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The lush, sun-lit hills of Pallet Town shone as rays of sunlight beamed down on them. Birds chirped, flying over the peaceful town during the lazy mid afternoon.
This was a small, cozy place known as Pallet Town, famous for their rich history and genius professor known as Professor Oak. Pokémon were completely free to roam around the town and were often seen interacting with the townspeople in the marketplaces and the fields.
Pallet Town was also the place where a young boy named Kwon Soonyoung called home.
Little Soonyoung huffed as he slid down the handrail to his stairs, landing in a handstand as he leaped off of the podium. His pamphlet fluttered in his hand as he ran to his mom in the kitchen, shouting for her.
“Hey, Mom!” he panted, his bare feet thudding against the wooden floor.
“Can I go? Can I?” he asked, his eyes shining, “to Professor Oak’s Pokémon camp!” he ran circles around his mother, shoving his slightly crinkled pamphlet in her face, trying to get her attention.
“I wanna go and see all the Pokémon with Professor Oak!” Soonyoung declared.
“Oh! They have a camp for that, too?” Soonyoung’s mother asked, “People have a camp for almost everything these days.” she mused.
“Alright, I’ll sign you up. But I have an early appointment that day. Do you think you can wake yourself up, Soonyoungie?” she asked, patiently waiting for Soonyoung to stop spinning in circles.
Soonyoung cheered, “Awesome!!” he yelled, his spinning never stopping, “It’ll be so much fun!”
“Are you even listening?” Soonyoung’s mom asked, clearly not amused as she placed her hands on her hips, whipping her palms onto her teal apron.
He giggled, his eyes locked onto the paper. “Yeah, don’t worry about it!” Soonyoung’s eyes seemed to sparkle as his tiny fingers smoothed over the slightly crinkled paper. He flattened the paper on top of their kitchen table, snickering. “I wonder what Pokémon I’m gonna see.”
Soonyoung’s mother just sighed, resuming her work washing the dishes as Soonyoung stood there, excited for what the next few days would bring.
⚡︎
A few weeks later…
It was finally the morning of Professor Oak’s Pokémon camp.
Both Jihoon and Minghao were excitedly waiting in the line full of children in front of the professor, the older one bouncing on the heels of his shoes.
“Uh, Professor?” Minghao asked, raising his hand high, ”isn’t it time to leave yet?”
“Yes, but I’m afraid we’re still missing somebody.” Professor Oak replied, crossing his arms over his chest.
“But they should’ve gotten here a looong time ago.” Minghao scoffed, looking around for the missing child.
Jihoon looked around too, but he saw nothing but grassy hills and Oddish roaming around the fields.
Professor Oak’s smile softened. “We’re waiting for a young man named Soonyoung. I’m sure he’ll get here soon.” he assured them.
“I know what,” Jihoon placed his hands on the small of his hips, “I bet he was so excited to see all the Pokémon that he couldn’t sleep!” he grinned.
“Kind of a simple-minded and not responsible guy, huh?” Jihoon remarked snarkily.
Minghao nodded seriously, completely falling for his hyung’s act.
⚡︎
Soonyoung’s body was fully sprawled out on his bed. The sheets were messily tossed around, just barely covering his tiny body. “Pokémon camp… so fun.” he sighed, his hand patting his Snorlax plushie.
“I can’t wait…” Soonyoung rolled over, his body hugging the plush. He exhaled softly, slowly drifting back to sleep.
⚡︎
Professor Oak sighed, the corners of his mouth twisting into a just-barely-there grin. “You might have a point there,” he muttered under his breath, “Oh? Wait, what was your name again?” he bent down to peer at the little boy, his hands clasping behind his back.
All the other children turned to face them. “Minghao invited me here! I’m Jihoon.” Jihoon pointed to Minghao, who seemed to just blink at him.
Professor Oak then turned to Minghao. “A friend of Minghao’s?” he asked.
“That’s right!” Minghao smiled, “He comes to my dad’s lab all the time, so I brought him!”
The Professor’s eyes seemed to light up as he resumed talking to the little boy. “Oh! And how is Professor Xu?” Oak commented.
“Fine!”
“Minghao’s father does lots of interesting research on Pokémon, just like me.” Professor Oak announced to the group of kids, “In fact, he had been dreaming about becoming a professor since he was your age!”
“So, how long are we gonna wait for that kid, anyway?” Jihoon piped up, leaning in closer to the older man.
Professor Oak seemed to contemplate what Jihoon had said, when he suddenly announced, “Delayed leaving means delayed returning. That settles it! Let’s be on our way!”
⚡︎
Soonyoung suddenly startled, shouting as he sat up in bed. “What time is it?” he exclaimed, his eyes darting to his destroyed alarm clock.
He quickly threw on some shoes and dashed out the door, skidding across the dusty trail to Professor Oak’s laboratory—with his pajamas still on, of course. “Professor Oak!” he exclaimed to no one in particular, “wait for me!” Soonyoung panted.
⚡︎
“Alright then,” Professor Oak announced, turning back to face the flock of children, “It’s time to go see all of the Pokémon in this forest.”
The professor led the small group towards the middle of the grove, leading them towards a trainer with her Squirtle. The children all cheered as Squirtle used Water Gun, shooting down a wild Caterpie.
“Whoa! A wild Caterpie!” Jihoon exclaimed, running up to view the Pokémon battle better.
“Squirtle!” the Pokémon exclaimed, instantly jumping back into position as its trainer threw a Poké Ball at the wild Pokémon.
“Now, go! Poké Ball!” she exclaimed, hurling the object right at the poor Pokémon’s face.
The Caterpie chirped as it was absorbed into the Poké Ball, whirling thrice before successfully being captured.
Ding!
The Poké Ball landed with a soft thud on the ground, the red light that had been surrounding the item slowly fading away.
“Alright!” the trainer exclaimed, running to go retrieve her new Pokémon, “I just caught a Caterpie!”
“See? Just like that, you too can catch Pokémon. And when you turn fifteen, you’ll be able to pick out your own starter Pokémon for yourself.” The professor explained, motioning towards the girl, “Then you’ll be able to begin your own journey!”
The crowd gasped in awe, their eyes sparkling, completely immersed in what he had to say.
“But before then, you’ll want to learn everything you can about Pokémon.”
“We will!” the children all exclaimed, their hands shooting upwards.
“There’s not a thing about Pokémon that I don’t know yet!” Jihoon exclaimed, pridefully placing his hands on his hips.
Minghao stared at him with annoyance, “But Jihoon hyung…”
But Professor Oak just chuckled. “Sounds like you’d be a good Pokémon professor, Jihoon-ah.” he commended.
Jihoon giggled, smiling wide. Maybe he did want to become a Pokémon professor after all.
The group continued to trek through the greenery, often stopping to view various different types and species of forest Pokémon. Professor Oak then suddenly stopped in front of a tan, cocoon-like Pokémon, and gestured to the group to turn their attention towards it.
“Who can tell me something about this Pokémon?” he compelled, motioning towards the Pokémon that was peacefully hanging from a tree branch.
“It’s the Cocoon Pokémon Kakuna!” Jihoon exclaimed.
“Ooh, and this one?”
“That’s Farfetch’d! It has a really cool leek that can slice up all kinds of stuff!” Jihoon replied, his grin widening every time Professor Oak asked him to identify a Pokémon.
Minghao scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’re being nerdy again.”
Professor Oak just shot him an awkward smile, “And some Pokémon also have the special ability to evolve-”
“-But not Farfetch’d! Not all Pokémon evolve, y’know.” Jihoon stated matter-of-factly. Professor Oak blinked, his expression morphing into a mix between awkwardness and borderline discomfort.
His friends all stood in awe, watching as Jihoon continued to answer rapid-fire questions about whatever Pokémon they seemed to meet along the trail.
“That’s Diglett! It likes to eat tree roots.”
or,
“That’s Dugtrio! The evolution of Diglett!”
The facts just seemed to keep on rolling out of Jihoon’s mouth uncontrollably, until he seemed to talk about every single Pokémon in the entire forest.
“Uhh, y’know we have Professor Oak to tell us facts about Pokémon, right?” Minghao slid beside Jihoon, side-eyeing him.
Professor Oak laughed, though, “It’s fine! Besides, I’m sure this is good practice if you want to become a Pokémon trainer.” he winked at Jihoon, who grinned back at him.
They continued to walk on a rusty, weathered bridge over a cool, crystal lake. Jihoon and Minghao tailed the group, hanging just a bit behind.
“Honestly, Jihoon hyung,” Minghao sighed, “This is exactly why you never make friends!”
Jihoon scoffed, pretending to be offended, “Who said I wanted to make friends, anyway?” he retorted, his voice casual and suspiciously light. He crossed his arms above his head, contently sighing. “What I want is to catch a Pokémon no one’s ever seen!”
Minghao sighed, stopping in his tracks as the bridge led them to land once again.
“Uh, don’t make fun of me! I’m your hyung, remember?” Jihoon complained.
“It’s just that you’re talking like you can become a Pokémon trainer right now, though. We’re only eleven, remember?” Minghao reminded him.
“So what?” Jihoon retorted, “the future’s in the palm of my hand!” he smirked, holding out his hand, and then grasping air like it explained exactly what he meant.
Jihoon suddenly gasped when he turned around to see a huge Nidoking, out in the open, fighting with another wild Pokémon. “It’s a Nidoking!” he exclaimed, but his expression soon changed once he saw the other Pokémon. “Hold on…”
Minghao tilted his head, also confused as they both watched the Nidoking and the mysterious Pokémon battle. The Nidoking would attack first with a move, and then the other wild Pokémon would attack back with the same exact move. Every. Single. Time. The mystery Pokémon was a small creature with a mouse-like physique, its skin was a light pink, its long, wispy, feline-like tail swishing around as the Pokémon teleported throughout the air. It giggled softly, covering its mouth with their tiny paws as they continued to provoke the bigger Pokémon.
The Nidoking roared as the Pokémon let out another wave of attacks, suddenly being hit once again by the pink creature. It swayed a bit, its footing unsteady as its eyes glazed over. The Nidoking then fell over, landing with a loud thud! as its large body hit the rough gravel. The other creature giggled, flipping around midair.
“It just used the same move as Nidoking!” Jihoon’s mouth was agape. He watched as the Nidoking tried to get back up, and he gasped as the two resumed their fight once again.
The rest of the battle was extremely repetitive: the Nidoking releasing a powerful move, the pink Pokémon replicating it perfectly and then teleporting away before it was harmed. But to Jihoon it was still exciting nonetheless. When the Nidoking let out a piercing shout and used a Fire-type move, the other wild Pokémon instantly shot it back, not even breaking a sweat. Nidoking groaned, its skin charred and ashy as it fell back onto the ground.
“But who’s that Pokémon?” Jihoon questioned, gasping as the mythical Pokémon turned back to hold eye contact with him. He immediately dashed after the Pokémon when it suddenly swirled through the sky, becoming farther and farther away from the two young children.
“Hyung! Wait!!” Minghao called after him, his sneakers kicking up dust as he ran after his friend.
Jihoon didn’t look back, though. He continued running through grassy plains and dusty pathways until he found his way to an open grassland.
“Jihoon hyung! Will you slow down for just one second?” Minghao complained from behind him, panting with his hands on his knees, bent over, trying to catch his breath.
“Now where did that Pokémon go?” Jihoon looked around, frowning when he saw nothing but grass and… more grass.
“Just hold on for a sec!” Minghao sucked in a breath. He sighed when Jihoon ignored him, but then he turned to see what his hyung was currently staring at.
“A Magmar!” Jihoon gaped, his mouth in a wide ‘O’ shape. The ‘Magmar’ chirped back at him before suddenly transforming into the pink Pokémon he had just been chasing after before. They both gasped, eyes blown wide. “I’m going after it.” Jihoon decided, sprinting after the shapeshifting Pokémon once more.
“Hey, Jihoon hyung!” Minghao chased him, his calves burning with every step upward. The pair followed the creature up a steep, lush hill, the grass softly crunching from under them. The Pokémon giggled again, transforming into a Tauros, easily speeding even further away.
“Now it turned into a Tauros!” Jihoon yelled to Minghao behind him, his voice just barely making out over the bellows from the wild beast. The Pokémon then quickly shifted back to its original form, and then to a Lapras as it jumped into the stream running beside them. “And now it’s a Lapras!” he exclaimed, “It won’t get away from me!”
“Jihoon hyung!”
“I just knew it flew over this way.”
Now Jihoon and Minghao were trekking through yet another forest, the high tree canopies casting tall shadows over them. Minghao looked around, his eyes narrowing when he saw nothing but huge trees for what seemed like miles.
“Jihoon hyung? Do ya think that Professor Oak is looking for us?” he asked, “We gotta get back to the group soon.”
“Look!” Jihoon pointed towards a cliff across a stream, where the strange Pokémon was playing around with some rocks near the edge of the cliff. Beside it was a small Growlithe, happily pouncing around with the Pokémon, its claws dangerously close to the edge. But then, when the Growlithe was jumping around with the pink Pokémon, it stepped on a looser rock. The tiger-like Pokémon was sent tumbling, freefalling from a tall ledge.
The Pokémon screamed, its tiny arms flailing midair. Chunks of heavy rocks pelted from the sky as the wild creature was sent tumbling towards the rushing current below. Jihoon and Minghao quickly turned to look towards the commotion, frozen in shock.
Minghao blinked, suddenly pulling Jihoon closer to the Pokémon. “Watch out!” he yelled, but there was nothing he could do.
The pink Pokémon swept in, just seconds before the Growlithe hit the water below it. A sudden teal aura surrounded both the Growlithe and the rocks, restraining its limbs midair. Both the Pokémon and the children squealed as the rocks suddenly fell into the stream, the crashing currents quickly washing the huge boulders away. The powerful Pokémon looked over the scene as it gently lowered the Growlithe back down to ground level.
It chirped before floating away again, leaving Jihoon absolutely awestruck and Minghao more concerned than anything. Jihoon heard a panting noise behind them, and turned around to see Professor Oak jogging towards them.
“Professor Oak!” Minghao exclaimed.
“So this is where you two have been!” he panted, bending over to catch his breath, “I looked all over!” he frowned.
The stream was calm now. It was a tranquil teal-like color, the cool water slowly washing over the newly-placed boulders.
“Hmm, I’m not certain, but it could be Mew.” Professor Oak led them through an empty pathway, both Minghao and Jihoon trailing right behind him.
“Mew?”
Professor Oak nodded, “They say it lives in the depths of the jungle, but it’s said to be able to vanish at will, so it hasn’t been seen by many people,” he explained seriously, “It’s believed to be a Mystical Pokémon that can replicate the DNA of other Pokémon.”
“An extremely rare Pokémon?” Minghao looked confused.
“Awesome! So the super-duper awesome Pokémon is called Mew!” Jihoon gazed up into the distant blue sky, “When I turn fifteen, I’m gonna catch Mew!” he decided soundly.
The pink creature—Mew—sqirled through the sky behind them, obviously satisfied as it giggled. “Mew!”
⚡︎
Some encounters are meant to be fate.
And the universe must have pulled the strings of fate when Soonyoung met the same Growlithe that Mew rescued all those years before.
Years later, back in the quiet, early mornings that Pallet Town seemed to pride in, a certain boy had just celebrated his fifteenth birthday.
Soonyoung gasped, immediately shooting out of bed. “What time is it?” his head snapped towards the window filtering soft light into the room. The sun had already come up hours before, the light practically burning into his eyes.
“Aw shit, I’m late again!”
Soonyoung finally made it to Professor Oak’s laboratory—albeit missing a sock or two and forgetting to zip his fly. He immediately dashed towards the entrance, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead.
“Professor Oak!” he called out, “I’m here!”
Soonyoung made his way towards the main hall, and there Professor Oak was, standing there, waiting patiently for him. “Soonyoung-ah! Overslept again?” he asked, a slight smirk playing on his lips.
Soonyoung sighed. Apparently the Professor could already tell. “Yup. There’s still a Pokémon left for me though, right?” he questioned.
Professor Oak nodded, handing him a Poké Ball. “Its name is Growlithe.”
The Poké Ball popped open and a flash of red light burned his eyes as it formed a little, tiger-like Pokémon.
“Whoa it’s so cute! I think I got the best one!” Soonyoung quickly knelt down on the ground, wrapping his arms around the Growlithe in a tight, long hug.
“We’ll see about that.” Professor Oak raised an eyebrow, and counted exactly four seconds before-
Soonyoung screamed. “Oww! It burns!!” he yelped, his arms immediately retracting from the Pokémon. Growlithe had used the move Singe on Soonyoung, and successfully managed to give him the world's smallest burn.
“Growlithe doesn’t usually interact with humans all that much.” Professor Oak awkwardly scratched at his head.
“So, you’re Growlithe. Nice to meet you!” Soonyoung’s hair might’ve been just a bit fried, but it was okay. He had found a new companion in Growlithe, and he was determined to make it stay.
⚡︎
“Y’know, Jihoon hasn’t really been to school in almost forever.”
Minghao was walking to school with his classmates, Seokmin and Mingyu. When the latter had pointed that out, Minghao stopped for a second.
“It seems like all he does these days is just research Pokémon with my dad. It’s honestly so boring.” Minghao scoffed, seeing Seokmin’s face fall slightly.
“What if he just… likes Pokémon a ton?” he asked cautiously.
“He does, trust me,” Minghao nodded seriously, “it’s just that he should just calm down and go to school for once!”
⚡︎
Jihoon stood at the coastline, the wet sand making squelching sounds from under his feet. The strong winds whipped his bangs over his face, but he ignored it, instead choosing to gaze off into the distant, blue sky.
“I can choose whatever I want to do with my destiny. The future’s in the palm of my hand!”