Clang!
Sparks burst from just in front of Luke's right hand. The force surging up his wrist sent him stumbling backward several steps before he barely managed to regain his balance.
Several meters away, a Sneasel with evenly matched ears shook its numb paw and fixed its gaze on Luke's right hand.
Following its line of sight, Luke lowered his eyes.
A pure white wristband sat there.
It had a screen no larger than a thumbnail. Everything else was smooth, blank white.
Luke frowned.
Setting aside the fact that he had never worn a watch in his life, this wristband had never appeared anywhere in his memory. Even stranger, despite clearly seeing it, he felt no sensation of anything actually attached to his wrist.
"It seems you do not know what that is either."
Watching Luke's reaction, Sneasel confirmed that the object capable of blocking its strike was not some innate companion of this human.
"Then is your ability to speak related to that thing?"
"…In theory, no."
Given a brief moment to breathe as Sneasel paused its assault, Luke forced himself to assess the situation.
Himself. A frail human. A body worn down by endless overtime. Climbing five floors already left him drenched in sweat.
The enemy. A Pokémon. A creature capable of firing dazzling beams of light, and with enough effort, summoning avalanches and blizzards from nothing.
The gap between human and Pokémon was absolute.
Realizing escape was impossible, Luke abandoned the idea entirely and attempted to communicate with the Sneasel that had ambushed him.
"In theory?" Sneasel replied flatly. "Forget it. That has nothing to do with me. As long as you can speak, that is enough."
It did not care about Luke's answer. Once it confirmed the human could speak, it stepped closer.
"Wait, hold on! I count as a rare specimen, right? Are you really going to keep attacking me?!"
Seeing Sneasel raise its claw again, panic finally surfaced in Luke's voice.
Blocking the first strike with the wristband had been pure coincidence. Even if luck favored him enough to block another blow with something barely as wide as a finger, would Sneasel simply stop there?
The Pokédex never specified how sharp Sneasel's claws were, but Luke had no doubt they were more than capable of severing a real human limb.
Slash.
This time, Sneasel did not respond.
If Luke had not sensed danger and dodged at the last second, his head would have met his body face to face.
"…Damn it."
Even knowing he could never outrun a Pokémon famed for speed, Luke ran anyway.
The next instant, a tearing pain exploded from his left arm.
His legs faltered, but he did not dare stop. Gritting his teeth, Luke forced himself onward, praying the next strike would not aim for his head.
And so the game began.
A hunt.
There was no question. A human could not escape Sneasel.
By the time Luke staggered through the burning streets, his clothes were soaked through with sweat and blood. Mixed with the acrid stench of smoke, every step felt heavier than the last.
After the initial attack, Sneasel never struck deeply again. Each time it caught up, it left a shallow wound, then allowed Luke to flee another dozen meters before slashing once more.
Luke had no idea how long he had been running.
But judging from the way sweat seeped into the wounds across his back, there was not a single patch of unbroken skin left.
Staring down an unfamiliar road lit by flames, Luke forced his lips into the shape of a smile. Before a sound could escape, a violent urge surged from his chest and brought him to a dead stop.
"Cough… cough, cough, cough!"
Whether from panic or from inhaling too much smoke, the laugh never came. Instead, he doubled over, wracked by uncontrollable coughing.
No. I cannot stop.
His feet lifted again, but the coughing and exhaustion had stripped him of the ability to run.
To stay upright, Luke slammed his hand against a scorching wall. Fresh pain shot through his palm and into his skull. Still, he clung to the wall and staggered forward.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
The Sneasel behind him seemed to vanish.
Despite Luke no longer running, no new wounds appeared on his back. After a few more steps, he understood why.
Fire.
Endless fire blocked the road ahead.
Blazing heat rolled toward his face, flames snapping like living things. It was a warning. A few more meters forward lay territory claimed entirely by fire.
It was also a declaration.
The hunt was over.
Step.
Familiar footsteps echoed behind him.
Luke turned.
Sneasel stood at the far end of the street, silently sealing off the path back.
"There is no need to run anymore," it said coldly. "Will you surrender?"
The words cut through smoke and heat alike.
Luke stared, disbelief widening his eyes.
"You may surrender now," Sneasel continued, its tone unchanged.
"Cough… cough…"
Luke opened his mouth, but every word dissolved into coughing.
"…It seems you can no longer answer."
Sneasel nodded to itself, satisfied, and prepared to claim its prey.
Then the human raised his right hand.
The one that was still mostly intact.
A trembling palm stood between man and Pokémon, as though Luke still had something left to say.
Sneasel folded its claws back across its chest and waited, granting him a final scrap of freedom.
It would regret this decision for the rest of its life.
With shaking effort, the human flipped his raised hand and extended a single finger.
"Cough… go to hell…"
Leaving behind the crude words, Luke lunged forward and plunged into the sea of fire.
Whether it was a final surge of strength or the last flicker of life unbroken by mortal wounds, even when Sneasel realized something was wrong and gave chase, it was too late.
Luke did not intend to live.
The flames swallowed him whole.
The searing heat never came.
It was as if Luke had already died the instant he entered the fire. His consciousness remained clear, yet sensation vanished entirely. Pain, heat, everything disappeared.
He could not see.
He could not feel.
He could not move.
The only thing he knew was that he seemed to be drifting.
Time lost meaning. Seconds, years, perhaps longer.
Just as his awareness began to dissolve into nothingness, words suddenly burned into his mind.
[Life-threatening condition detected. Threat level: Critical]
[Autonomous seal overridden. Searching for nearest energy source…]
[Search complete. Initiating unsealing process]
[…]
[...]
[Unsealing complete. Conversion beginning]
[Release your fury]
Luke did not know what these messages were.
He only knew what his body wanted to do.
He raised his hand.
And pushed forward.
Whoosh.
Countless flames surged up, roaring toward the Sneasel standing before him.