Red's a quirky boy who hasn't had much in the way of formal education - it just doesn't work whenever his parents try. Either he gets bullied too much for being short and mute or he just can't keep up academically. He's crashed and burned spectacularly several times now. They've given up on typical routes and have instead taken to hiring tutors to teach him, which goes much better. It's difficult to diagnose if he has any known neural abnormalities because he's mute and mostly illiterate, so he can't really answer questions.

He can read and write a little, but learning to communicate has been especially difficult and tends to frustrate him, since he can't just do it, like other people can. What does work well for him is exposure to animals: feeding them, taking care of them, playing with them, and so on.... Fortunately, his family owns and runs a small pet store and shelter. He's used to animals and connects to them much more easily than he does to humans. He's snuck down to sleep in the store or shelter many times. *

His home was destroyed by a fairly recent storm, and while his parents were able to work something out with a hotel, the place didn't have room for Red or animals for him to connect with. Instead, they rented an apartment for him in a building known to be full of cats. He's moved in with his tutor.

*nts figure out how the hell to handle Pikachu

"The Trainer's not the kind of man
To keep his thumb jammed in the dam
That holds his dreams in
But that's a secret only Pikachu knows
When Mt. Silver is golden in the summer
Pikachu brings him breakfast
She understands him
Although his voice and words faded long ago
He's mute as he can be
But Pikachu only hears that sometimes
She still sees her fearless trainer in his eyes
Let us go to the banks of the ocean
Where the winds whip out across the sea
Long ago, I used to be a Champion
Dear Pikachu remembers that for me
The Trainer still wear fingerless gloves
His cap and jacket are patched with the love
That Pikachu sewed there
Sometimes he thinks he's still in Pallet Town
He watches battles on the roads
And waves at them
When he thinks he knows the trainers
'Til Pikachu comes to lead him back home
Through unforgiving caves
That confuse him though she knows the way
Sometimes she's too fast and he cries, thinking that he's alone
Let us go to the banks of the ocean
Where the winds whip out across the sea
Long ago, I used to be a Champion
Dear Pikachu remembers that for me
The seasons whirl new decades in
She wraps a scarf around him
They sit in the mountain
There's no one to pity them up there
He sees her for a moment
Pikachu bring him a blanket
And reminds him to eat
He's lost track of the
Days, months, and years
In timeless silence
They live alone, forgotten by the world
The Trainer dozes off and Pikachu tucks him in
Let us go to the banks of the ocean
Where the winds whip out across the sea
Long ago, I used to be a Champion
Dear Pikachu remembers that for me
Dear Pikachu remembers that for me"