Xavier Contel

Name: Xavier Contel

Gender: Male

Age: 15

Hometown: Pallet Town

Hobbies and Interests: --Reading. Xavier has ready many books, most for pleasure but a few for his own purposes. He has read both Red's The Heart of a Trainer, an autobiography as well as a philosophical reflection on the bond between Pokemon and Trainer, and Green's Training, a book entirely about the necessity of training both oneself and one's Pokemon in order to become great. He has a read a variety of adventure books, be they autobiographical, philosophical, and plainly fictional, in his thirst for excitement and a quest.

--Training. Xavier, being a rather new Trainer, has not had much opportunity to battle others or wild Pokemon, but after reading Training he became a firm believer in Green's philosophy and has since practiced with his Pokemon. While none of them are exceptionally strong or skilled, they work well as a group--Trainer and Pokemon both. As a result of his time spent with his Pokemon, Xavier is in decent physical shape.

--Outdoorsman. Spending a great deal of time out doors, Xavier is more than comfortable swimming in rivers and lakes or spending a night sleeping outdoors.

Appearance: Xavier is dark-haired and deeply tanned from his time spent outdoors, complemented with brown eyes, cuttingly dark and intelligent, and a thin face. His nose is large and ridge-like, his brows slightly heavy and his lips thin. He is wiry but also a bit too skinny; for all his six feet in height, he is only one hundred and forty pounds. He tends to dress relatively light and, as a result of his poverty, somewhat poorly, threadbare T-shirts and ragged jeans being the norm. While traveling--such as to Viridian City--he tends to wear a battered old brown overcoat. He has a long scar along his biceps, a scar on his right cheek, and a ringed scar around his left wrist. He tends to wear a thoroughly scratched-up but quite solid wooden sword on his left hip.

Biography: Xavier's father, Jack Contel was a talented trainer but abusive (both of others and of substances) and a criminal scoundrel who ran off after impregnating his mother. Xavier's circumstances were, as a result, decidedly impoverished. Supported by a single mother who worked as a waitress, Xavier had his basic needs met but did not have much in the way of luxury, which can give him a condescending attitude towards others. As a result of his lack of computers or games, Xavier tended to spend a lot of time outdoors.

His scars result from various accidents which occurred during his running around. The one on his cheek is the result of a childhood fall that left him with a much larger scar on his scalp (which his hair covers) as well as the one on his cheek. His left wrist is marked by a long, circular scar where a Tentacool grabbed him in his youth, holding him so tightly as they struggled that it left a sizable wound. The one on his bicep is a result of his inadvertently attacking a Scyther.

In spite of his outdoorsy nature, Xavier much enjoys reading, as a result of a craving for adventure for which his outdoor escapades are only a poor outlet. As a Trainer, he has read both Red and Green's famous books (listed above) and much prefers Green's philosophy. While he believes a Trainer should develop a good relationship with their Pokemon, he believes this can only be properly done by Trainer and Pokemon training in sync with one another. He has a profound respect for Pokemon, having been helped and hurt by them and having helped and hurt them in turn. He sees them as fellow beings with whom one should share oneself and the world.

In his other literary interest, Xavier tends towards the heroic and the adventurous. He is an enormous fan of the story Don Quixote, which follows a mad old many and his ancient Ponyta as they travel across ancient Kanto, battling imaginary demons, ending up in real trouble, and touching the lives of all they meet. Xavier hungers for a quest and for a meaning within and beyond Pokemon Training, and his literary passions are a result of this.

Xavier tends to be a bit cool towards others and, while extremely knowledgeable about the outdoors and in possession of a firm understanding of Pokemon, does not have much in the way of technical skills or knowledge and so can get very defensive on that account. His legacy of poverty has left him somewhat resentful to peers who have grown up in better circumstances, and he is haunted by his father's legacy, who was supposedly a talented Trainer but a lousy human being. He treats women with courtesy, determined that he should not end up like his father. His mother, Aldonza Benet, is something of a traditionalist and believed that a child should always bear their father's name. At her request, Xavier has retained the last name Contel.

The only other legacy he retains from his father is the battered wooden sword, which arrived in an unmarked box with no return address. The boy, who was only ten when he received it, threw a massive tantrum and stormed out, not returning home for five days. He has kept the wooden sword, however, though why remains unclear. He is, however, fairly proficient with it.

Xavier has trained regularly with his Pokemon and with a rather decent mentor, the Trainer Vladimir. Vlad, a worldly man who has traveled far and wide in search of legendary Pokemon, is on good terms with Xavier and calls him regularly to see how he's doing. While his involvement in Xavier's life is relatively recent, he has had quite an effect on the boy, who quietly pines for a father figure.

Despite this, Xavier does have his soft side. He calls his mother as regularly as he can, and is quite protective of those he considers friends, as well as his Pokemon.

Badges Acquired

 * None

Pokemon in Storage

 * None