Reynard Albright
A well-traveled old man, Reynard Albright, PhD, is an Alto Marean chocolate sculptor, marine biologist, and retired former chocolate factory manager. He is the paternal grandfather of Gavin "Shutter" Albright. Since May 2019, he has technically become a member of the J-Team... sort of.
Appearance
Reynard is an old man of [Anglo Caucasian] and [Italian] descent who is remarkably fit for his age. In his youth, he had dark-colored hair.
Personal History
Reynard was born to an [Anglo] Unovan father and an Alto Marean mother in 1932. Upon marriage, his father settled down and with his mother raised a large family of four kids and a herd of gogoats at the rural outskirts of Alto Mare. World War II broke out in his childhood and his father was killed by Fascist soldiers on false charges of treason, and not long after his family's gogoats and skiddos were seized by the Fascist government and slaughtered to be served in one of their dictator's lavish parties. He attempted to save one of the skiddo, Bella, who he had been close to since her birth, but ultimately failed. He would find companionship in his formal starter, Primo, a caterpie he stumbled onto in his ill-fated attempt to save Bella. His contempt for the fascists would continue to grow, and at age 10, he became a messenger for the Alto Marean resistance.
After the war, destitution forced him to become a runner for a local mafioso, to the disappointment of his mother. His stint with the mafia did not last, and after a stern discussion with the local padre, he went straight and took up engineering; at this time, he met Nora, an Orange Islander, who he quickly fell in love with. He also briefly worked for a visionary engineer, but she disapproved of his relationship with Nora and dismissed him.
After being fired, he would move to the Orange Islands with Nora, where they married. He became one of the managing engineers of a chocolate factory in North Mandarin City, and his family enjoyed a modest upper middle class lifestyle; his generous donations even paid for a marine life center dedicated to caring for injured aquatic Pokémon. Upon retirement, he would resume his studies (this time in marine biology) and take on a number of hobbies, including chocolate sculpting. He spent his first years in retirement traveling with his wife, visiting far off places such as Castelia, Viridian, and Lumiose. When Nora died, he was devastated; he does try his best to stay happy in her absence, if only to respect her wishes in life.
He balances his time between volunteering for the marine life center and making chocolate sculptures to order. Lately, he has spent much of his time traveling, including making visits to his hometown.
Personality
At 86, Reynard is a chipper and happy old man who believes in living life to the fullest. He loves sharing anecdotes of his life and many people assume he enjoys embellishing his stories; although he does have a flair for the dramatic, his grandchildren often find out that many of the things he says in life were true. He cares deeply for his children and grandchildren and was a hopeless romantic for his wife Nora. Due to his past dealings with resistance movements, mafiosos, and the like, he seems eager to lend a hand to clandestine operations (often by fae) he believes are reasonably just, and is not afraid to use his apparent age to have people underestimate him.
He loves learning new things; one of the first things he did after retirement was study another degree. He took to modern technology rather well and runs a travel blog and imperapic. He is a better gamer than Shutter, much to the latter's consternation.
He also gets along well with young people, having had a lot of experience handling teenagers due to being a grandfather.
Relationships
Although Nora was not his first romance, he definitely considers her his one true love. They hit it off almost instantly. Their union was blessed with two children: Norbert and Richard.
His younger son Richard is his primary formal caregiver; he raised his family near his parents' home and is often exasperated when his father gets roped into fae contracts.
His oldest grandchild Shutter moved away several years prior; he had been supportive of the young man's artistic ambitions since he was a boy. They mostly keep in touch through long-distance phone calls.
He tends to win the respect of those under his command due to his decisive yet caring approach to leadership. His colony of wishiwashis, Blue October, address him as admiral, while his former subordinates from the chocolate factory continue to hold him in high regard as a mentor and father figure; not a few call him Uncle Rey.
Trivia
- Primo died as a butterfree but came back as a gastly. Reynard and his family found the reunion awkward and took awhile to accept it.
- His wishiwashi colony, Blue October, is a pun of The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy; most of the Blue October shoal members are named for characters associated with boats
- Reynard is a composite of several of JG's real life relatives.
Reynard's Pokémon
Present Roster
Pre-WWII
