Ian McCarroll is the younger (though not by much) of two brothers born to a single mother in Cerulean City. He and his brother Chance grew up in a fairly hostile environment with nobody but each other to count on for the most part. Given their less than intimidating species the pair were often the subject of bullies and their ilk. Chance would always take the protective older brother route while Ian would usually spend his efforts out-thinking their mutual enemies or figuring out how to get away with things without getting caught.

Ian would also put his natural charm to good use, often getting through confrontations diplomatically or at least by confusing their opponents enough that they forgot what they were even about to fight about. Though Chance is often disdainful of this, the truth is that Ian's quick wit and charm probably got them out of more trouble than Chance's fists did. Not that Ian doesn't have the ability to swing his own, there were many situations where fighting was the only option and the younger brother has proven to be just as capable as the older, even if he stresses finesse over power.

A few years ago the family moved to Viridian City, their mother's hard work paying off. The pair set out making sure they got the respect they had fought for back home, usually aggressively. Wanting for her sons to take a better direction with their lives their mother sent in applications for the Poke-Combat Academy. After review, evaluation, and better than expected test scores both brothers were admitted, immediately starting up Team Pink - a two 'mon team. The team name was Ian's idea, he thought it amusingly appropriate given their coloration and thought the team name would serve to taunt their opponents more than them.

Since then the pair have done very well as a two-'mon team even though that particular arrangement isn't very popular at the academy and hence they're not quite so well known. While Ian is no slower to stand up for himself or his brother than Chance is, he's more cerebral about it, figuring if he can just make a potential enemy look foolish and avoid the fight altogether it may as well count for a victory. But failing that he has a wide-open bag of tricks and the cunning to exploit them to the fullest.