Even though he could not see any Pokemon or humans around the area, the forest felt as if it was alive. The trees, tall as castle spires, shimmered faintly with veins of silver running beneath bark the color of twilight. Leaves glowed with soft bioluminescence—emerald, violet, and sapphire—casting a gentle radiance. The air carried a melodic hum as if the forest itself was whispering something.
Moss blanketed the ground like a thick, velvety carpet, warm to the touch and pulsing faintly with magic. Strange fungi bloomed in spirals, some transparent, others glowing like lanterns with inner fire. Floating motes of light drifted lazily through the trees, sometimes coalescing into fleeting shapes of animals, spirits, or forgotten memories.
The trees grew in twisted, elegant forms, some arching to form natural bridges or archways while others bent low as if bowing in reverence. Sounds were hushed here. Footsteps sank into the moss without echo. The forest felt alive as if it was breathing, watching, and waiting.
For a few minutes, Axel felt that he belonged to the forest, as if he was a part of it. He had completely forgotten that he was in an unknown place, and his Pokemon had yet to wake up. He was taking deep breaths as if he was in a trance.
Suddenly,
ROOOARRR
The sudden roar startled him. He immediately turned around to see that it was actually Primeape, and then it suddenly hit him. What was he thinking right now? He had completely forgotten that he was in a dangerous situation. As if the forest was calling him, he was ready to be a part of it and lose his consciousness.
If Primeape had not called him, then he might not have ever woken up. Axel instantly knew that this forest, though very beautiful and alive, was extremely dangerous.
"Hey buddy, did others wake up?" asked Axel.
Primeape shook its head, saying that others were still asleep. It made sense for Primeape to wake up fast due to its ability 'Vital Spirit'.
Axel realized a crucial thing right now. He cannot get distracted. If he did, he might not wake up again. He felt that the forest itself was trying to manipulate him in some way. It was terrifying.
"Garry, let's go inside and wake everybody up.", said Axel.
He went inside the cave. It was still dark, but with the help of Primeape's 'Fire punch,.' Primeape activated the move but didn't fire any punches. This eased Axel in navigating through the cave.
Finally, Axel and Primeape reached where all of them were sleeping. After trying to wake them up, they started to wake up. First, it was Feraligatr, then Aerodactyl, then Togekiss, Salamence, and finally, all of them woke up.
"Guys, we are facing a dangerous situation. I don't know where we are right now…."
After that, Axel started to tell what had happened when they were asleep. One of the reasons why Axel didn't want to go outside right now was cause he was afraid that he would be manipulated again.
But they had to go outside. Axel realized that they neither had food or water to survive. The cave gave a sense of protection, but they had to do something.
After seeing their condition, Togekiss volunteered to go outside and see what this forest was all about.
Axel didn't want it to take any risk, as Togekiss was now the most powerful Pokemon in his arsenal right now. But it also made sense for Togekiss to do it because of its passive move 'Feelings'.
Before, Axel never felt that this passive move would be so useful. It was a non-attacking passive move, so he was not interested. But now, he felt that this move might be the difference between life and death.
After 10 minutes, Togekiss came inside the cave and said,
'You were worried about nothing. The forest is not manipulating you. It is just different.'
Axel was surprised to hear Togekiss's voice inside his head. It didn't know telekinesis before. Axel could vaguely understand what they were saying because they were connected through Axel with soul arts, and Axel's mastery of aura was also on a higher side.
But telekinesis was a completely different thing.
"When did you learn telekinesis?", asked Axel.
'Ahh, well, I just figured that out right now.'
Axel was surprised because the system didn't notify him about it. He asked the system.
"System, why didn't you notify me about Togekiss learning telekinesis?"
Ding!
The system is recalibrating…
The system is recalibrating….
To his absolute horror, he came to realize that he could not access the system here. Except for saying that 'The system is recalibrating…', it was not responding to anything. He could not see his stats, his Pokemon stats. He could not do anything.
Before, he had a hunch that this place might be a pocket dimension as they were sucked into it. Axel had been to many different pocket dimensions, but the system always worked there.
But now,
"This place is … what is this place? Togekiss, do you have any idea what this place is? And why did you say that the forest was not manipulating me?", asked Axel.
'I can tell that this place is different. I don't know where we are, but the infinity energy here is different.'
"Different? But how?"
'It is denser, more primal. I just cannot explain it, but I feel that if I train here, I can advance much quicker. Also, the forest is not manipulating you. This new environment was filled with dense infinity energy, and your body was just trying to get used to it. That is all.'
This was new information.
"So, you are saying that we are in a place where the infinity energy here is denser, and it is good for us?"
'Yes, that is what I mean.'
"Togekiss, did you find or sense any Pokemon around here?
Togekiss denied it. It just went outside to see what the fuss was about. So, it didn't find any Pokemon.
"Ok, all of you, listen to me. Togekiss says that this place is different. I also feel that there is no pollution in this place. This only means one thing. That we are in some sort of pocket dimension.
And these pocket dimensions are very small. They are not as big as our world. This place might be as big as a big city. So, we just need to find the end of it, and then we will plan how to get out of here."
That was his plan. He didn't say that the system was not working and this place might not be a pocket dimension. He didn't want to scare them, and frankly, he didn't know if he was correct in his assumption.
'So, what should we do?'
Axel looked at all the Pokemon around him.
Togekiss Salamence Primeape Lucario Feraligatr Aerodactyl Magneton Blastoise Aron Staraptor Koffing Pawniard
12 Pokemon were all looking at him for directions. Suddenly, Axel felt warm that there were so many of them who depended on him and were worried about him. This was what he liked about being a trainer. There might not be any humans who fully trust him, but his Pokemon did.
"First, we need to find out if there are any Pokemon around us. They will be a source of our food. Some pocket dimensions are void of any creatures. If that is the case, we will have to see if we can find any fruits or berries for food.
We also need to find a source of water. The cave can work as a shelter for us right now. It is big, and it can fit all of us."
Now, they had to go out, and Axel was facing another problem. He had 12 Pokemon with him, and he could not take all of them with him. This was an unknown place; he wanted to be as stealthy as possible. Carrying such a big team would scream open target.
One might ask, why don't he just put all of them in their respective master balls?
Well, he could not.
For some odd reason, the Pokemon were not going inside the balls as if the balls were not working here.
"What kind of place is this?"
Even though he wanted to have a small team, a large team would guarantee more security. He cannot leave young Pokemon like Aron, Koffing, and Pawniard in the cave as they are too young.
So,
"Salamence, you and Aerodactyl will be guarding the cave, and others will come with me."
Both of them had massive sizes. So, Axel wanted them to guard the cave. Togekiss and Lucario would be vital for this new exploration as they could detect a lot of things.
"Let's go. We will try to come back in 4-5 hours. If we cannot come back in that limited time, then you must be vigilant and start searching for us.", said Axel to both of them.
Axel and his team of 10 Pokemon started their journey in the forest.
"Togekiss and Staraptor, don't fly high. We don't know if there are any vicious flying-type Pokemon, but go ahead and try to get a sense of the surroundings. If you feel anything different, come back to me and report."
Axel gave Togekiss the freedom to fly a fit further, but Staraptor was to just hover around them. It was just an uncommon-rank Pokemon. He was worried about its safety. Meanwhile, Lucario was also on guard duty. It was there to sense any sort of danger. Axel had positioned the Aron, Koffing, and Pawniard in between as they were the most vulnerable.
They slowly started to walk. Axel had put multiple marks on trees so that they would not get lost. He was well-versed in plants, trees, and fruits, but the trees out here were completely different from his knowledge.
He noticed some big red fruit as big as his head but he had never seen such a fruit before. That means he cannot store it or eat it cause it might be dangerous.
It was an extremely surprising walk for Axel because they had been walking for 20 minutes, and till now, they had yet to spot a Pokemon.
Common Pokemon like Pidgey or Caterpie were normally in abundance and they could be found almost anywhere. But not in this forest.
Finally, Togekiss came back and said, 'I spotted a group of Poliwag.'
"Poliwag? Good job, Togekiss.", said Axel happily.
Poliwrath normally didn't care much about their young ones. They just laid eggs and forgot about their kids.
But Axel was not happy about this. He was happy because Poliwrath normally lay eggs near a river or a lake or any water body. So, there was a good chance that they might find out a water source very soon.
As Axel followed Togekiss, they finally reached and saw a group of 4 Poliwag.
"Hmm, Koffing, do you want to battle?", asked Axel.
They were in a tense situation, but it was a perfect time for his young Pokemon to learn the art of the battle.
Koffing gave a big huff and came forward, challenging the group.
One of the Poliwags came forward, too. It looked like the leader of the group.
"Ok, here is the deal. If Koffing wins, I will ask you questions, and you will have to answer them. But if you win, I will give you this.", saying it, Axel pulled out something out of nowhere.
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A/N: There are more than 60+ advanced chapters in pa-treon along with two new side stories of the novel. If you are interested in reading more and getting ahead in the story, subscribe to my pa-treon channel.
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