#rotomaton

(Ignore the age given in the picture above!)

Born in Hoenn, Leigh didn't set off on her own until her early teens. Her first Pokémon, Zangoose, was entrusted to her as an egg—a gift for her birthday. The two formed a quick bond that allowed Leigh to finally experience the competitive thrill of battle, which she and her partner thoroughly enjoyed.

As a budding trainer she traveled for a chance to be part of a passion project rather than the gym challenge. At the age of 19, she fell in with a group of four people looking to start a traveling attraction that focused on stunts (Racing of all kinds, monster truck rallies, feats of strength, etc).

Each person in her friend group has a role:

(I’ll update this post with their designs when they’re finished)

1 | Rodrick: Stunt devil extraordinaire, adrenaline junky

Present: Remains an entertainer

Pokémon partner: Phanpy

2 | Floyd: Designs stunts/events for Roderick and his Pokémon, ensures safety measures and calculations are all up to snuff

Present: Becomes a civil engineer

Pokémon partner: Heatmor

3 | Les: In charge of basic care and upkeep of the team. Dentist in training for both humans and Pokémon

Present: Finishes training as a dentist, works as a ranch hand for Susannah (my poké-ranch oc that I’ll also post on occasion!)

Pokémon partner: Dodrio

4 | Tory: Mic jockey and manager. Secures venues, deals, etc.

Present: Runs an auction house

Pokémon partner: Sneasel

5 | Leigh: Costume and set design, photography/graphics for commercial content.

After witnessing a skirmish between Rayquaza and Deoxys during a stunt performance, she elects to begin researching space.

Following a year of study back in Fallarbor Town, she set off for Alola when offered a position at the Hokulani Observatory. She began tracking and compiling the habits of Rayquaza and Deoxys, of which sightings were sparse. Branching out from her narrow research slowly, she extended her knowledge to published works and aided Molayne in his projects.

The Ultra Beast incident put a lot of her personal work on hold. Shifting her focus, she dedicated her time to helping the professors and scientists of the region with the outbreak. Between gathering information in the field, and being on site of a few Ultra Wormhole appearances, she and her Pokémon had their battling spirit re-ignited. Their participation resulted in cooperation with the Aether Foundation, and some close encounters with Team Skull.

Rough timeline in relation to the games:

Leigh spends the first thirteen years of her life in Hoenn. She then sets off and travels with her group for about six years before witnessing the battle between Rayquaza and Deoxys. At eighteen, she returns to Hoenn to study, and this takes her an estimated four years. The next significant milestone is at age twenty-five when she moves to Alola to begin working at the Hokulani Observatory. Two years later, the Ultra Wormhole incident takes place, which takes up a great deal of her time. In need of a vacation to get her mind off the past year of work, she sets off for Kalos (stopping briefly in Unova on the way). She reaches Lumiose not long after the Z-A Royale is established.

Guzma

My favorite Pokémon character, and Leigh’s initial love interest! They’re both stubborn, and while Leigh is naturally mellow, she can easily return the nastiness that Guzma hurls at her in their early interactions. I have a lot of fun playing with their dynamic!

Some old(er) art!

Philippe

A favorite that snuck up on me quick, and Leigh’s most recent love interest!