[attr="class","RANGER3"]

I.

growing up in cianwood meant that he has always been isolated from most of the world. the city's located on the very far west of johto, on an entirely different landmass even. for that reason there were not many visitors and the ones that did came were mostly sailors. he lived a secluded and simple childhood, spent every moment possible with his family who he cherishes. [break][break]

it's strange how the littlest, simplest of decisions can lead to so much. nobody in the family was a sailor, let alone a decent swimmer. but he was different, he wanted to explore, to venture out into sea to find unknown lands. he never thought he wanted all of that, thought that he would be complacent just working at the pharmacy or at the pokemart. but the boy got curious, and he wanted to see if there was more to the world than just cianwood.[break][break]

luckily for him sailors passed by quite frequently, and most of them were looking for any help they can get. he volunteered himself, took an unpaid job as a cabin boy and secured himself a ship to work on. it didn't take long for him to get accepted into the crew. soon he started recognizing faces, remembering names, and not long after he was calling the crew, family.[break][break]

that's the sailor mentality, out at sea everyone needed to be in sync, to quite literally be on the same boat. and for the longest time he was happy, spent his childhood and early teens sailing across the region and even venturing into other regions.[break][break]

II.

pirates. a term not commonly brought up among sailors, albeit out of fear, respect, he's not quite sure. he knew they existed, read tales about them in books. it's funny how in books and novels they're often portrayed as people with peg-legs, hooks for hands, silly hats, but in reality they were quite different. they were ruthless.[break][break]

his ship got attacked, boarded, sacked of its goods and contents, then burned. not many survived the ordeal, and those who did had no intentions of ever going back out to sea again. if he didn't have an escape route, a swanna, then he's certain he would've died on that ship that day. no amount of cargo could justify the killings and horrors he witnessed. it disgusts him, still to this day.[break][break]

driven by rage and a longing for justice he enlisted into the coast guard. the academy was rigorous, training was intense, but in the end he managed. no, he did better than manage, he graduated from the academy at the top of his class.[break][break]

it's easy to live a life not knowing what's going on, about the events that happen that might not be covered by the media. before enlisting he had no idea that there was a war happening, but even if he did know that would not have deterred him away. if anything it motivated him even more, knowing that sailors, people were getting hurt. so he gave it his all, gave the coast guard everything he had.[break][break]

III.

he's always had a sense of loyalty and dedication to a cause, and in this instance it was to the coast guard. sailors were a family, so were the coast guards. there were differences between the two but in the end what mattered the most was the connection, the relationship between people. it was easy to develop that; you go through the academy together, be assigned into the same crew together, and you work from there.[break][break]

he was very close to his crew, used the sailor mentality and treated them like family. he'd try to go out of his way to bond with each one of them, and for the most part he succeeded. but as time went on he started to notice change, it's small and gradual, but it's noticeable. victoria. he could see it; the once legitimately nice person who had high goals slowly became more distant, more cold, but strangely exuded more confidence. [break][break]

he didn't want to believe it at first, tried his best to ignore his concerns. 'you're just overthinking things, she's fine.' over and over again he told himself. but eventually it reached a point where there was no denying it, not when he hears screaming, not when he catches her torturing.[break][break]

he values family, but he values integrity and honor more. her actions went against the codes and the morals he was taught. turning her in was and still is the toughest decision he's ever had to do. he felt conflicted for the longest time and the feeling stayed even after she was relieved from duty. he never quite got over that, never got over how he betrayed family.[break][break]

despite that he remained devoted to the cause. he stayed with the coast guard and fought multiple battles, carried their ideology, their mission wherever he went. but eventually it all became to much to bear; the battles he can't win, the guilt he can't live with, the ghosts he can't hide from. so he left, resigned and sought a simpler career, a more peaceful one.[break][break]