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Zhigang’s visit to the small forest was supposed to be uneventful. Yes he has heard that it was cursed and that nobody should enter it. But it didn’t scare him one bit.
“Nobody comes back from that forest. Not alone.” A girl said to him on his way to the forest. She was on a bike and a school bag hanging low from her shoulder. He raised his eyebrow when he noticed a large Pumpkaboo looking at him from the bicycle’s basket. The little Pokemon barely fit in the basket. It was a rarity to see such a large pumpkaboo and it was comical to look at the way it fit into the basket.
“I think, I will be alright. But thanks” He smiled to the girl who just shrugged at him. The worry was appreciated but Zhigang was a champion of his region. One of the strongest Pokemon trainers out there. And not only that, he was also a trainer of a legendary Pokemon: Rayquaza. The Sky High Pokemon
And besides, he experienced worse things. For example, how about two legendary Pokemon fighting because they were awoken by two different groups of very stupid people.
But that was all thankfully in the past. And he had time to pass in the present. So what is better than going to a cursed forest, where by legends told to him by his grandmother, dwells a mythical Pokemon who lives in the people’s shadow. There wasn't much more information and he honestly did not expect to stumble upon it. But he was still interested in at least checking out the forest.
So with that, he waved the girl goodbye and went ahead his Houndoom following close to him. His trusty companion and his very first Pokemon he received when he became of age to train one. They went together to quiet a lot of journeys. She was quiet a troublemaker but he would have never made it this far without her. Countless fights were fought and won. And lost as well. But such was a journey of a Pokemon trainer. Wins and loses were going hand in hand. Although he long since forgot the bitter feeling of losing. After all, he held his title as a undefeated champion for over nine years.
He was lost in thought almost walking into a tree as his Charizard came down from the sky to slightly nudge him before he kissed the tree.
“Oh, thank you buddy.” He laughed as his Charizard gave him an unamused look. But here they were - before the very forest where a mythical Pokemon resided.
“Well, shall we go in?” He smiled confidently as all of his Pokemon came out of their pokeballs to accompany him side by side. This was just how they were used to it. Whenever they climbed the mountains or moved through swamps, they always stood side by side overcoming any landscape that stood in their way.
And this time was no different. Maybe even easier since this was a simple forest and not a swamp where you could easily get stuck in the mud.
Walking through the already overgrown path barely visible beneath the grass he noticed how foggy it was in here. His Hydreigon nuzzled closer to the Kommo-O that looked around. Hydreigon might have been the scariest one of his Pokemon frightening so many kids that wanted to check out his strong Pokemon, but in truth, he was incredibly timid by nature. It came off as a relief when Kommo-O with his bravery made Hydreigon slightly less jumpy taking an example.
Zhigang looked at his Pokemon with warmth before a scream startled the whole group.
“Armarouge?” He questioned quickly going up to the dual type Pokemon who was now sitting on the ground trembling pointing at something in the darkness looking back at Zhigang and then at it.
He patted him but saw nothing in the darkness. He looked back at Armarouge but the Pokemon’s eyes were looking somewhere behind him. And now not only his eyes but his whole team was looking behind him.
Just to be sure, he turned his head as suddenly a pair of red eyes, incredibly close, startled him forcing him to also stumble forward catching himself on his hands.
A wicked laugh resounded through their ears as his Haxorus jumped in front of Zhigang and Armarouge his tail on the forefront glowing blue, clearly preparing to use dragon tail if necessary.
The Chinese trainer looked up only to see the red eyes trembling as the creature revealed itself its form Taking shape in the sky.
“A Gengar.” He let out a sigh of relief. Those Pokemon were known for being mischievous. And this one clearly was just having fun scaring them. He wasn't the only one relaxing at this discovery, his whole team let out a sigh of relief as his Houndoom puffed out some flames out of her mouth clearly displeased.
“That was not welcomed.” He murmured as the Gengar turned upside down in the air. His Charizard came up to help him and Armarouge stand up.
“Sho, we don't need you on our back to scare us.” He waved his hand at the Gengar who dropped their smile momentarily.
“C’mon, we still need to find a camping place for the night.” Armarouge’s eyes still followed the Gengar that was levitating in place the smile gone. The ghost was merely watching them go. Ghost type Pokemon were known to be aggressive but Gengars were special in the sense that they just enjoyed mischief never really bringing harm to other people.
When Zhigang looked back one last time, the ghost type Pokemon was no longer visible. It was good, but they still had to be vigilant for it to poop off again and try to scare them. It was in their nature after all.
When they settled down for the night he already knew what he was going to cook. Bean Meadly curry might not be for everyone, but it never served him or his Pokemon wrong. And it tasted quite good if you knew what berries to add to it. He usually enjoyed making it spicy and his team shared his tastes. Maybe that is why it doesn't taste as awful as some say.
On a portable table he sliced tomato berries as his Charizard watched over the fire so it wouldn't go out. Haxorus and Armarouge cuddled together dosing off not waiting for dinner. He just needed to wake them up later.
After some time he was already tasting the curry when his Hydreigon let out a small cry with Kommo-O’s armour jiggling, a sigh that it was moving.
“Hm?” His gaze looked away from the pot to see an unexpected Pokemon he never imagined to stumble upon in such a place.
“A wild Sylveon?” Even tamed Sylveons were a rare sight but to encounter one in the wild… was nothing short of a miracle.
The Sylveon sat patiently its ribbons not stretching at all, a clear sigh that it wasn't in defensive mode as Kommo-O sniffed it closely.
“Syl!” It smiled at Hydreigon that backed off slightly. He was always afraid of any fairy type Pokemon.
Zhigang left the soup spoon in the boiling curry before going ahead already taking Out his Pokédex out of his pocket. Some might call his outdated due to it not being the latest model of Rotom Pokédexes. But it held all off the needed information and was updating every time he went to the pokecentre. After all, the world of Pokemon was still so unknown and full of new discoveries every day.
He scanned the Sylveon before him. It was already long registered but he just wanted to refresh his memory.
“Sylveon, the intertwining Pokemon. When this Pokemon sights its prey, it swirls its ribbon like feelers as a distraction. A moment later. It pounces. It can also let out a soothing aura from its ribbon-shaped organs to calm down any conflict or lower the guard of its prey. There is a Galarian tale of a beautiful Sylveon vanquishing a dragon” the monotone voice said as his Hydreigon levitated as far away as possible stumbling into the Charizard that was munching on some tree branches.
“Sylveon!” The Pokemon let out a cry as Kommo-O let out a cry of his own. He wasn't sure what they talked about but it seems neither were hostile so he was willing to let this Sylveon hang around for some time. Even share dinner.
“Beehehehhhh!” A piercing scream of already familiar Pokemon startled Armarouge awake already preparing its cannons to shoot.
“Oh, it’s you.” Zhigang murmured irritated looking back at the dropped soup spoon and a Gengar that was wiping its tongue. Karma. They shouldn't have tried to steal their food in the first place.
“Syl!!” Suddenly the intertwining Pokemon ran up to the Gengar passing by the Houndoom who growled at them.
The Gengar obediently showed its tongue to the Sylveon who carefully inspected it before suddenly jumping on the ghost Pokemon’s head and wrapping its ribbon around its arm.
The Sylveon nudged it to levitate a bit higher but before that she looked over at Zhigang and his Houndoom who still growled clearly upset at the Gengar.
“Sylveon~!” It exclaimed slightly nodding its head, not quite an apology but enough for Zhigang. After all, this was a wild Pokemon and those rarely were domesticate enough to be communicating to people.
“Sure, go ahead. I am not all that upset. “ and besides, the ghost was barely able to take a spoon before dropping and writhing in pain. It got its punishment.
And with that, the Gengar flew into the night with the fairy Pokemon on its head. What a weird duo.
“Shall we start eating?” He turned his head and asked as all of his Pokemon let out their cries.
“Damn it, damn it, damn it!” He cursed under his breath before calling out again, “Armarouge? Charizard? Haxorus? Hydreigon? Kommo-O? Houndoom? Girl? Can you hear me? Can anyone hear me?” through this thick fog he could barely see where he was walking. It happened all so suddenly. They were just continue walking in the forest and sometime around midday his Pokemon started slowly disappearing. One by one. And in mere seconds he was all alone.
Without his Pokemon. And his phone was not working properly glitching constantly.
“Great.” He tsked. It wasn’t the first time he got separated in the wilderness all alone. His Pokemon could handle anything quiet well. But he was worried about his Hydreigon since he was already on edge the whole day and this might be the last straw for him to go berserk from fear.
“Dra!” a sound from above resounded similar to a dragon’s cry. In the next second it was as if a flamethrower was used with wings flapping frantically.
“Charizard? Charizard!” He called out but the flapping of the wings and the sound of fire type moves being used started drifting away from him he, on instinct, ran after it.
“Charizard? Buddy? Can you hear me?” he shouted running through the fog almost bumping into a tree but still determined to chase after his Pokemon.
“Ah-” He stumbled over a rock as he plummeted to the ground. To his utter unluck, he just had to stumble over a rock that was near a hill which he was rolling down from. He forced his body to turn the other way so his arms could latch onto the earth his boots moving the ground below as he slowed down his fall. Fortunately, he stopped just as a cliff showed itself underneath all the fog.
“Sheesh.” He mumbled as he started to crawl away from the cliff but he stopped when the fog started to clear out rapidly.
“Huh?” he looked over and there, over at the other side of the canyon a pokemon appeared. Its hair flew in the air its eyes closed reminding him of a Rapidash but way more darker with hair was smoother, like water.
“What is this pokemon?” He instinctively wondered as he went to grab his pokedex but… as expected, much like his phone, it was malfunctioning. And this time even worse since just the fuzzy gray occupied the screen.
The pokemon let out a neigh cry with an almost echo aftereffect. He has never seen such a pokemon. Could it be the mythical pokemon that hides in the shadows?
“Wait-!” suddenly the dark shapes started taking gooey ball shapes, they then proceeded to shot below the cliff where Zhigang was still sending forcing the ground to collapse.
“Shit!” he cursed trying to stand up and grab onto the still not cracking ground but it was all too late for him as the ground fell and took him with it as well.
“Curse!” he quickly adapted, not the first time he was dropped into a canyon. His hands, thankfully with gloves on them, grabbed onto the protruding rocks able to stop his fall just enough not to be too heavily injured. His shoulder just hurt from how much pressure he put on it so suddenly.
Yet, he was unable to stand for long as he continued sliding down now just grabbed onto the wall.
“Ough-” not the nicest of landings but he experienced worse. His feet finally touched the ground but he quickly sat down rubbing at his shoulder. This was going to sting.
“Great.” So here he was, without his bag (since his Haxorus was the one usually holding it, he enjoyed the weight) without any means of communication and very, very tired.
“Fuck.” But he resigned. Now, he needed to rest and either his Pokemon will find him or he will climb out of this canyon all by himself. People rarely visited these parts and he now saw why. There was an unknown Pokemon on the loose that was possibly creating this fog.
Which means he will need to notify the authorities and the police about it so they would put up some signs or something.
“Haaahhhh….. i am stuck here, aren’t i?” already used to talking to his pokemon without getting a proper answer, he started talking out loud to himself now.
It wouldn’t hurt to take a nap, especially when his limbs felt so tired and his eyelids so heavy.
Zhigang was awoken by something cold touching him, not the wet kind or the stone cold kind. It was as if he was being touched by a ghost-
“Gah!” he jumped up as the Gengar, the same one from the two other encounters, was before his face wearing a frown on its face.
“Wow, you scared me-” Zhigang smiled but then jumped up on his feet, he didn’t know whenever this Gengar would suddenly become aggressive now that he was not surrounded by his companions.
“Gen?” It tilted its body looking at the human before it.
“What do you want?” he asked, annoyed. He probably napped for enough time. He should start planning how to get out of this hole.
“Gengar?” it said once more tilting its body completely now.
“Yes, yes- i am stuck. Laugh all you want.” Zhigang waved his hand, he wasn’t in the mood to deal with the mischievous Pokemon.
“…” the ghost eyed him for some time before flying up and leaving.
Zhigang watched as it disappeared into the fog above before resolving himself on climbing. He climbed a lot. He grew up in the mountains, climbing them was his second nature.
And so, he began. One step, one hold at the time. And it was progressing steadily. Until he reached the foggy part. Then and there his progress was as fast as the speed of a Torkoal. Abysmally slow.
He was unable to see far or where he was grabbing onto so now he was going all from the touch.
“Hick!” he bit his lip as a rock he grabbed onto fell from the wall its fall echoing through the tight space.
It should have been a sign to make him more cautions, and well, he was cautious from the very beginning of the climb. But luck was not on his side yet again as he slipped. Another rock broke off the wall and he lost his footing. He prepared himself to soften his fall as suddenly something soft but firm wrapped around his waist stopping him from the fall.
“Sylveon?” the fairy pokemon smiled as he turned his head to look at Sylveon that was laying on top of the Gengar.
“hahhh, thank Arceus….” he sighed with relief. Seems like the Gengar wasn’t that big of a jerk like he expected as it smiled as him.
The Gengar levitated up to the ground above the fog, was as thick as ever when he was placed on the grassy ground.
“Thanks-” he said to the two pokemon but-
“No problem.” A man, a human, came out of the fog to see him. He had a deep black hair and his clothes equally as black, he wore a simple black coat with black jeans and black sneakers.
“…gorgeous… “ Zhigang, all too enamoured with the man before him, did not hear himself or what he was saying as the man raised his eyebrow looking at him in confusion.
Zhigang was sure his face was as red as Slugma’s body but he just couldn't stop staring at the man’s beautiful face. The pale moonlight made him look all the more serene. Zhigang almost felt like he was under the influence of a wild Rosellia that with its roses made people feel serene inside.
“Uh, what is your name?” Zhigang wanted to punch himself in the face. He stumbled with his first words- how much more embarrassing could it get?
“Sung Jinwoo, but you can just call me Jinwoo.” The man replied easily without a second thought. His Sylveon on the other hand, narrowed her eyes with a suspicion in her face. He hopes she isn’t thinking something bad of him.
“Liu Zhigang. It a pleasure to meet you. And uh, just Zhigang is fine as well.” Now the Gengar was the one to turn upside down in the air still levitating near Jinwoo but now looking at Zhigang. Observing.
“Likewise. Although it would have been better if we met under better circumstances.” He said and Zhigang had to nod. It would have been way better if he stumbled upon the man while walking in the forest and not… getting rescued by him.
“Just to be sure- you said your Pokemon already located mine?” He asked. He might have just caught the very first big crush but his team was always his first priority. He needed to make sure they were alright.
“They did. Most of them are already at my house but it seems that your Hydreigon is less cooperative than others. Jima, my Spiritomb seems to be having problems with making it follow them.” The man sighed but he didn't sound irritated. More like just tired (yes because he had to go out in the middle of the night and save you and your Pokemon, who wouldn't be tired?).
“Oh, I am sorry about him. He is so timid. He means no harm, really. He is just scared. For a Hydreigon he is very harmless.” Zhigang tried. He already hated the fact that he was being a nuisance but he also wanted to excuse his Pokemon. He was just scared and all alone, it was understandable that his dragon was freaking out and not just because there was a Spiritomb.
“Hm, I beg to differ. Currently, it is fighting my Pokemon while destroying the forest.” He could see how the ribbon organ wrapped around the man’s arm tightened.
“Like right now?” He asked because he couldn't see or hear any sounds of battle.
“Mhm, yes. Right now my Spiritomb has to dodge its dragon pulses. But it does seem frightened.” The man closed his eyes for a second before replying.
“How do you know?”
“Mmmm, my Pokemon and I share a certain mental connection. It is hard to explain.”
“I heard it is exclusive to psychic trainers to have this kind of thing.”
“It is. Me and my Pokemon are just exceptions to the rule.” He nods, it was often like this that trainers that grew extremely close to their Pokemon could understand what they are saying. Much like he could understand what they are trying to tell him from their movements.
“Sylveon, go calm down the Hydreigon please. It could use some relaxation.” The Sylveon puffed its cheeks but followed her trainer’s command. And as if on cue, the Gengar flew over to the Sylveon so it could jump on it before levitating away into the fog.
“Thank you so much again. I-” he was interrupted by the man waving his hand.
“Don't mention it. You aren't the first and certainly not the last to get lost in this forest. ” The man shot him a quick look and Arceus, Zhigang felt like he could drown in his eyes. Those dark gray eyes that make him wish to look deeper into them, to discover the secrets that lie beyond the grey abyss-
“You have came to see the mythical Pokemon, right?” The man suddenly asked, Zhigang choked, he was caught red handed and for some reason it made him feel guilty.
“Yes. And uhh, i think i saw it actually. It was the reason i fell into that hole…. Do people really come that often to the forest?” When he was scrolling through places he could travel, he had to go to great lengths to find this forest. He wouldn't have expected that many people visited it.
“Yes they do. But for a different purposes.” He didn't elaborate on the fact and Zhigang did not try to prey out more details. He wasn't in the place to question the overly handsome man.
“Do we need to notify the authorities about the pokemon? It would be dangerous if it attacked anyone else like this-” he was interrupted by the man.
“It was merely putting up a warning. The Pokemon you encountered- it went and notified me and then i went to take care of it. It meant no harm. And it would be disastrous if the word got out about it dwelling in this forest. Who knows what kind of evil teams will come to try and catch it.” Zhigang nodded. He wanted to argue but did not fell like it.
“It seems you are really close to your Pokemon.” The man suddenly said as they walked down the path that was already pawed and not overgrown like the one he walked when he just went into the forest.
“This is what happens when you spend so much time together.” Jinwoo gave him a small smile before stopping.
“Is something wro-” Zhigang was halfway through asking what made the man stop before he got knocked to the ground by someone tackling him.
“Ah- hey! Let me get up at least! Ew!” He exclaimed as an onslaught of licks and rubs descended upon him.
When Zhigang was allowed to get back up, he saw Hydreigon, clearly tired, fly up to him and rub his face into his arm.
“Hey there buddy.” He petted the dragon on the hand as he noticed a Spiritomb and Sylveon nuzzling into Jinwoo’s side.
“…” Jinwoo looked at him his smile dropping as he just turned around silently inviting the man to follow him.
“I really have no ideas what I could have done without you. Thank you so much. If you need anything just say the word. I will do my best to fulfil whatever request you have.” Zhigang’s Houndoom placed her head on his lap as he held the hot chocolate with both of his hands as both of them were covered by a fluffy blanket.
“It is no problem. Your Pokemon were nice enough not to try and bite Iron- my Gengar for being mischievous so we are equal. If anything, just don’t say you encountered the Pokemon. ” Jinwoo waved his hand his Sylveon beside him on a Pokemon tree her ribbon organ wrapped around her trainer’s arm.
“You can stay for the night and in the morning I can lead you out of the forest.” Kommo-O sat near Jinwoo’s Dragapult that was utterly uninterested in him but his dragon seemed to be eager to gain its attention.
“Thank you.” By Jinwoo’s other side stood Aegislash, they weren't in their battle mode but they still watched Zhigang and his team closely with their one eye. It seemed ready to attack at any time but thankfully it stood in place without drawing their main body out of the shield.
He wanted to subtly take out his Pokédex and scan this Aegislash, after all, this one was a shiny Aegislash. A truly rare encounter. Any shinies were incredibly hard to come by so he can’t say that a shiny Aegislash is rare to see. Any shiny Pokemon was rare to see. People could go their whole lives without ever seeing one in real life and not in photos or in the Pokédex.
“Mhm. So the legend about a mythical dwelling here was the true.” Zhigang placed his mug on the small coffee table near the couch he was sitting on. His Armarouge took a special interest in Jinwoo’s Ceruledge who was sitting close by the couch Zhigang was on. Armarouge was probably one of the most loyal Pokemon he has ever met. No doubt his honour was trapped when he lost sight of his trainer. So it was great that he could still stand right by his side while interacting with the Ceruledge.
“Not really. The Pokemon you saw…. Was actually in a different category.” His Charizard inspected the sleeping Cofargigus that stood against the wall unmoving. He just hoped this one didn't have the tendency like the Gengar, Iron to scare people and Pokemon. Otherwise he is sure they will have to put out a fire in Jinwoo’s wooden house.
“Wait- really?” He leaned closer to hear more from Jinwoo. A Trevanant was standing near some plants observing them, he wonders if this Trevanant was the one taking care of them.
“Could it be…. a legendary pokemon?” The man eyed him, letting out a sigh.
“Yes. But i trust you will not tell a soul or have ulterior motives. Otherwise….” Jinwoo revealed but then glared daggers at him. Zhigang’s Haxorus was looking up at the Jinwoo’s Chandelure hanging off from the ceiling being the main source of light aside from the campfire where the Gengar and Dusknoir stood near. Do ghost type Pokemon need warmth as well?
“…” Zhigang wanted to ask to stay. But would it be way too much to ask for? The man was suspicious of him and this would make it seem like he did have ulterior motives. Like catching the pokemon or whatnot. Otherwise even of he stayed in the forest without Jinwoo by his side he was sure he would get lost in the forest again and then he would be an even bigger nuisance to Jinwoo and maybe Jinwoo will even think that he is a bad guy and worse of all will want to do nothing with him-
“….” Jinwoo slowly blinked as he averted his gaze, his Sylveon tightening her grip on his arm. “If you want you could stay with us for some time. We need new company.” A sweeping sound of a broom was somewhere in the kitchen as it came closer and closer to the living room at finally the person sweeping it came through the door and…
“… I cannot thank you enough.” Zhigang bowed his head and as he raised it back-
A Mimikyu found its way up to Jinwoo’s lap as the broom stood straight near the chair Jinwoo sat on near the Aegislash that eyed the newcomer with suspicion.
“Oh.” His Houndoom opened its eyes to look at what made her trainers exclaim but closed it right back when she discovered it wasn't anything important.
“This is Beru. He is the one that keeps this old house in such a good condition.” Jinwoo lowered his hand that was wrapped in Sylveon’s appendages for Beru to stretch his own black arm under the covers of the fake costume of Pikachu to place it in Jinwoo’s hand.
“The Travenant is named Tank. Gengar is named Iron. Aegislash is Igris and Ceruledge is Blades. Spiritomb I named Jima. Cofagrigus and Chandelure are Skull and Beste.” The man explained as every one of his Pokemon let out a squeak when their names were called out. Aside from the Cofagrigus that still stood unmoving.
“Oh, Dragapult is Kaisel, although he had a different name. I just forgot what it was.” The dragon in question shot its trainer an unamused look.
“I got him from a trade from a defeated trainer. It was a weird situation really.” The man chuckled.
“There are some others. Like Bigrock the Golurk and… Shedinja. Bigrock is outside. Maybe you even saw him.” His Charizard turned around and gave a nod almost as if he understood what the human was talking about.
“Shedinja is without a name?” He questioned. He didn't take Jinwoo to have favourites or despise his Pokemon enough to leave them be the only one without a proper name.
“Oh they do have a name. They just prefer only for limited Pokemon and people to know it.” they sat in comfortable silence as suddenly the TV started working. It seems like the Dreepys from Dragapult’s horns activated the TV.
“...” somehow all of the if not most of the Pokemon ended up sitting in circle watching the television. He was rather interesting in how great it works since there was barely any internet connection. He has tried calling the emergency services but his phone was unable to even work properly.
“This is Rotom’s doing. There are quiet a bit dwelling in this house. They just don’t enjoy being the centre of attention that is why they don’t show themselves.” Jinwoo, almost as if reading his mind, answered (he can’t actually read minds, can he?).
“And the reason why your phone wasn’t working was because of how many ghost type Pokemon there are in this forest. All of them mostly dislike visitors and try to chase them off. Hence the fog. And well, the pokemon you saw also contributes to it” He blinked a few times. Fuck. Why was it he liked this man who could potentially read his mind?
“…” Jinwoo shot him a quick look before returning his gaze back to the screen his Sylveon yawning on his lap while he gently brushed her fur.
“You know, Is this region known for ghost type Pokemon?” He asked absentmindedly the next day in the morning as he sat patiently, banned from the kitchen. So now Jinwoo was cooking for a whole lot of Pokemon.
“Why do you ask?” Jinwoo questioned. His Mimikyu, Beru, patiently held out the berries the Pokemon cut with the shadow claw.
“Well, i heard your champion is a specialist on ghosts. And when i was going to the forest this girl on the bicycle-” the man stopped for a second his hands holding the spoon in the air as Zhigang stooped in his speech watching Jinwoo’s movements.
“Her name is Jinah.”
“Really? You know her?” he asked and maybe it became less weird for the two of the people he saw in this region to have ghost types since they knew each other. Really, he haven’t talked to anyone from this region. He flew in with his Charizard and champions had this cool thing when they were not required to pass all of the legal laws when going from region to region. Neat thing.
“She is my little sister. She came to pay me a visit.” he said.
“Oh. Well, now my observation seems kind weird. “
“Mhm, there aren’t that many ghost specialists in this region. I can count on my hand the number of how many there are.”
“Really? And how many?” he asked with curiosity. He never looked into the notable trainers, coordinators, gym leaders or even the elite four. He only kept up with the champions to see if there was a worthy opponent to challenge but this region’s champion was rather… elusive.
“Would you want to guess?” Jinwoo placed two plates on the table before going over to the other cabinet to take out the different sizes of bowls for Pokemon.
“Hm, 7?” he guessed but Jinwoo just smiled.
“Three.” the man answered and Zhigang really couldn’t find the proper words. he would think there would be much more trainers since their champion was a specialist in a single type, not like most champions that prefer making their teams diverse.
“One coordinator, one gym leader, and the champion. And i know all of them personally.” Putting the food in different bowls, Trevenant, Tank took them one by one before serving them to the waiting Pokemon.
“Really? Even the champion?” the man finally sat down after putting a separate portion for the two of them.
“Oh i know the champion especially well.” ‘are they dating?’ was his immediate thought. But he couldn’t jump up to the conclusions, not like this.
“How come?” he asked instead as a delicious flavour of the soup hit his taste buds. Zhigang wasn’t a bad cook by any means but Jinwoo was legendary in kitchen it seems.
“Well, it would be weird if i didn’t know myself, would it?”
“Oh. Do you want to battle?” Were his first words said to the discovery that the man who saved him was the champion of this region. He really didn’t expect the ghost type trainer who saved him to turn out to be a champion but he would not pass the chance.
Jinwoo smile was now more dangerous, almost daring.
“after the breakfast.”.
“Do you want to use mega Pokemon or not?” Zhigang asked as he stretched his limbs out. It was a normal 3 vs 3 battle. But his Charizard was uncharacteristically energetic. Of course he could use him without using the mega stones but… where is the fun in that?
“Sure, i don’t mind.” Jinwoo led them to an open field, a training ground specifically made for Pokemon battles. He wouldn’t expect anything less from a champion.
“Go! Charizard!” he called out as his Pokemon stepped into the field. Jinwoo smiled.
“Skull.” he merely called out the name as something shot out of the Jinwoo’s house. his Pokemon that were the audience looked into the direction to see the previously passive Pokemon run as fast as possible to get to its trainer.
“Cofagrigus.” He smiled. He wasn’t sure what Jinwoo was thinking since his Charizard was immune to ground but… the man seemed to have a plan.
“Sylllll….. veon!” the Sylveon cried out the beginning of the match.
…
…
“Can i stay for a bit more days? I want to see more of the ghost type Pokemon dwelling in this forest.”
…
“Suit yourself.”