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By the ti the sun had fully risen the next day, Allen and Trevor had packed their gear and set off toward the towering peak in the distance.
With Yanga still badly injured and unable to battle, their team's overall strength had taken a serious hit. They couldn't afford any more losses.
That ant one thing until they reached their destination, they had to avoid unnecessary battles at all costs.
In the early morning hours, the forest could be even more dangerous than at night. Predators who hunted under the moonlight often sought one last al before retreating for the day.
Tap, tap, tap.
The duo moved in silence, every sense sharpened, scanning for even the smallest sign of danger.
Yet strangely, the closer they drew to the mountain, the fewer hostile presences they felt. Pokémon sightings grew rare, as if the forest itself were emptying out.
Allen's brow furrowed. His worry deepened instead of easing. On an untad island like this, such unnatural quiet could only an one of two things:
First, the conditions here were so harsh that not even the hardiest Pokémon could survive.
Second, and far more likely, this was the territory of a single apex predator, powerful enough to dominate the entire region.
Looking around, Allen noted that while the plant life was sparse, it wasn't inhospitable enough to explain the absence of Pokémon. That left only one conclusion...
---
Inside the Poké Ball
Kael was practicing his newly learned move when a faint, alien presence brushed against his senses.
Even through the Poké Ball's shielding, the tiny trace of it was enough to make his fur prickle.
It was overwhelming. Authoritative.
Sothing ancient in his blood reacted instantly, pressing down on him with suffocating force. His knees nearly buckled as an instinctive, primal urge to submit rose from deep within.
What... is that?
Cold sweat ran down his forehead as he braced against the smooth, white wall of the ball, gritting his teeth.
Minutes passed before the pressure faded as abruptly as it had co.
Kael collapsed onto the floor of the ball, gasping.
His gaze shifted toward the blurry silhouettes of Allen and Trevor outside. Official source is novelꞁire
"...Whatever you two are planning... don't do anything stupid."
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Elsewhere on the Island
A small black boat drifted up to shore.
A young man in his twenties stepped off, dressed in a fitted dark coat. His face was ordinary, but his sharp deanor and the black visor covering his eyes hinted at danger.
"Well, I'll be damned... There really is an island here," he said, voice casual but tinged with amusent.
He looked up at the distant mountain and smirked.
"Let's hope the client's intel is accurate. Otherwise, this trip's a waste."
His fingers brushed the Poké Ball on his belt. "Right, Noivern?"
The ball shuddered twice before falling still, almost like it was answering him.
The man sniffed the air, his expression tightening. "Danger... lots of it. What a pain."
From his pouch, he pulled out a small spray bottle filled with purple mist and coated himself until a faint violet haze hung in the air around him.
"Let's make it there before sundown." He started walking briskly into the forest.
---
The Mountain Ascent
Compared to the previous day's dangers, Allen and Trevor's climb was eerily uneventful.
Not a single wild Pokémon appeared, even as they reached the upper slopes.
Even Trevor, usually the less cautious of the two, began to feel uneasy. A glance at Allen's darkening expression only made him more alert.
Finally, they reached their destination: a massive cave mouth near the summit.
It yawned before them, pitch-black and seemingly endless. Even standing outside, an unsettling aura seeped into their bones.
"This is it," Allen said after double-checking the ancient map.
Trevor nodded, pulling a flashlight from his pack. Shoulder to shoulder, they stepped inside.
The air was thick with the tallic tang of blood and the musky scent of sothing reptilian.
"This sll..." Allen muttered, covering his nose. His gut told him exactly what it ant, but he kept it to himself.
The deeper they went, the damper it beca. Droplets clung to the walls, reflecting the flashlight's beam in tiny glints.
The floor was lined with a massive nest of woven branches and dried grass. Scattered among it were enormous deep-blue scales and tufts of black down.
But in the center... sat a single, strange egg.
It was the color of a starless night, absorbing light rather than reflecting it. Large violet-blue patches, shaped like drifting clouds, spread across its surface in a pattern that was both alien and beautiful.
Around it lay clusters of gleaming purple gemstones and oddly shaped crimson berries though the pair's eyes were fixed entirely on the egg.
Allen's heartbeat thundered in his ears. His face lit up with rare excitent.
"Quick! Get it into the container carefully!"
Trevor retrieved a reinforced egg case from his pack and began securing the prize.
Allen glanced around, pocketing a few gemstones and berries before picking up one of the massive scales. Judging by its size, the creature that had shed it was enormous.
His stomach tightened. "Move faster we need to get out. Now."
The words had barely left his mouth when...
Tap... tap... tap...
Slow, deliberate footsteps echoed from the cave entrance.
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