This is Weekly Sketch #55 overall.

So this is a Sandshrew character I created in 2010 named Derek, and he is one of Roy's deceased and little spoken-of friends. This character's mother had deceived Roy into thinking she was on his side, but had secretly schemed to turn him in to the mayor of Treasure Town in return for a steep cash reward. Her son found out about this evil plan when one of the mayor's minions had placed an ill-timed phone call to their house, and left a message on her answering machine about doing away with Derek's new Rattata buddy. He helped him escape, and just as the mother was about to kidnap Roy, she discovered he was missing. If not for this loyal and bold Sandshrew, Roy would've long been dead.

I've always really liked Sandshrew, and I felt it was appropriate he would be a selfless, dedicated, caring, and slightly pugnacious character. His short life had been riddled with emotional and physical trauma, and one of the few purposes he ever found during his life was to fight for his friends. Here, he is fighting some unknown Pokémon bigger than himself, but is clearly not backing down.

I am questioning whether I should explain Derek's life in further detail, but even I'm hesitant to dive into it because there's some pretty...dark and morbid stuff...