Vinnie
Legacy Name: Vinnie

Name: Vincent "Vinnie" Lombardi
Age: Twenty-two
Personality: Bold. Fearless. Determined. Passionate
Hometown: Mistralton City, Unova
Specializes in: Flying-types
Trainer Class: Pilot
Occupation: Parcel Delivery
Likes: Airplanes, Flying, His mother's cooking
Dislikes: Flying in storms
Visual Reference: [x]

Vinnie grew up in the small, airport city of Mistralton.His father is a delivery pilot and his mother spends most of her time at home.Vinnie dreams of being an amazing pilot like father, but being a pokémon trainer has hindered this dream slightly.

Despite being self-described as "fearless", he is in fact afraid of flying around lightning due to a traumatic event when he was little. His father took him up in his plane, but they got caught in a nasty storm with heavy lightning and thunder. It left Vinnie terrified of flying for a couple years.Vinnie's favorite hat was given to him as a child by his father, and is one of his most prized possessions.

Art
irion overlay by Emi
fullsize by sien
chibi vinnie by Choco

Credits
profile by Pinto
profile art by sien
story & character belong to me
official pokémon sprites (c) Nintendo

In the Beginning...
"Here you are, son; a pokémon egg of your very own." said his father, setting the large egg down in front of his young son. Vinnie's eyes lit up like fireworks at the sight of the egg.

"Are you sure about this, honey?" questioned his mother, "He's only five years old. Most children don't get their first pokémon until they are twelve or thirteen."

"Nonsense! It'll be good for the boy." his father said with a deep chuckle. They both watched as Vinnie put his small hands on the egg with a smile and leaned his ear against it to listen.

"Papa, I can't hear anything. What's inside?" Vinnie asked joyfully.

"You have to wait and see." his father replied with a smile, "But make sure to give it lots of attention and care for it to hatch, okay?"

"I will!" Vinnie squeaked with happiness as he lifted the heavy egg over to his little, red wagon.

Before he set his egg in the wagon, he peeled off his jacket and wrapped it around the mysterious egg. His parents watched with amusement as he the trotted off, pulling the wagon behind him.

Vinnie pulled the wagon to the lawn by the house. He carefully lifted the egg out and set it in the soft grass. He sat with it, examining it for a few minutes, then smiled.

"We're gonna be best friends, okay? I've never had a best friend before." he told the slumbering creature inside. "I'm gonna take really good care of you so you can hatch and then we can play!" Vinnie reached over and gave the egg the biggest hug he could.

Vinnie took the egg everywhere he went. He even tried taking it to school, but his mother told him told him she would look after it while he was away. He would sit with the egg in the grass and play for hours, talking to his unhatched pokémon friend. He kept it in a cozy little basket by his bed so that it would always be near him while he slept.

A month or so went by and the egg had yet to hatch. He was playing with a little toy plane when he heard a small noise come from the egg. He looked up to see a crack forming at the top of it. His eyes widened as he watched the crack grow slowly. Vinnie scooted closer to the egg and placed a hand on it to feel the creature inside move about.

The egg shook and tipped to one side, then in an instant, a flash of light burst forth and Vinnie shielded his eyes from its harsh glare. As it slowly faded, Vinnie could make out a massive shape looming above him. He smiled and reached up to his new friend.

"Vinnie, no!" his mother shouted as she ran to him, pulling him away from the massive Aerodactyl that now stood before him.

"Momma, he's my friend!" Vinnie whined as he tried desperately to escape his mother's protective arms.

"THAT hatched from your egg?!" she asked, startled.

The Aerodactyl looked at her with confusion. Maybe it wasn't so dangerous after all... it seemed rather friendly.. Vinnie finally managed to squirm his way out of his mother's grip and run over to the pokémon. The Aerodactyl lowered his head and took a deep inhale through his nostrils. Vinnie giggled as he put his hands on the sides of the pokémon's head.

"I'm gonna name you Fang, okay?" he told the Aerodactyl, "We're gonna be best friends, Fang. Best friends forever!"

"Rrragh!" Fang replied with delight before gently nudging his tiny, new best friend.

Onward with adventure!...
Vinnie plopped down onto a patch a grass near the walking path. He was fifteen now, and had begun touring Johto in his continuing quest to become a great pokémon trainer. He pulled his hat off and fanned his face.

It was so hot out and he had been walking all day; it was too hot to fly. He layed back in the grass under the shade of a tree and gazed up lazily at the leaves swaying in the light breeze.

He sat up and grabbed the poké balls on his belt. There was enough shade from the tree line to allow a nice break for his team. Vinnie released his four pokémon: Fang, Casanova, Sapphire, and Duchess.

He grabbed a small pouch out of his pack and opened it. Nestled inside the pouch were various berries for his companions to eat. After dividing up the berries, Vinnie grabbed a sandwich from his bag for himself.

This region was new to him; he had only been to Johto once with his father when he was a child. He was excited to see all the new pokémon this land had to offer. Vinnie looked around, watching all the wild pokémon move around in the trees and the field nearby.

He quickly spotted of a few Hoppip and Skiploom playing. With a smile on his face, he grabbed an ultra ball from his pack and scrambled to his feet. Vinnie crept along some trees to where the wild pokémon were playing, being careful not to spook them.

"A grass-type sure would a good edition to my team." he thought as he watched them.

He leaped out from his hiding spot, readying to throw the ultra ball in hand. Just as the ball left his hand, a Skarmory shot out of the trees and down into the field with a screech.

It turned to Vinnie and spread it's wings out, confronting him. Just as the wild pokémon took a step toward him, the poké ball fell on the the massive bird's head with a tink!.

Vinnie couldn't believe what just happened. He stood and watched the poké ball rock back and forth on the ground with a baffled look on his face. The faint click! of the poké ball just barely reached Vinnie's ears. He stepped over to the ball and picked it up, still amazed by his capture.

A huge grin slowly appeared on his face, as the realization finally seeped in. He took off running back to his pokémon.

"Hey guys! We got a new teammate!" Vinnie exclaimed to his pokémon. He released his newly captured friend form the poké ball. The Skarmory stood in front of his new team members, an agitated glare in his eyes.

"You need a name." Vinnie thought out loud. "Hmm...how about Razor?"

"Skreee!" Razor replied back at him with distaste, then perched himself on a large hanging branch. Vinnie watched as Razor preened his feathers.

"I know we'll become friends someday, you'll see." he told the great bird, "We just have to have faith in each other."

To the Skies!...
"Mama! I'm home!" shouted Vinnie as he stepped through the front door.

Welcome home, pumpkin!" exclaimed his mother, rushing across the room, "That wasn't a very long trip. Did everything go all right?"

"Yeah, it just wasn't very exciting." he replied as he fell to the sofa, tossing his hat and bag aside.

His mother brought him a sandwich and a tall glass of cold milk. Vinnie was twenty-two years old now, but that didn't stop him from enjoying a homemade meal. As much as he loved traveling, there was still nothing cozier than being home.

"Is papa out on a job?" Vinnie inquired.

"Yes, he had to make a cargo delivery to another region; he left a few days ago." she replied.

"Aw man, I was hoping to see him before leaving again." he said with a bite of sandwich still in his mouth.

While eating his lunch, Vinnie flipped through the latest PokéMart catalog. As he turned one of the pages, a postcard slipped out and fell to the floor. He leaned over and picked it up. The front of the postcard was very colorful with "Greetings from Kalos!" printed on it.

"Hey mama, when did you get this? Vinnie shouted to the kitchen.

His mother stepped out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel. "Oh your father sent that to me yesterday. I believe this was his first trip to the Kalos region."

He slumped back down in his seat. "Kalos huh? Never been there..." he mumbled to himself. His heart began to race just thinking of exploring a new land. He quickly wolfed down the rest of his lunch, jumped up from the sofa, and put his dishes in the kitchen sink.

"What, are you leaving already? You just got here." his mother exclaimed in confusion.

"I wanna check out Kalos as soon as possible!" Vinnie excitedly replied as he gave his mother a kiss on the cheek. He grabbed his hat and bag as he rounded the living room corner and dashed out the door. His mother followed to see him off. Once they were outside, Vinnie released Fang from his pokéball.

"Are you ready for another adventure, old friend?" The great pokémon let out a roar an agreement. Vinnie hopped up on Fang's back and pulled the bill of his hat down nice and snug.

"Please be safe, sweetie." his mother called out to him as she waved goodbye. Fang's giant wings lifted them off the ground before Vinnie could respond, so all he could was wave back.

"Alright buddy, onward to Kalos!" he shouted to the sky as they flew off.