If the run the day prior didn't kill Lukas, this one probably would. It has been two hours since he started following Porygon-Z and his legs still haven't recovered from yesterday's desperate running session.

"Hey! Porygon!" The rubber duck pokemon suddenly stops and his detached head turns to Lukas. "Let's stop for a second…"

And after hearing a single beep as a response, he throws himself between the roots of the nearest tree and lets out a long sigh while Porygon-Z flies to the canopy and disappears between the leaves and branches.

As he started to revise his plans upon reaching society, something struck him. He probably didn't feel it before due to the stress, but now…

He was hungry.

But what exactly could he eat in this forest?

The gears on his brain started to work at full speed as he tried to ignore his hunger. The first option were berries of course, but there were a few issues, he had no clue of what exact berries were edible, he hadn't spotted a single tree with berries and lastly, he can only recall a single berry. Although it was likely that all berries were edible for humans, it's still not a good idea to just shove down your throat anything that looks edible in the middle of a forest. There was also the possibility of some wild pokemon being the owner of a berry tree, territorial stuff. But it was unlikely, since he didn't stumble upon any wild pokemon until now.

Speaking of which, it was weird that he didn't find a wild pokemon yet. He was pretty sure the warehouse was pretty far away from here.

Anyways, he could ask Porygon to fly above the tree line to see if he could spot some berries.

Speaking of the devil, Porygon suddenly pops out of the canopy and flies around the tree doing his own weird thing. Since he started to guide me, from time to time he would simply change course and stare at some random thing in our way for a few seconds before going back to the route we were going. It was weird, but it wasn’t that bad.

“Porygon!” He calls it while getting up with the help of his cane. Porygon looks at him and then looks back at the ground for a few seconds before finally flying towards Lukas. “Could you check if there’s a berry tree around?”

Porygon stares at him in silence for a few seconds and then it suddenly lets out a rapid series of generic computer sounds while shaking and making some gestures with his arms.

“Woah, woah, woah calm down little guy I just asked for you to-...” Before Lukas could finish his phrase, Porygon simply grabs one of his hands with both of its arms and pulls him once before letting him go and flying deeper between the woods.

After a minute or two of running, he finally reaches Porygon, who was standing in front of a tree. The tree seemed quite normal at first sight, but upon looking at the canopy, it was possible to see dozens upon dozens of Oran berries.

Without a second thought, Lukas steps forward and reaches for the nearest Oran berry and inspects it.

The berry was about the size of his head and was a bit heavy. It had a rough texture, it was very squishy and after a few more seconds staring at it, he finally decided to take a bite out of it.

It wasn't bad but it definitely wasn't good. It felt a bit… Tasteless.

After taking the berry's taste for a while, he finally sends the chewed fruit down his throat and immediately feels something. Although it wasn't much, he still felt the pain in his muscles ease a bit, making it slightly more bearable. Noticing this, he went head on the berry and after a couple minutes, the only thing that was left was the berry's core with its seeds and the juices of it splattered on his suit's cuff.

Then, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, feeling his muscles relax a bit. Not enough to end the pain, but it made it more bearable.

He looked at the tree once again and decided to get another one for the trip. He approached the tree again and looked around the branches at arm's reach but it seemed like he would have to climb it to get something. So turning his attention to the trunk, he inspected it until he found a good foothold to start, placing his feet at its side and reaching for the nearest branch with his hands. One hand after the other, he pulled himself up each inch of the trunk and looked up to see where the nearest berry was. Locking on its nearest target, he climbed another inch and finally, the berry was at arm's reach. Making sure he wouldn't fall one-handed he finally reached for it with his right arm. But as he was about to grab the Oran, something hit his side.

A loud snap could be heard as Lukas fell from the tree.

As his back hit the ground, he felt like his spine just snapped in half. He bit his lower lip as his eyes started to water, letting out some muffled screams. The fall wasn't that big, normally, he would have just brushed this off and kept going but he still hasn't recovered properly from yesterday.

Recovering from the initial shock, Lukas tried to get back up, or at least on his knees. Something had tackled him, and he would probably need to run again. But as he got his head up and looked around, there was nothing here. He tried to hear if something was nearby, but nothing could be heard… Except…

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A buzzing sound was coming from above him… Something electrical.

As he looked up, hugging one of the lower branches, some sort of gray metallic net… A booby trapped berry tree.

Suddenly, Lukas became aware of something. Maybe, this trap was for the… Flying types that could actually get closer to the tree.

With the help of his cane, he got back up, trembling as he called. "Porygon!"

It didn't take long for the rubber duck pokemon to appear. Buzzing through the air, it appeared from behind some trees and stopped in front of him.

He grabbed one of its arms while checking every inch around him. "Don't let go of me for even a second!" Then, carefully, he traced back the same path he took to approach the tree trunk. Step after step, he slowly distanced himself from the tree, suspecting any area with a seamingly larger amount of leaves or any small bulge on the ground. It took him a while, but eventually, he was at a "safe" distance from the tree. He wouldn't walk around this region so carelessly anymore.

Looking at Porygon-Z, he just let ou a long sigh and said. "Lead the way… Please." And they continued their journey.

——————————

"Hey, Al'." Kris whispered from behindhis ears. "Buzz caught something"

Alvin calmly nodded as he let out a low whistle, getting Cindy's, his Flareon, attetion. The flame pokemon's ears pricked up and she look back at him. With a quick hand signal, she slowed down her pace to get tp the back of the formation as Buzz, the triple magnet pokemon took the lead.

After a few seconds of walking, he hears a small "yip" coming from behind him. "Looks like that faint smell she caught before keeps going this way…" He looks at his Pokewatch for a few seconds in silence before lifting his other hand, making everyone stop. "Where we currently are?"

He hears som rustling for a few seconds before hearing the sound of the electronic map. "... North of sector A2. Damn…"

Feeling starled for a second, Alvin wasn't really expecting to go that far. On League maps, to make things easier, some cities become responsible for off-route areas, splitting them in sectors in alphabetic order ans then inside these sectors, there are subsectors represented in numbers. Currently, they were close to the north west edge of Saffron's off-route areas.

"So… North of us is Cerulean off route sectors and west is the Celadon… D sector?" He stays silent for a second until Kris confirms it with a small tap on his shoulder. "So Northwest from here is the Restricted Area… I hope these fuckers didn't place anything there."

"What's the difference between the RA and the Off-route?" Kris casually asks while shoving the map back into his bag.

"You won't go to jail for walking off-route, while the RA you do… If you come back alive." Alvin let's out a long sigh before approaching his Pokewatch his face. "Alvin here, we are currently at A2 and we found traces of electricity. To our knowledge, there are no groups of electric pokemon living in the area. Meanwhile, a 'canine' from our team caught up to the scent of someone. We will need some help here."

Silence takes place for a few seconds before a long sigh can be heard. "A2 right? Geez you guys are quite far… I'll be sending the nearest group to your way, stay alert in the meantime."

As the area goes silent again, Alvin quickly checks his pokeballs and pocket before they get back on track.

After a few minutes of walking, they finally arrived at a seemingly normal berry tree. But it doesn't take too long for them to notice the suspicious bulges on the ground.

Buzz lets out a metallic song while turning and looking at its master. "Damn… That's a hell lot of traps… Seems like all of them have some sort of electronic component… Should I just screw them or risk it and try to find the source? My best bet is that it's between the tree roots."

Alvin takes a quick look at Cindy, who is currently staring at the tree. "Just screw them already, if you hurt yourself I'll be the one getting scolded for it."

Kris nods and gives Buzz a thumbs up. The magnet pokemon then flies forward and stops in the middle between them and the tree trunk. "Oh yeah, we better take a step back or he might break our stuff too." As they took some distance from it, Buzz's magnets started to shake slightly and then, gradually started to shake violently for a few seconds before suddenly stopping. Buzz then turned to them with a triple eye smile.

Approaching , Alvin asks as he crouches on the ground and takes one trap from under a small mount of leaves.."How does that thing Buzz just did exactly work?"

"Uhm… In a nutshell, electromagnetic fields can screw up things if they are strong enough." Kris replies, approaching the tree and checking between its roots. "Like thunder, for example, the magnetic field they produce is so strong that they can turn on electronics and generally screw their components."

"Neat…" He says while taking a good look at the metallic trap. "I wonder how they can afford all of this."

Kris replies with a simple shrug as he lowers himself and starts checking the tree roots. It doesn't take long for him to find the power source under some leaves. It was covered in wood and upon taking it off, revealed a metal box connected to wires. He takes off his bag, putting it right beside him, and takes a wire cutter from it and some insulated gloves. In a few seconds, all of the wires were disconnected.

Just as he was taking the battery out of the ground, a sound of wings flapping could be heard. Looking back, a Pidgeot and a Swellow could be seen approaching. They land a few meters away in a slightly clearer area and their trainers approach by foot.

Alvin, carrying a few traps on his arms, drops them on the ground on a small mount with Kris putting the battery and some wires right beside it while letting out a high pitch whistle. Buzz comes flying from the other side of the tree with some traps stuck on his magnets and also drops them on the mount.

After that, the duo had a small exchange with the other two rangers and helped them get everything together in a more comfortable way for the flying pokemon to carry.

With the two Rangers heading off, they settle down for a second to take a small break. But just as they sit near the berry tree, Cindy shows up with something between her teeth. It was a leftover of an Oran berry, although a bit disgusting at this point. She drops it on the ground before coughing a bit, probably to get the horrid taste out of her mouth, and then lets out a low growl while nodding her head behind her.

Knowing what this means both of them let out a long sigh and get up to start their walk again. With the sun still high, they walk away from the tree, following Cindy