Vanitas Akiyama

Name: Vanitas Akiyama
Age: 16
Appearance: Van stands at an average 5 feet and 9 inches tall. He has bright silver hair, but due to his condition of complete heterochromia, his eyes are two different colors. His right eye is bright cyan in color while his left eye is red. On the left side of his face, a long scar reaches down from just below his left eye to the lower half of his cheek. A second scar cross the first, starting just left of the first and going on to cross over the bridge of his nose. His body is built like that of an athlete due to his love of exploration and travel, but he has also built up muscle from his time spent in martial arts classes.

Van favorite outfit is a black sleeveless shirt underneath a sleeveless, hooded jacket of the same color. He owns two of these jackets; one with a blue design running across the front of the jacket and the other with a red design. In colder environments and seasons, Van wears an ankle long, black trench coat. He uses the hood from his jacket to keep his head warm. The lower half of his body is generally covered by a pair of black pants. His shoes are also black. The rest of his wardrobe consists mainly of various tee shirts and jeans.

Personality: Despite his (possibly) intimidating appearance, Van is an overall friendly person. His good manners and generally positive outlook when conversing with others make him easy to get along with for most people. Although he is a bit shy and quiet, he is empathic and compassionate to those around him and even more so to those he considers friends. He dislikes seeing others suffer and is always willing to offer his help to those who need it. Yet, for all the help he is willing to give, Van absolutely hates asking for or recieving help in return. Even when he does accept help, he will always prepare to handle everything himself, should the need arise. This comes from a saying his father told him long ago, "Don't depend on others. Walk on your own two feet".

Stemming from his independent nature, Van can be very persistent and stubborn. He believes that if you give the task your all, you can get it done. Even should you fail and get knocked flat on your face, you should get back up and try again, even if it means training or other preparations to achieve your goals. This stems from another proverb his father taught him, "Fall down seven times, stand up eight".

"Haste makes waste" is another proverb that Van's father tried to instill in his son, though Van still has some trouble following this particular saying. Van gained much patience from his time under his father's watchful eye, learning when and where to be patient and when to disregard patience altogether. However, he has been known to act on his emotions when someone he holds close to him, such as friends and family, are threatened or in emotional turmoil, regardless of consequences.

Van also follows the proverb "Never forget the basics". To this end, he will spend hours training himself, his Pokemon or both, whether it be through physical training or studying. He takes his training quite seriously, staying concentrated on the task at hand and trying to plan things out to end things in his favor. In battle, his usual friendly personality turns into a much more serious, calculating one.

Although there are many more proverbs that help form his persona, Van has many talents and interests that have influenced his personality as well. Despite having this myriad of talents though, he only excels at a handful of them. Of these, Van enjoys playing the bass the most. If he isn't studying, exploring or training, he can usually be found practicing on his bass. He is fairly skilled, though he only has a few years of experience under his belt and no practice performing with a band. Van also enjoys swimming. Having grown up in a coastal city, Van has become an excellent swimmer and enjoys relaxing in a good pool or on the shore of a beach when he can. Finally, Van enjoys cooking to a small degree. His time watching and helping his uncle cook has given him a bit of skill in the field. He is able to make delicious meals out of simple ingredients, but will hardly ever display it unless out in the wilderness. Van also enjoys relaxing under the night sky.

However, despite his kinder attitude, there are things that Van cannot stand. He absolutely hates asking for help and will try to accomplish everything on his own. He holds a deep dislike for people who treat others poorly, whether it be for personal entertainment or other personal gain. His personality is prone to turn cold and possibly cruel when in the presence of such people. Van also hates to see people give up and will try to help them gain their confidence back. This usually comes through the form of advice that is more often than not tempered with brusque criticism. He has a fear of being useless to those around him, especially when they need him the most.

Van's favorite food is rice, his favorite drink is dark soda and his favorite colors are Blue, Black and Silver. His favorite season is Autumn. He also thinks that Prisoner B is a nice guy.

History: Vanitas Akiyama was born to a wealthy family in Lilycove City. His father, Regal Akiyama, was the owner of a popular Pokemon battling arena located within the city. Although he was constantly busy monitoring and approving the battles held within the arena, he always found time to spend with his family and friends. Van's mother, Ailicia Akiyama, was a local Pokemon trainer who frequented the arena to earn money for herself and her family. She was kind and well liked within the community, which led her to meet Regal. The two began to spend more time with each other and, after only a year, they were married. Only a year after that, they conceived their first child, Van. And another year after that, Van's sister was born.

After the birth of his sister, Van's early childhood was relatively uneventful. He and his sister would often be watched by their uncle while his parents were at work for the day, but would always spend time with his parents when they came home at night. When he wasn't being babysit at the daycare with other children, Van was with his parents at work, watching Pokemon battles on the sidelines. This early exposure to Pokemon battling sparked a keen interest in Van and his sister. As they grew, they were taken to watch the battles more and more often.

On his fourth birthday, Van's parents began to teach him many things. From his father, Van was taught a long list of proverbs. These proverbs, numbering into the dozens, were meant to instill morals and serve as guidelines on how to live a good life. Van learned many of these proverbs quickly, but he only took a key few to heart. From his mother, Van was able to learn more about Pokemon training. Not only would she take him to watch Pokemon battles, but he would be introduced to the trainers and their Pokemon afterwards. These meetings served as micro lessons on different Pokemon, their strengths and weaknesses, their general strategies and how to take care of them. When Van wasn't scheduled for school or personal lessons from his parents, he was enrolled in a martial arts class, courtesy of his mother. A year later, on his fifth birthday, Van's sister began her own lessons on the same subject.

Of course, not all of his time was spent working, studying and training. Van would spend hour of his free time playing with his sister. Their usual locations to play were either the local beach or in their father's arena, though they were told to stay off the arena itself for their own safety. Their games were usually ranged from tag to hide-and-seek, though most of the games somehow involved the use of their mother's Pokemon. When they weren't off playing, Van and his sister frequently visited his uncle's restaurant. The small establishment was popular throughout the city for its delicious and well-prepared food. During these visits, Van and his sister would sometimes learn some of the arts of cooking while they watched and chatted with his uncle.

This continued on for a few years with very little complications to set things off track. When Van turned eight years old, his mother presented him with a single Pokemon. His mother stated that the sphere held a Pokemon from the Kanto region and that the Pokemon was rare in Hoenn, a Bulbasaur. Van was overjoyed to have his own Pokemon. Although he was technically too young to own one, his mother told him that he was allowed to take care of it and use it for practice battles as long as she was watching. With the ground rules laid out, Van and his sister began to take care of the Bulbasaur together. The two would often take care of it and practice together so they could both get the practical experience with a real Pokemon before Van's tenth birthday.

However, when Van's tenth birthday came, the young trainer refused to go on a journey. He stated that he was happy enough training his Pokemon in the vicinity of Lilycove and remaining with his family and friends. Not only that, but he was still enrolled in his martial arts class. Van decided to stay in Lilycove at least until all of his business was finished and he was comfortable leaving the city behind.

Having decided to remain in Lilycove City, Van's normal daily routine continued for the next few years. He would spend his mornings helping his parents set up the arena for the day's battles before leaving for his martial arts classes. Around noon, when his classes finished up, he would visit the nearby Route 121 to train with his Bulbasaur for a few hours. These training sessions eventually led to his Bulbasaur's evolution, inspiring the two to continue training for their future travels. Afterward, he would either head to his uncle's restaurant for dinner or head home for the night. It was during this time a band came into Lilycove and volunteered to perform in his parents arena. Van watched the performance and, after forming a small crush on the band's female bassist, decided to begin practicing the bass guitar.

This routine wouldn't last forever though. A few weeks after Van's fourteenth birthday, Van was ambushed by a wild Seviper while on one of his training runs into Route 121. Van and his Ivysaur battled their sudden assailant and quickly gained the upper hand over the beserk Pokemon. However, just as the battle seemed to be won, the Seviper dodged past Ivysaur's attack and charged Van himself. The trainer tried to dodge, but the Seviper's Poison Tail attack hit its mark and created a large gash on the left side of Van's face. With the battle won in its eyes, the Seviper fled the scene, leaving an injured Van to struggle back to Lilycove.

Upon arrival, some locals immediately called an ambulance. The paramedics arrived quickly to administer an antidote to the poisoned trainer, but the poison and blood loss had already taken a heavy toll. Van slipped into shock shortly after his arrival in the city and fell into a coma shortly after arriving at the hospital. He remained in this coma for about a week before awakening.

His parents and his doctor told him that his body was weak from the poison the Seviper had inflicted him with and that the recovery process would take years at the least. He was also told that the attack left him with a deep scar that he would bear for the rest of his life, unless he wanted to have it surgically removed. Van refused, stating that the scar would be a good reminder than he still had a long way to go when it came to training Pokemon. His parents made no objection to his decision.

With his body still weak from both the poison and the coma, Van's plans to leave on his journey at the age of fifteen were effectively vanquished. He spent the next year recuperating from the attack, spending all of his free time studying or practicing the bass guitar. His rehab went very well, allowing Van to regain much of his former physical fitness in a little over a year. A few weeks before his sixteenth birthday, Van had made a full and early recovery, much everyone's surprise. His parents told him that they wanted to send him to an academy to help him hone his skills more.

Van agreed to go and was sent off to attend the academy only a day after his birthday.

Classes: Battle Tactics
Pokemon cooking
History of Pokemon
Exploration Class
Pokemon Technology
Music Appreciation

Dorm: Silver
Pokemon:

Tepig (Ignis)
Honchkrow (Squall), Event Pokemon: Knows Earth Power
Mudkip (Belias)
Grimer (Bane)
Sawsbuck (Verius)
Lairon (Solum)

Lairon (Gusios)

Items:

5x Pokeballs
13x Ultraballs
2x Potions

1x Fire Stone
1x Water Stone
1x Thunder Stone
1x Leaf Stone
1x Dusk Stone
1x Shiny Stone
1x Exp. All
1x Azure Flute