The growl came again.
Louder.
Closer.
The entire forest seemed to vibrate with it.
Leaves trembled.
Branches shook.
Somewhere in the distance, a flock of Pidgey exploded from the treetops and vanished into the sky.
That wasn't normal.
Wild Pokémon usually didn't scare entire groups of other Pokémon at once.
Alex felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Beside him, Charmander lowered its body into a battle stance.
Its tail flame flickered faster than usual.
"Char…"
Damian's Nidorino pawed at the dirt aggressively.
"Nido!"
Even it looked uneasy.
Yellow swallowed nervously.
"W-What is it…?"
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew.
The bushes ahead suddenly exploded outward.
CRASH!
A massive shape burst into the clearing.
Yellow gasped.
Damian's eyes widened.
Alex immediately recognized it.
"Rhyhorn."
The giant Pokémon snorted violently.
Its rocky body was covered in scratches.
Chunks of dirt clung to its armor-like hide.
Its eyes—
Alex froze.
Its eyes were bloodshot.
Not angry.
Not normal battle excitement.
They looked…
Wild.
Unfocused.
Like something had driven it into a frenzy.
The Rhyhorn stomped the ground.
BOOM.
The impact sent dirt flying everywhere.
"Nidorino," Damian said quietly.
"Yeah," Alex replied.
"We're thinking the same thing."
"This thing isn't acting normal."
The Rhyhorn let out an enraged roar.
Then charged.
Straight at them.
"Oh, come on!" Damian shouted.
"Nidorino, dodge!"
The horned Pokémon leapt aside just as the Rhyhorn smashed through the spot it had occupied.
The ground exploded.
Trees cracked.
Yellow yelped.
Alex grabbed her arm and pulled her backward.
"Stay behind us."
"B-But—"
"Please."
That one word was enough.
Yellow nodded quickly.
Alex released her arm and focused on the battle.
The Rhyhorn spun around.
Fast.
Way too fast for something that large.
Its gaze locked onto Nidorino.
Then it charged again.
Damian reacted instantly.
"Poison Sting!"
Nidorino fired a stream of purple needles.
The attack struck.
Several spikes hit the Rhyhorn's shoulder.
Normally, that would have slowed it down.
Maybe made it hesitate.
This Rhyhorn didn't even blink.
It kept charging.
"…That's not good," Damian muttered.
"Not good at all."
"Nidorino, jump!"
Nidorino sprang upward.
The Rhyhorn thundered underneath.
For a moment, it looked like a successful dodge.
Then the Rhyhorn slammed into a tree.
CRACK!
The entire trunk snapped.
The falling tree clipped Nidorino midair.
"NIDO!"
The Pokémon crashed into the ground.
Damian's eyes widened.
"Nidorino!"
The Rhyhorn turned immediately.
No hesitation.
No pause.
Just relentless aggression.
Like it only wanted destruction.
Alex's mind raced.
Something wasn't right.
A wild Pokémon becoming aggressive was one thing.
This?
This looked almost mechanical.
Like it wasn't thinking at all.
The Rhyhorn lowered its head.
Preparing another charge.
"Nidorino can't take that hit," Alex said.
Damian nodded grimly.
"I know."
Charmander glanced up at Alex.
"Char?"
Alex looked at the battlefield.
Then at the nearby terrain.
Then at the massive Rhyhorn.
An idea formed.
Risky.
But possible.
"Charmander."
"Char!"
"Think you can get its attention?"
Charmander grinned.
A dangerous little grin.
The kind that said absolutely.
Alex pointed.
"Ember. Right in its face."
Charmander inhaled.
Then unleashed a burst of flames.
The Ember attack struck the Rhyhorn directly between the eyes.
BOOM.
The giant Pokémon stumbled.
Not because it was hurt.
Because it was surprised.
Its head snapped toward Charmander.
Perfect.
"There we go," Alex said.
"Now run."
"CHAR!"
Charmander immediately took off.
The Rhyhorn roared.
And chased after it.
Exactly as planned.
Damian stared.
"…You baited it."
Alex nodded.
"Need a better angle."
The Rhyhorn crashed through bushes and small trees as it pursued Charmander.
Charmander zigzagged through the forest.
Fast.
Small.
Hard to hit.
The much larger Rhyhorn struggled to keep up.
For the first time, Alex noticed something.
The creature wasn't just angry.
It was reckless.
It wasn't paying attention to anything around it.
Only its target.
Like it couldn't focus on anything else.
Alex frowned.
That was important.
Very important.
"Damian!"
"What?"
"Can Nidorino still fight?"
Damian looked toward his Pokémon.
Nidorino climbed back to its feet.
Breathing hard.
But standing.
"Nido!"
Damian smirked.
"That's a yes."
"Good."
Alex pointed toward a cluster of massive boulders nearby.
"I've got an idea."
Several moments later…
Charmander sprinted around the rocks.
The Rhyhorn followed.
Destroying everything in its path.
"Almost…" Alex muttered.
"Almost…"
Damian stood hidden nearby with Nidorino.
Waiting.
Watching.
The Rhyhorn charged between two enormous boulders.
Now.
"Damian!"
"Got it!"
"Nidorino!"
"Double Kick!"
Nidorino burst forward.
Both legs slammed into one of the rocks.
CRACK.
The already-loose boulder shifted.
Then tipped.
Then fell.
BOOOOM!
The massive stone crashed directly in front of the charging Rhyhorn.
The Pokémon tried to stop.
Too late.
It slammed into the obstacle head-first.
The impact echoed through the entire forest.
Dust exploded everywhere.
For several seconds, nobody could see anything.
Then the dust slowly settled.
The clearing became visible again.
The Rhyhorn lay on the ground.
Motionless.
Unconscious.
Silence.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Then…
"We actually did it."
Damian sounded genuinely shocked.
Alex released a breath.
Charmander collapsed onto its backside.
"Char…"
"Tired?"
"Char."
"Fair."
Yellow hurried forward.
"Is everyone okay?"
"Nidorino's fine," Damian said.
"Nido."
"Charmander?"
"Char."
Alex nodded.
"We're good."
Relief washed over Yellow's face.
For a moment, everything seemed peaceful again.
Then Alex noticed something.
The Rhyhorn's body.
Specifically…
Its neck.
"What is that?"
Damian looked over.
His expression immediately changed.
"…No way."
Wrapped around the Rhyhorn's neck was a thin metallic band.
Almost hidden beneath layers of dirt.
Alex walked closer.
Carefully.
The metal looked damaged.
Cracked.
Burned.
Like it had malfunctioned.
Yellow stared.
"A collar…?"
Damian's face lost all traces of humor.
"That's not normal."
"No kidding," Alex said.
He crouched beside the unconscious Pokémon.
The collar had tiny lights built into it.
Most were dark.
One was still blinking weakly.
Red.
Blink.
Blink.
Blink.
Alex felt a bad feeling settle into his stomach.
The same feeling he'd gotten before difficult boss fights.
The kind that appeared right before discovering something much bigger than expected.
Damian stared at the device.
"Someone put that on it."
Alex nodded.
"Yeah."
Yellow looked between them.
"You think this is why the Pokémon have been acting strange?"
Nobody answered immediately.
Because the possibility was obvious.
And none of them liked it.
The red light blinked one more time.
Then died.
The forest became silent once again.
But this time…
The silence felt like a warning.
And somewhere far deeper within the woods—
A distant roar echoed through the trees.
Much larger than a Rhyhorn.
Alex slowly stood.
"Please tell me that wasn't another one."
Damian looked toward the dark forest.
His expression had become unusually serious.
"No."
Alex frowned.
"No?"
Damian swallowed.
Then pointed toward the distant mountains barely visible beyond the treeline.
"That came from over there."
The ground rumbled faintly beneath their feet.
And for the first time since they'd met him…
Damian looked worried.
"Whatever made that sound…"
He stared into the darkness.
"…isn't supposed to be in this forest."