Heyyy wassup im back :)) sorry been very busy lately haha but im back with another chapter :) this took a pretty long time to write and honestly im not very satisfied with it... tomorrow is my project work oral presentation and i dont feel prepared at all *sigh* we got scolded for 1.5hrs for a missing full stop in one of the slides and just omg yeah worst part is im kinda getting used to it. its gotten to the point where we just dont want to get scolded and its not about doing well anymore

srsly i feel like i rant a lot here but its super stressful BUT ITS GONNA BE OVER TOMORROW IM GONNA WRITE LOTS SO EXPECT FASTER UPDATES

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The hotel served fantastic food, and had great household equipment. The washing machine is just top-notch. Honestly, Yongguk would give this place a five-star. Its beds are comfortable too. He sits up in his bed, eyes still closed, tufts of hair poking out everywhere.

Himchan is still snoring away, buried under the blankets with one of his Pokemon. Probably Poochyena. Yongguk drags himself off the bed and checks his Pokedex which he left on the wooden table at the corner. It’s seven in the morning. Much too early for his brain to function.

He checks his Pokemon in their balls (except Houndour, the dog Pokemon curled up against his bed, eyes closed, breathing rhythmic.

Yongguk finds the pile of clothes from yesterday’s washings stacked neatly on the soft couch. He packs them into their backpacks. He picks out his book from the front pocket and proceed to sit down at the couch, flipping open the book and reading. Damn, Hongbin’s novels are always a great read.

He doesn’t realize that he’s been reading for about an hour when, at eight, there are three knocks on his door. Houndour blinks awake at this as Yongguk picks himself up to open the door, only to find himself face to face with two very eager boys.

“What is this about?” Yongguk leans an arm against the doorjamb, book still in hand.

“We’re wondering if you’d like to go training with us?” Junhong asks. “Jonguppie wouldn’t wake up and Youngjae is too lazy to go.”

Plusle, which seems already too attached to Daehyun, is crawling on his shoulders, along with Minun, who doesn’t seem to be too attached to Jongup. Both Pokemon had allowed Daehyun and Jongup to capture them just yesterday.

Yongguk throws one last glance at Himchan, then turns to the two youngsters. “Yeah, sure, why not?”

*

Jongup finds the odd combination of Daehyun and Junhong battling against wild Pokemon as Yongguk coaches them with his Rufflet cawing in their ears as they battle Diglett and Trapinch that appear from the thick clouds of sand.

“Oh, you’re finally awake!” Junhong waves him over. Jongup looks over at Minun with an impassive expression, and the Pokemon scampers off Daehyun to join Servine at Jongup’s side. “Seriously, rooming with you is no fun.”

The canyon, even at this time, is swarming with wild Pokemon. Jongup rubs at his eyes sleepily as he lets out a yawn. Closing his mouth, he finds Daehyun quickly looking away. He decides its time to find some wild Pokemon to defeat on his own.

“Do you hear that?” Before Jongup can even fell one Cacnea, Yongguk is looking up at the sky.

“Hear what?” Junhong asks. Servine steps aside and lets Minun finish off the weakened Cacnea with a Spark attack.

Jongup can hear it though. A distinct plea for help. It’s coming from somewhere above? When he tilts his head to look up, he finds a series of ledges, accessible from a steep slope near their location.

“Help!”

The voice is clearer now. It’s a high-pitched, desperate voice, sounding parched. He hears another strangled scream and Daehyun begins to make his way up the slope, followed closely by Junhong and Yongguk. He himself runs after them, Servine and Minun at his feet.

“Oh Arceus!”

When Jongup reaches the topmost ledge, he finds the others staring down at something. He peers over the edge onto the ledge below, and finds a giant nest. Skeletons are scattered about in the nest, picked clean by the flock of baby Vullaby residing in there.

A woman is backed into a corner against her crushed SUV. Her Sewaddle is cowering against her legs, unable to face up to the savage bird Pokemon alone.

“Plusle!”

Plusle coats itself in blue sparks and dives towards the nest, hitting one of the Vullaby spot-on on its head. The Vullaby recoils in pain as electricity runs through its body, feathers standing upright. The other Vullaby look up at the commotion. Jongup counts them. There are at least five chicks in total. Shouldn’t be too hard to handle.

Servine anchors itself to the cliff edge and swings down there, sending another vine curling around the woman’s waist. The woman looks up at Servine, her face a mask of fright as she is hoisted through the air. When she reaches the cliff, he tells her to run to the hotel, which she does, hugging her Sewaddle to herself. With the civilian out of the way…

“Yongguk!”

Without a second word, Yongguk, with Houndour, dives into the nest. This calls for some serious pest control.

A bright light engulfs Houndour just as the Pokemon releases a fiery breath into the nest. The flames become more and more intense as a new Pokemon leaps out from the bright light, its claws seeking purchase in the nest of bones.

Houndoom. Level 24. Type: Dark/Fire. Moves learned: Roar, Ember, Bite, Odour Sleuth. Ability: Flash Fire (ups the Special Attack when hit with a Fire-type move). The flames it breathes when angry contain toxins. If they cause a burn, it will hurt forever.

The Vullaby are, one by one, taken down by Houndoom’s Ember attack, the flames spreading to the entire nest.

Funny, Jongup thinks. There are so many bones in the nest, which means that this flock of Vullaby and possibly their mother have been preying on travellers for quite a while (most of the skeletons look like human bones…), yet the League hasn’t ordered an extermination or containment of this Pokemon yet.

Perhaps they didn’t know of this incident? Then—

“Jongup, watch out!”

A force slams into him from behind and he crashes against the wall, scraping his chin against the rock. A warm body is behind him, as if shielding him from the attack. He turns around quickly and finds Daehyun crumpling against him, a large wound on his back and a furious Mandibuzz behind him.

The Mandibuzz caws loudly and goes in for the kill, but not if Jongup can do anything about it. In one swift move, he has his Pokedex in hand and Helioptile countering the Mandibuzz with its Parabolic Charge attack, electricity bursting from its body.

Mandibuzz. Level 67. Type: Dark/Flying. Moves learned: Brave Bird, Whirlwind, Embargo, Bone Rush. Ability: Weak Armour (when hit, this Pokemon’s Defense and Special Defense falls but its Speed will increase). It skillfully arranges the bones of its prey to construct its nest. Most of the bones are Cubone. 

Level 67. It’s either Feral or, like Marowak back at Route 4, is a Boss. He manages to catch a glimpse at the pink band on its leg. Indeed, it is registered.

Mandibuzz squawks and flaps its wings hard. At this, Helioptile disappears in a red light back into its ball, and Lucario is dragged out.

Jongup lays Daehyun’s unconscious body against the wall. Junhong is already commanding his Weepinbell, which blankets the Mandibuzz in a cloud of purple powder. The Mandibuzz shrieks as purple spots bloom on its body. It has been successfully Poisoned.

“Swords Dance and Feint!”

Lucario roars, body glowing with a silver aura, before moving at a supersonic speed, catching Mandibuzz off guard as it leaps on top of it, arms outstretched, coming down on Mandibuzz’s back painfully.

Mandibuzz roars in anger and aims a Brave Bird attack at Jongup.

Jongup has his fingers clasped around a Pokeball, about to throw it out when Mandibuzz is stopped in its tracks by Meditite’s Hidden Power, the move dealing supereffective damage to the Mandibuzz. He glances over at Junhong, who nods.

“Aura Sphere!”

“Force Palm!”

Both Fighting-type Pokemon send their attacks straight at Mandibuzz, forcing the Pokemon back and knocking it to the ground.

However, it’s still not enough. The Mandibuzz merely brushes off the attacks and soar back up into the sky. As expected. At such a high level, it’s no wonder that the Mandibuzz is still alive.

And behind him, is Daehyun about to lose his life. Why isn’t Himchan here? They could use Kirlia’s Healing Pulse right about now.

Above them, Jongup sees a shadow. A rather large one, at that. He watches, eyes wide, as Rufflet is carrying a giant boulder at least ten times its size with its talons, its wings beating hard, straining with the effort.

Damn, collateral damage is going to be a to clean up after.

Rufflet hurls the boulder at Mandibuzz, the Pokemon being too slow to manoeuvre itself away. Mandibuzz’s pained screech is cut off when it hits the ground, crushed by the boulder. Plusle is standing over its Trainer, completely flustered and helpless.

Servine lifts Daehyun up with its vines, and they head down the ledges, Plusle riding on Servine’s body. They meet Yongguk at the bottom of the ledges, where he has already taken care of the five Vullaby. They aren’t dead, just knocked out. He is just hanging up when they meet, stuffing his Pokedex back into his pocket.

“Are we just gonna leave them there?” Junhong asks, casting a worried glance at the still-twitching Mandibuzz.

“’Course not,” Yongguk says. “Called the closest police station to ask them to deal with it. Come on, we’ve got to get Daehyun healed up and check on that lady.”

*

As it turns out, the woman and her fiancée were journeying through Fault Canyon in their SUV when the giant Mandibuzz appeared out of nowhere and scooped them up with its talons, flying them off towards their nest. The moment they found that there were Vullaby chicks in there, they realized they were doomed. Her fiancée tried desperately to fight off the Vullaby with his Venomoth, but the battle was clearly one-sided and her fiancée was slaughtered and eaten. She’d barely managed to escape alive as well, from the looks of it.

Yongguk and Himchan (although not having been there to witness the horrors) stay to accompany and console the woman, while Youngjae, Junhong and Jongup head up back to their rooms to help Daehyun recover along with Himchan’s Kirlia.

Youngjae had demanded to know what happened to his best friend, and even threatened to assault Junhong with Petilil if the latter didn’t explain, which Junhong did.

With Kirlia’s healing prowess, the wound is healed expertly, and Daehyun just needs some time to recover.

It isn’t like Jongup to zone out and lose track of the battle. He shakes his head. If Daehyun hadn’t been there…

“Hey, earth to Jongup.” A hand waves in front of his face, and Jongup realizes that , I’ve been staring into space again. Servine is at his side, tilting its head worriedly up at him.

“You look out of it. Didn’t have a good sleep?” Youngjae’s brows are furrowed, almost as if examining a specimen. Jongup doesn’t like to feel scrutinized.

“No, I slept quite well,” Jongup answers, shrugging.

The room is plunged into silence then, save for Jongup checking on the wound every now and then and Daehyun’s serene snores. Youngjae and Junhong leave the room soon after, to grab some breakfast for all of them.

Why did Daehyun take the hit for him, though? Well, at the very start of their journey, it’s not like Daehyun hasn’t been making his annoyance towards Jongup pretty obvious. Well, he tells himself, annoyance does not equal hatred.

The wound eventually closes up completely, leaving a scar on his back. A rather large one, at that. When Jongup actually looks at Daehyun, the boy certainly has a peaceful expression when he’s sleeping, soft hair tousled against the pillow, mouth parted slightly, all the pain gone from his features.

No, he is not the one.

Rising from his seat, Jongup walks over to the door. He opens it, only for Youngjae and Junhong to tumble through, letting out a surprised yelp.

“What are you doing here.” Servine looks ready to beat the out of them.

“I told you we were gonna get caught!” Youngjae hisses, and Jongup watches as the youngest picks himself up with his Clefairy and starts running, laughing the whole way, Youngjae right on his tail. Jongup has no intention of chasing them down, and he sighs, closing the door behind him, Servine by his side. Minun has expressed its desire to stay with Plusle at its Trainer’s side and Jongup has let it be.

He decides to head outside to train some more.

*

Baekhyun sighs a drawn-out sigh as he glares at Kyungsoo.

“This obviously has been going on for quite a while.”

In front of them, Pokemon are helping to remove the boulder the Mandibuzz is trapped underneath, the Pokemon having been put to sleep with one of the workers’ Munna’s Hypnosis move, so it doesn’t struggle anymore.

“I swear I didn’t…”

“Yes, yes, we didn’t know either,” Baekhyun says. “Seriously. This is negligence, Soo. Who knows how many people died here?”

“There weren’t any missing persons reports filed.”

“While I have to admit that that’s suspicious….doesn’t change the fact most of these”—he gestures towards the nest that has crashed to the ground, scattering the bones everywhere—“look like human skeletons.”

“We can’t be sure they’re human till we get them back to forensics,” Kyungsoo says, feeling small. This is partly his fault as well. He doesn’t patrol Fault Canyon as much as the League has asked him to, mainly due to his lecturing duties back at Faultmount University. He shudders when he thinks what they’d do to him. Place him on probation? Strip him of his job at the university? Strip him of his Gym Leader role?

Worst of all, Exile? Given that this act of negligence may have resulted in the death of so many people…he doesn’t want to think about having to share the same fate as Yerim.

“The Vullaby chicks have been captured and are going to be transferred to the Marshusk Day Care and Adoption,” one of the senior Faultmount Police officers run up to them and announce, his Aipom by his feet. Kyungsoo acknowledges this and tells him to quicken the pace of the investigation.

“Let’s both hope you don’t get Exiled, Soo,” Baekhyun says, patting his head. Kyungsoo can’t even bring himself to pretend to be angry, because Baekhyun is being serious now. Hopping on his Togekiss, Baekhyun soars into the skies, disappearing beyond the clouds.

Kyungsoo sighs to himself. He’s got a lecture later in the evening but doesn’t look like he can make it, seeing as he probably has to take part in the investigation surrounding this. Maybe he’ll just get Hoseok to fill in for him.

Sighing, he prepares to head back to his Gym, Excadrill following closely behind. He’s got another case of missing children in Quakemore Village that calls for his attention.

*

“Faultmount is right up ahead.”

Himchan’s Mightyena, which had evolved from the Poochyena with some training, is bounding forward with Helioptile and Weepinbell. Yongguk and Youngjae are chatting about some novel, Himchan and Jongup are actually having a conversation about items, even some that Daehyun has never heard of. Eject Button? Red Card? What do those do?

The city looming in the distance looks more historic than Stratuseon and Souldrop. The only visible landmark appears to be the tall building in the very middle of the city. It is the only part of the city that looks futuristic, pretty out of place.

The streets of Faultmount are sandy, clearly from the fact that the city is practically sitting in the middle of a desert. The buildings are colourful—triangular flags of many colours strung up along the walls of the houses, the doors many shades of red and brown, cacti blooming in pots at the porches of the houses.

The place looked dressed for a festival, what with the various decorations plastered on walls, the interesting designs of merchandise on sale, shopkeepers calling out to potential customers.

“It says here,” Youngjae says, looking at a page in his guidebook, “that Faultmount City celebrates the Harvest Festival every year…oh, it has plantations and greenhouses…?” He glances around. “But this is a desert.”

“They’re over there,” Daehyun comments, spying clear structures with bits of greenery in there. “Does the Harvest Festival have anything to do with it?”

“Probably. What else does the book say, Youngjae?” Junhong asks.

“The Harvest Festival celebrates the first appearance of Landorus and the first year that they’ve been able to grow agriculture in their city. Since then, they’ve been celebrating the Harvest Festival every year for a good harvest.”

“It’s almost winter, though. Halfway through autumn,” Himchan says. “Quite a funny time to have a Harvest Festival, don’t you think?”

“Maybe Landorus is just that powerful,” Daehyun says, shrugging.

When they reach the centre of the city, they find themselves standing in front of the tall building with its name spelled out in large letters in front of the entrance: Faultmount University. Students mill about in the picnic tables and benches in the courtyard visible over the fence enclosing the area. The school itself looks to be as festive as the rest of the city.

The group manages to find an inn near the city centre, just beside a stall that sells hats. They check in, into rooms that just happen to be beside each other. The last three rooms, apparently. The inn is all filled up from tourists to Faultmount attending the Harvest Festival.

Daehyun snuggles into the covers, Cottonee sidling up beside him as Youngjae walks into the bathroom to change. This inn is cozy. The room isn’t big, but has all the essential furniture and soft mattresses. Bagon and Monferno are staring out of the window, pointing out things that excite them, as Plusle sits on Bagon’s head.

Youngjae’s Pokemon are all crowded on his bed. Some, namely Cubone and Petilil, are sound asleep, resting comfortably against Lopunny’s fur as the bunny Pokemon rubs circles on their backs, as if dealing with two tiny children. Braixen is the only Pokemon sitting by the base of the bed, right outside the bathroom.

It isn’t long into their rest when there is the banging on the door, which Daehyun has to force himself to get up and answer. Outside stands Yongguk and Himchan, the former asking if they’d like to go check out the city before the festival begins, to which Youngjae, who has emerged from the bathroom, agrees to.

That’s how they find themselves back on the streets again, just the four of them.

“What happened to Junhongie and Jonguppie?” Youngjae asks, biting into some Watmel bread, supposedly one of Faultmount’s specialties, along with the Belue-and-Cornn Berry stick (a shish-kebab consisting of mainly Belue and Cornn Berries).

“Junhongie wanted to sleep. You can kind of guess what Jongup’s doing by now,” Yongguk hums.

“Yeah, they’re no fun,” Himchan says. “Junhong’s only joining us for the festivities.”

 “And Jongup?”

“Oh yeah, forgot about him,” Himchan scratches his chin. “Maybe I’ll just lure him with some Pokemon batt—what’s that?”

Basking in the afternoon sun is what looks to be a battlefield. Drawn on a raised podium, the battlefield is big enough to rival a stadium. There are unlit torches positioned at the four corners of the battlefield. Faultmount sure loves their Pokemon battles.

“It’s probably for the festival,” Yongguk says. “We can check back here later.”

“Yeah, and drag Jongup here too,” Youngjae nods.

They continue down the street and lo and behold, something shiny catches Youngjae’s eye. Without another word, he makes a mad dash down the cobblestone path, only stopping at a particular store, pulling open the door and disappearing inside.

“Arceus, that boy runs fast,” Himchan hisses as he grabs his kneecaps, bending over and panting his heart out.

“You’re just unfit,” Daehyun grins, cackling as he enters the store as well. Yongguk glances at the things in the store. Electrical appliances and electronic devices. The door opens with a jingle and Yongguk finds himself drowning in the large supermarket-like building. It’s bigger than it looked on the outside.

There are quite a few people browsing through the products, refrigerators, fans, ovens…hell, even lawn mowers. Not that Yongguk knows what they’d use it for. It’s not like there’s any grass to mow around here. He turns to his left upon hearing familiar voices. Youngjae is hunched over at the video games section with Daehyun, although the latter seems less interested than Youngjae is. Houndoom barks and runs over to them.

Then, a flash of silver catches Yongguk’s eye.

It vanishes behind a washing machine.

Is it a Pokemon? He can’t be sure. He shakes his head. Perhaps it’s a figment of his imagination.

“What’s wrong?” Himchan asks. Always the perceptive one.

“Nothing.” Yongguk gives him what he hopes to be a reassuring smile. HImchan gives him a disapproving gaze, but says nothing more.

“Do you think I should get this?” Youngjae holds a video game box up. Pokemon Ultra Sun, a game that just came out recently, a game based off Pokemon, telling the story about the exploits of adventurers in Alola. “Or this?” He holds up Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon, a rogue-like game based on Pokemon also.

“Eh, either,” Daehyun says. “Better yet, get both.”

Money isn’t difficult to come by. Journeying along the routes, there are various Trainers who ask for battles, and often, they win, so they get prize money. Prize money to pay for all these…little things that they might find appealing along the way.

Youngjae grins and heads off to pay for the games.

“Does he have a device though? How does he play—“

“Yeah, he does,” Daehyun says. “Carries it around with him all the time. Plays right before he sleeps and in the mornings after waking up.”

Yongguk nods. When he opens his mouth to say something else, he hears a shriek from beside him, only to find Himchan tumbling to the floor, mouth open in shock. He scrambles back against the floor, back hitting Yongguk’s leg. Mightyena beside him looks as surprised as Yongguk felt at Himchan’s sudden scream.

“What is it?” Yongguk asks, curling his fingers around Himchan’s arm and helping him up.

“Holy , the TV!”

The television section, next to the video games section, is where Himchan is pointing at, expression fearful. The particular television that has caught Himchan’s attention is a Porygon-X model, but it looks pretty normal. Nothing wrong with it. Just a black screen.

“There’s something inside,” Himchan hisses. “Oh Arceus, I saw something.”

“There’s nothing there, Himchan,” Daehyun says. “Seriously, don’t freak the hell out of everyone.”

Yongguk isn’t too sure. The flash of grey he saw just now. It can’t be a coincidence.

At that moment, Youngjae has returned with his bag of goodies, and looks at Himchan’s shaken form. “You alright?” Petilil expresses concern by floating over to Himchan.

By this time, Yongguk is already right in front of the television, Houndoom and Grovyle by his side. If he’s not wrong, that Himchan really saw something in this TV, then there’s only one thing that it can be…

He turns back just as he hears the sound of a click and come face to face with an open refrigerator, cold air blasting out of it.

“Holy !” Daehyun has seen it too.

“See! I told you there’s something here!” Himchan whimpers as he grabs hold of Youngjae, obviously scared to death.

Just then, all the lights flicker off. There are screams and shouts and confused yells as people wonder what is going on. The refrigerator’s door then closes and there! Yongguk can see it! Something lightning-bolt shaped. Something speeding through the air, glowing a bright yellow and orange.

He fumbles for his Pokedex as he gives chase, careful not to lose sight of the speeding ball of light and not to bump into any other shoppers. He flips open his Pokedex and is greeted with the page on a Pokemon he’s heard of, but never seen before.

Rotom. Level 5. Type: Electric/Ghost. Moves learned: Astonish, Thunder Wave, Thundershock, Confuse Ray. Ability: Levitate (avoids Ground-type attacks). Its electric-like body can enter some kinds of machines and take control in order to make mischief.

A Pokemon that possesses electrical appliances.

The ball of electric flies to the lawn mowers section just as Yongguk manages to chase it down. Footsteps ring out behind him. He doesn’t have time to react when Youngjae yells, “Cubone, Headbutt!”

The lawn mower that starts moving avoids the attack by a hair’s breadth. Cubone’s skull head strikes another lawn mower, knocking it off the stand it was on. Blades of leaves appear from the lawn mower and shoots towards Cubone.

Cubone is caught up in the Leaf Storm attack and is hurled back towards Youngjae, its Trainer catching it in his arms.

“Houndoom! Bite!”

Houndoom lunges forward, teeth bared, managing to catch the mower in its jaws. With a disregard for the appliance, Houndoom crunches the lawn mower in half, spitting out the mechanical parts in disgust. The Rotom has zoomed out of the mower and off to the fan section.

Yongguk actually runs into a woman and bows apologetically as he continues the run down the walkways by electrical appliances, Houndoom right on his tail.

“Graveler, Smack Down!”

Something soars through the air and hits the ball of bright yellow, the Pokemon falling down to the ground. The lights flicker back on, as if broken from their spell.

“Rotom!”

A young boy runs out of the storeroom at the back, dressed in the store’s uniform, its logo on the pocket. He jostles past the annoyed patrons and scoops Rotom into his arms. “Hey, why’d you do that?”

Everyone makes way for a man who strides through the store with his Graveler, dressed in a white button-down and a spotted tie. Despite the boy’s angered accusation, he doesn’t flinch, and instead wears an award-winning smile on his face.

“Rotom was just scared!” the boy says, cradling Rotom, who is quivering.

“Don’t let Rotom run loose in the store like that,” the man says, tutting. “Otherwise, it’d scare customers. Wouldn’t want a failing business.”

By now, there is a crowd of people gathered around the boy and the man. The boy huffs and carries Rotom into the storeroom.

“Sorry about that. Jaejun is a little hot-blooded at times,” the man says, “but is a good boy.” He waves his hands at the crowd, and one by one, they disperse, sensing that there is nothing else to watch. “How do you do? I’m Jung Hoseok, lecturer at Faultmount Uni and part-time teacher at the Dancing Dratini.”

He holds a hand out to Yongguk, then Youngjae. At this moment, two bodies manage to find their way around the mess from the fight earlier and stumble upon the three of them.

“There you are!” Daehyun cries out. “We were looking all over for you.”

“Oh, and who might these be?” Hoseok raises a brow.

“Jung Daehyun, and Kim Himchan,” Daehyun says. “We’re…friends.”

“Fantastic,” Hoseok grins eagerly. “Travellers, I assume. No one in Faultmount dresses that way. If you’d like, I can take you sightseeing before the festival starts.” Graveler nods and smiles in agreement.

“But what about this—?” Youngjae asks, gesturing towards the mess they’d made.

“Ahjussi will get it all cleaned up, don’t wory,” Hoseok says. He releases another Pokemon, Cranidos, and rips out a piece of paper from a memo pad in his pocket as well as a pen in his pocket. He scribbles down a note and hands it to Cranidos, the Pokemon biting it between its strong jaws, and totters off to find whoever that memo is intended for.

With a little of uneasy hearts, Yongguk and company leave the building with Hoseok.

*

It appears that Hoseok is rather influential in this city. Perhaps it has something to do with his status as lecturer. He seems to know everyone, or, well, everyone seems to know him. He gives them a tour of Faultmount University, letting them explore the different facilities of the university.

“This is the Abundant Shrine.”

In an underground room, way below the university, lies a shrine. Flowers grow around it, and the walls are overgrown with creepers. There are several people here as well, kneeling on the ground in a kowtow position, paying respects to the Pokemon residing in the shrine, the God of Harvest.

“On this day, people come down to express their gratitude and thanks for Landorus, the God of Harvest,” Hoseok says. “Landorus has blessed the land with good crops every single year, so it’s only right to give thanks.”

Daehyun turns back to face the shrine. It is old, and creaky. Must have been built a long, long time ago. While the wood the shrine is made of is rather aged, it is clean and free of dust. Landorus…he wonders what kind of Pokemon it is. Maybe they’ll get to see it during the festival.

“Anyways, it’s almost time for the festival,” Hoseok says, looking at his wristwatch, as he leads the foursome up the stairs and back onto ground level, in the courtyard of the university. “I need to be getting ready too.”

“Getting ready?” Youngjae inquires.

“My class is performing,” Hoseok says with a fond chuckle. “As their teacher, I need to be present.”

They part ways right outside the university gates with cheery goodbyes and the foursome decide to rest awhile before grabbing their two missing members and partaking in the Harvest Festival.

*

“Whoa,” Daehyun grins as he stares at the intricately-designed floats pass down the streets, showcasing human and Pokemon performers alike. They catch sight of Hoseok’s dance class’s float, where the children and their Pokemon are presenting their dance moves expertly, twirling and spinning to the sound of beating drums and roaring horns.

The sun is already setting behind Fault Canyon, whatever rays of light left illuminating the city. There are already torches positioned along the road, fire burning in them. Floats continue to pass by, different kinds of performers showing off their various talents. A Pansage even bounds up to Junhong, presenting him with a flower before running back to its owner on one of the floats.

The floats actually tell a story. The first float spoke about the barrenness of the place. Nothing grew, and the desert was empty apart from wild Pokemon. The next float spoke about how the first settlers arrived in Fault Desert and started to build a village. However, nothing grew, and there was almost no water. People had almost given up and wanted to leave.

The third float then tells the tale of the people finding a Pokemon living in the desert. One man recognized the Pokemon as Landorus, and prayed to it. Soon, the others began to follow suit and pray as well, including the village chief then. Landorus, using its powers, gave the people a bountiful harvest. They gave thanks and expressed gratitude, and every year, the Pokemon blessed the land with wonderful crops, without an ounce of disaster. It is because of Landorus’s blessing that Faultmount has made it to where it is today. According to Youngjae, every year, the people have a battle, a present to Landorus.

“And now, ladies and gentlemen! Please proceed to the sacred battlefield!”

The crowd begins to move, and Daehyun and the others are jostled around with them, but never losing sight of each other. The sacred battlefield appears to be the battleground that they saw earlier. Now, the torches at each of the four corners of the battleground is lit up, burning intensely, and there are hundreds and thousands of people surrounding the battleground.

“Now, will the challengers come up to the battleground, please.”

Daehyun watches as two children walk up to the box were Trainers stand, their Pokemon following behind them. The boy owns a Goomy and a Trapinch. The girl owns a Sandshrew and a Shellos. At the whistle, the battle starts, the boy starting off with Goomy and the girl with Shellos.

“Goomy, Rain Dance!”

“Shelly, Water Pulse!”

The sky begins to darken and rain falls from the clouds above. Daehyun throws the hood of his jacket over his head as he continues to watch the battle. Shellos has aimed at Goomy with a Water Pulse attack, hitting Goomy spot-on, even inflicting Goomy with the Confusion status. The boy looks panicked, watching as Goomy runs about, as flustered as its Trainer.

“Mud Bomb!”

Using the rain and sand from the battleground, Shellos fires off a giant sphere of mud at Goomy, knocking it out. The boy returns Goomy to its ball, and sends out Trapinch. Daehyun whistles. This isn’t a good type matchup for him. Especially since it’s still raining.

Trapinch lunges forward, catching Shellos in a Mud-Slap attack. Shellos gives a cry of annoyance and attempts to launch another Mud Bomb, but misses, the ball of mud crashing into the ground beside Trapinch. Trapinch then burrows deep underground, digging down through the sandy floor of the battleground.

“Shelly, come back!”

The girl raises her Pokeball, expecting Shellos to return in a flash of red light, but unfortunately, Shellos doesn’t. Instead, it remains on the battlefield, also looking pretty confused and surprised.

“H-Huh?”

“Trapinch, Dig!”

The boy yells triumphantly as Trapinch emerges from the ground and attacks Barboach with a Dig attack, catching the sea slug Pokemon in its strong jaw and knocking it out.

“Arena Trap,” Jongup mutters from behind Daehyun. “The Trapinch has Arena Trap.” Daehyun’s heard of that Ability before. Arena Trap prevents the opponent from escaping, either from switching out or fleeing the battle. That explains what just happened.

The girl, enraged, sends Sandshrew out just as the skies clear once more.

“Trapinch, Dig!” Sandshrew swipes at thin air with Fury Swipes as Trapinch burrows its way underground once more, spraying dirt in to the air.

“Sandy, Magnitude!”

Sandshrew leaps high into the air and pounds the ground. The entire battleground shakes. Daehyun feels the tremors as well as Trapinch emerges from the ground, battered and damaged by the Magnitude attack. Before it can do anything else, Sandshrew hits it with a Swift attack, raining bright stars of energy down on Trapinch, who faints immediately after.

“And the winner of the first match is Kim Dahyun! Put your hands together for our little winner right here!” the emcee booms, clothes utterly drenched, and pats the little girl on the shoulder. The girl looks no more than ten. She grins, walking off the battleground with Sandshrew at her side.

The next couple of matches are pretty interesting. Two boys go head-to-head with a Charmander and a Swablu, the match ending in a draw. Two girls fight with a Meowth and a Machop, the girl with the Machop ending up as the winner.

“And now, the final component! Time to see some strong Pokemon, folks! Let’s invite our Gym Leader up on stage!”

The Gym Leader is a rather short man with wide eyes. He steps up onto stage with his Excadrill and Steelix following loyally behind.

“Now, would anyone like to take up the Gym challenge right here, right now?”

Gym challenge? Does that mena they’ll get a Gym badge if they win? People start screaming and shouting, raising their hands above the crowd, as if trying to get picked by the Gym Leader as a potential challenger. He glances to his left…

Only to find Youngjae gone.

What the . Daehyun snaps his attention back to the battleground to find Youngjae pulling a protesting Junhong by his ear up onto the battleground, followed closely by their Petilil and Clefairy.

“I challenge you!” Youngjae cries, throwing out an arm, pointing at the Gym Leader. “And we’re going to win that Gym badge!”

Trust Youngjae to have the guts to do something like this.

“What the hell is he doing up there?” Himchan grits his teeth and Yongguk just pats his shoulder. The crowd around them starts to boo, and are not afraid to express their annoyance.

Daehyun watches as the Leader’s eyes widen in surprise at the audacity, but nods. The crowd’s yelling begins to die down.

“I admire your bravery,” he says. “Very well.” He waves a hand, and Youngjae and Junhong submit their Pokemon to examination before the fight, as they do every time. Kyungsoo picks two Pokeballs from the satchel slung over his shoulder and releases them: Rhyhorn and Barboach. Upon entering, Barboach shudders a little.

Rhyhorn. Level 25. Type: Ground/Rock. Moves learned: Chip Away, Stomp, Bulldoze, Smack Down. Ability: Lightning Rod (draws all Electric-type attacks towards it). It is inept at turning because of its four short legs. It can only charge and run in one direction. 

Barboach. Level 25. Type: Water/Ground. Moves learned: Rest, Amnesia, Bulldoze, Water Pulse. Ability: Anticipation (Pokemon shudders when foe has a move supereffective against it). Its slippery body is hard to grasp, so much so that there are festivals where people compete to see how many they can catch barehanded.

Youngjae and Junhong release Clefairy and Petilil once again.

“Let the battle begin!” the emcee shouts.

“Clefairy, Sweet Kiss!”

“Petilil, Leech Seed!”

The Leader shouts his commands as well. Rhyhorn rushes forward, its hooved feet digging into the ground, spraying sand everywhere as it charges headlong into Petilil. Petilil uses this chance to plant a Leech Seed in the cracks in Rhyhorn’s rocky armour. Shoots begin to emerge from the seed and wrap themselves around Rhyhorn.

The Sweet Kiss move from Clefairy misses Barboach and Barboach uses Amnesia, its eyes going blank.

Clefairy quickly follows up with a Magical Leaf attack, managing to strike Barboach with it. Unfortunately, Barboach doesn’t go down and instead counters with a Mud Bomb attack. Must be thanks to that Amnesia from earlier, raising its Special Defense sharply. Clefairy tries to rub the sand out of its eyes, but Barboach launches a Water Pulse attack at it.

Meanwhile, Rhyhorn is getting its energy away from it as it continues to ram at Petilil with Bulldoze. Is it just Youngjae or is Petilil getting slower and slower…and is it…

“Growth!”

Petilil gets a little bigger, increasing its Attack and Special Attack before launching a Magical Leaf attack, the leaves exuding purple aura fling themselves towards Rhyhorn, crashing into the Pokemon and effectively taking it out.

Petilil is exhausted, on the verge of collapse, and Youngjae returns it to its Pokeball. He quickly brings out Braixen as the Leader sends out his next Pokemon: a Drilbur.

Drilbur. Level 25. Type: Ground. Moves learned: Hone Claws, Dig, Metal Claw, Bulldoze. Ability: Sand Rush (boosts the Pokemon’s Speed in a sandstorm). By spinning its body, it can dig straight through the ground at a speed of 30 mph.

The first thing the Pokemon does when it leaps out into battle is to sharpen its already razor-sharp claws with a Hone Claws attack, raising its Attack and Accuracy. Drilbur burrows into the ground, claws digging expertly.

Clefairy slams into the ground, thanks to Barboach’s Water Pulse causing confusion on it, utterly defeated. Junhong returns Clefairy to its Pokeball and sends out Totodile, taking Barboach out with a Bite attack.

The Leader sends out Onix, his final Pokemon, the large, rock snake Pokemon towering over them all, glaring down at the two challengers.

Onix. Level 27. Type: Rock/Ground. Moves learned: Dragonbreath, Smack Down, Gyro Ball, Bulldoze. Ability: Sturdy (will not get knocked out in one hit). Burrows at high speed in search of food. The tunnels it leaves are used as homes by Diglett.

“Totodile, Water Gun!”

Water bursts from Totodile’s mouth and to strike Onix. Onix curls its body, dodging the attack and proceeds to fire a Dragonbreath attack, the stream of blue energy smacks hard into Totodile, forcing the Pokemon back, but Totodile holds its ground.

At this point, a bright flash of light emits from Totodile’s body and Junhong grins when a larger version of Totodile appears from the light. It looks tougher, jaw and teeth even more pronounced as it proceeds to attack Onix with an Ice Fang attack.

Croconaw. Level 21. Type: Water. Moves learned: Ice Fang, Water Gun, Scary Face, Bite. Ability: Torrent (ups the power of Water-type moves at low health). If it loses a fang, a new one grows back in its place. There are always 48 fangs lining its mouth. 

Onix roars as Croconaw’s freezing jaw clamps down on its rock body. Hairline cracks can be seen blossoming on its body as ice begins to form on the rock segments. Croconaw doesn’t let go chomps down even harder, to the point where the linkage between Onix’s body breaks, separating Onix into two.

The rock snake Pokemon takes a severe amount of damage and Croconaw stands over its prey triumphantly.

“Smack Down!”

What used to be Onix’s tail dislodges from the rest of its detached body and flies straight at Croconaw, catching it across the maw. Croconaw is forced back but bares its teeth angrily. Onix’s tail reconnects with the rest of its body, clicking together in place.

“Bulldoze!”

“Ice Fang!”

Both Pokemon clash as the ground shakes, cracks forming along the sandy floor towards Croconaw as Croconaw dives forward and clamps down on Onix’s head. Onix is taken out, the large Pokemon slumping to the ground in obvious defeat, icicles forming from its chin. Croconaw lands on the ground, but has no room to rest. Braixen is thrown its way and Croconaw ducks, dodging as the fox Pokemon lands on the ground, sliding hard enough to cause an abrasion if not for its thick fur. Its weapon, a stick, falls from its hands, the flame going out, as it attempts to pick itself back up.

“Water Gun!” Junhong commands, but the stream of water misses as Drilbur buries itself underground again. Braixen and Croconaw are glancing around, a little afraid, since there’s no way to tell where Drilbur is.

Drilbur catches Braixen off guard, striking from below. Braixen yelps and is thrown upwards, hurt from Drilbur’s claws digging sharply into its back.

But what Drilbur didn’t expect is a pair of jaws that crunch up its middle right after. Braixen lands on the ground, defeated, but its sacrifice is not in vain. It has lured Drilbur out, and the Leader’s last Pokemon is also defeated by Croconaw’s Ice Fang.

The Leader returns Drilbur to its Pokeball.

“It was quite an…eye-opening battle,” he says in that soft tone of his. Half the crowd begins to cheer for these shameless challengers. The Leader digs through his pocket to find two shiny Gym Badges. He announces to the crowd, “I, Do Kyungsoo, now present these two challengers the Plate Badge!” He drops the badges onto Youngjae and Junhong’s hands. He then turns to look at them both.

“With the Plate Badge, Pokemon up to level 40 will obey you. Furthermore, you can use the HM Strength outside of battle. Let’s see…” He reaches into his satchel and takes out two discs. “This is the TM for Bulldoze, one of my favourite moves. It’s a Ground-type attack that lowers the foe’s Speed.”

He then turns to the skies, and calls out to Landorus, before expressing their thanks once again for the bountiful harvests every year. He hopes that Landorus has enjoyed the festivities and battles that took place today. With that, he dismisses the crowd, who begin to head back to their houses.

Youngjae and Junhong are beaming when they meet up with Daehyun and company at the base of the battleground, showing off their new Gym Badges. The Plate Badge is a hexagonal-shaped, brown-coloured Badge, with the design of a large crack formed down the centre. It looks simple, but rewarding as Youngjae pins it on his bag.

“Guess we’ll have to get ours tomorrow,” Himchan sighs, staring longingly at the badge on Junhong’s scarf. It’s the third badge, pinned in a row on the fabric, along with Sehun’s Gale Badge and Jongin’s Spirit Badge. The shops are closing, people are headed into their homes. The group find themselves at the hotel they’re staying at, each headed to their own rooms, promising to meet up tomorrow morning at nine.

*

Kyungsoo breathes a sigh. Those kids…even with severely underlevelled Pokemon, they managed to hold their own even against his Pokemon. He apologizes to his Pokemon as he places them in the healing machine, settling down in his own room at the Gym dormitories.

His Pokephone rings, and he picks it up. “Hello?”

“Do Kyungsoo?” It’s Chanyeol. “Got any luck on the missing kids?”

“No,” Kyungsoo yawns. He heads towards his wardrobe to pick out an outfit. “But I heard one of the kids’ mums tried to find her daughter, but she never returned.”

“Ouch, . That’s pretty bad. Look, do you need any help?”

Kyungsoo sighs. “Very appreciated.”

“’Kay, I’ll be down in about ten. Quakemore, right?”

“Yeah, meet me at the entrance to Howlbreak Forest.” Howlbreak Forest sits between Quakemore Town and Faultmount City. He hangs up and Kyungsoo rubs at his temples. He’s got ten minutes to take a shower and head down to Howlbreak Forest.

*****************************

Pokedex entries gathered:

Houndoom

Mandibuzz

Rotom

Rhyhorn

Barboach

Drilbur

Onix

Cameo appearances:

Diglett (one of the wild Pokemon Bangdaelo were training against at the start)

Trapinch (one of the wild Pokemon Bangdaelo were training against at the start and the boy's Pokemon)

Cacnea (one of the wild Pokemon Jonguppie was training against at the start)

Sewaddle (the woman's Pokemon)

Venomoth (the woman's fiancee's Pokemon)

Vullaby (chicks of the Mandibuzz)

Togekiss (Baekhyun's main means of flight transportation)

Excadrill (Kyungsoo's Pokemon)

Mightyena (Himchan's Pokemon)

Landorus (the Pokemon of Harvest)

Graveler (Hoseok's Pokemon)

Cranidos (Hoseok's Pokemon)

Goomy (the boy's Pokemon)

Shellos (the girl's Pokemon)

Sandshrew (the girl's Pokemon)

Steelix (Kyungsoo's Pokemon)

*****************************

Daehyun's Pokemon:

-Cottonee. Level 26. Type: Grass/Fairy. Moves learned: Giga Drain, Growth, Poison Powder, Leech Seed.
-Monferno. Level 26. Type: Fire/Fighting. Moves learned: Mach Punch, Flame Wheel, Taunt, Fury Swipes.
-Bagon. Level 25. Type: Dragon. Moves learned: Crunch, Dragonbreath, Focus Energy, Headbutt
-Plusle. Level 20. Type: Electric. Moves learned: Encore, Bestow, Spark, Helping Hand

Youngjae's Pokemon:

-Petilil. Level 26. Type: Grass. Moves learned: Growth, Magical Leaf, Stun Spore, Giga Drain.
-Lopunny. Level 25. Type: Normal. Moves learned: Jump Kick, Baby-Doll Eyes, Return, Endure.
-Braixen. Level 25. Type: Fire. Moves learned: Psybeam, Tail Whip, Flame Charge, Fire Spin.
-Cubone. Level 19. Type: Ground. Moves learned: Focus Energy, Leer, Bone Club, Headbutt.

Jongup's Pokemon:

-Helioptile. Level 31. Type: Normal/Electric. Moves learned: Charge, Parabolic Charge, Quick Attack, Thunder Wave.
-Lucario. Level 32. Type: Fighting/Steel. Moves learned: Feint, Aura Sphere, Swords Dance, Bone Rush.
-Araquanid. Level 29. Type: Water/Bug. Moves learned: Bite, Bug Bite, Bubblebeam, Aqua Ring.
-Servine. Level 28. Type: Grass. Moves learned: Mega Drain, Growth, Leaf Tornado, Slam.
-Minun. Level 25. Type: Electric: Moves learned: Encore, Copycat, Electro Ball, Fake Tears.

Junhong's Pokemon:

-Clefairy. Level 25. Type: Fairy. Moves learned: Wake-Up Slap, Sweet Kiss, Minimize, Magical Leaf
-Weepinbell. Level 26. Type: Grass/Poison. Moves learned: Vine Whip, Sleep Powder, Poison Powder, Acid.
-Meditite. Level 28. Type: Fighting/Psychic. Moves learned: Hi Jump Kick, Confusion, Calm Mind, Force Palm
-Croconaw. Level 21. Type: Water. Moves learned: Ice Fang, Scary Face, Water Gun, Bite.

Yongguk's Pokemon:

-Rufflet. Level 27. Type: Normal/Flying. Moves learned: Hone Claws, Scary Face, Fury Attack, Aerial Ace
-Houndour. Level 29. Type: Fire/Dark. Moves learned: Beat Up, Ember, Howl, Bite
-Ariados. Level 28. Type: Bug/Poison. Moves learned: Infestation, er Punch, Scary Face, Fury Swipes
-Grovyle. Level 25. Type: Grass. Moves learned: Fury Cutter, Leaf Blade, Leer, Pursuit.

Himchan's Pokemon:

-Floette. Level 24. Type: Fairy. Moves learned: Fairy Wind, Razor Leaf, Lucky Chant, Wish.
-Kirlia. Level 25. Type: Fairy/Psychic. Moves learned: Draining Kiss, Heal Pulse, Confusion, Magical Leaf.
-Brionne. Level 24. Type: Water. Moves learned: Icy Wind, Encore, Disarming Voice, Bubblebeam.
-Mightyena. Level 21. Type: Dark. Moves learned: Bite, Roar, Howl, Swagger.
-Spearow. Level 18. Type: Normal/Flying. Moves learned: Aerial Ace, Fury Attack, Pursuit, Mirror Move.