Drake Jinchoraki

[Ashley]

Name- Drake Welsh Jinchoraki
Nickname- Drake, Jin
Age- 17
Gender- Male
Profession- Pokemon Watcher ; Trainer

Appearance-
Dark brown hair that lays relatively flat, but gains volume with the slightest ruffle. Relatively thin due to a life on the go, with moderate muscular build. He has greater dexterity than most, which comes in handy with his chosen profession. Emerald green eyes shimmer from his fairly tanned face, his thin but poignant lips commonly drawn into a grin.

Some would consider Drake to be good looking, while others would likely turn up their nose. He doesn't mind getting down and dirty, a real country guy. Occasionaly a southern drawl finds its way into his speech, but normally it is crisp and clear, if a bit slow. He doesn't wear anything fancy, rather a pair of old jeans or cargo pants (whichever better suits the environment he plans to be in), and a baggy tee or sweatshirt. He'll either be wearing light tennis shoes or well worn boots, and always keeps the pair not currently in use in his bag.

He often scrawls on his pokeballs with special paint markers, marking them specially for the Pokemon contained within. Sometimes his clothing will come to bear such personalized marks, and even some creations he lets his Pokemon do. Whatever the case, he can normally be seen with a pair of goggles around his neck and a sketch pad within easy reach, if not already in his hands.


Personality-
Most people, and Pokemon, would likely find Drake enjoyable to be around. He rarely has a harsh word for anyone, unless they are harming a Pokemon or someone else. In the latter case, he will do whatever it takes- including using himself as a weapon and hurting the person responsible. He is loathe to do so, as harming another creature, be they Pokemon or Human or Pokemorph, is something he despises above all else.

He isn't shy, and will talk to anyone who desires it. He won't pursuse people he knows would rather avoid him, and doesn't give a second thought to those who look down on him. As far as he is concerned, no one has to like what he looks, smells, talks, or thinks like; just as he doesn't have to like them. Sure, he has similar feelings on occasion, his human mind jumping to conclusions about others, making prejudices. But he strives to control that part of his human self, and not fall into a habit of letting such vile thoughts control his actions.

One of his biggest weaknesses are 'natural' girls, girls who don't mask their faces or bodies with makeup, and who don't mind getting a little dirt either. He finds it highly attractive, and has to struggle quite a bit to keep himself for falling head over heels for them. Of course, this does depend on the female's age as well, because seeing children or older women like that does not phase him. Only for those girls around his age, with little more than a visible year or so between them.

Another of his weaknesses is that once he finds a Pokemon, or target he wishes to 'watch', he falls fully into that mode. He hardly notices anything else, be it companions or danger. This can lead to some pretty rough spots, whether in his relationship with another or in his personal well being. However, if his target is in danger or the like, he will catch onto that rather quickly.

Perhaps both a strength and a weakness is his adamant desire to help anyone who needs it. If someone is in trouble, it seems to pull a switch in his mind. He becomes oblivious to any danger to himself, and falls into a one-track attempt to help them. This allows him to overcome fears that would inhibit him in his normal conciousness, but fear can sometimes be the difference between life and death.


History-
Drake's history is rather uneventful. He grew up in the small town known as 'Dark City'. A lot of the town held a place of fear for Pokemon Trainers, and some for Pokemon themselves. He had heard about two groups, pretty much 'gangs' that had terroized the village and brought about massive destruction when fighting against each other. Though those times had passed, many of the people still lived in fear.

Drake's parents never really talked about it. They seemed to him neither to live in fear of it, or to particularly care for pokemon or trainers. Rather, they seemed ashamed of what had happened, and just tried to bury the whole thing and everything connected to it from their minds. Drake had learnt of the old times from his grandfather before he passed on, and never really brought up the subject of going on a journey.

That all changed when his parents were away at some sort of meeting or benefit, Drake never really knew where exactly they had gone. He wanted to explore the surrounding areas, and see firsthand the 'Pokemon' that were scarce within the village itself. He saw only some common Pokemon, Pidgey and Rattata, even a Spearow that flew away before he had much of a chance to admire it. In his amazement of the creatures, and his desire to see more, he wandered a bit too far.

Distracted by a Ponyta grazing a little ways off, Drake did not notice that he had ventured off the grassy fields and into the rocky and barren terrain of the craigs. He did not see that he was backing toward a cliff, still entranced by the fiery horse that had not noticed him, being downwind. Did not notice, that is, until his foot landed on air and he fell tumbling backward down the rocky slope.

Rocks were knocked loose as he fell, virtually rolling down the cliffside. It was not that far to the bottom, and his momentum was slowed by his contact with the slope, so he was merely winded, scraped, and bruised when he finally came to a stop. He would have been fine, if the dislodged boulder hadn't crashed onto his leg, snapping it. He would have been fine, likely found later by the search party, had he not been hidden beneath the boulder and other fallen rocks. He would possibly have found a way out, had he not fallen into a virtual bowel, and the rain not began to fall from the darkened sky.

He passed out from the sudden, unexpected pain of his leg breaking. He had never before had any physical injury so excruciating. It was the rain, and the mud pooling around him that woke him up. Coughing and spluttering up the rain and mud that had gotten into his open mouth, he tried to sit up, forgetting about the broken bone. He soon remembered, as another wave of agonizing pain washed over him and he blacked out once again.

The next time he awoke, the mud was pooling around him, over his neck and rising steadily. That was when he started to panic; he realized that short of a miracle, he would likely drown there. With the ground beneath his trapped leg turned to mud, he was able to slowly and carefully pull himself out. By the time he had accomplished that, the muddy water was up to his waist as he sat. He knew that he could not use the broken leg, and that he would be lucky to make one hop in the soft muddy flooded area before falling. The knowledge that he could not get out on his own, that he was going to die there, hit him like a clap of thunder.

He pulled himself up out of the water and pulled himself to the boulder. He sat on it, if only to delay the inevitable; The rain wasn't letting up any time soon, and the area was surrounded by cliffs on all sides that rose well above the elevation he attained when sitting on the rock. He shivered in the cold and pain, the agony of which was lessening as his leg went numb. Pulling his good leg close to his chest, he wrapped his arms tightly around it to try to hold in warmth, laying his head in the folds of his elbow and waiting.

Oddly enough, despite being thoroughtly terrified, he was not altogether sad at the prospect of dying. Sure, he regretted leaving his parents, that his death would hurt the people he loved. But, all that kept flooding through his mind were the pokemon he had seen that day, flashbacks of their peacefulness and beauty, and their hidden power. If he was to die, he had lived a more complete life after having witnessed that.

The water rose. Drake was drifting off again, half in and out of conciousness. Suddenly, a sharp cry jerked him fully into reality. He noticed a tree hanging out from a nearby cliff, frail and blowing in the stormy wind. Perched on a branch of that tree, a nest was being tossed about, and he could just make out smaller forms of a bird-like Pokemon he had seen earlier- Pidgey, though he did not know the name of it at the time.

He lifted himself off the rock slightly, watching in horror, not even noticing that the water was now once again lapping around his midsection. Then, the tension became too much, and the tree limb snapped. The frail nest blew off, flipping upside down and tossing the three young inhabitants into the water. The Pidgey flapped and splashed as they tried to stay afloat, but it was obvious that they were not meant to be in water like this, especially not when they were so young they couldn't even fly.

Drake lost all vision, save for that which was focused on the birds. He moved forward quickly, forgetting entirely about his injury. His leg gave out and he fell into the water, choking as it filled his lungs. But, he realized that it was deep enough now that he didn't even have to use his hurt leg. He floated in the water, using his good leg to push himself toward the chicks.

The smallest of the three lost its energy soonest, and sank into the water. Drake was close, and he dove forward, hand moving almost of its own accord. He felt the soft creature land on his hand beneath the water, and quickly lifted it out. The Pokemon was breathing, but was unconcious. He quickly scooped up the other two, holding them out of the water. He spluttered on some water, having a harder time staying afloat without the assistance of his arms, but his mind was focused on saving the three little Pokemon.

He saw a section of the cliff at an angle that blocked it from the rain, and it had an outcropping that appeared large enough to hold the little birds. A sound echoed in the distance, a sharp caw almost, but Drake did not hear it amidst the splashing and roaring water. He floated himself to the cliff as quickly as possible, choking on water as much as he sucked in air. He could feel his tired and weakened body giving out, his oxygen deprived mind shutting down. There wasn't much time.

He shoved as hard as he could, his side striking the cliff and nearly causing him to pass out again. But, he held on, and managed to get all the small birds into one arm. With the other he reached up, but had to give a little jump with his foot to reach the outcropping. Panting, Gasping, using what remained of his strength to pull himself and the birds up, he wouldn't have been able to do it if not for the sudden adrenaline rush that came when he envisioned the small creatures dying.

He got his body high enough to lift his arm and deposit one, two, three Pidgey onto the cliffside. The birds twittered there for a second, almost excitedly. Drake didn't know why, and he was fading into darkness too fast to contemplate it. "Take care of yourselves," he choked out. And then he was falling, back toward his watery tomb.

He awoke to bright sunlight streaming through a cave entrance and filtering through his closed eyelids. Slowly opening the orbs, the sight that greeted him was completely unexpected. Pokemon, tons of them, where all gathered in that large cavern. He could see the puddles outside the entrance and assumed they had all gone there to escape the storm. He noticed that he was sitting up against some sort of stone wall, and that his right cheek was leaning against something soft and warm.

Shifting slightly, Drake saw a large bird Pokemon that looked to be similar to the small birds. Glancing down, he saw those very same chicks cuddled against the larger bird, snuggling in her feathers for warmth. 'She must be their mother...' he thought, amazed. He felt something move on his lap and suddenly noticed the slight weight there. He looked down to see some sort of orange-ish fox with six tails. The Pokemon was very warm, emitting heat like a mini furnace.

The rock he was lying against suddenly moved, and he started, waking the fox and the large bird. They gave him curious glances as he felt the rock. "S-sorry, I..." he started, meaning to apologize for waking them. His statement fell away into the air as the rock shifted again, and a giant boulder- no, head- lifted and turned to look at him as well.

This was all a bit much for a boy who had rarely seen Pokemon before. His initial reaction was to be scared, but that didn't last for very long. "Wow... y-you must be a rock type? ...And you're a fire type!" he said, first to the Onix then the Vulpix.

<Very observant, aren't you? What else can you tell us, O' wise human?> another Pokemon telepathed. This one was yellow in color, with brown in places and a red star on his forehead. He had a large tail, and held two sthingys in the hands that he had crossed over his chest. He was sitting by himself, a bit removed from the rest of the Pokemon in the cave.

Drake knew sarcasm when he heard it. But, coming from a Pokemon, he was a bit confused. "What do you mean...?" he asked. "...I know you know what types you are but... I've never really seen many Pokemon before..." he added, shifting awkwardly. He felt as if he had done something wrong; perhaps he wasn't supposed to be there? He was the only non-pokemon in the cave.

The Kadabra rolled his eyes. <You humans are all the same. You view anything not like yourselves- and even some of your own- as nothing more than a science experiment, something to satisfy your own curiosity,> the Pokemon telepathed back.

"What? Th.. That's not true! Some humans probably do, but... I think Pokemon are amazing, beautiful. If I want to study anything, its that. And, yeah I'm curious... but only because I find you all so fascinating," Drake replied, hurt.

<Please. You probably dumped the Pidgey into the water just to see if they could swim!>

Hurt quickly turned to anger as the vile lowness of what the psychic Pokemon had accused him of sank in. "I did not!" he cried in protest, trying to keep his voice down, as some pokemon were still asleep. The Kadabra snorted. Drake gently picked the fox Pokemon off his lap and laid her on the ground to his left, then pushed himself into a more upright position.

"I would never do something that horrible!" the Kadabra only thingyed his eyebrow. "Take it back!" Drake said, voice rising a bit before he got it under control.

<And why should I?>

"Take it back!!!" Drake said again, rising full to his feet- rather, foot- fists clenched at his sides as he fought against the anger welling up inside him.

<Or what, you're going to fight me?> the Pokemon scoffed.

"No! But, it's not true! Take it back!!" he yelled again, voice almost pleading this time. He stepped forward and put pressure on his broken leg- forgotten until then- and fell face first to the ground with a sharp cry of pain. "Take it back..." he mumbled, passing out.

The next time he woke, he found himself still in the cave. However, most of the Pokemon were gone. He was lying with his back against the Onix again. It took him a few seconds to remember what was going on, and he saw the Kadabra nearby. He shot the Pokemon a glare that softened when his cheek was nuzzled by the Pidgeot. He noticed the Pidgey chirping and tottering around beside his leg, and a grin broke his face when he noticed that all three were there.

"You're all alright... I was really worried about you," he said, rubbing his index finger gently atop the smallest pidgey's feathered head. It cooed appreciatively, then the other two started chirping and jumping around, pecking at Drake's arm and hand in an attempt to get him to pet them too. The boy laughed lightly petting another of the two with his thumb. He couldn't quite get to the other with that hand, so he shifted (earning himself a pang of pain that caused him to wince) and leaned his other arm over to pet the last one.

He stayed like that, fighting off exhaustion, for a little while. He fell into a daze and hardly noticed that the Pidgey had removed themselves from his stroking fingers and gone to play elsewhere. That is, until the Pidgeot nuzzled him again. The Kadabra had not said anything since Drake had passed out earlier, and the boy all but forgot he was there.

<Perhaps I should not have judged you so soon...> the Pokemon conceded, drawing a start and confused look from Drake. <...hold still. You can't very well be getting home with your leg like that,> the Kadabra stated.

Drake looked down at his leg for the first time since the other night. I was beginning to swell pretty badly, and his pant leg was tight around it. He couldn't even feel it anymore, unless he put pressure on it. He knew that couldn't be a good sign. "What are yo- ARRGH," he began, but the Psychic Pokemon had already started.

Using his powers, the Kadabra was moving the bones back into place and reconnecting them, along with the busted blood vessels and other such results of the injury. It was pain that Drake could hardly believe, seeming worse even than the night before when it had busted. At least then he lost conciousness, but he was livid through the repairing process. He wanted to curl up into a ball, but he knew that would only hinder the process.

He leaned back as far as he could, pressing against the Onix's tough rock hide. He grasped at the ground, having nothing else to clench onto. After what seemed an eternity, the pain finally stopped. Sweat beaded Drake's face and he gasped for air. He felt like he was flickering in and out of reality, but he forced himself to cling to conciousness.

When at last he opened his eyes and was lucid once more, he saw the Kadabra leaving through the cavern entrance. "Wait!" he called out. The Pokemon stopped, but did not turn. "Thank you." The Kadabra stood there for a long minute before resuming his departure.

Later, Drake too left the cave, able to walk again, albeit with a pronounced limp and needing a can to help hold himself upright due to the swelling. He made it back into town by that night, to find his very worried parents and a downcast, unsuccesful search party. The look on every face when he walked in, beat up and leaning on a branch, with a bright smile beaming on his face was priceless.

He went back out to that cave after his leg had healed, and many more times from then on. No one knew exactly where he went, but they often remarked that he spent more time chasing death than living. They could not have been more wrong. He spent many long hours, days, weeks even with the Pokemon. He got to know them, to understand them. Though he couldn't understand their speech like some others, he almost always seemed to know what they were saying. He had learned to listen with his heart, and with some coaching from Kadabra, could communicate very limitedly with his mind.