Overview
Born in a Junkyard, Sparta hails from the depths of urban Celadon city, in the Pokemon Islands. Once a scruffy houndour (fire/dark element puppy monster) he spent a lot of time fighting among other wild animals for food and survival, and that lead to his evolving into the Houndoom (fire/dark element Hound Monster) he is today. Looking out only for himself, Sparta is unwilling to be owned by any human. If an alliance is needed, however, he is willing to work alongside humans and others. His ability to use both fire and dark elements of energy make him formidable as an opponant against many other types; however he is not without weaknesses. Water, and Fairy type elements are his two major element weaknesses, while past injuries and advanced age effect his physical state.
Perks
Dual Type: Sparta is able to use fire, and dark element attacks as a Fire/Dark Monster.
As a houndoom, Sparta's main elements are fire and dark. He is capable of breathing fire, as well as being able to control who his fire does and does not burn. He is also capable of spitting off balls of it at others in battle, setting himself on fire, and also withstanding incredible heat (even that of magma). He is also able to make use of dark elemental attacks, such as formidable, painful bites of dark venom (which do not actually poison, but can cause a lingering pain.)
Fire Fang: A nasty bite that can sometimes leave a lasting burn.
One of Sparta's more prominent attacks uses both his ability of breathing fire, and his ability to pack a nasty bite, combining the two into a super-heated chomping attack known as Fire Fang. He superheats his saliva to a point of boiling before he takes a bite; leaving the spittle behind to cause a burn if the victim is not properly insulated.
Inferno< Edge >: Engulfed with flames, Sparta unleashes a wall of fire upon his opponent.
By literally summoning all of his fire energy from within, Sparta is capable of setting himself ablaze, and then flinging the resulting fire at whomever he is fighting. This can and usually will disintegrate most plastics, liquefy glass, and slightly melt or soften metals. However the use of this attack takes a lot of effort, and it thus cannot be used more than once per battle; Sparta usually uses this as his ultimate last resort.
Seasoned Fighter: A tooth and claw fighter, Sparta has spent all his life fighting to survive.
Sparta is no kludge at combat; he has spent his entire life fighting tooth, claw, and firebreath for his existence and right to live, as well as his right to remain free. He uses speed, agility, and brute strength, but is not above use of extreme fire or the occasional dirty trick when it comes down to it. Despite this, he is also not a fool; and isn't afraid to flee if he must to fight another day.
Hunting Dog: As a species built for tracking and pursuit, Sparta is a skilled hunter.
Houndoom are built for hunting, not just in packs, but over long distances. He is keen of nose, capable of catching a scent even in the rain, and able to follow it for quite some time. Also, like all dogs, he is built with the stamina of a persistence hunter; meaning he is capable of following his prey or target for long periods of time over great distance in order to tire them out or else to track them to their den.
Trickery: Like all Dark types, Sparta can use shadows to play dirty in a fight.
A lot of Dark element attacks make use of shadows and tricks on the mind to work. For example, Feint Attack uses redirection to distract the opponant and get in a fast attack. Attacks like Taunt are used to direct the other fighter's attention back to the user. Thief relies on distracting the target with minor damage (like a slap upside the head) to disguise an attempt to steal an item.
Complications
Temper: A short fuse is not this dog's friend.
To prove a stereotype, Sparta is in short a hot head. He has little patience for fools, and only tolerates younger individuals by virtue of the fact that they simply can't have learned yet what not to do. Likewise, he is prone to fits of anger when irritated by things, which of course turns him into a ball of angry fire and fangs. Such things include people treating him like a dumb animal, people babytalking at him, people trying to capture him, and people openly attempting to irritate him.
Weakness to Water: Fire and Water do not good companions make.
While rain, rivers, the ocean, and other forms of natural, ambivalent water do him no direct harm as they are simply forces of nature, direct use of water in the form of a hose, a water-element attack, or other similar methods can cause him pain and deal him harm. Sitting out in the elements is not going to endanger his health greatly (it may make him more susceptible to aches and pains and illness); counterwise, someone attempting to attack him with a blast of water, such as a water type's hydro pump, will certainly weaken him.
Physical Limits: Sparta is not in the best of shape, despite his stubborn denial otherwise.
Sparta is not a young dog; at the age of 18, he's reached the edge of what some would consider prime life, and is starting to enter his elder years; this brings upon him a host of aches and pains, as well as limitations. His back leg (right) has seen a bad injury in the past that has left him with a limp; his left eye is slightly less effective than his right due to similar circumstance. And contrary to his firm belief, he is starting to lose his ability to track over long distances. Bringing these infirmities up, however, is bound to cause trouble; Sparta vehemently denies his age and limits, and is prone to overworking himself in defiance of these unwelcome boundaries.
Weakness to Fairy: Dark element type pokemon are weak to Fairy element type.
Fairy element type attacks are prone to doing double the damage to Sparta; if a fairy type pokemon were to use hit him, he will be weak to the damage they use upon him. As an example, the attack Play Rough; the user plays rough with the target and attacks it physically. Such an attack would deal double the damage upon Sparta. This also translates to damage from creatures of a fey or fae nature; their magics will work overly well upon Sparta, even if it is simply a matter of confusion, trickery, and deception spun through a glamour.