"Are you sure this is the right call?" I whisper to Champ as we tentatively follow behind a humming Meredith and a very moody-looking Brandon, who surveys the forest path ahead. He's accompanied by a large pink and white mushroom Pokémon known as Shiinotic. Rotom has emerged to provide me with some information: it's a grass/fairy type that uses spores as its primary form of defense and offense, much like Parasect. They're infamous rivals often fighting for territory.

A twig snaps to our right, causing all of us to tense up momentarily, only for a wild Sentret to scurry through and dart between our legs. We exchange glances and chuckle, continuing to move forward with Shiinotic leading the way, its glow standing out in the damp darkness of the Viridian Forest.

My hand keeps twitching toward the reinforced dark-type Shadowfang blade on my belt that Brandon lent me. I insist on having a weapon before venturing into the forest. Finally, Brandon, fed up with my persistence, tosses his spare knife at me to get me to quiet down. The knife itself is a single-edged ebony blade that resembles a cross between a machete and a serrated cleaver.

Though it somewhat calms my nerves, I can't shake this growing sense of horrifying trepidation. I'm also irritated about leaving behind all the items I'd purchased at the Pokemart. Meredith stressed the urgency, mentioning a small time frame for Brandon to guide us before regular patrols begin and the enforcers change shifts.

A faint mist clings to the forest floor, trailing through the roots of enormous trees flanking the path. They cluster together, resembling jagged teeth within a Sharpedo's jaw, protruding from the ground. Thick green bushes of leaves interlace atop even thicker branches, blocking out most of the remaining sunlight.

Sounds of bug Pokémon chittering and bird Pokémon cawing echo in a cacophony of highs and lows, yet none, aside from the scurrying Sentret, dare to approach us. A few glowing eyes peer at us from within the darkness before blinking out of existence.

"Don't stray off the path, don't move out of Shiny’s mushroom radiance, unless you want to be eaten, maimed, or turned into a personal egg incubator," Brandon says nonchalantly.

His casual tone sends a shiver down my spine, making me ponder how frequently such occurrences must happen for him to appear so indifferent. I focus on the bioluminescence of his Shiinotic, observing tiny spores emanating from underneath its massive mushroom cap, floating off in all directions like beautiful fireflies. A small but faint ring of light spreads around us, extending to the edges of the trees—wait, past the trees?

I can't tell; it seems to shift and warp in the air, resembling an Ekans seeking its next meal.

"His fairy energy is imbued into his spores, causing whoever breathes them in to hallucinate whatever he wants them to," Brandon explains. "So, I instructed him to make us appear like an eight-foot-tall mother Ursaring with her cubs. It's a rarity but not unheard of in these parts. Most of these feral creatures will steer clear."

As he speaks, he pulls out a cigarette and lighter, but his mushroom ally immediately smacks it out of his hand with a vine, glaring at him before pantomiming a series of angry gestures.

"Yes, I know Donna would kill me if I started again. But what she doesn't find out won't hurt her. What do you mean she'll know?! You plan on snitching on your own trainer? How could you?!"

Continuing forward, the ongoing argument strangely brings me a sense of relaxation. I glance at Meredith, who has been quiet, only to notice her lost in thought, gazing up through the canopy as we walk.

I quicken my pace to approach her, peering up through the canopy to see what has captured her attention. Yet, I can't discern anything beyond the dimming portions of the failing sunlight as evening begins to set in. I hear Beca chitter in confusion, trying to puzzle out what we are looking for.

"What are we looking at?" I whisper close to Meredith's ear, startling her and causing a loud shriek followed by a jump away from me. Champ lets out a small chuckle, and I glare at him until he stops, innocently looking away.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I was curious because you seemed heavily invested in whatever you were looking at. Wanted to know if it was something I should be concerned about," I explain.

"No, nothing to be worried about. Simply looking for any Metapods or Kakunas or other bug types that might be hanging from the canopy. It's kind of odd though, considering this forest is supposed to be overrun by Venipedes, and I have yet to glimpse any," Meredith replies.

There is a lingering accusatory tone in her voice, seemingly directed towards Brandon as the argument between him and his Shiinotic dies down. He looks back at Meredith, sighs, and scratches the back of his head, his youthful complexion twisted in a way that makes him look older.

"Look, Merry. I don't pretend to know everything. I don't have all the answers. And, I certainly don't know what's going on in the forest. All I know is that the main road is cordoned off after we lost three patrols to a wild Pokémon attack. Three patrols and all their Pokémon.”

We stop in the middle of the path at the revelation he gives us, Shiny’s spores flying up into the air around us like a lazy cloud of moving fireflies. I suddenly feel cold as Champ gets closer to me, fully on edge as he scans the area around us. Meredith stays silent, biting her lip as if debating something before finally speaking up.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“I know. I get it. I'm sorry that I forced you to do this, but I urgently - we urgently need to get to Pewter City and we can't keep waiting for the blockade to be lifted on the forest," she says. The confidence and bravado seem to drain from her tone as her voice quivers for a split moment. She turns to face me, looking apologetic, and gives me a deep bow.

“I'm sorry for keeping you in the dark, but I was afraid you might say no if I told you the whole truth,” Meredith confesses.

I stare at her in simple disbelief as both Champ and Beca go off on her, expressing their disapproval with loud Pokémon noises. I quickly silence them by placing my hands on their heads.

“It's alright, you two. It's okay. As long as we're away from the main path, we should be fine. Right, Brandon?”

Brandon finally succeeds in grabbing his smokes and lighter from Shiny, lighting one up. The burning tobacco's light stands out like a sunny beacon among the yellow floating spores, a trail of smoke wafting up through the canopy, filling the air with the scent of tobacco and lavender.

"Aye. We should be fine this far away from the main path. Whatever's going on over there seems to focus on closing off the established forest path to Pewter City. Oh, and don't worry about the smoke from my cigarette; Shiny’s fairy spores also mask it. It's bullshit, really, if you think about it. But those immune to fairy types, those who know what they're looking for, or have strong willpower can dispel it. So, it has its tradeoff. Now come on, we have to get to the halfway point before the sun finishes going down or the really weird stuff starts to happen."

We keep our pace forward in fitful silence. I remain on edge as the mist only seems to grow thicker, slowly rising upwards. Reaching our waists, the mist feels warm instead of cold, filling the air with an Arceus-awful humidity that leaves us drenched in sweat. I haven't bothered trying to keep track of the path we're taking as it twists and turns, leading us on different multiple paths. Honestly, I don't know how trainers could get through this mess twenty years ago.

In certain areas of the mist, it thins out to reveal a mixture of bones, both human and Pokémon, along with various empty bug husks. At one point, we even pass the ruins of what appears to be a large hidden facility inside an overgrown clearing. When we try to ask Brandon about it, he simply shrugs and presses on forward, stating that such facilities are either remnants of an old Indigo League R&D facility or a defunct Team Rocket base raided many years ago.

I spot a few Ghastly floating in and out of the facility, mixed in with some Haunters. One of them seems to be carrying the knocked-out body of a Pidgeotto. Goosebumps crawl over my entire body at the thought of being devoured by them. Some studies speculate that if you're devoured by a horde of Ghastly, the shreds of your soul are collected in the air and eventually blend together with other victims to create a new Ghastly.

Finally, after what seems like forever but is actually three hours according to my phone, we reach a small grove of robust, silver-barked trees with fine azure leaves shimmering with a faint blue aura. The thick branches of the tree are interwoven with blue-green vines holding small glowing translucent berries emitting a soft orange soothing light. It gives off a faint odor of a mixture between jasmine, lemon, and Leppa berry.

"What is this place?" I blurt out, completely awestruck at the sight before us. The small grove is set in a large clearing that consists of leftover tents, metallic cargo boxes labeled supplies, old fire pits, and other miscellaneous camping equipment.

Brandon grins as he walks over to one of the boxes and opens it, pulling out packaged meats, a few canned veggies and beans, a bag of coffee, and some seasoning packets.

“This is one of many waypoints established throughout Viridian Forest for our patrols. These are known as Repelian trees, and they're what Silph Co. uses to get their basic repels made. The chemicals are all organic, and the processing is simple and not at all time or labor-consuming, which is why it's so cheap on the market. Funny enough, it's mixed in with refined Snorlax urine to give it that extra kick. Who knew that such a massive lazy creature was at the top of the predatory food chain?”

I stare at him skeptically. How does he know any of that? Silph Co. has a tight hold on all its information unless forced to divulge it for public knowledge when the Indigo League needs to step in. Other than that, though, they just slap a stamp of approval on it and call it a day.

“How do I know that, you may be wondering?” he says with such a cocky, shit-eating grin that all that's left is for him to wiggle his blonde eyebrows on his pretty boy face to make me want to punch him.

He waggles a piece of meat in our direction as he sorts out the rest of the items from the crate.

“Well, I ain't gonna tell ya. It's a trade secret. Now buzz off while I fix us something to eat.”

Brandon starts laughing as if he just cracked the biggest joke in the world. It's at this moment I realize how irritating this man is going to be. Meredith groans and walks away, choosing to explore the surrounding area.

“I'm going to go set up the tents in the meantime then.”

I walk off to pick up some decent tent sets to use. Might as well use the free stuff while we're here. Beca decides to string shot her way up to one of the Repelian trees and proceeds to munch on the berries there with gusto after taking a tentative bite of one. Champ follows me and helps me bring three of the better-looking tents over to our fire pit before he walks away to explore the rest of the area. Curiosity has gotten the best of him as well.

I sit down with my back against one of the trees, a little surprised to feel the bark giving off a pleasant pulsating warmth that radiates through my clothes into my body. I allow myself to ease into a meditative pose, drifting off into a trance. Closing my eyes to savor the moment, it's quiet, tranquil, and absolutely peaceful.

That's when I hear it.

Loud, thunderous footsteps and the sound of crashing trees emanate from somewhere in front of me.

My eyes shoot open to see an enormous, six-and-a-half-foot-tall monstrosity. Its body is composed of patches of pitch-black fur and equally black scales that shine from the light of the tree. It has long, sinewy limbs ending in claws, with two sharp, scythe-like blades running down the sides of its forearms. The rest of its body is lean, agile, and muscular, moving with a feline grace as it stalks into the clearing with predatory intent. Sharp horn-like protrusions adorn its head in the form of a crescent moon, and a large flowing black mane of cascading fur runs down its neck. Its large, ominous black eyes scan the clearing until they settle on me, and it bellows an unearthly guttural cry of anguish and rage.

In the span of a blink of an eye, it crosses the distance and brings down one of its blades towards my neck. I feel something tug me as the world goes upside down, and I'm slammed down into the dirt next to Brandon and his Shiinotic. The sound of a tree creaking and groaning greets my ears once I get up.

The creature pivots, turning its attention towards us, rage still evident in the features of its insectoid-like face.

“What the heck is that? Holy Arceus, what the heck is that?!” I hear Brandon shout in disbelief and fear. My Rotom phone flies out of my pocket to scan the creature.

"Warning: Insufficient data found. New species identified. Warning: Unstable anomalous Pokémon found. Contacting Professor Oak. Gene splicing detected. Standing by for visual confirmation. Visual confirmation of Absol and Scyther fusion anomaly confirmed. Threat level - Class A. Recommended plan of action - immediate evacuation of current location.”

The creature lets out another blood-curdling roar, as if protesting against what the phone is telling us. The scythes on its arms glow a menacing dark violet as a powerful ebony aura flows outward from its body.

I pull the blade out from its sheath at my waist, holding it in front of me as Champ runs up in front of me, and Beca shoots down to land on my shoulder.

Brandon releases an impressive-looking Bastiodon, a five-foot-tall ceratops-like Pokémon with a larger-than-average dark gray castle-wall-like head. Its entire body is well fortified, covered in metallic-like spikes and dark plate-like scales.

“We're going to buy you guys time to escape. When Bastiodon charges in, you all run. You hear me? Run, and I'll come find you. Now go!”

Brandon roars at us just as the terrifying Pokémon fusion charges at us.