Pokemon Trainer Matt [Pyrite|Ace]

Born in Driftveil City, Matt was the oldest of three siblings and therefore, the one "in charge" and "in the know". This usually meant he was more aware of the tension between his parents, unlike Rose and Chris, and had a better grasp of what was going on as his mom and dad eventually divorced. His mom, having gained near-complete custody, eventually moved the family out to Nimbasa. Matt found himself well-adjusted to the bright and fast-paced city; in Nimbasa, there were several prestiged places for Pokemon battling that fueled his dream of becoming a trainer. His siblings were not so keen on the idea themselves, but Matt didn't let that hold him back; often he'd sneak out without them to go see the latest challenge taking place at Elesa's Gym. Unfortunately, his mother was quite paranoid, believing that her kids would end up being seriously hurt or even killed if they left on journeys of their own; it took Matt years to convince her to let him go get a starter in Nuvema Town. When he was able to finally choose the Pokeball containing his first partner Pokemon, a Tepig he took to calling Hades, Matt felt an excitement he had never known before. After spending some time with his sister and brother, both of whom were thoroughly upset and reluctant to let him go, Matt finally set out to become a trainer. He was determined to make a name for himself in the Pokemon battling world.

Traveling throughout Unova, Matt steadily built up his main team while taking on both Gyms and wandering trainers alike. He was always up for a battle, and his loyal Pokemon-especially Hades-were there with him for each one. Of course, Matt also took time on his journey to visit his family now and then, and was even able to get starter Pokemon for his siblings (getting one for his sister, of course, required a lot of trading). Both Rose and Chris were overjoyed to be given the little Pokemon, a Togepi and a Deerling respectively; a part of Matt secretly hoped that this would be encouragement for them to follow in his footsteps. Eventually, Matt would get the news that Cailee had finally set out into Unova like he had, and he was more than happen to be the advice-giving older brother. Even though it hadn't felt like it'd been that long, some of his Pokemon were already fully evolved, and he had almost all of the Unova badges. It was then that Matt decided he would travel to other regions once he was done with all of the Gyms of this one; Kalos had always sounded like a nice place, and he hadn't been back to Hoenn in almost a decade. His Pokemon didn't seem so keen on the idea as he was, but Matt hardly noticed.

One day, Chris too was able to set out on his Pokemon journey (with a little help from his brother, of course), and Matt was thrilled to know that his little brother had found a spark for battling. The younger boy was as stubborn as ever, of course, and insisted on receiving no help from neither Rose nor Matt...other than initial transportation, but that was it. Being seventeen at this time, Matt figured it was time for him to start his travels to other regions, starting with Kalos. The first Gyms would be a breeze with his strong Pokemon; Hades was an Emboar at this point, and though gentle with people, the Fire-type was a beast in fiercer battles. Matt was confident they could sweep through this League without too much trouble.
Kalos was a beautiful region, though the people could be a little weird, and Matt found himself really enjoying being there. His Pokemon seemed relaxed in the less stressful environment, getting as much rest as they needed in between challenges. However, disaster struck when they went to Cyllage to fight Grant; Hades was being used in the fight, and accidentally misstepped upon the rocky arena, sending him falling as his heavy weight broke the stone beneath him. It was by a sheer miracle that the Emboar did not plummet all the way to the bottom, and Matt, freaking out, got his Pokemon medical attention as quick as was humanly possible. The damage was already done, though; due to severe body trauma and damage to his lower body, Hades would have difficulty moving around on his own, and was certainly out of commission for anymore battling. Matt didn't care about that; he needed to find a way to let Hades live in comfort, as painless as possible. He even offered to give up on his trainer career for his starter, and though the boar was touched, Hades would not have any of that talk.

So Matt found Hades a home at his father's ranch, which was not gigantic, but had more than enough room for the Emboar to live. Taking a year off, Matt spent the time with both sides of his family and took care of his Pokemon too. His Emboar's injuries had given him a new perspective on things, and he made an offer to all of his Pokemon to stay at the ranch if they did not want to battle anymore. Many of them accepted, with the exception of two: his Galvantula, Jules, and his Mienshao, Mei. With a promise to visit them often and not abandon them, Matt set off once more, though not as fast this time around. Traveling to several regions, his team became far more mixed; he even found a new "ace Pokemon", a stoic, determined Gardevoir named Athena. Matt made certain to be more open and affectionate with this team, and though he was serious about battling, he did not drive them forward too harshly in the process.
His family was always curious and enthusiastic to hear about his travels, but Matt could not help notice that Chris was staying at Nimbasa, and not as happy about sharing his own experiences. Matt didn't push the issue, but tried to help out his little brother through subtle encouragement: complimenting his badge collection and Pokemon, showing him the new ones he'd gotten from other regions, stuff like that. Maybe Chris wasn't completely okay yet, but at the very least he always seemed cheered up by the things Matt said. After once again setting out, Matt could only hope whatever had happened wasn't something that killed his brother's goals and motivation entirely.

Life went on as usual, but after visiting his Pokemon again, Matt was called up by Rose; she had thought up an idea to take the family on vacation to Kalos. Only they had ever been there, and their mom and dad were getting along again. Matt couldn't have called it a bad idea, and agreed; he and his Pokemon could use the break. The ones on the ranch would be well cared-for by his stepmom's friends until he got back. Flying with his Talonflame Erasa, Matt headed off to Unova to let Chris know; however, his brother was busy preparing for his Elite Four challenge, and declined to go with them, saying there would be another time for him to go along with everyone. Matt wasn't so sure that Chris was ready, but the experience alone could very well help him anyways, and so he didn't try to force him to come along.
Kalos was as beautiful as ever, but eventually, they started getting disturbing news of what was going on in other regions...it was all very jumbled news, but most of it involved rabid Pokemon attacking and killing anything in sight. It was impossible to get a hold of Chris, and Matt had no idea what was truly going on; going to Rose, they both knew they had to get back to Unova. Chris wasn't safe out there. Even though they had little information, Matt and his sister alike were not willing to leave their little brother behind. From what they had heard, only Kalos was still relatively "safe"; their parents would be better off staying behind.

What awaited them in the other regions, however, was beyond even just a mere catastrophe. It was the downfall of civilization of the other islands itself due to some sort of fatal illness. And to make things even worse...Undead Pokemon. Undead Pokemon were everywhere amongst the chaos, though for some reason, humans stayed dead. Matt wondered how in the hell Chris could've survived any of it, and he knew Rose was absolutely terrified. He was, too, but poured all of his focus into finding their brother. After him, Matt would have to go back to the ranch...had any of his Pokemon turned? They were strong Pokemon, and he did not want to have to kill them himself...or come back to find bodies.
Neither he nor Rose found Chris, and some places were simply too dangerous to look. They had not given up, but then the two were attacked by a horde of feral, powerful Undead, vicious monsters trying to bite and claw and tear them apart. Matt and Rose fled, but in the ensuing chaos, they ended up separated from each other; Matt was cut off from where his sister was running by the mass of undead, and made it out only due to the intervention and swiftness of his ever-loyal Talonflame.

Now left without his sister nor his brother, half of Matt wanted to give up, to simply drop to the ground and just stop. But he could not stop. He was Rose's and Chris' older brother, and he would not leave them to die out in the zombie-infested wilds...but he also could not abandon his Pokemon back at the ranch. So Matt slowly made his way to Hoenn, planning on making his way through the once-beloved tropics to the place where he had last talked to and seen them. Along the way, though, he found an unfamiliar device; after messing around with the thing for awhile, Matt finally heard a serious, deadpan voice ask him if "he was ever going to just throw the useless thing away." Staring at Athena, it took Matt a few moments to register that he could understand his Gardevoir's normal, spoken voice. It was a small ray of excitement in an otherwise dark time; his Gardevoir did not seem as impressed by the device's function as he was, and resolved to be as sarcastic as possible so long as Matt could hear her. He had no idea if it was a joke.
There was something else the device allowed, however-now able to understand Pokemon, Matt got word from survivors who had spotted a blonde girl with a Togekiss flying in a certain direction over the sea, which was not too far away. A blonde girl with a Togekiss...it had to be Rose, and he had to follow her. With agreement from three of his Pokemon, Matt parted ways with them temporarily; they would head to the ranch to see if there were any survivors, and he would go to Orre and find Rose. After, they would all go to find Chris once and for all.

Matt was not going to be the one to give up.