Damian Tamaoka

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Damian Tamaoka
IC Information
Full Name: Damian Tamaoka
Gender: Male (he/him)
Age (Birthdate): 14
Hometown: Lavender Town
Hair Color: Light Purple
Eye Color: Pale Silver
Class: Runaway Medium
Role: Antagonist
Bounty: 0 Gella
OOC Information
Theme: Original Character
Major Group: Team Rocket
Minor Groups: None
Player: Talnora

"A-and make it double! ... Joy, do we really have to say the whole thing?"

Born to a family with long ties to the Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town, at an early age it was discovered that Damian had a rare gift: The ability to perceive Ghost type pokémon without a Silph Scope, and to communicate with them and the recently departed. He was trained in his family's heritage, his parents fully intending him to dedicate his talents to the Pokémon Tower when he came of age, just as generations before had. There's only one problem: He doesn't like Ghost-type pokémon. Seeing them all the time from such a young age frightened him, and he wants to do anything else rather than remain in Lavender Town his entire life. (What that 'anything else' is, though, he hasn't figured out yet.) When he heard his best friend Joy had vanished from her school, he decided to leave home to search for her... only to find out she had joined Team Rocket. Not wanting to go back home, and having nowhere else to go, he accepted her offer to join. Now they can support each other while he works on figuring himself out and what it is he really wants out of life.

Background

An Unexpected Gift

For generations, the Tamaoka family has been associated with the Pokémon tower in one form or another: some acted as simple grounds keepers, others would perform burial rites. Some with a certain knack would become mediums, helping to soothe the spirits of the recently departed pokémon, or to provide reassurances to the living.

So when Damian was born with particularly pale eyes, they knew it was a portent, even if they were not exactly sure of what. But as Damian grew older it became clear that he had a very high spiritual sensitivity. He was able to see the true form of Ghost-type pokémon, even when they were attempting to hide or disguise their true nature, without the use of a Silph Scope. And what's more, he had the ability to communicate with both ghosts and Ghost-type pokémon, again without the aid of other tools.

His parents were ecstatic. Damian would become a medium par excellence, and a great credit to their family lineage. They immediately geared his education to learning the craft, placing tremendous pressure on him in the process. There was just one problem.

Damian hated Ghost-type pokémon.

Being exposed to them constantly from such a young age frightened him, and he dreaded the thought of becoming a medium and being forced t0 work with them constantly, but his parents wouldn't relent. The issue came to a head one day when, while exploring the forests near Lavender Town, a Misdreavus came out of nowhere to frighten him. He was shocked by that, and his parents were forced to get him a new pet of his own, as Damian couldn't even handle the family's Houndstone anymore. Damian elected to get a Purroin, as the Dark-type pokémon would have an advantage when dealing with confrontational Ghosts. This helped, somewhat, and at least allowed Damian to continue his training, though he grew more and more despondent about his future career.

Precious Friends

With his family being so closely aligned with the Pokemon Tower, Damian had difficulty making friends. Nobody wanted to associate with the boy whose family tended a graveyard. Not an insurmountable problem... until his gift came to light. After that, it became all the more difficult to interact with the other children.

There were, however, two notable exceptions. Joy, having difficulties of her own, was able to see how lonely Damian was thanks to her psychic powers, and after some awkward false starts the two struck up a friendship. They found a lot of common ground, between having supernatural abilities and difficulties with family. The other was Peace who had avoided her own family's wishes for her to work in the Tower, and could sympathize with Damian's plight.

Then one day, Peace, the oldest of the three, set off on her Pokémon journey and eventually went to become a research assistant. Then Joy left on her own journey, became a Champion, and then was forced into nursing school. Damian kept up with both of them online, but... it just wasn't the same. But still, things stayed largely the same for several years, with Damian being the only one left in Lavender Town unable to leave.

Then, several years later, Joy left her nursing school in Celadon. Damian could still reach her, but she was vague and evasive about what she was doing. And Damian noticed that even Peace was sometimes not terribly responsive either. He grew increasingly worried about his friends, and feeling increasingly trapped at home, he came up with a plan.

He sold his parents on the idea of him taking a Pokemon Journey. Sure, he was getting a late start on it, at age 14, but it was easy enough to sell them on the idea that he needed to go learn about the burial customs and rites in other parts of Nede, to meet other Ghost-type pokémon he hadn't encountered yet. It was all too easy to lie and even convince them that this was their idea to begin with.

And so, under the cover of a Pokémon Journey, and with his trusty Purrloin by his side, Damian left home for the first time determinded to reunite with his friends.

Powers and Abilities

Damian was born with a strong spiritual sensitivity. He is capable of sensing and perceiving Ghost-type Pokémon despite their attempts to hide or conceal their true forms, without the use of a Silph Scope. What's more, Damian can also communicate with ghosts and Ghost-type pokémon alike, also without the need of additional tools.

Due to this high degree of spiritual sensitivity, Damian is also Resonant, though will not understand the broader implications of this for quite some time yet (at least in regards to how it interacts with Seraphim and Hellions.)

He is also versed in all of the skills of a medium in training, though is loathe to call upon them without a sufficiently compelling reason. He is practiced in minor symbology related to this, along with some general defensive magic.

Damian is an official Pokémon Trainer on a journey, though has only invested a little bit of time into this skill to make a modest showing of effort for his parents. He doesn't ahve a lot of experience as a trainer, though, nor is his tell very well-developed at the moment.

Aside from gaming online, Damian's main hobby is the care and grooming of pokémon. Having his own Pokémon to take care of, he started reading up on the best ways to care for one, and has a strong hobbyist interest in Pokémon Breeding.


Relationships

Name My thoughts...
Purrloin "My first pokémon and my best friend... I don't know how I'd manage without you around."
Misdreavus "Why won't you leave me alone!?"

Notable NPCs

Purrloin

Damian's first, and until recently only, pokémon. She serves as a combination of pet and emotional support animal. When he was younger, Damian had a terrifying run-in with a wild Misdreavus. He was uninjured, but it greatly exacerbated the unease he already felt around ghost types pokemon to the point where could not handle dealing with them in any capacity, not even the family's tame and friendly Houndstone. Finally it was decided to get Damian a pet of his own, and Damian selected a Purrloin. Being a Dark type, she had a natural advantage in dealing with Ghost-tyles, a fact which provided a lot of assurance to young Damian.

Purrloin is one of the highlights of Damian's life currently, and Damian lavishes a lot of care and attention on her as a result. Having her in his life inspired Damian to research and learn how to better care for a pokémon, which has given him a hobby to pursue in the rare moments when he isn't suffocating under the weight of his parents' expectations. Damian often brushes Purrloin's coat as a means of calming himself down.

Since Purrloin is so well-cared for, she is fiercely loyal to Damian and his needs. This means that she is quick to rebuff any Ghost-type pokémon that may try to approach him. She is also remarkably well-behaved... but only for Damian. She is keenly intlligent, and will direct her natural inclniations to steal and cause mayhem carefully at targets who truly deserve it... most of the time.

Misdreavus

A wild Misdreavus that terribly frightened Damian one day as a small boy. Ever since that incident she has persisted in following Damian around no matter how much he wishes she wouldn't. Damian is convinced that she just wants to cause trouble and mayhem in his life, but despite having the ability to do so has not tried to talk to her to get the full story.

Purrloin will insteadly try to drive Misdreavus away whenver she shows up.

Logs and Cutscenes

Chapter 3, Act 1

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