Name: Gad Van Lierre
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Current Residence: Somewhere in the rural countrysides around Route 12, Kalos.
Appearance He stands at about 1.75m tall, with an average-athletic build for his height (presumably to get more athletic-toned as he actually adventures). His eyes are a warm shade of brown (with a vague goldish-amberish refraction pattern visible just under the surface from certain angles) and his hair is dark brown to the point of being black. Very rarely, when light hits it the right way, you can see the occasional reddish strand. He often keeps it shortish but occasionally allows it to grow longer. His clothing style could be described as casual, emphasizing comfort and practicality. Expect to see him in jeans, a T-shirt, occasionally a jacket of some sort and a bandanna in varying shades of green, blue and black and often incorporating designs invoking plants, helix designs or both. Alternating outfits aside, he carries a backpack with a somewhat plated, biomechanical look and wears a pendant shaped like a stylized Zygarde.
Identifying Marks: All his moving around between regions has left him with a bit of an unusual compound accent that shifts around a fair bit.otherwise, he doesn't think he has any.
Personality: He is a highly intelligent, scientific sort with a passion for all things biology (though he has a fascination with minerals and paleontology as well). He has a great memory for assorted factoids he finds interesting and tends to absorb information when he can (he jokingly refers to himself as a 'trash can for information') - and a bit of a tendency to over-analyze things and get lost in detail, sometimes overlooking the greater picture. On the other hand, he is a creative, artistic sort with a tendency to daydream and become lost in his own mind. His love for nature is apparent in both these sides.
He has quite a developed sense of humor - mostly driven by puns, semi-obscure references and sarcasm. He often says that without his sense of humor he would have been dead long ago - and lapsing into humor tends to be a coping mechanism to him.
He's not very easy to get to know, but once he befriends someone, he will be loyal to them until they break his trust. To his friends, he's a good listener, sensitive and supportive. To other people, he is reasonably friendly, though he has a rather low tolerance for stupidity - it tends to send him into sarcasm-mode. He has a tendency to stress out or feel slightly out of place in very large groups, or when surrounded by people he does not really know. As such, he tends to dislike large cities.
Gad has much respect to all Pokémon as fellow sentient beings and builds his relationship with his Pokémon on the basis of mutual trust, respect and teamwork. As far as battling goes, he emphasizes diversity and utilization of the environment and attacks already in play to turn the tide of battle in his favor - perhaps his favorite thing to do is to use his opponent's attacks against them.
Skills: Drawing, writing, playing guitar and singing. He also has a major knack for puns. As far as more practical skills are involved, he is a pretty good cook and has some degree of survival skills, though they have a couple of good years of traveling to develop.
History: Gad spent the 18 years of his life moving across multiple regions with his parents following his father's research career. As such, he never really got particularly attached to any particular place, considering 'home' to be the people and Pokémon he grew up with, rather than any particular location.
Moving around every few years and growing up surrounded by Pokémon - both wild and owned by his family - meant that he hasn't felt the urge to go on a Pokémon journey of his own, focusing on his studies and artistic pursuits instead (as well as helping out with his father's research when he was old enough). As he hit the age of 18, though, he began to feel the need to spread his wings, so to speak - and with the family's most recent move to the Kalos region (following research concerning the multiple patterns of Vivillon wings), the perfect opportunity presented itself. So, off he went to fite gem and get bage, or whatever.
Family: His father, Dr. Erol Van Lierre, is a researcher specializing in the biology of Bug-type Pokémon. His mother, Melissa Van Lierre, is a former traveling trainer who "settled down" and became a writer (though she still has her sense of wanderlust and thus rather enjoys moving around every few years).
Love Relationships: He's a bit of a hopeless romantic - which he considers as a bit of a blessing and a curse. Most of his crushes were unrequited and the one that wasn't did not survive as an actual relationship. As such he's rather disillusioned with the notion at the moment (and is likely to be so for the foreseeable future).
Pokémon on hand:
Nickname: Zorya
Species: Larvesta
Type: [type="bug"][/type][type="fire"][/type]
Gender: Female
Ability: Flame Body
History/Personality: Gad's first Pokémon, Zorya has been with him for several years, ever since he witnessed the moment of her hatching. They have a fairly close bond and some battle experience (mainly from sparring against his mother's Pokémon), though both still have quite a bit to learn. The slow growth rate of the species means she still has quite a ways to go before she blossoms into a Volcarona - but even in her larval form, she is not to be underestimated.
Personality-wise, Zorya has a calm, serene demeanor and her presence radiates a certain profound sense of a deep inner strength - the sort of sense that would indicate that angering her is NOT a good idea. Nevertheless, she is slow to anger and is actually rather tactile, enjoying being petted by people she recognizes as trustworthy.
Nickname: Synalpheus
Species: Clauncher
Type: [type="water"][/type]
Gender: Male
Ability: Mega Launcher
History/Personality: As a wild Clauncher, Synalpheus lived in a burrow among rocks and seagrass in the Azure Bay. Frozen in a battle against a yet-unknown wild Pokémon, the Clauncher was caught in currents and washed up on the shore near Coumarine City, where - typically for creatures washing up on the shore - he was immediately beset by a flock of Wingull. Fortunately for the Water Gun Pokémon, Gad was on the beach at the time - and with the help of Zorya, he drove the flock away and healed the Clauncher's injuries. Opting to follow Gad instead of returning to the sea, the Clauncher was caught and joined his fledgeling team.
As a natural ambush-predator, Synalpheus is an analytical sort that prefers to locate a tactically-favorable position, stay put and rely on range and accuracy to defeat his enemies. He is, however, capable of bursts of speedy movement and redeployment elsewhere through creative use of Aqua Jet when required. Synalpheus has a somewhat military-like outlook to life, following his trainer as a battlefield commander that saved his life and watching his team members' backs as they would watch his.
