Post by Matt Ward on Apr 7, 2009 21:27:22 GMT -7
Name: Matthew Ward
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Money: $1,800
Bag:
Poke’balls:
Pokeball x1
Medicine:
Potion x2
Misc.:
Cell phone
Pokedex
Two changes of clothes
Bedding
Small assortment of camping gear
Sketchbook
Assorted pencils and pens
Map
Appearance: Matt is rather skinny for his age, this is most likely caused by lack of physical excursion. To balance this out, he tries to eat healthier and keep a slender appearance. Common to the Sinnoh region, Matt has white hair and blue eyes. A famous example is Professor Rowan.
More often then not, Matt wears loose fitting, dress shirts. He claims they look cool, the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, or hanging loose, but he also like the light feel of material better then most others. Instead of carrying the ‘dressy’ trend though, Matt wears jeans, usually a gray or grayish blue instead of the usual “hick” blue jeans.
Often feeling a bit simple, Matt usually grabs his brown wristbands to offset his bland look. Honestly, this just sets it further in as he continues the bland look with rather bland, unmarked, adornments. On his back he wears a simplistic gray backpack with no real markings to set it apart other then a solid black bottom. He holds most of his stuff in here as well as a small sleeping bag which is attached to the bottom with a homemade pocket like appendage.
Personality:
Despite his rather pessimistic look on some of his old friends, Matt is rather loyal to them. He says he doesn’t care much for people forgetting him but in truth, it’s something he thinks about a lot. He often talks to his old friend from Sinnoh, enjoying his time over the phone and is secretly a bit sad about not being able to while out on his journey.
Matt would gladly throw himself in the way to save one of his friends, it’s not a heroic impulse or anything but rather what he sees as equal treatment. Friends, close or not, are still people chosen from the masses to become something more, he feels like they deserve nothing less then his effort and time.
Do to his usual optimistic mood and nature oriented mentality, Matt often finds closure in drawing things. Writing is also an interest but really, any outlet that allows him to get his thoughts down on paper in a creative way that isn’t a direct account of his life is enough to satisfy him.
Secretly, Matt still loves and respects Entei, the way the Pokémon has such power but chooses instead to help people and explore the world is a concept that fascinates him. He would love nothing more then to see Entei, maybe even thank him or draw him for immortal memory, but he knows that he has little to no chance to pulling this feet off.
Rather then exert himself in physical labor, Matt often prefers to sleep or laze away. In part, it’s because of his unwillingness to deal with “trivial” things, and is just plain lazy. It bothers him a little that he is this way and has recently been trying to change it by eating better and generally treating others, and himself better.
Pokemon:
Spheal - Aisu
Level:
5
Move List:
Powder Snow
Defense Curl
Water Gun
Growl
Pokemon Personality:
Spheal, to no surprise of his owner, is extremely curious but caring and protective. Matt picked up the Spheal to take a closer look at it and its first reaction was to poke Matt in the nose with its own, just to see if the strange human had a cold nose also. Sad to say, he was disappointed when he found out he didn’t. Soon after, the Spheal grew instantly concerned and tried to use powder snow to make Matt feel better.
Spheal tries desperately to aid Matt in whatever he is doing. He understands when he cannot but will often whine to try anyway. Matt can get very annoyed with Spheal but in the end, the two get along perfectly.
Spheal’s favorite berry flavor is dry, enjoys leek soup (much to Matt’s accidental discovery), and for obvious reasons does not enjoy heat waves. Oddly enough, the happy little Pokémon seems to enjoy being on land as much as it does water. Matt chalks this up to the fact that Sealeos often bask in the sun on long beaches. He assumes the Spheal will do the same.
Electrike - Blitz
Level:
4
Location Caught:
Route 38
Move List:
Tackle
Thunder Wave
Personality: Blitz is rather protective of Matt and his pokemon. He sees himself as the more responsible member of the team and will often growl to warn others of possible danger or if they are getting out of hand with their behavior. Often taking things into his own paws, Blitz can sometimes get a bit out of hand and must be relaxed by Matt. This is due to him building up a lot of stress and thinking about protecting everyone at once.
Sometimes, Blitz can feel a bit inadequate, his lack of electric attacks and his small stature are great for speed but he feels as though he is weak. Calling him small doesn’t annoy him, it actually hurts his pride deeply and is not something Matt does or respects others for doing.
History:
Salem Ward grew up in the populated shipping city of Canalave City Sinnoh. As a local white haired citizen, he wasn’t much to look at, a rather average person. He worked with his father as a crane operator for the large ships that moved the local goods out of Sinnoh. As many ships found their way into the channel to deliver foreign goods, Salem found great interest in all the new and never before seen items and pokemon that met his eyes.
As he grew, so did his love of the sea. Boats moving in and out of the burning horizon and drifting through the day like the very water they floated on brought limitless dreams of exploration to the growing child.
As his father struggled to show him more of the industrial shipping world, Salem found more interest in the marine life and oceanography in general. He continued to grow and as he did, his knowledge of the sea and its mysteries increased. His father grew worried, he was fending for them both and his seasoned mind told him a crack pot scientist wouldn’t make it.
After Salem finished college, his father wanted him to join him as his apprentice at the local docking area but Salem confessed that the shipping channels no longer held his interest. He explained that he enjoyed the ocean, not the boats that floated on top of it. He longed to become an oceanographer.
Taken aback by his son denying the family trade, Salem’s father was a little disappointed. His father was no fool though, he realized that keeping his son from his dream would be the worst choice. So, with a little effort toward earning money, and his own approval, Salem’s father allowed him to go to college in the nearby university.
*
Clair Connor was a dark haired girl who grew up in Eterna City Sinnoh. Surrounded by the mysterious lore of legendary Pokémon, the little girl grew to love the creatures. As a young girl of five years old, she was entertained with stories of Dialga and Palkia, legendary Gods of time and space.
As she grew, so did her knowledge of Pokémon lore. Her parents told her great stories of the creation of the world and the beings in it. She always loved the story about the lake spirits such as Mesprit, the being of emotion, who was pink and had blessed the human race with the ability to love. Without him, she would never be able to love anyone, or grow up to be a famous Pokémon coordinator. Or that’s how she saw it anyway.
As she grew and moved through high school, Clair impressed her teachers with her vast intellect. She told elaborate stories of creation and with her own charm, she was able to win the hearts of many guys. She was very beautiful, her long dark hair flowing down to her waist and never dulling.
Many men wanted to date her but she was a little off putting in the way she so devoutly believed in “God” Pokémon. Her religious ideals overshadowed her true love for nature. Though she loved all Pokémon for their own mysteries, she was often labeled as the “cute religious freak”.
Soon her family decided that it was time for a change. One of those mid-life crisis that often allow parents the blind ambition to uproot the entire family and move away. Without any true care for Clair’s feelings, everything was packed up and put away. Her life closed on her and she lost what little friends she had as she watched Eterna city fall away into the horizon.
*
Salem and Clair both attended the local University of Canalave, ironically, their roles switched. The pressured Salem now able to embrace his dream to become a scientist, the freed soul of Clair now crest fallen in her new found loneliness.
With Clair’s house a few blocks away from Salem, he didn’t see her move in or recognize her at all until seeing her at school. Of course at that time he was new to the school also and didn’t really see any interest in talking to her.
Clair, despite her emotional slump, continued to do well in her classes. She to probably noticed Salem but must not have thought anything about it. Most “new” kids are timid to everyone during their first scouting period and Clair was no different.
It wasn’t until the two were in their general education science class that the two took notice of each other. A field trip to Iron Island was being planned for testing of the minerals in the water. Salem joined instantly, it was a classic field trip and about the tenth time in his school career to be there but this time he was testing the water for impurities and was excited to go. Clair on the other hand had never been to Iron Island, let alone an actual sea island, until now and wanted to go to experience the sea. Reading all about Kyogre, the water deity, she desperately wanted to see the full extent of its creation.
So, the day of the fieldtrip came and of course, partners were chosen. Much to Salem’s dismay, the selection was made by the teacher and he was set with the oddly cute, but foreign girl and not any of his close friends. Non the less, he was there to collect the water samples and maybe see some of the local marine life as he did. Equipment in hand, he led Clair to a rocky out cove that he had visited before and began to work with her.
Clair was surprised to see the enthusiastic teen take such care in collecting samples. His fingers flew over test tubes and measuring devices but slowed nearly to a stop to collect the water and whatever may be inside with delicate care. He talked often about the sea and soon Clair was swept up in it with her confession of never experiencing the sea as she was from the inland city of Etera.
Salem was rather interested in Clair. Apparently, she had never seen the sea in real life and she loved it nearly as much as he did. He stopped trying to ignore her with his own calculations and instead listened to her stories. She knew more about ancient lore then even some books he had read. She explained that she didn’t have much of a set goal in life and more so wanted to learn all she could. This was a new concept to Salem who had fought so long and hard to get where he was and find a girl who just floated by without care of her future.
For hours the two talked, nothing much getting done. By the time they got back to camp at the island’s dock, the professor had worked himself into a boiling rage. He didn’t know Clair’s number and Salem had been carelessly ignoring it to talk to her. They received the lecture of their lives but the two smiled secretly as the professor fumed.
Years went by and not to anyone’s surprise, the two hooked up in a relationship. No one thought the normal looking Salem would really get anywhere with the now popular Clair but in time the two graduated, very much in love.
Both in their twenties with Salem having a degree in marine biology and Clair having hers in historical teachings, the two decided it was time to get married. In a few months time, and much to the sadness of a few jocks, the two were wed atop a cliff overlooking the sea, out on Iron Island.
Salem Ward moved through the ranks and established himself as a local researcher. He worked with other men and woman of science at a research lab by the ocean. He worked often enough and carried the two in money but enjoyed his job immensely. Clair on the other hand worked at home, writing books about Pokémon mythology and making a small name for herself. She too enjoyed her work but didn’t think much in the ways of supporting the family with her books that she wrote more for fun then income.
As with most young relationships, the two decided to have children. Already in their own house by the local research lab, the two knew they had the time and money to successfully add a child to the household. Clair worked at home and was now starting to grow in fame as a fiction writer and dabbled a bit as a horoscope writer for the local news. Salem would be at work during the day, and some nights, but he earned a stable wage and would see the child often enough.
Months passed and the growing Clair wrote books at home, no longer alone. Her baby was growing and she enjoyed the feeling of motherhood as much as she did the Gods. In fact, as time went by, she found that her motherly duties overtook most of her writing and much to her small fan base’s dismay, enjoyed it that much more. She still wrote but was having more fun picking out names and imagining the stories she would tell her son or daughter.
Finally the baby was born, a white haired boy whose cry quickly died down at the sight of his mother. Clair laughed and told Salem that he was indeed his son, the head full of bleach white hair said it all. Though nerdy, she also threw in a small note of how the genetics seemed to hate her and she thought black hair was dominate.
Salem smiled at his son, and despite all the planning that his wife had done on the name of their child, he named it Matthew. As Clair gaped hopelessly at the bland name, Salem only smiled.
“Name him something with to much thought and the boy might out grow you in intellect. Better get the upper hand while we still can.” He said.
Clair couldn’t help but laugh at Salem’s joke. Yes the name was simple, perhaps even a joke, but she couldn’t bring herself to find a better one. All the time she spent finding names and the small list she had in her mind failed to shine to the absolutely dull name.
Growing quickly, the calming baby grew into a curious boy. Gifted with the curiosity of two thinkers, he questioned everything that floated through his mind. His Mother and Father could only shrug sometimes. They didn’t know why Shellder were attracted to Slowpoke or how Munchlax gained so much weight so fast.
Curiosity consumed the boy and eventually it turned to a sort of optimism. He constantly wondered about things and often looked foreword to finding out why. His Mother helps quench his mind by filling it with stories of wild Pokémon flew the water currents under the sea and small ones that could alter the entire world.
Matt was most interested in Entei. As far as he could see, no other Pokémon could match his might. The mighty fire emperor could common volcanoes and leave fire in his wake. Yet this mighty Pokémon ran around the world, seeking new things to stimulate itself with other then to destroy. People has reported seeing it all over Johto and Kanto. Matt was overtaken with resentment at the fact that he lived in Sinnoh.
Salem noticed his son’s sorrow and wondered why. He went to ask when he noticed the young child drawing Entei with some crayons. Out of all the marine Pokémon that Matt had ever seen, he apparently liked this rare oddity of the Johto region. As he watched his son look at the red and brown scribble that was Entei, he could only feel sorrow himself. Salem was trying to force Matt into loving the sea but he clearly had other interests.
A fourteen year old Matt looked out over the sea and wondered if all parents were as cruel as his. His parents were going through one of those mid-life crisis that often allow parents the blind ambition to uproot the entire family and move away. He was leaving all his friends and moving to Johto.
Three months from the end of school, Matt’s family moved. Taking the family boat, the three sailed off to Johto. His father reassured him that his new job was better and that the pay was just to great to pass up. He tried to make Matt laugh by saying that Entei might be waiting for them at the dock, his stern eyes turned to them as if to welcome them.
Matt didn’t say anything and instead watched the fading image of Canalave drift into the water as they sailed away.
*
Two years passed and now Matt was ready to start on his Pokémon journey. He now knew enough about Johto to traverse it comfortably, and had dreamed of finding his future out in the world. He wasn’t sure of what he wanted to do but he figured he would just go with life and see where it took him. It worried him to think that he would be alone, he hadn’t met any real friends when he realized just how thin the old ones were. He had a handful of “school” friends, but knew they would flake on him if he left so he didn’t bother leaving with any of them.
As he left his house the first day, he didn’t look back. His eyes set headlong on the direction that would take him to the research lab, his back to the ocean and his house.
*
Inside the house, Clair finished the last sentence on her latest novel. She sighed in relief and took a long drink from some ice tea she had in a glass cup. Salem walked up behind her and rubbed her shoulders as she finished triple saving her document.
“So, why did we move here again? Olivine is nice… But it’s just not as good as Canalave city to me and your pay check went down. I miss that island, and I can’t believe you so readily moved away from your hometown.”
Salem smiled a little, hidden from his wife by the top of her head. “Who knows?”
Roleplay Example:
Well… I think Reid can vouch for me, but if not I can dig one up.