WARNINGS FOR MAN-EATING POKEMON AHEAD AND DEATH BY POKEMON IM SO SORRY

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You fall just as Scatter does. The electricity crackles down and you are met with Scatter's quivering form, shocked to the very core.

"Sc-Scatter!" You run over to your fainted Pokemon and Manectric stands over its foe, seemingly revitalized as compared to just now. Still, the reality hits harshly. You've just lost a Gym Battle.

What happened? You're sure you had trained enough. Were you careless?

Or are you too dependent on Jimin?

This is your first Gym Battle by yourself, and yet you lost...

"You're coming with me," Konyeol grasps your arm roughly and pulls you up. The shock is still evident on your face as you stagger to your feet. You return your Pokemon to its Pokeball and you barely take one step before the Gym doors swing open. All heads shoot to the Gym's doors and you watch as two figures step in.

One of them is Jimin, and the other, Suho. Why are they...?

"What are you doing here?" Konyeol snarls at Suho, and Suho doesn't answer. Instead, he steps forward with two Pokemon, one is his Lucario and the other is...

Liepard. Level 50. Type(s): Dark. Moves: Hone Claws, Pursuit, Slash, Taunt. Ability: Limber. Their beautiful form comes from the muscles they have developed. They run silently in the night.

Liepard walks over at Suho's side as Suho approaches Konyeol.

"Let her go. She's no criminal," Suho says, and Konyeol huffs.

"You have no right to say anything," Konyeol says.

"What if I challenge you in a battle?" a voice from behind Suho says. "Will you release her?" You and Suho look back to find Jimin stepping forward and Suho shooting him a wary look. 

"He's strong," Suho says, gesturing to Konyeol. "You might not be able to beat him yet either."

"I'll do it," Jimin's voice is still confident. "I'll beat him."

There might be unspoken words you haven't caught onto, but you watch as Jimin steps forward, his Growlithe at his feet, snarling at Konyeol as Konyeol releases you, letting you sit down on the bench. The two enter the electrified wrestling ring and Konyeol releases his other three Pokemon, the ones he didn't use to fight you.

Electivire. Level 35. Type(s): Electric. Moves: Thunderpunch, Low Kick, Light Screen, Volt Switch. Abilities: Static. It loves to feed on strong electricity. It occasionally appears around large power plants and so on.

Jolteon. Level 33. Type(s): Electric. Moves: Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, Pin Missile, Volt Switch. Abilities: Volt Absorb. Jolteon's cells generate a low level of electricity. This power is amplified by the static electricity of its fur, enabling the Pokémon to drop thunderbolts. The bristling fur is made of electrically charged needles.

Galvantula. Level 32. Type(s): Electric, Bug. Moves: Electro Web, String Shot, Volt Switch, Slash. Abilities: Unnerve. They employ an electrically charged web to trap their prey. While it is immobilized by shock, they leisurely consume it.

Galvantula steps out first into the ring, and Jimin sends out his Kricketune. The battle of the bugs. 

"I'll let you make the first move," Konyeol says. His Galvantula is getting antsy, and so is Kricketune.

"Kricketune! Sing!" Jimin's voice is fast, and Kricketune reacts quickly, almost as if it has rehearsed this a million times before. It plays a sweet melody, lullaby-ish enough for me to fall asleep to. Galvantula falls asleep, eyes closing. When a Pokemon is asleep, the Pokemon cannot attack anymore until it wakes up.

"Slash!"

Kricketune dashes forward, claws at the ready, but suddenly, Galvantula is switched out, to Electivire. Electivire grabs hold of Kricketune and hurls it away. Kricketune flips once in the air before diving back towards Electivire, wings buzzing noisily.

"Electivire! Thunderpunch!" 

Electricity crackles at Electivire's fist and it throws its fist forward, landing square on Kricketune's face. Kricketune is slapped ot the ground, panting. Kricketune soars upwards again, wings beating hard against the air as it fires a Screech attack. Electivire covers its ears, and Kricketune takes that chance. It dives back down and its claws form an X, crossed over its chest as it unravels the claws, slashing across Electivire's body.

Electivire stumbles backwards. 

"Volt Switch!"

Electivire charges at Kricketune, catching it unawares as it rams it into the electric wire of the fence, and Kricketune is shocked, the electricity coursing through its body enough to knock it out and Electivire returns to its Pokeball, to be replaced by the next Pokemon, Jolteon.

Jimin returns Kricketune to its Pokeball and sends out his next Pokemon, Serperior. His Servine has evolved already! Serperior stands menacingly over Jolteon, but Jolteon is unfazed, not even a bit. Konyeol smirks, and from Jimin's expression, he can tell that Konyeol has something up his sleeve.

"Jolteon! Pin Missile!"

Jolteon fires pin missiles from its spiked mane, and Serperior dodges each one of them thanks to its high speed, while launching a Slam attack, its tail flicking and sending Jolteon's small form flying towards the electric fence. Jolteon hits the fence with such force that you are sure it'd get knocked out.

Much to yours and Jimin's surprise, Jolteon launches itself off the fence, smirking as much as its trainer. It roars, while gathering up electric energy.

"My Jolteon's ability is Volt Absorb," Konyeol says, smiling. "It'll absorb any form of electricity you throw at me to become stronger and...you're done for! Jolteon! Thunderbolt!"

Jolteon roars again and sends a bolt of electricity towards Serperior, but Serperior takes it like a pro, managing to get up even after getting shocked by a million volts of electricity.

"My Pokemon is a Grass-type," Jimin holds out a finger. "Thunderbolt doesn't hit as hard as you think it would. Grass-types resist Electric-type attacks. Serperior! Growth and Mega Drain!"

Serperior shrieks as it suddenly grows slightly bigger, before starting to drain energy from Jolteon.

"Jolteon! Thunder Wave!"

Jolteon sends a last, desperate wave of electricity at Serperior, paralysing it before it faints, having exhausted all its energy. Galvantula bursts out, still sleeping from earlier. Konyeol walks over, and Jimin narrows his eyes, wondering what he's doing. Konyeol dangles a Berry in front of Galvantula, and you see Galvantula's nose perk up.

"Good morning." 

Galvantula nearly bites off its Trainer's fingers as it lunges for the Berry, eating it and waking up from its sleeping state. It jumps on its feet, and suddenly, silk threads shoot from Galvantula's rear end, the strings spreading all about, even landing on Serperior, keeping it rooted to the ground.

"Electro Web!"

"Serperior! Leaf Blade!"

Serperior cuts the web at lightning speed, barely managing to stop the electricity currents travelling up the wire before it got too close.

"Serperior's highest stats are its Attack and Speed," Jimin says, his Pokedex in hand. "You'd do well to remember that."

Something's off. It's almost as if Jimin isn't...Jimin anymore. He's gotten a little cold...calculating? You watch in amazement as Serperior finishes Galvantula off with a Slam attack, and finally, the tired-out Electivire comes in. Despite its tired state, it manages to hit Serperior with a well-aimed Thunderpunch.

Jimin still has a Pokemon at full health, whereas Konyeol's down to an exhausted Electivire.

Electivire huffs as it watches Jimin's Pokemon fly over to the field. It's a Pokemon I've never seen him use before. It's a giant, blue bat, wings purple, and it has a giant mouth with sharp teeth. I hear Konyeol suddenly laugh, almost as if it's funny that Jimin has brought out this Pokemon.

"You really don't know type compatibility, do you?"

Jimin doesn't say anything. Instead, he stands his ground. Only three words leave his mouth.

"Golbat, Confuse Ray."

A ray shoots from Golbat's mouth and hits Electivire. Electivire looks confused, as if it has no idea what's happening around it as it begins running around, panicky, crashing into the fence and damaging itself.

"I don't have to do anything," Jimin says. "Electivire will damage itself and eventually faint."

"Electivire! Thunderpunch! Just one hit will do!" Konyeol has his teeth gritted, throwing a hand forward in a wrist flick as he commands his Electivire. Electivire rushes forward, almost as if it has seen its target, but Golbat simply has to fly a little higher and the Thunderpunch misses, instead, crashing into the fence and electricity is absorbed into its body, strengthening it but doesn't seem like Jimin's bothered by it. 

"Poison Fang, Golbat."

Golbat darts forward at high speed, behind Electivire, snagging its teeth onto its arm. You can even see as the purple substance leak out from Golbat's fangs as it plunges its fangs into Electivire's arm, immediately depleting all the health points.

Electivire falls, and Konyeol returns him to its Pokeball.

"Well, I guess you're not as half bad as you look," Konyeol smirks, as he walks over to Jimin. "As proof of recognition--"

Jimin strides forward, grabbing Konyeol's hand, face dark.

"Release (Y/N) first. I don't care for any badge."

Konyeol's smile fades, and he nods, "S/he's free."

"Oh, and give the badge to him/her."

"Jimin?" you give him a questioning look as you catch the badge he's thrown at you.

He doesn't give you another look as he walks out of the Gym. You and Hakyeon exchange glances and Konyeol scratches his head, putting his Pokemon back into their Pokeballs and onto the healing machine.

"Hey, you."

You look up at Konyeol. His back is facing you.

"You know about the disappearances, right?"

You hear shuffling--Suho looks a little uncomfortable.

"Yes," Suho nods. "Aquon has disappeared. But other than that, we have no other leads."

"But for a Gym Leader to disappear...that's big," Konyeol shakes his head. "And it wasn't just him. His Pokemon are gone too. It's as if he vanished off the face of the earth."

"But that means that the League won't have any challenges at the moment," Suho supplies. "Plus, Aquon isn't the only disappearance. The villagers of Porpeo Village have talked about a missing Plusle and Minun duo. The Minun in question is with that boy, while Plusle is still missing." 

Konyeol "tsk"s, and walks to his quarters in the Gym and leaving Suho, Hakyeon and you in the room.

"What's up with him? And what about a brother?" you look over at Hakyeon. Suho approaches the Gym Leader's desk and takes the Storm Badge, handing it over to you. You pin the Storm Badge along with your other two badges, as you look over to Suho for answers.

"Konyeol has had...a brother," Suho says, voice a little sad and full of pity. "His name was Park Chanyeol. Chanyeol was an outstanding disciple of mine. He wasn't that good a trainer, but why I say that he is 'outstanding', is that he managed to make friends with the Ditto around the area."

"The Ditto? Didn't Hakyeon say that--?"

"The Ditto are usually dangerous--they are man-eating, you see, but somehow, with his...joyful nature, he's managed to gain their trust. You could say that he might be the most dangerous man around..." Suho says. "He was journeying down the mountain one day, when he came across an injured Ditto...he was killed instantly."

"Huh? Why?" you are puzzled now.

"Turns out that Ditto was a failed experiment, tossed into the mountain, and it had been injured by the experimentors," Suho explains. "We've kept a tag on the Ditto since, but it looks like it's been mixing well with the rest. Chanyeol was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Konyeol got bitter after that, blaming Chanyeol's death on Mt. Crescent, and he basically hated us all." 

"Ditto...they're failed experiments? What happeend to them?" How can anyone think of experimenting on Pokemon? And just leaving it to die like that?

"We don't know yet," Suho shakes his head. "When I found Chanyeol...it wasn't pretty. Since he's friends with the Ditto, he doesn't bring his Pokemon down with him...and he had absolutely no way of defending himself. There was blood everywhere."

You shudder. It's impossible to wonder how you'd react after finding someone like that. Do these Ditto have anything to do with Acacia's disapperance? Over the Oakre region people have been disappearing left, right, center. You can't help but think that there's some connection or link.

"You're welcome to come up back to my tower," Suho says. "I'll gladly lend you some quarters. Plus, we'd be riding Swellow up, so we shouldn't encounter any Ditto. I'll have a separate arrangement for Hakyeon." He turns to his disciple. "Go get the food first."

Hakyeon salutes immediately and heads off for the grocery store. You look around, suddenly remembering a Pokemon that is supposed to be there but isn't. Rockruff is gone!

"I was pretty sure it followed your friend out," Suho says, as if reading your mind. He leads you out of the Gym, and you ask a very interesting question.

"Why were you with Jimin, Suho?"

"Jimin was...he was almost killed by Ditto while climbing up the mountain, supposedly coming after you. Unfortunately, it didn't seem that the two of you knew about the danger of Mt. Crescent. He got lost, and was ambushed by Ditto. If not for me, he'd have lost his life already," Suho explains. "He asked if I'd seen you, but I hadn't. Not yet. It was too dangerous to let him go off and find you alone, so I took him back to the tower. He trained with my other disciples, wanting to get stronger, which, of course, he did, and caught a new Pokemon which was roaming outside of the tower."

"Golbat?"

"That's right," Suho nods. You climb aboard his Swellow, and Suho grabs onto Swellow's talons. The bird takes flight into the sky, carrying you and Suho along with it. You feel the wind rushing into your face as Mt Crescent is suddenly below you. It's almost as if you're travelling as fast as a plane. "I found you soon afterwards, and I decided to bring you down before heading back to collect him, but it seems as if you've been mistaken for a thief. Konyeol is wary of evildoers, so you'd be best not to seem shady in Gondan."

"Why did Jimin leave like that?"

"He's probably on his way to the next town," Suho says. "Which would be...Jandeeo City. It's best if you take a train there tomorrow. Gondan is pretty far from Jandeeo." 

You hum, thinking about Jimin and only Jimin. What had happened? Why did he act so...quiet and cold? So unlike him. And you need to meet Hoseok regarding your sister's case and the disappearing people of Oakre. So many things to think about...

"Ah!" you realize something all of a sudden, and Suho looks up at you.

"What?"

"I still haven't found Mr. Jaehwan's Rockruff!"

"The Rockruff was following Jimin," says Suho. "I saw them leave."

"Still, I have to tell Mr Jaehwan!"

"Relax, I'll tell him for you." Swellow lands and Suho's feet make a light tap on the ground. You get off Swellow with a little difficulty and you land hard on the ground. At that moment, you hear huffing and panting from a cave to your right. You blink as you realize who it is.

"Jeongguk!" you see a Greninja pop up and dart over, a boy in a hoodie following closely behind.

"Ah, (Y/N)...I didn't think you'd be here," Jeongguk laughs, and he spots Suho taking off on his Swellow, back down to Gondan City. Jeongguk approaches you, and you feel a warmth in your chest despite the coldness of the mountain air.

"Greninja's happy to see you too," Jeongguk rubs Greninja's head, and you pet it, looking at the way it's cooing at you. You turn your attention back to Jeongguk.

"What brings you here?"

"This is the Tower of Mastery, (Y/N)-ah," Jeongguk smiles. "Everyone knows this place. It's where those who wish to obtain the power of Mega Evolution come and train."

"Mega Evolution?" you are very confused now.

"Well, you know what is Evolution, right?" Jeongguk explains. You nod. "Think of an evolved Mareep, to an evolved Flaafy and well, you have an Ampharos. But what if I tell you the Ampharos has a chance to get stronger?"

"But isn't Ampharos the highest--"

"It is," Jeongguk cuts in. "But with Mega Evolution, Ampharos can evolve further, but only for a short period of time. There are two conditions to Mega Evolution, though. One is that both the trainer and the Pokemon must be very close, and two is that both Pokemon and Trainer are holding a Mega Stone."

"Mega Stone?"

"A Mega Stone is a rock that a Pokemon holds that allows it to Mega Evolve. No one knows where it has come from yet, but some speculate it's fallen from space. A Trainer holds the equivalent--an accessory with a Mega Stone embedded in it. Korrina in Shalour City in Kalos has a Mega Glove...something like that." 

"And we can learn all of that in here?" you turn your attention to the Tower of Mastery, looming intimidatingly over you and Jeongguk.

"By getting to the top, we would have bonded closely enough with our Pokemon," Jeongguk shrugs. "What do you say if we take the challenge together?"

"Whoa...yeah! Let's go!" The thought of Mega Evolution excites you. What in the world is this thing? And what if Dish can Mega Evolve? Wouldn't that be so cool?

"But...there's a catch," Jeongguk snorts as he watches your shocked expression. "Only certain Pokemon can Mega Evolve, and from your team...there isn't a single one that can."

"What's the point then?" you sound very done with life.

"Hey, look there," Jeongguk seems to be focusing on something else now. You follow his line of gaze to land on a small blue bird with clouds for wings perched on a small tree with barely any leaves and it's pecking on a small Pecha Berry.

"That is a Swablu. If you can evolve it to an Altaria, it can Mega Evolve with an Altarianite," Jeongguk whispers.

"Right..." you open up your Pokedex to stop the godd*mn beeping.

Swablu. Level 30. Type(s): Normal, Flying. Moves learned: Mirror Move, Natural Gift, Refresh, Take Down. Abilities: Natural Cure. Swablu loves to make things clean. If it spots something dirty, it will wipe and polish it with its cottony wings. If its wings become dirty, this Pokémon finds a stream and showers itself.

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Reader:

Partner Pokemon: Mimi (Mimikyu). Level 30. Moves: Grudge, Disarming Voice, Moonblast, Shadow Ball

Pokemon:
Dish (Gloom). Level 34. Moves: Giga Drain, Stun Spore, Moonlight, Sleep Powder
Chim (Monferno). Level 30. Moves: Feint, Cut, Flame Wheel, Mach Punch
Scatter (Vivillon) Level 31. Moves: Draining Kiss, Struggle Bug, Supersonic, Aromatherapy
Floon (Drifblim). Level 27. Moves: Ominous Wind, Hex, Stockpile, Gust.

Jimin:

Partner Pokemon: Rockruff. Level 30. Moves: Rock Slide, Body Slam, Roar, Howl

Pokemon:

Growlithe. Level 36. Moves: Retaliate, Flamethrower, Agility, Take Down
Serperior. Level 36. Moves: Growth, Leaf Blade, Mega Drain, Slam
Kricketune. Level 35. Moves: Slash, Sing, Screech, X-Scissor
Minun. Level 36. Moves: Swift, Charge, Fake Tears, Discharge
Golbat. Level 35. Moves: Confuse Ray, Air Cutter, Poison Fang, Swift

*Moves used in the chapter:

Sing. Used by Kricketune. A sweet melody emitted by the user puts the foe to sleep.
Slash. Used by Kricketune. The user cuts the foe with sharp claws.
Thunderpunch. Used by Electivire. The user cloaks its fist in electricity and punches the foe.
Screech. Used by Kricketune. The user emits high-pitched sounds to lower the foe's Defense stat.
X-Scissor. Used by Kricketune. The user cuts the foe with sharp claws in the shape of an X.
Volt Switch. Used by Electivire. The user attacks the foe by charging into it and switches out with another of the party.
Pin Missile. Used by Jolteon. The user attacks multiple times by flinging pins onto the foe.
Thunderbolt. Used by Jolteon. The user attacks the foe with a lightning bolt.
Growth. Used by Serperior. The user slightly grows bigger to increase its Sp. Attack stat.
Mega Drain. Used by Serperior. The user drains the energy of the foe.
Thunder Wave. Used by Jolteon. The user Paralyzes the foe with a wave of electricity.
Electro Web. Used by Galvantula. The user fires off an electric web and the foe caught in it will be electrocuted.
Leaf Blade. Used by Serperior. The user uses a sharp vine to cut the foe.
Slam. Used by Serperior. The user throws itself onto the foe and damages it.
Confuse Ray. Used by Golbat. The user fires a mysterious ray at the foe and Confuses the foe.
Poison Fang. Used by Golbat. The user bites the foe and it may Poison the foe.
Fly. Used by Swellow. The user flies high up in the sky and slams down on the foe. It can also be used to carry the Trainer around to towns and cities it has been to before.