Post by monkfish on May 6, 2020 22:14:22 GMT -8
Trainer Profile
Character Name: Eiji Gotō
Nickname: Edge, Edgy, G
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Trainer Class: Aroma Lady (Male)
Hometown: Kotoba City, East Godai
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 187 lbs
APPEARANCE
Hair Color & Style:
When Eiji was a kid, he was known not only for his family name but also for his unruly orange hair. As if a natural reference to the neighboring forest he always loved to visit, his mane rose to touch the sky itself. Or at least always looked like it was attempting to. Through the years, he's managed to keep it short but now takes great pride in keeping it in great shape: thick, bouncy, and perfect for a shampoo commercial.
Eyes:
Eiji takes his eyes after his mother's: shaped like almonds, his favorite nut, and green like emeralds and the neighboring forest itself. What they took from his father is their ability to never fail to grow wide at least once a day, a go-to expression Eiji has learned to adopt for both good and bad reasons. They perfectly complement his features, if not enhance them. If eyes were truly the window to someone's soul, then Eiji's could trick most people into believing his soul was just as beautiful. Finding one's self locked in a staredown with him is both a gift and a terrible, irresistible nightmare.
Clothing/Accessories:
Eiji's wardrobe, his choice of clothing, is nothing short of impressive. Not a single article on him is ever wasted. Everything is always there for a purpose, even if the purpose is simply to catch someone else's attention. In a crowd of thousands, he stands out, easily spotted, through his affinity for the color green, his usual signature style of sleek coat with fur around the collar to keep himself warm whenever it gets too cold, his white harmonious ensemble of shoes and pants and top with gold and green highlights, an equally white bow tie and rose for his shirt pocket, and of course the expensive emerald brooch around his neck as well as the expensive jade earrings.
When the weather gets too hot for all that clothing, or when he needs to be somewhere he doesn't feel sufficiently guarded, Eiji goes for the more "mid-class" designer polo shirt coupled with loose denim jeans or similarly loose white shorts. Often, he'll add a green hat with a white cloth wrapped around the base and a pair of dark green sunglasses to still maintain his mystique. In place of his expensive emerald brooch would be a black organic necklace, reminiscent of those authentic island wears, and maybe even a bunch of the same around his right wrist. As an alternative, he keeps a long white scarf but adds a green overcoat on top of everything else.
Eiji might not be as big on fashion as everyone else, at least he think he isn't, but he definitely knows a thing or two about the latest trends. He endeavors to keep his wardrobe always updated with the current flow of couture. Even when he pretends to never think much of things, a sly effort to look more carefree than he actually is, his appearance and his Pokemon are two things that he will always prioritize. It's just how he was raised.
General Appearance:
To say that Eiji is attractive would be an understatement. He's definitely one of those guys girls want to be with and other guys want to become. That is, as long as he doesn't get mistaken for a girl, which often happens because of his effeminate features and nature. Despite his underlying vanity, misguided often times, he does give off a positive vibe, being seen always smiling, always appearing like he cares more about others than himself. Sometimes, that's true. Often, it's fueled by something else. The mystique that washes over him is perhaps the primary reason why anyone would find themselves attractive to him. He has his physical gifts, sure, but that something else, that something no one can figure what but everyone wants to be around, has always been his main hook.
Eiji's build is slender, lithe, which doesn't help him not get mistaken for a girl. He has never been particularly muscular, and he believes he never will be, but he has always been slim. It's more likely a product of genetics, as evident by his family's similar body structure, though his eating habits (or lack thereof) has helped over the years. That's not to say that he doesn't eat a lot, if mostly only well, as he gorges on salads and have little penchant for fatty meats. He's also a very sneaky "snacker".
Considering Eiji was raised with the knowledge that he is an attractive young man, he tends to walk the streets of Kotoba with overflowing confidence. Sometimes, he crosses the line between confidence and arrogance, though he always quickly jumps back to the former rather than stay at the latter. He knows how arrogance can lead to a terrible downfall. He would rather not give others an opportunity to see him differently, to see him other than the perfect bachelor. He has his name to protect. He has his family's business to promote.
When Eiji was a kid, he was known not only for his family name but also for his unruly orange hair. As if a natural reference to the neighboring forest he always loved to visit, his mane rose to touch the sky itself. Or at least always looked like it was attempting to. Through the years, he's managed to keep it short but now takes great pride in keeping it in great shape: thick, bouncy, and perfect for a shampoo commercial.
Eyes:
Eiji takes his eyes after his mother's: shaped like almonds, his favorite nut, and green like emeralds and the neighboring forest itself. What they took from his father is their ability to never fail to grow wide at least once a day, a go-to expression Eiji has learned to adopt for both good and bad reasons. They perfectly complement his features, if not enhance them. If eyes were truly the window to someone's soul, then Eiji's could trick most people into believing his soul was just as beautiful. Finding one's self locked in a staredown with him is both a gift and a terrible, irresistible nightmare.
Clothing/Accessories:
Eiji's wardrobe, his choice of clothing, is nothing short of impressive. Not a single article on him is ever wasted. Everything is always there for a purpose, even if the purpose is simply to catch someone else's attention. In a crowd of thousands, he stands out, easily spotted, through his affinity for the color green, his usual signature style of sleek coat with fur around the collar to keep himself warm whenever it gets too cold, his white harmonious ensemble of shoes and pants and top with gold and green highlights, an equally white bow tie and rose for his shirt pocket, and of course the expensive emerald brooch around his neck as well as the expensive jade earrings.
When the weather gets too hot for all that clothing, or when he needs to be somewhere he doesn't feel sufficiently guarded, Eiji goes for the more "mid-class" designer polo shirt coupled with loose denim jeans or similarly loose white shorts. Often, he'll add a green hat with a white cloth wrapped around the base and a pair of dark green sunglasses to still maintain his mystique. In place of his expensive emerald brooch would be a black organic necklace, reminiscent of those authentic island wears, and maybe even a bunch of the same around his right wrist. As an alternative, he keeps a long white scarf but adds a green overcoat on top of everything else.
Eiji might not be as big on fashion as everyone else, at least he think he isn't, but he definitely knows a thing or two about the latest trends. He endeavors to keep his wardrobe always updated with the current flow of couture. Even when he pretends to never think much of things, a sly effort to look more carefree than he actually is, his appearance and his Pokemon are two things that he will always prioritize. It's just how he was raised.
General Appearance:
To say that Eiji is attractive would be an understatement. He's definitely one of those guys girls want to be with and other guys want to become. That is, as long as he doesn't get mistaken for a girl, which often happens because of his effeminate features and nature. Despite his underlying vanity, misguided often times, he does give off a positive vibe, being seen always smiling, always appearing like he cares more about others than himself. Sometimes, that's true. Often, it's fueled by something else. The mystique that washes over him is perhaps the primary reason why anyone would find themselves attractive to him. He has his physical gifts, sure, but that something else, that something no one can figure what but everyone wants to be around, has always been his main hook.
Eiji's build is slender, lithe, which doesn't help him not get mistaken for a girl. He has never been particularly muscular, and he believes he never will be, but he has always been slim. It's more likely a product of genetics, as evident by his family's similar body structure, though his eating habits (or lack thereof) has helped over the years. That's not to say that he doesn't eat a lot, if mostly only well, as he gorges on salads and have little penchant for fatty meats. He's also a very sneaky "snacker".
Considering Eiji was raised with the knowledge that he is an attractive young man, he tends to walk the streets of Kotoba with overflowing confidence. Sometimes, he crosses the line between confidence and arrogance, though he always quickly jumps back to the former rather than stay at the latter. He knows how arrogance can lead to a terrible downfall. He would rather not give others an opportunity to see him differently, to see him other than the perfect bachelor. He has his name to protect. He has his family's business to promote.
PERSONALITY
Personality:
It's hard to catch Eiji not smiling, which makes people think it's just his thing. He's just the attractive young man who won't, maybe even can't, stop smiling, who knows he's attractive from head to toe, a charmer who isn't afraid to use his charms to their full potential, though no one ever suspects there's anything more to him than just a bleeding heart, a kind soul whose heart is always on his sleeves, and that's how he likes it. That's just how he was raised. Most often than not, he does his part, even going out of his way to help others, but that's just the Gotō in him. His compassion was something he inherited from his mother while his emphasis on appearances was gifted by his father. His grandmother would always espouse her wisdom when it comes to caring for others and keeping up his heavenly image (while doing the complete opposite), and Eiji has ingrained her teachings in his everyday life. His family comes first to him, they are his world, and he loves each and every one of them, both the good and the bad in each of them. Their business and influence come a close second.
His love for art is something that he got all on his own. There is an artist inside of Eiji, and it drives most of his urges, fuels his passion, and excites his instincts. A battle is not a battle if there is no beauty involved. To him, beauty is aesthetics. If what he sees makes him feel, whether it's sorrow or happiness, then it's already beautiful. He believes that art, and in turn beauty, is the purest celebration of life—something that which we cannot control, we can at least embrace and absorb, make the most of it all, of what we have, and in a sense, be more than what we believe ourselves to be. By battling, regardless of the outcome, we become one with our allies and even our enemies, perhaps even expand our very existence, our humanity. Eiji always thinks of his competition as opportunities for collaboration on a masterpiece, the grandest of expression, self-expansion. Losing might be painful but it's not as painful when the match more than lives up to a competitor's personal standards for aesthetics.
Eiji is not blind to the necessity of money, however, and often falls prey to the lure of luxury, especially considering his birthright. Although he's not greedy to his core per se, he still has an eye on shiny things. Sometimes, when he finds himself caught between doing the right thing and getting away with as much dians as possible, it would take him a few seconds to realize the right thing always trumps finances. Does he part ways with some of his wealth in order to give to the needy? Or does he simply turn a blind-eye and retain all his worldly possessions for his own self? Should he share his food with children and the homeless he passes by? Or does he keep his food and question the whereabouts of those children's parents and why those homeless are homeless? In the end, doing the right thing, being a better person, sharing what you have with everyone who needs help, these things are far more important than serving only his own wants. The truth may be that no one can buy new clothes and a bunch of other stuff with thank yous, and sometimes one does good only to still end up needing to pay the rent, but it does feel much better, so much better, to share a part of your world with the less fortunate, and for Eiji, that much is true, that much makes everyday a good day for him.
Besides, doing just that is a great way to make friends, though Eiji is never short of friends anywhere he goes. A natural with his words and touch, Eiji is able to make friends with just about anyone. Whether those friendships last long or not is out of his concern. Primarily, he just wants to expand his social circles, but he believes it wouldn't hurt to have more friends than necessary. The more, the merrier, and the more favors, the better. This is precisely how Eiji sees the world: A giant opportunity to expand his social circles and in turn gain more favors and opportunities than necessary.
Of course, even if he seems like it, Eiji is far from perfect. He isn't flawless. Like most connoisseurs of art, Eiji finds beauty, inspiration, in tragedy, and what better source of inspiration, what more tragic inspiration, than his own life. Sure, Eiji comes from a well-off family, bred and sheltered far from the true tragedy that is the real world, the world outside his family mansion, but he, on his own, has suffered something that still haunts him to this day.
Her name was Yumi, and she was special, both because to him she was the most beautiful girl he had and will ever lay eyes on and also because she was the first and has been the only girl so far to reject his affections. He had known him all his life, as their family were close. Yumi could've been just one of the many faces that turn red at the sight of him but those eyes of hers, shaped like almonds and green as his family garden, were far more than memorable. In fact, even to this day, they haunt Eiji, a source of nightmares, and in dark days, sadness. They not only remind him of her rejection but also of the fact that his heart belongs to her and only her yet she does not want any part of it. Not a lot of young men would take to their first heartbreak as anything more than an afterthought but she was not just her first, she was also his only heartbreak.
Since her, Eiji has been like a butterfly, fluttering from one girl to another, all of whom have made him realize the power of his charm, yet the very existence of Yumi won't let him stop questioning his own worth. All these girls think him attractive, so why can't, won't, Yumi? Even after all this time, Eiji is still trying to figure out why Yumi could not love him. It's his greatest flaw, the very memory of Yumi. The sheer thought of her doesn't make him feel angry rather deeply saddened. Outside of his family, she was his strongest connection and her rejection had made him unable to even try and strengthen other connections. Maybe she was why he can't find himself lasting long in relationships. Maybe she was why he won't stop trying to find a version of her to fall for him.
Subconsciously, Eiji does understand that this thing with Yumi needs to go, that it's a weight on his shoulders, his heart, that he must do away with in order to continue growing positively as a person. Unfortunately, every time he tries to face the Yumi in his head, he can never do anything else but question, doubt, his very purpose. How does he cope? With Pokemon, of course! A battle here, a battle there, a masterpiece everywhere! Nothing takes his mind off of his own shortcomings than experiencing art.
It's hard to catch Eiji not smiling, which makes people think it's just his thing. He's just the attractive young man who won't, maybe even can't, stop smiling, who knows he's attractive from head to toe, a charmer who isn't afraid to use his charms to their full potential, though no one ever suspects there's anything more to him than just a bleeding heart, a kind soul whose heart is always on his sleeves, and that's how he likes it. That's just how he was raised. Most often than not, he does his part, even going out of his way to help others, but that's just the Gotō in him. His compassion was something he inherited from his mother while his emphasis on appearances was gifted by his father. His grandmother would always espouse her wisdom when it comes to caring for others and keeping up his heavenly image (while doing the complete opposite), and Eiji has ingrained her teachings in his everyday life. His family comes first to him, they are his world, and he loves each and every one of them, both the good and the bad in each of them. Their business and influence come a close second.
His love for art is something that he got all on his own. There is an artist inside of Eiji, and it drives most of his urges, fuels his passion, and excites his instincts. A battle is not a battle if there is no beauty involved. To him, beauty is aesthetics. If what he sees makes him feel, whether it's sorrow or happiness, then it's already beautiful. He believes that art, and in turn beauty, is the purest celebration of life—something that which we cannot control, we can at least embrace and absorb, make the most of it all, of what we have, and in a sense, be more than what we believe ourselves to be. By battling, regardless of the outcome, we become one with our allies and even our enemies, perhaps even expand our very existence, our humanity. Eiji always thinks of his competition as opportunities for collaboration on a masterpiece, the grandest of expression, self-expansion. Losing might be painful but it's not as painful when the match more than lives up to a competitor's personal standards for aesthetics.
Eiji is not blind to the necessity of money, however, and often falls prey to the lure of luxury, especially considering his birthright. Although he's not greedy to his core per se, he still has an eye on shiny things. Sometimes, when he finds himself caught between doing the right thing and getting away with as much dians as possible, it would take him a few seconds to realize the right thing always trumps finances. Does he part ways with some of his wealth in order to give to the needy? Or does he simply turn a blind-eye and retain all his worldly possessions for his own self? Should he share his food with children and the homeless he passes by? Or does he keep his food and question the whereabouts of those children's parents and why those homeless are homeless? In the end, doing the right thing, being a better person, sharing what you have with everyone who needs help, these things are far more important than serving only his own wants. The truth may be that no one can buy new clothes and a bunch of other stuff with thank yous, and sometimes one does good only to still end up needing to pay the rent, but it does feel much better, so much better, to share a part of your world with the less fortunate, and for Eiji, that much is true, that much makes everyday a good day for him.
Besides, doing just that is a great way to make friends, though Eiji is never short of friends anywhere he goes. A natural with his words and touch, Eiji is able to make friends with just about anyone. Whether those friendships last long or not is out of his concern. Primarily, he just wants to expand his social circles, but he believes it wouldn't hurt to have more friends than necessary. The more, the merrier, and the more favors, the better. This is precisely how Eiji sees the world: A giant opportunity to expand his social circles and in turn gain more favors and opportunities than necessary.
Of course, even if he seems like it, Eiji is far from perfect. He isn't flawless. Like most connoisseurs of art, Eiji finds beauty, inspiration, in tragedy, and what better source of inspiration, what more tragic inspiration, than his own life. Sure, Eiji comes from a well-off family, bred and sheltered far from the true tragedy that is the real world, the world outside his family mansion, but he, on his own, has suffered something that still haunts him to this day.
Her name was Yumi, and she was special, both because to him she was the most beautiful girl he had and will ever lay eyes on and also because she was the first and has been the only girl so far to reject his affections. He had known him all his life, as their family were close. Yumi could've been just one of the many faces that turn red at the sight of him but those eyes of hers, shaped like almonds and green as his family garden, were far more than memorable. In fact, even to this day, they haunt Eiji, a source of nightmares, and in dark days, sadness. They not only remind him of her rejection but also of the fact that his heart belongs to her and only her yet she does not want any part of it. Not a lot of young men would take to their first heartbreak as anything more than an afterthought but she was not just her first, she was also his only heartbreak.
Since her, Eiji has been like a butterfly, fluttering from one girl to another, all of whom have made him realize the power of his charm, yet the very existence of Yumi won't let him stop questioning his own worth. All these girls think him attractive, so why can't, won't, Yumi? Even after all this time, Eiji is still trying to figure out why Yumi could not love him. It's his greatest flaw, the very memory of Yumi. The sheer thought of her doesn't make him feel angry rather deeply saddened. Outside of his family, she was his strongest connection and her rejection had made him unable to even try and strengthen other connections. Maybe she was why he can't find himself lasting long in relationships. Maybe she was why he won't stop trying to find a version of her to fall for him.
Subconsciously, Eiji does understand that this thing with Yumi needs to go, that it's a weight on his shoulders, his heart, that he must do away with in order to continue growing positively as a person. Unfortunately, every time he tries to face the Yumi in his head, he can never do anything else but question, doubt, his very purpose. How does he cope? With Pokemon, of course! A battle here, a battle there, a masterpiece everywhere! Nothing takes his mind off of his own shortcomings than experiencing art.
HISTORY
History:
Born the first child and only son to a rich family who owns a herbal medicine empire in Kotoba City, Eiji had to content with the long-standing belief that the first Gotō patriarch was but a lowly housekeeper who not long after rose to power after inheriting his employer's riches, including the herbal medicine empire that has made the family grow steadily in power and riches over the years. Eiji's younger sister is indifferent to that belief. With Eiji having expressed numerous times that he would instead do something else than take over the family business, Hikari has brought it upon herself to fulfill the family legacy by inheriting and taking care of it in his stead. Like Eiji, however, she has strong ties to another form of art: music.
The current Gotō patriarch, Eiji's father Ryuki, is quite the ambitious socialite. Although he holds no real position in the family business, his desire to see his family grow stronger is rivaled by none. Unfortunately, Ryuki isn't quite as well-loved in Kotoba City as he thinks he is, though he has most of the more powerful people in his friends list. It's just maybe because he isn't as charismatic as his children. While their mother Haruka thinks their father is at least admirable for trying, their grandmother Haruhime isn't one to mince words and never fails to admonish their father as a buffoon. As funny as it can sometimes be, hearing their older than old grandmother make fun of their oblivious and pompous father, it does get offensive. Eiji loves both his parents equality, despite his mother being warmer and his father being stricter, considering them both two pieces necessary for his own existence: Without one, he wouldn't be who he was (He loves his grandmother more than both of them, though, considering she was way more hilarious than either parent). Regardless, despite their similarity with most dysfunctional families, the Gotōs make a grand show of appearing otherwise.
While Ryuki instilled in his children the importance of keeping appearances, both Haruhime and Haruka taught both of them the true value of the masks they're supposed to wear whenever in public, with Haruhime being more crass as usual than Haruka. Their mother would always not only lecture them on compassion and empathy but also show them firsthand why and how it helps the soul of both the giver and the receiver. While Hikari had always the better knack for generosity, Eiji was not far behind, crippled only by his penchant for shiny things. When caught between doing the right thing and getting away with something material, Hikari would never hesitate to choose the former while Eiji would take more than a minute to convince himself to go for the former, always needing to remind himself that he is rich and could afford to buy it later (the temptation of having beautiful things, objects or more, right away has always been his weakness).
Growing up, Eiji was used to being the first child and only son. He was considered both the smart one, a cunning mind who knows all and can solve all, and the gallant one, as brave as he is skilled. The younger Hikari ended up being the cute one, which she didn't really mind initially until it became apparent to her that she would never be viewed as smart as or as great as Eiji, at least that was how she felt when they still children. To be fair, Eiji didn't really like Hikari when she was born: It slowly became an issue to him that she became the cutest of the Gotō household, being the youngest, which immediately made her by default way cuter. As the children spent more and more time with each other, however, they simply realized that they could be stronger together.
That was true, more or less, for Hikari who had no one else but Eiji. Hikari, in turn, took a lot of things from Eiji. Because he was mainly the only one around her age who spent any time with her, she ended up idolizing him, doing the things he loved to do, loving the things he had a special place in his heart for. They became inseparable, one and the same, with most people thinking that they were actually twins. Their special bond made them protective of each other. Through Eiji, Hikari realized that she didn't need to be as smart as and as great as him. She only needed to be there for others to see her as better than "smart" and "great."
That realization was something that had been somewhat slowly programmed into their brain by their mother's lectures on compassion and kindness (their father's was mostly about looking the part, which pretty much was easier for the siblings to get into because they already had a special place in their hearts for colors and fashion and looking great), the same lectures that were close to unbearable to Eiji as a young child. The presence of his sister, who found it more enjoyable and even tried to make him feel the same way about them, made it at least worthwhile. Eiji was rich, he wasn't going to be poor, these things he thought were going to be true forever, and even to this day, they still seem to be facts. Yet, he didn't need to be poor to realize the truth behind his mother's lectures.
His early schooling found him in a prestigious school for, well, rich kids, and he got along with everyone, primarily because he was rich and attractive and children don't really care past those two things. One of his classmates, however, was not like them. He was, in fact, the son of a gardener for a wealthy family, a gardener rumored to be the lover of a rich wife (in truth, the gardener was just a really great guy who was loved by his employers). To Eiji, this child was an oddity. He didn't speak like most of them, didn't act like a rich kid. He was just there, seemingly excited to learn, an excitement that seemed like insanity to most children their age. So Eiji befriended him, and through him, quickly understood that there were people who were not like them, not like him, not like his family. There were others less fortunate. Through this child, Eiji realized the weight of his mother's lectures, and so he was enlightened. That was his first exposure to the real world, something his mother and grandmother was proud of.
As he grew older, his social relationships expanded. He wasn't just making friends with rich kids, he was now making friends with other kids regardless of their family's income. Eiji found great joy in knowing more people different from him and took great delight in widening his demographic. From a few friends to more than necessary, he was quick to realize the value of having more than enough favors. Because he grew up rich, money was no object to him. To his own breed, it wasn't a question of whether who had money to spare rather a question of who had more people to count on. As Eiji met people with less, he found he could be an asset to them with his money but their lack of adequate funds wouldn't make them the same to him. Then he remembered that quick lesson from his childhood about favors, from when no one traded with money, having more than necessary, but with influence: He was able to get the advantage over a rival in "love" using only favors from friends despite that said rival spending a lot of his money on complete strangers. Sometimes, he began to realize, influence can be far more profitable than actual money.
Soon, he saw familiar things differently as well. In particular, his friendship with Yumi since childhood has turned into something far more complicated. At least, it was to him. Yumi was the daughter of his father's bestfriend from college. Growing up, either it was Yumi who paid their mansion visits with her parents for play dates or Eiji, and sometimes Hikari, who went to see her to play with her. As they got older, Eiji's feelings for Yumi changed and matured. Unfortunately, the same couldn't have been said of Yumi's feelings for him. Eiji experienced his first heartbreak, which became his only heartbreak and in turn an obsession that made him build his own worth around. When Yumi stopped being friends with him because of all the awkwardness, Eiji felt his worth to her had gone. He was still rich, he still had other friends he could influence, and his looks hadn't faded. What else of is can he exploit for her? Despite her explanations that not all friendships survive forever, Eiji continued to believe she ended theirs because of his lack of usefulness to her cause, whatever it maybe. He spent the next few months wondering if he was truly useless, ending up making more friends to find someone who didn't like him but to no avail. Yumi was the only one who didn't like him. That left more questions about his worth than answers.
Following in the footsteps of their father, Eiji pursued the path of a Pokemon Trainer, though he still retained his love for the arts, a passion he was able to nurture in his youth alongside his love for fashion, which in itself manifested in those modelling gigs he pursued whenever he had time. Eiji's decision to go on a journey on his own was something Hikari wasn't too happy about, as Hikari had hoped she would be sharing everything with her favorite sibling (like Eiji, Hikari had learned to love painting and fashion as well, having exposed to arts the same time as Eiji, though she now prefers to make music instead of visual art). For days, Hikari refused to talk to Eiji, feeling betrayed at the realization that his brother was now set to leave her. Eventually, she relented and settled for making Eiji promise to come back for her so that they may journey together once she comes of age. Eiji acquiesced, and with his family's blessings, took the first step in growing his own garden of life by planting the seeds of adventure.
Born the first child and only son to a rich family who owns a herbal medicine empire in Kotoba City, Eiji had to content with the long-standing belief that the first Gotō patriarch was but a lowly housekeeper who not long after rose to power after inheriting his employer's riches, including the herbal medicine empire that has made the family grow steadily in power and riches over the years. Eiji's younger sister is indifferent to that belief. With Eiji having expressed numerous times that he would instead do something else than take over the family business, Hikari has brought it upon herself to fulfill the family legacy by inheriting and taking care of it in his stead. Like Eiji, however, she has strong ties to another form of art: music.
The current Gotō patriarch, Eiji's father Ryuki, is quite the ambitious socialite. Although he holds no real position in the family business, his desire to see his family grow stronger is rivaled by none. Unfortunately, Ryuki isn't quite as well-loved in Kotoba City as he thinks he is, though he has most of the more powerful people in his friends list. It's just maybe because he isn't as charismatic as his children. While their mother Haruka thinks their father is at least admirable for trying, their grandmother Haruhime isn't one to mince words and never fails to admonish their father as a buffoon. As funny as it can sometimes be, hearing their older than old grandmother make fun of their oblivious and pompous father, it does get offensive. Eiji loves both his parents equality, despite his mother being warmer and his father being stricter, considering them both two pieces necessary for his own existence: Without one, he wouldn't be who he was (He loves his grandmother more than both of them, though, considering she was way more hilarious than either parent). Regardless, despite their similarity with most dysfunctional families, the Gotōs make a grand show of appearing otherwise.
While Ryuki instilled in his children the importance of keeping appearances, both Haruhime and Haruka taught both of them the true value of the masks they're supposed to wear whenever in public, with Haruhime being more crass as usual than Haruka. Their mother would always not only lecture them on compassion and empathy but also show them firsthand why and how it helps the soul of both the giver and the receiver. While Hikari had always the better knack for generosity, Eiji was not far behind, crippled only by his penchant for shiny things. When caught between doing the right thing and getting away with something material, Hikari would never hesitate to choose the former while Eiji would take more than a minute to convince himself to go for the former, always needing to remind himself that he is rich and could afford to buy it later (the temptation of having beautiful things, objects or more, right away has always been his weakness).
Growing up, Eiji was used to being the first child and only son. He was considered both the smart one, a cunning mind who knows all and can solve all, and the gallant one, as brave as he is skilled. The younger Hikari ended up being the cute one, which she didn't really mind initially until it became apparent to her that she would never be viewed as smart as or as great as Eiji, at least that was how she felt when they still children. To be fair, Eiji didn't really like Hikari when she was born: It slowly became an issue to him that she became the cutest of the Gotō household, being the youngest, which immediately made her by default way cuter. As the children spent more and more time with each other, however, they simply realized that they could be stronger together.
That was true, more or less, for Hikari who had no one else but Eiji. Hikari, in turn, took a lot of things from Eiji. Because he was mainly the only one around her age who spent any time with her, she ended up idolizing him, doing the things he loved to do, loving the things he had a special place in his heart for. They became inseparable, one and the same, with most people thinking that they were actually twins. Their special bond made them protective of each other. Through Eiji, Hikari realized that she didn't need to be as smart as and as great as him. She only needed to be there for others to see her as better than "smart" and "great."
That realization was something that had been somewhat slowly programmed into their brain by their mother's lectures on compassion and kindness (their father's was mostly about looking the part, which pretty much was easier for the siblings to get into because they already had a special place in their hearts for colors and fashion and looking great), the same lectures that were close to unbearable to Eiji as a young child. The presence of his sister, who found it more enjoyable and even tried to make him feel the same way about them, made it at least worthwhile. Eiji was rich, he wasn't going to be poor, these things he thought were going to be true forever, and even to this day, they still seem to be facts. Yet, he didn't need to be poor to realize the truth behind his mother's lectures.
His early schooling found him in a prestigious school for, well, rich kids, and he got along with everyone, primarily because he was rich and attractive and children don't really care past those two things. One of his classmates, however, was not like them. He was, in fact, the son of a gardener for a wealthy family, a gardener rumored to be the lover of a rich wife (in truth, the gardener was just a really great guy who was loved by his employers). To Eiji, this child was an oddity. He didn't speak like most of them, didn't act like a rich kid. He was just there, seemingly excited to learn, an excitement that seemed like insanity to most children their age. So Eiji befriended him, and through him, quickly understood that there were people who were not like them, not like him, not like his family. There were others less fortunate. Through this child, Eiji realized the weight of his mother's lectures, and so he was enlightened. That was his first exposure to the real world, something his mother and grandmother was proud of.
As he grew older, his social relationships expanded. He wasn't just making friends with rich kids, he was now making friends with other kids regardless of their family's income. Eiji found great joy in knowing more people different from him and took great delight in widening his demographic. From a few friends to more than necessary, he was quick to realize the value of having more than enough favors. Because he grew up rich, money was no object to him. To his own breed, it wasn't a question of whether who had money to spare rather a question of who had more people to count on. As Eiji met people with less, he found he could be an asset to them with his money but their lack of adequate funds wouldn't make them the same to him. Then he remembered that quick lesson from his childhood about favors, from when no one traded with money, having more than necessary, but with influence: He was able to get the advantage over a rival in "love" using only favors from friends despite that said rival spending a lot of his money on complete strangers. Sometimes, he began to realize, influence can be far more profitable than actual money.
Soon, he saw familiar things differently as well. In particular, his friendship with Yumi since childhood has turned into something far more complicated. At least, it was to him. Yumi was the daughter of his father's bestfriend from college. Growing up, either it was Yumi who paid their mansion visits with her parents for play dates or Eiji, and sometimes Hikari, who went to see her to play with her. As they got older, Eiji's feelings for Yumi changed and matured. Unfortunately, the same couldn't have been said of Yumi's feelings for him. Eiji experienced his first heartbreak, which became his only heartbreak and in turn an obsession that made him build his own worth around. When Yumi stopped being friends with him because of all the awkwardness, Eiji felt his worth to her had gone. He was still rich, he still had other friends he could influence, and his looks hadn't faded. What else of is can he exploit for her? Despite her explanations that not all friendships survive forever, Eiji continued to believe she ended theirs because of his lack of usefulness to her cause, whatever it maybe. He spent the next few months wondering if he was truly useless, ending up making more friends to find someone who didn't like him but to no avail. Yumi was the only one who didn't like him. That left more questions about his worth than answers.
Following in the footsteps of their father, Eiji pursued the path of a Pokemon Trainer, though he still retained his love for the arts, a passion he was able to nurture in his youth alongside his love for fashion, which in itself manifested in those modelling gigs he pursued whenever he had time. Eiji's decision to go on a journey on his own was something Hikari wasn't too happy about, as Hikari had hoped she would be sharing everything with her favorite sibling (like Eiji, Hikari had learned to love painting and fashion as well, having exposed to arts the same time as Eiji, though she now prefers to make music instead of visual art). For days, Hikari refused to talk to Eiji, feeling betrayed at the realization that his brother was now set to leave her. Eventually, she relented and settled for making Eiji promise to come back for her so that they may journey together once she comes of age. Eiji acquiesced, and with his family's blessings, took the first step in growing his own garden of life by planting the seeds of adventure.
Inventory
Dians:
1,000Items:
5x PokéballKey Items:
PokéDex
Journal
HolocasterTrainer Advancement
Advancement Points: 0
Tier 0:
- Title: (#/#) (Delete this for now, but this will be what it will look like when you are awarded AP)
Pokemon
Total EXP Gained: 0
| Pokemon | |
|---|---|
 Bulbasaur Caught at Level 5 Nickname: Bubba Gender: Male Type: Grass/Poison Ability: Overgrow Height: 2'4'' Weight: 15.2 lbs Health: Scrawny EXP Rate: Medium Slow EXP Gauge: (6/8) EXP Gained: 0 Level: 5 Division: D8 Total Stats: 55
Vitamins Used: None | Moveset: 1. Tackle 1. Growl 3. Vine Whip Unique Moves: - - - - Item: |
{Spoiler}{PC Box: Stored Pokemon}(NONE)
Journal
Adventure Log said:
Adventure Log goes in here
