Nobody spoke.
For several long seconds, the only sound was the wind moving through the trees.
The distant mountains loomed above the forest.
Silent.
Watching.
Waiting.
Alex couldn't stop staring at them.
Something about Damian's reaction bothered him.
Damian wasn't the type to scare easily.
He was stubborn.
Confident.
Sometimes annoyingly confident.
But worried?
That was new.
And Alex didn't like it.
"What do you mean?" he finally asked.
Damian didn't answer immediately.
His eyes remained fixed on the mountains.
Then he pointed.
"See that peak?"
Alex followed his finger.
One mountain rose above the others.
Steeper.
Darker.
Its summit disappeared into low clouds.
Alex nodded.
"Yeah."
"There aren't supposed to be any large Pokémon living there."
Yellow blinked.
"How do you know?"
"My grandfather told me."
That caught Alex's attention.
Damian rarely talked about his family.
"The Rangers mapped this entire region years ago," Damian continued.
"They know where most Pokémon nests are."
"And?" Alex asked.
"And nothing that size should be anywhere near those mountains."
A chill crawled down Yellow's spine.
"What if it's migrating?"
Damian shook his head.
"No."
"Then what is it?"
"I don't know."
That answer worried Alex more than anything else.
Because Damian hated admitting when he didn't know something.
Charmander suddenly growled.
"Char…"
Alex looked down.
His partner's eyes were still fixed on the mountains.
Its flame flickered aggressively.
Almost defensively.
Like it sensed danger.
The unconscious Rhyhorn lay nearby.
Its chest rose and fell slowly.
Still alive.
Still breathing.
But whatever had happened to it…
Wasn't natural.
Alex glanced at the broken collar again.
The metal reflected sunlight.
Cold.
Artificial.
Wrong.
Someone had made it.
Someone had put it on the Rhyhorn.
Which meant someone was somewhere nearby.
Yellow hugged herself.
"I don't like this."
"Neither do I," Alex admitted.
Damian crouched beside the collar.
He carefully examined the damaged device.
The more he looked at it, the more concerned he became.
"There are wires inside."
Alex nodded.
"Yeah."
"And batteries."
"Not surprising."
"No."
Damian looked up.
"What is surprising is how advanced this thing is."
Alex frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Damian tapped the side of the collar.
"This isn't something somebody built in a garage."
Yellow tilted her head.
"People build stuff in garages all the time."
"Not like this."
He pointed toward a tiny circuit board hidden beneath the cracked metal.
"Whoever made this knew exactly what they were doing."
Silence fell again.
Alex hated where his thoughts were going.
Because the possibilities weren't good.
Not good at all.
Then—
Rustle.
Everyone froze.
The sound had come from nearby bushes.
Charmander spun immediately.
"CHAR!"
Nidorino lowered its horns.
"Nido!"
Yellow grabbed her Poké Ball.
The bush shook again.
Harder this time.
Something was inside.
Something moving.
Alex took a step forward.
Slowly.
Carefully.
The bush exploded outward.
A small brown blur shot into the clearing.
Yellow screamed.
Damian jumped.
Alex nearly punched it.
Then the blur stopped.
Everyone stared.
The creature blinked.
A tiny Caterpie stared back at them.
Silence.
More silence.
Then—
"Caterpie?"
The Pokémon tilted its head.
"Pie?"
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Then Yellow started laughing.
Hard.
Very hard.
Damian groaned.
"Oh, come on."
Alex rubbed his face.
"I almost had a heart attack."
The Caterpie looked confused.
"Pie?"
Apparently unaware it had nearly caused three trainers to die from panic.
Yellow eventually wiped tears from her eyes.
"Sorry."
"No, you're not."
"Okay, maybe not."
Even Alex laughed.
Just a little.
The tension faded.
Not completely.
But enough.
The Caterpie crawled closer.
Then stopped near the unconscious Rhyhorn.
Its expression changed immediately.
The tiny Pokémon backed away.
Afraid.
Alex noticed.
"So it can tell something's wrong too."
Damian nodded.
"Pokémon are usually better at sensing this kind of thing than humans."
The Caterpie quickly retreated into the forest.
Disappearing among the trees.
The brief moment of humor vanished.
Reality returned.
The collar.
The roar.
The mountains.
The questions.
So many questions.
Alex exhaled slowly.
"We need answers."
Damian nodded.
"Agreed."
Yellow looked between them.
Then sighed.
"I already know where this is going."
Alex smiled.
"Good."
"That's not a good thing."
"It is for us."
"It really isn't."
Despite her complaint—
She was already preparing her backpack.
Alex noticed.
"So you're coming."
Yellow pointed accusingly.
"I blame both of you."
"Fair."
Damian nodded.
"Very fair."
Several minutes later, the group started moving.
Deeper into the forest.
Toward the mountains.
Toward whatever was hiding there.
The trees gradually grew thicker.
Older.
Massive roots twisted across the ground.
Sunlight became scarce.
The forest felt different here.
Quieter.
Too quiet.
Normally wild Pokémon could be heard everywhere.
Bird calls.
Buzzing insects.
Movement through leaves.
But now?
Nothing.
The silence felt unnatural.
As if the entire forest was holding its breath.
Alex didn't like it.
Neither did Charmander.
The fire-type stayed unusually close.
Its eyes constantly scanned the shadows.
Nearly an hour passed.
Then another strange thing happened.
They found tracks.
Huge tracks.
Alex crouched beside one.
The footprint was nearly three feet deep.
Damian's face immediately darkened.
"That's impossible."
Yellow stared.
"What made that?"
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew.
The footprint looked vaguely reptilian.
Massive claws.
Enormous weight.
Whatever left it had been huge.
Far larger than Rhyhorn.
Alex followed the trail with his eyes.
The prints led toward the mountains.
Of course they did.
"Well," Alex said.
"That's not terrifying."
Yellow glared.
"It is literally terrifying."
"Good point."
They continued onward.
The deeper they traveled—
The stranger the forest became.
Broken trees.
Destroyed undergrowth.
Massive gouges carved into stone.
Evidence.
Signs that something powerful had moved through here.
Recently.
Very recently.
Then they found another collar.
Everyone stopped.
The metal device lay half-buried in dirt.
Destroyed.
Crushed flat.
As though something had stepped on it.
Alex picked it up.
The damage was incredible.
The metal had been twisted like paper.
Yellow stared.
"What could do that?"
Damian swallowed.
"I don't know."
That answer came too quickly.
Alex looked at him.
"You have an idea."
Damian hesitated.
Then sighed.
"…Maybe."
Yellow immediately noticed.
"You know something."
"A little."
Alex folded his arms.
"Start talking."
Damian looked uncomfortable.
Very uncomfortable.
Finally, he spoke.
"When I was younger…"
He paused.
"My grandfather told me stories."
"What kind of stories?" Yellow asked.
"The kind Rangers tell each other."
Alex listened carefully.
Damian rarely shared personal stories.
Especially serious ones.
"There are rumors about certain Pokémon."
Alex raised an eyebrow.
"Legendary Pokémon?"
Damian shook his head.
"No."
His expression became grim.
"Worse."
That got everyone's attention.
"Worse than legendary Pokémon?" Yellow asked.
Damian nodded slowly.
"Ancient Pokémon."
The wind suddenly seemed colder.
Alex frowned.
"Ancient?"
"Pokémon that disappeared long before modern records."
Yellow blinked.
"Like fossils?"
"Not exactly."
Damian looked toward the mountains.
"My grandfather said some Rangers believed a few survived."
Nobody laughed.
Because Damian wasn't joking.
"The stories claim they're incredibly powerful."
Alex stared.
"You actually believe that?"
Damian shrugged.
"I didn't."
His gaze drifted toward the giant footprints.
"Until today."
Nobody had a response.
Because none of them could explain those tracks.
Then—
ROOOOOOOARRRRRRRR!
The sound exploded across the mountains.
Louder than before.
Much louder.
The ground shook violently.
Birds erupted from the forest.
Trees swayed.
Yellow nearly lost her balance.
"What was THAT?!"
Alex's heart hammered.
The roar felt powerful enough to shake his bones.
Even Charmander looked frightened.
"Char…"
For several seconds—
The roar continued.
Then finally faded.
Silence returned.
A terrible silence.
The group stood frozen.
Listening.
Waiting.
Then Alex noticed something.
The roar hadn't come from the mountain.
His eyes widened.
It had come from somewhere much closer.
Much.
Much closer.
A branch snapped behind them.
CRACK.
Everyone spun around.
Nothing.
Just trees.
Shadows.
Darkness.
Then another branch snapped.
To their left.
CRACK.
Then another.
To their right.
CRACK.
Yellow's voice trembled.
"Alex…"
"I know."
Something was moving around them.
Circling them.
Watching them.
The forest suddenly felt far too small.
Far too quiet.
Far too dangerous.
Then two glowing red eyes opened within the darkness between the trees.
Not human.
Not normal.
Huge.
Ancient.
Hungry.
And before anyone could react—
The eyes blinked.
And vanished.
Leaving only silence.
And the terrifying realization that whatever they were hunting…
Had just started hunting them.
To Be Continued.