ღ(¯`◕‿◕´¯) ♫ ♪ ♫ Haru Kikuchi ♫ ♪ ♫ (¯`◕‿◕´¯)ღ
DOB: October 16, 1993
Weight: 178 lbs.
Always seen as the calm and easygoing one, Haru is a nice boy with a knack for enjoying the world around him, usually with music. His laid back style is showcased by a small, but relaxed smile consistently on his face, making him easy to approach. He doesn't talk too much, but he enjoys small talk and occasionally a few provocative discussions with those around him. He is a bookworm, especially while he attended the Viridian City Pokemon University, renown throughout the Region as one of the best Pokemon Trainer schools to attend. That being said, he's intelligent and particularly knowledgeable on any subject he's studied. However, experience is an entirely different matter. Haru has almost no hands on experience with Pokemon or how to deal with them outside of book knowledge and professor demonstrations.
His view on Pokemon is a little skeptical, especially in regards to the Pokemon League and their methodology. He understands the restrictive controls regarding owning Pokemon and why they are in place; these are powerful creatures after all. But even so, he doesn't see why they can be trained to be combatants and not be trained for other activities and services. He believes with enough knowledge spread to the rest of the world and a little safety awareness, Pokemon can not only be owned by Pokemon Trainers, but by all inhabitants of the Region. However, he keeps these thoughts mostly in his head apart from discussions with his closest friends.
Despite his views, he remains optimistic with the way things are and hopes for change in the future.
Starter: Callaway
Callaway is like any standard Squirtle, only he's smaller than a good majority. Standing at just under a foot in height, he was deemed the runt of the litter, but otherwise had a fairly normal birth and proceeded from there. Not even two months of his lifespan had passed before he was captured by a Professor assistant and taken to the Pokemon Professor in Viridian City to begin the domestication process. At first glance towards the other Pokemon he encountered while he was there, he was intimidated due to most of them being larger than he was. Over time, he learned to adapt and become more accepting to the fact that he was simply smaller. Still, he tenses up every time a larger Pokemon gets a little too close, going on the defensive side rather than the offensive.
Eventually, the time came when he had to be handed off to another trainer, a young man with deep blue eyes, spiky white hair, and a freakishly large body, so much so that he practically towered over the professor he'd grown accustomed to over the past few months. Needless to say, they didn't exactly hit it off. But it wasn't just on Callaway's side. Haru's gaze held almost a sense of disdain when laying eyes upon the young Squirtle, as if he didn't really want that one. Callaway could sense it. But all the same, they came to a mutual understanding that they were partners together and set off to face the world together.
Cool and easygoing even during birth, Haru Kikuchi was born on a bright fall day on October 16th, 1993. Haru took his mother's looks and his father's physique and made it his own, adopting his own style as he grew up. Where his dad was all about professionalism and mannerisms and his mom was all about elegance and beauty, Haru focused mostly on comfort and simplicity. For example, his dad wore a suit and tie to work every day. His mom wore fashionable skirts and many accessories. Haru was content in loose fitting shirts and baggy shorts. He didn't care what he looked like growing up and his unkempt hair that jetted out on top of his head is an accurate representation of that. Sometimes, he would even go to school in pajamas and slippers. His parents scolded him over and over about his casual appearance, but he simply didn't take their words to heart. He'd put on something acceptable for a while, but resorted back to his usual lifestyle.
His mother, Mio Amano (at the time), was a fashion model. She had spent most of her life focused on the world of beauty. She was a Unova Region native who grew up in the fashion capital of Nimbasa City and adorned everything she had with style, even her pencils she used to draw. Early on, she became an artist and excelled in the craft of paintings and sketches. When she met the illustriously robust model Elesa, her fascination in beauty escalated to the next level as she decided she wanted to be similar to her. She didn't want to fight in any Pokemon League or challenge the Elite Four like many her age wanted to, so it was easy for her to become introverted and isolated enough to work solely on her projects.
Eventually, she had created enough designs and obtained enough knowledge in the craft of fabric to bring her designs to life. She worked feverishly, day and night for three days straight, sewing and seaming and pressing and stitching fabrics together to form dresses and skirts, only taking a couple breaks for food and running to the store to get more supplies. When her work was finished, she gathered up everything she created and marched straight over to the Nimbasa City Gym, where she presented her designs to Elesa. Elesa studied her hard work and overbearing effort and said she had the potential to become her personal fashion designer with some time and enough practice. She would find great success in the field, making enough money to thrive and then some and even earned some notoriety in the market as one of the upper echelon of fashion designers having worked with and designed for Elesa.
His father, Sora Kikuchi, is a Kanto native out of Saffron City who found great success on his Pokemon journey, managing to make it all the way to the Elite Four and falling just short from obtaining the title of Champion. An obedient man through and through, he found his way in the world with a strong use of politeness, presentation, and a formal backing of skills. After falling just short of the title, but making many allies and acquaintances along the way, he decided to use his assets in landing a good job as a statistician for the Pokemon League. This meant he got to travel a lot, not just in Kanto but in other Regions as well in efforts to see how other governments ran their leagues. This meant talking to trainers, examining Professors, and even challenging Gym Leaders and critiquing them on their fighting style and techniques. It was through one of these escapades in Nimbasa City that he met Mio and fell in love. Not a year later, the two were happily married.
The newly named Mio Kikuchi, having earned more than her fair share of wealth, fame, and adoration, decided she wanted to explore the world with Sora and retired from the business of fashion. The two spent many years travelling together, exploring the regions and everything they had to offer. Eventually came the time when Sora was called back to the Pokemon League in Kanto to take up a better job with more money to offer. Simultaneously, both Sora and Mio were having thoughts of settling down, raising a kid, and planting a homestead in which they could retire reliably upon. So he took the job as a ranking official in the Kanto Pokemon League and moved to Viridian City, where he could be close to the Indigo Plateau. Here they conceived and gave birth to their only child, Haru.
Haru grew up in a house of customs, traditions, and mannerisms. Had that been all he experienced, he would've grown up much like his father would've wanted him to. But he had an uncle as well, Goro Kikucho, who hailed from his father's side. Unlike Sora, he was a wild child and often found himself in trouble for many hi-jinks pulled as a kid headed into adulthood. Goro took up the Pokemon Trainer profession not long after Sora did, but was eventually banned from competing after he cheated too many times during combat. He has since created and runs an automobile repair shop in Celadon City and found a profit that way. Occasionally, he visits to talk to his brother and see his nephew. While his father taught Haru the virtues of patience and abstinence, his uncle taught him humility, chastity, and most importantly diligence. Goro loved to make the boy smile, and he often had a gag, prank, or even a simple joke to tell every time he came by. But his uncle taught him to enjoy life for what it had to offer and to live it to the fullest, even if that meant breaking a few rules along the way. Haru looked up to his uncle most of all, and ultimately decided that Goro was more like the man he wanted to become, unlike his father.
With that in mind, his progression into Trainerhood was slow. Haru passed all of his classes with what seemed to be a minimal effort, but he showed no desire to look into the future at what he wished to be. He showed no interest in a career of any kind and no desire for fame, glory, or even money. He lived day to day, going through the motions and taking in the beauty of the world as it stood. His father harshly criticized him for still being in the house at age 21 and gave him an ultimatum: go to Viridian City Pokemon University and begin his journey as a Pokemon Trainer or be kicked out of the house and forced to find his own way from there. In his usually casual demeanor, Haru chose the former.
The most recent two years of his tenure had been all but smooth. Viridian City Pokemon University (VirPU) was renown throughout the region as one of the best schools to study and obtain a license from due to it's proximity with the Indigo Plateau and due to the fact that many upper echelon trainers took up jobs in Viridian City as instructors, to include former Elite Four members and even a couple of famous Champions. Haru did fine in regards to classwork and tests and passed all of them with little effort. But despite his good grades, his teachers were frustrated with his lack of work ethic and his overall disinterest in the subjects they taught. Many of them knew of his father and his elitist status, a few were even close friends with Sora. Many of his teachers complained that the boy lacked self-initiative as they stated he preferred to read a book, daydream, or talk to his friends rather than pay attention to the lesson they were teaching. They would even find that he'd put headphones in his ear during their lectures. Regardless, he passed with a 3.4 GPA from one of the more prestigious campuses in Kanto with no serious infractions.
Eventually came the day when Haru would finally go to the Pokemon Center to pick up his license as an Official Pokemon Trainer and collect his Pokemon. Now a year prior, he put in his preferred starter as Jigglypuff. He had always enjoyed the look and behavior of the little puff ball and figured that a Jigglypuff would be the perfect companion on whatever journey he wanted to take. However, when it came down to the day, he received a call from the professor saying they couldn't catch a Jigglypuff in time for his graduation and told him that he had a Squirtle ready to pick up instead. With a deflated tone, Haru reluctantly agreed on picking Squirtle as his starter.
His father wasted no time either, telling Haru that he'd have three weeks to bond with the Squirtle he picked before he was to leave and begin collecting Badges. Winter decided that Callaway wasn't his Pokemon of preference, but he'd work with what he had. He wasn't sure where to begin, so he went right into teaching him tactics and trying to get him to learn some moves. He had little success before he began his journey, but that didn't stop him from stepping off anyway, ready to face the world and everything it had to offer.