Wow, this one is filling up fast.
Name: Amos Jackson-Unganya
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Starter:
Appearance: One of Amos' most striking qualities is that, despite dressing like and identifying himself as a Rancher, he has definite native Tobyan qualities about him. His skin and wavy hair which is kept long in the back are what seem to be a moderately diluted shade of what would be typical of a native Tobyan. His eyes are light brown and even have the faintest trace of the typical shape of the native's eyes.
For a Rancher, Amos' is considerably daintier than most of his kin. While the work he does manages to keep him in shape, he is nowhere near most of the other Rancher boys in terms of muscle mass. Amos stands 5' 9", also making him not quite as tall as other Rancher boys. In short, if one were to compare Amos and another Rancher side-by-side, it would appear as if Amos was a boy merely dressed as a Rancher, and not an actual laborer.
Amos' usual garb consists of a light blue cotton long-sleeved collared button-up shirt, a black vest, rugged brown pants, typical cowboy boots, and of course his treasured black cowboy hat.
Personality: Amos is a boy in search of splendor. He believes the day-to-day routine of work and sleep to be mundane. He finds the ranches and community of his home to be boring and uninteresting. He has no motivation for the labor the life of a Rancher requires, though he begrudgingly does as he is told. The wide world, however, with its open roads, new faces, varied towns, and wondrous Pokemon compels him. He is a boy filled with curiosity for what the larger world before him holds, and one intent on exploring whatever it is. To Amos, getting out into the open world is the greatest thing one can do, and he glorifies the idea of being an adventurer.
Wanderlust is not all that defines Amos, though. Amos is also the definition of a rebellious streak. Along with his poor attitude towards work, Amos does not seem to have much of a sense of the strong sense of family common among Ranchers, indeed seeming to go to lengths to distance himself from his family. Disobedience and lack of respect for rules make Amos a prime troublemaker. Amos greatly values individuality, but this makes him become angry at attempts to reign him in, even if it is for his own good.
History: Amos was born in Kuroko Gulch within a large family of long-time Ranchers. Unlike most Rancher families, who, at least in the early days of settlement, married only other Ranchers or other foreigners, Amos' was on of the few to have a member who married a native. That didn't make the family popular, but the times of Amos' family being openly shunned were long ago, before the family set down roots and became an established part of the community.
As a young boy, Amos listened to the stories of his great grandmother, the member of his family with the most native blood. She told him tales of the great rolling hills and plains of green of her homelands. The landscapes relayed through story seemed so foreign to Amos, despite his great grandmother's assurance that such sights were not even far from the ranch within Kuroko Gulch. She died before Amos was even ten years old of natural cause, but her stories lived on within him, and probably were what incited his love towards the open world.
As early as the age of six, Amos began to wander beyond the family property. Starting with the fence that marked the edge of his family's property under the watchful eye of a sibling, to wandering to the edge of the Kuroko Gulch as he got older. Not unexpectedly, this gave his family quite the scare time and time again. Many times he was told of the danger of going too far, especially at night as he sometimes did, and many times he was punished for doing so. The reprimands never truly stopped him, though.
Between his running off there was work to be done at home. Amos' work started barely strenuous in early years, barely considered work at all as opposed to providing minor assistance to siblings. But as the years went on, the level and intensity of work Amos was expected to do increased. It did not take the boy long to decide that he did not care for it. As often as he could, he would shirk off work, sometimes even commencing one of he wanderings as there were things to be done. This, of course, did not make Amos considered to be any more responsible by his family, and regular reprimands continued. Once again, the punishments often did little to dissuade Amos of his ways.
As Amos grew, so did his nerve to talk back to people in authority. It wasn't long before Amos made himself into a regular problem child. Constantly not doing as he is told and talking back when being he is questioned of it. There was growing friction between Amos and the rest of his family. Of course, deep down, they all still loved one another, but Amos' digressions became hard not to notice. His parents and elders were disappointed in him for his inability to live up to expectations, and his siblings grew angry at him for creating more work for them and the stress caused by Amos' shouting matches with his parents.
Then, one day, Amos decided that he had enough. Though, perhaps decided is not exactly the proper term. Amos made way off of his family's property early one morning, which was not uncommon of him. Usually, he would go to the edge of town, meditate for awhile, then return home before anyone was awake enough to question him. This time, however, Amos kept going. There were a handful of times where Amos went beyond the borders of Kuroko Gulch, but he normally didn't go far. Clearly, this was not a normal time, as Amos continued far beyond where he had ever gone before. Then he kept on walking, until his home was far, far behind him.
One afternoon, a lone Swablu was riding the air currents far above some woods, woods that had already grown dark in the afternoon light. It swooped down, getting a closer look at the woods. Then, it saw something quite unusual, a lone human, crouched in a small clearing. Curious, the Pokemon landed on a nearby branch. It could hear that the human was crying, and it could feel a great feeling of distress emanating from it. Amos, meanwhile, was hopelessly lost, contemplating that folly of his mad walk. He found himself in the middle of an unfamiliar wood, no doubt filled with dangerous Pokemon who would soon be around to eat him. He soon detected a presence near him, and turned about wildly to come eye to eye with a Pokemon. His first reaction was panic, but as he scrambled away from the creature he came to see that it didn't appear threatening at all. The boy and the Swablu stared at one another for several minutes, both intensely curious of one another. Then suddenly a loud roar emanated through the woods, terrifying Amos and noticeably startling the Swablu. It made a few noises at Amos before taking off, staying unusually low to the ground. Bewildered and with no better idea, Amos followed the Pokemon. In no time the two found themselves outside the woods, unscathed. From there Amos hugged the Swablu, which it seemed none too pleased with, and then both went their separate ways, or at least they seemed to. Amos began to head out in what he could only hope was the direction of a town. Little did he know a certain Swablu was following not too far behind, though very high above.
Amos eventually found himself outside Kalay, more specifically at the home of some woodcutters a ways outside town. Curious as to why one would be out wandering the roads alone, the woodcutters approached Amos and asked who he was and what he was doing. Not yet willing to face up for his running away, Amos invented a tale of how he was much older than he actually was and was in search of work. This plan backfired when the woodcutters then hired him on, offering him board and pay in exchange for his services. Not wanting to betray the ruse, Amos accepted, though he resolved that he would only go along with it for a little bit, until he found out how he wanted to proceed. It has been two years since then.
The constant duplicity weighed heavily on Amos, morphing him into a near compulsive liar. He felt guilty, as he thinks he has been taking advantage of the woodcutter's hospitality, but tries to reason that it's okay because he is working for them in exchange, and Amos does do the work, with more drive than he ever had at home, but the thought of that makes Amos question his character to a point where he doesn't think about it. He considered many times dropping everything and leaving, just as he had done with his family. Then he remembers the woods, and how lonely, lost, and afraid he felt. Other times Amos has also thought of telling the truth and returning to his family, but it is fear that holds him from doing it. Amos can barely stand the thought of his family, how worried they must have been after he left, how distraught they must be now that it has been so long since he did, how angry they would be if they found out he only left because of his selfishness. So Amos has remained with the woodcutters in conflict with himself and between indecision. The Swablu, which had allowed itself to be captured by Amos after it showed up not long after Amos had taken the job, is just about the only thing keeping him sane, the nonjudgmental Pokemon being the only thing Amos feels he can be completely honest with.