Name: Cedric Astley
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Bisexual
Trainer Class: Wandering Trainer
Appearance: Cedric stands a little above six feet with long legs and a longer yet gait - at least, when his injury hasn't flared up and left him limping. He has messy black hair, blue eyes and a very expressive face, often twisted into a grin. He seems to exude impatient energy, and those that pay attention are quick to notice that staying still tends to make him fidget.
Owing to a life spent dedicated to sports, Cedric has an athletic build. You won't necessarily be able to tell by a glance though, considering how loose he likes his clothing. The bigger and more ill-fitting his jackets and hoodies, the better. In general, he has a rather...
unique sense of style, born from a want to purposefully rebel against fashion standards. He loves weird accessories and trinkets and mismatching his clothes; you're very unlikely to find him wearing matching socks at any point. And no, it's not
only 'cause he keeps losing half of every pair! You'll note, though, that his shoes are always the most expensive brand there is.
Hidden under his clothes are also old scars and scrapes from falls and tumbles, most notably a large, somewhat recent one that runs across his left knee. There is also one running across his forehead that few people dare ask about, but really, he encourages it. The story's pretty funny.
Personality: Hotheaded and stubborn, Cedric was built for action and
noise. He's impatient, gets easily bored, and in his haste to get to a point or to move on, can sometimes slip out figurative Politoeds from his mouth without even realizing it. And though he isn't one to insult others on purpose (some snark notwithstanding), he is very poor at hiding irritation. Or, well, anything, really. He can often be read by a pretty open book by his face alone.
You would think serious injury would be enough to quell his adrenaline-seeking ways at least, but reckless remains Cedric's second name to this day. The best way to get him to do something is to tell him he can't or shouldn't, and he takes challenges and dares very seriously indeed. Promises too; when it comes down to it, he can be depended on to do exactly what he said he would, difficulties be damned.
When it comes to Pokémon, Cedric still isn't the biggest fan, which has ruffled some feathers in the past. Warden remains more an exception than a rule, and the contrarian in Cedric refuses to give in to the critters' charm that easily. With that said, he would never harm a Pokémon or let serious harm come to them, much like he wouldn't any person. He might make fun of someone in need of saving, but he would absolutely save them right afterwards, after all.
Background: Unlike his parents and shockingly many of his peers, Cedric never wanted to go on a Pokémon journey. He never wanted to go to Sinnoh either, but here he is.
Though originally born in Johto, his parent's obsession with catching every Pokémon out there has taken them - and by extension,
him - through practically every region out there. Oftentimes he would live with relatives while his parents travelled the land, with one of them occasionally staying home for a longer period to look after him. His parents thought he wouldn't get lonely with so many Pokémon and relatives to keep him company, but if anything, Cedric grew up resenting Pokémon for, in his eyes, being more important to his parents than their own damn kid.
There was one thing Cedric had in common with his parents, though, and that was his love for adrenaline. But while his parents got theirs capturing dangerous creatures in distant lands, Cedric got his from sports. Anything that involved speed was his game, though his biggest love was -
is - running. Yeah, it wasn't as exciting as some of the extreme things he'd tried and loved before and since, but it was the most freeing. His goal was always to go pro after graduation - until, a few years ago, he got into an accident that changed the course of his life. Cedric doesn't like to talk about it to this day, but it involved Pokémon and did nothing to quell his dislike of them. His knee was left injured enough to render him unable to walk, much less run.
Confined to his home - or rather, the home of one of his uncles - while recovering, Cedric felt as miserable as could be. His parents sent him an "exotic variation of a Growlithe", an apparent rarity, to cheer him up, but Cedric could hardly look at the pup without getting angry. He liked his uncle well enough, at least, even though the guy was odd and had some weird views about the state of the world.
It was by pure happenstance that Cedric learnt to give Pokémon a chance. He was running an errand when he happened to witness a strangely dressed man accosting a young trainer. Spotting Cedric, a potential witness and a liability, he immediately sent out a Pokémon to attack him - only for Warden to jump into his defense. A Pokémon battle ensued, and it quickly turned out that Warden wasn't exactly trained to fight. The poor pup was unsure what to do, biting and barking at random, and so Cedric stepped in to guide it. Whether he liked it or not, he grew up being taught how to battle, after all.
What he didn't expect was to enjoy it. Maybe it was thanks to the stakes of the battle, but he found himself getting an adrenaline rush after such a long time spent sedentary and bored. He was
enjoying himself. Having fun. With... a Pokémon battle. No way, right?
Enjoying one battle hardly meant he'd like to become a proper trainer, but after graduating and still being unable to properly chase his original dream, Cedric wasn't really sure what else to do. And at least... Warden liked to battle. It liked to battle
a lot, and during the past few years, the two had grown close. The damn dog had been with him night and day, and even protected him when things came down to it. So while Cedric figured out what he wanted from life, he might as well let Warden live a little.
Needless to say, his parents were thrilled, far more so than him.
Pokémon Team:
- Pokémon 1: (Hisuian) Growlithe
- Nickname: Warden
- Ability: Intimidate
- Personality: Excitable, curious and prone to nibbling everything within reach. Warden shares his trainer's love for running and adrenaline, but can also appreciate a good nap better than anyone. That is to say, he can and will fall sleep anywhere and on anyone, at seemingly random. Protective and jealous, he never backs down from a fight, and is ready to follow his trainer wherever he may go. Loves battling.
- How They Met: A companion Pokémon from his parents, given in a misguided attempt to cheer Cedric up. In the end, ironically enough, he did just that.
- Moveset: Ember, Bite, Fire Fang, Rock Slide
Backpack:- 5 Pokéballs
- 2 Ultra Balls (from his parents' stash)
- 1 Potion
- Treats and toys for Warden
- Poketch (turns out his Rotom phone doesn't really get signal in Sinnoh)
- Travel essentials (even he's not sure what everything his parents packed is...)
- Pain medication
- Map of Sinnoh (who uses physical maps nowadays, seriously)
Notes:Will eventually end up interested in the Pokémon Triathlon games held in Sinnoh, combining Pokémon and sports.
Majoraa
wanderingwolf
Snowdrops
Crimson Flame
Abstract Proxy
Guardian Angel Haruki
The World
BrokenPromise
Digizel
TheMushroomLord
