Alexander Wolfe

24

Sinnoh

If you ask Alex himself, he’ll answer fairly confidently that he’s just a regular old Pokémon Trainer. He likes to do it all, from standard fare battling, to contests, to the local events, like the Bug Catching Competition. Alexander enjoys it all. However, he undeniably excels at battling.

Spending most of his childhood watching tapes and obsessing over the competitive scene, it was only to be expected that Alex would be good at this; in fact, some people put him in a discussion for the best current battler, now that he’s finally joined the league proper. If he hadn’t had such a late start, it’s possible that he’d be in contention for the G.O.A.T., but the guy lived with his parents until he was like twenty-two, so that boat sailed and left Alex at the station.

Even so, with the new platform given to him by Hanae Layton, Alex intends to show everyone how great he is.

Alexander the Great. Kind of has a ring to it, yeah?

Alex’s battling style is hard to pin down. He’s varied, and does his research ahead of time if he can. Not as relentlessly or ruthlessly aggressive as some, nor as patiently or carefully defensive as others, Alex tries his best to battle reactively shifting style or focus depending on who he’s against. Everyone has a weakness, and this whole battling thing really can be boiled down to ‘find and exploit the opponent’s weakness.’ Alex is good at that, and he tries to keep his team varied enough that he can react comfortably to most opponents.

Outside of battle, Alex is one of the more popular trainers, at least currently. This could subside if he has a poor showing at the first event, but for now, he’s looked on as a fan favorite. He’s cute, he’s mostly personable, he loves Pokémon, and he’s far from camera shy. It makes sense.

Alex’s love for his Pokémon bleeds over to his day to day life. He checks in almost daily with the different Pokémon ranches he’s purchased with his winnings across the world, where he keeps his collection of some seven hundred odd Pokémon, and if one is sick, he’s often insistent on going to the ranch and taking care of it himself. On top of that, he always makes sure that the younger babies travel with him. It’s important that they spend time with him, to get used to him, or they may not like him in the future.

All in all, he’s just kind of a dork, but he pulls it off. Maybe it’s the smile.

He has a Mimikyu named Fantom. This Pokémon has faithfully traveled on Alex’s shoulder for the majority of his training career. Rarely, if ever, does Fantom battle.

He also currently has a Mimi Jr. named Phillip, and an Elekid named Falcon that are hanging out with him.

Rhiannon "Ritzy" Davies

26

Kalos

Ritzy is not only a top coordinator on the Contest circuit, she is the top coordinator on the Contest circuit (as she tells it). With the affectionate, and accurate, title of 'The Venomous Ice Queen', Ritzy's penchant for using exclusively poison and ice types in battle and 'unattractive' Pokemon in contests has made her a household name for those in the Contest scene.

Ritzy, for all the talk she has of hating coordinators that dwell only in "the conventionally attractive" and "not seeing the beauty in the unorthodox", is almost as noted for her fashion sense as her unconventional Contest team. Hailing from Kalos it's no secret that Ritzy has a keen eye for fashion and she never competes or makes appearances in an outfit she's worn before. She tends to favor skirts, stockings, and heels but whatever she wears has a high chance of showing up in magazines the next week.

When it comes to battling, on the rare instance where she battles at all, she is notorious for playing the long game of slapping opponents with potent poisons and then putting up a defense to where enemies can't hit her team or else can't hit them hard enough. Ritzy's entire brand is on challenging the notion of what is and isn't fashionable in the Contest scene. She doesn't wear sparkly dresses or do her hair in twintails or whatever was the norm, which is to say she exploded onto the Contest scene with all the subtlety and grace of a truck crashing into things at full speed.

Ritzy's title as the 'Venomous Ice Queen' doesn't just describe her Contest methodology; she can be quite the toxic personality to those she dislikes for whatever reason. She is likely the least liked member of the team on that alone, which doesn't bode well given the fact that she's the Vice Captain.

21

Alola

Contests have been Aya’s specialty since she was 14. Her Pokemon have been trained to participate in carefully coordinated routines, complete with their own contest outfits. Aya often sings and dances as her Pokemon perform their routine, all to give the best possible show that they can. Aya’s fame as both a pop star and contest coordinator have made her quite a celebrity, which she works tirelessly to maintain. She’s traveled the world to perform in contests, often drawing quite a crowd.

It’s no secret that Aya’s main appeal is being cute. Whether she’s on a contest stage or battling, everything centers around how she and her team look. Her main team is made up of cute/beautiful Pokemon that look good. Aya wears a pink wig and purple color contacts on stage, giving herself a “uniquely” cute appearance. This makes her more memorable to an audience, as she stands out more from her competition.

In battle, Aya focuses on a mixed offensive/defensive strategy mostly centering around her Ninetales. Setting up Aurora Veil gives her the freedom to focus on attacking her opponent without worrying too much about her defenses. The hail that her Ninetales summons also helps to whittle down her opponent, since only ice-type Pokemon are immune to the hail.

“Aya” is simply her stage name. While her full first name is Ayako, having a stage name-and a stage appearance so different from her own-allows her to maintain her privacy from the public. However, those who know her personally still call her “Aya” as it’s short for Ayako.

Aya also has a female Mimikyu that tends to stay on her shoulder. She does not use it in battle or in contests.

Dilan Torie

24

Hoenn

Dilan comes from a large household of professional Pokemon breeders, and as such he retains a wide array of knowledge regarding the proper raising of Pokemon such as diet and breeding habits. He was all but forced to become a trainer after a number of "his" Pokemon began eating the family out of business. That, combined with his own usual aversion to work, was enough to have his parents kick him out of the house to find his own way. That was roughly six years ago. Now, Dilan is the reigning Hoenn Regional Champion, and nobody rightly knows how.

If you were to ask Hanae Layton what the newest member of her team's greatest asset was, it'd be just how much of a mystery he is. If you didn't know any better, Dilan Torie may very well have come out of nowhere. According to the man himself, Dilan is just some guy who happens to train Pokemon for a living. To the vast majority of his fellow Hoenn competitors, he's a layabout who somehow managed to stumble his way to the top of the Region and who has no reason being there, let alone the World Tournament. Suffice to say that Dilan's reception has been mixed.

No one expects the Vigoroth Inquisition

Samantha Riley

22

Sinnoh

As far as traditional specialties go Samantha is mostly only interested in the battling side of training. Contests might be fun to watch but the amount of planning and precision that goes into being a coordinator does not mesh well with Samantha’s more impulsive battle style.

However Samantha is willing to try any kind of event once and loves to put her Pokémon’s skills to the test in more unusual competitions such as races, obstacle courses or sports. In her extensive worldly travels Samantha has visited every region that has a name worth knowing and more than a few that don’t. As such she has seen and taken part in a number of events that only exist in certain places; Alola and the Orange Island are particularly interesting in this way as they do not have Gyms like other regions do and instead challenge trainers in other ways.

While Samantha tries to make concessions to ensure that her team is somewhat balanced there is no denying that her battling strategy leans more towards the aggressive and unpredictable. Using the battle experience that she gained from competing against a wide variety of trainers Samantha likes to keep things at a fast pace, putting the pressure on her opponent to keep them on the back foot and unable to build up any momentum.

Though she hasn’t been a trainer for very long compared to others in just a short amount of time Samantha has made a name for herself all around the world, but not in the usual way. Some trainers are world renowned because of one great accomplishment that spreads around the world; Samantha is world renowned because she has made herself known everywhere. She has appeared in competitions the world over, from regional league finals to smaller, local events.

Samantha’s inclusion on the team is likely to only be until the end of the current competitive season; due to her wanderlust it is unlikely she will want to stay on the team long enough to compete the following year.

Lindsay Lee

20

Hoenn

Lindsay's specialty is that she just battles. Despite how dim-witted she may seem, she is an excellent battler, and will often figure out strategies to defeat her opponent in a matter of a few turns. She finds that the other disciplines don't suit her as well, but that doesn't mean she is necessarily a stranger to them.

A guilty pleasure of hers are contests, even though she isn't good at them. She looks to have a Pokemon that it contest suitable someday, but that day will not come for a while considering how much time she spends on training her Pokemon to be battle ready and to all be well-rounded enough to make up for natural deficiencies.

Lindsay... uh... doesn't really have any flair outside of battling. In battle, she's a spectacle to watch. Her style is defined by her unrelenting offense, pace, and pressure. Fuck your defense, fuck your special defense, and fuck your party. She doesn't care how high it is, she will come after your Pokemon like a dog starved for food.

However, outside the battle she literally has nothing to offer. Watching paint dry would be more interesting than interacting with Lindsay. It's not that she tries to be boring, she just is, much to everyone's dismay. She doesn't have many interests outside of Pokemon, and she sure as hell doesn't really think about things that are worth thinking about.

She doesn't like telling people her last name.