Trainer Name: Esthin Roschel
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Appearance: Aesthetic appearance is not of integral importance to Esthin. He spends most of his time indoors training with his Pokemon, rarely seeing sunlight. As a result his skin is pale, almost completely white, and he is thin. His facial features are pointed and sharp. Icily cold blue eyes peer disdainfully through wild tendrils of black hair of a medium length. He is tall, standing at six feet and an inch. Altogether, his facial features, unhealthily pallid complexion and thin body, and cold, demented eyes give the impression of corruption, perhaps even insanity.
Usually Esthin wears a black button down shirt under a black, nearly floor length cloak, baggy black cargo pants held up by a black belt with a silver buckle, and heavy boots. On the inside of his cloak are six pockets sewn in, one for each of his Pokemon. Of course, their balls are most often empty; Esthin trains as many of his Pokemon as he can at once for as long as he and they can manage.
Region You Hail From: Johto
History: Esthin was the second child of Artur and Delilah Roschel. He was born a year after his older brother Korbin, two years before his sister Fyora, and three years before the youngest brother, Darin. From the start he looked up to his father and wanted to become a successful trainer like he had once been. For the first eight years of his life, Esthin and his family lived in Violet City. Life there was unremarkable, with his mother working at the Pokemart, and his father an adviser for the gym leader Falkner. Being an ex-trainer himself, he gave the young leader tips on how to improve his strategy and which additions to his team he ought to make. After stepping in for Falkner on a day when he was sick, he remembered his passion for Pokemon, and decided to move to Blackthorn City and begin training under Clair. Esthin and his siblings all disliked the small town, but they tried to stomach it for their father, as they had never seen him so happy. Their mother opened her own shop where she sold remedies for the many problems that afflict humans and their Pokemon at as low a cost as she could; there was great money in working with Clair, so the family was in no danger of going under.
When he was ten, a trainer stopped at his mother's shop with a clutch of four eggs that one of his Pokemon, he did not say what species, had laid. He seemed reluctant to part with them, but said that there had been too many times on the Ice Path when he had been afraid he would drop them, resulting in them breaking, extinguishing the lives of the developing embryos. If that was any indication of how the trip down the mountain would be, he did not want to risk it. Sympathetic to the young man, Esthin's mother awarded he and his three siblings each with one of the eggs with instructions to be as careful with them as they would if it was their own child. Never being much the nurturing type, he didn't religiously look after the egg, though he did take care of it reasonably well. It hatched in the middle of the night when he was twelve. He went to bed with the egg under the covers next to him, and awoke with a baby Sneasel curled up next to him, egg shell scattered around it. Esthin was pleased with his Pokemon's species; he had always loved the Dark type, and adored the Ice type for being able to take down a Dragon. After he realized it was a male he named him Hades, in reference to his type. As soon as Hades was old enough, and his parents deemed him old enough to leave, Esthin began traversing Johto in search of Dark Pokemon to train. His goal was to get a Gym Leader's License from whatever League would take him and to start the first Dark gym in history. That the type had not had a gym dedicated to it was shocking to him, and he desired to remedy it.
In Johto he bonded with Hades even more as he travelled wherever Dark types could be found. He captured a Murkrow, Houndour, and Absol easily using only the Dark types in his party. It became a promise to himself that he would never use anything but the type he loved so much, and he adhered strictly to it, even when he faced difficulty. His family respected his choices so much that when he returned home for his sixteenth birthday they presented him with an Umbreon to add to his team. By this time he was training Hades the Sneasel, Mafia the Honchkrow, Cerberus the Houndoom (Latin pronunciation -- Kehr-bur-us), Damian the Absol, and Nocturne the Umbreon.
By this time, working with Dark Pokemon had already begun to corrupt him. He had lost weight and his temper had sharpened. But that did not stop him from continuing. When he heard of the Beklan region on his travels he took a ship there in order to find out what prospects awaited. When he docked almost immediately he found a feral Mightyena in the alleyway behind the hotel he was staying in while he rested. He captured the beast and named him Kain, hoping he would become a successful member of his team. His hopes came to fruition, as Kain proved to be a valuable asset. It took some training for Kain not to be a wild, disobedient monster. But the effort was well worth it. The result was such that when Esthin appeared before the Beklan League directors, he was granted a Gym Leader's License with commendations for his obedient and powerful team. Immediately he began work in Zenith City on his gym. After he established himself the trainers began to flood in, in search of a badge. This meant Esthin had to train ever harder, to avoid giving away more badges than were truly deserved. In present day, Esthin is consumed by his work, questing always to become stronger.
Personality: Esthin is as dark as the creatures he trains. Before he truly began training Pokemon, even up until he got his Gym Leaders' License, Esthin was generous, kind, and fairly harmless, if a bit arrogant. He was very close to his family and aspired even then to be the first Dark gym leader. His intentions were pure, and motivated by his bond with Hades. But after he got his License he began to change. Esthin spent more and more time with his Dark Pokemon, and it seemed that the more time he spent with them the more his personality distorted. In present day he is aggressive, tenacious, ruthless, sadistic, and even a bit masochistic. He lives for every challenge and every match. Despite his lack of compassion for humanity, however, Esthin has retained a certain affection for his team and refuses to overwork and overexert them. Most acutely he is bonded with Hades; his Sneasel is almost always out of his ball and at his master's side.
Your Team of Pokémon:
-Name: Hades
-Species: Sneasel
-Gender: Male
-Name: Kain
-Species: Mightyena
-Gender: Male
-Name: Damian
-Species: Absol
-Gender: Male
-Name: Nocturne
-Species: Umbreon
-Gender: Female
-Name: Cerberus
-Species: Houndoom
-Gender: Male
-Name: Mafia
-Species: Honchkrow
-Gender: Female
Your Gym of Choice: Zenith City, Dark Pokemon
Zenith City is elegant, with a high standard of living. The architecture is dark and gothic, but not overwhelmingly so. In the very heart of the fairly large city is the Void Gym, commandeered by Esthin. The gym itself is fairly large and two stories tall. When Esthin is waiting for challengers, he stands on a pedestal on the first floor at the very back of the building. There are flights of stairs on either side of the door leading up to the second floor. It isn't completely solid; it is comprised of winding pathways, all coming up to a platform in the middle. This floor is mainly used for training, and less for challenging. Most often Esthin can be found here training his team. The interior of the Void Gym is dark and in places, filled with purplish smoke to hinder vision.
Sample post: From his position concealed in the thick, smoky darkness he saw a rectangle of light appear, then vanish as soon as it had come. A challenger had arrived. A smirk curved his lips as he watched the girl first be confronted by one of his members, then a second. When she defeated that one as well a dark shape stirred by his feet. A cold aura emanated from it, heightening the frightening appearance that came from its twisted silhouette.
"Calm," the man commanded. It fell silent instantly, its blood red eyes trained on the young woman.
It did not take her long to get through to them, suggesting she had at least one team member that could withstand Dark offenses. That was alright. It would not make any difference in the outcome. As she neared his pedestal her footsteps slowed and her confidence melted visibly, leaving a shivering child in her place.
"State your business," he said coldly. She shuddered at the sound of his voice. It was like a serpent slithering over ice.
"I-I… I'm here for the b-badge," she stammered.
"Then let us begin. There are no rules in this gym. Either you succeed, or you do not. It is up to you."
When he emerged from the darkness he heard her stifle a gasp. His frigid blue eyes, focused intensely on her, glowed eerily. Black hair fell like a pagan wreath around his head. His unnaturally pale features twisted into a sadistic grin, giving the impression that he was on the ledge of insanity. The rest of his body was obscured by a floor length cloak, blacker than the darkest moonless night. His boots thudded dully as he led her to the center of the gym floor. Unbidden, the trainers moved out of the way and watched silently from the shadows, their eyes glowing like hungry dogs.
The twisted shape had followed him down. It positioned itself in front of him and waited. The girl realized after several moments of silence that she would not be told what to do here. Her hands shook uncontrollably as she retrieved a ball from her belt and threw it. A Forretress landed where it fell, towering over the far smaller dark shape. However, despite the species' generally blank expression, its anxiety was evident in the way its eyes darted back and forth. He chuckled cruelly.
"Go."
The little shadow lunged forward with a bloodcurdling screech, sealing the fate of its opponent.