The morning dew had barely lifted when Tharion led Nina and Shinx away from the main clearing.
The forest behind them gave way to jagged stone and mist-veiled ridges.
The air buzzed differently here.
This wasn't the Garden.
This was Tharion's Domain.
"Where are we?" Nina asked, brushing a pine branch aside.
Tharion didn't answer with words—just looked back once, growled low, and continued climbing the narrow ridge.
Above them, distant thunder cracked, despite the clear skies.
The Watcher had warned her.
"Tharion's way is old. Harsh. Earned in storms. No one earns his pride without pain."
Nina's boots scraped across cold rock. Shinx padded silently beside her.
And then they stopped.
A narrow plateau opened, scattered with scorch marks, shattered stone, and the scent of ozone.
Waiting for them stood three wild Pokémon—not feral, but untamed.
A Flaaffy with burnt wool.A Helioptile flicking its frill.And a towering, battle-worn Manectric, scarred and watchful.
Tharion turned to Nina, voice grating like rolling thunder.
"Claim your place. Or leave."
Nina blinked.
"Wait, all three?"
Tharion didn't answer.
The Manectric stepped forward, snarled—and leapt.
"Shinx—move!"
Electricity lit the air as Nina rolled aside, Shinx darting left to avoid a wild Thunder Fang.
Helioptile fired a Discharge, forcing Shinx to dive behind a boulder.
Flaaffy charged a Cotton Spore and aimed it at Nina directly.
Her instincts screamed.
She raised her arm just in time—her wristband pulsing with a weak shielding barrier.
Not strong enough for a fight.
She had to rely on Shinx.
But this wasn't a battle.
This was survival.
"Use the environment!" she shouted.
Shinx ducked under a broken ridge, baiting Helioptile into firing again—only for its bolt to ricochet and strike Flaaffy by mistake.
"Now—aim for the frill!"
Shinx charged.
Its eyes locked.
Electricity built in its fur until it almost buzzed with golden light—and then it let loose.
A sharp, arcing Spark landed cleanly across Helioptile's face.
One down.
But Manectric was already moving.
A blur of blue and muscle, it tackled Shinx so hard that the smaller Pokémon bounced.
Shinx staggered.
Nina didn't even think.
She threw a rock.
It struck Manectric square between the eyes.
The beast snarled and turned toward her—but that was the chance Shinx needed.
With a cry, it summoned everything inside it—memories of pain, of isolation, of finally finding a trainer who cared—and it roared.
Electricity spiraled into its tail—
—and it crashed into Manectric's chest.
They both went down.
Smoke lingered.
Flaaffy groaned and rolled over, unconscious. Helioptile twitched beside a stone.
Manectric lay breathing heavily, eyes narrowed at the small, panting Shinx who had refused to stay down.
Nina stood beside her partner.
Winded.
Bruised.
Alive.
And proud.
Tharion finally stepped forward.
Manectric rose—slowly—and bowed its head.
Then, it licked Shinx's ear.
Acceptance.
Nina smiled as Shinx nearly collapsed into her lap.
"You did good," she whispered. "So, so good."
Far above, where stone met sky, the Watcher stood at the edge of his villa's overlook—gaze sweeping the Garden below.
The structured territories. The Pokémon clans. The bonds forming, the discipline rising.
It was working.
But he felt the change before he saw it.
A presence.
Something foreign entering a sacred space.
He turned toward the northern peak.
Black mist rose there, faint but unmistakable.
It shimmered unnaturally, twisting around a silhouette as it crossed into his barrier—
And was allowed in.
Not by force.
But by recognition.
Atop the northern crags, a new Pokémon stood motionless as the mists faded.
It was large.
Quadrupedal.
Cloaked in white and black fur, its long, curved horn glinting like obsidian.
Absol.
But not just any Absol.
Its eyes were like mirrors—reflecting something ancient, something watching.
It had come of its own will.
Drawn by the pulse of fate.
And as it stepped forward onto Garden ground, every Pokémon within shivered.
Some out of fear.
Some out of awe.
But the Watcher… he only narrowed his eyes.
And said softly—
"So it begins again."