By the time Woohyun and Hyunmi arrived at Flower Haven, they were surprised to see the rest already gathered there, except for Mira.

“Did you find any clues?” Hyunmi asked.

“No, which is why we returned to our meeting point,” Yerin answered, curiously eyeing her. “Have you?”

“Yes, Minhyuk’s here,” Hyunmi said, about to continue her stride when suddenly, a Pichu and a Raichu saltoed their way in front of them, blocking their path.

“Not so fast, you troublesome meddlers,” a female voice snarled at them.

They watched as two teenagers sprinted their way forward to catch up to their Pokemon. They halted and panted terribly, holding a finger up, needing some seconds to catch their breath.

“Take your time. Not like we’re gonna take advantage of this moment to strike you shady looking people first,” Woohyun said, his hands resting behind his head.

“Let us. Gather our energy. Before. We rhyme,” the girl, Hana, huffed through her words, a deep breath in between.

“Rhyme? Why would she rhyme?” Seulyi asked confused.

As if on cue, the pair straightened themselves, striking a cool yet questionable pose. Raichu joined them immediately at the center, but Pichu moved away from the spotlight that suddenly shone on them out of nowhere.

“Prepare for trouble,” Hana spoke, eyeing her partner with threatening eyes, hoping he’d remember his line this time.

“Uuh… And make it double,” Jisoo spoke without any hint of excitement or life in his tone. He scratched his chin, looking at Raichu who nodded in approval.

“To protect the world from devastation!”

“Really? Looks like the world needs to be protected from you guys,” Woohyun commented, to which Myungsoo immediately laughed at, pointing his fingers at the two shady looking people in agreement.

Hana gritted her teeth and growled, an actual groan of utter annoyance like a Snubbull about to bark. “Do not interrupt the rhyme!” She cleared , coaxing Jisoo to continue.

“Uh.. To protect all peoples within our nation.” He was so lifeless it made the others wanna sleep just by listening to him.

“Seol Hana!”

“Hong Jisoo…”

“Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light. Surrender now or prepare to fight,” they both spoke, unmatched, unorganized, and unharmonized. It was a mess.

They weren’t sure how to react, but Chanyeol was kind enough to applaud, showing genuine reaction to their performance. Hyunmi also clapped along, though not quite understanding what she was praising.

“Now, we have come to steal your Pokemon!” Hana cheerfully declared, eyeing the ones she could see. A Growlithe, Rapidash, Swablu, Chikorita, and Roselia. There were no legendary Pokemon, but one of those ought to make the boss happy. Rapidash was the only evolved Pokemon, so it should be stronger and worth more. “We shall take the Rapidash.”

“Excuse me?” Yerin asked, scoffing in disbelief. She waited for the younger girl to throw some punchline, but the determined glint in her eye was that of a thief.

“Pichu! Let’s go!” Hana called, pointing at Rapidash with so much vigour, but Pichu never appeared. “Pichu, come on!”

The others looked on, suddenly not so intimidated or worried anymore. On the side, Pichu was lazily lying down, scratching its . At this rate, people would identify him as Jisoo’s Pokemon.

“Ugh, come on, Pichu!” Hana yelled, pulling on Pichu’s tail to get him to move. But in the end, Pichu used its thundershock on her.

Seulyi grinned, stepping in front of the others with a Pokeball in her hand. “I think I can handle this one.”

“Really? Have you memorized your Pokemon’s name?” Hyunmi asked, but Seulyi kept snickering mysteriously.

“No, but I caught a new Pokemon.”

“Within these few minutes?” Woohyun asked skeptically. He even turned to his childhood friend for confirmation.

“It was a remarkable performance,” Myungsoo said, chuckling to himself. He had never seen anyone catch a Pokemon with such spontaneity before.

“Yes, I will show you the power of my Slowpoke!” Seulyi proudly threw her Pokeball, and out of it, in an extremely anticlimactic way, a pink creature which does not necessarily resemble any animal to be compared to appeared.

“A Slowpoke?” Chanyeol asked and pouted. “Should’ve gotten a Magikarp instead.”’

“I might as well use this Pokemon,” Seulyi said. “Alright, Slowpoke, do something!”

It yawned.

“Well, that is something,” Woohyun commented.

Seulyi frowned, trying her best to recall the move Myungsoo had taught her. “Shaving leaves!”

Before Slowpoke could move, Raichu already jumped in the air and electroducted the Pokemon. Slowpoke was knocked out in an instant.

“Oh no! Slowpoke!” Seulyi wailed out dramatically, calling her Pokemon back. “Why didn’t it work?”

“It’s razor leaf,” Myungsoo corrected, whispering close to her ear. “But it’s not appropriate for a Slowpoke. It can’t use a grass type move.”

“What?” Seulyi sighed, swaying her hands up in frustration. Her mind was too occupied by her loss for her heart to react to Myungsoo’s close distance. “How do you guys know this? How do you memorize what moves they are able and unable to do?”

“You just know,” Yerin answered, stepping forth with a grin on her face, her fingers trailing over her Pokeballs. She cleared , catching Jisoo’s attention. “Has nobody told you that you should pick trainers of your level?”

“We don’t care about such rules,” Jisoo spoke.

“Well in that case, neither will I,” Yerin threw one of her Pokballs, calling forth the gym quality Pokemon. “Blaziken!”

They all stood amazed as the Pokemon towered over Raichu, its arms mightily crossed over the other. 

“She is so cool,” Chanyeol cooed, instantly smitten.

“Avenge my Slowpoke, Yerin!” Seulyi pleaded, punching the air in frustration.

Yerin caught the compliment and smirked. Time to show what a gym leader was truly made of. “Blaziken, use flame charge.”

Blaziken clenched its fists like a power up, and all of a sudden, fire began to spread all over its body. The flaming Pokemon eyed its opponent, and immediately charged ahead, gaining speed with every second.

“Raichu, hyperbeam…”

The command was so lethargic sounding that Raichu took its time to gather energy, recharging itself until an orange ball appeared in its open mouth. 

The moment Blaziken’s flaming body was only inches apart from him, Raichu fired the hyperbeam from it mouth—a strong ray of light that blinded the onlookers, shooting straight at Blaziken. The fire around Blaziken’s body disappeared as he flew backwards, bouncing on the stony pavement close to the fake wishing well. The move was so powerful that Blaziken trembled a little when it tried to sustain itself back to its feet.

“That wasn’t a very good idea,” Yerin spoke, eyeing Raichu who had reached its limit thanks to that one powerful move. It had hoped to take Blaziken out at once, but her Pokemon was much stronger. Raichu was panting in exhaustion, needing time to rest before it could gather its power. 

“What? Why not?” Seulyi asked, completely lost. Why wasn’t Yerin worried even though her Blaziken seemed on the verge of dying?

“Hyperbeam is a risky move. It takes up a lot of energy from the Pokemon, so it won’t be able to attack for a while. It’s usually used as a finishing move to knock out the other,” Hyunmi explained.

Seulyi hummed to herself, slightly nodding. Since it hadn’t defeated Blaziken, the fire Pokemon was now at an advantage against the exhausted Raichu. Hyperbeam wasn’t a good move inthis situation.

“Yes, it is. Pichu, use captivate on Blaziken,” Hana suddenly commanded, trying to cheat by joining the fight. Blaziken was outnumbered.

But the moment Yerin gulped in realization at their unfairness, Hyunmi had already thrown her Pokeball into the battlefield. Blue colored hearts sprinkled from it, a Coordinator’s gimmick she forgot to take off. In the midst of the showering blue hearts, a small blue colored elephant Pokemon appeared with an adorable pose.

“Pichu’s electric moves won’t work on ground type Pokemon like my Phanpy,” Hyunmi continued lecturing Seulyi along the way. “Phanpy, use roll out.”

The elephant Pokemon curled itself into a ball and rolled against Pichu with an amazing speed.

“Pichu, be careful!” Hana yelled worriedly.

And as much as Pichu disliked his owner, it easily jumped from Phanpy’s tackle. It balanced on one foot like it was performing an acrobatic move, even grinning at its escape. But little did they know, that Phanpy’s roll made a turn. So when Pichu was proudly posing, Phanpy easily tackled him from behind. He ended by shaping himself into its normal form, posing prettily once again.

“Blaziken, let’s finish it off,  Yerin called, smirking. “Flare blitz.”

Light red fire began to surround Blaziken’s body with fiery orange light streak spiraling around it. The Pokemon no longer trembled, regaining its balance as it charged toward Raichu a second time. But the exhaustion made him unable to control his power, smashing a bit too hard as Raichu tackled Jisoo, Hana, and Pichu like an explosion. The four blasted off into the clear blue sky.

Blaziken looked a little surprised at its own strength, scratching the back of its head apologetically.

“They deserved it,” Yerin said coolly, feeling zero remorse for those youngsters. She praised her Blaziken, called it back, and tucked the Pokeball back to her belt. “Thanks for the backup, Woohyun’s girlfriend. Now, let’s go find the scammer.”

Hyunmi scrunched her eyebrows, looking up from patting Phanpy’s head. “What did she just call me?”

“My girlfriend,” Woohyun said calmly, not noticing her cheeks reddening as he waited for her to call Phanpy back. His focus was to catch up to the others. “Obviously she remembers my name but keeps referring to me as the one who lost to her.”

“She’s worse than me. At least I almost remember Chikolee’s name,” Seulyi said. She shrugged once before catching up to the others.

That’s not the point, Hyunmi thought. But since Woohyun didn’t notice it, perhaps she shouldn’t put much thought in it either. She dusted her hands off on her skirt, as Woohyun helped her up. “Thanks.”

And just like that, she casted her quickening heart rate aside.

They delved further into the Flower Haven, finally seeing Mira’s familiar figure. She was standing stiffly, looking to her left and right as soon as she spotted the others coming. Her Ninetales was mimicking the movement, flicking its head rather suspiciously.

“Are you two okay?” Chanyeol asked, noticing the strangeness in their behavior.

“Yeah, it’s just that,” Mira paused, forcing a smile on her lip as it was time to make her decision. “I haven’t seen the scammer around.”

“Really? Sources told us that he was spotted here,” Hyunmi said as soon as she caught up. Too bad, she secretly hoped her rival would get scammed as well.

“I have patrolled the area five times and saw no suspicious activities,” Mira kept her voice extremely calm and composed, the lies spewing out flawlessly. “Maybe your sources were wrong.”

Hyunmi flinched, feeling an irritation whenever Mira acted like the better one between them. Anyone could feel the tension building between them, like fire fighting fire.

“I thought they were friends,” Myungsoo whispered to Seulyi once again, the person standing the closest to him.

“No. Hyunmi lost five times to Mira, so she’s sensitive about everything Mira does,” Seulyi said, completely oblivious to the harshness of her words.

Mira had to somehow convince them to get away and look elsewhere. 

“If you were smart, you’d continue looking at other places. He’s obviously not here,” she chose to taunt instead. At that moment, she heard the rustling in the tree, guessing that the scammer wouldn’t hold on any longer. She had to get them away. “Or you can go back home and rest.”

Mira opened an eye to peek at their agitated expressions. Everyone was looking at her, except for Chanyeol. The Magikarp fanatic was staring right at the tree where Minhyuk was hiding in. Mira flinched. Did he discover the truth?

“If we go now, we might still catch up to the scammer,” Yerin suggested, staring at the rest for their next move

“Alright! We’ll be the ones to catch Minhyuk and turn him over to Officer Jenny. She’ll reward us, and not you!” Hyunmi said childishly to Mira. She called Swablu to follow her and was quick to lead the search elsewhere.

“Wait, we’re just gonna believe her?” Woohyun asked, surprised that no interrogation had taken place. Mira could be bluffing for all they know, but since he couldn’t possibly let Hyunmi walk into danger alone, he followed her.

“We’ll split up again outside,” Yerin said, feeling her own competitive streak rushing out.

Mira watched all of them go, relieved they were quite dumb to so easily believe her. She flinched again when Chanyeol’s eyes stayed on the tree.

“A-aren’t you going?” 

“I am,” Chanyeol replied, saluting to her once, and then to the tree. “Send Minhyuk my regards.”

He knows.

But Mira kept her composure, showing no hint of panic. Chanyeol may have looked the dumbest of them all with his Magikarp onesie, but he was surprisingly perceptive of the little things no ordinary person would’ve noticed.

She waited until the coast was clear before telling Ninetales to use tail whip on the tree. It shook, and Minhyuk and his Aipom were quick to fall out and land on their feet like ninjas.

“Well, thanks for the cover up. It’s much appreciated.” Minhyuk was about to leave the place when Ninetales appeared, blocking his path.

“You said you’ll explain your history to me if I helped you,” Mira said, folding her arms together. This scammer may be handsome, but there was that beguiling quality in his face, like she shouldn’t trust that boyish grin and vigorous eyes of his.

“And you believed that?” Minhyuk asked, laughing at her gullibleness. Everyone was so easy to fool sometimes.

“I don’t, but I can make you speak,” Mira said, still maintaining her calm. Her Ninetales could win against Aipom, and even if he were to summon a different Pokemon for battle, she’d have backup too. 

“Interesting. Well, it’s much easier to make me speak than make me shut up,” Minhyuk shrugged, easily sidestepping Ninetales to continue his stroll.

Mira cued Ninetales to hold the scammer back by biting the end of his shirt. Then Mira placed herself in front of him with her arms spread out, forming the human barricade herself.

“Who are you and what do you want?”

The guy stared at her, the grin still intact. “I thought I had made quite a reputation for myself by now. I go by Mihhyuk. What I want is the richness of life.”

“Richness of life?” Mira repeated, hitching her breath when Minhyuk leaned closer to her, so close she could feel his breath on her upperlips.

“Money.”

And thus, he easily pushed her aside in the gentlest manner possible and continued walking ahead.

Mira thought it’d be a stupid question to ask why he wanted money. Who doesn’t? But for the sake of keeping him there and digging up more information, she had to.

“What do you need so much money for?”

Minhyuk halted and turned to her, doing the unthinkable when he leaned so close again that Mira was forced to bend backwards a bit. “My mother’s sick in the hospital, and even the best healer Pokemon can’t help her until I pay off the medical bills.”

Mira flinched, not having expected this. Every villain was a hero in their own story. It was unfair to judge Minhyuk without seeing the entirety of his story. He had a good intention all along. He was a filial son. She shuddered when she felt his arm trailing toward her waist, holding her close. 

“I didn’t know,” Mira whispered, feeling herself getting nervous when Minhyuk leaned in as if he was about to plant a kiss on her cheek, but his lips went to her ears instead.

“Now you know the truth.”

When he pulled himself back, his hands left her waist as well. Mira pressed her lips together, surprised how disappointed she was that nothing more had happened.

“W-Well, if you want, maybe I could help you,” she offered, falling for his impish grin all over again. She believed him to be good, and thus, perhaps, these newfound feelings were worth exploring.

“Oh, you already helped me more than you know, Han Mira,” Minhyuk said, grinning as he stepped backwards, raising a bag of rattling coins in his hand. “You’re just as gullible as the others.”

Mira frowned, wondering how he knew her full name when she hadn’t introduced herself. Then she pondered about his words, refusing to consider herself as gullible and foolish as the other two. But when her eyes fell to the bag of coins in his hand, something clicked in her. Her hands fumbled to her waist, the part where her bag stored her money. She quickly opened it, her eyes widened in surprise. He had stolen it. All of it.

“That scammer!” She yelled, watching Minhyuk and Aipom disappear in the horizon. Ninetales was ready to chase after them, but was halted.

“It’s okay,” Mira said, unable to stop herself from smirking unlike her usual lady-like self. “We’ll meet him again.”

And somehow, she was truly looking forward to that encounter.
 

who is that pokemon?

 

Pichu	Roselia
Raichu	Slowpoke
Snubbull	Blaziken
Growlithe	Phanpy
Swablu	Ninetales
Chikorita	Aipom