Seulyi forgot how to breathe, how to walk, how to talk, and how to function like a normal human being. She walked beside Myungsoo—him like a God descended from heaven, and she like a dysfunctional robot. 

Myungsoo was quieter than the persona shown on TV. He didn’t wink or blow kisses in real life, keeping his face in a default straight but handsome expression. It made it impossible for Seulyi to start a conversation, and he didn’t seem to mind it either.

It was Chikorita who got annoyed by their silence, glaring at her trainer to do something or make a move. She moved to Seulyi, using her entire might to push her closer to Myungsoo.

“Not now, Chimera,” Seulyi hissed, thinking her Pokemon wanted to be babied. She tried her best to keep a straight face.

Chikorita huffed, deciding to use its vines to push her closer. But before she did so, Roselia appeared, swatting her vines away. The rose Pokemon had this smug look on her face which made Chikorita even more annoyed.

“Chiko!” She cried, tackling the arrogant looking Roselia, who then bumped against Seulyi, and pushed her against Myungsoo.

Seulyi yelled, but Myungsoo was quick to catch her. “Are you alright?” 

She felt herself about to hyperventilate or faint again. Myungsoo’s hands were on her bare skin, and she was practically within his embrace. She wasn’t sure whether to thank or curse her Pokemon for it.

Chikorita grinned in satisfaction, even more so when Roselia panicked, seeing her trainer getting close to some stranger. The rose Pokemon did not like it.

“I’m fine,” Seulyi stammered, pushing herself away from him as she dusted her dress and combed her long streak of dusty grey hair. “Oh, my hat is gone!”

“Your hat?” Myungsoo asked, eyeing sideways to see the large sunhat moving on its own on the sand. He approached and picked it up, revealing a Slowpoke trying to run away with it. Problem was, Slowpoke was too slow to make his escape.

“You thief! Don’t make me use Chitatos to defeat you,” Seulyi yelled. But as Slowpoke kept up a dumb face and cocked his head sideways questioningly, it aggravated her more. “Fine! I will fight you! Chiora, go!”

Roselia stared at Chikorita quizzically, as if to ask “you?” And Chikorita sighed, bobbing her head in reply. She stood in front of Seulyi, facing the blank looking Slowpoke. This was gonna be a long battle.

“Alright, Chico, use that fire thingy!”

Chikorita, Roselia, and Myungsoo all frowned at her. A grass type Pokemon couldn’t possible produce fire. Chikorita nearly cried in panic at the ridiculous command.

“Oh, you can’t do that?” Seulyi scratched her cheek. “Okay, do the water thingy then! Spit at him!”

Chikorita turned to her with devastation all over her face. She hated to disappoint her trainer, but these were all impossible requests.

“Not that one either? What can you do, then? Hmm.”

Myungsoo cleared his throat. “Maybe you wanna try razor leaf.”

“Razor leaf?” Seulyi could not imagine what that was like. Weren’t razors used for shaving? Was her Pokemon going to shave an already bald Slowpoke? She shrugged. “Chikoka, do the shaving leaf thing!”

“Razor leaf,” Myungsoo corrected.

“Yes! That!”

Chikorita got excited. Finally a command she could do. So she gathered all her energy to emit several leaves from her body, each one as sharp as a razor. The blades spun to Slowpoke, who was too lazy to run away and accepted his demise. When the leaves hit him, he lazily cried out in pain, but stayed in place.

“Oh my God, yes! I did it! We did it, Chikaka! We defeated the Slowpoke!” Seulyi was so happy at her first victory that she and Chikorita celebrated by jumping up and down. Her movements were so vigorous that a Pokeball fell from her pocket, slowly rolling to Slowpoke, nudging it.

“Seems you’ll catch him as well,” Myungsoo commented, pointing at the blinking and unmoving Pokeball that contained the Pokemon. Slowpoke put zero resistance and accepted his fate. The ball came to a lazy halt. “You got yourself Slowpoke.”

“What?” Seulyi cried, dramatically falling down to the sand. “I don’t want a Slowpoke.”

Chikorita puffed her cheeks in protest, noticing Seulyi had memorized Slowpoke’s name at once. 

Myungsoo chuckled lightly, squatting before her to put the sun hat back on her head. “That was a great battle. Maybe you could help me with my performance next time.”

Seulyi’s eyes widened, and her heart raced faster. Maybe there was a good thing about catching the stupid Slowpoke after all.

“Yes!”

Everywhere Yerin and Chanyeol went, eyes followed them. One, Hwang Yerin was the famed gym leader adored by all, and two, Chanyeol’s bright orange onesie was hard to ignore.

“Excuse me,” Yerin called out to a group of boys around their age who had been staring for a while. “There’s been multiple incidents involving a scammer. Have you seen anyone suspicious?”

“You mean, aside from him?” The boy asked, pointing at Chanyeol.

“Yes, he’s with me,” Yerin said, which elated Chanyeol. She was openly defending him and publicly claiming they were together.

“No, haven’t seen any around,” the boy said. 

“I see. If anything suspicious comes up, please let me know,” Yerin spoke. As she was about to walk away, she heard the boy clear his throat. So she turned, seeing him approach with a black marker in his hand and his sleeves rolled up, revealing his well defined biceps.

Yerin’s eyes widened in delight, and Chanyeol hated it. He looked at his own arm hidden beneath the onesie. If she liked it so much, he could grow some biceps too.

“Could you sign here?” The guy asked, pointing at his muscled arm. 

“Like a tattoo?” Yerin remarked and took the marker from his fingers.

Chanyeol hitched his breath, watching with gritted teeth as Yerin softly rubbed her thumb against the guy’s arm. Then she began writing, her hand pressed against his skin while the other one held the rolled up sleeve in place. He even saw the guy taking a whiff of Yerin’s hair. It was totally not creepy if Chanyeol did it, but others? Nope.

“There.” Yerin capped the marker and returned it. She nodded at her own signature, a scribble of lines that was like a work of art.

“Can I also take a picture with you?”

Yerin laughed. This was a typical day in the life of a famous gym leader. She called Rapidash to stand closer and posed next to the guy. One of his friends got the camera ready and began a countdown.

Chanyeol’s eyebrows shot upwards. He saw the guy’s hand inappropriately moving lower and lower down Yerin’s back, on the border of being ual harassment. The smile on Yerin’s face turned into a frown, sensing something amiss. Chanyeol wouldn’t let anyone treat his future girlfriend that way. So he called out his Magikarp, ensuring it landed on top of the guy’s head, trapping it inside its mouth.

“Whaaisdisss?” The guy yelled in panic. As he tried to remove Magikarp, he touched its slimy fish scales instead, deepening his sense of fear.

“Serves you right for trying to take your chances,” Chanyeol mumbled, managing a grin as malicious as he could. He watched the guy run away from Yerin before calling Magikarp back. 

Yerin and Rapidash watched the guys disappear into the distance and returned to Chanyeol. “Was that your Magikarp?”

“Yes. I saved your life,” Chanyeol stated, hoping she’d reward his heroic deed with a kiss or her hand in marriage.

But instead, she laughed again, the powerful and confident laughter fit for a gym leader. “Rapidash was about to burn him up, but I guess your method was more people friendly.”

Chanyeol’s eyes widened as regret entered. He shouldn’t have stepped in so that Yerin could burn the guy. That way he’d never bother her again.

“Thank you. At this rate, you might just defeat me during a battle,” she said.

Chanyeol looked up with hope, holding the Pokeball close to his chest. Yerin must’ve remembered the promise she made to him. From now on, he would do his best to become stronger so that he could beat Yerin and become her boyfriend.

What he didn’t know, however, was that Yerin was just making small talk.

Hyunmi was an expert at not being fazed by the offers thrown at her. She had a clear goal to catch Minhyuk, and until then, she would not be swayed by the limited time offers or discounts from other merchants. 

“Excuse me, sir.” Hyunmi approached an old man’s stand placed opposite of Minhnyuk’s vacant spot. “We’re looking for the owner of that stand. Have you seen him around?”

Woohyun was more focused on the crowd who kept pushing around. He closely stood behind Hyunmi to make sure no one would push against her and ushered Growlithe and Swablu forward so they wouldn’t get kicked either.

“Not that I know of,” the man said, staring at Hyunmi with an apologetic smile. “Has he tricked you into buying something?”

Hyunmi narrowed her eyes, deducting that more people had fallen for Minhyuk’s scams to the point even the neighboring merchants were aware of it. “Yes. And now my friend got tricked as well.”

“You poor things. I hope you find him. It’s about time someone puts him out of business,” the man said.

“Will do! We’re planning to hand him over to Officer Jenny,” Hyunmi said and nodded at the old man. “Thank you for your time, sir. We’ll be off then.”

The merchant waited until Hyunmi had gone off to the next stall before making psst sounds, beckoning Woohyun to come closer. “I have something for you.”

Woohyun was conflicted whether to stay or follow Hyunmi, but the old man was already searching through his inventory and picked up a pink coral like stick.

“It’s a dried up Corsola Horn. Legend says that if you give this to the person you fancy, the feelings will be mutual and will last forever.”

“W-What?” Woohyun felt his cheeks blushing, glancing at Hyunmi to ensure she didn’t hear the conversation. But she had already gone off to yet another merchant, taking this detective mission a little too seriously. Even Growlithe had gone with her to keep her safe among the crowd of men.

“I see the way you look at her. I can’t possibly be wrong,” the old man said, nudging the Corsola Horn to him. “You’ll need this.”

Woohyun was unable to find his voice, so he politely bowed to the man and sprinted in escape without touching the item. The merchant was spewing nonsense. He looked at her the same as he would at anyone else. Sometimes he’d replay her encouraging words in his head, and sometimes he’d picture her singing at the make belief wishing well, and sometimes he’d even remember her wink. Wasn’t that normal?

“Woohyun!” 

He flinched, returning to reality where Hyunmi waved a hand in front of his face. She stood a little too close for his heart to return to its regular rhythm. 

“Someone said they spotted Minhyuk heading to the Flower Haven. We gotta go to Mira,” she said.

“Are you trying to help out your rival now?” he asked, trying his best not to let the old man’s words affect his stammering speech.

“Who said anything about helping?” Hyunmi grinned evilly. “I’m gonna record her getting scammed and use it for future blackmail purposes. She did claim Minhyuk wouldn’t affect her.”

The twist made Woohyun laugh as he spontaneously placed a hand on her head, patting lightly as he slurred the words “Sure you will.”

But then he saw the change in her expression, her eyes widening before wandering at anything but him. With her lips tightly pressed, she resembled the innocent girl who got scammed instead of the one planning to blackmail someone. So he quickly retracted his hand, wondering why he did that.

“Alright, l-let’s go then,” he stuttered.

Woohyun heard both Growlithe and Swablu snicker a laugh at him, and he did his best to ignore them.

Mira was almost getting bored. Ten minutes in and nothing had happened. She doubted there was even a scammer to begin with. 

“We should just go, Ninetales,” she said, and her Pokemon let out a squeal that was better described as graceful than cute. 

But right before she turned, she saw something rustling in the bushes, followed by a hushed conversation between a male and a female. As far as she recalled, the others described the scammer as a solo act.

“Hello? Anyone there?” She asked, and she heard audible gasps before it went utterly silent. Mira exhaled and shook her head at the failed hiding. Ninetales mimicked her movement. “I know you’re behind the bushes. Both of you.”

Still silence.

“If no one’s there, I guess it’s okay for Ninetales to use ember. Ninetales?”

The bushes began to rustle again, this time accompanied by high pitched squeals.

“No, we’ll come out!” A girl stepped out from the bushes, much younger than they were. A Pichu hopped alongside her.

Next to her, a guy appeared with a Raichu by his side. He didn’t look as frantic as she did, keeping his face calm.

Mira frowned, placing a hand on her hip as she shifted her weight to one leg. The two of them wore similar black uniforms with the letter R written in a big red font. After seeing that strange guy in a Magikarp onesie, she wondered whether a cosplay parade was taking place in the city.

“Who are you?” She questioned the two.

“We are…” the girl began, nudging the guy’s arm to participate.

“Team Rocket!”

“... Ket…”

Mira scrunched her eyebrows at their failed synchronization. She assumed they were supposed to say that line together. The girl with her Pichu stared at the guy with a disappointed pout.

“You were supposed to say it at the same time with me,” the girl said, huffing once as the hair flew from her face. She tidied her hair and pointed a finger at Mira. “Get ready, we’re gonna rhyme now.”

Mira and Ninetales exchanged a look, equally confused. “Okay?”

“Prepare for trouble,” the girl said with so much excitement and energy that juxtaposed the other boy’s silence. The girl froze in her elaborate pose, eyeing her partner who yawned. “Jisoo, it’s your turn.”

“What’s my line?”

“Make it double,” the girl hissed

The boy named Jisoo poked a pinky finger in his ear. “Yeah, yeah, make it double,” he said like a lethargic person.

Mira wasn’t sure how to react to this performance or what it was even supposed to be. Truthfully, she felt a little sorry for the girl. But before she could say anything else, someone clucked his tongue behind her.

“Is this what Team Rocket’s new recruits are like?”

The young girl’s eyes and mouth widened, watching the newcomer approaching. Dirty blond hair, average height, and an Aipom on his shoulder. This must be the Minhyuk guy.

But as Mira studied him, she realized that his face was anything but common, as she had originally thought him to be. In fact, he had the type of face that drew her eyes to him almost instantly, handsome and dangerously attractive.

“It’s Minhyuk!” The girl squealed, watching the scammer with wide eyes of admiration as if he was a famous figure in the nefarious world.

“And who are you two noobs?” Minhyuk asked.

“I’m Hana, and this is Jisoo. We’re still on probation!” The girl said.

“Team Rocket’s taking on interns?”

“Yes! I thought it would look good on my resume, so I joined. But so far, all they’ve been telling us to do is to steal Pokemon. We keep failing,” Hana pouted.

A resume for what? Mira thought, but she didn’t voice out her question when her eyes continued to observe the scammer.

“You guys might wanna work on your rhyming first. You did great, Hana, but Jisoo…” Minhyuk winced and shook his face with disapproval.

“I’ll try harder next time,” Jisoo apologized.

“Good. But you’ve aimed at the wrong person. This Ninetales is an award winning Pokemon. It won’t be easy to capture her,” Minhyuk spoke, and Mira immediately stood her guard.

“What should we do then?” Hana asked woefully.

“There are a group of kids heading here. You could try to steal their Pokemon,” Minhyuk suggested. “They should be easier targets.”

“Oh, yes! We’ll do that! Thanks for the info, Minhyuk,” Hana spoke, bowing once to thank him. She then nudged Jisoo to follow her as they walked to the entrance of the Flower Haven, ready to ambush whoever would set foot.

“You were trying to steal my Pokemon,” Mira remarked, suspiciously eyeing the scammer.

“No, they were trying to steal your Pokemon. I just saved you,” he spoke leisurely, leaning against a tree.

“As if. They seemed harmless.”

“The keyword is seemed. They’re interns at Team Rocket. You shouldn’t underestimate the most evil Pokemon organization in existence.” Minhyuk eyed her, trying to read her reaction and determine if there was anything of value he could offer.

“Oh yeah? And how do you know that?”

“Because I was a member,” Minhyuk spoke, eyeing her Ninetales. It was a beauty indeed, and had he still been part of the organization, the Pokemon would’ve been in his grasp now.

“Then why’d you get out?” Mira crossed her arms.

Minhyuk was about to answer when he heard a loud explosion coming from the entrance. It seemed that the others had found him, and the two interns failed to hold them back. Of course, what else had he expected from the two who couldn’t even finish their rhyme. He sighed and pushed himself away from the tree.

“Buy us some time, and maybe I’d tell you.”

And with that, Mira watched as Minhyuk swiftly climbed into the tree, keeping himself hidden, his entire fate in her hands.
 

who is that pokemon?

 

Chikorita	Swablu
Roselia	Corsola
Slowpoke	Ninetales
Magikarp	Pichu
Rapidash	Raichu
Growlithe	Aipom