fin
Just a Costume AwayThe dawn light filled the room through the open window Jihoon had forgotten to close once again. He stirred from his sleep once the bright light hit his eyes and immediately tried to shield his eyes with a pillow. It was proven effective until his alarm started to sound and the Pidgeys that woke up with the sun started to sing, marking the start of the day.
Jihoon got out of bed and got ready for his day. He’s a nurse at his local Pokémon centre and may possibly be the only one in town that doesn’t have Pokémon of his own. It’s not that he hates Pokémon, I mean he works at the Pokémon centre which requires him to see Pokémons all day, every day, but it’s something about the notion of being a trainer that just puts him off.
Ever since he was young, he watched numerous Pokémon battles between numerous trainers and decided that his heart couldn’t take watching Pokémon get hurt, let alone his own Pokémon.
Other than the people at work, Jihoon didn’t really have many friends growing up because they all left him to become Pokémon trainers. All of them chose their starters and embarked on their journeys, hoping to be the best.
Jihoon stayed and studied to be at least helpful towards the Pokémon, healing doesn’t really take much but there are a lot of things to be aware of, especially that one time when team rocket took a whole Pokémon centre hostage and a nurse had managed to transfer Pokémons to another centre safely.
The town Jihoon lives in is fairly small and it only has one Pokémon gym, so the regular customers are from the gym. Sometimes it warms his heart when he sees the same trainer from years ago coming in with their now evolved Pokémon. There’s something about it knowing how much both of them have grown through the years.
“Good morning! Would you like to rest your Pokémon?” A cheery voice and a smile plastered on Jihoon’s face, the same as it is every day. The day usually starts out more tolerable but as the day goes on and trainers being absolute heads, the smile gets more forced and it makes Jihoon wish his shift was already over.
When he first started out, he didn’t understand how two-faced his co-workers could be when they were at work and out of work until his first week. Because there weren't many nurses in the Pokémon centre, they could barely catch a day off.
At times, he wondered if he ever did become a Pokémon trainer? Would he be so used to battles that he would be numb to the well-being of his Pokémons? Would he turn into someone as heartless as the older trainers he has met before? No, he would rather lose all his limbs than to become such a thing. That’s why he’ll never become a trainer.
It’s the end of the day and the end of Jihoon’s shift at the centre. The night shift nurses are clocking in at this time, all prepping for the most dreadful shift.
"Hi, Jihoon!" A cheerful voice calls out. Jihoon had just finished healing up a Koffing and returned it to its owner when a bubbly female nurse came out.
“Oh, hi Joy! You’re early for your shift” Jihoon stated.
“What do you mean Jihoon? My shift is starting” Joy responded but Jihoon can tell if something was worrying her. He’s known her for quite some time and he can tell when her voice quivers just a tiny bit. You wouldn’t be able to detect it at first because she’s so good at hiding it but Jihoon has heard it too many times.
“That is true but you’re usually late” Jihoon then goes into a softer voice, a tone that no one within a metre radius is able to hear. “Did something happen?”
“Ah well,” Joy starts, matching the same tone as Jihoon “Recently when I walk to work nowadays in my normal time, I feel like something is watching me and it’s really uncomfortable.”
“I decided to come a little earlier to see if that feeling was still there and it wasn’t! I’m going to start coming in early for the next few days and hopefully, that feeling goes away for good”
“Well, okay then. Just be careful on your shift and call the police if something is off” Jihoon said, moving to get his stuff and clock out.
“I will. I’ll see you tomorrow Jihoon” Joy waved to him as he left the front desk.
Jihoon is walking his usual path back home that passes most of the shop lots in the town. The Pokémon centre is somewhat in the middle of the town and Jihoon lives a little off the town boundaries.
As he passed the park, he notices something at the corner of his eye. A paper bag… that is moving?
The paper bag is bumping into the trees every now and then while a dark tentacle is holding what looks like a Pikachu costume. On the side of the paper bag seems to have some dampness to it, meaning it’s a bit wet.
From the knowledge Jihoon has learned, what he’s looking at is a Mimikyu and its disguise has been damaged. There have been multiple recorded accounts on the Mimikyu but the one that scares people the most is that if you see the Mimikyu’s true form, you would die a painful death afterwards.
People usually avoid this Pokémon in fear of dying. However, Jihoon felt heartbroken. This Pokémon just wants to be liked and even tries to dress like Pikachu but no one would look their way. Maybe it’s in his nature to help Pokémon because of his job, but he walks carefully to the Mimikyu.
“Hey,” Jihoon crouched down next to the Mimikyu. The Pokémon jumped when Jihoon greeted him and immediately hid behind a tree.
“I’m not here to harm you!” Jihoon raises his hands in surrender “I just noticed that your disguise is damaged and I can help you mend it.”
The Mimikyu peeks out of its hiding spot behind the tree, tears in its eyes. “I’m a nurse at the Pokémon center,” Jihoon points to his uniform “I dedicate my life to helping Pokémon get their health back, but I sure know how to sew!” Jihoon uses the same voice he uses when he talks to all the Pokémon, gentle and caring.
The Mimikyu stares at him, as if it’s considering whether or not Jihoon can be trusted. “I promise I won’t harm you.” He places a hand over his chest “You have my word”
The Mimikyu squints at Jihoon, still unsure whether to follow this stranger. After a few moments, the Mimikyu hesitantly comes out of its hiding place. Jihoon smiles brightly. “Great! My place isn’t that far. Let’s go!”
The Mimikyu walks behind him in what Jihoon would say is a safe distance. Once in a while, Jihoon would make sure the Mimikyu is still there behind him and he would see the Pokémon looking around on high alert.
Jihoon’s small cottage comes up to view after some time. It was given to Jihoon by his grandmother when he was put in this town’s Pokémon centre. It wasn’t much but Jihoon cleaned it up and made it his own.
Jihoon stops in front of his gate and turns to the Mimikyu. “Well, here we are! It’s not much but it’s home” The Mimikyu’s tears have evaporated and looks at the cottage in awe. Jihoon watches its eyes go from complete awe to suspicion.
“Come on in,” Jihoon opens the gate and lets the Mimikyu in. The Mimikyu cautiously enters the compound and jumps when Jihoon closes the gate. Jihoon beckons the Pokémon to follow him into the house.
“Come on,” he says as he takes off his shoes. The Mimikyu watches Jihoon drop his bag by his bed and rummage through a chest. The Pokémon takes this time to take in its surroundings. The cottage was very small, evidenced with the way the bed, stove and dining table are all in the same room.
“Aha! I found it!” Jihoon exclaims as he brings out a small box. As the Mimikyu inches closer to him, he opens the box to show sewing supplies. Jihoon grabs the thread and the needle and grabs the costume.
“Alright,” Jihoon brandishes the needle “Let’s get this all patched up”. Jihoon begins sewing up the costume, remembering the stitching styles he learned a long time ago. It may be a bit rusty but it works.
After a couple of hours and giving Mimikyu a plate of biscuits, the costume was finally finished.
“All done!” Jihoon exclaims. He holds the costume up to check his handiwork before handing it over to the Mimikyu. The Mimikyu takes the costume with its shadowy hand and goes to a hidden corner with it. The Mimikyu emerges from the corner with the costume standing tall moments later.
“It looks good!” Jihoon says, smiling. “It’s gotten quite late. Would you like to stay over?” he asks. The Mimikyu stares at Jihoon and then walks towards the door to open the door and lets itself out.
“Oh… okay. Bye,” Jihoon muttered dejectedly.
Two weeks have passed since Jihoon had seen the Mimikyu and it’s safe to say that Jihoon is still a little sad about it. But obviously, he can’t show it at work. It’s unprofessional.
The days go by and Jihoon found himself actually bored with the same routine. It’s usually never like this as he was quite content with his normal routine. But now that the Mimikyu popped up in his life, even for a brief moment, Jihoon found himself wanting to meet the Pokémon again.
After a few days, Jihoon clocks out and decides to walk towards a bakery. He likes to visit once in a while when he starts craving their cookies. He just can’t help himself; they taste so good!
As he walked back from the bakery, he noticed a paper bag holding a familiar-looking costume that had a sewing job that was so terrible, it had to be done by only Jihoon.
It was the Mimikyu! But the costume has a few holes in it now.
Jihoon approached the Mimikyu carefully but the Pokémon seemed to sense him and brought out it’s tentacles in defence.
“Wait! It’s me!” Jihoon exclaims, raising both hands in the air. The Mimikyu takes a better look at Jihoon and seemingly realises who it is and retracts its tentacles.
Lowering his hands, Jihoon notices the Pokémon become more withdrawn. Jihoon only smiles and asks “Would you like to get that patched up?”
Jihoon has worked with loads of Pokémon before and was trained to identify how they feel because if a Pokémon didn’t feel comfortable, nurses would have to make sure they were. If anything, a Chansey assistant would have to step in. For the Mimikyu walking next to him on the other hand, Jihoon doesn’t know how it feels.
It is still withdrawn, maybe feeling a little guilty but Jihoon still can’t tell. When the familiar gates of his home approach, it’s really hard to say what the Mimikyu is feeling.
Once inside, Jihoon sets a plate of cookies he had just bought in front of the Pokémon and pulled out some fabric to cut to patch the holes.
The sounds of chewing resonated the room as Jihoon patched up the disguise. It was a little comforting to not be alone in the house for once. Even if they weren’t saying anything. Perhaps this is what Jihoon didn’t realise what he was missing, companionship.
In no time at all, Jihoon finished patching up the costume and gives it back to the Mimikyu. While the Pokémon changes, Jihoon plucks up the courage to ask the Pokémon “Hey, why not stay with me? I have food and shelter. Plus, your costume wouldn’t be damaged anymore.”
The Mimikyu steps out with the patched-up costume. Jihoon can tell it’s hesitant. “Don’t worry. You won’t be a burden because I can take care of you. I’m a nurse! It’s what I do best!”
And just like that, the Mimikyu’s eyes well up and run towards Jihoon to give him a hug that he reciprocates just as easily.
It’s been about a month since Mimikyu has been staying with Jihoon and they have been getting into a routine. Jihoon brings Mimikyu to work with him and Mimikyu sometimes help out with work, although it is a bit hard since no one really likes Mimikyus, Jihoon made a little nest underneath the counter so whenever a trainer comes in and Mimikyu feels uncomfortable, it goes into that nest until Jihoon assures him there is no danger.
When it’s time to clock out they would go grab some dinner and every 2 weeks they would get some pastries. Then they would go home and clean up and go to bed before the next day comes and it starts again. It works for them surprisingly well.
Sometimes Mimikyu stays at home instead when the sun seems a little too bright and hot to which Jihoon makes sure there’s enough food at home for his Pokémon and that the blackout curtains aren’t damaged. After a while, Jihoon finds a way to bring natural light into the house without making it too bright.
Sometimes when Jihoon and Mimikyu go out for walks, they get stopped by some trainers wanting to battle them. Jihoon straight-up refuses to battle but when the trainer provokes, Mimikyu slaps them away and continues their walk. Jihoon has told Mimikyu before that he doesn’t intend on being a Pokémon trainer at any point because he doesn’t particularly like the battles.
Jihoon assumes that Mimikyu understands because the Pokémon hasn’t left him yet and seems much happier with the companionship. It’s a little funny how 2 lonely creatures in town bonded together (in less than a month) but Jihoon wouldn’t have it any other way.
The day started like every other day. Wake up with the Pidgeys chirping with Mimikyu groggily walking out of the bed Jihoon made for it with a curtain for extra protection.
It was one of the days where Mimikyu isn’t joining Jihoon to work. Jihoon made sure the curtains were closed and that Mimikyu had enough to eat and drink. Jihoon bid Mimikyu goodbye and then left the house.
The day goes by fairly quickly. Jihoon was healing up Pokémons and writing out some documents when another trainer comes in with a fainted Vulpix.
“Hi, my Vulpix and I got into a battle and well we lost” the trainer’s voice was low and smooth, it was like honey to Jihoon’s ears but even Jihoon could hear the hint of sadness in the voice. Putting on his customer service smile, he walks towards the boy.
“Don’t you worry!” Jihoon cheerfully says “We’ll get your Pokémon healed in no time!”
The trainer puts the fainted Vulpix back into a Pokeball and hands it to Jihoon. The moment the Pokeball touched Jihoon’s hand, the trainer looked up and made eye contact with Jihoon.
The first thing he noticed was his eyes. Big, doe-like eyes staring back at him in wonder. This can’t be his first time seeing a male nurse at a Pokémon Centre. But these eyes were sparkling as if he had just fallen in love.
Jihoon didn’t know how long they stared at each other but something pink flashed at the corner of his eye and it snapped Jihoon out of it. Jihoon clears his throat and the trance is broken. They both look away with blushing red cheeks and ears.
Jihoon takes the Pokeball and places it into the machine. The machine heals up the Pokémon and Jihoon returns it to the handsome trainer.
“Here you go! All healed up!” Jihoon cheerily says, with a big smile on his face. The trainer looks up for a second to take the Pokeball. “Thank you,” he replies, not daring to look at Jihoon.
The trainer keeps his head low until he walks out of the center. The second he steps out, he breaks into a run and accidentally bumps into another trainer on the way. Jihoon watches all of this happening from behind the counter.
“Who was that?” a voice pops up behind him. Jihoon jumps a little and turns around to see Joy ready in her uniform to work, looking at the window.
“Don’t do that Joy!” Jihoon exclaims, holding his chest to calm down. “And why are you here so early? Your shift doesn’t start till another 2 hours!”
Joy doesn’t respond as she’s still very much interested in the trainer who just ran off. “Well, who is he? He’s really cute. And did you see the way he looked at you?”
Jihoon felt his ears flush again. It’s such a rare feeling for Jihoon since he hasn’t quite felt this since he was a little kid. But he can’t possibly answer Joy. He doesn’t know anything. Except…
“Well, if you’re here now, do you mind if you can take over? There’s some paperwork that needs to be done” Jihoon states. Joy’s face drops and Jihoon can tell she doesn’t want to do customer service just yet.
“How about I finish that paperwork instead? I mean it’s a lot of work and I’m sure you’re tired so I’ll do the paperwork instead!” and with that, she goes to the back to do paperwork.
Jihoon walks down the usual path towards his house when he sees the trainer again. He’s sitting down by the side of the road while his Vulpix hops around. Jihoon assumes he’s playing with his Pokémon but he looks so lost in thought. He’ll occasionally bring his attention back to his Vulpix by shaking his head but he seems to go back to his thoughts.
It’s only after admiring the trainer’s features that Jihoon realises what he’s doing is kind of creepy. He should really get back to his own Pokémon as the sun is setting.
And then the trainer lets out a yelp.
Jihoon brings his attention back to the Vulpix and it’s trainer only to see the trainer waving his hand around after being burned by his own Pokémon. The Pokémon in question doesn’t look the least bit guilty. In fact, it looks smug.
If his deductions are correct, the Vulpix burned his hand because the trainer wasn’t giving the Pokémon any attention and punished him by burning. Jihoon couldn’t help himself, he started chuckling.
The trainer and the Vulpix looked up from their spot and saw Jihoon. Jihoon immediately stopped chuckling and cleared his throat.
“You know, Pokémon need attention too.” He began. “They are living creatures after all. We all need some attention and care.”
The trainer, still looking quite dazed, mumbles something that Jihoon can’t hear. But his Vulpix can.
The Vulpix comes up to Jihoon and Jihoon crouches down to pet the Vulpix. He offers a cookie to the Vulpix before the Pokémon happily takes it and devours it.
The Pokémon goes through Jihoon’s legs once he stands up and that is when the trainer snaps out of his daze and realises what his Pokémon was doing.
“Ah! I’m so sorry about my Pokémon!” he exclaimed.
“It’s okay, really. I’m used to Pokémon behaviour and it’s my job to make sure they are at their best” Jihoon replies. He’s not wearing his customer service smile that he puts on when he’s working. He’s wearing his regular smile, the smile that reaches his eyes and makes them shaped like crescent moons, the smile he wears when he’s happy and content, the smile that shows that he’s genuinely happy.
The trainer smiles back at him with ease and oh. That makes the trainer a whole lot cuter. As if he wasn’t cute enough already.
The sun sets and that’s when Jihoon realises that he really needs to get back. “Ah, I have to get home now. My Pokémon is waiting for me.”
“Oh? You have a Pokémon yourself?” The trainer asks “What Pokémon is it?”
“Oh, it’s a Mimikyu,” Jihoon says absentmindedly as he checks his bags, making sure he has everything. What he doesn’t realise is the trainer practically freezing in his spot. “It’s nice meeting you! Goodbye!” And off Jihoon goes.
Once he was out of sight, the trainer worriedly whispers to his Pokémon “Did he say…Mimikyu?”
And to his horror, his Vulpix let out a sound of agreement.
Jihoon, on the other hand, returns home to Mimikyu and begins telling the Pokémon what a day he had. Especially the cute trainer he met twice.
The next day comes by and Jihoon is back at work without Mimikyu. The day goes by like any other until the last hour of his shift when the cute trainer comes in again but this time sporting a black eye.
“Oh my goodness what happened?” Jihoon inquires. The trainer looks up and sheepishly smiles at him. “I got into a battle again and now my Pokémon needs healing”
Jihoon does his job of healing the trainer’s Pokémon but he’s way more curious as to why he has a black eye.
“I know it’s not any of my business but why do you have a black eye?” he asks carefully, as he passes back the Pokémon to the trainer.
The trainer, to Jihoon’s surprise, happily tells him what happened. “Oh, I met the other trainer I battled the other day and decided to battle again. I lost again”
“Okay, but why the black eye?” Jihoon asked.
“Oh, the other guy kind of insulted me and my Pokémon and since he’s clearly better than me in battle, I decided that I should settle it another way”
Jihoon is a little taken back because what kind of Pokémon trainer physically assaults their opponent? People around here usually settle disagreements with either yelling or battling with Pokémon but never physical violence.
It was so blaringly obvious this trainer was from a much rougher town. But that did not quite explain his treatment towards his Pokémon. He looked quite sad that his Pokémon got beaten pretty badly rather than being upset he lost a fight.
“Why not send out another Pokémon instead?”
“It was kind of a one Pokémon battle agreement. And besides, no one said anything about the trainers themselves getting into a fight” the trainer informed. How odd.
“But anyway,” Jihoon continues “you should get that eye checked out. You know, just in case”
The trainer across him finally looks bashful and begins rubbing the back of his neck. “Uh... I’m Seungcheol” he muttered. It sounded like he was embarrassed to let Jihoon hear him but he was heard loud and clear.
“Nice to meet you, Seungcheol. I’m Jihoon.” Jihoon smiles with his real smile. “There’s a doctor behind the centre so make sure you make a visit”
“Uh.. yeah. I’ll make sure to do that” he replies, smiling sheepishly. He suddenly straightens up and bows to Jihoon “Uh, thank you very much! By the way! I’ll take my leave now!”
And with that, he walks out of the Pokémon centre with a heavy blush on his face. Once he turns the corner, he drops down by a wall and hides his face behind his hands. “Why do I keep embarrassing myself in front of the cute nurse?” he moans.
Jihoon remains in the centre, chuckling at the antics of the cute trainer. They have met only a total of 3 times and each time he makes Jihoon break out of his customer service façade to show a genuine interaction.
“Why didn’t you ask for his name? He was so cute!” Joy pops out behind Jihoon and startles him once again. This should really stop happening.
“Joy! You should really stop doing that!” Jihoon exclaims. Joy pays no heed and instead looks at him as if she’s asking her question again.
“He’s a Pokémon trainer. You know how they are. They come and go all the time. I don’t want to get myself attached to one.”
Joy’s face softens. Since there’s no one around for them to serve, they don’t have to wear their service masks when it’s just them. “Yeah, I get how you feel. I’ve met so many that spark with me you know? Only for them to leave and never return.”
Joy sighs and then straightens herself up. “Okay! My shift is starting soon so you can go back first Jihoon! I’ll take over the fort now!” She gives him a reassuring smile and Jihoon can’t help but smile back.
Jihoon gets back that day ready to tell Mimikyu his day, especially the part about the cute trainer. The Mimikyu and him sit down by the coffee table eating while the Mimikyu mimes what he did that day and then allowed Jihoon to talk about his day.
That opened the gate for Jihoon as he started off talking about his day and spent the rest of it talking about the cute trainer.
“He’s really cute and he actually fought another trainer with his fists! Who does that? Although I did tell him that was bad and that he shouldn’t do that anymore but he at least had the decency to look guilty about it.”
Mimikyu, on the other hand, began radiating a dark aura. Jihoon notices this and wonders why. It then hits him, Mimikyu is jealous.
“Hey now, don’t be jealous. There’s nothing to worry about” he says. The Pokémon is not convinced and so Jihoon moves closer to it. “Hey, trainers always come and go because they always want to go on some quest to become the greatest or something. You and me? We’re gonna be here for a long time.”
Mimikyu begins to slowly release the jealousy “And hey, if they transfer me to another town, I’m taking you with me. I am definitely not leaving you behind. Okay?”
The Pokémon’s anger and jealousy fades away and leaves it feeling embarrassed. Mimikyu hides in Jihoon’s chest, clearly embarrassed. Jihoon laughs at that and wraps his arms around the Pokémon.
“Come on. Let’s go to bed now”
The next day arrives for Seungcheol. It would be his third day in this town and he still doesn’t feel like leaving yet. He doesn’t feel fulfilled and the atmosphere in this town is quite nice and serene. Oh, and also that cute nurse.
Seungcheol blushes at the thought of the nurse and hides his face with a pillow. He has barely talked to this nurse and he can’t get him out of his head. Especially when he’s off work. Seungcheol has met many nurses off work and they were the complete opposite of how they were when they were working.
But not him. He was kind and caring even off work. Is it bad to say that it was so rare? To find someone like him?
Seungcheol didn’t know what to make of it. But he knows one thing for sure. Today was going to be a relaxing day.
Seungcheol decides to walk around town. But first, to a doctor for his eye. He wasn’t able to go the day before as everyone was closing up for the day and so he had to go the next day.
There weren’t many people at the doctor’s so he was able to get in pretty quickly and he got out pretty quick too. Just some questions here and there and some painkillers but he’s still advised to rest.
He then decided to go to a small café. It was quite cosy looking and had a few people in it already. Turns out there’s a breakfast menu which made Seungcheol very happy because he was missing some good food as he only ate riceballs ever since he entered this town for some reason.
The food was delicious. Seungcheol nearly wanted to order another plate but realised he probably wouldn’t be able to finish it and so he walked out of the café after paying for his meal.
He walked down just a little bit only to find a bakery. It was quaint and lovely and had many baked goods in it. Seungcheol decided to walk in and buy a few pastries.
There wasn’t much to do in the town and so he returned to his room and decided to take a nap since the weather was quite nice.
He woke up with the sun still bright in the sky. Seungcheol decided to take a walk at the park nearby since he still has some time to kill before dinner.
When he walked down the cobbled path of the park, he notices a flash of fire following laughter. Curious, he walked towards it only to find a Mimikyu running past him and the jerk he met when he entered this town.
The day was immediately sour as they recognised him. “Oh hey look guys! It’s the loser with the loser Vulpix!” they jeered at him. It was supposed to be a nice day. A nice, relaxing day.
It wasn’t until Seungcheol turned to see the Mimikyu hiding behind a bench that he realised there was a burn on its costume.
“You guys picking on a Mimikyu?” Seungcheol’s voice was low and angry. The anger increased when they laughed. “What’s it to ya? They light up real nice!”
“Tch. That’s so low for you guys. Bullying another Pokémon? And you dare to call yourselves trainers?” Seungcheol sneered “I can’t imagine what dumb luck you guys run on to win your matches”
“How dare you! We beat you fair and square in every match! You’re the one who went hostile!” they fumed.
“Did you?” Seungcheol asked
“Huh?” their voices laced with confusion.
“Did you beat me fair and square? Or did I let you win?” Seungcheol felt confident all of a sudden. He’s not sure what happened but there’s something about this jerk that makes his guts turn.
“That doesn’t make any sense. We battled. You lost. End of story.” They sneered.
“Then let’s do it again”
“What?”
“I challenge you to a Pokémon battle. One Pokémon only. If I win, you leave that Mimikyu alone. If you win, you’re free to do whatever you want” Seungcheol said. If they accept, then Seungcheol has a chance to leave this town with no regrets. Although he wanted a relaxing day, it will never be relaxing with this jerk around.
“Fine. Houndoom, I choose you!” they threw the Pokeball out and the Houndoom came out roaring.
“Ah, he chose Houndoom again. In that case,” Seungcheol thought to himself.
“Arcanine. I choose you!” Seungcheol yells as he throws the Pokeball. His Arcanine let out a mighty roar as his opponents trembled.
“Wait, hold on now” they began, voices quaking with every word. The Houndoom, that was once in battle position, heard the distress in his owner’s words and turned to look at them in concern.
Seungcheol saw his chance. “Arcanine, fire blast!”
Flames surround the bullies and their Pokémon and are ultimately defeated. Once the fire dies, the bullies get up, tears in their eyes “You’ll pay for this!” and with that, they run off.
Seungcheol smiles as he pets Arcanine. He finally beat those bullies. Right, bullies. Mimikyu. He turns around to see if the Pokémon was okay and Seungcheol may have made the situation worse.
The Mimikyu’s costume looks terrible. The bottom seams are burned and there’s a hole on the side and the Pokémon is holding the broken head of the costume.
“Oh no!” he exclaims. “I’m so sorry!” he and his Arcanine begin bowing to the Mimikyu apologising.
Somewhere along the apology, Seungcheol realises that he needs to fix this somehow but he can’t sew for s. And just then, he remembered.
“Wait, there’s a tailor here somewhere! Let’s see if he can make you a new costume!”
“Hi! I would like to make a new costume for this Mimikyu right here.” Seungcheol gestures to the Mimikyu still holding the costume’s head up. The tailor is taken aback at the directness of Seungcheol and hesitates for a moment. He looks at the Pokémon with such bewilderment. Has this person ever seen a Mimikyu before? “I’m so sorry but if it’s not too much trouble, is it possible to get it done immediately?” Seungcheol presses on.
“Ah well…” the tailor begins but Seungcheol cuts him off. “Please? Pretty please? It won’t take too much of your time”
Seungcheol muttered to the Mimikyu “Act pitiful” and as if Mimikyu knew what to do, it started crying.
“Look at it! It’s crying! Oh, sir, please! Have a heart! This costume is all it has!” Seungcheol cried out dramatically. The Mimikyu, still crying, uses its hand holding the head of the costume to nod.
The tailor can’t seem to get this situation under control but with the combined powers of sad eyes from Seungcheol, Arcanine and Mimikyu, he can’t help but cave in.
“Okay, fine” the tailor finally announces. “Let me just get some material from the back and I’ll be right out to make the costume.” The tailor disappears through a curtain to the back and both Seungcheol and Mimikyu straighten up.
“Excellent acting there my fine sir” The Mimikyu bows a little but their eyes smile.
The tailor comes back from the back holding a yellow fabric that doesn’t quite seem like the normal fabric used for clothes. “This fabric was specially designed for those who have fire type Pokémon. It’s completely fire-proof and it’s easy to clean.”
“That’s amazing!” Seungcheol exclaims. Seungcheol and the Mimikyu watch the tailor work his magic into making a new costume. Once he was done, he let Mimikyu go into a changing room to change costumes and the Pokémon came out looking much happier than before.
“Now you don’t have to worry about fire types destroying your costume ever again!” the tailor rejoiced.
When they left the tailor, the sun was beginning to set. The Mimikyu bowed to Seungcheol to say his thanks.
“It’s the least I could do! After all, it was my fault for getting your previous costume ruined” Seungcheol said.
Mimikyu looked behind Seungcheol and started running up to whoever was behind him.
“Oh hey, what are you doing out here?” the soft voice said. Oh . Seungcheol turned around and saw him.
The Mimikyu showed off his new costume to Jihoon. “Oh, a new costume? Where did you get that from?” Mimikyu pointed to Seungcheol. Jihoon looked up to see that he was still in town, standing in front of him in all his glory.
“Hey,” Jihoon said
“Hi” Seungcheol replied, “Is that your Mimikyu?”
“Yeah, it is. Why did you get him a new costume?” Jihoon asked. Seungcheol felt a sweat drip down the side of his face. He was too nervous to tell him about what happened. But if he didn’t, then the Mimikyu might tell him itself.
Swallowing his pride and hoping for the best, Seungcheol told Jihoon the battle that had just happened and how he burned the Mimikyu’s costume.
When he was done, he prepared for the worse. He prepared for Jihoon to take the Mimikyu and ask Seungcheol to never come ever again.
“Oh, that’s very nice of you”
What?
“Thank you so much for getting Mimikyu a new costume! I always find it with his costume tattered and I have to fix it all the time but now it’s a fireproof material!”
This is not what he expected. He expected curses and maybe some fists or a foot. But this was way better than he expected.
“Let me treat you to dinner. I wasn’t there for my Pokémon and you were. I appreciate that a lot”
“Yeah... Yeah! Sure! I’d love to!”
Seungcheol and Jihoon talked the entire journey to the eatery with Mimikyu by their side.
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