Morning came slowly.
Gray light filtered through the cracked curtains of the small hotel room as the town outside gradually woke up, voices and footsteps beginning to echo through the streets below.
Alex opened his eyes first.
He stayed still for a moment, staring at the ceiling while his mind slowly organized itself.
Beside the other bed, Violet was still asleep, half covered by the blanket, one arm hanging off the side lazily.
Alex stared at her for a few seconds.
" you still alive?" he muttered.
No response.
He sighed and stood up carefully, his wound from the Alpha Luxray still hurting slightly whenever he moved too fast.
Near the window, Riolu quietly opened its eyes as Alex approached.
"You sensed it too?" Alex asked softly.
Riolu nodded once.
Something felt… strange today.
Not dangerous exactly.
Just wrong.
Alex moved toward the window and looked outside.
The town was already active.
Merchants opening stores.
Trainers preparing supplies.
Workers carrying crates across the streets.
And then—
His eyes narrowed.
New posters.
Several of them had been nailed across walls during the night.
Most people ignored them.
Alex didn't.
"…Interesting."
A symbol was printed across the paper.
A black eye surrounded by crimson lines.
Below it:
WARNING — POSSIBLE CULT ACTIVITY DETECTED
Multiple disappearances reported near the western routes. Survivors describe masked individuals wearing dark robes and using shadow-based Pokémon.
Temporary designation:
Team Eclipse.
Approach with caution.
Report all sightings to League authorities.
Alex stared silently.
Another organization.
Not Rocket.
Not Galactic.
Something new.
Or something hiding until now.
Behind him, Violet groaned loudly.
"Why does morning exist…"
Alex didn't look away from the poster.
"We might have another problem."
"Too early for problems."
"You say that every day."
"Because every day has problems."
Fair point.
A few minutes later, both of them were outside, walking through the town while their Pokémon remained inside their Poké Balls for now.
Violet yawned while stretching her arms.
"I still think we should've stayed in bed."
"We have to train you know?"
"Oh my God why do we always have to train?"
Alex ignored her.
His eyes kept moving through the streets carefully.
More posters.
More rumors.
People whispering.
Fear was becoming normal in this world.
And Alex hated how quickly he was adapting to it.
As they passed near the center of town, a damaged television inside a shop briefly caught his attention.
Static flickered across the screen before a news report appeared.
"...three trainers remain missing near the border routes between Fallridge and the northern forest sectors. Witnesses claim strange laughter was heard before the disappearances..."
The screen distorted again.
"...League officials suspect either rogue Ghost-type Pokémon activity or involvement from extremist cells connected to the recently identified Team Eclipse..."
The signal died.
Silence returned.
Violet noticed Alex staring.
"You thinking too much again?"
"Probably."
"Good. Means you're functioning normally."
They continued walking.
Soon enough, they reached the edge of town and entered the forest once more.
The atmosphere shifted immediately.
Cooler air.
Less noise.
More freedom.
Alex released his team.
Grovyle landed lightly beside him while Gible immediately began looking around excitedly.
Ceruledge remained silent as always.
Meanwhile Violet released:
Sneasel Weepinbell Toxicroak
"Same clearing?" Violet asked.
Alex nodded.
"For now."
The training started normally.
Wild Pokémon appeared.
Fighting.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Too easy.
Alex noticed it first.
"…They're weaker than before."
Violet wiped sweat from her forehead.
"Yeah, I noticed."
Another wild Pokémon fell moments later.
Alex crossed his arms slightly.
"We're not improving like this anymore."
Violet smirked.
"So?"
Alex looked deeper into the forest.
"...We go further."
Of course she smiled immediately.
"Now you're speaking my language."
They continued deeper into the forest.
Past the clearing.
Past familiar terrain.
Past the routes marked on their map.
The trees slowly became denser.
Older.
The sunlight barely reached the ground now.
Even the atmosphere felt different.
Quieter.
Alex stopped suddenly.
"...Wait."
Violet looked up.
"What?"
Alex crouched slightly near the ground.
A trail.
Old.
Barely visible.
But real.
"...This path isn't on the map."
Violet walked closer.
The narrow route disappeared between massive trees and thick shadows.
Naturally, she smiled.
"Oh that's definitely a terrible idea."
Alex stared at the path silently.
Then:
"...Probably."
A pause.
Both looked at each other.
Then simultaneously:
"Let's go."
The deeper they walked, the stranger the forest became.
No wild Pokémon appeared anymore.
No sounds.
No wind.
Nothing.
Even Riolu looked uneasy now.
Violet noticed immediately.
"...Yeah okay this place is creepy."
Alex nodded slightly.
"Too quiet."
Minutes later.
They found it.
A house.
Abandoned.
Rotting wood.
Broken windows.
Half swallowed by the forest itself.
The structure leaned slightly to one side as if the ground beneath it had begun rejecting it years ago.
Violet stared at it.
"...Absolutely not."
Alex kept watching the building carefully.
"...Agreed."
Neither moved.
Then Violet sighed.
"But we're still going inside aren't we?"
"...Yeah."
Both slowly reached for their Poké Balls.
Ready.
Prepared.
Alex pushed the door open carefully.
CRRREEEAAAK
Darkness greeted them.
Dust floated through the air.
The smell was awful.
Rot.
Humidity.
Something old.
Very old.
Their footsteps echoed softly across the wooden floor.
Every instinct Alex had screamed that something was wrong.
"Stay alert," he whispered.
Violet nodded silently.
Then
A sound.
Laughter.
Soft.
Distorted.
Alex turned instantly.
Nothing.
"...Did you hear that?" Violet whispered.
Before Alex could answer
Purple eyes appeared in the darkness.
A massive grin followed.
Gengar.
"Hypnosis—!"
Too late.
The eyes glowed bright blue.
The world blurred instantly.
Alex felt his body collapse.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Silence.
Alex opened his eyes slowly.
Darkness surrounded him completely.
No sound.
No light.
No Violet.
Nothing.
"...What?"
His voice echoed endlessly.
Then
The ground vanished beneath him.
He fell.
And fell.
And fell.
Until suddenly.
Snow.
Cold air slammed into him.
Alex looked up sharply.
Mount Silver.
His blood froze.
"No..."
A figure stood in the distance.
Red.
Motionless.
Watching.
The atmosphere felt wrong.
Corrupted.
Dead.
Then the figure's head twisted unnaturally.
Blood poured from empty eyes.
Static filled the air.
The world distorted violently.
Alex stumbled backward.
Another scene.
Another nightmare.
Endless rain.
A trainer grabbing onto someone
strangling him
Strangled Red.
Another shift.
The world dried.
Dead Pokémon covered cracked ground.
Heat consumed the horizon.
Drought.
Then—
Snow again.
Endless snow.
A frozen mountain.
Shapes moving inside the storm.
Whispers.
Screams buried beneath ice.
Snow on Mount Silver.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Every nightmare blended together endlessly.
Corrupted Pokémon.
Dead trainers.
Broken cartridges.
Distorted music.
Alex's breathing became unstable.
Even knowing it wasn't real didn't help.
Because the fear still felt real.
And somewhere in the darkness—
Gengar laughed.
Feeding from their nightmares.
Meanwhile.
Violet screamed.
She couldn't stop.
The battlefield burned around her.
Smoke filled the sky.
Her father walking away again.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Each time bloodier than before.
Each time worse.
Her mother crying.
Breaking.
Falling apart slowly.
Violet tried to move.
Couldn't.
She watched helplessly as her mother collapsed over and over again.
Suicide.
Again.
Again.
Again.
"STOP—!"
But the nightmare continued endlessly.
The pain never changed.
And somewhere nearby—
Laughter echoed.
Real world.
Inside the abandoned house—
Both trainers lay unconscious on the floor.
And above them—
Gengar grinned monstrously.
Its eyes glowed brighter as it fed from their nightmares.
Then.
Click.
A Poké Ball opened by itself.
Riolu emerged instantly.
Then:
Ceruledge Grovyle Zorua Larvesta Gible
At the same time, Violet's Pokémon appeared too.
Toxicroak immediately stepped in front of Violet protectively.
The Gengar hissed.
Then attacked.
Shadow Ball exploded through the room.
The battle began instantly.
The abandoned house shook violently.
Ceruledge intercepted first, blue flames colliding against ghostly energy.
Zorua created illusions across the room, confusing the Gengar's aim.
Meanwhile Riolu rushed forward fearlessly despite the Ghost typing disadvantage.
The Gengar moved through walls laughing wildly.
Fast.
Unpredictable.
But Alex's Pokémon adapted quickly.
They had trained for chaos.
Grovyle cut off escape routes while Toxicroak slammed poison-coated strikes into the floor and walls.
Then
Larvesta used ember burning the wall where Gengar was down.
The shadows disappeared.
The Gengar lost space to hide.
That changed everything.
"RIO—!"
bullet punch connected directly.
The Gengar screeched violently.
Then Ceruledge appeared behind it.
Night Slash.
Direct hit.
The Gengar crashed through rotten wood violently before finally collapsing.
Silence.
Heavy breathing filled the room.
Then slowly
Alex opened his eyes.
His breathing was uneven.
Sweat covered his face.
"...What the hell..."
Nearby, Violet woke up too.
Immediately curling slightly inward as if still feeling the pain.
Neither spoke for several seconds.
Their Pokémon quickly gathered around them, trying desperately to explain through gestures and sounds.
Alex slowly understood.
"...The Gengar."
Riolu nodded immediately.
Violet looked toward the destroyed section of the house where the unconscious Gengar remained.
Her eyes darkened slightly.
"...I hate Ghost-types."
Alex stood slowly.
Still shaken.
Even now his hands trembled slightly.
The nightmares had felt too real.
Too personal.
He looked around the ruined house silently.
Then toward the deeper hallway disappearing into darkness.
"...There might still be something valuable here."
Violet stared at him like he was insane.
"Alex."
"...What?"
"We almost got mentally murdered."
"...Fair point."
A pause.
Then Alex sighed.
"...Tomorrow."
Violet immediately nodded.
"Tomorrow."
Without another word, both turned toward the exit.
Their Pokémon stayed close this time.
Much closer than before.
And as they disappeared back into the forest
The unconscious Gengar slowly opened one eye.
Still smiling.