John Ford/The Shadowed Man

[Parugi]

Username: Parugi
Name: John Ford (primary pseudonym)
--Lane Garnet (real name)
--David Castle (Déoza pseudonym)
--The Shadowed Man (moniker)
Wiki Page: John Ford/The Shadowed Man
Gender: Male
Faction: The Hojohsin League/Déoza (formerly associated with The Signs)
Hometown: Kalos
Age: Mid- to late-40s.

Appearance: Ford's appearance was a mystery for much of the Liberty-Rocket War. Over time, a profile has been put together. He is 6 feet tall, lean, and pale, with short black hair and dour, brown eyes. He is commonly seen wearing a black suit underneath a black trench coat and is known to wear a black bowler hat. At times, he has been seen wearing glasses, those he seems to use these primarily for reading. He is almost always seen with a green handkerchief in his coat pocket and carries an unassuming black cane with him wherever he goes.

Personality: Charming, intelligent, patient, and manipulative are perhaps the best words to describe Ford. Having spent his early life under the tutelage of the Signs, Ford has honed his natural mental gifts into veritable weapons that he has used extensively in the pursuit of his goals. While said goals are generally considered noble--hard to argue against, ultimately, fighting to save the world from an extradimensional monstrosity--the means by which Ford has worked to achieve those goals are largely considered extensive, extreme, and cruel. He has shown a willingness to sacrifice almost anyone in the name of bringing an end to the conflicts that he opposes, up to and including children. His confidence in his ability to control large operations--while well-grounded in his myriad of successes in playing different groups and individuals against each other--has led to his taking more extreme measures than may be necessary in other situations, justifying them in the name of the greater good. His confidence is reinforced by his knack for preparations and counter-preparations--for every plan he makes, he has at least one fallback plan in the works in case the initial one fails, which is best exemplified for his foreseeing possible issues with the ritual he used to remove conflict from the world. He is not all-seeing, however, and has overlooked important developments in the past, such as McKinley's strange shift in personality after the summer of 2016, and did not realize that his auxiliary card in the Egg would have the added side-effect of 'unlocking' Mega Evolution.

There does exist a softer side to Ford, however. His affection for those closest to him--particularly the original three Children (Paris Ebner/James Pierce, Sophia Baron/Madison Hayes, and Tiana Soldati/Quincy Adams)--is genuine, and he was devastated by the deaths of the First and Third Child. Similarly, the betrayal--and implicit death necessitated by said betrayal--of Tyler McKinley wounded him, forcing him to admit his oversight in not realizing that something terrible had happened to the Fourth Child long ago. Outside of the context of conflict against him, interactions with Ford are also generally affable, and he does not seem to bear any truly ill will toward anyone on the other side of the fence. Many of his actions appear to have been fueled by some degree of desperation, particularly as time went on and the onset of Missing Zero grew closer, though he has largely not admitted this and did an incredible job of hiding these emotions even from his closest followers. He has spoken of his regret for certain plays that he has made, though nonetheless has stood by them as necessary actions in the grand scheme of things. Similarly, Ford is largely honorable when it comes to his promises--he stuck by his promise not to harm Sleight or Joker's families even as McKinley instigated attacks against them under his name. He also did not recruit Piers Ebner into his organization, at James Pierce's request. Ford has also expressed a distaste for cruelty without reason, particularly in conversation about Quentin Dallas, his replacement as Shift within the Signs.

Background: John Ford (originally Lane Garnet) was born and raised in Kalos.

Equipment:

• Cane (contains and can release the Poké Balls for his team; also one of the Symbols for the Signs)
• Numerous El Naipe magic cards

Pokémon: Persian, Primeape, Arbok, Grumpig, Gogoat, Haxorus, Umbreon, Arcanine, Tauros, Rapidash, Raichu
--Legendary: Darkrai (Ilios/Nine)

-Persian--Limber: Assist (EM), Power Gem, Nasty Plot, Water Pulse (MT), Thunderbolt (TM), Shadow Ball (TM)
--Appearance: Possesses a purple head gem.

-Umbreon--Synchronize: Confuse Ray, Toxic (TM), Double Team (TM), Psychic (TM), Helping Hand, Last Resort
--Appearance: Ring patterns are crescent-shaped.

-Haxorus--Rivalry: Razor Wind (EM), Draco Meteor (EM), Scary Face, Hidden Power-Water (TM), Shock Wave (MT), Double Team (TM)
--Appearance: Green armored hide is red.

-Arbok--Shed Skin: Ice Fang, Crunch, Stockpile, Gastro Acid, Gunk Shot, Coil
--Appearance: Black ring patterns down body.

-Rapidash--Flame Body: Flare Blitz, Agility, Poison Jab, Megahorn, Bounce, Endure (MT)
--Appearance: Flames are blue.

-Gogoat--Sap Sipper: Earthquake, Leaf Blade, Bulk Up, Superpower (MT), Synthesis, Take Down
--Appearance: Fur is white.

-Primeape--Anger Point: Final Gambit, Focus Energy, Punishment, Ice Punch (MT), Mega Mick (MT), Psych Up (MT)
--Appearance: Arm and leg weights are gold.

-Arcanine--Flash Fire: Extremespeed, Flare Blitz, Helping Hand, Thunder Fang, Odor Sleuth, Howl (EM)
--Appearance: Darker fur.

-Grumpig--Own Tempo: Confuse Ray, Psychic, Calm Mind (TM), Simple Beam (EM), Mirror Coat (EM), Telekinesis (TM)
--Appearance: Gems are all purple.

-Raichu--Lightningrod: Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, Volt Tackle, Double Team, Nasty Plot, Charge (EM)
--Appearance: Lighter fur.

-Tauros--Anger Point: Giga Impact, Zen Headbutt, Iron Tail, Endure (MT), Stone Edge (TM), Work Up
--Appearance: Black mane.