Apologies for the lengthy bio....

Submitted for the Poke-Combat Academy for Higher Learning (  pokecombatacademy ), here is the solo pic and personal bio for the leader of Team Indigo, Tesla "Storm" Veeo!

You guessed it, he nicknamed himself “Storm” because he thought his real name sounded “too feminine.” Despite that, Storm is a very laid-back Jolteon.

Born and raised into an upper-middle class family, Storm’s family hails from the West Coast (think “Beverly Hills of the Pokémon world”... Beverly Hoenn?) and can probably thank his casual temperament to his uncle, who did more raising of him and his twin sister Marina than their parents ever did, due to being away at their jobs so often. His uncle was, like his sister, a Vaporeon and as you would guess, he was a professional surfer and “dude/gnarly/radical” hipster as well (heh, yes, Storm can surf, but NO he does not possess the power to do it as an attack move. A number of Pikachus he lived around could, however...).

Living in such an environment, Storm grew into the lifestyle of surf hipsters, and although he would eventually drop the lingo, his relaxed and easy-going personality thrived here, and there were few things that could get him angry. Living there also gave him a unique opportunity early on in his life; combat training.

The town he lived in was host to an aged master sensei, a long-bearded Hitmontop who hailed from across the ocean, in the mountain temples of a distant land. Though the sensei was a bit edgy (and probably half-senile), his experience was first-class and he trained students who were deemed worthy of his teachings. Together with his two student generals, a Luxray and an Alakazam, he accepted young Tesla into his class after his uncle managed to convince him that the little Eevee (Tes wasn’t evolved yet) would be perfect as a disciplined student.

Sure enough, Tesla’s personality made him perfect at taking whatever the sensei could dish out. It wasn’t easy by a long shot, of course; the training regime was what you’d expect from an aged master from the mountains across the seas, even subjecting the students to the harshest of milieu and situations, even to the point of training in their type-weakness environment (which included a number of ground-type settings after he evolved into a Jolteon, from fighting his way out of solid rock tombs to being surrounded by a multitude of battle-ready Onyxes and Rhydons and even having to use his own electricity to power the lights to the building for an entire class period) but Tesla’s patience and willpower helped to bring him to the top of his class. He blazed his way through sparring matches and tournaments with flying colors, but grade school was a different matter. For it was there that he broke one of the earliest-taught rules of a combat fighter: DON’T... SHOW... OFF!

In Tesla’s elementary school years, he kept getting called in for starting fights in the halls and at recess, nevermind the fact that he was usually winning them (he said that his “challengers” kept gloating that they could take him on, probably as the result of his own boasting). An observer of some of these fights turned out to be a young Vulpix named Blaze, who would soon become fast friends with Tesla. Tesla’s sensei began altering Tes’s training regimen, using the spiritual teachings he himself learned as a young Tyrogue combined with the morals and beliefs that Tesla’s family held close, to help inject a bit more than just fighting moves into his training.

By the time middle school came, Tesla was turning his energy to a different target: bullies. Believing that he could use his talents to help his fellow Poké-man (hehe), he began using his own razor-sharp wit to taunt and provoke bullies into forgetting the kids they were picking on and attack him instead, at which point Tesla began laying the smack-down (‘cept in the case of a rather mean Rhydon that sent him to the nurse’s office with a single hit... To this day he has a particular dislike of Rhydons). Although this made Tesla a target at school, the ones that he saved from being picked on began to flock toward him in hopes of having both a bodyguard and someone to teach them to fend for themselves. Unfortunately, this backfired on him.

Before long, the entire school was erupting in fights as the once-picked-on now had the confidence to fend for themselves, which tempted them to challenge the same bullies and most of the time end up beaten-up again. Others became bullies themselves after finding a new confidence and pride from Tesla. Once again, the Jolteon was in danger of being kicked out, this time for (unintentionally) starting what almost amounted to an extended riot in the school. Sensei had to alter his training to something a bit stricter and harsher.

The Poké-Combat Academy was the next stop; a place where his fighting prowess would likely be better-harnessed and better-controlled.

Tesla, who named himself “Storm” by then, made acceptable grades in his studies, but excelled in battles, wowing even some of the faculty by his abilities to counter the type-trumping attempts of ground- and rock- types thanks to quick feet and quicker thinking. The Jolteon’s extraordinary cunning, powerful special-attack ability, and streaking-fast speed helped him hold his own as he and his friend Blaze searched for a team that would take them. After befriending Neon, a Dragonair foreign exchange student, Storm decided to start his own team and put out the search for a forth member. The position was soon filled by a hot-tempered-but-loyal Sandslash named Stiletto.

At first glance, Storm would seem like a cocky, wise-cracking, easy-going ladies’ man without a care in the world, but that’s only partially true. Storm cares greatly for his friends and his team, and though he loves winning, a lot of his efforts are still focused on helping those who can’t help themselves (Sensei’s teachings and parental morals hold solid for him). He possesses a kind, gentle heart that’s slow to hold a grudge, quick to forgive, and generally keeps him pretty mellow. Though he withholds his own personal opinions of others until he’s either met them himself or fought them in a challenge, he rarely ever bothers other students unless they bother him first. After his history, he’s not as prone to start fights any more, regardless of what he may think of the person (Stiletto claims he doesn’t issue enough challenges nowadays). Even so, he still has an occasional habit of “looking before leaping” and often seems never to take anything seriously, able to crack a pun even in the middle of a desperate battle.

As a fighter, his skills are top-notch. His species’ naturally-high speed (and a clever Double-Team maneuver) gives him a quick-footedness that takes him out of the way of all but the fastest attacks, and his electric attacks are practically super-charged thanks to his talent in ion-manipulation (a skill that Jolteons are famous for). Though his “sweeper” style of fighting may seem like wasted energy, he was trained early on to find weak points in his opponents and exploit them. Attacks made right off the get-go are his way of probing his opponents for weak spots and pressure points, right before he moves in for the kill (er, faint). Possessing more than just electric moves also gives him a chance at ground types (watch out for his Hyper Beam, and be careful if he uses that Shadow Ball!). Thanks to the extremely tough training regimens from his Sensei, he can withstand a lot more punishment than most of his species (his Light Screen helps, too), and although he still carries the traditional weaknesses, he was trained long and hard to power through them with the best of his ability. His razor-sharp wit also helps him throw his opponents off-guard with a clever taunt or even a cute ridiculing (when you grow up in “Beverly Hoenn” culture, you occasionally get exposed to some good insult comics) and thanks to his old Sensei, he’s good at figuring out intriguing ways of getting out of dire situations.

With this experience, he brought his team to a pretty noticeable position in the Academy. He loves his teammates like his own family, and gladly provides anything they need to help them perform at their best.

Currently, he is determined to take on the infamous “Gauntlet” before graduating the Academy. His teammate and friend, Neon, however, has been trying to talk him out of it, saying he’s not ready. She has even gone as far as to sign up for it herself in order to keep him out of it, though neither of them have decided when exactly they will try it.

Storm copyright Aelius
Pokémon copyright Nintendo/Game Freak
(more to come soon!)