banks, maverick

[attr="class","TRAINER3"]



his father was old-fashioned in a number of ways, most of which maverick didn't realize were really wrong until he was older. he grew up in a quiet household, a small place situated among towering trees filled with bug and grass pokemon. when he was just shy of six years old, his father set him to work on their small skiddo ranch. while the two of them tended to the land and the pokemon, maverick's mother spent her days down the road working as an assistant at the day care center. they got by. maverick never grew up with the nicest clothes or the newest tech, but he'd go home from school to the waiting arms of his mother and fall asleep to stories about wondrous legendary pokemon only the best trainers could ever dream of seeing.[break][break]
he was complacent in his simple life for most of his childhood. he stayed fit while shepherding the skiddo, even taught some of the neighbors' kids how to ride them. but as he grew older, he found himself craving more. when he was twelve years old, he took one of the family's skiddo with him and ventured into the caves east of town that supposedly led to the solaceon ruins. the ruins themselves had been woven into his mother's stories and, for better or for worse, he decided he was going to unearth the secrets they held. but he never made it. wild pokemon attacked in the cave. he'd never quite taken part in the pokemon battles at school before and his inexperience nearly cost his skiddo its life. [break][break]they managed to escape, but when he returned with the wounded pokemon, his father was outraged. the skiddo was rushed to the pokemon center and maverick was grounded. when his mother came home that night, quiet murmurs turned into yelling, which turned into a one-sided argument he heard from his father's booming voice. she came into his room sometime later, rubbed the tears from his eyes, and kissed his forehead. then she moseyed into bed next to him and took out a story book; exhaustion had him tottering on the edge of sleep, eyes half closed, and when his mother stretched her arms, part of him couldn't understand how the small purple marks on her forearm had gotten there, or why her last kiss goodnight felt like a goodbye.[break][break]
she was gone the next morning. she'd left a sum of money for them in a small jar in the kitchen, a letter addressed to maverick underneath it. his father confiscated all of it, hid it in his room. it nearly killed him, but he stayed patient, waited until the right moment before sneaking into his father's room and going through his things. he ended up finding it in a small locked box under his bed, and after a couple more days of practice and care, managed to pick the lock and take what was inside. he was surprised to see it hadn't been opened. in its place he left a decoy letter and left it at that. things went back to normal, as normal as they could be. it was a small town; people talked, but many empathized for maverick. homemade mac 'n cheese, apple pies, all sorts of good foods, were left on their doorstep with cheery notes left attached.[break][break]
he waited until he was sixteen to open it. he'll never admit why. a piece of him had known what was inside it and he'd been scared, scared to follow in his mother's footsteps. but after several years of tiptoeing around his own house, he packed up his things and left on the back of one of their skiddo. [break][break]
he didn't know if he'd find her, if she would have stayed in canalave after all these years. but she had and he did. the first couple of days were awkward, both of them unsure whether to apologize or say 'it's okay. it's okay now.' but eventually they laid out all the bones on the table. she broke down, explained that she couldn't forgive herself for leaving him, but she hadn't known what else to do. she'd done it for herself. and he told her that he understood, even if he couldn't really forgive her for it, he understood. they found a way to make it work, to reconnect, and after a few years, she helped him realize that he needed to leave. he needed to see the world, discover new possibilities, become a stronger trainer, if not for himself, then for his skiddo. so he packed his things for a second time, but this time he left with a grin on his face, determination unwavering.[break][break]
he was familiar with getting by on very little so the journey has never bothered him. he's trekked through some of sinnoh now, but he still has a long way to go. while he's been through a lot, he's still incredibly naive.