"Every trainer has a choice to listen to the voice inside."
— Pokémon: Advanced Challenge

— — —

⠀⠀Jacob realized one step out of the front door that his backpack with all of his notebooks and pens and such was weirdly heavy, not to mention strangely bulged out. He shrugged it off and squatted down on the front step to properly check the contents of his bag with a weary groan, and he was not fazed for even a second when Buizel's orange-furred head popped out with big, innocent eyes. They silently stared at each other for a few seconds before Jacob deadpanned, "Buizel, no. You're staying at home."

⠀⠀Of course, Buizel was more stubborn than a Bouffalant in a rodeo, so the weasel Pokémon only firmly shook his head and disappeared back into the depths of the bag. Jacob tried to reach in and snatch Buizel back out to put him back in the house, but was instead soon met with sharp teeth shallowly puncturing the skin of his hand. He hissed in pain and retracted his hand, finally glaring towards the inside of his bag.

⠀⠀"What the hell, Buizel?!" Jacob admonished, rubbing off the small pools of blood that began to collect on his hand. He reached back into the back and began rummaging around for his portable First Aid kit, knocking Buizel aside as he went, before pulling the kit out, sitting down on his front step, and using the disinfectants and small bandages within to quickly sterilize and bandage his hand. God, he was already running late; he didn't need this on his plate too.

⠀⠀Buizel poked its head out again, this time seeming much more sorry and guilty. "Bui?" he asked, reluctantly crawling out of the bag and lightly placing a paw on Jacob's now-bandaged hand. Jacob tried his best to hold an angry frown, but he eventually sighed at the display, feeling any anger he had experienced in that brief moment of pain melt away. It had always been hard for him to be upset for long, and the sad look Buizel fixed him with didn't help his case either.

⠀⠀"No, I'm fine, Buizel. I'm sorry for yelling at you," he apologized, reaching his hand out to the Pokémon for a trucing hand shake. Instead, Buizel climbed onto his lap and began snuggling against his chest, the purrs practically making his whole body vibrate. Jacob could only smile a bit as he pet the Pokémon for a bit, before helping Buizel onto his shoulders, which was Buizel's favorite resting place. "Will you forgive me if I let you come with me to the lab?"

⠀⠀"Buizel, zel!" the weasel Pokémon chorused with a toothy grin, his two tails starting to spin a bit in excitement. Jacob had to remind Buizel that such an action actually really hurt—the tails would usually slap him in the back and chest and leave bruises hours later—but seeing the joy on Buizel's small face was strangely satisfying.

⠀⠀He had to run to his bus stop for a fighting chance of arriving on time, and that chance was already slim enough, so Jacob was suddenly thankful for his years of sports under his belt. Despite his athletic background, however, Jacob couldn't deny that he was winded as he finally made it to the small steel gates of lab, put his hands on his knees, and huffed and puffed like there was no tomorrow. Buizel, who had scampered off of his shoulder and run alongside him after getting off of the bus, flopped onto the ground spread-eagle and wheezed in exhaustion. Jacob cast a glance at the Pokémon on the grass and laughed a bit, quickly scooping the weasel Pokémon into his arms and jogging once more. He was too tired to do anything more than that, so Professor Rowan would simply have to wait!

⠀⠀The Rowan Laboratory was quite the piece of architecture, albeit a little out of place amongst the small and homey buildings that otherwise occupied Sandgem Town. Like every other establishment in town, the lab sat on flat and grassy ground with the ranges of Mt. Coronet jutting up jaggedly from behind it. The lab was also surrounded by miles of free pasture land and dense man-made forestry a bit further back, which was enclosed by a brick fence that went on as far as the eye could see. This area was where the specimens Professor Rowan studied would reside, and where much of the research would commence. However, Jacob also found majesty in the architecture of the building, which was a peculiar amalgamation of classic red bricks and modern science and technology. There was a large hall and two bricked spires of sorts, one with a humongous windmill attached to the side of it; the ocean provided a year-long, steady breeze that would keep the mill turning and providing energy to the lab almost indefinitely in a green and environmentally healthy way. Connected to one of the spires, on the other hand, was what seemed to be a three-layered white and metallic dome, the whirring of the machinery from within almost making the whole building shake. The combination of these two aesthetics was jarring, especially when compared to the small-town cottage vibes given off by the rest of the quaint Sinnoh village. There was no denying that the building was ugly.

⠀⠀Jacob smiled. It was a bit of an architectural monstrosity, yes, but he thought the lab had its own charm nonetheless.

⠀⠀He walked through the front door to the more mechanical side of the lab and was immediately fixed with many weird looks by his peers. That alone would've made him rather uncomfortable, but when Professor Rowan himself decided to fix him with a steely and irritated glare as well, Jacob physically flinched from surprise and perhaps even a bit of fear. Buizel scampered up onto Jacob's shoulders again and hid behind his neck, and Jacob could only wish he could do the same.

⠀⠀Jacob inclined his head in a bow. "Hello, Professor Rowan, sir, my name is Jacob B—"

⠀⠀"You're late," the professor stated bluntly, tapping his wrist watch. "The internship was due to start at 10AM. Do you know what time is it now?"

⠀⠀Oh god, he was in trouble. Jacob fumbled for his phone in his pocket, and after a quick glance at the screen, he weakly said, "10:41?" Professor Rowan seemed to glower at him, eyebrows bunched together in displeasure, so Jacob bowed his head lower and put his hands on his knees. "I'm so sorry, Professor Rowan. Things were out of place this morning, my bus was running late, I had a little problem with Buizel here—"

⠀⠀ As he talked, Professor Rowan pulled a manila folder out from the small pile of notebooks, charts, and other resources in his arms and flapped it open—loud enough for Jacob to pause in his ramble, which was probably for the best. The professor took a red pen from his lab coat pocket, and with a quick glance at Jacob and the Buizel on his shoulders and an equally succinct, "Jacob Bae, yes?" plus a subsequent nod from the young man himself, scribbled something down into the papers in the manila folder and flapped it closed once again. "I'll keep note of this," Professor Rowan said in that same steely and cold voice of his. He jerked a thumb back towards the group of interns, who watched the scene before them with great interest. "For now, just join the others," he ordered gruffly, "We have a busy day ahead of us."

⠀⠀Jacob swallowed nervously, but he nodded and did as he was told. As he walked to the back of the group, he mentally berated himself, using a few choice words he would never lay upon another person. How could he have been so stupid to mess up at a time like this? This was supposed to be a gateway to his career, and he had a feeling that the opportunity was slipping out of his fingers like sand. What would his mother say if she got wind of this? The nerves and frustration he felt made it easier to ignore the hushed whispers of his peers around him, though he could still feel eyes piercing his body. Jacob heaved an almost inaudible sigh and only scratched Buizel's chin as the weasel Pokémon poked his head out in concern.

⠀⠀After that horrifying incident, Jacob did his absolute best to make up for the embarrassing first encounter with the professor by being an incredibly attentive and enthusiastic intern with his best, sweetest smile—he knew his trademark saccharine-sweet grin was hard to resist, after all. He asked relative questions about Professor Rowan's evolutionary studies, raised his hand for every question that the professor or his aides asked them, whether he knew it or not, ensured that the professor saw him actively socializing with his peers during lunch time, and even participated heavily in the outdoor segment where they were all put in charge of a singular Pokémon's care for the afternoon. Jacob was unfortunate enough to find himself partnered with a Ponyta that did not trust him in the slightest, leaving its fiery mane very much an extreme hazard to him, much to his chagrin. (He'd soon have to enlist in Buizel's move, Water Gun, to douse his flaming clothes, which meant he would walk into the lab and all of its fancy state-of-the-art equipment with squelching shoes and his wet hair and clothes dripping water everywhere. Professor Rowan would once again scribble into his manila folder.)

⠀⠀Besides the Ponyta incident—after which, Jacob had a feeling he wouldn't be getting a fire-type Pokémon anytime soon—Jacob felt that the rest of the day went on without a hitch. A sense of pride bloomed in his chest as he marveled at how well he had seemingly thrived throughout the day despite his rocky start. He even gave Buizel a small fist bump in celebration as the group walked back to the entrance of the lab. It was now 7:32PM, and the day of hard work and finally reached its end, and what a sight they had to end it off with. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, Jacob could see the sun dipping below the horizon, painting the sky in brilliant shades of orange, pink, red, and blue. The distant ocean shores glimmered with the final twinkles of daylight, and people were making their ways back home. Jacob found himself smiling at the familiar sight.

⠀⠀Professor Rowan cleared his throat, then began gruffly, "After years of hard work and studying, I am proud to say that today marks the first days of your careers. All of you have shown and proved your great diligence and passion for this amazing field of work, and I have no doubt in my mind that each and every one of you will be able to go out and discover what's out there in this great, big, wonderful world. We, as researchers, give our lives to this great cause, to learn more about the world around us and the people and Pokémon around us, and I'd like to think that the undiscovered mysteries and wonders of this world are in some very good hands for the future. I congratulate you all on all of your hard work to get to this point, but remember: this is only the beginning of a lifetime's journey into the world."

⠀⠀The entire room, interns and aides alike, burst into whoops, applause, and cheers. Jacob clapped along with a big smile—Professor Rowan could certainly give a speech—and mulled over the professor's words in his head. Diligence and passion, going out into the unknown, a lifetime's journey. A lifetime of this? Working in a lab, taking care of unruly Ponytas, surrounded by machines? This is what he had worked towards for the past four years. Shouldn't this prospect excite him? Why did his chest tighten at the thought? Jacob hoped that the bright smile would help ease the  queasiness in his stomach at the whole thing. Maybe his aching facial muscles and tightly clenched jaw should've been a sign that it didn't.

⠀⠀The group of interns was all lined up, and Professor Rowan went down the line, giving each intern a firm handshake and a nod of approval. Jacob eagerly held his hand out for one of his own, pushing his thoughts aside in favor of shaking the hand of an actual legend in the Pokémon world, but he didn't expect the sharp glance from the professor and the curtly quiet, "I would like a word with you in private, Jacob," that was uttered from the old man's lips.

⠀⠀The young man's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. Why was he getting singled out? What did he do wrong? Did this interaction spell out the end for him? Jacob tried to hold his nervous energy inside, putting a small yet pleasant smile on. "Of course, sir," he said politely, following the Professor Rowan away from the group and doing his best to ignore the whispers from his peers again.

⠀⠀They traversed a couple different hallways, passing by several aides and studies occurring throughout the lab, but the only thing Jacob could even think of was a constant mantra of, "Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck," which honestly shocked Jacob a bit, because he wasn't one for swearing. It was probably the pent-up nervousness that caused such volatile language, and he only sighed at the realization. He wasn't supposed to be this nervous. Buizel, who had climbed down from his shoulders, scampered alongside Jacob and only shot a few worried glances at his trainer.

⠀⠀Jacob did the best to quell the shaking in his hands as he stepped into Professor Rowan's personal office, which was as orderly and put-together as the man himself was. There was several tall bookcases filled to the brim with books and references of all sorts, a clean mahogany desk that shone in the early evening light, a couple chairs scattered around the room besides the nice leather office chair behind the desk, and a computer Jacob would never be able to afford on perched atop of it. Professor Rowan pulled off his lab coat and draped it over the back of his office chair before sitting in it, ordering Jacob to do the same in the wooden chair on the other side of the desk, which Jacob scrambled to do so as Buizel found a comfortable spot upon one of the other chairs in the room.

⠀⠀Professor Rowan busied himself with typing something on the computer, practically paying Jacob no attention, which did little to soothe Jacob's nerves at all and instead irked him a little. He took a deep, calming breath, instead choosing to focus on looking at Professor Rowan properly for the first time. As always, Professor Rowan's face seemed to be permanently cross and focused, his bushy white eyebrows pushed together and his lips, slightly hidden by his equally bushy mustache, curved into a perpetual frown. The professor was also surprisingly tall, he recalled, the old man towering over Jacob by quite an amount throughout the day—some could argue that Jacob's height was painfully average or even short, but no, Professor Rowan was just quite tall—and his stature only made him even more intimidating. Professor Rowan was also a bit on the older side, being in his early sixties, but the age only showed in the slight wrinkles on his face and his white hair and mustache. In contrast, the professor moved as if he were still a young man, which honestly made it a bit hard for Jacob to keep up throughout the day, because the professor stopped and waited for no one.

⠀⠀Despite his intimidating streak, Professor Rowan was a world-renowned researcher that had studied Pokémon evolution and made great leaps in that field, which only furthered the study of Pokémon all over the globe. Jacob had to give credit where it was due, and he was honestly a bit star-struck to be in the presence of such a legend, even if it were under less-than-pleasant circumstances.

⠀⠀"A picture lasts longer, Jacob," the professor said wryly, his eyes not leaving the computer for even a second. Jacob's face burned red in embarrassment, and his eyes immediately slid to the floor as he fiddled with his bandaged hand in his lap.

⠀⠀"Sorry, sir," Jacob mumbled, mentally sighing at his own timidity. Usually, he wasn't this bad. This was just embarrassing.

⠀⠀A couple more uncomfortable minutes of silence passed with only the sound of noisy keyboard clicking filling the room. Buizel had fallen asleep in the chair from the monotony, and Jacob and his heavy eyelids wanted to do the same. But he just sat there, back straight and hands folded as he patiently waited for Professor Rowan, even as he took a glance out the window behind the professor's desk and saw the sky a dark blue as the moon and stars slid into their places in the sky. He mentally groaned. God, I wanna go home, he griped with an internal pout. Jacob just wanted this day to be over, and yet, this wretched day's greasy grip seemed to firmly keep its hold on him. What did he have to do to just go home?

⠀⠀Finally, Professor Rowan turned from his computer and opened a manila envelope—the same he had been scribbling in throughout the day. He hummed as he rifled through some pages, then pulled a couple out and began to skim through them briefly.

⠀⠀"Jacob Bae, twenty-one. Studied at Sandgem High School as a varsity volleyball and basketball star, student council member, local church choir member, and honors student. Went to Sandgem University immediately after, majoring in Pokémon Studies. Is this all correct?" he asked, casting a brief glance at Jacob for the first time since this meeting had started.

⠀⠀Ah, the resumé? Jacob was instantly on edge again. Was the professor worried if he was qualified or not? He nodded, perhaps a little too quickly for a casual response. "Yes, sir, that's all correct," he said, his voice a bit higher than it usually was.

⠀⠀Professor Rowan hummed in recognition. He put the papers down, then folded his hands together. "Tell me, Jacob. Do you want to be a Pokémon professor?" he questioned.

⠀⠀Huh? Jacob did his best to not look taken aback by the sudden query, though the eyebrow raise Professor Rowan gave him was a sign that he wasn't successful. Fiddling with his thumbs underneath the desk, Jacob said with a smile, "Of course I wanna be a professor. Wanted to be one since I was little, which is why I decided to take this internship."

⠀⠀Professor Rowan sighed, causing Jacob's sweet grin to falter a bit. What did he do wrong? The professor looked at him, his black eyes betraying no emotion. "I don't appreciate liars, Jacob," he said sternly.

⠀⠀"I'm sorry?" Jacob asked incredulously, his eyes almost bugging out of his head. He couldn't help the quiet chuckle of disbelief that left him. "I don't quite understand what you mean," Jacob added, his head tilted in confusion.

⠀⠀"You heard what I said," Professor Rowan said with that same frown of his. He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his desk now. "I'll ask you again: do you want to be a Pokémon professor?"

⠀⠀What was he even supposed to say? Jacob told the truth, and the old man had the audacity to call him a liar—not cool, by the way. "Yes, I want to be a Pokémon professor," Jacob repeated with a smile, though his jaw hurt a bit from how tightly clenched it was.

⠀⠀The professor fixed him with an unreadable look, but Jacob felt like he was shooting fire at the man in front of him with his own gaze. "No, you don't," Professor Rowan said bluntly while breaking eye contact, pulling out a pen from a cupholder and scribbling something down into his papers again.

⠀⠀Jacob couldn't hold back his incredulous laughter, causing the professor to pause in his writings to look at him quizzically. "I'm really sorry, Professor, but I don't really appreciate being told what I want and what I don't," he said in a thinly controlled voice, that same tense smile on his face. He was losing his patience at the old man's cryptic words, and by god, he was tired. Tired from this conversation, tired from the entire day of doing something that practically doomed him to a life of something he didn't want to do—

⠀⠀"Do you know what I see when I look at you, Jacob?" Professor Rowan asked, barely fazed by the young man's outburst. Jacob broke from his inner monologue, frowning.

⠀⠀"What is it?"

⠀⠀"I see a young man that is incredibly intelligent, diligent, and hard-working. At practically everything you've done, you've succeeded at, and when you put effort into anything, great results are shown."

⠀⠀Okay, Jacob was really confused by the sudden onslaught of compliments. Wasn't he just called a liar not too long ago? His cheeks burned as he stammered out a quiet, "Th-thanks, but I'm confused—"

⠀⠀"However," Professor Rowan cut into his words mercilessly, "at the same time, one thing is very clear to me. You've floated your way through life, comfortable in this small little town that you've never left, and you have no idea what you really want. Up until now, you've never held a passion that you wanted to pursue, no real dream to drive you forward. You're lost." The old man punctuated his final word rather harshly, and Jacob couldn't help the widening of his eyes at this sudden declaration.

⠀⠀Jacob fumbled for something, anything to say in defense of himself. You're wrong, he wanted to say, I do want to be a professor, I do know what I want for my life! And yet, when he opened his mouth to say these things, nothing came out.

⠀⠀The look in Professor Rowan's eyes softened; one could almost describe it as sympathetic. "I called you a liar, not because you lied to me, but because I'm seeing you lie to yourself, that this—" he gestured around the room and ultimately to the whole lab—"is what you want to do for the rest of your life. It's not, or at least, right now it's not. Do you understand what I'm saying, Jacob?"

⠀⠀He understood too well, but it felt like getting punched in the gut by a rock-hard fist of shame. For the second time of the day, Jacob felt sick to his stomach as he stared at this man that knew nothing more about him than what was on a piece of paper, and yet had thoroughly unraveled the blanket of feigned ignorance Jacob had crafted and thrown over himself with little effort. Jacob was in awe, if not a little scared. It felt like being naked—vulnerable and terribly open—and by god, it did not feel good.

⠀⠀"Is this about the Ponyta?" Jacob asked weakly, desperate for the heavy mood to lighten a little bit. The corner of Professor Rowan's quirked up into the slightest smile Jacob had ever seen, and the professor shook his head.

⠀⠀"No, although I think my aides overestimated your abilities by giving you such a troublemaker like that one," the old man said easily with a shrug. He pulled out another piece of paper and began writing again. "But don't change the subject. I have another thing to ask."

⠀⠀"Yes, sir, what is it?"

⠀⠀"Have you ever been on a Pokémon journey before?"

⠀⠀Ah, the Pokémon journey. After high school or college, it wasn't uncommon at all for a person to take a gap year or two and go on an adventure around the region, collecting gym badges from different cities and maybe even partaking in the Pokémon League. It was a chance to experience the world outside of whatever little town you grew up in, meet new friends and Pokémon, perhaps make the greatest memories of a lifetime. The journey was less popular nowadays as more people were pushed into immediately starting their careers, but Jacob knew quite a few people that had left for one while he had just. . . stayed.

⠀⠀Jacob shook his head. "No, sir, I haven't."

⠀⠀"Figures. Parents didn't let you?" Professor Rowan inquired, although he seemed to know the answer already without missing a beat. That knowledge made Jacob wince a bit.

⠀⠀"Yeah. I only asked them once, though, after high school when my best friend asked if I wanted to go with him. I never pushed it after that, because it never seemed like I'd get their permission," Jacob explained a bit wistfully, slumped as he picked at his bandage. What would've happened if he had gone with his best friend, exploring the world together and making new memories along the way? He could only imagine what that would've been like, going out into the world with. . . him. A twinge of regret twanged in his chest, not for the first time. Now, he was just stuck in Sandgem Town, for probably the rest of his life with no way out.

⠀⠀Professor Rowan's next words piqued Jacob's interest. "Would you like to go on one?" the old man asked, causing Jacob to immediately straighten in his seat.

⠀⠀"Wh-what do you mean?" Jacob asked a bit shakily, eyes wide in surprise.

⠀⠀The professor stared at him, a white eyebrow carefully quirked. "What was hard to understand about that?" he asked. "I'm asking if you would like to go on a Pokémon journey, Jacob. I think it'd be extremely beneficial for you to go out into the world and discover what it is you really want in life."

⠀⠀Is that what he needed? To find what it is that will give him purpose in his life? Jacob looked around the room, at all of the materials and studies splayed out. This isn't what I want, he thought to himself, chewing his lip as considered the lab and all of the research going on in there. Maybe a journey would help him clear his mind, find out what would make him feel alive. But alone? Jacob cast a glance towards Buizel, still peacefully snoozing in a chair. He wouldn't be alone, but wasn't quite sure if Buizel was sufficient company for a year. There was another thing as well. . .

⠀⠀"My parents," Jacob began, but the sentence died as soon as the first words came out of his mouth. It sounded ridiculous—he was twenty-one freaking years old, and he still cared about his parents' consent in his matters. Yet, he was still genuinely worried about what would happen to him if his parents got word that their youngest son wanted to forget his Pokémon researcher career path in favor of traversing the region. They wouldn't be happy about it, he was sure of that.

⠀⠀"Are you worried that they won't be pleased about it?" Professor Rowan asked knowingly. When Jacob nodded with a sigh, Professor Rowan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, there's something that you could do for me that would give you a bit of a cover story."

⠀⠀"What is it?" Jacob asked curiously.

⠀⠀"I've been wanting to go around the region myself and collect more data on as many Pokémon species as possible, but I'm getting old and I fear my body is not as fit as it used to be," the professor explain, stretching and cracking his back loudly with a wince to prove his point. "But, my aides have developed an app that would be able to record the data of Pokémon in the field, like a more modern version of the traditional Pokédex. You could go around collecting data for me as you travel around, so your parents would think the whole journey is for me. Are you interested?"

⠀⠀The cogs started turning in Jacob's head. Yes, yes! That would work. Jacob nodded eagerly, then stood up from his seat and bowed his head in thanks. "I am, Professor. Thank you so much for the opportunity," he said sincerely.

⠀⠀The professor waved his thanks off. "It's a mutually-beneficial agreement. Let me know when you want to set off, and I'll have my one of my aides download the app to your phone."

⠀⠀"Yes, sir!"

⠀⠀Jacob scooped Buizel—still sleeping—from the chair, bowed to Professor Rowan again, then made a move to exit the office before he was stopped by a quick, "And Jacob?"

⠀⠀A look over his shoulder. "Yes, professor?"

⠀⠀Professor Rowan looked as grim as ever, and Jacob couldn't tell that the old man was actually quite pleased. "I do find you an incredibly intelligent and hard-working young man. If you ever do decide that you want to be a Pokémon researcher in the end, my lab always has a place for you," the professor stated, gesturing towards the outside and the rest of the lab itself. Jacob smiled, and this time, it didn't feel forced.

⠀⠀"Thank you, Professor. I'll keep that in mind. Have a good rest of your evening."

⠀⠀And with that, Jacob exited the office and ended the longest day of his life. With Buizel snuggled in his arms, Jacob rushed to make it to the last bus home for the day. Only once on the bus could he stop and take a deep breath. Today was just. . . insane. He actually thought he was starting to have a headache from the events of the day.

⠀⠀Wearily, he stepped off of the bus with Buizel, now blearily walking alongside him. Jacob's legs felt like jelly and he wanted nothing more than to collapse into his bed and pass out for a long, long amount of time. Forever sounded good. He still had a couple blocks to walk to get home, though, and the realization only made him silently groan. But he sucked it up and picked his feet up once again, quietly trudging along as the sun finally disappeared behind the western skyline and the lanterns and small storefronts became his source of light.
⠀⠀
⠀⠀Jacob was approaching home when he saw a silhouette slowly approaching in the distance. Weird, considering that it was dark and most people should've been home by now from work. He squinted in an effort to see the figure more clearly, but it was too dark and he was too tired—no use. Only once the two of them were close enough and the figure stood in the yellow light of a lamppost could Jacob actually distinguish the baggage-laden person in front of him. And he gasped, very loudly.

⠀⠀"Kevin?" Jacob asked in shock, loudly. The figure, still a few paces away looked up from his phone, tired eyes lighting up and his arms dropping several bags onto the sidewalk.

⠀⠀"Jacob!" the younger called, rushing forward so fast that he stumbled in a crack on the pavement. Jacob hurried forward to catch Kevin before he utterly ate shit, then hoisted him high up enough for a hug. And goddamnit, it was the best hug Jacob had gotten in months.

⠀⠀"Dude, Kevin. . . How long has it been? Two years?" Jacob asked, squeezing Kevin so tight that he briefly feared if he would break a rib or something. His heart jumped into his throat as Kevin chuckled into his ear—my god, he had missed hearing that laughter for so long.

⠀⠀"Something like that," Kevin mumbled, continuing to quietly laugh almost deliriously. "I. . . I missed you, Jake," the younger muttered, arms thrown around Jacob's neck, and Jacob swore he felt butterflies in his stomach. He had never wanted to hear four words more than those. Well, maybe one different word, but that was besides the point.

⠀⠀They stood there, intertwined for a few more moments, and Jacob wasn't sure if he ever wanted them to separate. Then suddenly, Kevin's grip loosened. Jacob, confused, tried to pull away from the hug to see what had happened, but Kevin did not pull away as well; instead, he fell forward, like he was falling and couldn't support his own weight. Oh shit.

⠀⠀Jacob caught him once again, brows furrowed in concern. Kevin's eyes were closed and he wasn't responding anymore. "Hey, Kevin? Kevin! Wake up, Kev, what's wrong?!"

⠀⠀No answer.

— — —

POKÉDEX ENTRIES:

⇪

PONYTA, the Fire Horse Pokémon. About an hour after birth, its fiery mane and tail grow out, giving it an impressive appearance. If you've been accepted by Ponyta, its burning mane is mysteriously no longer hot to the touch.

— — —

OH MY GOD THIS CHAPTER IS 5.5K WORDS IM SO TIRED AND MY FINGERS ARE SO CRAMPED UP

and yeah we only managed to get kevin in the last couple paragraphs but we will be seeing more of him i promise!! he is an mc after all and will be having his own growth and story as well :) i wanna see if u can guess what his pokémon will be though! it will be a little unexpected but i think it will be fun :)

*also don't expect me to update this fast ever again, i was very excited for this story so i wrote this Very fast... also like 1/3 of this chapter was pre-written so like 🤫🤫 this is never gonna happen again although i will try to be better than b2u, sorry bbs*

pls vote and comment lots, they're always motivation for my writing :( love u guys so much, have an amazing amazing day muah

peace,
- angie

p.s. HAPPY YOUNGHOON DAY 8/8 HE'S 23 TODAY ;; old man, i love him

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