and just lob acid and leaves from afar. His experience with the Pidgey seems to have scarred him.
Field Moves: Gastro Acid | Sweet Scent | Ingrain | Grass Knot | Cut Default Moves: Vinewhip | Wrap | Acid | Acid Spray | Razor Leaf | Absorb Standard Moves: Sleep Powder | Poison Powder | Stun Spore | Magical Leaf | Natural Gift | Venoshock Occasional Moves: Wring Out | Slam | Giga Drain | Toxic Sacrificial Moves: Power Whip | Solar Beam | Sludge Bomb
Lace the Corsola (f) [Rough Skin] Water/Rock 1'08”|9.4 lbs. Lace was the second pokemon to join Haven, but she still gets treated like the baby. Haven found her on a beach near Olivine City and was captivated by Lace's pink coral horns. They were prized among collectors and jewelers, she knew. She'd seen little carved Corsola bobbles and pendants and earrings in high-end jewelry stores.
And… and damn, if the little pokemon wasn't cute. It took almost half an hour of bribing the Corsola with food and soft cooing noises before she finally came close enough for Haven to try and pet. Unfortunately, a living piece of coral isn't exactly the best thing to cuddle.
Happy and enthusiastic, Lace is content to just be included in whatever everyone else is doing. This usually means getting up to mischief with Cloak and Dagger, much to Blink's horror.
Field Moves: Surf | Whirlpool | Dive | Water Sport Default Moves: Bubble | Water Gun | Spike Cannon | Aqua Jet | Synthesis | Iron Defense | Sand Attack Standard Moves: Aqua Ring | Brine | Headbutt | Recover | Rock Blast | Bubble Beam Occasional Moves: Endure | Scald | Ice Beam | Power Gem Sacrificial Moves: Head Smash | Hydro Pump
Cloak the Scrafty (m) [Moxie] Dark/Fighting 3'06”|65 lbs. Haven has no idea how a little Scraggy ended up in Johto. But one day, there he was with a Snubbull for a companion, jumping exhausted trainers as they left Ilex Forest and relieving them of their food and whatever pretty nicknacks they had. Haven was on her way to Goldenrod, finally going back home after running away almost a year ago when they pounced on her. They weren't expecting a face full of spraypaint though. That encounter ended with Lace spraying them clean
Cloak is the quieter of the duo, more clever and sly than Dagger and her brute strength. He's thoughtful, always evaluating and usually uses his smarts to find trouble... and then to get them out of it. He's a bit aloof to anyone not in their group, but endlessly loyal to his family.
Field Moves: Rock Smash | Strength | Rock Climb Default Moves: Leer | Sand Attack | Endure | Feint Attack | Headbutt | Low Sweep | Bulk Up | Payback Standard Moves: Low Kick | Swagger | Iron Head | Drain Punch | Brick Break | Thief | Power-Up Punch Occasional Moves: High Jump Kick | Focus Punch | Foul Play | Zen Headbutt Sacrificial Moves: Beat Up | Head Smash
Dagger the Granbull (f) [Intimidate] Fairy 4'10”|120.2 lbs. While Granbull are typically shy, meek creatures, Dagger… is not. She matches up perfectly with her gruff, ferocious appearance. The brawn to Cloak's brain, the two are almost never seen apart. She's boisterous, loud, and rough, but secretly hides a soft spot -- she's got maternal instincts for days. She adores children, practically adopted Lace, and now looks ready to take Dust under her wing as well. Dagger is endlessly protective and fiercely loyal to Haven.
Cloak and Dagger are Haven's primary battlers, and the two make a team that's nigh impossible to beat. Her unrelenting ferocity and his tactical slyness makes for a winning combo, and the two have been together for so long that they can predict each other's movements like their own, always accounting for each other's strengths and weaknesses.
Field Moves: Rock Smash | Strength | Dig Default Moves: Bite | Scary Face | Endure | Roar | Headbutt | Payback | Lick | Disarming Voice | Baby-Doll Eyes | Work Up Standard Moves: Crunch | Rage | Body Slam | Snarl | Thunder Fang | Play Rough Occasional Moves: Take Down | Super Fang | Dazzling Gleam | Skull Bash | Moonlight Sacrificial Moves: Thrash | Giga Impact
Dust the Cutiefly (f) [ABILITY] Bug/Fairy 0'02”|0.2 lbs. WIP Dust was discovered as an egg in Mauville City by Cloak and Dagger.
Field Moves: Aromatic Mist | Aromatherapy | Misty Terrain | Sweet Scent Default Moves: Bug Bite | Quiver Dance | Draining Kiss | Charm | Sweet Kiss | Sand Attack | Baby-Doll Eyes Standard Moves: Acrobatics | Silver Wind | Fairy Wind | Signal Beam | Struggle Bug Occasional Moves: Play Rough | Powder | Bug Buzz | Moonlight | Nature Power Sacrificial Moves: Pollen Puff | Moonblast
Jin is an Alola native, born on the Akala island of the archipelago. Growing up Jin's parents worked as pokemon rangers and naturally Jin followed in the family footsteps, learning how to watchover and protect the pokemon eco system both in the wild and urban areas. During what was supposed to be a routine check, Jin lost both of his parents when they were set upon by a criminal organisation unheard of in the Alola region. When the Ranger department failed to pursue the justice he was looking for, Jin quit the academy to join an international police force set up to tackle the biggest pokemon crime organisations across the world.
The IPF was able to apprehend the group responsible for the murder of Jin's parents, but with his new lease and purpose in life, Jin decided to keep with the IPF, working as an inside man/double agent which they codenamed "Infiltrator", to dig up dirt and information and clues that the police would not be able to find otherwise. After his cover was blown in the middle of a sting operation in Alola, Jin was transferred to Hoenn where stirrings of a criminal conspiracy echoed on the winds.
Team:
Name: Zero Species: Greninja Gender: Male
Zero is Jin's main pokemon, and the one he's had with him the longest. Jin was given his Feroakie egg when he was 5 years old after the Greninja of his parents mated. Like Jin, Zero lost his parents in the same incident. Zero is level headed and stoic. Strangely enough, Jin becomes all business when he calls upon Zero and does not do so often.
Move List: Zero's fighting style is that of a ninja; to lay traps and hazards and subterfuge to disarm or inhibit the enemy before making an efficient and precise finishing blow. To that end, Zero only has two dedicated offensive moves;
Night Slash - Zero slashes the foe the instant an opportunity arises. He will create a purple energy sword in the palm of one of his hands and then grabs it with the other hand before slashing the opponent with it. Water Shuriken - Zero forms a shuriken of water in his hand. He then tosses the shuriken at the opponent.
Beyond those, Zero uses a plethora of moves much like ninja tools to keep the opponent off-balance.
Double Team - Zero will summon a bunch of clones in a puff of smoke. Shadow Sneak - Zero travels in a sleuthy manner through a shadow to close distance. Spikes/Toxic Spikes - Zero will throw senbon-like traps out across the floor of a given area to damage grounded foes as they move around blindly or poison them. Smokescreen - Zero summons a cloud of smoke to veil himself and his allies from view. Substitute - Zero summons a doll replica to replace him on the moment of impact from an incoming attack. This draws on his life force however. Feint Attack - Zero runs at the opponent seemingly head on. He makes an apparent jump, drawing the enemy's attention upwards. In actuality, he has not jumped at all, and attacks from below while they are not looking.
Name: Ace Species: Crobat Gender: Female
Ace is the first pokemon Jin legitimately caught on his own. Ace caught it while traversing a particularly dark cave. Although originally a zubat, Jin has used Ace as a means of swift recon, and at times even as a means of flight. Ace likes to be on the move while awake, she will stick close to Jin out of her pokeball, but does so by circling overhead.
Move List: Ace attacks like a bomber aircraft, controlling the skies with speed and precision.
Screech, Supersonic, Wing Attack, Air Cutter, Air Slash, Haze, Poison Fang, Cross Poison
Name: Rook Species: Houndour Gender: Male
Rook is the pokemon Jin received from the International Police Force academy as his own personal police and tactical dog. Rook is very curious and alert, making him very perceptive and committed to investigation, making him perfect as a tracker. Whenever Jin is scouring a crime scene for clues Rook is the pokemon he goes to. As a dog from the force, Rook is well behaved and typically relaxed. He likes to explore, dig and sniff out new scents during play time. He doesn't like to play ball, but will play hide and seek all day long.
Move List: Rook's motive in battle is very straight forward and fundamentally about oppressive fire... sometimes literally.
Howl, Odor Sleuth, Leer, Roar, Bite, Fire Fang, Ember, Beat-Up
A native born resident of the Johto region, Rai grew up on the Olivine coast with his mother and little sister, Samantha. Mischievous and active from a young age, Rai was often in trouble for winding up in places he had no business being, and had little aptitude for the world of academia. Skipping school to climb to the top of the Lighthouse, running out along the sea breakers and returning home soaked through with sea water, Rai constantly looked for new ways to push the boundaries (and his mother’s sanity) to their breaking point. His mother, a General of the Land Rangers, often found her son standing sheepishly before her desk with a well-worn excuse of “Not wanting the Pokémon to leave him behind”.
With the exception of his little sister, Rai enjoyed the company of Pokémon far more than he did other people. It was a common sight around town for Rai to have a veritable crowd of Pokémon around him, some clamoring for a bite of his lunch he’d come to share with them, some just looking for a good scratch he was always happy to give out. He often drew in Pokémon simply for the delight of his younger sister. But though Rai loved the company he enjoyed around the wild Pokémon of Olivine, it wasn’t until his mother brought home an abandoned charmander, did Rai truly bond with a Pokémon.
Blind in one eye, thanks to an injury, the Rangers could only speculate the newly hatched Pokémon had been abandoned by a thoughtless trainer. Rai, on the other hand, couldn’t have been more enamored with the young fire-type. Instantly dubbed, “Kye”, Rai nursed the charmander back to health and the two became utterly inseparable. Rai didn’t treat his companion so much as a Pokémon, but a little brother. From sleeping in Rai’s bed, to his own chair at the dinner table, Kye became as much a part of the family as his human counterparts.
Though it took him more than a few tries to finally earn his trainer’s license, Rai and Kye eventually bid home farewell and set out to explore the Johto region. Occasionally venturing into towns for battles and rest stops at the Pokémon Centers, Rai preferred the lesser traveled roads of Johto where he caught a number of Pokémon to accompany him and Kye on their journey. For two years, Rai lived an uncomplicated life of a trainer, until returning to a pokémon center where a Ranger waited for him.
His mother had been a part of a sting operation to put an end to one of the illegal fighting rings where both Pokémon AND trainers would participate in all-out brawls, called Pit fights. Her cover had been compromised, and by the time Rai arrived back in Olivine, his childhood home had been burned to the ground; his mother dead and sister missing. Investigation turned up nothing when days became weeks, and weeks turned into months. Though the Rangers knew the culprits originated from within the dredges of the Team Fuse organization, they were unable to find enough evidence to bring any kind of justice to his mother and his sister, now presumed dead.
It wasn’t a good enough for Rai.
Abandoning his life as a trainer altogether, Rai released all of his pokémon, save for Kye. It took months for him to track down the Pit fighting ring his mother had been working to bring down, but he finally located it in an old warehouse in Goldenrod that was nestled deep in Fuse territory. He immersed himself in the lifestyle, posing as a would-be grunt to gain entrance into the gang-run fights. Though he kept his ear to the ground for any hint of information about his family, Rai quickly found himself utterly tangled in the violent world of Pit fighting and before long, her and Kye became common participant themselves, and their original purpose slipped further and further into the background.
Years of fighting eventually earned Rai a reputation, both within the gang and with the local police. Though he started with no real fighting experience, he and Kye learned quickly to defend, and eventually dominate their opponents if they wanted to walk out in once piece. What started as a mission to find out the fate of their family, became survival. Both of them gathered scars, while his peers were out in the world gathering pokémon. Through it all, Rai and Kye worked as a savage team, leaving more and more opponents in their wake, despite Kye’s obvious disadvantage.
It took almost a decade, before Rai finally caught the scent of his family’s fate again; an upper ranking grunt drunkenly bragging about the house in Olivine he’d burned to the ground and the “spoink of a cop” he’d kept locked inside, while his partners made off with the girl.
Rai saw red.
Almost 10 years of life in the Pits took over. Whether or not Rai managed to beat the grunt to death, he wasn’t sure, but it was Kye who finally managed to ignite the warehouse around them to save Rai from the gang descending on them. The two ran for it, even as sirens screeched in the background and smoke poured into the sky.
Hopping from region to region to avoid being tracked, Rai finally managed to pick up the train of the old Fuse members that took off with his little sister, residing somewhere in the Hoenn Region.
Team:
Name: Kye
Species: Charmeleon
Gender: Male
Kye is Rai’s ONLY pokémon. Rai thinks of Kye as more of a person than pokemon, and Kye has taken it as his personal duty to protect his hard-headed trainer. The last time he saw the inside of a pokéball is now a distant memory, and is a constant companion at the side of his trainer.
Despite his poor start in life, Kye is a better judge of character than his trainer. Though vicious inside of the fighting rings, Kye has a rather laid-back disposition and enjoys the brief moments in life where time harkens back to the easier days when he and Rai traveled through Johto. Cautious of other people and pokémon, Kye is hesitant around strange people and pokémon, but still trusts them far more than his trainer.
Since he is blind in his left eye from an injury in the early days of his life, Kye relies on Rai to fill in the gaps in his abilities, allowing the two to work in tandem with a synchrony normal trainers and their pokémon lack.
Move list:
Thanks to the nature of Pit fights, Rai rarely calls on Kye to use a particular move. This has lead to a split set of moves with ones Kye will use without being told in the heat of a fight, and ones he’ll draw on when directly ordered by his trainer.
Background: Raised in a single parrent household Sarah never knew her father, nor did her mother talk about him very often. She learned that he was once a well-respected pokeresearcher, and she was a trainer in a Psychic Gym, but that was a life-time ago, as the mother she knew had been a spiritualist for as long as she could remember. Though dad was never around, his pokemon was, and Sarah grew up with the ditto that remained from his research. It was, as her mother often told her, to be her first pokemon when she came of age. With her faitfhul ditto named Squishy in her possession, she set out to meet the local professor to recieve her pokedex, and begin her journey from her family home tucked away in the woods north of Oldale Town.
As it so often goes in every universe people surround themselves with things (or other people) with which or whom they share a special bond. Something in each reflects a part of the self, and the nature of the relationship Sarah has with her pokemon is no different.
Extended Background: Team Origins
Nickname: Squishy Type: Normal Gender: --- Nature: Lax Ability: Impostor Item: Elixir Ball Type: Premier
Before even acquiring her pokedex Sarah's mother transfered the ditto left by her father into a the premire ball that came free with the ten pokeballs bought for her 10th birthday. Though old, this pokemon was largely used for research and breeding purposes, and has not yet lived the high-intensity battle life of a trainer's first-choice pokemon. Being the older of the two, and more tested in battle (if only by a little) than its master, Sarah often fines herself having a difficult time controling or motivating Squishy to act in the manner in which she diesres. As a result Sarah was forced to catch a few more local pokemon to ensure her safety while traveling to the Professor's home.
Personality Trait: Adaptability As a young, fresh adventurer, Sarah's mind is still malleable and easily molded. She adapts quickly to new situations based off of her previous experience in other situations. Unfortunately she doesn't have a lot of experience (yet) to draw from.
Move Set: Transform (separate from Imposter), Copycat, Me First, Substitution
Nickname: Ziggy Gender: Male Type: Normal Nature: Adamant Ability: Pickup Item: --- Ball Type: Normal
Being the first pokemon caught by a trainer is the silver lining of the cloud that is 'being a pokemon caught by a trainer', and its a badge of honor that this Zigzagoon wears well. Among the gifts of affection it has brought into Sarah's life was a gold nugget which resulted in a rocky start of their relationship when Sarah traded it for supplies. Taken as a sign of disrespect the two haven't really seen eye-to-eye in the few days that followed.
Personality Trait: freedom Zigzagoon's purpose is to use its special abilities to collect and provide for Sarah on her adventure. The pokemon equivalent to raccoons—the real world's trash-bandits—Zigzagoon and Sarah share a desire to play by their own rules, and general disregard for (learned) social customs.
Move set: Tackle, Sand-Attack, Quick Attack [Normal], Oder Sleuth, Covet, and Rest.
Later Moves: Tackle leads to Headbutt, and Take-Down. Quick Attack leads to Extreme Speed, and Swift. Oder Sleuth leads to Lock-On, and Block. Covet leads to Bestow, Fling, and Payday.
Nickname: Sweet-Pea Gender: Female Type: Grass / Poison Nature: Modest Ability: Run Away (Becomes Stench on first evolution, and Healer on second) Item: Big Root Ball Type: Normal
The first pokemon that Sarah caught whom doesn't give her a load of greif Sweet-Pea is, as her name suggests, a very caring oddish. She was captured with a net ball purchased with the money that Zigzagoon's nugget sold for, and as a consequence has become Ziggy's arch-nemesis. When the two are out of their balls, but not in battle, they find themselves fighting each other.
Personality Trait: Caring Sweet and mild tempered Sarah genuinely cares about everyone around her until they give her a reason not to.
Later Moves: Sweet Scent leads to Aromatherapy, and Sunny Day (with combined prerequisite Petal Dance) Magic Leaf leads to both Petal Dance (on move list) and Razor Leaf. Absorb leads to Mega Drain, which leads to Giga Drain Leach Seed leads to Spore (rather than Sleep/Stun/Poison Spores) and Sun/Moonlight (with combined prerequisite: Mega Drain) Solar Beam (a move on the move-set of previous gen [she'll evolve to Bellosom]) is the culmination of all her grass moves and will be her ultimate technique. Grass types evolve quickly and typically see the fastest progression of moves, which leads them to have a lot of (similar) moves, and move prerequisites in their progression. Poison Gas may lead to Acid, and possibly Acid Spray & Acid Armor.
Upon completing her initial journey to acquire a pokedex, Sarah returned home to find a mysterious egg in her home in her mother's place. The note read: "Congratulations Darling, you're now a woman! I found this egg at a local shrine and believe it to be a sign. As you begin your journey I too will renew my own, and go on a pilgrimage. I trust it will be safe in you're care. I love you, honey, and wish you all the best. xoxo, Mom."
Though Sarah has only recently received the egg, and has no idea about what may hatch from it. It contains a Misdreavus.
Personality Trait: Belonging When Misdreavus hatches it will remind her of her mom, and her place in the world. Belonging is an indirect thing, and as a reminder of her mom (who was also indirect), Sarah will nurture that indirectness.
Early Moves: Spite, Astonish, Confusion Ray, Mean Look,
Later Moves: Astonish leads to Shadow ball, Curse leads to Perish Song, Spite leads to Payback, Grudge, and Imprison.
Optional Background: Trainer Traits
Bloodline
Exuberant Child
Gym-Trainer's Daughter
Bloodline: The daughter of a psychic trainer, Sarah has a minor gift for telekinisis and can lift small objects like pokeballs with her mind. This ability does not have any practical purpose in combat however, but it has given her an affinity for psychic, ghost, and dark type pokemon whom she naturally gets along with.
Exuberant Child A fresh faced trainer has come of age and squired her first pokemon, and pokedex. As are all children of her age, Sarah is a bundle of energy, will eat anything, and is generally an optimistic person. This is a personality trait often appreciated by normal and fairy type pokemon.
Gym-Trainer's Daughter Even without a pokedex Sarah has had the fundamentals of their society's technology explained to her over time. She understands many of the things other kids her age may have to have explained to her.
Childish
Cursed/Unfortunate
Dual-Nature
Childish: Let's face it: she's 10. So, while there is quite a bit about pokemon she may understand, there is a lot about regular every-day stuff she doesn't. Sometimes this manifests as being oblivious to certain subject matters, while at other times, she may be oblivious to some obvious social custom.
Cursed/Unfortunate: A trait also inherited from her mother, Sarah has a long streak of unlucky coincidences aligning against her, and is often found to be quite clumsy. Pokemon or trainers with an ability to read other pokemon, can read Sarah for free while reading her pokemon. This may result in their gaining a battle advantage over Sarah.
Dual-Nature: From one mystical parent, and one science-focused parent, to the psychic-spiritualist mother, and dead father, there's just something about Sarah that makes it difficult for her to befriend single-typed pokemon.
Ian grew up in a beaten down apartment in the less savory streets of Castelia City in the Unova Region. Although he was always lucky to be given the essentials of food and a place to sleep, his family was always struggling to survive in the big city, especially since the sole parent bringing home any income was his mother. She worked as a receptionist in one of the local office buildings and would be gone for most of the day only to come home and be required to cook, clean, and raise a child.
Ian's father worked as a photographer for a local Castelia magazine and specialized in taking photography of Legendary Pokemon. He always had a passion for the rarest of Pokemon and would vanish for weeks or months chasing a lead on various Pokemon, only to come back empty-handed to a cold house and angry family. The household would be filled with light and energy when Ian's father was home as he would entertain his son with stories of how he almost caught Virizion on film deep in a forest or chasing a rumor of Zekrom deep into a thunderstorm. He would always run outside on days that it was raining or exceptionally warm, stating the old mantra "Zekrom/Reshiram might be near."
Ian loved both of his parents, but as he grew older, he began to notice the hardships his mother was experiencing on her own. She was always depressed or angry and was fighting a losing battle against her desire to keep the emotions under control. She begged her husband to change his career and think about the family and their well-being, saying she desired more than living in an apartment on the verge of falling apart for the rest of her life.
"The next trip... that will be my big break! I can just feel it." Was the only response Ian's father could muster at the end of the shouting matches between the two.
This lasted until Ian's 8th birthday when his mother lost her job and came home to find that her husband had vanished once again on one of his excursions. She was outraged and spend the evening in tears talking to him on the phone as Ian watched from a corner, tears running down his face at the sight. The conversation ended with her mother screaming for him never to come back. Ian's family was even more broken, and now their financial future was completely uncertain.
Ian's mother began searching for another job and attempted to keep the family above water while Ian began traveling the streets looking for small jobs that he could do to earn some extra money. Castelia was an expensive city and money was tight for all residents. Ian managed some work, but in the end, the stress made Ian's mother fall ill and at the age of 15, Ian lost his mother to heart failure. The loss was sudden and left Ian alone in an apartment he had no method of paying for and had to make a decision.
Ian made a decision to leave Castelia and pursue his father and assist him in capturing the perfect image and finding success in his passion. A belief that if he could help his father, then they could return to Castelia together and live a much happier life. So Ian and the Eevee his family had kept as a pet began packing up their bags, including a Dome Fossil left behind as a souvenir from one of his father's adventures, and began seeking his father.
He began his adventure by traveling throughout the Unova region with a picture of his father and following every lead regarding his whereabouts. His adventures throughout Unova lasted for several years before his future came to an abrupt stop when he discovered that his father had moved away to the faraway Hoenn Region and had long since given up his dream of being a photographer. Everything Ian had planned had vanished in the blink of an eye, and he didn't know what road he should take, his father was free and could have come to find him if he wanted but instead moved away and given up on his family.
As he stood on the crossroads directing his life, he realized that he had come too far and spent so much time in his pursuing of the Legendary Pokemon that he was on the road to be his father's clone. His father had failed, but Ian refused to be as weak as that man, and the anger he felt became his fuel to become stronger and create the perfect team to capture every Legendary Pokemon. He began a new journey through Unova, but this time he was seeking nothing more than powerful trainers to strengthen his team. His eyes were set upon the gym leaders of Unova, and then he would tackle Hoenn and become the most powerful trainer and find his father and show him the man that he could be.
The trip through Unova for the second time seemed much easier than his first. He knew the lands much better, and his Pokemon had grown stronger already. The Gym Battles were hard fought, but they helped Ian develop a battle style of his own that he planned to utilize to capture these legends. The moment Ian had beaten the final gym in Unova, he spent the remaining of the money he had on a boat to Lilycove Town in the Hoenn Region.
Pokemon Jolteon Nature: Jolly Gender: Male Ability: Volt Absorb Battle Movepool: Discharge, Thunder Wave, Bite, Quick Attack, Double Team, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Electro Ball, Zing Zap, Shock Wave, Nuzzle, Pin Missile, Extremespeed, Wild Charge, Volt Tackle, Charge Field Utility: Rock Smash, Flash History/Personality:
Eevee was a member of Ian's family since he was born and as a result he grew to be exceptionally protective of Ian and rarely left his side throughout his childhood. Whether it was due to the fact that Ian always seemed so lonely or just instincts, Eevee would treat Ian as if he was responsible for the well being of the child reminding him to eat properly by nudging fruits and vegetables within his reach or ensuring he was warm by securing the blanket over Ian at night.
When Ian and Eevee left on their journey, Eevee would try to ensure Ian was happy as possible even when the future seemed bleak. He felt the pain that his trainer felt and wanted nothing more than to bring happiness into their lives once again, even permitting the decision of it's evolution to be left up to Ian and his convenience. Along their initial travels through Unova, Ian was given a Thunderstone in appreciation for some labor he had done in exchange for room and board. They decided to evolve into Jolteon when they began their second tour through Unova seeking Gym Badges.
Personality wise, it is difficult to bring Jolteon down and he tries to find the best in the darkest situations. Whether it is a blessing or not, he always has an optimistic view and believes himself and Ian can achieve anything if they work together. Overall Jolteon tends to be rather timid in comparison to Ian or his other Pokemon and reacts to Ian's decisions at all times.
Kabutops Nature: Naughty Gender: Male Ability: Weak Armor Battle Movepool: Aqua Jet, X-scissor, Rock Throw, Slash, Metal Claw, Night Slash, Aqua Charge, Crush Claw, Rock Slide, Fury Cutter, Stealth Rock, Accelerock, Shard Shot, Extremespeed Field Utility: Cut, Rock Smash, Surf History/Personality:
The Dome Fossil was the first sign of success Ian's father ever produced, discovering the fossil on an trip deep within Reversal Mountain and writing a piece discussing the possibility of more fossils within the mountain and the theory that Kanto and Unova may have once been connected. Ian took the fossil with him when leaving Castelia City and along his journey was given the opportunity to revive it into the Pokemon Kabuto.
Kabuto was a surprisingly vicious Pokemon who wanted nothing more than to battle and defeat other Pokemon, dragging Ian into battles that he would have rather enjoyed. Kabuto never really became friends with Ian and preferred to be left in it's Pokeball unless needed for battle. Kabuto evolved into Kabutops rather early in their journey after battling every wild Pokemon they would encounter and since then became even more battle-thirsty.
Ian managed to take advantage of Kabutop's craving for battle and it became a key member in defeating the various gyms of Unova.
Once Ian had decided that he was going to pursue legendary Pokemon, he realized that he needed a strong member for his team that can master status inducing moves and be offensively powerful. He had heard rumors of the strength of ghost Pokemon and their mastery of these types of weakening moves and began seeking out a member for his team. Ian had encountered a number of different ghost-types before encountering a Haunter who ran out at him and attempted to play with Jolteon rather than battle it.
Capturing this Pokemon was simple and the battle was easily won by Jolteon. At first Ian had doubts about his choice in Pokemon since Haunter spent a majority of time avoiding damage but not returning attacks in battle. It would instead taunt the enemy Pokemon or try and play with it not realizing the consequences of it's actions. Ian evolved Haunter in a trade during his journey hoping that it would have an effect on the Pokemon's determination in battle; however, it's personality remained the same and as a result Gengar is Ian's weakest Pokemon.
Gengar tends to drag Ian off of their planned directions and gets into mischief forcing the others to join and getting the group into trouble more often than not.
Theo stands at an average height, has a rather thin build, and pale skin. His inky black hair trails down to his shoulders and is often worn freely or tied back into a bun. Sharp steely grey eyes accent all of his other sharp facial features and he often has a curious gleam in his eye. A set of thin rimmed glasses rests on his nose, helping to correct his blurry vision when focusing on distant objects. Usually dressed in a well fitted tuxedo for work or very clean clothing and "businesslike" clothing, it's clear that Theo values his appearance and has a high standard for fashion. Theo is always clean shaven and usually smells lightly of Lumiose City's famous "Winds of Love" cologne.
Age: 28
History: Theodore was born to a rich family during one of their many tours of the different regions of the world. Having been raised by these "affluent wanderers" and their party of butlers, maids, and cooks, Theodore calls no particular region his home and no particular person his "caretaker"-- he sends flowers, birthday cards, and gifts to all parties involved in raising him during any particular holiday.
He can vividly recall his first interest in music forming during a cruise around Hoenn. An orchestra playing aboard the S.S. Mariah captured Theo's, attention at the gentle age of six, and kept it all day-- so much so that he refused naps, food, and even asked the orchestra to continue playing while he slept. After making a landing at the Mossdeep City port, his parents immediately purchased him a violin and hired a tutor to accompany them on the rest of their journeys.
In the span of three years, Theo proved himself something of a musical prodigy. Skilled at playing the Violin, the tutor retired from service and suggested the Selvaggio family hire another tutor-- one for a different instrument. Years passed and Theo's natural talent with music branched out to multiple other instruments-- he became adept at playing the piano, cello, and guitar. Eventually, he began to take interest in starting his own journey, in order to bring joy to others with his music, much how the Orchestra brought joy to him. Upon expressing this interest to his parents, they purchased him the most expensive Pokemon they could afford, as a "guard" for him, then sent young Theo, aged fourteen at the time, on his very first solo adventure.
Since then, Theo has played in a variety of places and for a notable amount of bands and orchestras. He has currently come back to Hoenn, feeling as if this is where he should be, in order to explore and play music for all to enjoy.
Party:
Male Steel / Flying
Info:"The most expensive Pokemon money can afford" happened to be a Skarmory with a peculiar gold body and green feathers. Purchased by Theo's family and given to him as a gift, this Pokemon as been with him since the beginning. He couldn't think of a name to call the Skarmory, so simply began calling him "Nick" which was short for "Nickname".
He is very serious and strategic in battle. Both offensive and defensive moves used tactically.
Ability: Weak Armor
Field Moves: Fly - Cut - Peck Gust - Leer - Pluck
Battle Moves: Steel Wing - Sky Drop - Flash Cannon - Metal Claw Iron Defense - Air Slash - Metal Burst -Drill Peck Autotomize - Swords Dance - Iron Head - Mirror Shot
Info: Usually following Theo around, weaving around his feet energetically, Melody was named due to her eagerness to sing. In Theo's backup singer duo, Melody takes the lead when singing. Apparently Theo has never once fell asleep to her song, even when others do.
She seems fearful of battle and focuses on defense.
Info: Usually seated upon Theo's shoulder, Harmony was named due to his interesting need to backup Melody's singing. In Theo's backup singer duo, Harmony does exactly what his name implies-- carries a wonderful harmony to complete musical cords. Sometimes he can sing at a volume so loud he overpowers Melody and Theo.
He is surprisingly aggressive in battle, often throwing himself into the thick of things.
Name: Keoni Mahiki Age: 26 Appearance: Tanned, with light brown hair and blue eyes, Keoni is an Alolan native from Ula'Ula island. He wears a half-grin on his handsome face, teeth startlingly white when he laughs, which is often. He prefers light clothing, sleeveless shirts showing off his arms and long pants as a habit from his life in the desert. For the same reason, he prefers ironically heavy hiking boots. On more formal occasions, he'll don a button-up shirt, but he'll undo the buttons and leave it hanging open at the first opportunity. On very, very rare occasions, he'll bundle up for cold weather.
History: Born third child and first son of a ranger couple stationed just outside the Haina Desert, Keoni was largely left to the care of his two older sisters when his parents went on patrols. Not surprisingly, he learned how to deal with women early in his life. When his parents were home, which is more often than you might think, Keoni was the darling of the household. He could often get away with things his older sisters couldn't, and when he figured this out he began using it to cover for his sisters. This led to many household jokes, and good sibling relations.
Keoni was a social child, and his social circle only got wider as his sisters and his friends matured, leading to many sleepovers at his house. With the closest of his friends, Keoni managed to explore quite a lot of Route 13 and the Tapu Village. When his parents presented him with a weak Trapinch they'd discovered struggling in the desert sands, Keoni's ability to explore only got more pronounced. By the time he was in high school, he had not only developed a nice physique from carrying Sirocco around when the Trapinch tired, but gained a part-time job as a tour guide in Tapu Village.
He met many people in that job, but the one who really stole his heart was a Hoennese redhead with a Torkoal. Her name was Asuna, and their chemistry surprised his parents and disappointed more than a few local girls. Her stay ended up being extended by two weeks, but she eventually had to head back. He gave her a Litten, another Ranger rescue, and a promise to meet her in her hometown. They've stayed in contact via letters and occasional parcels; both Keoni and Kathrine have developed a taste for lava cookies. He sent her a bracelet made of a sparkling stone left behind by a Tapu. However, he kept a bit behind; he's also carved a ring out of the same stone, with a beautiful red stone set in it. If his visit to her hometown goes well, he plans to propose...
Pokèmon: - Flygon (Sirocco), Levitate - Male, (2m tall, 75kg) - Sirocco was born small and weak, and was found lying exhausted on the desert sands after digging out of his clutch nest. He was saved, and through Keoni's love and care, has evolved into a small but tough flygon. He's only barely big enough to carry Keoni, but has built up enough strength to be able to do it for hours, partly in return for the amount of time Keoni spent carrying him before he evolved into a Vibrava. If a pokemon can understand romance, Sirocco certainly supports Keoni's relationship with Asuna, having grown just as attached to her as his trainer. -- While Sirocco gladly serves as Keoni's transport, even begging his trainer to fly with him in their spare time, this flygon is a sneaky and vicious battler. While still strong by the standards of his species, Sirocco learned to use speed and precision over brawling, and often disables or sneaks up on opponents. His signature move, Eternal Sandsong, is the epitome of this, trapping and blinding the opponent. - Moves: (Primary) Fly/Sand Tomb/Dragon Rush/Bulldoze/Eternal Sandsong (Known) Solar Beam, Sand Attack, Sunny Day and Giga Impact
- Ninetales (Alola Variant) (Kathrine), Snow Cloak - Female (1.1m tall, 20kg) - This elegant white fox enchanted Keoni when she was offered as a trade by a visiting trainer. The poor bloke had quite a sob story, but Kathrine seemed unaffected by it. She quickly settled in at Keoni's home, and her (mostly) harmless mischief and adorable mistakes won her the adoration of his whole family. She was jealous of any girl spending more time with 'her' Keoni than she did, even barking at his sisters on occasion. When an Ice Stone was brought home by one of the family, she stole it and evolved into a ninetales just to steal more of Keoni's attention. It didn't quite work, as the first few weeks after evolution left her a little more clumsy. She's mostly over tripping on her paws. Mostly. -- Strangely, she battles similarly to Sirocco, despite her ego. Whipping up a shower of ice crystals from her fur, she'll disappear into the resulting powder and hit her opponent with ice blasts from apparently nowhere. She is still a bit of a showboat, appearing in the cloud just long enough for her opponent to spot her and strike. Sometimes she dodges and disappears again. Other times she stumbles. -moves (Primary) Dazzling Gleam/Frost Breath/Hail/Blizzard/Calm Mind (Known) Roar, Baby-Doll Eyes, Swagger, Attract,
- Decidueye (Robin), Long Reach - Male (1.6m tall, 36.6 kg) - Robin is the silent member of Keoni's team, even up to seeming sleepy at times. Keoni found him as a Rowlet in Tapu Village. After trying to wake the little pokemon for a good half hour, Robin perched on Keoni's head when he turned around, and has never left. Mostly active at night, Robin is nevertheless fiercely protective of his trainer and team. He would pop out of his pokeball often when Keoni was younger, just to watch over the boy at night. He's better-disciplined now, but does seem to take particular pleasure in taunting fighting and psychic type opponents. -- One of Keoni's sisters, after a mock battle, once described Robin as "an irritating little *bleep*". Unlike the other two, Robin doesn't hide. He stays just out of the opponent's reach, even letting fighting-type moves 'hit' him and hooting almost in laughter. He launches his attacks from a safe distance, relying on his Long Reach ability as much as possible. - Moves (Primary) Spirit Shackle/Razor Leaf/Leaf Blade/Shadow Claw (Known) Sucker Punch, Astonish, Pluck, Steel Wing
Gender: Male Age: 48 Skin: Pale Height: 5'11" Weight: 143 lbs Hair: Purple (white streak) Eye: Brown and Blue Hometown: Mossdeep City, Hoenn Region
(Formal Attire. What he would look like during an Elite Four match.)
(Casual Attire. What he looks like in public.)
Born to Leon and Deirdre Aeros in Mossdeep City, Tristan grew up an only child to a teacher and physicist, respectively. The young Tristan wanted for nothing, was generally well-liked but had few real friends. Percival Gutermuth was certainly his closest friend, and the two of them were rarely seen apart.
Percival, son of Mossdeep’s Gym Leader Persephone, was a fierce, yet kind and loyal friend to Tristan. The two were rather skilled in the area of Pokemon and Pokemon battles, seemingly traveling the same path. The catalyst for their path was the Eevee Tristan received from his father’s sister, Sandra, and a Spoink for Percival from his mother.
Overjoyed, they immediately began private lessons with Persephone Gutermuth. These lessons and tutorings intensified over a five year timespan until it was clear that Tristan and Percival would only learn what they needed to by setting out on their own journey - their own adventure.
With just his Eevee, he set himself against his former mentor in an attempt for the Telepath Badge. It was a tough battle for the boy; he only knew what Persephone taught him, after all. He deviated little from his teachings resulting in failure on his first attempt for a Gym Badge. Given that he was unable to “think outside the box”, as it were. It was clear he wasn’t ready for her Badge.
Pouting outside, he was approached by his best friend, Percival. While it seemed that Percival was able to acquire the Telepath Badge, he was unwilling to leave his best friend behind. The two spoke and walked for a time. By evening, Percival promised Tristan that he would speak to his mother for him.
After dinner that night Persephone stopped by the Aeros’ to speak with Tristan. She ended up gifting him a Ralts she had recently captured, figuring he could use such a friend. While Tristan was hesitant, both not wanting to get pity nor special treatment, he graciously accepted the altogether too generous gift.
Spending only several days in intense training, so as to get to know Ralts, Tristan readied for his next attempt at the Telepath badge. With a newfound assuredness, Tristan proved that he was a capable trainer - learning about his new Pokemon so quickly and intimately.
With joy and pride filling his heart, Eevee evolved into Espeon for his Trainer.
It was now time to leave home, explore Hoenn, and prove what he was capable of, if not to anyone but himself. Percival had waited for him, of course, and the two set out together.
They wouldn’t go too far; not at first. The closest Badge they could gain was nearby in Shoal Cave. Having to cross some water, they were in need of something to help him against the strong currents. In managing to capture a Staryu, Tristan was able to gain passage to the Cave for the two of them.
In making their way through he was set upon by a rather gregarious Jynx. In order to truly protect the both of them from her, he battled and caught her; adding a new member to the team. With his three Pokemon, he was able to acquire a Rime badge. Percival, of course, had no trouble gaining it as well with Spoink, Wailmer, Wingull, and Snorunt.
Choosing to head west, the pair make their way to Lilycove, stopping by the Gym at Mt. Pyre. Meeting Percival’s Grandparents, they gifted each of them one Pokemon - Percival gained a Dustox while Tristan received a Beautifly. Before leaving, they both managed to gain the Banshee Badge. Percival’s Spoink, in the meantime, evolved into Grumpig and he caught a Chimecho.
The Fortree City Gym would be their next stop. On their travels, Tristan found an injured Natu, nursing it as they trekked to the Pokestation in Fortree. In a rather tight spot, Tristan’s Ralts evolved into Kirlia. Once Natu had fully recovered, it wanted to stay with Tristan, the young man gaining another member to his team. And with the Cloud Badge, Percival’s Wingull evolved into Pelliper and he caught a Wobbuffet along the way.
The pair would continue their journey, collecting all the region’s Gym Badges. New Mauville for the Watt Badge would be their next goal, followed by Verdanturf for a Method Badge and Fiery path for the Blight Badge. During this time, Tristan’s Natu evolved into Xatu.
Mt. Chimney passed them by with Eruption Badges, then on to the Central Desert For a Paleon Badge. Through the desert, Staryu evolved into Starmie. Route 113’s Shadow Badge, then 114’s Pixie Badge fell into their possession before they made it to Meteor Falls for the Wyvern Badge. Percival also found his Solrock and Lunatone here, and Tristan’s Kirlia evolved into Gardevoir.
From there, the pair went along Route 115 for their Melee Badges, stopped in Rustboro City for a time, then headed into Petalburg Woods for some Chitin Badges. It was here that Tristan traded his Beautifly for a Kadabra, figuring that she would have a much better life with someone dedicated to her own kind, rather than being beaten up again and again on the road.
Finally it was time for the Chloryph Badge at Petalburg City’s Gym, followed by Granite Cave’s Mason Badge and eventually Slateport’s Iron Badge where Percival’s Wailmer evolved into Wailord.
On their way to their final Badge at Pacifidlog, Percival’s Snorunt finally evolved into Glalie. Even after four years of traveling, the pair still had a difficult time obtaining their Bouy Badges, yet were ultimately successful.
Following this, the pair made the trek to Victory Road to defeat the Elite Four and gain entry into the Championship. The trials were grueling, and even with the two of them together, helping each other out, it was still a near-impossible task. Indeed, in order to prove his worth against the Elite Four, his Espeon nearly sacrificed his own life to restore Gardevoir to a state to succeed against the “Stewards” of the Championship. Due to this, Tristan was unable to use Espeon in the tournament and didn’t even make it far enough to face off against his closest friend, landing in 17th place.
The journey had been long and hard, and he had so little to show for it. Percival, for his part, only made it to the top ten, but it was still so much better than Tristan, who had stayed to watch his childhood friend compete. The two would return home to rest, recover, and figure out their next steps.
While it was Percival’s fate to one day run the Gym in Mossdeep, Tristan’s future was not so certain. As Percival trained and studied to fulfill his duties, Tristan set off for the wilds of Hoenn again in search of a Ralts - specifically a male Ralts. He had heard of another evolution and was eager to prove to himself that he was worth everything he had been through.
Finding this Ralts, he decided to join the Rangers as an Investigator. The insight he had gained through so much time with his Pokemon made him a natural at reading people, and so he wanted to capitalize on that.
There was also the bit with Gardevoir’s tendency to blithely read others’ minds, so he was hoping to allow her a more appropriate outlet for the habit. So, at twenty-one years old, a young Tristan Aeros joined the Rangers as an Investigator - somewhat outside the purview of the typical chain of command.
While Major Harry Burque was his commanding officer, he was regularly “employed” by all branches of the Rangers. His Pokemon’s somewhat unique set of skills, many times, proved invaluable to investigations that had stalled or gone cold.
It wasn’t long, after rooting out a drug den harvesting from Gloom and Vileplume, that he was clandestinely approached by Marilda Fairfax. The two would never meet in person, of course, but she compensated him quite well for his work on her behalf. Tristan had no qualms about this dual role so long as he was allowed to prioritize his work with the Rangers, and the requests didn’t go against his better judgement - he was about to become an assassin or steal money for her. No, he would merely gather information, and he wouldn’t bother worrying about how that might play out.
During these four years, his male Ralts would eventually be evolved into a Gallade with a Dawn Stone gifted to him by his “sponsor”, Lady Faifax.
By Twenty-six he decided to try his luck again at the Championship. This time, the Elite Four was not quite so difficult, despite the change in their ranks. Now with a full team, though still not utilizing Espeon, Tristan managed to make it to third place in the contest. Still, it was a more bitter than sweet conclusion to so many years of work.
Wishing for a new challenge again, Trsitan set out to capture a Beldum, having faced a Metagross and been seemingly too impressed with the Pokemon. Focusing on this, putting his job as an Investigator, both public and private, on the back burner, he was able to train Beldum into a Metagross in only two years.
So, then, at thirty years old, he would make his next, and so far final attempt at the Championship. The Elite Four, while not pushovers, were hard-pressed to truly challenge the now-veteran trainer. In an effort to further challenge himself, he restricted himself to Starmie, Jynx, Xatu, Alakazam, Gallade, and Metagross. Truly powerful members of his team in their own rights, to be sure, but his bonds with them were not nearly as total and complete as they were with Gardevoir or Espeon.
Despite his best efforts, he landed in second place, beating out a kid by the name of Mitchell Honnings, and losing against some Forrest Johnson. The battles were tough and well fought, but Tristan seemed ultimately fine with the “first loser” position.
Years would pass and he would move from a Ranger Investigator to an Internal Affairs Inspector, much to the chagrin of more than a few of his fellow colleagues. Still, of course, moonlighting for Marilda when she had use for him.
By thirty-one, Tristan would be invited to join the Elite Four, accepting perhaps too quickly. There, he would hone his skills as a trainer, continuing his Inspector duties, and learning perhaps too much about the dark underbelly of Hoenn as Marilda’s agent.
