"You got the right stuff, so make your mind up and find the courage inside of you."
— Pokémon: Battle Frontier

— — —

⠀⠀"Oh my god, what do I do?! Uh, Buizel, use Water Gun on him!"

⠀⠀"Bui, bui!"

⠀⠀Jacob had gently laid Kevin on the cement pavement with the latter's head and torso gently propped up on Jacob's knees. He leaned over a little to look at his friend's face, and it looked like Kevin was breathing easily, almost like he was simply taking a nap. Despite this, dear god, Jacob was freaked out of his mind. Did Kevin just pass out? Have a heart attack? Die? After a long day of work and an early life crisis and seeing his best friend after two years of little to no contact, this happens?! Of course it did—he had such rotten luck.

⠀⠀As ordered, Buizel shot an ice-cold, powerful jet of water at the side of Kevin's face while Jacob, loopy from exhaustion and panic, held the younger's hand. If this didn't work, what would Jacob do? Mouth-to-mouth? He wrinkled his nose; that was not how he ever imagined their first kiss to go, even in high school. Plus, he wasn't even professionally trained. With the way things were going, he'd probably kill Kevin somehow.

⠀⠀Thankfully, Jacob only had to ponder the what-if's for a few more moments, because as soon as the cold water hit Kevin's face, Kevin jolted up with a loud, "Guh!" and slammed his forehead directly into Jacob's chin. Both young guys groaned in pain, holding the points of contact gingerly in their hands. What a reunion.

⠀⠀"Buizel, that was not necessary," Kevin moaned, flopping back into Jacob's lap who was still massaging his jaw painfully. As Buizel mumbled its apologies (at least, that's what Jacob assumed, but he also had his doubts because he could see the shit-eating grin the weasel Pokémon wore), the two of them locked eyes and stared at each other. Jacob felt like he couldn't breath for a second as he swam in the dark richness of Kevin's eyes—oh god, what was he thinking? Jacob wanted to throw up once he realized how corny that was—but Kevin soon scrambled out of Jacob's lap with caution, his cheeks and nose dusted with pink.

⠀⠀"Sorry about that, Jacob," Kevin apologized while scratching his neck, grinning impishly like he hadn't just freaking passed out on top of Jacob not even minutes earlier. Jacob was dumbfounded—complete and utterly dumbfounded. What just happened?

⠀⠀"Dude, what was that?" Jacob asked, brows furrowed in confusion and/or concern. He wasn't quite sure which of the two it was. "You just collapsed on me for no reason. Are you okay? Do I need to take you to the hospital or something?"

⠀⠀Kevin waved the suspicion away, slowly getting onto his feet and dusting himself off with some small hums while Jacob just sat there, extremely confused and still as worried as ever. "Yeah, I think your driving would kill me faster than the passing out," he said offhandedly, laughing at the offended look on Jacob's face.

⠀⠀"Okay, I passed my test though, so I don't know why you keep putting down my driving—"

⠀⠀"With an eighty, Jacob. The bare minimum you need to pass. I think I can make fun of you a little bit."

⠀⠀Jacob huffed, crossing his arms. It didn't help that Buizel seemed to be snickering off to the side either. "Forget it," he grumbled, "Seriously, what happened, Kevin? Are you okay?"

⠀⠀Kevin smiled, but his face seemed to droop from exhaustion. He clearly had gone through a rough couple of hours, if not a rough couple of days. "I just flew in from Hoenn—ten hour flight, not accounting for a four hour layover in Johto and another three hour flight from there. I was in the middle seat both rides and I think my legs are about to fall off," Kevin complained while rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes. He sighed, pulling the baseball cap he wore off of his head to brush his raven-black hair back with an accessorized hand before putting the cap back on. "I genuinely don't know how long I've been up. The time difference is weird and I'm jet-lagged like hell, so don't be surprised if I pass out again," Kevin said half-jokingly with a smile, although his slumped posture and slightly lolling head seemed to betray a bit of truth in his words. Jacob decided to stay close to Kevin, just in case he needed to catch the younger again.

⠀⠀Hold on, what? "Wait, Hoenn?" Jacob asked in surprise. Hoenn was an island region—really more like an archipelago, with a selection of smaller islands just on the outside of the mainland—a long ways away, complete with an active volcano, a desert, and more rainforests than Sinnoh. It was a warmer, more tropical region quite different from their own, and Jacob was a bit startled to hear that Kevin would end up there of all places. "What were you doing there?"

⠀⠀All of a sudden, Kevin's face looked much more exhausted than before. Had the circles under his eyes always been that dark? "I'm really tired, Jake. Can we talk about it tomorrow? I just wanna get something to eat and knock out somewhere," Kevin sighed, adjusting the backpack he wore before walking over to pick up the three bags he had dropped on the ground. As he struggled to scoop them all into his arms, Jacob hurried over and took two off of his hands.

⠀⠀"Your place is a couple blocks away," Jacob mumbled, grunting with the effort it took to carry the bags. What the hell did Kevin put in them? It was like he had put his entire closet into these bags. "You couldn't have taken a cab? Your family couldn't pick you up?" he asked curiously. It was weird that Kevin was walking home from the airport with all of this heavy luggage, especially at the end of the day. Kevin shook his head.

⠀⠀"I took a cab up until a couple blocks back because I couldn't afford it anymore, my parents are working late, and Stella's all the way in Veilstone. Didn't wanna bother anyone," he said simply, hiking up the bags onto his forearms with only a little effort.

⠀⠀A small warning bell went off in Jacob's head at Kevin's mention of being broke, but he shrugged it aside for now. "What about me or my family? You know we don't mind," Jacob reasoned, frowning at his friend's stubbornness. Perhaps he was a little hurt that it felt like he hadn't been considered as well. But Kevin shrugged and shook his head.

⠀⠀"I owe you guys too much already from my lifetime. And I saw you coming down the street—I think you were too busy to come pick me up anyways. Am I right, Buizel?" Kevin looked down at the weasel Pokémon, who nodded and called out his affirmation. With a soft smile, Kevin turned to Jacob and said gently, "Thank you, though. It's really sweet that you would offer, Jacob."

⠀⠀Instantly, heat rushes to Jacob's cheeks, and he coughed awkwardly in an effort to ignore it. "Uh, if you need a place to eat dinner and crash for a couple hours, my place is just a couple houses down that way? I think my mom's making stew," he offered a bit hesitantly. Luckily for him, Kevin's face lit up immediately.

⠀⠀"Wait, really?" he asked hopefully. "Would your folks mind?"

⠀⠀Jacob scoffed. "Pft, no. I think my family would ruin me if they found out I let you walk home the way you are," he said lightly. Kevin laughed, shaking his head in disbelief.

⠀⠀"Dude, you have no idea how much I needed this. I don't think I've eaten since I left Hoenn," Kevin sighed with relief, a dumb grin lighting up his face. "If I could hug you again right now, I would. I love you so much, Jacob, seriously."

⠀⠀Ba-dum. There was a twinge of sadness in Jacob's chest as he put on a smile. God, how many times had he thought about hearing those words from Kevin, dreamed of Kevin meaning more than just the unspoken "as a friend" that was always tacked onto the end? Too many times, he thought. But as Jacob readjusted his grip on Kevin's baggage, he took a deep breath and decided that he was being ridiculous, and that he should be over his schoolboy crush—at least for the time being. What was he doing just moping about having unrequited feelings? He should just be glad that, after two years of no physical contact and only a few phone calls here and there, Kevin was once again back in his life, smiling and cracking jokes and just lightening his heart a little bit. Jacob listened intently to Kevin reminiscing about Sandgem Town, dramatically sighing how much he had
missed the village while he was away, and just the sound of Kevin's voice made him smile. Yes, this should be enough. As they walked towards Jacob's house, Buizel climbed his way up onto Jacob's shoulders and nuzzled his cheek into his owners'. With that, Jacob decided that, yeah, he was satisfied with his and Kevin's relationship as he scratched Buizel's chin. It wasn't like there was any other option for him.

⠀⠀Jacob's parents were ecstatic to see Kevin, and he didn't even have to ask for his mother to immediately prepare a hefty plate of food—rice and chicken stew, yum!—for Kevin. His father heartily laughed as Kevin enthusiastically devoured his food—god, had he really not eaten since he left Hoenn?—and clapped the young man on the back, causing Kevin to choke a little bit in surprise. They were conversing about how Kevin and Jacob had run into each other in the room (omitting the part where Kevin collapsed into Jacob's arms like a dramatic Victorian lady sick with pneumonia) while his mother was struggling to corral Buizel and Floatzel into the same spot to eat. Jacob decided to help out there and hopefully prevent another spat from forming between the two weasel Pokémon, because the looks the two were casting each other were not promising.

⠀⠀"Why, Kevin! I'd be worried sick if I was your parents and found out you were walking home at this time. You're never a bother to us, so the next time you decide to come into town and you need a ride, don't hesitate to give us a ring, alright?" Mr. Bae was saying, smiling in the sweet and congenial way all Bae men could. Kevin nodded, his face a bit red from embarrassment.

⠀⠀"I'll keep that in mind, Mr. Bae. You and this family have given me so much over the years and I'm always grateful to you." Kevin flashed a big pearly grin, the type that won parents of all kinds over in a heartbeat. Jacob knew that his parents had already succumbed to Kevin's charms and pretty smiles a long time ago, not unlike himself. As Kevin thanked Mrs. Bae for the food with a satisfied smile, happily declaring it as "the best food he had eaten since he left home," Jacob watched in amusement as his mother practically demanded that Kevin eat more in fear that he was "too skinny" and "all bones." At the prospect of even more food being thrown into his plate, Kevin's eyes widened almost comically. The two of them looked at each other, and when Kevin silently asked what he should do with his eyes, all Jacob could do was shrug. His mother was a hard woman to deny.

⠀⠀So, Kevin could only weakly smile as Mrs. Bae scooped yet another hefty serving into his plate, and after an expectant look from the woman herself, popped a spoonful of the food into his mouth and chewing like he was in agony. Jacob had to resist the temptation to laugh at Kevin's glazed eyes from how full he was.

⠀⠀After Jacob had sorted Buizel and Floatzel out and was settled into eating his own portion of food (delicious, by the way), Kevin pulled a minimized pokéball from his backpack and clicked the button to enlarge it. "Would you mind if my Pokémon ate some too? I haven't had much opportunity to feed him and I bet he's really hungry now," he asked politely. Once again, Mrs. Bae practically fell over herself at the prospect of feeding yet another mouth.

⠀⠀"Of course, sweetheart! Go on and bring him out—is he okay with water-type Pokémon food?" she asked, suddenly digging around in the cabinets and pantries for another bowl and suitable food. Kevin smiled fondly at the woman's enthusiasm, and Jacob couldn't help but wonder how long it had been since Kevin and his Pokémon had had a home cooked-meal like this. The way he enjoyed the food made it seem like it had been a long time.

⠀⠀"Poison or fighting-type food would be good, Mrs. Bae, but if you don't have either of those, then just some normal Pokémon food or some berries will do just fine. He's not super picky."

⠀⠀Mrs. Bae sighed after thoroughly checking the cabinets, placing a hand on her hip. "Darn, I don't think Jeff's ever had a poison or fighting-type! I hope this will be okay," she muttered as she dragged out a bag of standard Pokémon food and pouring some into a clean bowl. "Perhaps some Oran and Chesto berries to make this a little fancy?"

⠀⠀"That'd be awesome, he really loves Chestso berries—"

⠀⠀Almost of it's own volition, the pokéball in Kevin's hand burst open. A beam of white light shot out and solidified into a blue frog-like Pokémon with orange cheeks and yellow eyes practically vacant of any expression. While Jacob's eyes widened in surprise, Kevin tutted but opened his arms up wide anyways. Automatically, the Pokémon leaped into its trainers arms and immediately cuddled into Kevin's chest, croaking the whole way.

⠀⠀"Croagunk, how many times do I have to tell you not to do that? You're in the pokéball for a reason, and it's rude to pop out like that!" Kevin scolded to the big Pokémon cradled in his arms. Receiving only a blank stare and a couple of croaks as a response, Kevin sighed and hugged his Pokémon tighter. "Ugh, fine, you're forgiven this time! But only because you're so darn cute," Kevin grumbled in a begrudgingly adoring way while patting Croagunk's head. At the looks of it, Croagunk seemed to bathe in Kevin's praise.

⠀⠀Mrs. Bae paused in her chopping of the berries to look at the newcomer in the room and laughed awkwardly. "Hahah. . . cute. Real cute, Kevin," she said in a strange tone of voice, like she was doing her best not to sound offensive but was also weirded out at the same time. Mr. Bae eyed her with a raised brow, seeming to stifle a laugh himself.

⠀⠀"I think he's a fine Pokémon!" he proclaimed, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. "Look at those little fists; I bet this Croagunk has seen quite a few fights in his day, huh, Kevin?"

⠀⠀If Croagunk had eyebrows, one would've been raised in disbelief from the look the frog Pokémon seemed to be giving Jacob's father. Then, the trainer and Pokémon glanced at each other and seemed to have a mental conversation before Kevin turned to Mr. Bae and said, "He's not much of a fighter, but he's a tough one, alright," with a smile.

⠀⠀Croagunk leapt out of Kevin's arms suddenly with surprising agility and bounded over to Mrs. Bae. Looking expectantly up at the woman, he pointed at one of the slices of Chesto berries and croaked softly. Jacob couldn't help the tiny smile on his face—he was pretty sure that his parents thought the frog Pokémon was ugly, but apparently, Kevin had taught Croagunk the ways of his parent-winning charms and manners, because his mother very easily gave in to Croagunk's demands and gave him a very big slice of Chesto berry while sliding the rest into his bowl. The frog Pokémon croaked its thanks, sat down on the floor next to a very confused Floatzel and Buizel, and began chowing down.

⠀⠀"I must say, Kevin," Mrs. Bae began with a surprised grin on her face, "your Croagunk is such a gentleman! I bet he takes after his trainer."

⠀⠀Kevin waved off the compliment, his cheeks a soft pink color. "He's just a really well-behaved Pokémon," he said honestly with a smile, watching fondly as his Pokémon eat. "I've been traveling for a while and he was the first Pokémon I caught on my own. He's saved me from quite a few sticky situations, so I'm lucky to have him."

⠀⠀"Oh, that's right!" Mr. Bae exclaimed, snapping at the sudden reminder. "You've been on a journey these past couple of years. How has that been? Have you been challenging any Pokémon Leagues?" he asked with a big grin, a newfound light in his eyes. Jacob's father had never been a trainer, but he took great pride in watching the seasonal Pokémon League tournaments from around the world. Jacob sighed under his breath—if his father got his way, they'd be stuck here talking about battles and strategies about the past for hours, which he had been subjected to several times before already in his lifetime.

⠀⠀Kevin's smile tightened suddenly, like Mr. Bae had suddenly hit a sensitive spot, but it seemed like Jacob was the only one who noticed the subtle change in his friend's behavior. "Actually, I was doing Pokémon Contests," he corrected a bit stiffly, shifting a bit uncomfortably in his seat. Meanwhile, from the floor, Croagunk looked up from his food to stare at his trainer curiously.

⠀⠀Mr. Bae frowned thoughtfully. "Oh, Pokémon Contests? I've heard of them, but I'm not exactly sure what they are."

⠀⠀"Well, they're basically little competitions where coordinators like me appeal our Pokémon to the audience and judges—show them off, if you might—with their moves," Kevin explained. There was an air of authority around him suddenly, like he was now discussing something he was passionate about and knowledgeable of. "There's two rounds: the first round is an individual round where your Pokémon perform a routine of sorts to show themselves off, and the second is a more battle-centered round where two trainers battle until either they out-appeal the other Pokémon or one is knocked out. It's much more visually and performance-centered than your traditional Pokémon battle, and winning a Pokémon Contest earns you a ribbon. Earn five, and you'll be able to participate in the Grand Festival, which is similar to the Pokémon League."

⠀⠀Mr. Bae nodded along to the whole thing, thoughtfully rubbing his chin as he absorbed the information. Finally, he said with a knowing grin, "So you must be quite the coordinator, huh? I bet you have tons of ribbons."

⠀⠀Kevin froze, like he didn't know how to respond to the question and was taking time to come up with a suitable fib to tell. Jacob would know—growing up together revealed that Kevin, on the spot, was not the best of liars. Eventually, Kevin rubbed his nape and chuckled awkwardly. "Well, competition is actually really stiff. I've been able to win a couple though, so I hope I'll be able to go to the Grand Festival soon."

⠀⠀"Wow, good work, Kevin!" Mr. Bae said warmly, clapping the young man hard on the back again. "I bet your parents are really proud of you. I know I am!"

⠀⠀Kevin smiled, but it felt more like a grimace. "Thank you, Mr. Bae. Means a lot to me," he said, but Jacob could only feel his own sense of worry growing with time. Something was up with Kevin and this journey of his, and it was really starting to bother Jacob.

⠀⠀"And Jacob!" Mr. Bae said loudly, shocking Jacob a bit in his seat. "How was your internship with Professor Rowan today? Your mother and I know how hard you've worked for that position, and we're so proud of you, son."

⠀⠀Oh god, now the pressure was on him. He cast a brief look at Kevin, who just stared at him in surprise and silently mouthed, 'Professor Rowan Internship?!' Jacob could only smile nervously at his friend before saying, "It was really fun. I learned a lot from Professor Rowan and his team today in terms of being a Pokémon researcher."

⠀⠀As his parents fawned over his dedication, Jacob tunes them out a bit mulled over Professor Rowan's words and his proposition as well. Professor Rowan has read him like an open book without knowing a thing about his personal life, and Jacob knew for a fact that everything the professor had told him was correct. Not to mention, the opportunity Professor Rowan presented to him was perfect as well. He spared a glance at his parents, who now chattered animatedly amongst themselves about how amazing their younger son was. Was now a good time to ask about the journey? They seemed to be in a good mood, and with Kevin around, his parents were less likely to blow up on him in interest of saving face. Jacob's heart thrummed a bit in anxiety—what happened if this didn't work out? He knew this journey would be the best option for him to go out and figure out what he wanted in life, but quite frankly, the prospect of journeying by himself was a little terrifying as well.

⠀⠀Oh no, he was starting to lose his nerve. It was now or never. Jacob cleared his throat, then asked, "Mom? Dad? Can I ask you something?"

⠀⠀His mother looked at him with a big loving smile. "Of course, honey. What's up?"

⠀⠀Jacob did his best to maintain a level and confident tone of voice, but he couldn't help noticing that Kevin was eyeing him with a raised brow like his friend could see his hands shake beneath the table. "Well, I was wondering if I could. . . go on a Pokémon journey."

⠀⠀And just like that, his parents' smiles melted off of their faces. They were shocked into silence, struggling to find something suitable to mean. Mr. Bae asked with his brows furrowed together in confusion, ". . . What do you mean? Why would you ever wanna go on one? You just got an internship with the Professor Rowan."

⠀⠀"Well, yes, but—"

⠀⠀"You already know what you wanna do," his mother interrupted, lips pulling down into a small frown. "Why would you waste the time and energy for a Pokémon journey at this point? Did you not just study for the past three years to be a professor, worked hard for that internship?" she asked. Jacob could tell he was walking into dangerous territory, and the only thing keeping his mother from going off on him was Kevin's presence which was visible from the way his mother's eyes kept flirting between the two of them. Buizel and Floatzel were now perked up and paying attention to the new tension in the room.

⠀⠀The nervousness in his veins only intensified, but Jacob tried his best to keep a pleasant smile. "Mom, Professor Rowan asked me to go on one to collect data for him for the lab. . . It's a request from Professor Rowan, so don't you think it's okay?" he asked gently. His mother fixed him with a look that was unreadable but had danger written all over it, and he was pretty sure he was sweating bullets while his father whispered something into his mother's ear.

⠀⠀After his father straightened again, his mother smiled, but in a clearly forced way that told Jacob he wasn't safe yet. "We'll talk about this tomorrow, okay? It's getting late, and we need to get Kevin home soon," she said in a tight voice while suddenly busying herself with the dishes.

⠀⠀While Croagunk finished up his food and handed the plate back to Jacob's mother, Kevin stood up from his seat and asked politely, "Actually, Mrs. Bae? I'd really like to catch up with Jacob for a little bit before I go. Would that be alright with you?"

⠀⠀"Yes, that'd be fine," she said tersely, seeming to do her best to remain level-headed. "You boys go up to Jacob's room and chat while we clean up down here." Mrs. Bae's voice was still tightly strung, but the reminder of Kevin's presence seemed to relax her a bit. Jacob flashed Kevin a look of gratitude, which was returned by a humored grin, and the two soon excused themselves from the table and left the dining room with their Pokémon trailing closely behind them.

⠀⠀Well, that went well, Jacob thought bitterly as the two of them disappeared upstairs.

— — —

POKÉDEX ENTRIES:

⇪

CROAGUNK, the Toxic Mouth Pokémon. Inflating its poison sacs, it fills the area with an odd sound and hits flinching opponents with a poison jab. It rarely fights fairly, but that is strictly to ensure survival. It is popular as a mascot.

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an update after a week and 4k words at that... we're doing good ppl we're doing good!! let's hope i keep this energy up for when school starts back up again tho </3

i apologize if it's a little slow atm but i promise it'll get a little more up to pace soon!! not tryna rush this lmao but i hope u guys enjoyed anyways :(

as always, pls vote and leave lots of comments for me to read!! they're always such good motivation,,, and if u need any clarification or explanation on anything in the pokémon universe so far that u don't rly get, just lmk and i'll happily explain!

tysm for reading, and pls listen to hyunjoon's new song "baragi (바라기)" on youtube and support his solo debut!! thank u, love u all!!

peace,
- angie
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