Name: Duke Jack
Moniker: The Shadow King of Galar
Birthplace: Stow-On-Side, Galar
Birthday: June 17th
Height: 5'9 (174 cm)
Likes: Curry, Fine Wine, people groveling for his mercy, studying aura powers
Dislikes: lazy people, losing, paying taxes
Fears: Wooloo, Blue Oak's sassy mouth
Favorite Word: peasants
Favorite Colors; Light Grey and Light Blue
League Number: 0 (Ō- goroawase for king)
Battle Quote: "My bloodline has been blessed by Arceus themselves, peasant! So BOW BEFORE THE IRON WILL OF THE TRUE GALARIAN ROYALTY"
(official reference by RGreyWind)
Pokemon (named after Wine)
Merlot- Kingambit
Prosecco- Cinderace
Sherry- Corviknight
Marsala- Runerigus
Chardonnay- Golisopod
Reisling- Urshifu Single Strike
Moscato- Grimmsnarl
Cabernet- Abomasnow
Born to the royal family of Galar (that much like the real world is more for show than governance), Jack wanted to restore his family to greatness. To the absolute monarchy before the pesky little peasants decided they like concept of democracy. Born with the gift of aura, Jack would train tirelessly as a kid to hone his powers giving him a much stronger work ethic than others of his family. However a run in with a flock of Wooloo would leave the young royal with a lasting fear of the sheep Pokemon
Like many Galarian Royals, he was shipped of to Paldea's academy where he would successfully pass the Champion Assessment, and become bitter enemies with a young Geeta whom he pushed into Area Zero. Returning to Galar he set his sights on being king…although by that point much of Galar's citizenry had found royalty not by blood, but by battle. The league's champions being the new kings and queens.
Lucky for him a shift changed with the league being acquired by a young business mogul Mr. Rose which led to the abrupt departure of the then champion Peony. A chasm had opened and Jack took the opportunity in the next gym challenge, obliterating the competition fair and square and becoming the next champion of Galar
Over his reign he managed to make enemies of most of the champions of other regions with a particular nasty bout between him Blue Oak (to which Blue made him cry in with a scathing read of the royal to the cheers of Geeta). However in Galar, the peasants were fond of him due to his work ethic, his signature Kingambit pose (consisting of him leaning back, shouting with his middle fingers pointed towards the sky) and his fondness for curry which could be seen in his rare league card.
Still, Jack wasn't content with just being the champion. He wanted to be king. Using the public relation skills cultivated by his tutors, he began to plant the seed into the minds of the Galarian people. Maybe, just maybe, the region needs a monarchy again.
He also cultivated power, at one point sneaking to the Isle of Armor and stealing one of Mustard's prized Kubfu, befriending it with copious amounts of curry, then going BACK to the Isle of Armor and breaking into the Tower of Darkness to evolve it. All without Mustard being able to stop him
As the years went on, Jack and Rose grew close, both men admiring the other's ambition. After one night of thoughts shared over fine wine Jack said the following:
"Rose, you're a man whose name will be in the annals of history forever. How do you want to be remembered? One choice can change how history sees you for eternity."
For three years, Jack comfortably remained on the throne of Galar's league, no gym leader or challenger able to touch him. However that all came to a head during his fourth year when a young boy from Postwick with a Charmander and an absolutely terrible sense of direction caught Rose's eye for talent.
That season, all eyes were initially on the granddaughter of Professor Magnolia as the one to watch. Undeniably skilled as she was, it seemed the weight of Magnolia's legacy bore heavy on the young Sonia which caused her to falter. Jack seeing this weakness, immediately ensured she'd never make it to the finals by challenging her to an unofficial battle in the wild area scarring her so badly she dropped out of the challenge not long after getting to Opal's gym.
With Sonia out of the picture, all eyes were on the Postwick boy Leon. Jack tried to interfere, taking advantage of the child's poor sense of direction to get him eternally lost in the Glimwood Tangle. However, Opal, ever the wiser to Jack's schemes, managed to save Leon just in time. Opal however made the grave mistake of confronting Jack about his crimes in a stairwell, as Jack, fond of pushing people to their doom, threw the old fairy type gym leader down the flight of stairs and pretended he was the one that found her ("she must of tripped, she's got cataracts y'know. Her eyesight isn't what it used to be")
With his initial plan to get rid of Leon having failed, Jack turned to a secret weapon. An old forbidden technique created and cultivated by his ancestors which allowed them to originally conquer Galar. The ability to shut down a Pokemon's heart placing them in a permanent fight or flight state. Shadowification. Concerned about Leon's clear strength in battle, Jack would use his powers to shadowify his entire team to give them a boost he thought would ensure his victory.
But Leon was just another level. Leon conquered the gym circuit with not a single loss, and the champion's cup as well. The battle between him and Jack would soon ensue and despite the rabid fury Jack's shadowified team would lose 6-3 ending his reign as champion.
The loss enraged Jack. Coupled by the fact that his use of shadowification also affected his own aura, corrupting him into a short-tempered force of nature, Jack would accost Leon backstage, lunging at him with the intent to wipe the new champion off the face of the planet. And he would have had it not been for Mustard waiting for him to catch these hands, Rose having the international police waiting to arrest Jack for his crimes against his Pokémon and the many humans he had harmed. Jack was placed in a maximum security prison held by the international Police somewhere in the open waters of the Pokémon world where he would remain for life.
Despite being put into custody, Jack's influence on Galar would have lasting impacts. Leon, feeling the pressure to be better than Jack was, pushed himself to be a perfect ambassador for the Galarian League. Rose feeling guilty for not catching onto Jack's schemes sooner and haunted by his words about legacy would ended up feeling compelled to recreate the Darkest Day once he was informed that his company's use of Galar particles would drain the energy reserves of Galar in 1000 years. Sordward and Shieldbert, aristocrats emboldened by Jack's attempt to recreate the absolute monarchy would cause chaos in Galar after the second Darkest Day.
