Squint for JeongMi

“Yah! How many times do I have to tell you, if you’re not keeping your pokemon inside a pokeball—”

Mina sighs as she hears the booming voice too early in the morning. She jogs towards the direction of the voice and sees Sana happily running towards her. She spreads her arms, and when Sana is feet apart from her, she jumps on her arms, quickly climbing into her shoulders. She her cheek and Mina sighs in relief.

A very stressed Jeongyeon comes close, shouting at her. “Myoui Mina, are you even listening to me?!”

She blinks at her slowly and shakes her head gently. Which seems to annoy the short-haired girl more. Jeongyeon huffs and crosses her arms, “I said, keep your rodent away from Dahyun!”

Mina rolls her eyes and rubs the chin of Sana, which earned a soft whimper from the energetic fluff ball, “Sana is not a rodent.”

Jeongyeon smirks, her teasing smile plastered in her face that Mina couldn’t wait to rub off of her, “Pikachu’s are rodents—”

“Mouse type.”

“Well, if she’s acting like a rodent, she might as well be called a rodent!”

“What did she do, exactly?” Mina crosses her arms, feeling protective of her starter pokemon. Sana had always been energetic so to speak, which is in her DNA… as she is an electric-type pokemon. She got her when she was still a Pichu, and had stayed with her ‘till she evolved into a Pikachu. And… when she evolved, she got more hyper --that Mina is gonna admit, she’s having trouble controlling. Especially when she won’t even go inside her own pokeball.

“I saw her blowing Dahyun’s fire! And pulling her tail!!”

Mina averts her stare into the small Charmander hiding behind Jeongyeon’s leg… who is in fact holding its tail protectively. She smiles finding it cute.

Jeongyeon took offense in Mina’s amusement. “You know what, how about I challenge you to a battle!”

Out of nowhere – or rather, as if sensing a cue, a pokeball opens up and a Squirtle comes out, posing a powerful stance.

“R-Right! Nayeon, I choose you!”

Mina sighs as Sana on her shoulders waves enthusiastically to the new visitor. Sana is too friendly for her own good. “You’re lecturing me about keeping Sana in her own pokeball when you’re exactly the same.”

“Nabongs is usually inside her pokeball! She just comes out when she can sense a battle coming.” Jeongyeon cross her arms defensively. she will also not admit that Nayeon comes out of her pokeball whenever she feels like it, almost knowing her surroundings.

“Squirtle! Squirtle!”

Mina furrows her eyebrows and looks at Nayeon amused. Jeongyeon does have a fascinating set of pokemons. It makes her giddy, thinking she’ll have her own set soon. “Where does she even get those sunglasses?”

Jeongyeon shrugs, “She’s a gang leader of some sort.”

“What?” Mina’s jaw drops as the Squirtle features another pose, throwing a peace sign towards Nayeon,  while lifting its small sunglasses, smirking at Mina. She doesn’t even know pokemons can wear accessories, much alone hold any facial expressions. Sana claps in response, having heart eyes towards the display of entertainment. “Pika pika!”

Mina sighs not wanting to fight. First, Sana had never been into any fight, and she worries she might actually electrocute herself, so it’ll be wise to avoid an unnecessary battles before she can even begin her own journey. So an excuse she finds, “Are you sure you’re using a water type pokemon to fight an electric type? I thought you’re some League Champion or something…”

Jeongyeon is the talk at Pallet Town. Recently winning the Pokemon League in Indigo Plateau. And Mina will NOT admit she even grew a little crush on the older girl, reading about her on Trainer Weekly.

But all those infatuation evaporated into thin air when she got to know how annoying she is. They were neighbors and they used to play around every morning. Even thought their personalities are far off from each other, Jeongyeon would always reach out to her, making sure Mina goes outdoors and play with her instead of beign cooped up inside her bedroom. Sometimes, Jeongyeon would come into her room, reading a book with her. She can vividly remember Jeongyeon barging in her room, boasting about her starter pokemon, Bulbasaur, which she named Jihyo. And of course, her heart clenched at the bittersweet memory of Jeongyeon smiling charmingly at her on the first day of her Pokemon journey, and Mina waving shyly at her as they bid goodbye.

But coming back after winning the League, Jeongyeon seems to have changed. Winning had made her... arrogant or too full of herself. Or maybe she just likes to tease Mina. Seungyeon would always brush it off as Jeongyeon being playful, and enjoying Mina's reactions.

“Nayeon has Indigo Plateau under her belt. What does your Sana have?”

See? Full of herself. Not to mention, her Squirtle, a pokemon she got somewhere down the road is also like that.

“Char! Char!” Dahyun is now cheering for her teammate, now throwing confetti (Mina could swear came out of nowhere) at Nayeon who seems to enjoy being in the spotlight.

When Dahyun finally spoke up, Sana took this as a cue and waved at her again. Mina pats Sana’s head comfortingly. Then Mina rolls her eyes at Jeongyeon, “She has thunderbolts in her cheeks that will fry your Nayeon.”

“Technically, thunderbolts comes out of her tail but--" Jeongyeon was quick to correct Mina.

"Pika~~!" When an Electric Shock missed Jeongyeon by a feet, landing somewhere far off in her right, she screams, "Okay, that’s it! Nayeon, use Hydro—”

“Jeongyeon, are you pissing off Mina again?!”

“N-No! She started it!”

Recognizing the voice, Nayeon and Dahyun happily run towards Seungyeon, completely forgetting about to supposed to be battle. Mina smiles at Jeongyeon’s older sister in thanks. Sana hops from Mina’s shoulder to Seungyeon’s arms, which the older girl happily accepted.

Seungyeon taps Sana’s head, not without rubbing Dahyun’s and Nayeon’s chins.

“Didn’t I tell you to go to the Lab because Professor Park asked for you?”

Jeongyeon pouts as she brings Dahyun into her arms, “I would have been there if her Pikachu wasn’t putting Dahyun’s fire off.”

Mina was gonna defend Sana but Seungyeon was faster. “I told you Sana likes to play around. I’m sure she doesn’t mean it. Right, Sana?”

“Pika pika!”

When Mina got her starter pokemon, Jeongyeon is off towards the Orange Islands. So she's left to celebrate it with Seungyeon. Seungyeon has been nice, looking out for her, holding her hand as she choose her first companion. She thought of getting a Bulbasaur just like Jeongyeon did, but when she opens a pokeball and a Pichu comes, she didn't even hesitate picking it. Seungyeon had taught her how to take care of Sana, giving her tips on what blocks to use and how to train Sana.

“And Dahyun gets scared easily!” Jeongyeon says, glaring at the clueless pokemon in her sister’s arm. Nayeon who is at the ground would also be seen glaring because it’s the spot where she is supposed to be.

Mina would chuckle at this.

Seungyeon rolls her eyes and then faced Sana to her, bringing her into eye level. “Sana, please be nice to Dahyun. Charmanders are really sensitive with their fire. You wouldn’t like it when someone pulls your tail, would you?” Sana tilts her head to the side, but smiles anyway. "Pika pika!" She reaches her arms towards Seungyeon and Jeongyeon would be reminded of a baby grasping into thin air.

“No one would even dare because they’ll get electrocuted--”

Seungyeon sighs, glaring at her sister, “I thought you’d be a good senior to Mina, putting your badges to good use. When you came back, all you’ve done is annoy her.”

“I would—”

“Stop with the excuses. And bring everyone to the Lab, would you?!”

“Why are you always mean to me?” Jeongyeon pouts, collecting Nayeon on the ground.

Mina couldn’t help but smile at how Seungyeon seems to be the only one who can bring out Jeongyeon’s cute side.

“Jeongyeon, I’m thinking you should bring Mina with you to enter the League in the Hoenn Region.”

“Why?”

Professor Park sighs as he intertwines his fingers, staring at Jeongyeon. The girl is talented but could be hard to handle sometimes. “Because, wouldn’t it be nice to have a companion in your journey than to do it alone?”

“Yes but— ah! Ah!” Jeongyeon winced as Seungyeon pinches her side.

“She’ll be delighted, professor! Do you have what I asked?”

“Oh, yes!”

Then, Professor went at the table to retrieve an Egg. He puts it in an Incubator and hands it delicately to Seungyeon.

Mina and Sana look at it in fascination. “It should hatch by the time you get to Littleroot.”

Seungyeon took it in her arms excitedly, “Tzuyu would love it.”

“Tzuyu who?”

Aside from the sulking Jeongyeon on the side, the ferry ride is actually nice. Sana has been getting along with Nayeon, Jihyo and Dahyun. She’s even playing catch with Jihyo and Nayeon who created a bubble for them to play with. Dahyun is at the side, sitting quietly, playing with Nayeon’s sunglasses. The wonders of the Pokemon world. Well, Mina is not gonna complain. As long as everyone is at peace and having fun, she would have no regrets.

She faces the ocean, letting the wind blow into her face. She’s very excited. It’s the start of her Pokemon journey. Although the nervousness is slowly growing inside her, leaving her hometown for the unknown, with her childhood friend who doesn’t seem too fond of having her on her journey, but nonetheless, she’s excited.

Then she felt a presence at her side, “It’s nice, right?”

Mina suddenly felt nervous. “What is?”

Jeongyeon leans back against the rail to face the deck and side-eyes Mina, “The view? Ahh~~ I shouldn’t have left my Lapras at the Lab so quickly. He would’ve enjoyed the waters.”

Mina’s not sure what to do, Jeongyeon is suddenly being friendly with her. Should she…? "I'm sorry if I'm tagging along."

Jeongyeon shrugs, "Eh. It's nice to have company."

"Really? Even if the company is me?"

Jeongyeon turns to her, putting her hair beneath her ear as the wind blows harder, "Especially when it's you."

When Mina blushes, Jeongyeon would tilt her head confused.

And then Jeongyeon laughs and Mina follows her line of sight. Her eyes widen when she sees Sana face down on the floor and Nayeon laughing at her. She would’ve gotten to her but Jeongyeon held her back, “Let them be. They’re having fun.”

Ignoring the pounding in her chest she stayed in her spot, leaning back a little so Jeongyeon is not stretching her arms.

They watch as Dahyun comes running towards the duo, with one hand in her tail, making sure the wind doesn’t blow her fire off. She helps Sana to her feet, checking if she’s okay. Sana scratches her head, looking teary-eyed towards Dahyun. Jihyo, who is not an Ivysaur, used her vine to gently clean Sana's face. Nayeon, after calming down from her hysterical fits walks towards Sana to pat her at the back. Then she blew bubbles into the air, making Sana smile. Sana quickly rubbed her eyes and followed the bubbles Nayeon made.

Mina’s heart leaped at the sight. They really became friends. It's nice... for Sana to have friends. Back at her home, it's just her and Sana. And with Mina's personality, Sana doesn't get to play very much. Being around with new pokemons, is good for Sana.

“Are you excited to start your journey?”

Mina chuckles turning to Jeongyeon, “That sounds like something from a poster of game.”

Jeongyeon laughs with her and says, “Well it kinda is. This is a competition with fun.”

Jeongyeon puts her arm around Mina’s shoulder and pulls her closer. And It would remind Mina of how they used to be before Jeongyeon left. “We’ll have so much fun!”

Mina smiles but tried to look away from Jeongyeon. She wasn’t used to this kind of proximity all of a sudden. “I thought you didn’t want me to come.”

Jeongyeon laughs and ruffles Mina’s hair, “I guess it’ll be nice to have a competition around. You know what they say, keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”

Mina rolls her eyes but nudges Jeongyeon’s side. “You think Sana can… actually fight?”

Jeongyeon smirks, “Of course she can, you’re her trainer!”

Mina’s eyes widen, immense warmth overwhelming her. She… did not expect that to come out of Jeongyeon’s mouth. She thought she would say some jab about Sana not even being able to stand in her own fit for too long.

“Awww… look at you blushing at a compliment.” Jeongyeon teases. “I think my strategy will be to mess with you instead of worrying about your pokemons.”

At that, Mina flicks Jeongyeon’s forehead. Still, she doesn’t fight the smile forming in her lips. Sh