Prism Grunt 637

**Prism Grunt 637**, usually referred to as **Griffin**, is a Team Prism member who never speaks, due to an old injury taking his voice.

## Griffin Sanford

Portrait of Griffin Sanford as drawn by admin Malachite

### Relatives

Lazuli Sanford (mother) Mason Sanford (father) Matthew Sanford (uncle)

## Personality

Despite his appearance giving him a generally cold demeanor, Griffin has an outgoing personality, and he enjoys being around and interacting with others. He is quite peaceful, and he is caring towards all others that he meets, especially including Pokémon. This is what fuels his enjoyment for Pokémon training, as he sees it more as a way for him to form closer bonds with his Pokémon rather than for the enjoyment of battling itself. Griffin also tends to act spontaneously rather than with careful planning, and due to this he often doesn't enjoy staying in a given place for long, creating his love for travelling and exploring.

## History

### Life Before Team Prism

#### Early Life

Griffin was born on July 2nd, 1995, in Geosenge Town, Kalos to his parents Lazuli Sanford and Mason Sanford. His father worked in the local Pokémon Center, and Griffin helped him there during much of his childhood. It wasn't until Griffin was 16 years old that he began his journey to become a Pokémon trainer, hoping to one day became the Champion of Kalos. His parents were against the idea of him going off on this journey, but by then his mind was already made up, and Griffin left his home soon after.

#### Journey as a Trainer

Griffin worked hard to become a successful Pokémon trainer throughout his journey, and he was able to live off of this as a somewhat-stable career for over two years. He trained often with his team, eventually adding two more members to his team. He collected all 8 Gym Badges of Kalos, and he felt that he was ready to take on the Kalos Championship soon after his 18th birthday. Despite his long journey of preparation, Griffin wasn't able to complete this challenge, sadly losing to the Elite Four.

Crushed by his defeat to the Elite Four, Griffin returned to his parents' home in Geosenge Town for a year, working again at the Pokémon Center as a means of providing for himself. Griffin continued to train with his team on the side, hoping to one day attempt a rematch. His training eventually brought him to the region of Unova, as he hoped that the new environment would reignite his passion as a Pokémon trainer. He moved from town-to-town over the next five years, still assisting in various Pokémon Centers when he had the time, until he eventually settled down in Nimbasa City. His drive for training started to diminish, until he began to hear rumors of a rare ancient Pokémon living in nearby ruins known as the Relic Castle.

#### Relic Castle

On October 13th, 2019, Griffin ventured into the Relic Castle, with his partner Pokémon Sage by his side. After a tiring excursion, they finally arrived at the bottom of the ruins, where they found this very Pokémon: what seemed to be an ancient Volcarona. It seemed different from any other typical Volcarona, however, and as they soon discovered, was much more aggressive. Almost instantly after they had stepped into the room where they found it, the beast attacked, leading to a grueling battle between them. When Sage found himself right in the line of a formidable attack, Griffin jumped in between the two Pokémon in order to protect Sage, leaving several severe wounds on Griffin's body, the most ghastly of which on his chest, before he blacked out...

#### The Aftermath

Griffin suddenly awoke back on the first floor of the Relic Castle, struggling to move and completely unable to speak. His body felt as if it was made of stone, as he now felt much more stiff and heavy. Griffin was still disorientated after the encounter with Volcarona, and his wounds from the battle continued to sear with an unusual feeling: not quite painful, but far from pleasant. Only with the help of Sage was he able to stand, upon which he saw the vague sight of what appeared to be a person leaving the ruins, though whether or not this apparition was truly there remains uncertain. Sage continued to assist Griffin as they made their way back to Griffin's apartment, though it only became more clear that something was off. Not only did simple tasks such as bending his legs feel nearly impossible, but he had noticeably grown in height as well. His skin felt as coarse as the sand beneath his feet, and his eyes beamed with a new bright green hue. Though he himself is unaware of the full details of this occurrence, Griffin had become a hybrid between human and Pokémon.

Griffin was afraid of his new form, still baffled as to what truly took place while in the Relic Castle. He wanted to scream, but the final attack from the Pokémon in Relic Castle left a ghoulish injury on his face, making him now unable to speak. Griffin was no longer willing to continue his work at the Nimbasa City Pokémon Center, terrified of how other people would see him. He proceeded to rarely leave his apartment, only venturing off in the dead of night when no other soul would be encountered. This continued for nearly two weeks, until an unexpected encounter would bring a new light into Griffin's life.

#### Meeting with Team Prism

One night, Griffin was roaming the streets of Nimbasa City when he crossed paths with Team Prism's Grunt 166. Their meeting began with him simply helping her find her way through the city, until Griffin noticed the old logo of Team Prism on 166's shirt. Curious about its meaning, he asked her about it, and he was introduced to the team. Due to no longer working at the Nimbasa City Pokémon Center and his injuries still affecting his abilities as a Pokémon trainer, Griffin asked to join the team, and 166 agreed. She led him to the team's Unova Base before being taken to the Sinnoh Base, where he signed up under the grunt number 637, chosen by Griffin's motivation to hopefully return to the Relic Castle and challenge the supposed Volcarona that attacked him once more.

### Life in Team Prism

#### Beginning

Griffin began his work in Team Prism soon after his meeting with 166, primarily acting as a medic for the Sinnoh Base under Admin Minty. He continued to be quite cautious of other members of the team, keeping to himself and only really interacting with 166. Overtime he became more open to other members of the team, though almost exclusively through online chats. Not long after he initially joined the team, he embarked on his first major mission.

#### Error Message

Even before he had joined the team, 166 had been planning to investigate an abandoned lab of her father Marvin Ketamis. In order to repay her for offering him a job at Team Prism in the first place, Griffin agreed to join her in this mission, which was set to take place mere days after Griffin had joined the team. It was during this mission where 166 and her brother Skylar discovered their true identities as embodiments of Glitch Pokémon, and they were both taken away by the Unown.

Distraught by 166's absence from the team, Griffin became reclusive once more, hardly interacting with anyone else in the team and simply continuing his work passively. One day, as he walked by the room that 166 used to reside, he discovered something unusual. An unknown Obstagoon had been rummaging through 166's room, seemingly looking for something. It found a picture of 166 and her family, and by its reaction, it became apparent that the Pokémon was searching for 166. Using a piece of paper to communicate, the Pokémon stated that 166, referred to by the name "Care", was supposedly stolen from it by Ketamis and Skylar. Griffin didn't understand what this meant, until a later interaction with Ketamis brought everything to light...

After Ketamis returned from his imprisonment by the Unown, he had begun creating a plan to bring 166 back from where she had been trapped by the Unown, in a distorted realm known as the Glitch World. Griffin volunteered to be the one to enter this world, as he wanted nothing more than to bring 166 back. However, the thought of what the Obstagoon had told him before remained in the back of his thoughts, and he decided to interrogate Ketamis regarding it. Ketamis revealed the truth about everything: to bring 'M (00) into the human world, a sacrifice had to be made. Care was the original owner of 166's body, and she was taken from the world in order to bring 166 into it. Griffin was horrified by this knowledge, but he knew that he couldn't leave 166 in the Glitch World. Griffin agreed to continue with Ketamis' plan, putting aside his rage towards the man's past actions. Griffin's mind was temporarily separated from his physical body, and through this he was able to journey into the Glitch World, where he was able to find 166 and bring her back into the human world, along with another Glitch Pokémon by the name of h POKé.

The journey into the Glitch World did not come without consequences to Griffin, however. Despite the event only seeming to take a short amount of time in the eyes of Griffin himself, he was actually gone for a period of over a month. During this time, the inactivity of his physical body made it difficult for Griffin to readjust, as he had still not been fully used to his hybridized form even before venturing into the Glitch World. His abilities to actually be a part of the team were limited as a result of this, though with time he was able to recover from this and continue his work.

Due to 166 losing her human body upon her capture by the Unown, she had to be contained in the human world through a Furby, severely limiting her physical abilities. Griffin brought the Furby containing her into his room in order to keep care of her in the meantime, hoping that someday in the future it could be possible for her to obtain a more humanoid body. Regardless, things felt as if they were starting to return to a new state of normalcy, until a new problem began to arise.

#### Infinite End

After the events at Ketamis' old lab, the Glitch Unown were formed. These Unown were infected by the effects of the Glitch World from a glitched egg that was found in the lab, and these Unown began to cause problems in the real world. Due to being one of the few people who had direct experience with Glitch Pokémon, Griffin continued to help Ketamis in addressing this problem. He, along with many other members of Team Prism who agreed to help, joined together against this new threat. They ventured off to confront the Glitch Unown, and once they successfully defeated them, returned home after being gone for nearly 8 months.

Just over a year after their return, early in the morning of March 31st, 2022, Griffin seemed to vanish from the team with no notice. With all of his belongings missing from his room in the Team Prism base, it seemed that he had left the team for good, and for nearly 9 months, no attempts to contact the team had been made by him. However, that seemed to change in January, when Sage began attempting to reach out to Lei through the team's server, apologizing for their abrupt departure.

## Relationships

### Familial

#### Matthew Sanford

Matthew Sanford is Griffin's uncle, and he has always had an extremely close relationship with Griffin. He was always kind and understanding towards his nephew, and their bond only strengthened as Griffin grew up. Griffin had always wanted to become a Pokémon trainer, and knowing this, Matthew decided to go against the wishes of Griffin's parents and gift him a Pokémon for his 16th birthday. Griffin was eternally grateful for this gift, but it had the opposite effect on Matthew's relationship with Mason and Lazuli. With Griffin no longer living with them, Matthew began to lose touch with his brother, and Matthew hasn't interacted with any of his family in several years.

#### Lazuli Sanford

Lazuli Sanford is Griffin's mother, and for most of his life they had a good relationship with each other. Though she was against the idea initially, Lazuli tried to be understanding of Griffin's wish to become a Pokémon trainer, though it was clear that this decision led to an eventual straining of their relationship. Griffin didn't visit his home often while on his journey, and they began to stay in contact with each other less and less, even when he did return home. Once he moved to Unova, Lazuli rarely received any contact from Griffin, and they haven't spoken to each other since before the events that unfolded regarding Griffin's encounter with Volcarona.

#### Mason Sanford

Mason Sanford is Griffin's father, and though they also had a fine relationship, Griffin's interactions with his father were somewhat more limited than with his mother. Mason was completely against the idea of Griffin becoming a Pokémon trainer, believing that it was an unstable and dangerous way to live. Though it has been many years since Griffin first left, Mason still resents his brother for what he did, since were it not for Matthew, Griffin likely would have never left on his journey in the first place. Similarly to Griffin's relationship with Lazuli, Mason has not been in contact with Griffin for quite a while, and none of his family is aware of where Griffin currently is.

### Romantic

Griffin has only ever been in one romantic relationship throughout his life, though specifics regarding this relationship have yet to be given.

### Platonic

#### Prism Grunt 166

Prism Grunt 166 is a coworker of Griffin at Team Prism, and the person who introduced him to the team. After his events at the Relic Castle, Griffin began to often avoid interacting with others, afraid of what they may think of him. Despite this, 166 acted kindly towards him, and her offering a job at Team Prism was especially helpful as he could no longer continue his work as a trainer due to his injuries. Griffin began to grow closer with 166 as they interacted more within the team, while he continued to generally avoid people he was not familiar with. His willingness to assist in 166's exploration into her father's work, to the point of even risking his own life to bring her back from the Glitch World, further cemented this friendship. Griffin cares deeply for 166 and hopes to be able to continue to help her in any ways that he can.

#### Marvin Ketamis

Marvin Ketamis is 166's father, and the lead researcher into Glitch Pokémon and the events surrounding them. Griffin initially was kind to Ketamis after they met when he was released from the Unown, as he sympathized with Ketamis' pain of losing 166 and Skylar. Once Griffin was made aware of the truth behind how 166 was brought into the world, however, this changed completely. Griffin now despises Ketamis, believing that his actions were undoubtedly sinister. He continues to help Ketamis solely for 166's sake, and otherwise avoids any interaction with him.

## Pokémon

### Sage (Male Chesnaught)

Sage is Griffin's partner Pokémon and the first Pokémon he ever owned. He was given Sage as a Chespin by his uncle Matthew for his 16th birthday, which marked the beginning of Griffin's journey to become a Pokémon trainer. Sage has a modest nature, often acting more reserved as opposed to Griffin's open personality. He also behaves in a more cautious manner, working as a balance to Griffin's generally more reckless behavior, and he does as much as he can to protect Griffin from danger.

### Cinnabar (Female Shiny Pangoro)

Cinnabar is Griffin's second Pokémon, which he found while on his journey as a trainer. Cinnabar was a Pancham at the time, and was being tormented by a wild Pyroar, so Griffin stepped in to save her from it. He took her in to help her injuries, and eventually made her part of his team. Despite her appearance as a Pangoro, Cinnabar has a gentle nature, and she is caring towards Griffin. She is also quite unsociable, though, and can easily become anxious.

### Vermillion (Male Pyroar)

Vermillion is Griffin's third Pokémon, and he became part of Griffin's team soon after he found Cinnabar. Vermillion was the same Pyroar that had attacked Cinnabar before Griffin intervened, and he took an interest in Griffin after seeing his strength as a Trainer during this event. He began to follow Griffin, and eventually Griffin decided to make him a new addition to his team. Vermillion has a rash nature, and he is similar to Griffin in his lack of planning when making decisions. He is often quick to carelessly jump into battle whenever he feels he is needed, rather than what may be best for the situation at hand. Due to their history, Cinnabar and Vermillion do not get along well with each other, and because of this Griffin generally avoids having them both released from their Poké Balls at the same time.

### Amaranth (Male Wurmple)

Amaranth was given to Griffin as a gift from Prism Grunt 166, as he was the one to take care of her Pokémon when she was absent from Team Prism. Amaranth began to imprint on Griffin due to him hatching while under Griffin's care, which led to 166's decision to gift the Pokémon to him.

## Trivia

* Griffin's Pokémon all have the common theme of being named after specific colors that are roughly similar to the colors of the Pokémon itself. Their names also all have connections to objects in nature, particularly plants and minerals.
* The names of Cinnabar and Vermillion correspond to each other, with vermillion being a natural pigment derived from the mineral cinnabar. This is in reference to these Pokémon's history with each other and how they both joined Griffin's team at the same time.
* Despite Cinnabar obviously being a Shiny Pokémon, Griffin is actually unaware of this fact due to his lack of knowledge of Shiny Pokémon as a whole, and he does not truly realize her rarity.