Episode 1- One Becomes Three

Over the Sky

Dear Ms. Kim,

Congratulations! On behalf of the Kalos Academy for Gifted Trainers, I am pleased to announce your admission for this upcoming Fall semester!

The academic and personal accomplishments you have already achieved within your career as a Trainer and within your community reflect what we value, respect and expect in our students. Ambition, compassion and a curious intellect are the heart of the Kalos Academy experience and we are proud to welcome you into our student body. Please review the enclosed leaflets for the next steps needed to make the Kalos Academy a part of your future and if you have any questions feel free to contact our Admissions department. Again, congratulations and we hope to see you this Fall!

Sincerely,

Kim Dongwan

Academy President

 

Kim Yoohyeon couldn’t help but look over her acceptance letter again. Part of her was still in complete and utter shock that she had actually been accepted into one of the world’s most prestigious Academies for upcoming Trainers. She’d always dreamed of being a Champion, dreamed of standing in front of thousands of people with her Pokémon by her side. And with this? Maybe that dream could become a reality.

The Kalos Academy was known for its strict entry requirements and wealth of connections to all eight regions. Many of its graduates went on to take high-level positions in various Leagues or make names for themselves as famous contest coordinators and breeders. This was the place to be if you wanted to rub elbows with the rich and famous. Yoohyeon even knew that two current League Champions attended school there: Bae Joohyun and Moon Byulyi.

Wow, how cool would it be if I got to meet them in person?

Yoohyeon carefully folded up the worn letter and placed it back in her bags before looking out the plane window as a large island slowly came into view over the horizon. As excited as she was for the upcoming semester, she still had the entire summer to get through. Rather than sitting around at home and twiddling her thumbs she decided to do something worthwhile. Might as well get a head start on her future, right?

Hence the staring out the plane window as she approached Pasio, the artificial island said to have been created by the prince of some unknown country and home to the Pokémon Masters League. Unlike the eight major Leagues that had gym circuits and badge requirements, the PML only held one tournament per year and invited out anyone who thought they had the skill to be victorious. And while Yoohyeon didn’t know if she could win the whole tournament, it was too good of a chance to pass up.

This would be her best summer break yet, she’d make sure of it.

XXX

 

Yoohyeon stepped off the plane, stretching out her arms and legs after the long flight and breathing in the fresh island air. Her flight hadn’t been crowded but as she walked down the tarmac and into the airport she was floored by the number of people who were here.

There were Trainers of all ages milling around the airport, many of them with their partner Pokémon outside of their balls. Yoohyeon looked forward to joining their ranks.

The first thing she had to do was get her paperwork all in order. The lady at the check-in desk was a kindly old woman who gave her a quick run-down of the way things worked on Pasio. You could bring your entire team to the island but when it came to participating in the Masters League and signing up for the tournament you could only have one partner Pokémon. A lot of the other details flew over Yoohyeon’s head, there was just so much information being thrown at her it was a little overwhelming.

The woman pressed a strange looking smartphone into the palm of her hand and told her this would be her most important tool this summer.

“Your Porygon Phone, or Poryphone for short, will be your biggest tool here on Pasio. Each phone has an ID number that’s unique to you, and you can exchange those IDs with other Trainers if you want to team up with them or check their status in the tournament.”

“How do I qualify for the tournament?”

“First of all you need a team of at least three people. However no more than six people may participate in a single battle so if you have a large team you’ll need to delegate duties. There are five badges prospective teams need to earn to qualify for the tournament at the end of the summer. You can use your Poryphone to find the Trainers that can give away badges, there’s more than one for each badge.”

The woman continued to bombard her with information and Yoohyeon eventually just smiled and nodded, waiting for her to finish. She’d been given the important information and could figure out the rest on her own. Bowing politely to the woman after she stopped to take a breath, Yoohyeon scooted out of the airport and opened her Poryphone to decide where to go first.

The first thing she did was install a navigation map on her brand-new Poryphone and load up a map of the island. She’d seen how diverse the island was as she flew in but it was different to see things up close and personal. The area around the airport and leading into the island’s main town was full of green forests but she knew that somewhere on the island there were volcanoes and even glaciers.  she headed down a well-worn forest trail that would take her to Centra City, the beating heart of Pasio. Centra City was the largest town on Pasio and was home to the stadium where the tournament would take place at the end of the summer.

She knew she had more than enough time to gather a team but she couldn’t help but start to think about what the future held. I wonder what kind of people my future teammates will be…

Yoohyeon had only been walking for a few minutes when she saw a young man standing way too close to a young woman, getting up in her personal space and apparently unable to see that she was uncomfortable.

“Come on, why won’t you join my team for the tournament? We’d be so good together.” he whined.

“I told you I don’t want to, I’m waiting for my friend, please leave me alone.” The young woman was admittedly very pretty and there was something about her that triggered Yoohyeon’s protective instincts.

“Dude back off, she said she doesn’t want anything to do with you.” Maybe she shouldn’t have gotten involved, but Yoohyeon never was the type of girl to let people get away with being s.

The boy growled, clearly displeased by her interruption but unwilling to admit defeat just yet. “Are you her bodyguard or something?”

“She’s my friend, and a really powerful Trainer to boot, I wouldn’t mess with her,” the girl said threateningly, to which Yoohyeon nodded and walked closer to the pair. She’d play along, what was important was that she make this guy back off.

Yoohyeon hoped the guy wouldn’t see her cheeks starting to turn pink as the girl casually linked arms with her, instead choosing to level him with an intimidating gaze. “Seriously bro, leave. She’s said she wants nothing to do with you, take a hint.”

He looked between her and the pretty girl that was still attached to her arm, obviously deciding if it was worth it to pick a fight. Finally, after a few tense moments he threw his hands up in surrender and backed off. “Fine. But I’ll be keeping an eye on you two. No one embarrasses me like that.”

The girl turned to her, a grateful expression on her face. “Thanks for the backup. I was supposed to meet my friend here like twenty minutes ago but she hasn’t shown up yet. Man, these people here are serious about battling.”

“No problem—” Yoohyeon paused to see if the pretty brunette would introduce herself.

“Ah, sorry where are my manners? I’m Kim Bora and you are my hero,” Bora winked at her, unlinking their arms and offering her a handshake. Yoohyeon was floored by Bora’s directness and cleared . Now was not the time to get tripped up over a pretty girl.

“Please, I only did what I thought was right,” Yoohyeon rubbed the back of her head with an embarrassed grin on her face. “You said you were waiting for your friend, right? I’d be more than happy to wait with you until they get here.”

“I’d like that very much…wait you never told me your name.”

“Yoohyeon. Kim Yoohyeon.”

“It’s nice to meet you Yoohyeon. You also look like you’re new to Pasio, my friend and I only got here last week ourselves.” Bora’s back pocket began to vibrate and she pulled out her own Poryphone to tap out a message to someone. “She’s wondering where I am, as you can see I still don’t really know my way around. It’s been wild adjusting to all the new rules they have here, like the rule that you can only have one partner Pokémon at a time.”

Yoohyeon had heard about that, it was one of the defining features that set the Pokémon Masters League apart from the other sanctioned leagues. Of course it made her job of picking only one partner a difficult choice…“I heard, it seems like a fun mechanic. But I think I want to explore Pasio for a bit first before I decide on a Sync Partner.”

“That’s a smart idea, I had a similar thought. Of course after that unpleasant experience with that guy” they both took a moment to shiver unconsciously. “I think picking a partner sooner rather than later would be a good thing.”

The two of them soon settled into a nice conversation, talking about everything from Pokémon to tournaments to the Kalos Academy. Much to her surprise, Yoohyeon found out that Bora also attended the Academy, albeit a year ahead of her. She found herself peppering the older girl with questions about dorm life and the competitions she’d heard so much about. Bora seemed more than willing to indulge her questions, even going as far as to tell her about an interaction she’d had with the Kalos Champion herself, Bae Joohyun.

“She used to be pretty closed off actually, but this last semester I noticed her beginning to open up and talk more with people. I think most of that is thanks to her girlfriend, I’m sure you heard all about that ‘scandal’.”

Yoohyeon nodded, it had been the talk of the tabloids of course. Not that she had come out as gay, but that her own father had attempted to blackmail her in order to make sure the world never found out. She thought it was incredibly sad that a parent could do that to their own child, but she was glad Joohyun seemed to be taking it all in stride with her girlfriend supporting her all the way. It gave her hope that one day she could find a partner like that.

They talked for what must have been at least twenty minutes until Yoohyeon spotted a young woman with long black hair careening up the road with her head tilted down at her Poryphone. She looked like she was looking for something. Or someone.

She almost walked right past them before looking up to greet Yoohyeon. “Hey, I’m so sorry to bother you but have you seen--?”

Bora’s eyes lit up and she bounced over to the raven-haired girl. “Siyeon! I wondered where you went, look I found someone who would totally fit our team!”

The other girl, Siyeon, rolled her eyes good-naturedly and gently grabbed Bora by her wrist, before turning to Yoohyeon with an apologetic look on her face. “I’m sorry, was she bothering you?”

Yoohyeon immediately shook her head no. “Arceus no! Bora was actually telling me all about how the tournament runs on Pasio and how you can only pick one partner Pokémon.”

Siyeon nodded, “Yup! The Pokémon you pick becomes your Sync Partner and rumor has it that if you work hard enough you’ll be able to unlock super special moves that showcase the bond between the two of you. One Pokémon, one Trainer. A Sync Pair.” Siyeon reached for her belt and called out her Pokémon. “This is my partner Raksha, he and I are going to be unstoppable this summer.”

Yoohyeon couldn’t help but coo at Siyeon’s Lycanroc as it woofled a greeting. She’d always loved the Wolf Pokémon and how it was able to evolve into three separate forms. Siyeon’s Lycanroc had evolved into the Pokémon’s Dusk Form, with gorgeous orange-gold fur and a fluffy white scruff.

“Wow, a Dusk Form Lycanroc, I’m impressed,” Yoohyeon said, crouching down and holding out her hand to the wolf Pokémon. Raksha padded forward and pressed his nose directly into her hand. “It takes a lot to evolve a Rockruff into Dusk Form, doesn’t it?”

Siyeon puffed out her chest proudly. “Rockruff needs to be born with a certain Ability and then leveled at the exact right time in order to evolve into Dusk Form.”

“Please don’t get her started on that,” Bora complained good-naturedly. Raksha gave Yoohyeon’s hand a friendly before bouncing over to the brunette and butting her leg with his large head. Bora’s hand instinctively reached down to ruffle the Lycanroc’s fur. “She’ll take hours to tell you the entire story.”

“Who’s your Sync Partner, Bora?” Yoohyeon asked, curious to see what the older girl would pull out.

“I haven’t quite decided yet, but why don’t you help me and Siyeon pick?” Bora backed up a few feet and called out not one but two different Pokémon. A Donphan and a Corviknight.

Yoohyeon whistled. Two very different Pokémon stood before her. Donphan was a powerful Ground-Type Pokémon known for its high Attack and Defense stats. Corviknight on the other hand was dual Flying and Steel-Type Pokémon known for being an unusually tanky Pokémon in battles. In both cases, these definitely weren’t the Pokémon Yoohyeon thought Bora would have.

“Wow. Gotta say I wasn’t expecting you to call out these two,” Bora scratched Corviknight under its chin and the giant raven Pokémon croaked happily. Yoohyeon noticed the affectionate action and chuckled. Bora had just inadvertently told her which Pokémon she should choose. “I kind of think Corviknight would be a better choice though, especially since you’re teaming up with Siyeon. You know, the duality of air and ground support. Your Corviknight is tanky, Siyeon’s Lycanroc is lithe and powerful..”

Bora nodded, listening intently. “Yeah, I totally get it. Two sides of the same coin. That would also help me and Siyeon when we battle together, I hadn’t though of it that way. Thanks, Yoohyeon!”

Yoohyeon blushed a little at the praise, she didn’t think she had done that much but Bora looked so genuinely thankful. “Ah, no problem Bora.”

The brunette flashed her a wide smile, recalling her Donphan and leaving Corviknight out. “It’s settled then, I’ll have Edgar as my Sync Partner for the summer!”

Yoohyeon tilted her head curiously, “You’re not gonna ask Siyeon for her opinion?”

“She told me she preferred Edgar before we even got to Pasio last week, I just wanted to see if anyone else thought differently.”

“We had similar reasons,” Siyeon said, looking at Yoohyeon appreciatively. “Actually, do you have a team yet for the tournament?”

Yoohyeon shook her head. “No, I just landed this morning, honestly I’m a bit overwhelmed by it all. The PML is a lot different from traditional tournaments. I still haven’t picked a Sync Partner yet.”

“You can join us!” Bora exclaimed excitedly. “We need three people at minimum to compete and I think you’d be the perfect person for us.”

“Please don’t think we’re pressuring you,” Siyeon interrupted, noticing the deer-in-the-headlights expression on Yoohyeon’s face.        

“No, I’d like to join you guys,” Yoohyeon said. She and Bora may have just met but she could already feel just how strong of a Trainer she was. Besides, there was something about both of them that just made her feel…right. She was also pretty sure they were dating based on the way they looked at each other but she figured she’d bring that up a little later.

“You’re sure?” Siyeon asked, glancing over her shoulder at Bora, who had come up behind the raven-haired girl and wrapped her arms around Siyeon’s waist.

“Positive,” Yoohyeon smiled widely.

Siyeon nodded and reached out to shake hands with her, returning the taller girl’s smile.

“Welcome to the team then, Yoohyeon! Just be careful around Bora, she—ah!” Siyeon smacked away the hand that was resting on her stomach and leveled Bora with a look that said ‘really?’. “—she bites.”   

 

CURRENT TEAMS: 

Yoohyeon and ???

Bora and Edgar (Corviknight)

Siyeon and Raksha (Lycanroc)

 

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Drachesoul
Episode One soon...ish.

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RV_Reve #1
Chapter 1: Wah! I love it! Pokémon and Dreamcatcher <3
MonoWolf1001 #2
Chapter 1: i really love it
thank you for the update
is it a jiyoo au too....?