heyyy im back ive got cca fair (like some sort of carnival where you showcase your clubs and stuff to new students) and tryouts and stuff next week and the week after that so im gonna be damn busy. and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YJAYBABY and Chadol of course

sorry for this pretty short chapter but everythings moving really fast now

HIKIKOMORI IS MY NEW JAM but sad to say i havent watched junhong's mv yet

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It isn’t so much of a battle as it is an inconvenience. Despite having Pokémon with higher levels, the battle was a walk in the park. They had battling skills like an amateur. Daehyun’s Whimsicott has a goon whimpering at its feet in minutes.

“Weaklings!” Youngjae declares confidently, folding his arms, standing in front of a goon groaning in pain on the ground. Misdreavus floats over the goon’s Honchkrow, pulling faces, red orbs around its neck glowing.

“Who the hell are you guys?” Wendy mutters. “Some lowlifes, I’d bet.”

“L-Lowlifes!” the leader screeches indignantly, appearing to still have some fight in him as he struggles to stand. With a slap of Hydreigon’s tail, the leader falls back down on his knees, yelling out in pain.

“Alright, the lot of you are coming down—” Wendy begins, but is interrupted by another high-pitched voice.

“With me to the station. You love saying that.”

Turning his head, Daehyun spots a beautiful woman making her way down the alley, Dragalge trailing behind her. She walks with a certain air, as if she has seen a lot, been through a lot. Perhaps the word he’s looking for is: weathered.

She tucks a lock of brown hair behind her ear, and turns to look down at the fallen members of the Black Empoleon.

“Wendy,” the woman says, smiling.

“Seulgi,” Wendy breathes. “You’re...I thought…?”

Wendy looks like she’s about to burst into tears. The six boys exchange glances, wondering what in the world is going on, when suddenly, Yongguk appears to remember. “Wait a minute…wasn’t Seulgi…”

Seulgi directs her gaze at them now, placing a finger over her lips. “Come with me, the six of you. Wendy, can you deal with these…undesirables?”

“O-Of course.” Wendy looks away, somewhat distraught, but she tries her best not to show. In confusion, Daehyun glances from her to Seulgi, who is proceeding to walk towards the largest building in the small city, the Gym. The automated doors open as they approach, and the receptionist greets them.

“D-Don’t tell me—!” Youngjae claps a hand over his mouth as realization dawns on him. “You’re Marshhusk’s Gym Leader! The one who died!”

“Died?” Seulgi wrinkles her nose. “I suppose. That’s the story I’m hearing these days.”

Daehyun gapes at her. Her death was all over the news, along with that of the death of the Sparkridge Leader. If her death is fake, then the other Leader’s…perhaps he’s still alive?

“You are the Pokédex owners, right? That the Professor sent out on a journey?” Seulgi asks.

It seems to him that everyone in high authority appears to know about them. Or is Daehyun just imagining things? Without hestitation, Youngjae answers affirmatively and Seulgi nods in acknowledgement.

“How did you come back from the dead?” Junhong asks, blinking innocently.

“Dead? Well, I wasn’t dead to begin with,” Seulgi says.

“Are you sure that’s something you should be talking about to the general public?” Yongguk asks.

“Well, you aren’t just anyone, right? You’re the Pokédex owners. The Professor must have seen something in you,” Seulgi says, eyes twinkling. “And I suspect you’re here for a Gym battle as well, right?”

While they have promised Wendy that they are going to undertake her mission, it is true that they’ve hadn’t had a battle of such a calibre in a long time. Perhaps it’s time to hone back the dulled battle senses that they’ve been deprived of?

As usual, Youngjae is the first to answer with a “Why not?” and Seulgi smiles, saying that she’d meet them in the deepest chamber, and that her favourite battle style is Double Battle. She bids them goodbye and heads through a door to her side, her Dragalge trailing behind her, fins floating and wavering in the air.

After pairing up: Yongguk with Junhong, Himchan with Daehyun and Youngjae with Jongup, the first of the pairs head into a maze of planks, complete with a secure net hung over a boiling pit of poison.

*

“Holy Tapu!” Himchan screeches as he takes one tentative step after one tentative step. He’s trembling, but Daehyun can’t blame him. He’s quivering a little himself as well. The poison certainly feels…strong. The bubbling mass of purple liquid beneath them, thankfully, is separated from them by a thin net of (hopefully) strong thread.

Himchan nearly trips on Mightyena’s paw and yelps as he falls facefirst onto the wooden plank. This is taking way longer than they’d expected. Yongguk and Junhongh had come out in an hour, at the maximum, having won their shiny new Gym Badges.

“Almost there,” Daehyun points out. There appears to be some sort of platform, a set of stairs preceding it. Seulgi appears to be relaxing on a purple-tinged throne, writing up some documents with Dragalge and another Poison-type frolicking in the sea of purple.

Slowly but surely, the two of them manage to make it to the set of stairs (assured safety at last!), heart still thundering and their heads spinning. Nausea drugs Daehyun as he takes another whiff of the smell. Arceus, the scent is probably toxic as well!

“Welcome to my kingdom,” Seulgi grins. “Lady of Venom, the Striking Seviper.” She stands from her throne and walks over, further past her desk and standing against the back wall of the platform. She reaches for a switch and flips it. Immediately, a hidden doorway opens up, revealing a battleground waiting for them, carefully prepared by the workers here. “Prepare to be writhing in poison when I’m done with you!”

“That was…dramatic,” Himchan says, tilting his head, grin on his face. Himchan always had a flair for drama. Mightyena howls in content at his Trainer’s satisfaction. Seulgi moves to stand opposite them. She does not call for her Dragalge, or that other Poison-type for that matter, instead, she releases two new Pokémon to the battlefield, two Pokémon that Daehyun has never seen before, or at least doesn’t remember seeing.

One of it is blue in colour, red orbs glinting menacingly in the flashy lights. It waves its tentacles about, as if ready to lacerate its opponents. The other Pokémon is a purple snake, coiling magnificently around itself as its forked tongue pokes out of its mouth, then goes back in, as if reading its foes.

From Daehyun’s knowledge, Poison-types are afraid of Ground-types and Psychic-types. They work especially well against Grass-types and Fairy-types and ineffective against Steel-types. He absolutely cannot bring out Whimsicott. Each side would only be able to use four Pokémon, so he has to pick his fighters with much caution.

Eventually, he settles on using Infernape, the sprightly monkey Pokémon bounding out of its ball the moment it is released, the flame on its head roaring ever so brightly. It punches the ground, spraying up a cloud of sand, as if to make a point. Himchan keeps Mightyena close to his side and sends out Fearow instead, his only other Pokémon that is not part-Fairy-type. The brown bird Pokémon spreads its wings out wide and beat them impressively to keep itself airborne.

Daehyun’s Pokédex reacts to the two new Pokémon standing before him, both bellowing their respective cries in response to their Pokémon’s aggressive war cries.

Tentacruel. Level 36. Type: Water/Poison. Moves learned: Brine, Sludge Bomb, Barrier, Bubblebeam. Ability: Clear Body (prevents stat loss). Normally, it has 80 poisonous tentacles. The longer one has been alive, the fewer tentacles it will have.

Arbok. Level 36. Type: Poison. Moves learned: Spit Up, Swallow, Stockpile, Sludge Bomb. Ability: Shed Skin (able to heal from any status ailment). To intimidate foes, it spreads its chest wide and makes eerie sounds by expelling air from its mouth.

“AAAARGGGGH!” As if imitating the war cry of his Pokémon, Himchan bellows in a deep voice as Fearow begins its attack, beak ing forward with a sharp drill.

Yelling out a command to Infernape, Daehyun watches in sheer panic as Arbok strikes hard and fast with a gooey sphere of poison bursting like a missile from its mouth. Infernape deftly dodges the attack and slings a multitude of punches and kicks at the Arbok. The Arbok recoils, but barely takes damage, big and lumpy body springing up to wrap itself around Infernape.

“Stockpile!”

Arbok’s body grows bigger as it takes a deep gulp of air. The increase in size weighs Infernape down as the fire monkey struggles to escape Arbok’s binding grasp.

“Yah! Jung Daehyun! Help!”

Daehyun chances a glance at Fearow’s situation to realize that Tentacruel, with two-thirds of its eighty tentacles, has bound Fearow up, preventing it from flying, or moving much in general, much like Infernape’s situation.

“Sludge Bomb!”

Both Arbok and Tentacruel send a gigantic globule of poison straight into Infernape and Fearow’s faces. In a quick flash, Infernape brings its arms up to defend itself while Fearow tries to flap its wings in an attempt to get away. However, neither is successful. Poison sizzles, corroding anything it touches. Infernape’s fur and Fearow’s feathers begin to melt, the curd dripping down their bodies.

It’s time to switch out.

“Come back!” In unison, Daehyun and Himchan return their Pokémon to their balls. Without wasting a second, Daehyun sends out Salamence and Mightyena leaps from Himchan’s side, bounding forward, snapping its jaws. Salamence appears to be ready for battle as well, swishing its tail left and right, batting its wings menacingly.

Seulgi’s two Pokémon accept the unspoken challenge, and hit quick and fast with their Sludge Bomb attacks. Arbok’s tail comes to curl around Salamence, but this time, Daehyun’s prepared. Salamence takes to the skies, narrowly missing the attack by an inch. Its large red wings beat powerfully, propelling it higher into the air.

Daehyun slams his fist down on the Mega Ring hanging on his wrist. A bright flash of light engulfs them as Salamence’s form changes right in front of them. Its wings expand to form a circular shape, and its arms and legs grow smaller. Power exudes from the Mega Salamence’s being as it unleashes a Fly attack on Arbok, taking the Pokémon out in one hit.

While Mightyena cannot Mega Evolve, it is holding its own fairly well against Tentacruel, mauling its foe’s tentacles when it gets too close. Preventing Tentacruel from throwing up a Defense-raising Barrier move, Mightyena plows through the onslaught of wriggly, grey tentacles and unleashes a Snarl attack directly at the red orb on Tentacruel’s forehead, dealing serious damage.

Seulgi quickly returns Arbok to its Pokéball and sends out another Pokémon. From what Daehyun can tell, it’s Dragalge’s pre-evolution.

Skrelp. Level 36. Type: Poison/Water. Moves learned: Sludge Bomb, Aqua Tail, Toxic, Double Team. Ability: Poison Point (poison foes that come into contact with it). Camouflaged as rotten kelp, they spray liquid poison on prey that approaches unawares and then finish it off.

From beside him, he can hear Tentacruel screeching in pain as its red orb is assaulted once more, and a bright flash of red light nearly blinds Daehyun. He focuses on the battle at hand, with Skrelp, despite its tiny size, has afflicted Salamence with Toxic, a move that badly poisons the foe. Essentially a ticking time bomb.

Seulgi’s final Pokémon is sent out straight after Tentacruel is returned, a blue and purple Pokémon with what looks to be a spiky outer shield.

Toxapex. Level 38. Type: Poison/Water. Moves learned: Spike Cannon, Baneful Bunker, Recover, Sludge Bomb. Ability: Merciless (all attacks against poisoned foes are always critical hits). Toxapex crawls along the ocean floor on its 12 legs. It leaves a trail of Corsola bits scattered in its wake.

Oh Arceus…Corsola bits?!

Skrelp and Toxapex conveniently switch targets, exchanging positions so fast it looks like a blur. Toxapex bundles itself up in its spiky shield, protecting itself from Salamence’s Crunch attack. Salamence hurts itself on the poisonous spikes, and nearly fells to the Sludge Bomb that Toxapex springs on it.  

Skrelp is keeping Himchan’s hands full with its relentless Double Team trick and Aqua Tail attacks. From what Daehyun can see, a bout of poison is already spreading up Mightyena’s paws and edging towards its body with every passing second.

Toxapex sends a barrage of stinging needles at Salamence, piercing its wings, drawing ichor from its body. Salamence crashes to the ground, reverting back to its normal form. Daehyun returns Salamence to its Pokéball, then sends Infernape back out onto the field.

Upon appearing, Infernape doesn’t waste any time nor momentum. It dashes around Toxapex, raining blows on it with its iron fists and sturdy legs, but Toxapex retaliates with Baneful Bunker, sharp spikes piercing Infernape’s skin and drawing large sprays of ichor.

Just as Infernape is about to fall from the damage, Skrelp slams into Toxapex, knocking the latter onto its head, rendering it unable to get up.

“Close Combat!”

Infernape uses the last of its strength to pummel the Toxapex’s weak spot, its small purple body protected by its spiky shield.

With both Skrelp and Toxapex down, they have officially won the match. Seulgi walks up to them and presents them with the Venom Badge, an intricately-designed piece of metal that Himchan proudly pins on his coat.

So, that’s another badge down. Now time for Youngjae and Jongu—

“Himchan! Daehyun!” Junhong runs up to them, face flushed, panting. Yongguk and Jongup are nowhere in sight.

“What happened?” Himchan asks. His voice has become higher, evidence of his rising panic.

“Young…Youngjae. They took Youngjae.”

*

How did it happen? It happened all in a flash. Youngjae was taken, plain and simple. There was nothing they could do, especially in such a deserted place.

Well, contrary to Daehyun’s belief, the ones who took him are not Team BTS, but rather, that organization from earlier, having received backup from their lackeys underground. Yongguk and Jongup had gone over to Goldplunder to investigate. Junhong had stayed behind to relay the news.

Daehyun isn’t sure what he’s getting himself into when he walks into the city as quiet and empty as Marshhusk. It gives off an eerie vibe. The buildings are dusty, as if they have not been lived in for a long time.

“In here,” Junhong says, gesturing towards an underground subway station, stairs leading into what looks to be a dark abyss, with barely any light. He goes first, followed by Daehyun, then Himchan.

As they descend, the quiet gives way to bellows and roars, squawks and calls. Accompanying the cacophony of noise are bright lights and colours, assaulting their senses all at once.

Junhong slips his Pokédex from his belt and holds it up to his ear, “Yes? You found him?”

He must be speaking with Yongguk or Jongup. He breathes a sigh of relief. Yongguk and Jongup are more than capable of dealing with petty criminals like these. Daehyun earns a death glare from a young woman he’s nearly bumped into. Her Murkrow caws disdainfully.

Junhong puts down his Pokédex after exchanging a few more murmurs with whoever was on the other end of the line, “You need backup? We’re on the way!”

Backup…Daehyun’s heart leaps. Does that mena they are in danger?

“We have to hurry,” Himchan says, Floette by his side. Mightyena and Fearow are much too tired from the earlier fight.

Junhong leads them down a series of dark alleyway, past suspicious buildings and stores, and winds up in front of a building. It is silent, however, with no signs of fighting past its metal shutters. The only sounds Daehyun can hear is the crunching of abandoned newspapers beneath their feet and the faraway bustle of people and Pokémon.

“This is it,” Junhong says, standing in front of the metal shutter. When the shutter refuses to open, Junhong’s Weepinbell melts it with a ball of Acid. Gloopy, sickly green fluid drips down the corroding metal, revealing the inside of the dilapidated building.

“Are you sure this is the place?” Himchan asks, skeptism in his voice. Daehyun doesn’t blame him. Maybe Junhong has led them to the wrong place?

“No, this is definitely the right place,” Junhong says, as if reading Daehyun’s mind, and the trio step inside onto grimy, tiled flooring.

As if lying in wait for them, a second set of metal shutters slam to the ground, effectively trapping them in the building.

“,” Himchan glances around, as if waiting to be struck at.

There appears to be nobody around. Where can the two of them be?

Just then, Junhong turns around to face them, grin on his face. Weepinbell and Medicham suddenly look menacing in the dim lighting. Junhong then releases the rest of his Pokémon, Feraligator, Clefairy and Cofagrigus.

“Junhong, you—”

With one swift move, Himchan is knocked cleanly off his feet by Weepinbell’s sharp Knock Off attack, body sent crashing like a rag doll into the nearest pillar. Daehyun can only stare wide-eyed at the spectacle. Floette is frozen on the spot, unable to move, much like how Daehyun is now.

“Oh Arceus, you all are so stupid,” Junhong says with a twirl of his finger. “How did you all even…even…” He laughs, throwing his head back. An evil grin grows on Medicham and Clefairy’s faces. Feraligator and Cofagrigus are looking pretty worried and uncertain.

“Especially the two of them,” Junhong says, taking a step forward. Daehyun’s legs grow weak. “The two so-called undercover agents.”

The two of them? Who?

“They’re probably rotting in a ditch somewhere,” Junhong says, ing a hand forward. “Good night, sleep tight, and don’t let the bedbugs bite.”

Daehyun throws his arms up, bracing himself from what will most likely be a deadly attack from Junhong’s Medicham. Without him even touching it, his Pokéball bursts open, Plusle emerging from it, blasting sparks from its cheek pouches, shocking Medicham. Medicham recoils, and Daehyun barely has time to take another step back when a sudden blow to the back of his head renders him unconscious immediately.

The last thing he sees is Junhong’s smug, satisfied smirk.

*

Where is he?

Youngjae blinks awake. He feels…restricted.

He glances around. He’s in a dark room, filled with a whole lot of nothing. At the far end, there is a wall made of metal bars and a door. He can get out that way. Well, if not for the fact that he is currently tied to a pole or something. He tries moving his wrists, but his arms are held fast behind him by some kind of rope.

Footsteps resound through the room, and Youngjae tenses as someone stops outside his cell. He looks young, probably about the same age as Youngjae, with black hair gelled back ever so fashionably. The young man is dressed in a suit of sorts, tie hanging loosely from his neck.

“Youngjae, right?” the young man says, smiling, dimples emerging on his cheeks. Youngjae stares at him, hard.

“I thought you’re the talkative one,” the man says, chuckling. “That’s what you seemed like.”

“What do you want?” Youngjae says, less forcefully than he’d have liked.

“I want Junhong’s obedience,” the young man says without missing a beat. “And it appears that you are the only way to achieve that.”

*

Sorry there isn't one this time round :(( if i did this i wouldn't be able to get this up on yjay's bday!