#pbw

designwise, i had a fairly clear image of him in my head - the most beautiful man i could think of (to counteract how sad he is). grey hair and blue eyes were part of the design from the outset, but it took a bit to decide on the rest of his pallet. I tried to avoid using much black or white, and also making him look too much like Jill FinalFantasy16.

I also specifically tried to avoid making him look like any existing Pokemon character. Unlike the characters we've seen in Legends Arceus, who have clear design parallels to modern day characters and are implied to be direct predecessors/descendants, the traveler is not meant to be related to any present-day Pokemon characters. quite deliberately, in fact.

the little item tied to his belt is an inro, a traditional Japanese box that was used to carry small items before western clothes and their pockets made their way to Japan. the traveler did some journeying in Kanto and Johto, and I imagine he picked up an inro there as a practical souvenir. He uses his as a wallet, as it's normally beneath his cloak and out of pickpockets' reach.