Volkner was born and raised in Sunyshore City. Like in the anime, Volkner became friends with Flint after they fought off a poacher together. Here’s where things differ. Firstly, his first Pokemon was Elekid, rather than Pikachu.

Volkner’s first period of disinterest with Pokemon started when Flint left to go on his journey. Without his best friend to battle against, Volkner grew tired of battling. He decided to do something different.

Volkner was always interested by design, even as a young child. So, he went back to school. He earned degrees in electronics and architecture. By age 18, he was revolutionizing Sunyshore City by adding the famous solar powered roads that were his design. He also upgraded the lighthouse to use solar power as well.

Flint returned, having attained a League position. Seeing his friend had gotten so strong, Volkner’s interest in Pokemon was reignited. He wanted, no, he needed to catch up to his friend. He left all the designs he was working on, and started a period of mad training and journeying that took him two years. When he got back, he was the winner of two leagues, and had gotten fourth place in another.

He was quickly offered a position as the Sunyshore City Gym Leader after the old Leader, Bertha, was promoted to the Elite Four.

Everything was going great for Volkner. He built up a fearsome reputation, he was winning every battle he took part in. And that’s where his downfall came. Volkner the ‘Shocking Star’ caused his own depression.

People were scared to battle him. They went to different Gyms, and Volkner’s Gym slowly lost revenue. The rest of the money they had was spent on trying to make the place look cool, to hopefully attract visitors. Volkner knew he was skating on thin ice after the third power outage. He fell into a depression, and not even his best friend could snap him out of it.

Things only started looking up when he was beaten by the player character, ironically. He got that familiar urge to catch up - to both them and Flint and, heck, everyone.

He’s still making up designs, ways to improve things that aren’t really broken. He’s basically a stranger to the other Gym Leaders, and references are still made to the ‘Shocking Star’. But, hey, things are looking up.

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