Pokemon Trainer Alfie [Veilstone, Sinnoh]

Born to the Blackthorne dragon clan, right from the very start Alfie Botten seemed to be doomed. He entered life to his parents' failing marriage, the two that refusing to separate because of religious reasons; soon enough the boy became just another thing for them to fight over, his earliest memories being ones full of violent words and angry screaming. They were not very careful to hide their hatred of one another from their son, and the child often spent his time hiding in his room to avoid becoming the weapon they would use against one another. It was an unhappy life, but he knew no other, and went through his days with a forced smile and such a desire to please and placate that it was unsettling to see in a child so young.

One of the very few things his parents agreed on was their opinion of Pokemon. From the time Alfie was old enough to comprehend speech, the boy heard how important Pokemon were to the world and the human race.  He learned how they were practically infallible, pseudo-gods. The child listened with wide eyes to many a tale about the perfection that these creatures always had been and always would be. When the day came that he'd be granted his first Pokemon, he was ecstatic, naming the little dragon "Bestevenn."

But his dreams were soon crushed.

The innocent looking, wide-eyed Dratini he'd been handed was docile enough for the first day, but a change became apparent on the second, when the dragon destroyed his shoes and bit the boy when he scolded him for it. From then on it was a spiraling descent into madness-- Bestevenn refused to listen to him, ignoring his orders in battle and guiding himself through challenges by other trainers, even picking his own fights (against Alfie's wishes) once he grew a bit stronger. He bit his trainer, ruining his belongings on a whim, seeming sometimes to purposely pick the items that meant the most to the boy. Unable to control his Pokemon, his parents turned their scorn on him, disgraced by what a failure of a dragon tamer he was and angry by the shame he brought onto the family name. The small city became convinced that Alfie must be doing something wrong; after all, Pokemon who were well treated and loved by their trainers respected them and if a Pokemon wasn't listening to you it was your fault. His parents began to argue who was responsible for the failure that was their child; instead of the boy being an object of desire, neither mother nor father wanted anything to do with him.

His life became a rut; instead of the wonderful adventures Alfie had dreamed of, he remained stuck in his home with a Pokemon who hated him, parents who didn't want him, and a town that looked upon him with disgust. With his dragon refusing to listen to him, running away to start his Pokemon journey early was impossible. Day in, day out, he struggled to gain approval and acceptance, only to fail every time. Beaten and broken, he resigned himself to the lot he was handed and became even more of a ghost than he already was, barely speaking or even being seen around Blackthorne most of the day. Despite having accepted that he was despised and that he deserved it, he kept chasing after his dragon's affection, praying for a miracle that would save him from this.

His prayer was answered, but the price was far too high; the epidemic came sweeping through Blackthorne, leaving destruction and death in its wake. Decidedly against dying, Bestevann grabbed Alfie and fled, leaving the boy's parents to perish.  The epidemic changed nothing for the better between the two even when the young dragon tamer found a universal communicator, the dragon continuing to treat Alfie like a punching bag; a slave at worst and at best, a toy, a thing of amusement.  With words now a weapon added to his arsenal, Bestevann completed what he'd started; cowing his trainer. Four years in and Bestevann is now a powerful Dragonite, Alfie's entire life under his complete control.

For the first time in a while they seem to have come across a city, though where they could be remains a mystery to them...

♋ Bestevann: This relationship is abusive fuckery at its finest. In the beginning the dragon's bullying was purely fear motivated, a desire to establish dominance so the human would not harm him, as the little Dratini had heard sometimes happened to the Pokemon of trainers from a traveling dragon. However, it quickly became clear that the imbalance of power didn't just provide protection; it benefited him in every other way. The boy adored him despite his cruelty and his refusal to cooperate, desperately giving him all of his time and attention, passing him treats, taking him out exploring, grooming him, and the like. Due to his own loneliness and his family and his clan's insistence that it was his fault Best was being cruel and that Alfie must be doing something wrong, Alfie would continue to treat Best with all the love he had to offer; he even paid for a TM for him with money he earned himself by scrubbing floors and preforming other odd jobs around town. But Best loved the power of having someone constantly chasing after his affection, hanging onto every slight bit of approval whenever Best decided to grace him with it, and what had begun as something motivated by just wanting to protect himself became the work of a power hungry bully.  

To keep Alfie isolated, Best refused to allow him to add any other team members to their group, smashing Alfie's pokeballs when other dragons accepted the boy's offer to join them. To keep Alfie believing that if he just worked hard enough he'd earn the dragon's respect but also keep the clan's pressure on him, Best sometimes did kind things for seemingly no reason, like curling around the boy and nuzzling him... but only when they were alone; thus no one witnessed Bestevann's occasional tenderness. To get possessions or money to buy possessions, he would have Alfie distract a victim with his cuteness and then rob the person. When the epidemic hit he adapted; the universal communicator allowed him to speak to the boy directly, insulting him and putting him down every chance he got, and pounding into his head that no one would ever want him and that Bestevann is the only one who could; this was to keep him from forming an attachment with anyone they may meet and potentially running away with them. Sometimes he would stop talking to him for days at a time, aware that the boy would perceive it as Best being angry and would accordingly panic and stew in his own terror, afraid that the dragon no longer loved him. If Best allows Alfie to do anything, it's usually out of amusement in watching him fail at his task, and should he accomplish it, the dragon snatches the victory away by downplaying it. Alfie does not recognize any of these as conscious attempts to keep him trapped and under the dragon's thumb, instead under the impression that they're natural reactions to having to put up with him. He's aware that Best does not care for him as a sentient being and loves him anyway, convinced that he's worth so little that it's small wonder Bestevann does not care about his emotions, passions, or needs and wants; he believes that Bestevann cares about him the same way one might an ugly, disobedient dog-- you love them, but it's mostly out of pity and obligation to ensure they don't die. As such he's grateful for Bestevann's protection and does not protest the dragon keeping all the better stuff they find to himself. Nor does he protest his rules and will even (though it causes him pain) bend his own morals to do what the Dragonite wants, both out of fear of being hurt and to try to please and placate him; the rules he breaks are for the care and keeping of his own sanity and for no other reason, though it brings him intense guilt to go behind Bestevann's back. He hopes that, as Bestevann loves him like a dog he pities, maybe if he's a good enough dog, the dragon could learn to actually love him, someday. It's a scant hope but it's all he has.

Alfie is completely dependant on Best both physically and emotionally; Bestevann keeps him safe (when he's not beating the boy for pissing him off) and, thanks to his brainwashing, provides the only company Alfie believes he could ever keep, even if he lives in fear and is constantly sad.  If anything were to happen to him, or if Best were to abandon him, the boy's self loathing would destroy him from the inside out. Though he does not realize it, Best is just as emotionally dependant on him; he relishes in the power he has over him and in fact, such power is all he has-- he has invested so much time in establishing and preserving this power imbalance and the conditions that allow it to continue that should Alfie be ripped away from him, he would be hard pressed to figure out where to go from there. It is one of the reasons he's so viciously jealous of anything or anyone who earns the boy's affections... and he'd likely beat the boy nearly to death if anyone actually managed to earn his trust.

-basically instead of a pokemon abused by their human, this is a human abused by their pokemon
-is pretty sure he's not cisgender but is unsure of what gender he actually is; has absolutely no time or room for exploring it, but has determined that any pronouns suit him
-keeps his sack of paper stars in his pocket
-the belief that Pokemon are nearly infallible and that dragons are pseudo-legends are also instrumental in allowing the abuse to continue and will be a hard hurdle to overcome