Ideal Team

As mentioned here, Tyson’s ideal Pokémon team is as follows.

Within his Pokémon AU, Tyson has, used to have, or someone he cares about deeply/could have been in another lifetime has one of these Pokémon.

His Pokémon AU isn’t about Tyson having his ideal Pokémon. It’s Tyson working with a squadron of many Pokémon as his needs change, often working with Pokémon he isn’t as close to in order to achieve a specific thing or training Pokémon for other people.

He has many Pokémon on his team that don’t particularly suit him, but Tyson came across them injured and couldn’t bear to leave them. Unlikely friendships made along the way. It’s a more ‘realistic’ ensemble and, as such, some of the Pokémon that would be perfect for Tyson are not on his team.

Raichu

Tyson used to have his perfect match Pokémon, Raichu, until it was gifted to his nephew James; now nicknamed Rai. 

If Tyson could only have one Pokémon, it would be Raichu. Raichu is Tyson’s perfect match, which is why Tyson needed to give away his own Raichu to his nephew James.

Beyond wanting to avoid too closely paralleling Ash and his Pikachu, it made more sense with Tyson’s sense of rivalry/competitiveness to have Lucario as his partner than the too complimentary Raichu.

A buddy-cop system, rather than two identical idiots running around together.

Raichu was the perfect Pokémon for Tyson to have previously. To be a lingering sense of nostalgia for him, even as he proudly watches Rai grow with his nephew James.

A sense of what could have been, had he walked a different path, away from The Colonel and the Moriarty Mirrors.

Raichu represents something of a core-tenant about Tyson’s personality.

Regardless of verse or thread, Tyson is loyal, he is a mathematical prodigy, he is an anxious ball of stress held together by a stubborn refusal to die, despite that our little Icarus is completely self-sacrificing, despite that he refuses to take ‘unnecessary’ risks, and Raichu is Tyson’s perfect partner Pokémon.

Gyarados

The Colonel has a Gyarados, called Leviathan. 

Tyson’s view of Sebastian’s Gyarados are rather similar to his view of the man himself; simultaneously adoring and in awe, and utterly, bone-deep terrified of her.

Tyson has always adored Gyarados as a Pokémon. Racing between islands on Leviathan’s back, his arms wrapped around Sebastian from behind, Tyson felt as though anything was possible. The same feeling he feels with his Steelix. Untouchable.

The only reason Tyson doesn’t have a Gyarados is that it suits The Colonel better. It’s that simple. Even with their similarities, there are enough differences between them that Tyson could reasonably have both a Gyarados and a Steelix.

If only one could be chosen, then Tyson’s strength as a Ground and Steel trainer would give Steelix a heavy bias, but on his ideal team, Tyson’s Ground-type bias is already heavily covered by Pokémon that suit him more than Steelix. That raw strength that Gyarados invokes, it resonates with Tyson.

Gyarados pairs fantastically with Tyson’s favouritism towards large Pokémon and his love of the water. On his ideal Pokémon team, Gyarados was an obvious choice. Whilst argument could be made for other Pokémon, there was no other choice that could have taken Gyarados’s place.

In many ways, Gyarados is perfect for Tyson. However, at the end of the day, it made more sense for The Colonel to have a Gyarados and Tyson to be in awe of them both. That will always be his lot in life.

Aipom

Kim had an Aipom called Lydia.

The reasons for excluding Aipom from Tyson’s Pokémon AU are much simpler: Ambipom does not suit Tyson as much as an Aipom.

His verses are not completely static. Like his main!verse, things can change and develop. His team’s move set can change, their level can change, and they can evolve. Locking only one of his Pokémon into never evolving wouldn’t make sense.

When it came to making Kimiko’s team, Aipom was an obvious choice. It matches her to a T. They share that untameable free-spirit that Tyson was so enamoured by. There is an energy to Aipom that perfectly matches up with Kim.

Those qualities were what made Aipom an obvious choice for Tyson’s ideal team, an embodiment of the things Tyson cares about and his refusal to be caged, and what made it so difficult to exclude an Aipom on the bases of a less ideal evolution.

Torterra

Though he no longer has it, Lex used to have a Torterra.
Tyson could never have been Lex, but Lex could have been Tyson.

Torterra was excluded from Tyson’s team for the same reasons that Raichu and Gyarados were: they were too perfect a match for Tyson to have.

Ground Pokémon are ideal for him. He favours large bulky Pokémon (or small very fast Pokémon, see Aipom, Lycanroc, & Raichu). He favours kind and gentle Pokémon that can still pack a punch. He adores Discworld and the concept of world turtles as a whole.

He already has two of the starter Pokémon, two grass starter Pokémon even, and thematically those made more sense for Tyson to have in his Pokémon AU where things aren’t ideal. Snivy as an Unova starter, with his father trying to force Tyson into the upper-class family legacy, was a necessity.

Where Torterra matches Tyson’s personality and the things he cares about better, Chespin made more sense for him to have as a way of reflecting how sweet precious Tyson built up armour and defences over time. Tanking every hit that’s thrown at him and remaining standing.

In so far as Torterra being Lex’s Pokémon, in another life, Lex could easily have ended up where Tyson is today. Tyson could never have strayed onto Lex’s path, but the reverse would have been all too easy. Lex isn’t the opposite to Tyson, but an alternative. A slightly twisted, carnival mirror reflection of Tyson.

The man who Lex is today would not suit a Torterra, but before then, when he was younger and stumbling to find his footing, Torterra matched that Lex. The less jaded one, not hiding behind bravado and endless lies because it was easier than hurting, but the one that would plant his feet and tried his best.

Hippowdon

Hal had a Hippowdon called Cain.
If chance had worked out differently, Tyson could have been Hal.

Hippowdon makes Tyson’s ideal Pokémon team for almost all the same reasons that Torterra does.

It just makes perfect sense for Hippowdon to be on Tyson’s team. Too much sense.

If Tyson has a Hippowdon, it wouldn’t have worked for Tyson to have a Steelix or a Donphan: being a comfortable middle ground between both for Tyson. However, the point of Tyson’s Pokémon AU is that he uses not perfect Pokémon and a wider array of Pokémon to suit specific needs.

There is more variety for him, more versatility, by having Donphan and Steelix than merely Hippowdon. Hippowdon may be a 10/10 match for Tyson, but two 9/10s is better for him in the end.

Hal and Tyson are - purposefully - very similar. In another life, that could have been Tyson. The tragic soldier who died doing his duty, no matter what, rather than dragged off by Sebastian Moran and tangled up in the Moriarty Mirrors’ web.

The Pokémon chosen for NPCs within Tyson’s world are their ideal teams. Tyson cannot have his ideal team, but Hal can and Hal suits a Hippowdon perfectly.

Lycanroc

And Tyson currently has a (Midday form) Lycanroc, called Remus.

Tyson and dogs go hand-in-hand.

Lycanroc (and Ruffrock before it) are rock puppies.

Of course, Tyson was going to have a Lycanroc.

The very second Lycanroc was revealed in generation seven, the first thought was: that Pokémon belongs to Tyson.

For every other Pokémon from Tyson’s ideal team, with the exception of Raichu, a clear argument could be made for why it would be better utilised on another character’s team instead. In the case of Raichu, the perfect match was 10000% too perfect to use.

In the case of Lycanroc, it wasn’t better suited to anyone else and Lycanroc wasn’t too perfect for the Pokémon AU either. Make no mistake, Lycanroc (regardless of form, but especially Midday form) is perfect for Tyson.

However, Lycanroc comfortably fits into a niche in Tyson’s team in a way that means, when appropriate, he can be substituted for other Pokémon on Tyson’s team rather than being an unmoving always; which wouldn’t suit his constantly rotating team of Pokémon.

Donphan provides things that Lycanroc cannot, yet the reverse is also true. Steelix and Lucario provide things that Lycanroc cannot, and yet the reverse is also true. Lycanroc comfortably fits around Tyson’s 9/10 matches in a way that doesn’t feel forced as making space for Raichu would.

Aura

Though Tyson doesn’t personally believe in aura, he is amused by the comparison to his Synesthesia.

Rather than showing the nature of a person, Tyson’s Synesthesia is more reflective of his view of that person, but he understands where the comparison comes from.

More generally, Tyson appreciates the idea of aura and - though always respectful of other’s beliefs - aura is something that Tyson finds easier to understand why other people believe in it.

Medication

No matter how much pain he is in at the time, Tyson is always reluctant to take painkillers; or medication in general.

His propensity to fight doctor’s orders aside, Tyson hates anything that takes control away from him and loathes the idea of becoming depending on anything else.

Tyson would rather grit his teeth through pain that threatens to make him black out than take painkillers. Unless he is in a dangerous situation where he needsto take painkillers to make it out alive, Tyson has to be strong-armed into taking his medicine.

Being the general hypocrite that he is, Tyson will never fail to remind Dick to take his anti-depressants or for Jethro to take his medication to recover from chemotherapy.

Names

Tyson uses names in a variety of ways.

When he’s nervous, Tyson tends to overuse names to the point of hampering his words to the point of being difficult to understand.

More generally, Tyson uses people’s names to put them at ease, then as a way of calming himself; with the knowledge that the implied familiarity of using someone’s name will help reduce his social stutter. And then, simply out of habit, even when he no longer stutters around a person.

As well as using names to create an artificial closeness, Tyson’s choice of name can be used to create distance and separate out different parts of his life. He adores Darling with all of his heart and is glad to be his loyal Pup, his hands are soaked in blood for Moriarty, and Jim is the beloved - if exasperating - Irishman that Tyson must bribe to take sustenance.

Sebastian is the man Tyson, foolishly, loves and would gladly die for. Moran is the sniper who’s talents he respects and the commanding officer snapping at him like a hound lashing out. The Colonel is the one who beat Tyson bloody then abandoned him for dead.

Anthony Hawthorne is Tyson’s default cover name, borrowing the name from his Great Grandfather, and Sebastian publishes his books under the false name, Zachary M. Cohen. If given time to develop into its own personality, The Soldier would take the name Anthony eventually.

Important Songs

Everyone has songs that hold a special place in their heart.

For Tyson, some of those songs are:

• Bat out of Hell - Meat Loaf
  Whenever Tyson found Kim doing her carpentry, she was almost guaranteed to be listening to that song if not something from the same album.
• Big Iron on his Hip - Marty Robbins
  The first song Tyson got Dick to play on guitar, after a long period of harsh depression.
• Chocolate - The 1975
  A song shared between Tyson and his nephew James.
• I Won’t Send Roses - Mack & Mabel
  Sebastian used to sing this to Tyson.
• Life less ordinary - Carbon Leaf
  Reminds Tyson of the Moriarty Mirrors + Old Playlist for Tyson
• Oh, Danny boy
  Jethro used to sing this to Tyson, and Tyson sung it to comfort himself after some of Sebastian’s worst beatings.
• Pumped up Kicks - Foster the People
  Tyson’s default ringtone, when he doesn’t have it on vibrate.
• The Sound of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel
  Tyson’s father used to play this a lot.

Ticklish

Tyson isn’t particularly ticklish in general, but he appears even less ticklish most of the time.

Normally, Tyson is wound up too tightly to be effectively tickled, but once he’s convinced to relax properly, Tyson is laughably easy to break into waves of giggles.

Mostly it’s Tyson neck, ribs, and feet that are ticklish. His stomach and under his arms aren’t as easily effected.

The Afghanistan Incident

From August 12th 2007 until August 22nd, Tyson was held prisoner.

After an incident in Afghanistan, a mission gone wrong, Tyson doesn’t wear anything with too tight of a collar. He was held prisoner for several days during which his air was restricted for most of the time and he passed out because of it more than five times. Sebastian was also part of this mission and suffered similar treatment.

The clothes that he wears are either very loose and bellow his collar bones [t-shirts and polos] or stop on the collar bone and are tight enough that they can’t slip any higher [basically anything else other than dress shirts and formal dress shirts*].

When he wears a dress shirt he doesn’t do up the top button and lets the tie or bow tie [or any other type of fabric worn around the neck] keep the collar closed. When he wears a formal dress shirt he’ll close the top button but keep the neck wear loose to avoid triggering any flash backs.

*Having come from an upper class family Tyson considers anything worn on the torso that isn’t a vest or item of clothing worn over a shirt [blazer, jacket, coat, et cetera] to be a dress shirt. What most people would normally call a dress shirt Tyson calls a formal dress shirt.

This also leads to him having a twitch trigger attack instinct whenever someone touches his throat.

Touching and holding the back of Tyson’s neck is a good way of reassuring Tyson and keeping him calm, like holding a puppy or kitten by their scruff, but any fingers straying past his jugular will lead to an instantaneous attack. Even hands straying too far up his collarbones from touching his shoulder can put Tyson on the defensive.

Make-up

Tyson is good at applying nail-polish.

Not to himself, but to other people. Specifically Jasmine.

Before she joined the manor as a maid Tyson’s father (the late Professor John Delaney) had him studying mathematics all day every day. Once she came to the manor she took on the role of a surrogate mother for Tyson, as Tyson became a surrogate son for her, and decided that he needed time to be a normal boy rather than just studying mathematics. His father reluctantly agreed so Tyson got Saturday and Sunday to do whatever he wanted to do.

Tyson didn’t have any real friends so spent most of his free time with Jasmine: helping her clean, going shopping with her, et cetera.

On Sunday mornings, when Jasmine went to the market for fresh fruit and vegetables. Tyson always went with her so it became a habit that he would help her get ready in the morning by doing her make-up.

He also knows how to do foundation, eye-liner, and everything else, but he was always best at applying the nail polish.

From Jasmine’s side of things, it left her hands free to write up the shopping list for the week and gave her an excuse to see how shaky Tyson’s hands were, and how anxious he was that day.

One of Tyson’s favourite things about dating a women is doing her make-up.

Tyson knows how to do make-up, because he used to help Jasmine put hers on in the morning.

He finds it therapeutic to apply make up to another person; not that he ever puts make up on himself for any other reasons than disguises  on missions and/or to cover up wounds, usually from those missions but sometimes from clumsiness.

Tyson isn’t, and has never been, a morning person. He doesn’t like having to think until he has caffeine in his system, applying make up isn’t something that requires too much concentration. Some parts do, but Tyson always leaves thought parts until last when he’s a little more awake.

He likes to feel helpful and applying makeup for another person makes him feel useful.

Internship

As a teenager, Tyson interned as a vet.

His father had intended for Tyson to - predictably - intern somewhere more academic, but Tyson had remembered the age Jethro had been when their father pushed him into an internship at the college and instead took the initiate to get his own internship first.

Tyson was banking on two favours: it would look bad if Tyson bowed out of the first internship and his father would not want that, and it would show that he was ‘trying to better himself without prompting’ and give his father ammunition to boast with at his dinner parties.

Both of those points paid off and Tyson was free to internship at a local vet’s clinic. Mostly Tyson was just at the register, but it gave him enough ‘proof of experience handling animals’ to get into the service dog program almost immediately, which is what Tyson had intended.

Style

Generally, it can be assumed that Tyson either be dressed to the nines, or like a perpetual college student after a Saturday lecture. There is honestly no alternative.

However, the specific niche of college student does vary across Tyson’s verses.

In verses where Tyson is more confident, he’s more willing to wear fewer layers and less long sleeves; though generally avoiding shorts remains. The exception is corruption!verse, where Tyson is the most confident, as he tries to avoid letting his tattoos becoming too recognisable.

Unlike the normal teenage!Tyson, who dressed as a punk, Orphan AU 3 - Teen!Verse Tyson is more of a middle ground between a pastel punk and a hipster. Teen!Verse Tyson is very comfortable in short sleeves and likes his scarves, though retrains Tyson’s aversion to hats outside of beanies.

Hot Airballoon

Whilst Tyson generally favours air travel as being safer, he is vehemently against hot air balloons.

No, Sebastian, it is not romantic.

It’s a terrifyingly easy to rock basket, far too high off the ground with minimal control.

Please, please, please just put us back on the ground before panick attack round two happens.

We’re too high up to hyperventilate safely.

Tyson’s anti-hot air balloon campaign is long fought by this point and one that he stands by regardless of verse, context, or intent.

Hot air balloons are evil, and that’s an end of discussion.

Different Paths

If Tyson didn’t have the father he had and if he can’t crossed paths with The Colonel, Tyson would look fundamentally different.

Beyond being a carbon-copy of his father, that is.

Tyson prefers the way he looks with facial hair, yet because his father had a beard, the former Lieutenant almost always keeps himself smooth shaven.

He genuinely loves tattoos and if Sebastian hadn’t instilled such a deep fear of permanent markings into Tyson, he would be covered in tattoos by this point in his life.

Outside of corruption!verse and the sigil designs from the Moriarty Mirrors, Tyson would be unlikely to have tattoos on his hands, but his neck and the rest of his body would have been fair game.

In most universes and threads, it doesn’t matter how many changes Tyson goes through, he remains recognisable at a single glance. A Tyson untouched by his father and The Colonel is unrecognisable, a grown-up Tyson from any of his Orphan AUs would be completely unrecognisable in appearance.

His personality at its core would still be Tyson, the same self-sacrificing idiot of a mathematical prodigy, but his appearance, his presence in a room would be fundamentally different.

Comfortable in his own skin in a way that ‘normal’ Tyson never can be.

Swimming

Though Tyson rarely swims anywhere other than a private pool to avoid people seeing his scars, he genuinely loves swimming.

He feels reinvigorated when he’s swimming. He can only really float whilst facing downwards, but he’s a strong stamina swimmer and his best stroke is front stroke.

He loves swimming underwater and exploring the things around him. He’s pretty easy to keep out of trouble for a few hours by repeatedly throwing things into the water for him to fetch.

Some of Tyson’s most treasured memories are of sneaking out to swim with Jethro in the creak by the family manor or swimming in the rivers in India with Sebastian to cool off, and then heat up, after a day escaping pursuit.

There’s a freedom to it that Tyson can’t fully explain. That weightlessness, yet also resistance in the water, reminding Tyson that he’s still solid, that he’s not drifting off. It’s like having a safety net around his entire body.

Underdog

Whilst utterly refusing to admit that he is an underdog, Tyson goes out of his way to make sure people see him as an underdog; to make sure people underestimate him.

Being seen as not a threat is essential to the way Tyson operates, but on a personal level, Tyson refuses to admit that he’s an underdog.

The first thing he does when meeting a person is accessing their threat level to understand if he can stand his own against a person, but even then, even acknowledging that the other person is better than he is, Tyson refuses to admit that he’s the underdog.

Always a way out. Always a way to win. Too stubborn to back down.

For Queen and Country

Though the phrase ‘For Queen and Country’ is rather common in Tyson’s vocabulary, it’s always either flippant or a code to mean the Moriarty Mirrors.

He does not care about the royal family nor does he have a particularly strong sense of patriotism. He loves London and Cambridge, and that is about it.

He finds the history of the royal family and royalty in England to be interesting from a historical point of view, but that is where it belongs to Tyson: a part of history, left in the past.

Tyson joined the army to spite his father, not to serve his country.

Drink and a sandwich

Beyond more obvious defences, Tyson has dozens of pre-prepared lines to help conversations go smoothly and several strategies to help endear himself to other people.

One of Tyson’s main strategies is bringing a drink and a sandwich to a meeting for the person he intends to meet.

This works for several reasons. The first one is that it forces Tyson to actually attend the meeting. After his time fleeing the army on scraps, he hates to waste food and if he’s brought food for someone else, it would be a shame to waste it by not attending the meeting.

The other part is that Tyson knows this will generally endear him to the person he’s meeting, because it looks like he went out of his way to do something nice for them; and if knows anything about their tastes, that he picked something he knew they would like.

Which in turn helps Tyson stay comfortable and confident, which means his stutter isn’t as bad and Tyson can converse more fluidly rather than relying on the practised turns of phrases that whilst useful also add more distance between them and make it harder to find his true comfort zone around people.