Chapter Text
"Mmph." Still half asleep Dongryong brushed something ticklish off his cheek. It felt like sand. The rough surface he was lying on also felt like sand. Was he having a dream about the day he met his brother? He’d been reminiscing just yesterday...
No, he decided when sand made its way up his nose and caused a sneezing fit, this was not a dream. He was awake. But why was he lying on the beach? The last thing he remebered was going to sleep in his own bed.
The beach was unfamiliar. It wasn't like the one in Sunyshore, a wide expanse of sand peppered with deck chairs and lemonade stands. This one was overgrown and had a wild look to it, the only traces of human presence were an ancient-looking wooden dock and a trodden path leading inland. When Dongryong stood up to shake off the sand he noticed a figure going down the path, clearly heading his way.
"Hello?" As the man approached him Dongryong took in his outfit. It looked like the kind of thing people wore many generations ago, back when Southern Edge was a newly established sect on a yet unexplored continent. Was this cosplay?
"Are you- oh... Ahem." the man's cheeks gained a rosy tint. Looking away, he took off his cloak and blindly held it out in Dongryong's general directon. "You should probably put this on."
Dongryong took a look at himself. He was wearing his usual pajamas which consisted of a Tshirt and boxer shorts, not exactly the best outfit for meeting new people but nothing outrageous. Maybe the man was a conservative type? His clothes didn't show much skin except for his face.
"Thank you very much." Dongryong took the cloak and put it on. It wouldn't do to act ungrateful. Still, his lips twitched with suppressed laughter as he imagined this man's reaction to the typical beachwear in Sunyshore.
"I am Lee Songbaek of Southern Edge's Security Corps," the man introduced himself once it was safe to look. "We're usually made aware whenever there are new settlers incoming but your arrival is a surprise. However did you make your way here? I don't see a boat," Songbaek lookes at the wooden dock and missed Dongryong's eyes going wide. Something was off. Security Corps, settlers... he'd heard those terms before, when he was a child and his teacher made him memorize Southern Edge's history all the way from its establishment. There was also Songbaek's outfit, the overgrown beach and the way he'd been mysteriously teleported from his bed to this place...
"...Ah." He thought he knew what was going on. The explanation was surreal, but so was the situation he was in and everything made sense when he recalled what he’d done the day before.
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The day before (or many generations in the future) :
Another day, another successful match made at the Sunyshore Pokemon Adoption Agency, SPAA for short. Unfortunately for the pun lovers on staff free spa tickets were not a part of the employee bonus. Still, Dongryong enjoyed his work and as his clients were leaving he couldn’t help but smile seeing the little girl happily interact with her new Pokemon.
“Thank you very much,” the parents bowed to Dongryong and his older coworker. There was a moment of silence. “Songhwa, what do we say?” Songhwa didn't react, too busy cuddling her Litten and exasperating her parents at the same time. “Songhwa! Say thank you.”
“Thank you,” the girl repeated on autopilot, without moving her attention or her gaze away from the Litten. Her parents grimaced in embarrassment.
“We’re sorry, she’s usually well-behaved I swear...”
“Please don’t worry about it,” both staff members waved them off, not minding at all. Reassured, the family made to leave but ran into a problem when Songhwa loudly refused to put her Litten in a Pokeball.
“Nooo he’s mine now! I’ll carry him!!” After making this announcement she squeezed her Litten and started running down the stairs.
“Stop! Don’t run on the stairs, you’ll trip and fall!” The harried parents quickly said their goodbyes and ignored their own advice as they ran down those same stairs in pursuit of their daughter. Next to Dongryong his coworker coughed to hide her laughter.
“Sugar rush in human form,” she said once the clients were out of earshot. “The girl’s a great fit with the Litten, good job setting that up.”
“I only chose Pokemon for her to meet, their bond is a result of their own efforts,” Dongryong demurred. The aim of adoption agencies was to lower the number of failed Pokemon-trainer matchups. It was traditional to get your first Pokemon from a professor or a trainer school but their selection process only took species into account and ignored character compatibility. Far too many Pokemon ended up abandoned by trainers because the pair just couldn’t get along.
In contrast adoption agencies focused on synergy. With each new client one of the employees would first get to know them, then select a host of Pokemon with compatible personalities. The client would meet and interact with them, and after a few sessions the best match was clear. Sometimes it was clear right away: the rambunctious Songhwa had instantly clicked with a cheerful Litten, although a few more meetings were held just to make sure.
“Don’t be so modest,” the woman thumped Dongryong on the back. “You have a point though, the kid clearly cares about her Pokemon and wants to do right by him. That’s the most important part, everything else can be taught.”
Dongryong nodded. She was right, information on Pokemon care was widely available but it was useless if the trainer didn’t care enough to learn.
“Still, you really have a knack for this. Maybe it’s time to think about adopting a Pokemon yourself?” Dongryong’s eyes widened at the question. It was unusual for someone his age and in his profession to not own Pokemon, but...
“I’m considering it, but it’s not the best time to make such an important decision.”
“Right… it’s been a few months now.” The woman’s eyes became distant for a moment. She shook her head and sighed. “You know, Suryong wasn’t the kind of guy who’d want us to put our lives on hold to grieve. He’d want us to keep on living and have a drink in his memory from time to time.”
“...You’re right.” Dongryong pressed his lips together. He agreed with her description, it was just… the past tense. When Baek Suryong mysteriously disappeared at first people believed he’ll be found soon, but as time passed with zero news they gave up and started to speak of the man as if he was dead. Dongryong couldn't accept it. His body was never found, how could they write him off so easily?
As the conversation reached its natural end the two workers said their goodbyes and headed off to deal with their respective piles of paperwork, a necessary but boring part of the job.
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Some time later Dongryong’s shift ended and he left the building, joining the throng of people on the streets of Sunyshore. Instead of going back to his small apartment he headed for the beach. At this hour it was still fairly crowded but he managed to find a spot out of the way. As he stared at the water he recalled the time when he first came to Sunyshore and met the man who'd later become his brother.
When Dongryong became of age and could finally leave Southern Edge he was full of enthusiasm. It was supposed to be a new chapter of his life, a fresh start away from the constant disapproval of his father who held no affection for him and only ever saw him as a disappointment unfit to be a part of the Jin family. Instead the first and most important change was that Dongryong no longer had a guaranteed roof over his head and three meals a day.
At first he struggled to fend for himself. It had been humbling to have to rely on the kindness and advice of elementary schoolers who were traveling around to collect gym badges or contest ribbons. Compared to Dongryong those kids were like veterans of camping and survival skills and he resolved to master living on the road as fast as possible.
By the time he reached Sunyshore his competence had grown by leaps and bounds, he was even able to travel at night. Happy with his progress he went down to the beach to watch the sunrise and happened upon a pod of Sandygast. They'd carelessly crawled too close to the shoreline and ended up absorbing so much water their bodies became lumps of wet sand. Too heavy to move, all they could do was sit there at the mercy of the coming tide.
Five minutes later, a sand-covered Dongryong realized he couldn't rescue them by himself. The smart idea would be to get help but he was new to the city and had no clue where anything was. He couldn't even look it up online because his phone was dead, and the streets were likely empty this early. Before he could panic a voice called out.
"Hey there! Are you trying to turn into a Sandygast?"
That was how he'd met Baek Suryong. The man had been out on his morning run and noticed the situation while jogging down the beach. He easily took charge and called the appropriate services before getting to work, all the while chatting with Dongryong to keep everyone calm.
Soon enough the Sandygast were safely away from the water and being dried by Pokemon center workers, while both their saviors ended up looking like sand sculptures gone wrong.
"It seems we both turned into Sandygast," Dongryong had pointed out. The men exchanged looks and burst out laughing.
As they cleared off the sand Dongryong realized that the person he'd met was in fact that Baek Suryong, the no.1 most famous citizen of Sunyshore and the city's hero. Unlike the typical celebrities you only ever saw at red carpet galas he was a normal guy who shopped for groceries, used public transport and got coated in sand while rescuing Pokemon. And apparently claimed newly met people as brothers.
"I'm Suryong, you're Dongryong, we look alike. It's perfect!" That, it seemed, was enough of a reason for instant adoption. Dongryong thought it a strange joke from a famous person and that nothing would come of it but was later proven wrong. As time went on they really became brothers.
And now his brother was gone, vanished without a trace or a single clue left behind. There were hundreds of conspiracy theories going around: elevated to godhood by Arceus, spacenapped by Deoxys... Dongryong could almost believe some of those with how strange the disappearance was. It was as if some mysterious force had erased the man's very existence.
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As the last rays of the setting sun dyed the water red Dongryong started heading home. Sunlight gave way to colorful neons and the city was teeming with life, tourists and locals mixed together as their paths briefly crossed. Barely two decades ago this wouldn't have been possible. The Sunyshore of back then was a ghost town with dirty, dark alleys. Hoodlum and poachers roamed free, the police having long given up on the place. Then Baek Suryong became a Pokemon trainer and instead of moving to greener pastures he decided to fix his city. And he actually did it. The bright and bustling Sunyshore of now owed its existence to this man. It was never made official in any capacity but the locals saw Sunyshore as Baek Suryong's sect. His loss was a heavy blow they were only beginning to recover from.
Dongryong's footsteps slowed as he passed by a small museum on his way home. Most of the exhibits were maritime in nature, except for one. The museum was one of the first places Suryong had shown him back when he was still new to the city, and Dongryong found himself going inside on autopilot. Passing by various sea minerals and sundries from sunken ships he headed for the piece Suryong had been so excited about back then.
"Ta-da! It's a fragment of the Wish Maker comet," the man had gestured at it as if it was a priceless treasure.
"It's a pebble."
"No backchatting! If I say it's a comet then it's a wish-granting comet, where's your inner child?"
The pebble most likely had nothing to do with either comets or space, but as Dongryong approached the glass casing which housed it he couldn't help but wonder. The legendary Wish Maker comet was named after the equally legendary Wish Pokemon and was the source of the superstition that shooting stars grant wishes. Looking at the pebble Dongryong closed his eyes and made a wish.
'I want to know what happened to my brother. To find him again, wherever he disappeared to.'
His eyes opened. The museum was quiet and still.
Shaking his head at his own foolishness Dongryong left the museum and failed to notice when the pebble briefly lit up like a tiny star.
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The wish he’d made… that had to be it. There was no other explanation.
Dongryong's eye twitched. If he found Suryong and the man learned that the pebble really granted wishes he was never going to hear the end of it.