All right, here's my application. The backstory mentioned family members being a gym leader and an elite four, if that doesn't quite fit with what you've planned for the region, I don't mind making it gym leaders and elite four of another region instead.

[hider=Trainer Application]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/c5pou1m.png[/img]

[b]Name:[/b]  
[i]Dr Alan Graves[/i]

[b]Age:[/b]  
[i]27[/i]

[b]Spot you're going for:[/b]  
[i]Trainer[/i]  

[b]About:[/b]  
[i]Gym Leader's Scion[/i]

Alan Graves was born to a family that traditionally held the post of the Ghost-type gym in Veluria. Despite having the expected aptitude for battling from his pedigree, however, rather than being a trainer after finishing his education to take up the position of the next Gym Leader, he instead went on to pursue a medical degree due to the existence of his older sister.

Alan's older sister, not only the elder sibling, and thus was considered the 'heir' so to speak, but was also a talented prodigy of Pokémon battle whose skill Alan always felt was out of his reach. While there was a degree of jealousy and feeling of inadequacy when the two were younger, as an adult, Alan had long past got over those issues. Rather, it was merely a fact of life that he had accepted and was content with. By the time he graduated, he had fully accepted that the position of the Gym Leader would go to his Sister, and instead, considering his stellar academic achievements, he went on to become a medical doctor, before joining a residency program for Palliative Medicine.

As someone who came from a family of Ghost-type specialists—apropos of their family name—the topic of death, and what lay beyond, was something that Alan was well acquainted with. It was, after all, something that all Ghost-type specialists probably ruminated on from time to time. Furthermore, Ghost-type Pokémon, despite their rather malicious reputation, appeared to provide some therapeutic comfort to patients at death's door. A topic that had actually yielded several research papers, ranging from a placebo effect to a unique form of energy that resonated with the state of mind of terminally ill patients. Whatever the case, patients often reported spending time with Ghost-type Pokémon, especially if they were well-trained as therapeutic Pokémon, allowed to be more at peace, even saying that they felt they could now 'greet death like a friend.'

Thus, specialising in Palliative Medicine, working with terminally ill patients whose main 'treatment' was to make their last days as comfortable as possible and to help them cherish what time they had left seemed like a good fit for Alan. In the middle of his residency, however, his sister, before even officially becoming a Gym Leader, was skilled enough to be appointed as a member of the Elite Four, leaving the position of the 'heir' to their Gym empty. As a Gym Leader was a prestigious position, Alan was then asked to step in and was expected to be the one who eventually took over.

A Gym Leader having another occupation was not exactly uncommon, however, it was the fact that Alan never undertook a Pokémon journey as a Trainer and instead went directly to Medical School, something that would undoubtedly cast some aspersion on the status of a Gym Leader. Thus, Alan had to take a break from his studies and went on a journey as a trainer instead. While a part of him was annoyed at having been 'forced' to leave his study, another part, one that was perhaps a remnant of Child Alan, who dreamt to take over as the Gym Leader, was somewhat excited. He did not know how far he could go as a Pokémon Trainer in the Gym Challenge, but if he was going to do it, he might as well try to see how far he could go.

[b]Ideal Team:[/b]  
[img]https://i.imgur.com/2RHmwWn.png[/img]

[i]Skeledirge[/i]
As the Dirge in its name implied, Skeledirge was meant to represent a song of lament for the deceased. According to its Pokedex entry, Skeledirge’s gentle singing soothes the souls of all that hear it; in this sense, it hearkens to its fire typing that symbolises life, as its lamentation was also a celebration of the life led by the deceased.

[i]Annihilape[/i]
The Rage Pokemon. It was said to evolve from Primeape when its rage transcended its physical body. Annihilape represented the anguish of terminally ill patients at the unfairness of life. The silent cry of a child with leukaemia, the anger of those with degenerative diseases wanting to spend more time with their loved ones...all of the rage that the patients cannot properly express was taken upon the fists of Annihilape, as it raged on their behalf.

[i]Gholdengo[/i]
Cynically, one could say that Gholdengo represented the commercialisation of medicine, of how some patients were left unable to seek treatment due to financial reasons. On the flipside, however, Gholdengon also represented the donations made by those who cared for the infirmed, which sustained many medical facilities, in particular, many palliative programs to help fulfil a patient's last wish.

[i]Mimikyu[/i]
A lonely Pokémon who wore the visage of Pikachu in an attempt to get closer to people, among the terminally ill, who were comforted by Ghost-types, Mimikyu cut an endearing figure, a source of comfort and friendship. It was there, among those who sought succour among Ghost-type Pokémon, that the fake, Mimikyu, finally surpassed the original it tried to emulate, Pikachu, in providing companionship.

[i]Drifblim[/i]
Though having an infamous legend of whisking children away to the underworld, in old Sinnoh, when it was still called Hisui, Drifblim represented the transience of life and the melancholy of death, carrying the souls of the departed to the sky. Though rather morbid, due to a similar structure to a hot air balloon, Drifblim could provide warmth as they took people into the beautiful sky above in a comforting and magnificent final moments for terminally ill patients.

[i]Houndstone[/i]
It was said that, though being a profession concerned with saving lives, Doctors were those who were also well acquainted with death. Some cynical adage even said that the skills of a doctor increase with the number of patients who have died under their care. Houndstone, the loyal Pokémon that spent its time in graveyards, and whose signature move was Last Respects, represented the memories of dead patients that doctors carried with respect and care.

[b]Ace Pokémon:[/b]  
[i]Houndstone[/i]
A Pokémon that Alan would send out last, using its signature move of Last Respects, which grew in power the more allies were defeated as a 'sweeper'.

According to the Pokedex, a lovingly mourned Pokémon was said to turn into a Houndstone. Growing up, Alan's family had a Stoutlant that, rather than being used for battling, was more used as the family's companion. Despite having the typical sibling rivalry when they were children, caring for the Stoutland was the one thing Alan and his sister were of one mind. It was a source of bond for the two, and when the old dog died of old age when they were still children, it was the first instance of the two experiencing death and starting to comprehend it. 

A few years after the burial, however, the two found a Greavard near the grave of the Stoutland, which the siblings interpreted as the Stoutland reborn as a Ghost-type. Like the old dog Stoutland, Houndstone proved to be a source of bond for the two, who had sort of drifted away since the death of Stoutland, eventually leading to the two overcoming their issues with each other. Alan's sister was forever disappointed that Houndstone eventually picked Alan as his trainer, however.

[b]Posting Frequency:[/b]
[i]I can post once a week at a minimum.[/i]
[/hider]