“Hey, kid! Wake up! Your stop is next, you know?” Clart said, shaking Nix awake. Nix jolted awake; eyes wide as he looked around. He settled down when he saw Clart.

“Your stop’s next,” Clart repeated, pointing at the information panel above them. They had passed through eleven towns already. The part of the panel displaying the next stop had a piece of paper taped over the original name. The paper read, “Nictopho Town.”

Nix retracted Pansage and Starly back into their pokéballs. He then unplugged the charger from RotomDex and it buzzed to life.

“Are we there-roto?” RotomDex asked. Nix shook his head.

“I’m heading to Windmill. Got some important things to take care of. You should be fine from here,” Clart said. Nix nodded. He stood up to put on his bag then sat back down as they waited.

“They even give you rent-free rooms if you’re there for the Gym battle. Really cool, if you ask me,” Clart said, scrolling on his phone, “Just look for a really tall building.”

A mechanical voice echoed through the train- “Your attention please. We will reach our next stop, NICTOPHO TOWN shortly. The doors will open to the right. Please mind the gap between the platform and the train. Thank you for your attention.”

The sound of people getting ready to get off filled the train. Nix stood up and bowed to Clart.

“See you soon-roto!” RotomDex said cheerfully, giving Clart a high-five.

“Yup! Have fun out there!” Clart replied with a grin. The train slowed down, and people started heading toward the door. Nix was about to leave his seat when Clart stopped him.

“One last thing,” Clart said, his tone suddenly serious and grim. “No matter what happens, DO NOT go out at night. Remember that.”

Nix, feeling a bit uneasy, nodded and walked toward the door. The train came to a stop.

“NICTOPHO TOWN,” announced the mechanical voice as the doors slid open.

Everyone started getting off. As Nix entered the station, he was surprised by how big it was. It was a huge brick building with walls that looked old and worn out. The top was covered in moss and roots hung down from above. There was a big waiting area with food stands and exits, but it was eerily quiet and empty.

Nix glanced at a clock on one of the walls. It was massive, about three times his height. It looked old and beat up. The numbers three and seven were missing. The time showed five-thirty.

Behind him, the train’s doors closed and it rumbled away into the tunnel.

Nix followed signs leading to a staircase. The elevators seemingly hadn’t worked in years, so he climbed the stairs and finally stepped into Nictopho Town.

The buildings were run down and looked like they were barely holding together, with paint peeling away and wood rotting. The trees had died long ago, leaving only stumps behind. The town seemed to have lost all its life. Warm, dry winds blew around. The evening sky cast an orange hue, making the place look even more lifeless.

Despite all the houses Nix saw, the town was eerily silent. Not a single sound could be heard in the streets. It was a weird town.

“Nictopho-roto… Nictopho-roto… Nictopho-roto…” RotomDex buzzed as it searched for the town in its data.

“There is no entry called Nictopho-roto!” RotomDex announced, snapping pictures of the town it had discovered.

Suddenly, Nix heard a noise behind him. Startled, he turned around to see a girl about his age. She had golden hair and carried a big bag, panting from the climb.

“Hey there!” she said, out of breath. She put her bag down, trying to catch her breath. Nix didn’t say anything; for him, talking to kids his age was the hardest.

“Are you here for the gym too?” she asked, slinging her bag back on. Nix hesitated, then turned around and walked away, following RotomDex.

The girl stood there, looking at Nix.

Nix wandered through the quiet town, noticing how empty it seemed. In the distance, he spotted a Pokémon Center. Unlike the ones he was familiar with, this one was surprisingly tall.

“That might be the housing for gym challengers Professor Clart talked about-roto!” RotomDex suggested. Nix nodded.

“But nobody’s around-roto. Maybe they all went to sleep-roto?” RotomDex added, making a note of the eerie emptiness.

After a short walk, they reached the Pokémon Center. As the doors slid open, a wave of musty odor hit them. Nix wrinkled his nose and looked inside. A tired-looking man stood at the reception desk. He wore the Pokémon Center uniform.

“Welcome…” he muttered slowly. He looked exhausted, with dark bags under his eyes. He slowly lifted his head to meet Nix’s gaze.

“New trainer… you want rooms… right… fill this up…” he said, sliding a file across the desk. Nix walked up and filled out the form.

“Are you alright-roto?” RotomDex asked the man. The man glanced at RotomDex but didn’t respond.

“Here’s your key…” he mumbled, taking the form from Nix and handing him a key labeled “403”.

Nix headed towards the stairs and realized where the stink was coming from. Right under the stairs were a lot of trash bags with flies buzzing around them. He hurried up the stairs to escape the stench.

Nix found his room on the fourth floor. The hallway was silent, just like the rest of the building. He hadn’t seen or heard anyone on his way there. He unlocked the door and stepped inside.

The room was clean, but a faint smell of cigarettes lingered in the air. Nix set down his bag and locked the door behind him.

He let Pansage and Starly out of their Pokéballs. As soon as they were out, they started exploring the new space. The room was pretty large. There was a window in the left corner and a bed next to it. On the other side of the room was an empty oak desk. The rest of the space was mostly empty, with just a closet in the right corner. To the left of the entrance was a door leading to a small bathroom.

On the table lay a small note.

[Keep your windows and doors locked between 07:00 pm and 06:00 am. Do not, under any circumstances, open any windows or doors during this timeframe. Refrain from replying or talking if you hear anything coming from outside your room during this time. This is for your safety and the safety of other residents.

Cafeteria opens at 06:30 am.

Thank you.]

“What’s all this-roto?” RotomDex asked after reading the note.

Nix looked at the clock on the wall. It read 05:45. Nix climbed onto the bed and pulled the curtain. Peeking outside, he saw the town stretching out below, still empty and quiet. The sky was already darkening.

Nix shut the curtains and laid down on the bed. “This is all really suspicious-roto,” RotomDex said.

Starly and Pansage didn’t seem to care. They both really liked the new room.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Nix felt really tired. Even though he hadn’t done much that day and had slept on the train, he was still drowsy. Lying on his bed, he shut his eyes. The sounds around him slowly faded away. He heard RotomDex say something, but he couldn’t focus. Sleep took over.

“Nix!” A loud shout, followed by the bang of a desk.

Nix opened his eyes. His math teacher stood in front of him. She was old, probably around sixty, with grey hair and thick glasses.

“What are you doing, dozing off in my class?” she snapped in her shrill, annoying voice. Nix looked around. He was in his classroom. A few kids laughed. He held the notebook open in front of him and looked down.

“S-sorry,” he said faintly. The class laughed again. The teacher sighed and went back to the board.

Nix glanced at his bag on the floor next to him. It wasn’t the one he had been carrying on his journey—it was his school bag.

He had always hated that class. The walls were once white but had now turned yellow. They were covered in scribbles. The view outside wasn’t much better. He was sitting by the window, in his usual seat at the front of the class.

He wasn’t paying attention to what the teacher was saying. Instead, he stared blankly at the notebook in front of him, thinking about the amazing dream he just had. He knew, however, that it would never come true. Even in fourth grade, many students already had their own Pokémon. Everyone in Nix’s family had them, but they kept him away from them for some reason he didn’t understand.

The bell rang, signaling the end of class. Shouts and rustling filled the air as kids rushed out of their classrooms.

“Well, that’s it. Remember to do assignments one and two. I’ll check them on Monday,” the teacher said as she left. A lot of students followed her out. Nix stayed at his desk, waiting for the room to empty.

Something bumped into his back. His bag fell forward, and someone stepped on it.

“Oh, m’ sorry,” a boy said in a singsong voice, pressing down even harder on Nix’s bag. He was really tall for his age. A few kids behind him laughed. Nix kept his eyes on the desk, gripping his chair tightly.

Another kid walked up to Nix and draped an arm around his shoulder.

“What’s wrong, Nix? Cat got your tongue?” the boy said loudly into his ear. Nix’s eyes stayed fixed on the notebook in front of him, the words blurring as he blinked rapidly, trying to hold back tears.

The first boy finally lifted his foot off the bag, but not before giving it a final shove, sending it sliding a few inches across the floor.

“Ooooops! My foot slipped! Sorry about that!” he mocked once again in a singsong voice.

Nix wanted to respond, to tell them to leave him alone, but his mouth wouldn’t cooperate. His throat felt tight, like it always did. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t talk back.

Nix pushed the arm around his neck away, but the boy easily dodged his attempt.

“What was that?” the boy taunted. The kids behind him burst out laughing.

“Hey! Under his desk! He’s got a game on him!” someone pointed out from behind.

“Woah!” the first boy exclaimed, quickly bending down to check. Nix tried to hide it, but the second boy snatched it from his hands with ease.

“Hmm? What’s this?” he said, examining the console. Nix tried to grab it back, but the boy tossed it to the tall one instead.

The tall kid caught it and pressed the start button. Nix reached for it again, but the boy kept it out of reach.

“Ooooh! Guys, you have to see this!” the tall kid said, turning the screen toward the others, still holding it high above Nix’s grasp. Nix desperately tried to snatch it back, but he was no match.

The kids behind him exploded with laughter as a tune played. The game was titled “Dress Up Your Pokémon!” Nix’s face flushed with embarrassment, his cheeks burning as he fought back tears. He kept hitting the tall boy’s hand, trying to reclaim his console.

In the struggle, the console slipped from the boy’s grip, crashing to the ground and shattering into pieces.

For a moment, they all stood in stunned silence.

“Sorry about that,” the tall boy said, still using his singsong voice.

“Aww, don’t cry, baby. It’ll be alright,” the other boy added, patting Nix on the back in a fake comforting gesture.

The group started to leave the classroom.

“Hey, wasn’t that too much? You broke it, you know?” one of the kids said, his voice tinged with slight concern.

“It’ll be fine. What’s he gonna do? Talk?” the tall boy replied. The others roared with laughter as they left the room, leaving Nix alone.

As the door closed, the classroom was quiet again. Nix sat back down in his chair, and the tears he had been holding back finally began to fall.

Nix cried for a while, then wiped his tears with the back of his hand. The room was now empty and the day was fading outside. Gathering the shattered pieces of his console, he stuffed them into his bag and headed for the door.

But when he opened it, he was startled. The hallway outside stretched endlessly in both directions. He turned to look back, but the classroom had vanished. There was nothing behind him now. Just the same endless corridor.

Confused and a little scared, Nix started walking. He tried the doors along the hallway, but every single one was locked. As he continued, a faint whispering began to echo around him. He stopped, looking around frantically, trying to find where the voices were coming from, but there was no one there. The whispers grew louder with each step.

Finally, he reached a door different from the others. It was the only one with a number on it: 3-21.

Nix hesitated, then tried the handle. But it wouldn’t open. Pressing his ear against the door, he could hear voices inside.

“So? How did it go?” It was his mom’s voice, familiar and warm, with the faint sound of a TV playing in the background.

“It’s—” his father started, his voice strained with worry, yet calm and reasonable.

“It’s really bad,” his father finished with a heavy sigh.

Nix stepped back from the door. He knew what came next. This was a conversation he had overheard before.

Stepping back from the door, he noticed that the voices had stopped, and with them, all sound. He couldn’t hear his footsteps, his breathing, nothing. The silence was heavy, pressing down on him like a heavy blanket. Suddenly, he heard a voice that filled him with a mix of relief and confusion.

"Hey man, don’t worry about it. Just tell me who it was. I’ll beat the shit out of them," said Jax, his older brother. The voice was clear, familiar, but it didn’t seem to come from anywhere specific. Nix spun around, trying to locate its source.

He stepped forward. Just then, the ground below him disappeared. He plummeted into darkness. He tried to scream, but no sound escaped his mouth. He just kept falling. The void around him was seemingly endless.

Then, with a sickening thud, he landed on something soft but unsettling. The impact knocked the wind out of him, and he struggled to catch his breath. A dim light barely revealed his surroundings. When his eyes adjusted, he looked down. His heart froze.

The pile he had landed on wasn’t just anything. It was a mass of Pokémon corpses, lifeless bodies stacked upon one another.

Terror gripped him, and though he tried to scream, his voice remained silent. His stomach churned, and he vomited, the sight and smell overwhelming him.

From above, Jax’s voice called out again. Nix couldn’t see much in the darkness, but then a rope descended from the heights above. He didn’t think twice, grabbing onto it with trembling hands, desperate for escape.

As he started to climb, a new sound reached him, a deep, resonant stomping, like the footfalls of something massive. The ground beneath him quaked with each step. The noise grew louder, echoing in the dark, endless space. Whatever it was, it was getting closer.

Panicked, Nix climbed faster. His hands burned as they gripped the rope. He didn’t dare look down. He couldn’t bear to see the corpses or face whatever monstrous thing was approaching. He just knew he had to get out.

Nix kept climbing. His muscles were sore from the effort, but the top seemed to get farther away with every pull. The thunderous stomping grew louder, closer. Tears streamed down his face as he pushed himself harder, desperate to escape whatever monstrous thing was closing in on him.

Finally, he saw the edge above. Filled with hope, he climbed faster, his hands shaking with exhaustion and fear. But just as he neared the top, a face appeared above him. It was the tall kid from school.

"Loser," the kid sneered before the rope snapped loose. Nix plummeted back into the abyss; his screams swallowed by the silence. He crashed onto the pile of corpses again. The sickening thud echoed in his head. The stomping was almost upon him now. The space trembled with every step.

Nix tried to crawl away, but his body wouldn’t respond. He was paralyzed by fear. His mind screamed for him to move, but his limbs wouldn’t obey. From the shadows, a massive figure emerged, blocking out what little light there was.

And then, with a jolt, Nix woke up, gasping for air. He was back in his room at the Pokémon Center, drenched in sweat and trembling all over.

“You’re finally awake-roto!” RotomDex said, hovering nearby with a bucket of water, ready to douse him.

“You were crying-roto. Were you having a nightmare-roto?” RotomDex inquired as it put down the bucket.

Nix glanced at the clock. It was seven in the morning. Starly and Pansage were still peacefully asleep.

Curling up into a ball on the bed, Nix began to cry again.