hiroto (博翔) kaimana

Hiro stands 6'1" with a lean, wiry-muscular build. His complexion is fairly tanned even at his palest through the winters and can get quite dark when he gets a lot of sun. His eyes are a very dark brown and a bit farsighted. He alternates between glasses and contacts from day to day to correct this.

He has rather long, unruly hair that he will insist is "salmon"-- not because he has a problem with it being pink, pink is great, but because fish puns though. It grows in almost a pale red, but tends to lighten up a lot the more sun it gets. His hair is often worn in a spiky, flared ponytail with loose bangs and frontal locks; but at times he will let it all down. Other times he might spike it, sometimes in a flare that could rival a Luxray if not a Pyroar. If asked why he would opt for such an outlandish style, he will enthusiastically reply, "I'M A LIONFISH." 

He doesn't have particularly strong thoughts or tastes when it comes to fashion and will often grab whatever happened to catch his eye on a given mood. Jeans and cargo shorts/pants are common enough, but he doesn't mind khakis or slacks or whatever else either. He'd just as soon wear no shirt at all when he can get away with it, but is fine with pretty much anything when he needs one. Although he has little care for the make of clothing, he does have a bit of eye for color and tries to coordinate most of the time, so if you ever catch him in bright loud clashy colors it was probably very much on purpose and just one of those moods.

He wears a bit of light jewelry from time to time-- more plastic beads or polished stones or braided leather bands or the like than metal and gems-- and goggles are a common accessory so that he's almost always good to dive right into the water. Wha'd'you mean the goggles actually do something? What is this madness? He has two piercings in each earlobe but doesn't tend to fill them all if any-- just one or two, either in the same ear or split between them, is more common, though none is probably a bit more common than that.

Goal-Oriented / Stubborn / Hyperfocused - When Hiro sets his sights on something, he finds it easy enough to tune out other desires or distractions and focus until his objective is achieved. That said, it is also easy to forget things like unrelated deadlines, special dates, and his health during these stretches. He also doesn't tend to back down easily once he's set his mind on something.

Intelligent / Logical / Somewhat Detached - Hiro is very well-learned and a pretty logic-driven person in most regards. This combined with his stubbornness can make him a force to be reckoned with in an argument. Certain things will grab and tug his heartstrings, but he can rationalize a lot and sometimes has trouble grasping the emotional value of things that don't click with him right away. Other times he may care a lot for something in theory but do a very poor job of demonstrating it in practice, knowing he should feel bad about that but just kind of dissociating from it instead.

Fun-loving / Flirtatious / Occasional Playboy - He's spent over six years working hard nearly exclusively, and now feels he's earned a right to play hard in turn. He might overcompensate a bit hard for this at times, especially where more flirtatious fun is concerned. He's pretty picky about someone to Actually Date as they have to get along with all his immediate family and also the idea of a serious relationship may sound vaguely intimidating, but more casual dalliances are all in good fun, right?

Outgoing / Can Be Overdramatic - Hiro has a pretty sharp divide between Work Mode and Social Mode, but when he's in the latter he is very friendly and upbeat. He can sometimes be a little over the top, though, almost theatrical, in both positive and negative settings. He handles actual serious stress very well (or maybe more accurately, doesn't handle it at times), but minor offenses or certain buttons get!! UH!! SO!!! UH!!!! HUFF.

Family-Oriented / Easily bent out of shape over them - Hiro has a very strong sense of loyalty and gratitude toward his family, especially his mom, and a lot of pride in his family name. That said, while he can argue with them, he will often blindly defend them if he doesn't have a stake in either side, and if you insult his mom you will get punched. (What do you mean "mama's boy"? He resents that claim even if it is probably entirely true.) He is.. a bit more detached from his daughter on a personal level than he'd ever like to admit, but he does care about her well-being deeply and takes pride in being able to provide well for her and the rest of the family, even though his certainly isn't the only income.

"Good"(?) Sense of Humor - Hiro is pretty light-hearted about most things at least most of the time. Also water-related puns. So... so many.... Water you gonna do about it.

What Problems?? 8') - Everything is Fine^TM. Who's running? You're running. Running and ignoring are totally different.

Some kids are born to a well-prepared, financially stable pair of parents who are looking to start a family together. Hiro is not one of those kids. But when his mother Mizuki had him at only 17, she gave up all her other pursuits to focus on raising and providing for him. She did her best to depend on her parents as little as possible both it terms of time and finances, and Hiro was cared for by them pretty well only when she was working.

His grandparents were very supportive. Uncle Takeki left for Alola not long after Hiro was born, and Uncle Yamato was often annoyed by a toddler Hiro; but by the time he got a little older-- old enough to talk and really have solid interests-- Takeki had come home and sometimes took him out to play or even watched him for the evening or the weekend, and Yamato decided he wasn't so bad (and might have taught him more than a few words that made mom mad when Hiro repeated them).

All in all, he never felt unwanted or like he went without. Once in a blue moon he talked on the phone with a guy people called his dad, and even rarer he saw him in person for a day, but Hiro's feelings at that age were often, 'oh yeah, he exists'.

Once Hiro was old enough for school and would be occupied there much of the day, Mizuki had managed to get on her feet and started looking into going back to school herself. Hiro was ecstatic about this thought, pushing her to definitely do it so they could go to school together!! When she explained they wouldn't actually be in the same school, he was a bit more disappointed, but it was still good that they would both be learning! She stayed up a lot later studying than he did, and he sometimes worried that she wasn't getting enough sleep, but she seemed to be learning a lot and he was proud of her.

When mom got a girlfriend, he was a little hesitant, but she seemed pretty nice and her kids were okay and she seemed to make mom happy. Arceus knew dad was never gonna be part of their lives beyond the occasional visit or birthday present, and mom deserved someone who appreciated her.

Hiro made friends easily enough throughout school. He never would have called himself super "popular", though he was well-liked and may have fit the bill without realizing it. He didn't follow "popular kid" stereotypes, so it never really clicked in his head, but he tried to be friendly with most people and was often invited to events and to be part of groups. He dabbled in a wide variety of sports, and fell in love with surfing and swimming especially, though volleyball, soccer, baseball, and basketball were all greatly enjoyed as well, in order of most to least. Once he got older and taller, basketball may have overtaken baseball a bit, but there was more of a community around baseball in the area so it was hard to say for sure.

Of course, if one counted Pokemon training as a sport, he also enjoyed that, although he enjoyed participating in team battles much more than solos. This was admittedly probably influenced a good deal by his first Pokemon, an Alomomola he met when playing at the beach when he was 9. It wasn't uncommon for him to play with wild Pokemon for a while under appropriate supervision, but after several times hanging out with the same Alomomola, he felt like they were bonding and begged his mom to let him take him home, even if Hiro wasn't technically quite old enough to be a trainer yet. He named him Sunny because he was like a sunfish! Or, wait no Slappy because of his big mitten fins. No wait Slips because he was so soft and slippery. No wait-- Okay maybe he could just call him whatever he felt like that day.

At any rate, having a support-focused partner made him enjoy double battles a lot more than head-on singles. Hiro and Sunny would also sometimes comb the beaches and the shallows for injured or simply tired Pokemon to help out with a Heal Pulse, and as they grew Hiro's love for the sea did as well.

Hiro grew older, more fond of Pokemon and the sea, better at surfing and swimming. He "dated" a bit through middle school, mostly girls and about two or three guys (he was never super clear on one of them?? oh well), but had his first 'proper' girlfriend-- someone he actually kissed more than once or twice and dated for longer than a few weeks-- right after starting high school. While that still only lasted a few months, it ended on pretty amicable turns. His second real relationship, however, did not. He got his heart broken, and--

Mom had gotten engaged?? Well.. Well yeah she and her girlfriend had been together for-- shit most of Hiro's life actually? But...? But their relationship was supposed to be something mom went and did or something that came and visited for a while. The norm at home was supposed to be him and mom, not.. all these other people that did not deserve her attention as much as he did?? Okay so maybe he was more upset about having to share her time with his new stepsiblings-to-be but... He was already going through a rough time and they could be annoying sometimes when he had to be around them so much and mom didn't seem like she had time to help him with his problems and seeing her So Happy and them planning for the wedding only exacerbated how upset he was about his breakup. Exactly once he sort of threw a fit about it, but mom looked so upset that he immediately apologized and decided he couldn't bother her even if he wanted to, so he just withdrew and then started acting out instead.

Since he couldn't stand being at home sometimes and couldn't stand to rain on anyone's parade either, he just started staying out late and finding any excuse he could to not be home. Some days this just meant staying on the beach all day. Others, it spiraled into-- ... okay so in full disclosure he'd gone to a few parties even before, but he accepted more invitations and used much less discretion/reservation in what or later who he'd do at them. And if someone threw a party on the beach??? Arceus. Later still it spiraled into some minor delinquent behavior that he probably definitely didn't pick up from Uncle Yami or anything nope, though he did his best not to get caught. Mom got several concerned phone calls during this time, but rarely real proof.

He could tell how much it was starting to wear on her, and sometimes when she got really upset he'd tone things back just a little, for just a few weeks... but other times, he was vaguely 'satisfied'. At least she was paying attention to him. Maybe she'd realize their home life was better before she got married. Er.. not that he wanted to break them up now that they were together or anything?? But.. Ugh he didn't know what he wanted, he was just resentful okay?

Then came a school trip to Unova. Hiro was barely 17, and the class was traveling for a week to absorb some culture. They had musical tickets, tours scheduled of the Relic Castle and Undella Town, a private tour of the Nacrene Museum-- it was all set to be a fun and educational week. ...Except for the fact that Hiro snuck off the first night, met some local teens, and hooked up with a cute girl instead of going back to his hotel. He gave her his number in case she wanted to have some more fun while he was in town, and when he rejoined the class the following morning the chaperones were furious. He was threatened with being sent home alone (an empty threat, he knew; they wouldn't go through the trouble with flight costs), but he promised to be good.

He was not. The girl, Lydia, called him back, and he wound up ditching several straight days of the trip getting into mischief with her. The police were called. Teachers were debating whether to worry his mother. They weren't sure if something truly sinister had happened or if he was just being a little prick, but when he magically showed up at the start of the Undella Tour, they were assured it was the latter. He got to participate only to avoid causing a scene in public, especially once he was immediately such an actively engaged participant and all the tour guides loved him, to his teachers' chagrin. He immediately disappeared again after the tour to get into more trouble with Lydia and her friends.

Of course he was "grounded" when he got home, but... haha sure okay mom. Good luck with that.

Hiro hadn't really expected to keep in touch with Lydia after he got home. She was cool, but they both kind of understood that had been an exotic adventure fling sort of thing. They texted sparingly for a few weeks before going quiet, no big deal. The last thing he expected was for her to call, not text, two months later crying that she was pregnant????

Wh- BUT??? No but-?? Why did she even assume it was-- what did she mean he was the only guy she and her girlfriend had slept with?? Arceus, no but, fuck, but-- What was he even supposed to do??? They were both kids and... what would mom say? She was 17 herself when she had him! And he'd heard exactly this caution story all his life? She was going to be furious-- or heartbroken or!!! He just--!?!?

He kind of hung up the phone and turned it off and hid from the world for a few hours. Of course when he did turn it back on his inbox was flooded with screaming messages, and it didn't take two hours before it rang yet again. He debated blocking her but....  but as much as he didn't want to disappoint mom he also didn't want to be his dad....

So he talked to her and asked what she wanted, and she didn't know. She just wanted out. Her girlfriend was threatening to leave her, her parents were threatening to disown her, and her life was kind of falling apart. All she'd wanted was a fun little fling with a cute Kanto boy, she didn't sign up for a lifetime commitment or ruining the life she already had or--!?!?

Hiro was panicking himself, but did his best to calm her down and promise he'd talk to his mom and... he'd quit school to be a single parent like she had, if it came down to it, but wouldn't ask Lydia to. Mom's reaction was not exactly what he expected yet somehow at the same time everything he had feared, but she wound up being sympathetic (the waterfall of tears and ugly ugly sobbing probably didn't hurt) and...

Wh-... Mom? You what?? He didn't even know what to think at first when she insisted she and her wife could raise the baby. He almost wanted to argue with her that she'd more than done her share, but... But she was so determined not to see him live her life, to make sure he could pursue his dreams, and he just... Oh had he thought his crying before was probably an ugly mess?? Haha he'd have to rescind that statement. 

After he'd been such a shit for so long and harboring resentment for such petty reasons, she was still putting him before anything, and the depth of that realization changed Hiro for life. He cut all the delinquency, focused on his grades, and got a job that filled most of his time after school. His paychecks were split between savings and sending money to Lydia both to help with clinic visits and just as a general apology for her troubles. Her parents were still being awful, but she and her girlfriend had made up at least, and they were looking into getting a place together when they graduated. (Hiro wasn't jealous for her specifically or anything but damn he kind of envied that part but oh well. 8') )

Two weeks before her due date, he used his savings to fly them both out to Kanto and... sort of tried to be friendly and make amends in person? But as much as he wanted to, it wound up being very awkward to even really look at each other, and he largely avoided her until she went into labor. Once the baby was born, she didn't want to hold her, or to see him. She just wanted to go home and pretend none of this ever happened, and Hiro couldn't really blame her.

He named his daughter Miyuna, and once he took her home, he... tried very hard to help his mom and stepmom with parenting duties, but they were both a lot more experienced and could do it so much more easily with better results and he may have.. sort of just... let them handle a lot. He also may have wound up feeling a lot more like a big brother than a "father"; the word felt weird and surreal, and he just... tried to ignore it. He also also may have picked up extra hours at work and taken on some extra projects and university prep work at school to have more excuses for not really being involved.

Almost a year passed, and Hiro graduated with remarkable grades. Hiro was very much doubting he was ever going to really feel this whole "dad" thing, but he knew how proud he was of mom for getting through med school and how much her income had improved his quality of life since she graduated, and he knew if he was going to be a distant dad he couldn't be distant and a deadbeat like his. So the obvious choice in his head was to become a doctor, too. Not a medical doctor like mom, but a doctor all the same. While ocean studies were always a thing he wanted to pursue, he'd never been sure what direction or level he wanted to take it to before Miyuna, and wanting to be someone she and mom could both be proud of inspired him to pursue a full doctorate.

The next six and a half years were hell. In his first semester, he took the maximum recommended number of courses, and found it pretty stressful keeping up while adjusting to university life. He ah, did move out to live on campus and only visited on the weekends, also, once mom assured him it would be fine to do so. So adjusting to living on his own was its own stress, but he'd sort of take it over stepsiblings and a crying baby. He managed A's and one high B that semester, though, so... clearly he needed to take more classes.

He pushed himself, devoting almost every moment to his studies in some way. He tried to take at least half a day each week for family, but often missed even that during cram weeks. Occasionally, he let himself take a few hours for a beach trip, but when he did he tried to take Miyuna (once she was old enough, and when he was in Kanto) or else tended to find himself doing field studies and/or tending local wildlife with Slips while he was there. He was so tense and anxious that it became difficult to let himself relax when he wanted to, as if he feared if he stopped being productive for even an hour he'd lose all his momentum.

In that time, he studied in Hoenn for two non-consecutive semesters, including a large project studying Sea Mauville. He spent another semester interning for the Aether Foundation in Alola, studying their environmental work as well as doing a paper on the Pokemon that kept their artificial island afloat. ..This was ah, before all their.. other work came to light, of course; Hiro was long gone by then. He loved both regions at least in as much as he saw of them, but that honestly wasn't a lot outside of work/school.

(Also dad was kind of a thing in Alola? The most he'd seen of him in a while. Still not a lot, and Hiro found it hard to care. Even when he tried sharing stories of his long-gone days as a trial captain, Hiro just..? Ew, fire. Way to pick a type dad. He guessed dad had slightly more of a life built for himself than Hiro always sort of pictured but not by much. They email occasionally but Hiro hasn't seen him in person since leaving Alola and doesn't especially care to.)

All his efforts would pay off, however, as he earned his four-year degree in only three, and his PhD in a little over three more. When he graduated, he didn't celebrate. He slept about 12 hours a day for a week straight, and vegetated most of the other 12. As cognitive function started to return, he realized he needed to be looking into a place to actually use this degree, huh? Ah... Soon.

He finally let himself go out and 'celebrate' properly when he heard of a large-ish party of sorts going on at the beach. He went and.. had fun??? Holy karp. He forgot how much fun he could actually have when he wasn't in a perpetual state of stress. There was a Mantine Surfing contest, the trend very recently having caught on from Alola, and the Winner got to keep the Mantine! Hiro blew the competition out of the water, pun very intended, and went home with a renewed vigor for life.

He learned mom had been looking into the Veria region after both his uncles moved out that way, and the more it became clear how heavily she was considering moving, the more he looked into it as well. Oh, karp, they had League Professor positions open? Huh, that might be something to consi-- wait what was this about Old Pahala? Hello yes please sign him the shell up.

Miyuna seemed pretty excited to see all the new sights and see her cousins again, too. (Or, well, Hiro's cousins. Her cousins-once-removed? Too much of a mouthful to bother.)  Also, Arceus she was... 7?? Wasn't she just a baby? And now she was like, an actual miniature person? Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh what even was life though.

Hiro got his callback for the position, though, and once mom got everything settled like real estate and travel and such, they all moved out to Veria.

Pokedex Name: Alomomola
Nickname: Sunny / Slips / Slappy
Gender: Male
Ability: Healer
Moveset: Aqua Jet, Aqua Ring, Heal Pulse, Wake-Up Slap


Pokedex Name: Relicanth
Nickname: Coela
Gender: Female
Ability: Rock Head
Moveset: Head Smash, Dive, Yawn, Mud Sport


Pokedex Name: Malamar
Nickname: Siris
Gender: Male
Ability: Contrary
Moveset: Topsy Turvy, Swagger, Psycho Cut, Night Slash


Pokedex Name: Binacle
Nickname: Harrison & Ford
Gender: Male
Ability: Tough Claws
Moveset: Shell Smash, Clamp, Cross Chop, Razor Shell


Pokedex Name: Mantine
Nickname: Flippy / Flips
Gender: Male
Ability: Water Absorb
Moveset: Psybeam, Water Pulse, Air Slash, Aqua Ring


Pokedex Name: Panpour
Nickname: Manaka
Gender: Female
Ability: Gluttony
Moveset: Scald, Crunch, Natural Gift, Play Nice

Athleticism (Major, 2) - He has always been pretty athletic, and while he didn't work out as often through school a massive percentage of his limited leisure time was more physical activities. He's especially good at swimming and surfing.

An Athleticism Major can carry about 125lbs (56.5kg) comfortably, lift 250 lbs (113kg) in a short burst, and do some pretty nasty damage in a fight. Their hand-eye coordination is generally good enough to hit a bullseye between half and three fourths of the time. They can maintain speeds of 10-12mph (16-20km) for a good hour or two when starting at peak condition, and might hit 18mph (29km) for a few seconds under high stress.

Endurance (Minor, 1) - Hiro is used to pulling long nights, studying or otherwise, and tends to be single-minded when pursuing a given goal. He can also hold his breath for much longer than the average person.

An Endurance Minor can take some decent damage (deep cuts, minor breaks or fractures, or even some weaker Pokemon attacks) and force themselves to keep going forward. This can apply to ignoring pain during a battle or dealing with it after the end of the conflict. They may be able to push themselves for a mile on a broken leg or stay up for two days if they don’t feel particularly safe to sleep.

Oceanography PhD - Determined not to waste the opportunity his mother gave him in enabling him to follow his dreams, Hiro has spent the past six and a half years taking as many classes as he could handle and pushing himself to get his degree as quickly as possible. He studies both ocean geology and ocean biology/ecology, although he has unofficially absorbed a certain degree of knowledge from other branches as well. The ocean is kind of his life. "Kaimana" means "power of the sea" and in his own mind he is determined to be the truest family legacy.

Basic Sailing Knowledge - He probably couldn't take a solo voyage but he has basic knowledge of operation for several common types of ships and boats.

Scuba Diving / Pokemon Diving - Pretty par for the course but he has a lot of experience with both.

---

(Note: He's very interested in studying Old Pahala's ruins and will be working a lot with the museum and research center there.. but he also may sort of kind of still live with his mom(s), so while he spends a lot of time in Pahala he technically lives in Faraday.)

OOC name: SG
Face Claim: [b]Inazuma 11[/b], Jousuke Tsunami as [i]Kaimana, Hiroto[/i]
Continuity: Original
Other Characters? Nik, Sera, Seraph, Kali, Kai, Kiran
Starter Items: 4 PokeBalls, 2 Great Balls, 1 Ultra Ball, 4 Move Techs, 2 additional starters