Xander "X" Frost

[Redd]

NAME --

Xander "X" Frost

GENDER --

Male

AGE --

18

AFFILIATION --

Ranger

CLASS --

Trainer

APPEARANCE --

(Art Credit: picrew.me/image_maker/196411)
(In the 2nd sentence of the 2nd paragraph the artist states in Korean these picrew avatars can be used anywhere. This can be confirmed through Google Translate.)

    He is a Type C Mightyena pokemorph with black-and-gray hair, black ears, and jet-black stripes across his face. His complexion is pale, and holds a grayish tint. His eyes are burning, bitter, coffee brown, often burning with anger ready to be unleashed.

    He wears the traditional uniform of the Frost family: a black, royal uniform with an official badge on it as mark of the prince, heir to the throne. The embroidery is golden yellow, as are the epaulets, and the buttons that make up the coat. His collar and folds are kept pristine and shapely in contrast to the rest of his appearance, which may entail that X only pays attention to detail in regard to his family honor.

    His undershirt is dark black. If he were to remove the frock coat and unroll both his undershirt sleeves and slacks, he would reveal the martial arts bandages he keeps on at all times. Occasionally he can be seen with them unrolled from the lower portions of his arms and upper portions of his legs to be wrapped around his hands and feet instead.

    During ranger work, he wears the necessary gear over either his undershirt or uniform, whichever is more practical for the situation. He regards practicality over his honor. Still, he regards honor over comfort in general, and his dress choice adapts to missions as such. He may also wear windbreakers, hoodies, or black dri-fit shorts, depending on the weather conditions.

    On his chin is often a bit of uneven stubble, lazily hacked and shaved. His hair also often holds just as wild of a choppy cut at the ends due to the fact he does it himself. He often holds himself with a very serious composure despite these imperfections. His shoulders are typically square and never sag from their usual position. He stands tall and proud, despite being a scrawny 110 lbs (50 kg) and a meager 5'3" (160 cm) in height. His finger nails often seem freakishly sharp, though given the rest of his demeanor, it could be easily seen as a lack of self-care rather than a side effect of his mutation.

    He rarely morphs, and if he does, it is due to rage and reminders of his past. He shrinks down to 4'3" (130 cm) and 70 lbs (30 kg), and is reduced to all fours, taking on the form of a larger than normal, rib-skinny Mightyena. Rather than having yellow sclera, his are white: the eyes of a human.

    His Pokemorph moves are as follows.

    His Snarl is loud, often occurring at the beginning of his transformations. Whatever he's saying as he morphs is typically incomprehensible as its a mix of human and canine growls. It can, however, put others off depending on the person, possibly startle those around him, or cause mild ringing in the ears.

    Roar, while threatening, doesn't do much either. It may cause fear in others, cause them to run away, or mild tinnitus. At worst, it makes others realize he could be a threat, and - at best - cause a chill to go down their spine as they run the opposite direction.

    When he uses Swagger, X will find some way to mock or enrage his opponent. If he knows them personally, he may jab at their insecurities. Otherwise he may make an empty threat or do his best to unnerve them. It may confuse the opponent only due to the simple mind game of making them angrier with him.

    His Taunt is quite similar, and is a regular taunt. It may cause his opponent or those sympathetic to him to simply go against him instead. It is not guaranteed to work, however, and isn't as compelling as a regular pokemon using the move.

PERSONALITY --

    Xander, for a ranger, can often demonstrate reckless and harsh means of pursuing his goals. Whether it may mean disobeying others to get what he wants, or being strict and unforgiving to one of his own pokemon in the face of their mistakes, Xander means business. He doesn't take crap from anyone, including himself.

    He can also be cold and callous, never opening up to others and being vague about who he is. Ranger work is just that to him: work, as is being a trainer. He doesn't concern himself with trying to be buddy-buddy with anyone and expects the same from his pokemon. He looks out for two things: himself, and the mission at stake.

    Despite how he presents himself Xander is a human being with a heart, believe it or not. He holds compassion for pokemon and his teammates very deeply, despite having a funny way of showing it. He also often tries to lead and take initiative despite his own inner turmoil or current issues. When friends or pokemon are in trouble, he will rush to save them despite the risk. The kicker is, he does not trust that others will do the same in return, nor will he ever expect anyone to, for that matter.

    Xander tends to be insensitive, which isn't necessarily a horrible quality. While he lacks any sort of social finesse, he can at least keep a level head in stressful situations, which is part of the reason he applied to be a ranger. Combined with his "keep to himself" motto, he does not easily get distracted from his goals. He is strict, rigid, and to the point. There are things that do distract him, however.

    X has a short fuse. It only takes a little to get him angry, whether it be someone else's incompetence or his own inability to do something, whether or not the task at hand is easy or difficult. Just as he is unforgiving to others he can be unforgiving to himself, manifesting in going overboard during mere training with his team, or pushing himself to the limits.

    As a trainer, he seeks power, as well as to restore his family honor by conquering the Torrenta region. The strength or power itself is not what he is after, but his own family's forgiveness and acceptance. He believes that once he redeems himself to his family that he can finally forgive himself. He will reclaim his throne by his father's side at whatever cost it may take, but this desire can conflict with his own altruistic need to care for others, knowing what his father would have expected from him. He suffers a lot of internal turmoil due to this and does not have a support network because of him trying to be the harsh, thick-skinned, tough son his father always wanted as well.

    His outlets for his stress are martial arts, as well as playing strategic games with his pokemon. His favorite art to practice is jiu-jitsu with his pokemon, as it is more about strategy than brute force, and playing to an opponent's weaknesses. He also enjoys playing chess most of all, his favorite opening being the Queen's Stonewall attack: a move focused on using defense to open up opportunities for offense. This may be why he chooses to monotype train for Dark-types only, not only due to the fact they remind him of home but their raw power in cunning and intelligence as well.

    He tolerates no weakness from others or his pokemon due to his need for power and tendency to see his team more in terms of pawns than friends. He will consistently correct his pokemon, and to join his team in the first place, he requires a pokemon to hold what he deems to be the "X factor." The X factor requires a pokemon to pass a trial of strength, cunning, and survival before he will ever decide them worthy to join his team. He commonly makes remarks about those that do not show these characteristics.

    In summary, X is a confusing character to say the least, being an entire jerk with a heart. He is just as cold as the last name of "Frost" could ever imply, and just as strange as someone who calls themselves "X" should denote. He wanders Torrenta seeking strength, justice, and first and foremost, redemption.

HISTORY --

    Xander was not born in Torrenta. He grew up in Snowpoint City of the Sinnoh region with his family. They were part of an ancient people who believed they were the first to inhabit Snowpoint and guard its temple and lake before others came, though whether this was true or not, Xander never knew. They deeply believed in the legend of Regigigas and Uxie, regarding that the prior dragged continents with ropes, and Uxie brought humans knowledge. They believed in most Sinnoh myths, but those two most prominently.

    His family, while small, held the Frost royalty in high esteem. They had guards and soldiers, residing on the outskirts of the city. His father was deemed the King of this royalty, and ruled with an iron fist over the household.

    His father had plans for their kingdom to expand and take over Snowpoint City fully by spreading knowledge of the legends of Regigigas and Uxie. They believed that by humans spending days simply relishing in the gifts they were given rather than regarding them as sacred, humans had angered the legendary pokemon of Sinnoh. That was why Regigigas and Uxie must have felt the need to hide themselves in the snowstorm over their accursed area of Sinnoh - that humans, as they were today, were the problem. Modern civilization was a problem that needed to be dealt with.

    The Frost King brought up his children just as harshly as his black and white beliefs. He forced them to compete against one another for everything: better sleeping arrangements, their place at the table, and what food they ate. The lesser siblings (Xander was the middle child of five) went to bed hungry not just for food, but revenge, and acceptance. Despite living in a mansion with rich parents (they owned a generator and coal business fairly popular in Snowpoint City), they did not live a lavish lifestyle. This "order" was how his father believed a proper household should be run, valuing only the best, smartest, and fittest of the family. It took knowing something the other didn't for a sibling to excel.

    There was always one child to eat last, eating scraps and stale bread. That child constantly watched as their elders bested them, over and over, no matter how hard they tried. They watched as father ridiculed them, and their siblings mocked them for not having the same aptitude they possessed. The only reconcile they could find was within their mother, who showed compassion, and often cited the fact their father was a Mightyena pokemorph in hiding as to why he was like this. His mother feared yet loved their father all the same, and loved all her children with the approval their father, their "King," never showed them.

    It was at the ripe age of 10 that this child bested his siblings, who were each a year apart in age (8, 9, Xander was 10, 11, and 12). He accomplished this by having something the others didn't: a need to not just survive, but to prove them wrong about how "weak" he was. He practiced his martial arts privately after lessons with their father, and would even spar with wild pokemon in the area, often coming home beat up and bruised. His father valued his commitment, and didn't mind the danger his son endured, though his mother scolded Xander frequently.

    He ate first at the table every night from thereafter, sat at his father's side, and regarded them with the same ruthless behavior they had treated him with for a decade. They feared - no, respected Xander - and he reminded them why he was in charge when given any reason otherwise. Eventually, the ranks became clear in the home, and his father announced Xander the official heir to the Frost throne as Xander stayed on top for months to come - something the other siblings had never managed.

    It was everything he had ever wanted and more. Suddenly, without the threat of being removed from his position within the family power struggle, Xander started to see his family for what it was. From the head of the table, he witnessed his siblings' fearful eyes, and his mother's beautiful blue irises, round as moons with concern. On more than one occasion, his mother scolded him and his siblings for going too far when competing against each other in chores, foraging trips, and homeschooling lessons. They would go as far as to get physical and fight each other, deceive each other to get the other in trouble, and childish tit for tat arguments to wrestle the other into a constant tug of war for control.

    But eventually Xander had enough of everything in almost no time. He was tired of his own mother being afraid of him, tired of his own siblings screaming at him, and tired of his father's inconsiderate commands and lack of restraint. The final straw to him tolerating his dysfunctional family was when his father ordered their youngest sibling to deal with a dangerous, raging, behemoth of a pokemon outside their home. X stopped her from attempting the reckless act and grabbed her, fireman-carrying her out of harm's way, forcing his father to deal with the angered pokemon himself.

    He watched his father, for the first time ever, turn into a Mightyena morph, and felt true fear as his roar reverberated across the mountains. His father held the power to scare giant pokemon off: a power unlike any Xander had known to be possible.

    Out of rage and disbelief, the King of the Frosts banished Xander. The boy was told to never return until he learned respect and the meaning of true strength. Xander, with tears in his eyes, asked when he could return, to which his father replied, "When you have conquered a region by yourself."

   This was a feat those in the family had tried before, but never succeeded, including his father when he was younger. His father wanted him to become champion of a region: an almost impossible task. His father instructed the guards to take him away to somewhere he would "be taken care of."


     He had everything ripped away from him, just like that. He would've became a trainer, like his older brother and sister, and gone off to trainer school. He was going to be heir to the throne of the Frosts and show Snowpoint City the truth. All of that was gone; all of it.

   That was all Xander remembered before he found himself in the Torrenta region, taken in by a kind old man, and a Type C Mightyena Pokemorph. He remembered being taken to a laboratory and something about an "X factor" ... but nothing else. He slept through most of his ferry ride to Torrenta, and recalled one of his father's guards at his side before he blacked out and came to in the old man's house, implying they must have simply dropped him off at some random spot in Torrenta.

   He was originally a mess, seething and alone, and a freak of nature to boot. However, the old man listened to him, and comforted him, allowing him to (at least somewhat) come to terms with what had occurred in his life thus far. He had lived his entire life struggling, but the future didn't have to be that way now that he was his own man. When asked for his name, the man simply said it was not important, but that he could call him grandfather if he'd like, so Xander did.

   Life was relatively normal and humbling afterwards. The old man often cited that Xander "reminded him of a grandson" he once had before he was lost and never found again in a natural disaster. He was generous enough to provide for him, and suggested the boy try going to pokemon school. While researching their options, Xander discovered rangers, and the top training as well as education they received. Xander studied, trained, and practiced over the summer to be selected for a Pokemon Ranger Academy in Sinnoh.

   He was let in. He excelled in his Pokemon studies and physical training. Ranger technology was a struggle to grasp at first, but he got the hang of it. During his stay, however, he was avoided like the plague for his literally wolfish appearance (which was uncommon in Sinnoh). The few that did try to befriend him only did so for ulterior reasons, such as trying to ace a class, and he naively gave them his help. They then got him in trouble for "cheating," and after the punishment he received, he never tried to befriend anyone there ever again.

   He kept his head down most of the time, and when others would mock or bully him, he would growl or snarl at them. This made the rumors worse, but at least kept people off his back. He learned to keep a hat on at all times to hide his ears, and when asked about his stripes on his cheeks, he would disregard them as simply childhood scars from an accident. The few that were truly kind and tried to help him as best they could (gently telling others to back off, partnering with him in assignments, and giving him tips for exams) also avoided him otherwise in social settings, not wanting to be social pariahs for hanging out with Xander. His grades slightly declined as he endured more and more mental strain from others.

   However, he never truly let those students stifle him. The thought of quitting had occurred to him often - after all, Torrenta required no training or education from their ranger recruits - but he wanted to excel and succeed. He wanted the best chance for himself to do just that.

   He focused on his grades and performance work, and finally graduated from that hell. He is more than ready to venture into Torrenta, become a ranger, and excel as a trainer. He briefly returned to thank the old man that had harbored him for that summer, and with his good wishes, then left to receive his starter from Ranger HQ.

RP SAMPLE --

   The journey to the cabin was scenic, to say the least. In Snowpoint City, they had never had such lush vegetation and forestry anywhere. It was all dead, dry, and cold. The vicious, bitter, glaring white that enclosed the city made even the natives squint. However, that city was 8 years in the past, and he had already grown used to the difference in climate between a majority of other Sinnoh cities he had visited during his training.

   He had made the journey on foot, and in sufficient time. He had been walking quite briskly. It wasn't exactly comfortable to travel in a full suit in the heat of spring, but it was only appropriate for such a humble occasion as receiving his starter. He had come so far, and endured too much to not regard the day with the same respect the boy had given it since he started schooling.

   He rapped against the wooden door of the cabin with a hand, careful not to let his sharp nails scrape the surface. His ears twitched once or twice, impatient to get his starter already, and surprised someone wasn't already outside waiting for his arrival. He kept the frustration out of his voice and calmly announced, "Hello? Ranger recruit Xander, reporting into Torrenta Ranger HQ for his starter."

   After waiting a bit (ergo, less than a minute) the boy let himself in. The foyer was suffocating. There was nothing suffocating or even stifling about it in reality, but buildings - in Xander's experience - had almost always been ... well, bigger, and more modern. He almost felt trapped in the cabin from how cramped it was, despite being a small-bodied man himself. In comparison to the mansion he had lived in 8 years ago in Snowpoint City, it was basically a box, and in comparison to the ranger academy in Sinnoh, it may as well have been a mousehole.

  Otherwise, it seemed adequately refurbished, and quite homey actually. Xander tried not to allow his claustrophobia get the best of him. "Uh, sorry about that, I let myself in ..." He looked to the other doorway on the other side of the room, unsure of where it led to. It was embarrassing to admit, but he had trouble identifying a normal house. He had never lived in one, other than the summer with the kind old man that had taken him in. Grandpa ... Oddly enough, the title had stuck, and sometimes he really forgot he and the man were not kin at all.

    "Xander Frost has arrived, ready for his starter." And ready to leave before I realize how strange I am compared to basically every person on the planet. He felt alienated now, even in such a simple setting, just as he had at the academy.

[Knucks]

Personality:

Xander keeps to himself yet apparently has an altruistic need to care for others? This conflicts and does not make sense. Either explain the circumstances of these contradictory traits, or align them.

In several places you state that he only cares for himself and sees others as pawns, yet you still claim that he would rush to another's aid without hesitation, which is also contradictory and doesn't make sense.

History:

The biggest part I have an issue with is the fact that his father could apparently scare Pokemon off with a roar. Small, timid Pokemon I would agree with. But you describe whatever Pokemon it was as a "dangerous, raging, behemoth of a Pokemon". As any type of Pokemorph, Mightyena or not, Types A, B, C or not; their power is nowhere near that of a true Pokemon. I find it very hard to believe that a Pokemon like the one you described would be intimidated by a Pokemorph. To a lesser extent, I find it odd to believe that Xander would be able to "spar with wild Pokemon" and not walk away with more than just scrapes and bruises.

Another issue with the history is that Torrenta does not have any form of educational system. So Xander would not have been able to attend school on Torrenta.

You also seemingly flip flop between Torrenta and Sinnoh in the latter part of your history, making it very confusing. Did he go to this "Ranger Academy" in Sinnoh? Was it before or after being experimented on in a laboratory? I feel like you skip around a bit in the second half of your history, and it could be better laid out to be less confusing.

RP Sample:

The issues I have with this is the fact that you control much of the surroundings and the interior of the HQ. While there is a basic description, you can't really control whether or not the door was answered or other such. Pretty much the latter three paragraphs of your RP sample are unnecessary.


Once these issues are addressed, go ahead and post in this thread again and I will take another look.