Synopsis

The first and only child of Salvatore D'Amore and Candice Alcala. A Fighting and Fire Type Trainer, Spinner has always believed in the ideology that those who are stronger should always protect those who are weaker or cannot do for themselves. Spinner enjoys being someone who can be relied upon. Spinner's goal is to become a Top Ranger and protect both people and pokémon.

Personality

Spinner is the type of guy that would often be dubbed as the strong silent type but that can't be any further from the truth. Strong? Yes, Spinner's very strong man both in body and in spirit but silent? Never. He has a strong sense of urgency and a strong sense of honor however that does falter once he becomes a Ranger.

Backstory

It's the beginning of summer when Spinner is born on May 18th, 2018 in Snowpoint City. While Candice wasn't present for his birth, Elián entered the world with little fuss at Northern Junive Hospital @ 8:48 A.M. in Snowpoint City, Sinnoh.

Though they could be technically considered within the Snowpoint jurisdiction, "Spinner" grew up in a small cottage nearly three hours away in the Snowpoint mountains. This lead to Spinner having very little options when it came to making friends in his early childhood.

When Spinner was five he and his family went on a "trip" to Lily of the Valley Island. Or, rather, carted away to a distant land so no one could see the terrible case of child abuse about to take place... Alone and terrified, Elián was wrestled into a mankey suit (dress suit) by his father and cruelly tortured by his mother (his hair combed through with gel into a STUPID hairstyle) and paraded off by the both of them to be presented to the Queen of Sinnoh. Or rather, to her daughter, the Princess Davina. It was her birthday ball, and previously unknown to Spinner, his father was one of the Queen's best friends. Spinner finds himself seated at the kid's table seated next to an alarmingly large blue haired boy named Jet.. and the Princess. Their smalltalk turns into excited conversation and by the end of the night, Elián had earned the right to call himself a friend of the Princess.

Later that year, already big for his age, Sonny suggested that they sign Spinner up for the local little league hockey team. Spinner had already learned how to skate, taught by Candice over the past few months, and showed natural talent when playing out on the lake with his father. Spinner made the team... as did all the young boys who had signed up- even Cesaire Weiss, the youngest son (at the time) of Sonny's friend Paul Weiss. Although the two initally didn't get along, they worked together for four years to create a strong team until Cesaire mysteriously disappeared in 2028.

Although having previously only met a few times in person, Spinner and Jet's friendship made them nearly inseparable when they did meet. Due to the friendship between Ursula and Sonny, Spinner often spent extended amounts of time at LaMarche Manor, one part being that Sonny knew Barry would behave if he knew someone not in their family circle was staying over, and another part when Sonny and Candice would be fighting. Both Spinner and Jet took comfort in each other's presence, and often refused to acknowledge their parents problems.

When Spinner was 10, just before he started his journey he and his father encountered an abandoned Scraggy while on a farewell camping trip near the base of Mt. Coronet. The encounter quickly turned dangerous as the Scraggy attacked out of fear but Sonny didn't intervene, instead choosing to put his trust in Spinner and giving him the space he needed to prove to himself that he could handle any situation. Despite not yet having any pokémon of his own, Spinner was able to subdue the Scraggy and catch it. After taking Scraggy to the nearest Pokémon Center, Spinner stayed with it and gained it's trust as it healed. Once Scraggy was released, Spinner officially caught it and started his journey.

Within a couple months, Spinner soon finds himself traveling in a small group consisting of Jet, a boy named "K" and Ian, who came from Johto to check out Sinnoh's Battle Frontier. With no real plan for his future, Spinner drifts along behind Jet, who's goal for Top Coordinator sets their path.

Over the next year Spinner begins to feel uneasy as each of them slowly begin to grow apart as their goals become closer and closer- leaving him in limbo. Jet training hard for the upcoming Wallace Cup, K accepting an offer to train under Sidney, one of Hoenn's Elite Four and Ian competing in the Hoenn Battle Frontier. It's there in LaRousse City that the group encounters a booth for Student Rangers from Almia, looking to recruit new students. For fun, each of them compete in the small obstacle course designed to inspire future students, while all of them make it through, Spinner is the only one of the group to complete the course in under a minute. It's the first time since meeting Scraggy that Spinner feels genuinely interested in something. Ian and K encourage Spinner to sign up, with Jet being the only one to voice his disapproval. And.. despite really wanting to, Spinner chooses to not sign up, convinced he'll find something else.

Until later that night. Although he's upset, Spinner does his best to hide it as the four of them settle down for dinner, and against his better judgement, he brings up his feelings of regret. It's then that Jet makes an off-handed remark about Spinner not "being man enough" to be a Ranger and to "save himself the disappointment" of ending up as a mechanic. The four sit in silence for a beat before Spinner very pointedly asks what Jet meant by his first comment, with Jet simply replying that since Spinner was raised by women, they would have raised him soft. That he probably wouldn't survive bootcamp. Suddenly the camp is so quiet the only noise to be heard is the soft hum of their floodlight.

Maybe if Spinner hadn't known about Sonny, he would have let it go. Maybe if he hadn't already been upset by the events of the day, Spinner would have just laughed and moved on. Maybe.. Maybe. Jet's slow descent into his father had worried Spinner over the past year. He knew that Jet hated Barry, so did Spinner, so of course every time Jet said or acted like his father, Spinner would throw him a look, check him. But in a way that showed that he cared for Jet. Because that's what friends were for. But it had never been so shocking as it was in that moment. The tackle was quick, the punch even quicker. The quiet night was interrupted as the K and Ian struggled and fought to pull Spinner off of Jet. Hit after hit it wasn't enough for Spinner. When he was finally dragged off of Jet, Spinner was blind with rage. After he calmed down, Spinner packed his bags and left the group. For good.

Four years later in Almia, Spinner, after graduating as the valedictorian of his class with multiple stations throughout Almia fighting to employ him, is working on a collaborative mission between three bases in the area. While out scouting with a fellow Top Ranger, Spinner is injured after a run in with Hunters. In his delirium, Spinner believes that he's been abandoned, which is partially true. Spinner's partner had left camp early in the morning to try and see if she could get help as Spinner was too injured to be moved.

Time passed, Spinner got weaker and she did not return. How many days that passed exactly.. can't be counted. But when he woke to a warm fire, hot food and his wounds tended to, Spinner was quick to thank the kind strangers who had set up camp around him. Until their uniforms clued him into figuring out that they were the very hunters that Spinner had been assigned to fight. Finally grasping the situation he was in, Spinner struggled to his feet and made an effort to fight his way to safety, only to be laughed at by the group. One of them, a man who couldn't have been more than a few years older than Spinner, coaxes him back to the ground and explains how they found him and saved him. He introduces himself as Sigorn and playfully, but sternly warns Spinner to not try anything stupid, that he stuck his neck out for him and that meant he'd be the one to "take care" of him.

Two whole weeks. It took the group two whole weeks to get Spinner close enough to a Ranger Base to leave him. In that time, he'd gotten to know the men who had saved him. Sigorn, his closest friend of them all, had been in medical school before he became a Hunter. Reuben had lost his corporate job and was just trying to feed his family. Sou owed a debt. Danny was a so-called legacy, and had been within the circut since he started taking jobs with his mother. Caden had a baby on the way, and he was going to get his money and get out, but that had been fifteen years ago. They were people to him now, people who were just trying to make ends meet. There was something.. honest.. about them that Spinner appreciated. They all knew what they were doing, they didn't lie to themselves about who they were. And the brotherhood they'd developed felt more natural, more caring than anything Spinner had experienced both traveling and at Ranger School. When they dropped him off, Sigorn made sure to give Spinner his number.

Spinner's return to base had felt hollow now, he'd already stopped believing that these people actually cared for him if they had left him behind so easily. He spent another week in the medical bay, with no visit from his previous partner, not that he cared anyways. When he was cleared for a new mission, Spinner called Sigorn and disappeared a week into his new assignment. Assumed dead.

Ask anyone if they'd be willing to return to training if they'd already spent three years training somewhere else and you'd probably get spit on. Spinner however, took it in stride and proved his adaptability. Before he knew it, he was rising through the ranks.

Several months into becoming a Hunter, Spinner is offered his first longterm contract, with a pay scale that made his eyes spin. He's sent out to Castelia City, Unova with his previous recruiter, and newest mentor Sigorn. He's only in Castelia for maybe a month when he crosses paths with Annabelle Griffith. They initally get off on the wrong foot, but it isn't long until they begin seeing each other daily.. And feelings for Anna had began plaguing him. He walked her home from the station nightly, although she'd told him that she could handle herself. She waited for him outside of work, and woke up early to get his breakfast ready for him at the grill when she didn't have to, she knew how he preferred hot chocolate to coffee. He always tipped well and let her into wherever he was working after hours. To being her designated driver to clubs so he could watch her dance with her friend. Falling in love with Anna was as easy as breathing.

His happiness in Castelia was short lived. Throughout Ranger Academy, Spinner had kept contact with K, Ian not so much- Spinner found him exhausting, but K was cool. It was not K who sought him out though. It was Jet. It had been a long night, Spinner had gotten home from work later than expected and certainly wasn't expecting company. However tall Jet had been when they'd last seen each other meant nothing now. Towering in the hall, Jet had slouched against the door with five suitcases in tow, and he looked like shit. His pink hair had grown out, showing his blond roots, bags under his eyes. It was pathetic, and it kinda made Spinner pity him when Jet declared that he had "nowhere else to go."

Jet's return is an unwelcome surprise, but Spinner could see that Jet was hurt. And.. he had once been Spinner's best friend, maybe this was their chance to repair their friendship. As it turned out, their previous friend Ian hadn't been exactly honest with them, and Spinner had to admit that he wasn't exactly surprised that Ian was Jet's biological half-brother. Or that Barry had yet another son, and had been married to Ian's father since Jet was a baby. Because there had been a time when they first began traveling as a group that Ian and Jet shared a lot of interests and physical mannerisms. Without even fully forgiving Jet, Spinner found himself angry for him as if their relationship had never severed.

And for the first day or so, reconciliation felt possible for them. He forgot that he was now 17, and he wasn't living a child's dream. He doesn't realize his mistake until he's at dinner with Jet and his coworkers and Jet spots Anna. Jet has always had a knack for identifying weak spots, and he easily put two and two together witnessing the way Spinner looked at Anna, the waitress.

By the end of the week, Jet had overstayed his welcome by starting a relationship with Anna despite knowing that Spinner had feelings for her. And despite his best efforts, Spinner is unable to convince Anna against him. In order to avoid confrontation, Jet leaves Spinner's apartment and books himself a room at a hotel down the block.

Despite having only known Anna for three months, he'd spent so much of his free time with her that she felt like home to him. He didn't just like her, he genuinely enjoyed her company and saw a future with her and hiding his feelings for the past month had been unbearable, Spinner decided it was time to tell her. Jet would just have to find something else to keep him entertained. The rain had started just past midnight and when he knocked on her window, he was shivering. When she opened the window for him and pulled him in, her hands were warm and he'd never felt such peace. Immediately Anna fussed over him with concern and without thinking, Spinner kissed her and held her to him. Spinner begged her to pack a bag so they could run away together, anywhere she wanted, as long as she was with him... And for two minutes everything was still.

Until her bedroom door opened and Jet ducked in, shattering the illusion. When Anna took a step back from him, everything fell back into place for Spinner. Spinner paid no attention to Jet's questions, he just nodded, sucked up his tears and left the way he entered.

Spinner didn't look back.

Some wounds never heal and bleed again at the slightest graze. It's New Year's in Sinnoh when Spinner finds himself in yet another suit, watching from the wall as the Royal family indulges their guests on the last Ball of the year. The evening is fine, at the beginning. Spinner catches a familiar glimpse of cherry hair, and before he realizes it, he's brought himself face to face with Anna. And Jet. She was as beautiful as the day he left her. Her uniform at the grill had been Audino inspired, but he'd never seen her hair up until that moment. She was uneasy on the heels beneath the pale yellow dress she was wearing, it took everything Spinner had in him to not reach out and steady her, as she was already clutching onto Jet's arm. It took even more for him to walk away.

As the night continued, Spinner began to notice that Jet was leaving Anna unattended for longer and longer periods of time throughout the night. He wanted to go to her, to say something, to tell her how beautiful she looked, to grab her hand and take her to the dance floor. It broke his heart to see her standing there alone. Finally, Spinner got the nerve to ask her to dance, but as he was making his way over, Cesaire Weiss, Spinner's former teammate stepped in. Spinner watched as Cesaire helped her kick off her shoes, and began to spin her around the floor. Cesaire was betrothed to the Princess Davina, who was currently dancing with none other than Jet. Heat began to work it's way up Spinner's spine as he watched Jet shrug when Anna and Cesaire twirled by and it gathered in his palms when he noticed the way Jet tightened his hold on the Princess.

The room was still as the scream cut through. Spinner pressed his knee onto Jet's thigh to hold him down as he punched him. Jet may have finally settled into his giant build, but size means nothing when you're flat on your back. Every punch Spinner threw landed, and he was vaguely aware of people trying to pull him away from Jet, but he wasn't done yet. Why couldn't they see that he wasn't done yet? He had to hand it to Jet, he was taking each punch like a champ- or maybe Spinner was too busy fighting off everyone else to really throw his full strength at his target. Somehow or another, Jet had rolled onto his stomach to try and crawl away- coward. Without even thinking, Spinner grabbed Jet by the arm and he was face to face with his old friend once again. And then someone called his name. Anna was being held back by someone Spinner didn't recognize, but her eyes were full of tears as she begged him to stop. .. And so he did. Spinner looked down at Jet, who looked back at him.

As if he knew, Jet's scream was the herald for satisfying crunch that came from the arm Spinner had been holding. Spinner finally let go and watched as Jet collapsed on the floor, the arm falling to his side with a sick flop. Spinner couldn't bear to look back up at Anna, or at anyone else as he turned and left the hall. None of them would ever see him again anyways.

After the fiasco at the New Year's Ball, Spinner once again disappeared. He'd been given the holiday off by his newest boss. Being a bodyguard for the daughter of a reformed heir wasn't exactly Spinner's dream job. But it's a good enough gig, for now.