After engaging themselves in plenty more ‘friendly competitions’ and stuffing their faces with fair food, Luhan was practically falling over himself and even Minseok seemed to be getting tired.

            “Are you okay?” Luhan asked him, worriedly. They weren’t carrying as much as before, having donated at least half of their winnings to random kids once it all just because of how excessive it had all gotten. But even so, Minseok seemed tense and exhausted, and to say it was concerning would be an understatement.

            “Yeah…” Minseok trailed off, shrugging. Luhan furrowed his brows and glanced down at his watch.

            “It’s nearly midnight, should we head back?”

            “I guess.”

            Luhan frowned at the tight-lipped response, reaching out and tugging on the other’s arm firmly to make him stop. He gave the man a sharp look, only releasing his grip when Minseok sighed and pulled them over to a nearby bench to sit down and set their stuff down.

            “It’s just,” Minseok started, not needing anymore prompting, “It’s been ages since I’ve went out and stayed away from the ranch for this long. Not since my parents died at least.”

            Gulping upon hearing that, Luhan rested his hand gently on top of Minseok’s in what he hoped was a comforting manner. It seemed to work, as the other smiled softly at him in response.

            “I’m just not used to being away, I guess. Since I took over, I always made sure to stay in earshot so I could know if things went wrong or if anyone needed help. I didn’t want anything to slip under my radar, so I just ended up sticking around the ranch as long as possible and keeping my trips out short.”

            “Yixing did say you were a bit of control freak,” Luhan teased, grinning when Minseok cracked a laugh.

            “I guess so,” he admitted, but his expression quickly went sour. “God, I hope Yixing’s doing alright.”

            Luhan curled his fingers around Minseok’s hand to hold onto it lightly, but if he was honest, he was a bit worried too. While the healer had insisted that it was nothing, it was clear as day to anyone on the ranch that he was getting awfully sick. Probably because of the longer hours he’d been working, but there was no way in hell they could convince him to do otherwise. The poaching incidents had been growing in number, and hitting closer and closer to home, so everyone one the ranch was a bit on high alert.

            Of course, if everyone else was on high alert, Minseok was practically his own raging alarm system ringing and ranging at a million decibels every second of every day. He’d up patrols by nearly three-fold, spending nearly every minute of daylight doing field work and training with Luhan. Not to mention the extra hours he put into his weight-lifting and strength-training sessions (which Luhan most definitely didn’t peek at) just in case it all came down to fist fights instead of Pokémon battles. Jongdae had practically been put on house arrest just so Minseok could make sure he wouldn’t run off and try to fight poachers again. Though he agreed to come out on this date and had even said he was enjoying himself before, the reality of work and ranch was clearly dawning on Minseok once again as the night came to an end.

            “I’m sure he’s fine,” Luhan reassured, but even he was at a bit of a loss as to what to say. Well, when in doubt, humor worked well, right? “Jongdae’s taking care of hi—oh wait. Yeah, be scared, be very scared.” Despite himself, Minseok snorted. “Didn’t he almost set fire to the kitchen trying to make soup once?”

            “Twice,” he corrected dully, but the tension had clearly left his shoulders. “I guess we can call it a nig—”

            “You there!”

            The sudden call out had Luhan jumping in his seat, and Minseok frantically looking around before making eye contact with someone who seemed to be the source of the voice. Luhan followed his gaze, only to be met with a tall man staring at them intently with what he guessed was supposed to be a smile on his face. The man had such a dark and imposing aura, though, that his expression, seemed more like a grimace.

            , he’s walking over.

            “What are you two doing all the way out here?” the stranger asked gleefully once he was close enough. He didn’t look nearly as intimidating from up close—just a little awkward, if nothing else—but the thick furrowed brows and mountain height didn’t help him there. “The show’s about to start!”

            “Sh…show?” Minseok asked reluctantly, and Luhan was torn between thanking him for being the only one to talk and glaring at him for actually talking.

            “Of course! What would the night be without the Midnight Poké-Walk? Come, come, you’ll miss the intro!”

            And just like that, they were being ushered over to the very back of the building. Luhan vaguely wondered if it was normal for carnival staff to be so strong, but at this point, he didn’t even bother grumbling about it. God knows it’d get him nowhere at the rate they were going at.

            “Take a seat, and enjoy!”

But, maybe being dragged somewhere wasn’t that bad.

            He looked on in awe at the setup. A massive stage—no, an arena, not unlike those he had competed in before, for many a tournament. He had half a mind to ask the stranger that brought them over if this was secretly a Pokémon League Gym, but when he turned around the man was gone, leaving him and Minseok to find a seat among the bleachers. They did that with a bit of s struggle; the place was surprisingly packed to the brim, with people bustling in anticipation.

            They finally managed to snag a couple of seats towards the back, looking around in a mix of confusion and excitement. Luhan couldn’t tell much from the current set-up: there wasn’t much but the flat-ground stage, some impact barriers protecting spectators and outsiders, a bunch of light fixtures, and the actual audience. He doubted there was anything like a Gym here, in such a desolate, quiet part of the region, but nothing else was coming to mind. So caught up in his thought, he almost missed Minseok’s conversation with an older woman wearing what seemed to be farmer’s clothes sitting next to them.

            “So, what’s this for?” Minseok asked, and Luhan snapped his head over to the pair in intrigue.

            “Hm?” the woman hummed. “Oh, you boys don’t know?”

            “No, we’re visiting this town, so we didn’t hear about any of this,” Luhan answered for them.

            “Ahh, I see,” she responded, her eyes crinkling up as she smiled sweetly. “It’s been the talk of town since it was announced, you see. Midnight Poké-Walk—it’s supposed to be some sort of unofficial Pokémon Contest, but there aren’t any judges. Just some fun little performances. A lot of the youngsters here want to be Top Coordinators, so they’ve been coming from nearby towns too to join in. Some are even saying some recruiters from different Academies are coming to scout.”

            Luhan blinked, eyes wide as he sat there dumbfounded. He’d rarely ever heard of Pokémon Contests in these areas, more trainers preferring the wild, rugged terrain of Kanto than coordinators. He’d never been to a Contest himself, but he’d seen clips of them on the TV and stared in a mix of awe and wonder. Illustrious, exquisite performances of the largest grandeur, all exhibiting the unspeakable beauty of Pokémon and their abilities.

            The bend it took, the path it walked away from the usual callous, rambunctious ways of battling was so clear, that thousands of people tuned in to get even a glimpse of these contests daily. The very thought of it had Luhan almost vibrating in excitement as thoughts flew past his head at a million miles per minute. He could tell he wasn’t the only one too—the crowds around and in front of them were leaning in second by second, waiting in feverish anticipation for what was to come. Even the older woman sitting next to them was antsy in her seat, no matter how calm she appeared from first glance.

            And then, there was Minseok.

            “What’s a Top Coordinator?” he asked, head tilted and Luhan had to look away because that was too cute what the —

            “Do you not watch TV ever?” he snarked instead, huffing when Minseok just shrugged. “Just watch.”

            He nodded his head over to the main stage, where the host was stepping up to the center. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was none other than the tall man that had dragged them to this arena. He still had that weird half-grimace, half-smile thing going for him, but the brightness and color of his clothes made up for the discomfort in his face. He was dressed like some sort of ringleader of a circus, and Luhan supposed that wasn’t too far off.

            “Welcome one, welcome all, to the Midnight Poké-Walk!” he began, his words almost immediately drowned out by roaring cheers from the stands. “That’s what I like to hear! Let’s not waste any more time, shall we? Introducing our first performer…”

            He went on to say a name Luhan couldn’t quite catch, but that didn’t matter. Watching as a peppy local girl strolled up the stage, he grinned as he caught site of Ball Capsule around her Great Ball. It was hard to tell if there would be any Seals on it, since any Coordinator-related material was hard to find out in this part, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t make a fun show out of it. If they had Capsules, they were bound to have something else, right?

            “Go, Growlithe!”

            It turned out she did have a Seal, as bursts of passionate red stars flew out from her Great Ball as Growlithe materialized before them, flying through the skies between landing with a sturdy flip. He glanced over to see Minseok gasped, jaw slack as he stared on in awe. He was clearly wondering how the she did that, but he didn’t get a chance to ask anything as the Growlithe was moving, building up a Fire Spin almost immediately as it set foot on the stage. But it was controlled, Luhan noticed. A gradient of flames, almost, as the width and girth of the raging fire only grew the higher it reached in the circle. Interesting, sure, and somewhat impressive, but hardly much of show, considering Growlithe was caught inside its own trap.

            “Aerial Ace!”

            What the f—

            “TMs,” Minseok said as he gaped, and it struck Luhan like a truck.

            Of course. It wasn’t common, but Growlithes were capable of taking and using the TM for Aerial Ace. It wouldn’t be much of a use in battles, since once evolved into an Arcanine, their bodies would likely be too heavy to handle flying type moves with the ease and speed needed to win. But for Contests? Speed was nothing here—it was all about presentation and build-up.

            He watched with an enthralled wonder as the Growlithe shot up into the sky, its entire coat of fur practically glowing and glistening both from the move’s power and from the flickering flames’ light. It didn’t stop until it was above its own Fire Spin, and in the second it hovered there, it was almost like a god ready to rain down bullets of ember on the world.

            Maybe that wasn’t too far from the truth.

            “Iron Tail, Growlie!”

            Luhan only sat there more and more awestruck as he realized that the Fire Spin had condensed into what was more like a pillar of raging flames—like from the air pressure and wind brought about from Growlithe suddenly bursting up into the air with its Aerial Ace. Just like that, the Pokémon began flipping mid-air, its tail glowing silver as it moved until finally, it was cracking down on the fire pillar like the lightning.

            Flinching, Luhan braced himself to move in case the flames grew past the stage and raged out at them, but instead, he was left to watch in amazement as it did everything but that. Instead, as Growlithe pivoted on its way down the pillar, the flames out stretched out to every part of the stage. Extending outwards, the fire flared out in a controlled, yet somehow still wild way as crystal embers spluttered so close, yet so far from them. The crackling sounds of flame was the only thing to be heard, as Growlithe slammed the bottom of the flame pillar so gently, flipping back with a poised elegance onto its feet and howling in joy at what it had created.

            A flower of fire, blossoming around Growlithe in the center.

            Luhan was on his feet before he could even think about it, and from the looks of it, he wasn’t the only one. Everyone—even Minseok—was roaring in applause, cheering and whooping in astonishment even as the flames slowly faded and Growlithe happily skipped back to its owner. The duo gave bows and curtsies to all sides of the stadium, to the whole audience, before finally taking their leave, but even then, the ovation continued. Soon enough, the host was returning to the stage to announce the next performer, and it was only then that the crowd settled down, eagerly awaiting what was to come with growing hype and expectation.

            The following performances were just as awe-inspiring as the first, if not more so. Whether it be a delicately beautiful bubble show by a Cloyster, or brutish but gorgeous sandstorm by a Sandshrew, the performances were all so well-developed, the Coordinators’ skills almost on-par with those of professionals.

            One thing Luhan did notice, however, was the length of the performances. Usually, Contests shows would tend to go one for much longer than these ones did. Some of these performances barely seemed to last minute, and another audience member sitting near them explained why. Simply put, since this was an unofficial, non-sanctioned show with no judges and no professionals, there was no need to put forth extravagantly long acts. Instead, all of the performers kept it short and simple, while also making sure to showcase their knowledge and abilities for any interested scouts. It was nothing like what Luhan could have expected from just a few small towns, but he supposed the kids in these towns had to get into the field somehow.

            Getting into training had been a complete given for Luhan—he’d grown up two blocks away from a League-sanctioned Pokémon Gym, for ’s sake. Practically everyone where he grew up was expected to go out on their own adventures and explore the world with their training and battles. But outside of cities like his, in places like this, it was no wonder that an event like this was so popular. He thought of Minseok, of Jongdae, of everyone else on the ranch. They were so connected to Pokemon with the work they did, yet so disconnected from trainers, from coordinators, from breeders, from any of that. It felt so estranged from anything Luhan knew, yet somehow, he only found it even more endearing that way.

            “Holy ,” Minseok finally remarked as the show slowly began drawing to a close. The host was closing off everything, but the audience was all still hung up on the routines they’d just witnessed. “Is this what all these Pokémon Contests are like? Like… holy .”

            “You said that already,” Luhan teased, but he couldn’t help but agree. Seeing it in real life was completely different from watching it on TV, even if these presentations were shorter and less refined than professional ones. “Coordinators do some amazing stuff, man.”

            “If you boys like,” the woman from earlier was saying, a chipper grin on her face, “you could probably go talk to some of the kids who performed there. I’m sure my grandson would love to hear he and his Kadabra has some fans.”

            Luhan clearly recalled the performance—the Kadabra had somehow managed to make a cage of Psybeams around itself using Psychic and Teleports repeatedly. The rainbow, laser-like enclosure had glistened brightly under the stadium lights, diminishing into gentle sparkles and glittering lights as the Psychic was released. The sheer control the Pokémon had was rousing in and of itself; Luhan certainly wouldn’t have minded meeting the trainer to such a dedicated, patient Pokémon.

            “That’d be awesome, if you could,” Minseok answered for them.

            The woman nodded and stood up, gesturing for them to join her. She led them off the bleachers and down the rows towards the backstage area, telling them that they should probably hurry up before the event ended so they wouldn’t be caught in the crowds. Of course, she said that, but it was her herself that kept idle, wandering around while joyfully telling stories of her grandson. Luhan couldn’t blame her, though—she was a proud grandmother—so he just listened in and smiled along as he looked around.

            They had come in through a side entrance before to get to their seats, but it seemed like that and others like it were all closed up at the time. It made sense, seeing as those were probably actually staff doors and not meant to be for the general public. Instead, they were heading towards the main entrance, like to go to front hall and make their way around the arena, to the backstage zones from there.

            But as it turned out, they had gone fast enough. Just as they were reaching the main exit close to the stage, the audience members were bustling and making their ways up and out. Tensing up, Luhan immediately shifted closer to Minseok, grabbing onto his arm as he hobbled away from the crowds that were slowly building up. In the chaos, they lost the old woman almost immediately, but Luhan couldn’t focus on that as his mind was entirely set on not crushing anyone’s feet with his leg brace, and not letting him or Minseok get trampled. They weren’t the tallest people around, after all.

            After what seemed like ages of pushing and shoving, they managed to squeeze their way out of the crowd, stumbling out with heavy breaths into what seemed like an isolated area behind the main stage. They were, somehow, still within the stadium, having made their way to some sort of restricted zone that was probably left just for employees if all the equipment held up on metal beams and all the storage space was anything to go by.

            “Where the hell are we?” Luhan hissed, and Minseok just squeezed his arm consolingly.

            “It’s alright, we’ll find our way out,” he assured, looking around for any signs or people. “The whole stadium’s just a circle, right? Let’s just get out from this,” he gestured to their surroundings, “and circle around ‘til we find a way out.”

            “Fine,” he huffed.

            Still, even saying that, neither of them were really sure where to go. With all the chaos and dizziness of earlier, it was hard to tell exactly which side they came from. It didn’t help, then, that everything around them looked the same: dull white walls, grey laminate floors, and cement pillars holding the whole thing up. Aside from the wires running through the ceiling and the electronics stored around the area, it looked somewhat like a desolate warehouse.

            “This way, I think?” Minseok guessed, and Luhan just shrugged. Better than just sticking around in one place, he supposed. They started walking, and as they did Minseok heaved a heavy sigh. “God, it’s so late, what am I going to tell Jongdae?”

            “He’ll probably be happy you’re going out and enjoying yourself,” he commented.

            “Yeah, but what if he’s worried?”

            “Worried? Dude, c’mon. Knowing him, he’s probably just knocked out on the couch with a comic book on his face. He’s not even gonna notice when we get back.”

            “But what if something happe—?”

            “Nothing’s gonna happen.” Luhan paused to look Minseok dead in the eye, trying to smile as reassuringly as possible. “It’s just a normal night, everything is the same as always, and nothing’s gonna be different tonight. We’re gonna get back, sleep for a hundred years because I’m so ing exhausted, and nothing’s gonnaa change. Alright?”

            “…Alright.” Minseok was smiling back at him now, and yeah, Luhan could get used to this.

im writing chapters for this xiuhan fic a hunhan fic and a taohun fic at the same time what sort of bs love square ery is this 
lol

anyway next chapter yay!! about time tbh
also before anyone says it yes i know contests technicallyyyyyyyyy started in Hoenn but that the lore idc ok fite me
theres probs like three ppl reading this who cares as much about pokemon technicalities like i do anyway
so whatever

for real tho i have no idea how long this fic's gonna end up being like its so much longer than i intended already and we aren't even getting close to the yet welp
i love writing this tho so its ok i guess