Strawhat.
Name: Armand Roberts AKA= "The Skull King"
Species: Marowak
Age: 28
Gender: Male
Appearance: As with all Marowak, Armand Roberts stands approximately a meter tall. His front part of his body is a very light brown in contrast the the rest of his body which is relatively darker brown. He wields a club, as most other Marowak do, but here the differences emerge. The club is a few inches longer than most Marowak clubs. Armand also carries one additional, smaller club on a black belt around his waist. It is used primarily as a backup club in fighting, and bolsters his Bonemerang, Bone Club, and Bone Rush attacks. His eyes, of which most Marowak are a dark brown, is more of a bright hazel. His skull has been crack going from the top of his left eye, across the eye, and down the bottom to his cheek.
Armand also wears a black band on his arm, with the symbol of the Shattered Skull pirates, which is a jolly roger flag with the skeleton face of a Marowak instead of a human skeleton. (See insignia section). He also wears a necklace, in the center of which is a red jewel, given to him by a friend, long ago.
Personality: Armand has been described by many in different ways. Some, many of whom were apart of the Naval Army, have called him scoundrel and a criminal. They see him as dishonest, greedy, and unscrupulous, and who cares for nothing but treasure and pleasure. His known nickname as the "Skull King", add fuel to those stories. Then there are other stories of him that speak of one who is intensely enthusiastic, passionately excited, but also borderline senseless, rash and impractical. In many ways, both descriptions are true. He is, by all accounts, a true pirate. He loves the excitement of finding and taking treasure, and always loves to find new pieces of it. But he isn't as greedy as he is made out to be, at least, not to the extent. His love of treasure is overpowered, and sometimes fueled, more by his love of adventure. Armand had become a pirate to explore vast new places, sail the world, and embark on all manner of paths, whether unusual, exciting, and often hazardous. It is here that his senseless and rash behavior is implicated. Armand is one who believes that nothing cannot be done, and that anything is possible, if you have the nerve and courage to attempt it. His high risk and free-spirited personality has more than once got him into crazy situations and tough positions in the past. It has also gained him quite a reputation because of this, but he would have it no other way. To him, a life without adventure is no life at all.
Armand enjoys adventures, but what he loves even more is sharing them with others. He has a deep sense of friendship, and to those he calls friend or comrade, he would sail the ends of the world for, and if necessary, fight side by side to protect. He is as much loyal to his crew as he hopes they would be to him. Yet despite all this, his behavior has caused many to find it hard to understand him, and therefore it is only to a chosen few he calls ally, comrade, and friend.
In regards to fighting, Armand has no problem doing so. He is not, however, one who fights senselessly and without purpose, and never chooses to harm those who cannot fend for themselves, like children. This isn't to say that he wouldn't lie, cheat, steal, or do any other manner of piracy to achieve that which he wants, whether a treasure map, or the freedom of a crewmate or friend, whatever the scenario made be.
History: Armand was born to two Marowak in the south-east zone of the world. His parents were normal, everyday Pokemon, who had relatively normal jobs as shopkeepers. Armand always had a great relationship with his parents. His dad would always tell him stories as a child. Stories of far off adventures, and mythical tales, and such. But Armand's favorite stories were about Pirates. Armand was a dreamer. For as long as he could remember, he's had his head in the clouds. He would always ask his dad to retell stories of pirate's adventures, and his father obliged him. Frequently, they were tales that Armand conjured up from his mind, about great treasures that exist, or tales of famous pirates with no names. But ever so often, he would hear news, and tell Armand of true adventures pirates have. Armand always listened with interest and eager. It sounded like the most exciting life to live, and he constantly said as a child, when he would grow up, he would too become a pirate. His mother didn't really think it was a good idea, but his father always encouraged him to follow his dreams, no matter how dangerous. He always told him: 'seek that which you desire, and no matter the peril, no matter the difficulty, no matter what, stand tall and that dream will be reality'. Armand always kept his father's words in his mind, even as he grew older. He developed a no-matter-what-it-can-be-done way of thinking, and followed that belief throughout his life. His father was proud that his son was going to pursue his goals, but he and his mother still worried about him when the day would finally come that he would want to set off. Secretly, Armand's father assumed, or wished, that he would change his mind on his dreams, and pursue a less dangerous path.
But as Armand got older, he never faltered in his way of thinking. He set on his desired path, and upon his 16th birthday, he decided it was time to see the world. His mother didn't want him to go, and his father was reluctant as well, but he knew if he didn't let him go, it would be against everything he had told him years earlier. So, Armand left. He set off on his father's small fishing boat, and set sail for open sea. For a while, he was content with just riding along the open sea, but eventually, he had begun to run out of food, and made port in a small, but unknown (at least to him) port. It was here that he really set foot on his first land away from home. It was also here that he had met his first group of pirates. Around the same time he came into port did he run into the small group of pirates, who introduced themselves as the Rising Sun Pirates. Their Captain was a veteran Lucario named Joel Spade, a hardy Pokemon, who wore a blue bandanna and a necklace around his neck. There was also a Sawk that went by "Hawk", a Throh named Garrett, who was Hawk's brother, John, a Meowth, and an Electabuzz named Paul. At first when Armand went to try to join them, he was denied, Spade stating that Armand was nothing more than a boy. Armand was not one to give up, however, and tried again, multiples times while Spade and his pirate crew remained on the port. Spade was impressed with the boy's persistence, and eventually, after many attempts, Spade allowed the young Cubone to come aboard the ship.
He was the Pirate Ship's cabin boy, though, and wasn't truly apart of the ship as a crew mate. It was begrudging for Armand, but he at least began to know the odds and ends of the piracy. He watched and observed the others while attending to his duties as the cabin boy. They often treated him like the runt of the group, but Armand eventually got used to it. For a year, he watched the ways pirates interact. They would go off on wild adventures to find buried treasure on strange islands. Many times, it was false readings, or wrong coordinates. Many times, they found nothing at all, despite sailing for days, or even weeks at a certain destination at a time. Armand didn't mind one bit, though. He was exploring new lands, and looking for treasure. Even as a cabin boy, what more could he ask for?
It was then that fate came rolling. A storm had brewed, and the ship of the Rising Sun Pirates was caught in the middle of it. The storm was intense, and the ship broke in many areas as it tried to ride out the heavy rain and thunder. In an attempt to escape an oncoming wave of water, Joel Spade was thrown off the boat, and into the water. Water crushing upon him, it appeared that the captain was lost, until Armand dived into the ocean after him, and attempted to rescue him. He was in no condition to escape the waves of water himself either, and the two appeared to be on the verge of drowning. His father's words resonated inside him as he remember his most basic and ideal rule: nothing was impossible, anything could be done. It was at this moment that the young Armand had evolved into a Marowak, and found the courage and strength to pull them back onto the boat. The ship eventually made it out of the storm alright, but Joel Spade knew his life may have been over if not for the efforts of Armand. From that day on, Armand was made an honorary crewmate of the Rising Sun Pirates, a cabin boy no longer, and he was never disrespected or looked down upon by any of them. To all of them, and especially Captain Spade, they were his equal, and their friend.
The next adventures Armand had with the pirates were the best. He explored vast regions in attempts to find treasure of all manner. It was some of the most fun and exciting times of Armand's life. On one specific occasion, Armand found what he would later find out to be a Forbidden Fruit. Eating it, Armand felt the effect immediately, and knew he had stumbled upon something truly special. Needless to say, Armand's reputation grew even more among the pirates, but even more in the world as well, as slowly some began to know his name, the reckless young rookie, they'd say. Armand had eventually been named the second in command of the pirates. He remained loyal to them even as a full year had passed, and then two, and even upon his third year. Around that time, they stopped at a certain large port for a few weeks for ship repairs. It was then that Paul had announced that he had fallen in love one day as they were in port. Armand understood that what it meant, and accepted that his friend would leave them. A few weeks, John would depart too, seeking to gain employment as a cartographer from all of the places he had gone and seen. Hawk and Garrett had decided that they too would retire from the life of pirates, and return home to help their family. For a month, it was just Armand and Spade. Armand assumed that the Captain would simply gather a new crew, and they would soon be off to more adventures. But the captain surprised Armand when he said that the time of the Rising Sun pirates had come to an end. He did not look it, but the Lucario was getting old, far too old to continue on the life of piracy. It saddened Armand deeply, but he had to accept that the time of the Rising Star Pirates was over. In what would be the last time he would see his captain and deer friend, Space reached around his neck, and gave Armond his necklace, as a reminder of their time together, and so that hey would never forget. And he never did. The memories of his friends and adventures remained with him, always. He would often look back at the great times they had together.
The ship repairs were eventually finished, but Armand decided to leave the ship and instead take his father's small fishing boat instead, deciding he would not need a large ship for only himself. He set sail, eager to go on more adventures, and perhaps now gather a crew for himself. For a while, he was slowly establishing his own name for himself. Although he was slightly known as a member of the Rising Suns, his reputation increased much more as a singular pirate. His was establishing a name for himself by all of his borderline insane, and downright reckless, yet stunningly successful and brave plots and adventures. For three more years did he roam the see mostly by himself, or with companions for a short time. Yet most of the time, they would leave him, often because they didn't want to be apart of his insane ploys. It was hard for him to find a crew mate, a true friend, that would stay by him for a long time.
Then he met Dexter Aroughs. It was all chance really, but then, perhaps it was more than that. Armand was investigating a rumor of possible treasure on an island, when he stumbled upon the Wartortle. He had apparently recently been apart of a near death experience, and Armand did his best to nurture the Pokemon back to health. But Dexter was down, having lost his family and village to other pirates. It appeared as if he would give up, and lose all hope, but Armand would have none of it. He convinced the Wartortle that the only way to beat him is to get stronger himself. He then told Dexter his trademark, his words to live by: nothing was impossible. Anything could be done. All it took was the courage and heart to never give up, to never turn away. Armand extended an invitation to join him on his adventures, to which Dexter accepted.
The two of them together got into quite a bit of exciting adventures. There was one memorable story of how the two of them discovered a cavern that was told by many to be haunted. Indeed it was, but when the prize of a priceless jewel was at stake, and the thrill of a grand adventure on the line, Armand couldn't back down, and wouldn't. He didn't receive much protest from Dexter, who followed his captain after a brief moment of protest. The results of the cavern was a set of booby-trapped close calls that resulted in an entire cavern collapse at the hand of Ghost Pokemon who made the cave their home. Narrowly escaping an entire cave-in, the two barely avoided getting crushed, Armand actually getting his skull partially cracked around his eye. The story spread like wildfire, and the two's reputations dramatically increased as a result. Armand didn't know how it came to pass from then, but the symbol of his skull almost getting crushed had become a focal point of the story, and the most talked about part of it. They were daredevils to many, pirates who showed no fear. From then, Dexter and Armand coined the name for their two-man crew: The Shattered Skull Pirates.
However, it was the next story that established their reputation upon an even grander scale. Armand and Dexter heard of a certain pretty high Naval officer who had discovered a map to a rather legendary treasure. Dexter and Armand knew: they had to have it. In the deep of night, the two successfully commandeered the unsuspecting ship and stole the map to the treasure. After being discovered, the officer pursued the two for quite some time, employing all his resources he could to get the map back, and the two of them behind bars. Yet at every turn, despite being rather close calls at times, the two managed to outwit the Navy every time. Eventually, they couldn't keep up with them, and gave up initiate pursuit. The bounties of the two had been added. Many of the Navy's personnel dubbed Armand "The Skull King", a name he took quite a liking to. Notoriety had been achieved. To many, the two pirates didn't just not show fear: it was quite possible that they had none.
Seeing the need for a slightly larger boat, and having the resources to use it, Armand traded in his father's fishing boat, and from its parts, with the help of Dexter, they built another boat, one twice as big:
The Immortality. The ship served them well as they set sail once more, ready to craft more adventures between the two of them.
It was then that they picked up the third member of their crew, a Dragonite named Glaedr. Although only recently becoming a member a month ago, Armand believes the third crew member is a keeper, and can't wait to see what possible adventures the three would soon get into. No doubt, it would be for tales of grand adventures, freedom, treasure, and excitement, all wrapped up in a little bit of reckless grandeur from Captain Armand Roberts, "The Skull King".
Fruit: Thunder Bolt Fruit
Moves:Bone Club, Bonemerang, Thrash, Bone Rush, Brick Break, Facade
Pirate Crew Name: Shattered Skull Pirates
Ship Name:
The Immortality
Insignia:
Crew Members: Dexter Aroughs, the first true crewmate of the Shattered Skull Pirates, and true friend of Armands. The two shared years of adventures together. Glaedr joined the Shattered Skull pirates about a month prior to the start of the RP.
Council Captain: Captain Heil of the Axe
Password: Strawhat
Council Captain: Captain Heil of the Axe
Team:
Captain: Armand Roberts
Members:
1. Dexter Aroughs (Sir Bastian)
2. Glaedr (Deep Impact)