Edward Ritter

Name: Edward Ritter
Alias: Crazy Old Man
Age: 84
Gender: male
Height: 1.5 m
Weight: 66 kg
Alignment: World Traveler
Birth Date: October 5, 1959
Birth Place: Driftveil City

Perk: Oasis.
    23 miles west of Garasu, Edward carefully maintains a flourishing oasis. Some speculate he has a psychic connection to the area, others simply point to his team of grass-type pokemon. Regardless of the cause, meditating within the peaceful sanctuary tends to heal the body and the mind.

Personality:
    Edward is a tranquil man, spending most of his time meditating in his oasis. He's very empathetic, and listens intently to anyone that speaks to him. However, most people that have spoken to him quickly learn to avoid him. He's very dogmatic in his views, and will talk to people for hours. He's been known to follow people into stores, wait for phone conversations to finish, and even come back to the person the following day. He does it all with a patient kindness and understanding that can really frustrate those too polite to end the conversation bluntly.
 
  Mostly, he talks about restoration. Edward holds a grand vision for bringing life to the desert and purifying the shadow-tainted pokemon. He'll talk on and on about where to plant what kind of shrubs in order to maximize water retention, even though he doesn't really have the scientific knowledge or the staggering amount of funding to pull it off. Part of his vision is rescuing pokemon that would otherwise die in the wastes and bringing them to his sanctuary. Most pokemon leave after they recover, but a couple grateful ones have committed themselves to Edward's idea. Even though so far all he's managed is a small oasis, he remains steadfastly optimistic.
 
  His life isn't completely the oasis. Edward has a passion for plant-type pokemon in general. He still stops by a pay phone every week to keep in contact with people back in Driftveil City. Edward enjoys most things in life; sun, rain, sweet, salty, spicy, red, or blue. He does prefer the oasis to the city, though. Things in the city tend to move too fast for him. The lights are all unnatural and the noises are loud. The city has dark shadows, as well, and not just the pokemon. Edward doesn't have a strong stomach, and it makes him sick to think about the muggings, schemes, and illegal trades that occurs down certain alleys. While he visits the city nearly every day, he isn't there for long.

Appearance:




    Edward is bald, but has large scraggly eyebrows and a thin wispy beard that reaches his chest; both are a very light gray. He's got prominent wrinkles around his mouth and under his eyes, caused by his almost permanent smile. His eyes are small, perhaps a bit beady, and his irises are a cloudy brown. Edward is missing a couple teeth, and boasts two warts to the left of his mouth. Despite his age, Edward stands firmly upright, projecting energy and confidence around him. He could almost be describes as ageless, but in the sense that he looks so old that another hundred years won't kill him.
 
   He wears simple clothing. Most of him is covered by a large baggy shirt that almost reaches his knees. His shirt color is usually some pastel shade, and is most often green. Over his shirt, he often wears a vest with a zig-zag pattern, weaving together light brown and maroon colors. The vest was made for him by a friend in Driftveil, and the age shows as frays, tatters, and fading at the top. He has dark brown pants that are just as oversized as his shirt, almost obscuring his sandals.

Personal History:
    Edward Ritter was born in Driftveil City 84 years ago, decades before both the Kyurem incident back in Unova and the the shadow pokemon experiments in Orre. His parents were sailors, and often left him in the care of his older brother, Franklin Ritter. Franklin worked hard to fill the gaps their parents left, but he stressed out often. Franklin was a very practical sort of person, and eventually got a job as a night guard for the docks. Every morning, he would come home with stories from the sailors who traveled around the world.

    By the time Edward was 12, he learned to be a little more independent than most. He had gotten to know the people around town, and even began to help visitors and new arrivals get around the city. By then, the brothers had grown very close. Franklin depended on Edward as much as Edward depended on him. Edward would always reminded him to take time to be happy.

    At 18, Edward got a job as a gardener. He formed a relationship with a sewaddle name Tenni, and together they maintained a large park just outside the city. For Edward, it was more than just a job, he cared that the citizens of driftveil had somewhere to stay for a while. It was a period of construction and growth for the city, and Edward believed that the people needed somewhere to breathe. What started as a minimum wage time-waster turned into a career. He kept the job for 15 years. Tenni became a leavanny, clay became the gym leader, and his parents retired.

    Then Tenni died. The official report was "natural causes," but Edward was never convinced of that. The leavanny seemed to be in perfect health the day before. He quit his job.

    It took time to heal, but Franklin was there for him. Edward lived with his brother for a year while he tried to put his life back on track. Eventually, he found a job at the gym, as one of the preliminary battlers before challengers made it to Clay. Here, he worked with a drilbur and a grotle. He held this job for ten years, before being replaced.

    The drilbur moved to work with his replacement, but the grotle, named Grandius, chose to stay with Edward. Edward and Grandius took this time to tour Unova, battling, growing, and living through stories of their own to take back to Driftveil. Edward wasn't a particularly good trainer, but the duo lived on modest means and had a charm to them that endeavored hospitality. Eventually, they made it all the way back to Driftveil. Edward challenged the gym, and they actually won. Clay was proud to bestow the Quake Badge.

    Near the end of his travels, Edward had heard stirrings of a radical movement throughout Unova. He dismissed it as a fad. Fortunately, Clay was more prepared when Team Plasma attacked Driftveil. The battle was quick, due to both the gym leader's forethought and the heroics of a mysteriously powerful passerby. Driftveil casualties were low. Among the unfortunate few, however, was Edward's brother, Franklin.

    Edward became a sailor, mostly to get away. Grandius stayed in Driftveil. Time passed rapidly for him, and he payed little attention to the world around him. Just over 10 years passed, although it only felt like 2. On the ocean, Edward starting meditating. He began seeking out opinions and wisdom from every place he delivered to. With time, the wound Franklin left began to heal, and Edward began to smile again.

    It started with an idea, formed during a conversation about the situation in Orre. The idea wouldn't go away. It kept him up at night, dreaming of settling down and making something beautiful. No time was the happiest for him than when he was maintaining a park for Driftveil, and it seemed to him that no place needed a park more than Garasu. Garasu was wounded, and Edward felt like he could help. He could heal the wasteland of Orre, and he would become a gardener again. Eventually, after mulling it over one night, he knew he would need help. His thoughts turned to Grandius, and he turned his boat toward Driftveil.

    Grandius had done some growing of his own, and was now a formidable torterra. He doubted Edward's whimsical notion had any substance. Still, he missed working alongside his friend, and hesitantly agreed. The two set sail for Orre. Years later, Edward was successfully growing a small oasis. Grandius and he had made new friends, and settled in to a new life.

Pokemon's Name: Grandius
Species: Torterra
HOLDS SYNERGY STONE
Gender: male
Personality:

    Grandius came with Edward when he moved from Driftveil. Grandius is almost as old as Edward, although he's aged quite differently. He has an air of wisdom about him, speaking rarely and meaningfully. Grandius is patient and careful. Despite this, age has made him slightly bitter. While he would love for Edward's vision to pass, he isn't holding his breath for it.

    While slow, the torterra isn't afraid to act. When he does act, it will be because he has determined it is precisely the time and place for it. While infrequent, his actions tend to be both powerful and accurate. Grandius enjoys good stories, meditation, and gentle breezes. He gets along wonderfully with baby pokemon. Grandius does not tolerate rashness, fire, or suspicious humans.

Moves (Up to six!):
-leaf storm
-earthquake
-leech seed
-synthesis
-rest

Pokemon's Name: Hattie
Species: Petilil
Gender: female
Personality:

    Hattie was the first pokemon that Edward rescued from out in the wastes. She's painfully shy, and doesn't talk or interact without Edward present. She's rather young, and doesn't remember a time before shadow pokemon. While she considers Edward's vision a noble one, she's not sure why it's a big deal. Plenty of plants seem to exist elswhere, and the people in the city seem happy enough.

    Hattie dreams of becoming a liligant someday. Being pretty is very important to her, and she looks up to pokemon such as Gardevoir and Milotic. Hattie adores sugary foods like ice cream, exploring the city, and is a sucker for flattery. She's fragile, and crumbles under any sort of criticism. She can be a little judgemental herself, and finds both uncleanliness and ugly pokemon distasteful.
 
Moves (Up to six!):
-stun spore
-magical leaf
-synthesis
-leech seed
-hidden power ice

Pokemon's Name: Wyndra
Species: Tropius
SHADOW
Gender: female
Personality:

    Wyndra was rescued out of an illegal trade from the alleys of Garasu. She is indispensable to the team, providing both food and transportation. She fervently believes in Edward's vision, and will do anything to further the cause. Wyndra is prone to taking a self-righteous position, lashing out at those who oppose her with fury and indignation. She's otherwise very loyal and kind to others, offering assistance without a second thought. She cares especially for victims of the black market trade. Oddly enough, she acts as a sort of conscious for Edward, and constantly reminds him to think of the city itself, and not just his own little world beyond the walls.

    She wont talk about it much, but she was mistreated heavily before her rescue. There's a long jagged scar under her left wings, that enrages her if it's mentioned. She knows a wide array of useful TM's and was probably being conditioned for battle. By piecing together snippets of off-hand remarks, Edward is fairly certain that she didn't always have shadow capabilities. His guidance on meditation, and the serenity of the oasis seem to be helping, and she hasn't gone reverse since her rescue.
    
Moves (Up to six!):
-fly
-leaf storm
-steel wing
-shadow break
-toxic
-brutal swing

Pokemon's Name: Vogun
Species: Weepinbell
Gender: male
Personality:

    Vogun is the most recent member of Edward's team, and was rescued from the middle of the wastes as a bellsprout. Vogun adheres to a strict code of honor, and feels he is bound to serve Edward in his noble mission of healing Orre. He doesn't mind though, as he's found it comes with good friends and a sense of purpose. His code, however, leaves little regard for those he is not bound to. Even though he helps maintain and defend the oasis, he doesn't care for the pokemon that pass through. For him, Edward's daily city trips are often a wast of time, and more could be done if they would just use force.

    Vogun enjoys battle, and is quick to defend his team and his mission. He holds the more competitive trainers and battlers that come to Orre with the utmost respect, and will often pester Edward relentlessly to watch matches. Vogun hates rain, and tends to sulk until the sun comes back out. He wants to learn to meditate like Edward and Grandius, but has a lot of difficulty not getting distracted.

Moves (Up to six!):
-vine whip
-poison jab
-gastro acid
-sleep powder
-reflect

FaceClaim: Eyeshield 21 • Sumito Senouda • Edward Ritter