Chapter Text
Park Seonghwa has cut a swath of dominance across the known regions of the various Pokémon Leagues, adapting on the fly and taking down Champions left and right. He had a tendency to stay in a region for about a year, abdicate his title and continue on. He’s been repeating the pattern since he got his trainer’s licence at 10 years old, earning the title The Wayfaring Beauty. Now 24, Seonghwa’s name is known throughout the Leagues as a formidable trainer that would not settle down until he was satisfied.
Now, he has his eye on one region in particular.
One that moves every time someone finds it.
The Cromer Region moves almost like a ghost pirate ship in the fables he used to read as a child. Hints as to its location are dropped by the mysterious Gym Leaders that would pop up in different regions and lead those they felt worthy to challenge them and their Champion to the island. Seonghwa first met one of these leaders, Wooyoung, by chance in the Moa region when he was visiting the Champion, Soobin.
Wooyoung had been speaking with Yeonjun, one of the Gym Leaders, and turned, giving Seonghwa a flirty wink before suddenly turning into a Zorua and bounding away. Yeonjun had laughed and explained that the Zorua turned into Wooyoung, not the other way around.
From there, Seonghwa spent quite a long time in the Levanter Region, training with Champion Bang Chan and his motley crew of Leaders. Minho in particular became a good friend, and it was through the Fighting Type specialist Changbin that Seonghwa learned where he could find Wooyoung.
He made use of his Mimikyu’s illusionary abilities to trap the wily young man somewhere deep in the Galar Region near the strange town of Ballonlea and smirked as his Hatterene held Wooyoung up by her giant hand at his throat. ‘You’ll tell me where Cromer is,’ he’d said.
Wooyoung grinned, not at all concerned about the predicament he found himself in. ‘Captain wants to see you; you’ll see Cromer whether you want to or not.’
Seonghwa can remember feeling confused, but he kept Hatterene holding onto the young man as tight as possible without hurting him. ‘Captain?’
Bang Chan laughed, shaking his head. “The Captain of Cromer? He’s a wild card. You won’t be ready for him the way you are right now.”
Seonghwa narrowed his eyes. “Are you saying he’s impossible to beat?”
“Oh, no one’s impossible to beat,” Chan replied, amused. “Even Leon got defeated by someone and he’s been Champion of Galar for 10 years straight. But Champion Hongjoong doesn’t play by the normal rules. You’re in for a tough time if you go there expecting a normal League battle.”
(So his name is Hongjoong.) “How can he get away with it?”
“He made his case to the League Authority and they’ve accepted it.”
Minho snorts. “You won’t beat him with your usual tricks. You’ve got to think outside the box.”
Seonghwa raised an eyebrow. “The box is how I’ve won so far.”
Felix giggled. “Champion Hongjoong will destroy the box and make a nice little paper airplane out of it.”
‘You’re almost there, Mr. Park,’ Wooyoung titters, smirking. ‘Give us a good show, yeah?’
‘I want to wipe that smirk off your face,’ Seonghwa muttered.
‘You’re not the first and you won’t be the last.’ Suddenly, Wooyoung was on his feet, straightening out his clothes. A Gengar suddenly snickered and dipped back into the darkness, startling the older man. ‘See ya, Seonghwa~!’ Wooyoung blew a kiss and fell backwards into the inky pool of darkness, right after his Gengar.
That had been over a year ago and Seonghwa was feeling frustrated that he was never going to find Cromer. Currently, he’s sitting on the back of his Lapras , resting his back against her strong, long neck as he looks at a little knick knack he had gotten off Yunho, a rather jovial young man with the most adorable Luxray Seonghwa had ever seen. He holds the golden hourglass up to the sky, sunlight pouring in through the sparkling sands that seem to be stuck in the top cup.
“You gave this to me too easily,” Seonghwa said, frowning as he looks down at the Cromer keychain. “Are you trying to trick me?”
Yunho laughed and shook his head. “You figured out my little game, so you earned that fair and square. But that’s about all the help you’re going to get from us. You’ve got to find Cromer on your own.”
“So I’m just supposed to wander the seven seas, and hope that I find it?”
“No, but like I said… that’s all the help you’re getting from me! I don’t want Captain Hongjoong to be mad at me.”
“What kind of man is your Champion?”
“Find Cromer and you’ll meet him. He’s waiting for you.”
“If he was any sort of man, he’d find ME.”
<Staring at it won’t give you any answers,> Lapras teases, her voice lovely and soft. For as long as he was consciously aware, Seonghwa could speak and communicate with Pokémon. It made him invaluable to Pokémon Professors, and he would spend time with various ones across the regions and help them with any questions they may have.
Seonghwa huffs. “I’m no closer to finding Cromer than I was a year ago, Lapras. Maybe this is a fool’s errand.”
<It is, but despite that you still believe you’ll find it.>
He’s about to protest further when he notices something out of the corner of his eye. Turning around suddenly, Seonghwa’s eyes widen. There, in the misty horizon, is an island shaped like nothing he’s ever seen before, visible only through the lens of the hourglass he’d received from Yunho. “Straight ahead, Lapras! Hurry!”
Lapras is quick to comply, bless her, moving through the waters with blinding speed, chasing something Seonghwa has a feeling she can’t see. Suddenly, a sheen of sparkling dust passes over them and Seonghwa has to pull Lapras back to stop her from crashing into a pier. <Oh! I’m so sorry!> she frets. <Seonghwa! Are you okay?>
“I’m fine,” Seonghwa promises, kissing her neck gently. “This came up suddenly, didn’t it?” He’s careful as he dismounts, putting the keychain in his pocket as he gets onto the dock. With practiced movements, Seonghwa recalls Lapras and reaches up to pet his Sylveon , who is quietly chattering nervously as she rests in the hood of his jacket, her front body resting over his sloped shoulder.
<Do you really think this is Cromer, Hwa?> Sylveon asks, her voice tinny.
Seonghwa slowly nods as he walks further up the docks, looking around. The mist is nowhere to be seen and it seems like a lush island with buildings strewn about like a bustling town. It almost feels like he’s on the set for Pirates of the Caribbean, but with the modernity of the present day, all the amenities are there; he can even see a Pokémon Centre and a Poké Mart .
“I think it is,” Seonghwa says softly as he enters the town, and he stops short when he sees a giant pirate ship in the very back centre of the strange town, almost as long and as wide as the town limits. The sails are tattered and torn, black with white trim and Seonghwa’s throat dries out as he sees a pirate’s skull and crossbones on the torn fabric. Driftblim , Ghastly and Phantumps float about the Crow’s Nest and Seonghwa feels a chill run through his veins as he is very sure he can see a pair of giant red eyes that tear into the fabric of the sky before vanishing in the next instant.
<Did you see that?!> Sylveon shrieks, burrowing into his hood. <It was a ghost!!>
“That’s not a ghost,” a voice says, laughing. “That’s just Giratina .”
Seonghwa whirls around and finds himself looking into the warm brown eyes of a handsome man he hasn’t seen before. By now, he knows what the others on Cromer’s Gym Leader list look like: Yunho, Mingi, San, Wooyoung, Jongho, Yeosang… and this guy isn’t any one of them. Maybe he’s one of the townsfolk? “Who --- Giratina?”
The man laughs again, a bit higher pitched with a smile on his lips. “If you’re looking to challenge the League, you have to go into the Ship.” He points behind Seonghwa and after glancing behind him, Seonghwa turns back around to get a good look at the stranger: he’s slender, with an angular face and drenched in stylish black clothing and a long coat that wraps loosely around him. An hourglass earring hangs from his right ear and a smirk is tugging at his lips as he watches Seonghwa struggle to process all the information. The man turns to Sylveon, giving her a gentle pet on the head. “Keep your wits about you, Seonghwa, and you’ll make it.”
“Wait - who are you?”
The man pauses in giving Sylveon little scratches underneath her little chin and meets Seonghwa’s gaze, his eyes sharp. “Just a concerned citizen.” He smiles at Sylveon and taps her nose as her ribbons curl curiously around his wrist. She has a habit of feeling out the emotions of everyone she meets and luckily, is just cute enough that people don’t find it strange. “Keep an eye on him, cutie.” He carefully removes her ribbons and, after giving the tips a kiss, rakes a hand through his shaggy brown hair, cut into a mullet that Seonghwa has seen on idols and turns to leave, waving a ring adorned hand as he disappears into the town.
<He was nice!> Sylveon says, waving her ribbons. <He let me check his emotions with my ribbons and everything! He’s a bit of a stress case, but he’s excited to see you!>
“He was weird,” Seonghwa mutters, cracking his neck. “But… let’s see if the Pokémon Centre has any free rooms; I’m exhausted.” Sylveon trills and nods, nuzzling her trainer and keeping him company as he trudges up the path towards the familiar red-trimmed building.
A Nurse Joy stands behind the counter, and Seonghwa is startled to see that there are people hanging around like they’re not on an island that never stays in one place. “Welcome!” Joy greets, bowing deeply. “Oh! Are you a new visitor to Cromer?”
Seonghwa jumps, but nods. “Yes, my name is Seonghwa.”
The pink-haired woman smiles and nods. “Welcome to our lovely island, Seonghwa! Are you okay? You look a little pale.”
“There was a weird man with an hourglass earring who told me that Giratina just likes to appear in the sky,” Seonghwa answers flatly, running a hand through his sandy blond hair. He gently lays his six PokéBalls on the counter, in the little recesses in a tray for the Nurse to take. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel.”
Joy blinks before laughing, putting a hand to her mouth as she gives Sylveon a poffin. “That’s the Captain, Champion Kim Hongjoong.”
“Wh - what?! That weirdo is the Champion!?” Seonghwa exclaims.
Soobin tilted his head. “The Champion of Cromer? Ah, yes. Kim Hongjoong. We know him really well; we go to Cromer for training in between League seasons."
“What kind of man is he?” Seonghwa asked eagerly, leaning forward. This was a promising lead, more than he’d had in months.
Yeonjun popped a chocolate into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. “Not what you’d expect.”
“Are all of you just competing in the unhelpful Olympics?” Seonghwa demanded, annoyed. “RM refused to say anything about him too.”
Huening Kai smirked as he draped himself over Seonghwa’s shoulders. “Maybe we just all like surprises, Seonghwa-hyung.”
Seonghwa rolled his eyes. “Surprises are horrible.”
Beomgyu pointed a finger at him. “That’s what someone who’s no fun and a boring ol’ fuddy duddy would say.”
“This fuddy duddy is a ten time champion.”
“And your eleventh championship will be in fuddy duddy-ism,” Taehyun adds, grinning. “That is, if you can even get close to Captain Hongjoong.”
“What kind of pep talk was that?”
“I’m just saying, you won’t get anywhere near him how you are.”
Seonghwa frowned. “You’re not the first person to tell me that.”
Yeonjun grinned. “And he won’t be the last. You gotta step up your game to beat the Captain.”
“I’m getting really tired of hearing that…”
Joy laughs again and nods, taking Seonghwa’s Pokémon, placing them in the machine to heal them up. She places the tray back on the counter for him to take, placing a clear, acrylic card on the tray beside his PokéBalls. “Yes, that’s Champion Hongjoong; he likes to wander around town and help those trainers who are deemed worthy find their way around.”
Seonghwa frowns as he picks up the acrylic card. It has the same hourglass insignia on it, and he looks from the card to Joy. “A weird island would have a weird Champion,” he mutters. “But what is this?”
“It’s a keycard for the inn,” Joy answers with a smile. “You’re aiming to Board the Ship, aren’t you? It’s not your typical Gym Challenge; you’ll have to do it all in one shot.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Seonghwa breathes. “It’s a gauntlet?”
Joy smiles sympathetically at him. “It’s a spontaneous gauntlet; you won’t know when the Leaders will challenge you and none of them have a type of specialization. The good news is that they’ll only have 3 of their 6 Pokémon in use if they choose to battle but their challenges are unorthodox; it’s rare they do full battles.” She taps her temple. “You have to use this to get through, not brute strength. Whatever the Captain decides is your final challenge is always a mystery. They like to eschew patterns here in Cromer.”
Seonghwa looks at her in disbelief. “That doesn’t sound like good news.”
“Well, it wasn’t supposed to be,” Joy says with a giggle. “Keep this and the Cromer keychain one of the Leaders gave you; they will be your tickets to food and accommodations here.”
“W-What?”
Joy smiles. “The Cromer indicates that the Champion feels you’re worthy to challenge them. Your meals and any equipment or items required will be taken care of, so you’re able to focus on your Challenge. You can attempt to siege the Ship as many times as you want, but you may be removed from the island if the Captain wills it.”
Seonghwa feels faint, but he nods. “Thank you… where is the Inn?”
“Utopia Inn is just up the path, you can’t miss it,” Joy says kindly, patting his hand. “Take a deep breath and trust in yourself; that’s how you found Cromer to begin with.”
Slowly, the trainer nods and bows, taking his Pokémon and making his way outside and to the Utopia Inn. Along the way, he sees Mingi and San, two of the last Cromer Gym Leaders he met before setting sail, so to speak. Mingi’s eyes light up and he hurries over. “Park Seonghwa!” he greets, waving. “You made it!”
San smiles. “I knew you would, the Captain is never wrong.”
“I’m starting to get really tired about hearing of this guy,” Seonghwa mutters. San giggles and puts a hand over his mouth. “What?”
“Nothing,” San says, but it very much looks like it’s something. “Do you have plans for dinner tonight?”
Thrown completely off by that, Seonghwa’s brows furrow. “What?”
Mingi laughs. “Do you want to have dinner with us? It’s your first day on Cromer, right?”
“Do you always ask challengers out to dinner?” Seonghwa asks, raising an eyebrow.
San grins and reaches out to pet Sylveon, allowing her to wrap her ribbons around his wrist and fingers to her heart’s content. “Yeah, and you’re welcome to try and pry info about our teams from us all you like.”
“It doesn’t matter in the end once you’re on the Ship,” Mingi adds, leaning in to pet the little fairy pokémon himself. “So we don’t mind talking about it.”
“I don’t know whether you’re humble or just so overconfident that you don’t care about giving away your team line-ups,” Seonghwa says, shaking his head.
San smirks. “There’s a reason why no one’s stormed the Ship all the way. Now come on, we’re meeting the others for hot pot.”
“What the--”
Sylveon giggles. <I like them!>
“You would.”
Seonghwa finds himself being pulled by San and Mingi, who are much stronger than they look, and he’s brought to a cozy restaurant, Horizon, that’s filled with people. At the back of the restaurant is a large table with 8 place settings, and Seonghwa can see that Yunho, Yeosang, Wooyoung and Jongho are there… and so is Hongjoong, sans his coat. The Champion is sitting at the head of the table so to speak, a tiny Mimikyu sitting beside him, its Pikachu disguise having a pirate’s hat on its ‘head’. They sure did like their theming here on Cromer.
“What is the meaning of this?” Seonghwa asks. “Do you usually wine and dine your challengers?”
Hongjoong laughs, throwing his head back as his jewellry jingles melodically. “I’ve never seen someone so adverse to hospitality. I just want to get to know the great Park Seonghwa, the Wayfaring Beauty; never staying in one place after you’ve conquered it. You even defeated RM of Bangtan. That’s no mean feat.”
Seonghwa narrows his eyes. “Look up my trainer profile, then, if you want information from an interview.”
“No. Sit.”
Jongho reaches up and pulls Seonghwa down so he’s sitting in between him and Hongjoong. “We don’t bite,” he promises.
Hongjoong snickers. “Not unless you’re into that, but dear Champion Park seems a bit high strung.” He looks over as the waitress comes over and he gives her a charming smile. “Everyone’s here now, thanks for waiting.”
The waitress smiles and bows. “Not at all, Captain! The usual?”
“That would be great, thank you. Are you allergic to anything, Seonghwa?” Hongjoong asks, turning to regard the challenger as if they’re old friends.
Seonghwa blinks. “No, I’m fine with anything.” He carefully removes Sylveon from his hood and sets her down in his lap, gently rubbing her head. “What’s ‘the usual’? I’m almost afraid to ask.”
Wooyoung grins. “Just enough food for an army,” he explains. “Like, a couple orders of everything on the menu.”
“We like to celebrate whenever there’s a challenger,” Yeosang adds, smiling. His Ninetales is curled up beside him as they sit on the floor in front of the raised table with eight induction plates for their pots, her fluffy tails covering him like a blanket. “Or when the other Leaders come and visit.”
“...They come and visit? But this island always moves,” Seonghwa says, frowning. (Soobin and Bang Chan have both mentioned that they come here with their teams to train. What could they get here that they can’t get anywhere else? What makes Cromer so sought-after? Is it you, Kim Hongjoong?)
Hongjoong chuckles. “It doesn’t for those that have been deemed worthy,” he replies. “I’ve heard quite a lot about you from Bang Chan and Soobin; they’ve mentioned how you rarely stay in one place. What is it that you’re searching for?”
“I was searching for Cromer,” Seonghwa answers, glancing beside him to the mysterious Captain and his strange crew. “Because I heard that like Leon in Galar, you’ve never been defeated.”
The Captain waggles his eyebrows. “So you want to defeat me, eh?” He looks down at Mimikyu who chirps up at him and wobbles. “And if you defeat me, you’ll move on? Where to? That would be it for the known regions.”
Seonghwa raises a finely groomed eyebrow. “Are you trying to insinuate that there’s a reason for me to stay here?”
“Maybe there is, maybe there isn’t,” Hongjoong replies, shrugging.
The blond frowns at him. “What about the other Champions? You mentioned that Bang Chan and Soobin come here. What about the others? Do you play well with others, Captain?”
“The other Champions have been bothering the hell out of us to open up and complete the chain, to make one giant circuit where we can all compete together, but I’ve refused,” Hongjoong answers, shaking his head.
“What? Why? To further the spirit of competition, isn’t that what each League is about?” Seonghwa asks, leaning forward despite himself. “What reason could you have not to agree to it if you’re so open about your strategies and teams?”
Hongjoong looks back at him, shaking his head. “Because we’re not complete yet. I refuse to join the Champion’s Collective until we are. So, Cromer continues to wander.”
Seonghwa frowns, his displeasure clear on his handsome face. “That doesn’t make any sense. You’re all undefeated and this is an ever-changing island. What more could you need?”
“We’re missing a piece,” is all Hongjoong says before his gaze snaps to the side and he scoops up an Umbreon , who squeaks indignantly. “I told you to stop sneaking around my bag, you’re not getting any extra poffins.” The Umbreon squeaks at him and headbutts him, chattering before giving up and flopping backwards in a rather dramatic fashion. Hongjoong rolls his eyes and sets the Umbreon down, who hops back to San. “Honestly. A beggar just like his trainer.”
San huffs. “Hey!” He flops all over Wooyoung, who pets his dark blue hair fondly. “The Captain is always so mean to me.”
Wooyoung snickers. “You like it.”
“I’m not you, Mr. Degradation kink.”
“Oi!”
San turns to Seonghwa, who jumps. “He wouldn’t shut up about how you choked him with your Hatterene. Needed my Espeon to mind-wipe me so I could be the person I was before I heard that.”
The oldest of the eight gathered blinks slowly and makes a pained expression. “Can you ask your Espeon to do the same to me?” he asks finally.
Hongjoong laughs as the raw meat and seafood begins to arrive, alongside plates of uncooked noodles and some salads. It’s a feast, and Seonghwa’s stomach rumbles. “Dig in, Seonghwa; we don’t stand on ceremony here, not unless it’s official League business.”
Seonghwa chews his bottom lip, looking down at his bubbling pot, the delicious scent of chicken and herb broth wafting up to his nose. Carefully, he picks up a pair of serving chopsticks and picks up a couple rolls of beef, dropping it into his broth alongside a few shrimp and fish balls, letting it cook. “It smells really good,” he whispers softly.
“Long time since you’ve had a good meal?” Hongjoong asks curiously.
“...yeah,” Seonghwa admits, watching the broth bubble. “Been adhering to the trainer diet for the last ten years.”
Hongjoong raises an eyebrow. “Seems needlessly punishing.”
Seonghwa shakes his head. “Never felt like I had anything worth celebrating. All the Championships I won, I was proud, of course, but…” (I felt empty.) His Pokémon deserved all the accolades, and he’s intellectually proud, but none of it has… meant anything to Park Seonghwa as a trainer, to his trainer’s creed. He’s known throughout the Regions as the undefeated competitor, but it hasn’t meant anything. Perhaps… he’s been hoping that Cromer would have the answers that the other Regions didn’t. “I thought that if I kept to the same lifestyle, perhaps… something would make me feel like I’d accomplished something I felt proud of in my soul.”
Yunho blinks slowly and tilts his head with a sympathetic look on his handsome face. “Sounds like you don’t know who you are as a trainer.”
“Uh, he’s the undefeated trainer who’s never stayed longer than a year as Champion,” Wooyoung points out. “He’s won all the Championships you can. How would he not know who he is as a trainer?”
“He’s here,” Jongho counters. “You don’t come to Cromer if you’re fulfilled as a trainer.”
Now that… was a curious statement. Of all the whispers he heard about Cromer, he’d never heard that it was for trainers that felt unfulfilled in their trainer philosophies. It was always an insurmountable test, the undefeatable Captain and the ghostly Ship that took every victim that was dumb enough to try and challenge it. Seonghwa quietly pulls out his meat from the pot, letting the seafood cook a bit longer. Quietly, he raises his gaze without moving his head, watching Hongjoong carefully.
No one knew what the Champion of the Cromer Region looked like or how he battled, none of the people who had returned from the mysterious island ever said anything about either of those things. They only ever mentioned their own shortcomings, how they failed. He’d heard about Yeosang and the others, but never Hongjoong. As Seonghwa looks at him now, Hongjoong is stylishly dressed and knowing full well what looks good on him. The Pokémon are comfortable around him, and the Gym Leaders trust him. By all accounts, he’s as admirable a man as a Champion should be.
He’s also hot as hell, a voice inside of Seonghwa points out, and heat rises to his cheeks as he forces it down. You’ve been in a dry spell for a while, you know…
(I’m aware,) Seonghwa hisses to himself. (And I’m not about to rectify that by propositioning the man I’m trying to beat.)
Post match, then? You’ve heard the rumours about Leon and Raihan , that voice continues. Why not live a little? You’re in your twenties, not nineties; have some fun.
(I would much rather focus on the Champion.)
Yes, that’s the point.
Seonghwa groans and shoves a piece of meat into his mouth, ignoring that voice, which he knows is his real self, his real desires. He glances over and feels his cheeks redden upon realizing that Hongjoong’s been watching him this whole time. “Can I help you?”
“Are you staying at Utopia?” Hongjoong asks conversationally.
“Yes, Nurse Joy gave me the key card,” Seonghwa confirms. “Was she… correct about the perks? It seems … it seems awfully generous.”
Hongjoong smiles. “If someone’s made it to Cromer, they should be taken care of. The test ahead is hard enough.”
“Besides, when they get overconfident because we’ve been nice to them and cry when they fuck up the Ship siege afterwards, it’s hilarious,” Wooyoung cackles. “Maybe you’ll be the one in a million, Seonghwa!”
“I hope to be,” Seonghwa admits. He looks over at Hongjoong, “was the gauntlet your idea?”
Hongjoong nods. “It’s important to see a trainer’s character, not only the Pokémon and their battling capability. The Orange Islands do something similar, but I like to be different.” He leans forward, a little too close into Seonghwa’s personal space and Seonghwa swallows as a whiff of sweet, intoxicating spiced cologne hits him in the face. “What kind of man are you, Park Seonghwa?”
Seonghwa’s eyes narrow and he pulls back, returning to his food, adding in a block of noodles as well as quite a bit of meat and seafood to his pot. “I am the man that will beat you, Captain Hongjoong.”
“Ooh, I’ve got chills,” Hongjoong whistles, amused as he turns back to his own pot. “What if you don’t win?”
“Then I’ll challenge you again.”
“And again?”
“Until you deem me unworthy.”
He can hear the murmurs of the others as he and Hongjoong engage in a tete-a-tete, and Seonghwa wonders what’s causing the adrenaline that’s coursing through his long-dead veins. “Enjoy your meal, Seonghwa,” Hongjoong says. “Get accustomed to Cromer first; you’ll challenge the Ship when you’re ready.”
“And if I’m ready tomorrow morning?”
Hongjoong laughs as his Mimikyu uses her shadowy hand to stir his pot. “Then you’ll find the Ship empty.”
“--What?”
A smirk. “Where did you start your journey, Seonghwa?”
The blond eyes him; why won’t Hongjoong give him a straight answer? “ Pallet Town .”
“Oh? Kanto . You’re quite a ways from home, Dorothy,” Hongjoong comments.
“And where did you start your journey?” Seonghwa counters testily.
Hongjoong smirks. “ Sinnoh ,” he answers. “I was ten when I accidentally entered the Distortion World from inside Mt. Coronet . I’d stolen the Grieseous Orb from Team Galactic and was running away, not looking where I was going. I turned around and I found myself staring the God of the Distortion World in the face. Found myself here shortly afterwards; that about covers it.”
Seonghwa’s jaw is hanging open and he knows he looks like a fool. “You what? Is that why Giratina is here?”
“They’ve taken a liking to me,” Hongjoong explains, watching as Mimikyu continues to stir the Captain’s pot, before he takes out his cooked meat. “I don’t know why, but they’ve been the reason why Cromer moves as it does.”
“Have you told Professor Rowan about this? Or Professor Oak ? Any of them?” Seonghwa asks, aghast.
“No.”
“Why?!”
Hongjoong shakes his head. “There’s nothing to be gained from it,” he replies easily. “Giratina’s reasons are their own and I’m just grateful they didn’t vaporize me over ten years ago.”
There’s something Hongjoong isn’t telling him, and it’s why Giratina has favoured him, why the beast from the dawn of time hangs out on an island that can’t be seen, and Seonghwa is so very, very curious.
He wants to know more.
“Who the hell are you?” Seonghwa mutters, brows furrowing.
“Hopefully the reason that you stay on Cromer,” Hongjoong replies, winking. He turns to Mingi, who’s on the other side of him and begins talking to him about something inane, leaving Seonghwa to reel in disbelief.
Jongho smiles. “Don’t worry, you can talk to the Captain tomorrow.”
“I’m challenging the Ship tomorrow.”
“If you say so.”
Seonghwa is really beginning to get annoyed with Captain Hongjoong and his crew of cryptic fuckers. He tries, he really does, to hold onto his irritated expression and sour mood throughout the rest of dinner, but once the soju starts flowing and he begins talking to Wooyoung and Yunho, his mood lifts and it’s the lightest that Seonghwa’s felt in years .
“We change our teams all the time,” San is saying when Seonghwa comes back to himself. “It keeps things fresh and our Pokémon sharp.”
Yeosang nods. “It’s interesting to push the limits of what you can do as a trainer. It’s not just the Pokémon who are working but us as trainers. We’re the ones steering the ship so we need to know what we can do, what’s possible, what’s not possible.”
Seonghwa blinks; he’s heard the philosophy before as the Orange Islands do tandem challenges to test the bond between Pokémon and Trainer. “Your focus is on yourself? What about your teams?”
“Oh, we all train together of course,” Jongho confirms. “But we work on ourselves a lot. We wouldn’t be at Cromer if we didn’t have something to work on.”
That’s the second time that Jongho has said that, and the soju-muddled gears are beginning to turn in Seonghwa’s head. “All of you?”
“We came here for a reason,” Yunho explains. “And we found our reason for staying here.”
Wooyoung’s eyes are bright. “I bet you’ll find your reason here too, Seonghwa.”
Seonghwa snorts. “I’m here to beat the undefeated Champion. Nothing else.”
“Ooh, I’m shaking in my boots,” Hongjoong chuckles, feeding his Mimikyu a poffin. “How many times have we heard the same thing, Mimi?”
The Mimikyu chitters and wobbles, the pirate hat on her head staying remarkably well put. <Lots and lots of times. It’s funnier each time. He’ll fail the first siege.>
Seonghwa’s brows furrow. “Hey, that’s rude. I won’t fail.”
Mimikyu does an exaggerated bow of sorts. <Sorry, sorry. It’s true! The pattern, the pattern. Everybody fails the first time. And the second, third…>
San laughs. “If you’re getting rattled by Mimi, you won’t make it. Relax, Seonghwa. You’ll have plenty of time to try the siege and see if you can best the Captain.”
“You all seem to know everything about me, so tell me about yourselves,” Seonghwa counters, testy.
The Gym Leaders all laugh but surprisingly, all acquiesce to Seonghwa’s request. He learns that Yunho and Mingi teach the children how to dance three times a week, Jongho and San routinely patrol the island with Hongjoong, Yeosang helps the farmers at market and Wooyoung does whatever he feels like, much to the chagrin of literally everyone. Their teams are varied, and although Mingi has mentioned there’s a theme to all of them, Seonghwa can’t figure it out for the life of him.
His gaze drifts to Hongjoong, the only person who hasn’t said much, if anything about themselves. No one seems to offer any information and whatever Hongjoong does say, Seonghwa isn’t sure is even the truth.
But he wants to know more.
Seonghwa tells himself it’s only because he wants another feather in his cap, that it has nothing to do with the pull that’s evident between them, that there’s no strength in the handsome smile he sometimes gets from the Champion.
It’s only about the Championship. It’s the last one he needs before he’s beaten everyone.
“And if you defeat me, you’ll move on?”
It’s early in the morning when they leave the restaurant, and Hongjoong is the one that is dragging him to the Utopia Inn, Sylveon long since recalled into her PokéBall. He leans heavily against the shorter man, completely obliterated by the soju; shit, he really hasn’t drunk it in a while and he totally forgot how it sucker punches him when he isn’t looking. Hongjoong, to his credit, drags his carcass up towards the inn and into it, chatting amicably to the young man behind the counter.
“If you want to cop a feel, just ask,” Seonghwa mumbles as Hongjoong digs around in his suit jacket pocket for the key card. “I’d let you.”
Hongjoong huffs out a laugh as he opens the door, dragging Seonghwa inside. “I’m not interested in you while you’re blasted, Seonghwa.”
A pout comes to his lips and he’s only barely aware of it as Hongjoong maneuvers him over to the bed. “You were staring at me all night. Are you just a tease?” Seonghwa groans as Hongjoong peels him out of his jacket and shoes, removing his belt and making sure he’s not quite so bundled up. “You’re already stripping me.”
It’s really annoying, he thinks, and unfair, that Hongjoong’s teasing him like this. He’s been through a lot, and finding this stupid island and it’s unfairly handsome Leaders and Champion is really putting Seonghwa through the wringer. He watches Hongjoong unevenly, trying to figure out how to get the man to stay.
<He let me check his emotions with my ribbons and everything! He’s a bit of a stress case, but he’s excited to see you!>
“You’re quite a chatty drunk,” Hongjoong comments as he sets up a bottle of water and a small bottle of painkillers on the bedside table. His eyes widen as Seonghwa pulls him down, delighted with his weight on top of him. “Hey--”
“Got you,” Seonghwa mumbles in a sing-song. “Tell me why you’re hidden away on this island, Hongjoong. Why were you looking for me?”
Hongjoong blinks and shakes his head, trying to carefully extract himself but Seonghwa’s stronger than he looks and he’s pulled down close, so close that their lips are almost touching. “Beat me and I’ll tell you.”
Seonghwa groans and he knows his pout is deepening and he looks up at Hongjoong through his long lashes, feeling petulant. Hongjoong smells really nice and it’s been a long time, way too long, since he’s let himself do anything that wasn’t training or seeking the next challenge. “Kiss me,” Seonghwa demands as he presses their lips together. Hongjoong stills and a drunken Seonghwa deepens the kiss, one hand anchored in that wild brown hair.
“Seonghwa, we can’t,” Hongjoong whispers, against the older man’s lips before pulling away. “You’re drunk and you haven’t done your first attempt at the siege yet.”
“Ugh!” Seonghwa groans, flopping back. “You’re a tease.”
Hongjoong snorts as he gets up, making sure Seonghwa is tucked in. “Is this what you really want, Seonghwa?”
“Want you to fuck me,” Seonghwa mumbles into his pillow as Hongjoong reaches the door of the room, not seeing the man freeze in the threshold before leaving, closing and locking the door behind him. Seonghwa groans a little bit and rolls onto his other side as a headache hits him, soon giving himself over to unconsciousness as night fully descends on the mysterious island.
If the first day was this eventful, what the hell else was going to happen to him on Cromer?