The morning fog still clung to the high cliffs when Tharion arrived.
Above him, the winds howled—but below, the sanctuary of his Garden stretched in tranquil silence. He had walked this mountain countless times, yet today, the air tasted different. Sharper. Like fate holding its breath.
At the edge of the cliff stood a solitary figure.
Absol.
Eyes pale, horn curved like a blade of judgment. Fur rippling without sound.
Tharion said nothing. He stepped forward, boots quiet on wet stone.
And Absol turned.
Not with fear.
But with a plea.
No words were spoken. None were needed.
The moment Tharion placed a hand upon Absol's head, the vision surged through him—raw and unfiltered.
A grove, hidden deep in a forest drowned in mist.Thick roots, glowing softly from the inside.A rare Pokémon, nestled in the heart of the colony like a beating gem—Diancie, the Mythical Jewel Pokémon.
It radiated warmth and power. Around it, a colony thrived—dozens of Carbink, bonded in harmony with their guardian.
Then—
A scream.Fire tearing through enchanted undergrowth.Metal-clad humans, voices hollow through filtered masks.A specialized energy net, slamming into Diancie.The colony scattering in panic.
Absol's thoughts pressed deeper.
He had held the raiders off once. Alone. But more would come.
And the colony, their protector weakened, couldn't survive the next wave.
"I could not save them all," came the thought-voice, laden with shame. "So I ran. To find you, Tharion. You who guards the broken. The hunted. The innocent."
Tharion's breath left him in a slow exhale.
"A Diancie… and her colony."
His hands curled into fists.
"You did right to come."
In the lower gardens, Nina crouched beside a puddle, drawing shapes in the mud with a stick. Shinx leapt playfully beside her, occasionally shocking himself by accident, yipping in surprise each time.
Watching from above, Noivern glided silently down and dropped a sealed scroll into her lap.
She opened it.
Tharion's mark shimmered in the seal. She smiled, pressing the parchment to her chest before reading.
"I must leave again. This time, to stop something before it begins. Stay inside the Garden's Heart. I'll return before the third sun."
"Okay, Papa," she whispered softly, not realizing she'd spoken aloud. "Come back safe."
Shinx chirped beside her and leaned against her leg.
High above the cliffs, Tharion stood with his chosen.
Absol, quiet but resolved.
Zeraora, muscles tensed, crackling with wild voltage.
Roserade, a toxin specialist, vines already dipped in sleep pollen and paralyzing mist.
Corviknight, silent as obsidian steel, its wings spreading across the darkening sky.
He drew a circle into the stone with glowing fingers.
[Teleport Rune – Grove of Hidden Light: Mark Confirmed]
He turned to the team.
"Containment. Retrieval. No collateral. If Diancie is harmed…"
He didn't finish.
He didn't need to.
They vanished into the shimmer of light, carried by ancient runes and Tharion's will.
In the heart of the hidden grove, the forest no longer breathed. Trees stood motionless, afraid.
Within an armored clearing, the poacher prepared his containment rings.
"Target will fetch triple at auction," he muttered. "Diancie's core could power five cities... if broken properly."
The Carbink colony trembled, trapped inside temporary energy cages.
Diancie, bound and dimmed, lay unconscious beside them.
Suddenly—
The air shifted.
The circle of silence before the coming storm.
The poacher looked up.
And saw Tharion.
Eyes gleaming with ancient fury.Absol beside him, like a blade in the shape of a beast.Corviknight above, casting a shadow blacker than night.Zeraora flashing lightning through the trees.Roserade already releasing a cloud of creeping mist.
The poacher reached for his rifle.
He never made it.