The Rain That Watered The Lillie

Ever After, Chapter Three: The House Of Otoko

3 weeks later...

I rushed to the airport, Retro had invited us, and by us, I mean, me, Hau, and Gladion, to Erukusu Town in the Sokoku Region for a celebration they call Shūnin-shiki, which is the selection and inauguration of a new gym leader.

"Sun! bro! I'm hyped for this thing!" Hau said running up to me at the gate terminal

"take it easy, we were invited by the champion" I replied

"no, you take it easy, brother, we're gonna be there for two weeks, you may wanna visit the hot springs of Mount Reinetsu while we're there" Gladion piped in

we chatted about the festival, eventually our group is called, and we get on the flight.

eventually the plane landed, we walked out of the airport, and a tall, heavy, grey haired man came up to us.

"are you Sun Kagayaku?" the man asked

"yeah?" I replied

"name's Ace Otoko, you know my son, Retro" he grunted "please come with me"

"why couldn't Retro show up himself?" Gladion asked

"as the champion of Sokoku, he plays a big part in the festivities,"

"you guys have a league? that's so cool!" Hau piped in

"in fact, League Season starts in a few days, I'm sure Retro would be delighted if you three were to participate"

"alright, I'm guessing you have to go around and do the 8 badges thing?" I asked

"no, this league is different, anyone can enter the league, and it's more like a tournament, people battle each other, the winner moves up. I'll explain more later"

he led us to a truck, we got in, and drove to Erukusu Town, we pulled up by the gym, a man with reddish hair came out to greet us as we walked through the door

"are you Retro's company, I'm Hauringu Otoko, his younger brother, we turned this gym into a sort of home, we live here"

"I'm Sun Kagayaku, the champion of Alola," I held out my hand

"pleased to meet you, Mr. Kagayaku, I wasn't much of a trainer back then, so I turned to general studies while my brother was on his journey, and now I'm an aspiring trainer"

we continued moving

"name's Hau, I'm the Kahuna of Melemele Island, as this man, right here, is Sun's brother in law, Gladion Aether!" Hau said

"pleasure, might I tour you around the gym and tell about the history of prestigious Otoko Family?"

we nod in sequence, he toured us around and explained that

"our big history starts with our great grandfather, who went by the name of Taiyo Otoko, he was the one who brought Pokémon Training to this region from Johto, our grandfather Ace Otoko Sr. was the first Sokoku League Champion, who's signature pokemon was a mere Squirtle, fun fact, the Blastoise Retro uses, is that same Squirtle, just evolved, after him it's our Uncle Kazake, then, it was our own father, who passed the torch of champion onto Retro, I'm hoping my brother does the same to me"

he led us to the three guest bedrooms, each with a different portrait of an Otoko Champion

to think, Retro has that much weight on his shoulders, three champions, each one better than the last. he's trying to live up to his family name.

I unpacked my shit, and fell right on the bed, I fell asleep almost instantly

the next morning I'd woken up and changed into something more decent than yesterday. I walked out into the hall. and I saw a shadow that wasn't mine.

"morning sunshine!" I heard

"good morning Retro, where have you been, you missed our arrival." I responded

"league work, festival work, and a little bit of training myself, I've gotta be sharp if I'm gonna be facing Alola's champion in a 6 on 6 match in the finals"

I turned to look at the guy, he was wearing a tank top, sport pants, and sneakers, his usual sunglasses adorned his sweaty face, but they were accompanied by a towel wrapped around his neck.

"you heard about that? from who?" I ask

Retro smirked "who do you think, the old man told me that three people from Alola were gonna be in the league. I had to guess it was you"

"I heard a story from your brother, apparently there hasn't been a league champion that wasn't an Otoko?"

"yeah, that's true, my brother, thinks he can take me on, only thing is, I won my first few leagues with blind luck, it was only when I learned what I taught you, that my strategy was secure. that's why my bets are on you"

"why does that matter?"

"because I know who the better trainer is, my brother thinks he's a good trainer because of his blood, you are a good trainer because of your skill" he smirked again "alright pal, whaddya say you get ready for the festival, there's a reason I asked you to bring a kimono"