Team Emerald
Welcome to the world of Pokemon
A man in a black suit, middle aged, probably, adjusted his green bow tie as he swung around in a large black leather chair to face a quaking subordinate. He placed his hands onto the teakwood table then glared.
"How has the recruiting process been going?" His voice was a low rumble, comparable to that of thunder.
The man shuddered. "We have been shortlisting candidates so far. Taking the strongest young trainers in the area, we've managed to narrow them down to five. But there is one that is more exceptional than the rest."
"Elaborate." It was not a request, it was a statement, a command.
"This orphan, at the age of a meagre eleven, beat BoA, the normal type gym leader." He placed a brown envelope onto the table.
The man finally showed a hint of emotion as he raised an eyebrow, almost as if he were amused. "Interesting. We must have her, this girl."
"Yes sir." The subordinate bowed and started to make his exit.
The man spoke again, freezing the subordinate in mid step. "By any means possible, do you understand?"
"Understood, sir!" He was then escorted out of the room by a Scizor.
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Taeyeon was on her way home after a gruelling day at the Pokemon centre. A lot of travellers had come in that day, and she took the opportunity to learn about new Pokemon as well as battle the stronger trainers that came in. Exhausted, she dragged her feet along the pavement as Ren padded next to her, equally as fatigued. The sun had long set by then, and ominous shadows were cast by the street lamps that barely illuminated the street.
Footsteps.
More and more of them sounded as the seconds ticked by, and she hurried along, walking faster and faster. The footsteps too, quickened. They were following her, her gut feeling told her, and she broke into a run, only to be stopped by a man wearing a green hoodie.
"Hey there kid."
Taeyeon stopped then stared at the man square in the face. She wasn't scared of the man, but rather cautious because there seemed to be more than one person following her from behind.
"I'm in a rush, could you move aside please?" Taeyeon bowed and tried to get out of the way.
Then Ren growled.
Taeyeon turned around, then saw another four men in green coloured hoodies.
"Hey kid. Ever heard of Team Emerald?" One of the men asked.
Yeah, she's heard of them before. The thieves that would steal treasures from museums, the gangsters that struck fear into the hearts of the citizens, and the abusive trainers that only wanted to make use of their Pokemon.
"No." She responded.
"Welllll, we're a team that wants to dominate the world. Be it money wise, strength wise, yeah." He laughed. "Wanna join us?"
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
"No!"
The man smiled, as if he had a trump card that Taeyeon couldn't see. His eyes were that of those of a predator after a prey, knowing that it couldn't escape.
"Well kid, think about it. We'll be back in three days. We can either do this the easy way," His smile grew even bigger, his yellow teeth poking out from beneath his upper lip. "Or the hard way."
Taeyeon refused again, shaking her head vigorously.
The man grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, roughly shoving her away. He minced each word as he spat them out. "Think. About. It."
Then the group of men turned their backs to her and stalked away into the cover of the night.
Shuddering, Taeyeon patted Ren's head unsteadily, as they continued to make their way back to the orphanage. Why her? Of all people? The chilly night wind seemed even colder before, and she shoved her hands into the depths of her jacket, the wind still biting onto her exposed skin because of the little holes.
She pushed open the door, stepping into the house away from the cold. The clothes rack on the side was empty, probably because the house wasn't warm enough to take jackets off. She scurried up to her room to avoid the bullies, Ren padding behind her. It was almost a habit, almost painfully nostalgic, except that now, now, - she choked up - her sister wouldn't be waiting for her to come home. Not anymore.
Flipping open her workbook, she started on her homework, tapping the of the pencil on the table repeatedly. Taeyeon couldn't stop thinking about Team Emerald and why they wanted her to join? She'd reject them again, definitely, so it wasn't really a problem… was it? She massaged Ren's back with her foot, sharing measly warmth. Leaning back into the chair, she squeezed her eyes close, helplessly hoping that whatever problems she had now would go away when she opened them.
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Two days had passed.
One day was left.
Taeyeon stood in the yard of the orphanage, wiping away the thin sheen of sweat on her forehead with her right sleeve. She huffed. It wasn't that hot today, but she had been stuck there for the past two hours pulling out weeds and whitewashing the fence.
Man, she wanted to get out of there.
In actual fact, it wasn't her job, but it was supposed to be split between the other kids in the orphanage. But being the smallest there, the rest just pushed their jobs to her and ran off to play somewhere. Taeyeon sighed. She was used to it! So used to it, it no longer seemed tragic anymore, but rather became a part of life.
Laundry? Oh yes, Taeyeon go do it.
Sweeping? Oh Taeyeon, you're sleeping? Get up and do it now.
Playing? Oh no, nobody ever asks Taeyeon.
Swishing the paintbrush up and down on the fence that was too dirty to even paint, she sighed and flung it back into the can of paint. Ren whined then grabbed the brush with his mouth, passing it back to Taeyeon. They both knew who would get punished when the job wasn't complete.
"Hey! Smallyeon!" A built kid walked over.
Taeyeon winced as if she was bitten. "Yeah?"
"Nah, came to say hi." He kicked the bucket full of paint over, staining the pavement.
"Yah!" Taeyeon shouted.
The boy then smiled sinisterly. "Got a problem, shortyeon?"
Ren growled and snapped, but was quickly silenced when the boy's other five lackeys came over. A younger boy, one with a smaller build than his brother, kicked Taeyeon on the shoulder causing her to fall over.
"Eh, sorry. My foot slipped."
Taeyeon bit down on the sides of her cheek, swallowing the pain, swallowing the humiliation. There was nothing she could do. If she fought back she would be thrown out, if she didn't fight back… She'd be allowed to stay. A single tear rolled down her dirt stained face, and she hurriedly wiped it away with the back of her hand. Any form of weakness was bad, she thought. They'd only bully her more, she thought.
"Hey look! Dumbyeon is crying!" She thought right, the boy jeered.
"Awww, Smallyeon gonna cry for mummy now?" A girl said. "Too bad she doesn't have one."
"Stop-" Taeyeon pleaded as they pushed and prodded at her.
"Geez, failyeon can't do anything right. She even lost her sister!" The large boy laughed and pointed at her, making a disgusted look.
Taeyeon inhaled as if she were stung and the tears starting rolling down uncontrollably. Hyoyeonnie… It hurt, it hurt so much. Her chest felt as if it were constricted, as if it could reject the stale, disgusting taste of oxygen. There was no point in living, she had nothing… Nothing… Even Ren, for such a strong Pokemon, she couldn't give him anything but her wretched damaged heart.
"Loser!" The kid kicked her harshly on her side, causing her to double over in pain.
Taeyeon clutched onto Ren's fur burying her head into his fur, blotting out reality. It was too painful, the misery, the agony… Someone… Anyone? Would somebody save her? Please…? Please…
There was no one coming. It had always been like that. She was used to it. So bloody used to it.
Then a voice. "Hey kid."
It was familiar. Why?
"Yo Kid." Footsteps.
Taeyeon looked up. It was the same Team Emerald guy, but now his hoodie was off, and he was wearing a simple grey tee. The man glared at the boys and set his houndoom on them, causing them to run away immediately, crying and screaming in fear.
Her eyes widened as she prepared for her final breaths. Suddenly she realised, she didn't want to die. She had so much potential, so many things waiting for her to discover. How could she die? She couldn't, shouldn't, and didn't want to. No… It couldn't end like this…
"No…" She whispered weakly.
She was shocked then, right then. The man kindly patted her head then smiled.
"Taeyeon, was it?"
Taeyeon nodded, blinking and wiping the tears away from her eyes.
"Let's help you become reeeaalll strong, then you won't have to be bullied anymore, okay?" The man held out his hand, waiting for her to take it.
Would she?
Could she?
… Should she?
She wouldn't be able to get Hyoyeonnie, stuck in this orphanage, stagnating her own growth. She needed to become more powerful, more well off. She didn't want to be pushed around anymore. She didn't want to be "used to it". It hurt, every single time someone insulted her; it hurt, every time she would get pushed around; it hurt, knowing that she'd never be able to hold her head up high in front of her sister. It was driving her nuts, so Taeyeon, at young age of twelve, made the biggest decision she had ever made in her short span of life.
She exhaled a single word.
"Okay."
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