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Name: Sebastien Tomas

Age: 24

Gender: Male

Birthplace: Stow-on-Side

Appearance Information: Sebastien is someone of roughly average height at 5’ 11”, with broad shoulders and a muscular frame. He tends to dress plainly, but neatly, looking well put together but not someone who cares overmuch about looking stylish; typically he will wear jeans or cargo pants with either a sweater or a long-sleeved t-shirts. Occasionally he will wear gloves as well, to cover his bruised knuckles, after being told that having them visible was not “professional”. He always makes sure that he is clean shaven and gets regular haircuts to keep his appearance consistent.

Personality: A stern, humourless individual who takes everything seriously and has little time or regard for anything that he considers to be a distraction or a waste of his time. He places high expectations on himself and demands a lot of himself and of those around him. On top of this he is also inflexible, expecting those who want to work with him to keep up with his pace and refuses to slow himself down to their speed; he expects others to bend to his concessions and not the other way around and generally considers his time to be worth more than theirs.

This extends to his Pokémon too. Among the gym leaders he is likely the one with the fewest Pokémon at his disposal at any one time as he tends to only keep those who can work alongside or around his personality on his team.

Sebastien does not have much regard for his position of gym leader; or at least, he does not want anything to do with the parts of it that aren’t related to battling or training. He hates being dragged away for anything publicity related or anything dealing with the media or fans. He does not accept the idea that he is supposed to be a public figure or that he needs to set an example or act as a role model; a stance that frequently puts him at odds with the league officials.

Short Biography: There was a boxing gym just down the street from where Sebastien grew up. He would walk past it on the way to school each morning and on the way home as well and every time he did he could hear the sounds of people hard at work inside; the squeaking of shoes of floorboards, the rattling chains and heavy impact of people hitting the punching bags, the rhythmic staccato of the speed bags, the shouts of the trainers. For years he had no idea what kind of place it was or what was going on in there, his parents would always pull him along when he tried to stop and peer inside, and that mystery meant the place occupied a place in his mind for most of his childhood.

Looking back, he probably could have just asked someone what it was and gotten an answer; instead he waited until he was allowed to walk to school by himself and instead of walking past like he always had, went inside to see what was happening inside. For most people that should have been it; he had the answer to his mystery, it wasn’t particularly interesting, so he could go on with his day, but for Sebastien the fascination remained and an interest in boxing was born. A few years later he returned to the gym as a student, training to become a boxer himself. A few more years after that and he was competing as an amateur and was even preparing for his debut as a professional. He had the skill and the talent to do well and maybe even make a career of it, but more than that he had to drive and the competitive spirit to be great, to reach for the top and possibly even become a champion. Not the kind champion most people first thought of when they heard the word, Sebastien had never been interested in that title, but a champion nonetheless.

That would be years away though and even if the chance did come, the title didn’t matter much to Sebastien; he just wanted to box. He had always been a competitive person. He was only really content when he was working for something. Rather than fighting for a title, for the money or for the prestige, he was just interested in the challenge. If becoming the champion was the consequence of competing and winning enough times against enough people that you eventually reached the top of your field then he would become the champion. He would be at the top.

In his second professional fight he broke his hand. Badly.

In his third, he broke it again.

His career was over before it ever began, while he was still in his teens. The doctors said he had nerve damage, that it was too dangerous to keep boxing, that another injury might cause him to lose all functionality in that hand entirely. Sebastien couldn’t get back in the ring again. That fact left him adrift for a while, unsure of how to proceed from that moment. It wasn’t until he happened to see the opening ceremony for the new season of the Galar Pokémon League that he found an answer.

Becoming a Pokémon trainer was never something that Sebastien had considered; growing up his family had never owned any Pokémon and his focus had always been on a different kind of gym. The usual childhood fascination with being a trainer kind of just passed him by, but now that he was where he was, with a cast on his hand and no route towards the future he had expected for himself, he was beginning to consider it. Another challenge, different from what he was used to, but still another championship he could work towards. He wouldn’t be doing it on his own, but he hadn’t been able to do anything on his own anyway; and this stage was bigger, more prestigious. It was worth going for.

His journey as a trainer began at a later age that most, but the same drive that he pushed him to become a professional boxer at a young age and the determination with which he tackled this new path meant that he progressed rapidly. His only path to the Gym Challenge was through the minor league, as no one was going to sponsor a nobody like him; it took him a year to beat all of the lesser gyms. The next year he joined the gym challenge itself, bowing out after the third gym after failing to get past it. During his second year he made it past the fifth gym, then next year the sixth. He felt himself hitting a wall and took the next year off, then made it all the way to the eight on his next attempt. From there he would hit another wall, but this time wasn’t able to overcome it; his next couple of attempts ended in the same place, falling to the final gym leader and never even getting the chance of getting a chance to face the champion.

It almost seemed like that was going to be it, that this was as far as he would go; another competition he failed to succeed at. However, it seemed that somebody had different plans for him, as not long after he was approached by a league official about becoming a gym leader. Sebastien almost refused out of hand, at first seeing the offer as a way out, a way to give up and settle for a lesser title than champion. He stopped himself though and considered the opportunity being presented; being a challenger wasn’t the only way to get a shot at the champion after all. Unlike other leagues in other regions, gym leaders in the Galar region faced each other at the end of every season and potentially got to battle the champion as well. Becoming a gym leader meant he wouldn’t have to worry about travelling or training expenses again; he would get his own facilities, his own resources, plenty of time to dedicate to his training and would even have people lining up to be his punching bags.

He accepted.

Likes:
Boxing
Rainy/foggy days
Rock music
Swimming

Dislikes:
Sweets
Media attention/publicity
Hitting a dead-end
Hot weather

Quirks:
Right handed, but mainly uses their left hand due to the nerve damage in his right.
Still keeps up with his boxing training regularly, sometimes at the expense of his Pokémon training. When he starts to wear gloves in public you know he has been hitting the punching bag recently.
As someone who only became a trainer later in life, there are still a lot of things about Pokémon and training he doesn’t know. He will never admit to his ignorance, however.

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Type Specialty: Water

League Ranking: Major League

League Placement: TBC

Gym Location: TBC

Gym Description: TBC

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TBC