"Yeah, that's definitely smoke," Allen muttered, frowning as he reached for his Pokéball.
With a flash of light, his Marshtomp appeared, bouncing cheerfully on its feet.
"Marsh~!"
"Can you figure out where it's coming from?" Allen asked, crouching beside his Pokémon.
Marshtomp froze, then sat down with its nose lifted high, sniffing the air like a seasoned hunting dog. After what felt like forever—but was probably just a minute—its head suddenly snapped to the left, and it sprang to its feet, alert and ready.
"Got it? Alright, let's go!"
"Wait—what about Caitlin?!" Cynthia asked, voice tight with worry.
Allen paused mid-step and glanced back. "Right. Good point."
He thought for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. How about this—you wait here. I'll go check, and if it looks safe, I'll signal you. Deal?"
But then he frowned. "Wait, where's Gabite? Why aren't you releasing your Gabite?"
"Um... what's that behind you?"
Allen froze. Slowly—very slowly—he turned his head.
Gabite was right there, face just inches from his. It was like turning around and seeing Valak from The Conjuring staring straight into your soul. Allen's heart nearly exploded.
"Gab~gab—!"
Allen clutched his chest, staggering. "Damn, my soul literally just left my body..." he then recovered and turned to cynthia "alright I will go--
"Wait, wait, wait—why are you the one going? Why not me?" Cynthia protested.
"..."
Allen didn't say a word. He simply pulled out another Pokéball.
That alone was enough to make Cynthia fall silent—though her eyes widened in surprise.
"Wait… Yokai listens to you now?"
Allen smirked. "Not only that—we've already fought side by side!"
He said it with a proud grin, clearly bragging about his recent battle alongside the Hisuian Zoroark—though he wasn't exactly sure if the Pokémon truly listened to him or just happened to cooperate.
Hearing that, Cynthia sighed and reluctantly nodded. "Fine. Go check it out—but be careful. I'll stay here and wait for Caitlin."
With that settled, Allen turned and headed deeper into the woods. But the farther he went, the more out of his depth he began to feel.
The trees that had once looked so welcoming in the daylight now loomed like silent giants overhead. Shadows clung to every branch, and without the sunlight piercing the thick canopy, the forest had turned pitch-dark and eerily quiet. Every rustle, every snapping twig underfoot made his nerves spike.
Allen felt the air around him change. The weight of the atmosphere seemed to drop, a subtle but undeniable shift in the air pressure that made his skin prickle. And with each cautious step, he started to wonder if—just maybe—this wasn't the best idea after all.
He raised his hand and turned on the flashlight feature on his Pokétch, but it only lit up the ground a foot or two in front of him.
'So that's why they have Pokémon use Flash in the games instead of anything else, their bulbs are awful.'
The smell of smoke grew stronger with each step as Marshtomp led them deeper into the forest. Allen came to a halt and glanced up at the sky, brows furrowed in confusion.
KABOOM!
"What the heck…?"
A sudden clap of thunder boomed overhead.
Dark clouds were rolling in fast across the horizon—right over the area he had just ventured into. And, of course, with thunder came rain. Lots of it. The wind picked up sharply, rustling the trees like they were whispering warnings.
Allen narrowed his eyes. Just moments ago, the weather had been perfectly clear.
'This… this wasn't normal.'
He wasn't even sure it was natural.
Heck, he sincerely doubted any humans would willingly be out in the forest during such an abrupt change in weather. And if anyone was out here, they were probably far more experienced than he was—people who actually understood what was going on.
Allen looked toward his hand, a tingling sensation creeping up his arms, making every hair on the back of his neck stand on end. The barometric drop made the air feel thick, almost suffocating.
'Absol?' Allen questioned to himself but dismissed it.
It had been months since Allen last encountered an Absol, and while the Pokémon often emitted a sense of pressure, it wasn't nearly as thick as what he felt now. His instincts were on high alert—something big was coming, and it wasn't just the storm.
Another flash of lightning and a peal of thunder nearly blinded him, and the scent of smoke only grew stronger. After a few incredibly tense minutes, he spotted a flickering light up ahead—and gasped as the source of the smell finally came into view.
A massive tree—easily rivaling a redwood in size—had been struck by lightning and was split nearly all the way to its roots.
One half had crashed to the ground under the weight of its enormous branches, while the other still stood, engulfed in flames.
Thick smoke billowed into the air, and to Allen's horror, he spotted several Pokémon lying motionless on the ground—clearly unconscious from the blast.
"Muddy, that was a Combee hive!" Allen exclaimed, taking in the terrible sight.
Of course most of them were unconscious. Smoke can knock out bees!
Well—more accurately, smoke usually calms bees rather than knocks them out cold. Beekeepers use smoke when handling hives because it disrupts the bees' alarm pheromones.
The smoke masks the scent bees use to signal danger to the colony. When bees smell smoke, they assume there's a fire and go into survival mode—they start eating honey in case they need to evacuate.
This behavior makes them sluggish and less aggressive. At least, that's how it works on his previous Earth.
But these Combee had been exposed to the smoke for far too long. The prolonged exposure had overwhelmed them. They were now disoriented and unconscious, likely due to the toxic effects of combustion byproducts.
There were still a few Combee left, buzzing around aimlessly, clearly disoriented and lashing out with their stingers at random.
The reason for their confused aggression was lying on the ground amid a pile of other knocked-out Combee—the hive's Vespiquen was unconscious, unable to guide or calm the swarm.
'This is bad... they could die from oxygen deprivation!' Allen thought, alarmed.
He was about to take a step forward when, all of a sudden, the Pokéball on his hip popped open on its own—releasing Hisuian Zoroark without warning.
Allen jolted in alarm, even more so when Marshtomp immediately stepped in front of him, protectively spreading its arms.
"Marsh!"
As you probably know, Pokéballs are designed to strongly discourage Pokémon from escaping on their own. While it's technically possible for a Pokémon to force its way out, the odds are incredibly low.
Which meant only one thing: Hisuian Zoroark hadn't come out just because it was bored—far from it. Something had disturbed this ancient Pokémon or... something threatening enough to trigger its instincts.
Sure enough, Allen nudged his Marshtomp without even looking at his Pokémon.
"Hey, Muddy."
"Marsh~?" Marshtomp grumbled, its eyes still fixed on the Hisuian Zoroark. 'Aren't you seeing I'm busy here?!'
"Hey, Muddy, look to your left."
Though clearly annoyed, Marshtomp reluctantly turned and followed Allen's direction. When it saw the creature stretching its limbs or resting, Muddy's eyes widened.
'Powerful... very powerful! I can't beat it!!!' Muddy's thoughts screamed in awe and fear.
Allen froze. He felt the same way.
In that moment of pure terror, Allen regretted not bringing Cynthia and Gabite with him.
Pitter-patter.
The downpour drenched his body, but he didn't care.
SSSSHHHHRRRT!
The air hummed with an electric charge, a sharp zzzzzt that echoed in the silence. It crackled like a whip snapping, followed by a deep crack as arcs of energy danced through the air.
"Raikou..." Allen mumbled unknowingly, trying to calm himself down.
The wiki said, 'By the time a trainer realizes it's there, it likely no longer will be.'
It would generally flee on sight without incident, so it shouldn't be feared if sighted.
"I know you have a tendency to roam, but I never thought you could fly from Johto to Sinnoh, crossing the ocean..." Allen was confused.
How could Raikou suddenly appear in Jubilife City?
Unknowingly to Allen, Raikou was anxious deep inside. On the outside, it only pretended to be cool, as it had already sensed a human nearby.
'I never knew that casually resting could split this tree in half, and there's even a Pokémon in there!'
The scene of lightning striking the trees and the unconscious little Combee and Vespiquen instantly triggered some unpleasant memories for Raikou. It immediately regretted its decision to make this place its resting spot.
Raikou shifted its gaze toward Allen and Marshtomp before its eyes gravely focused on Hisuian Zoroark.
'Anomaly...' The thought echoed in Raikou's mind.
Both it and its brethren had died and been reborn, their resurrection fueled by pure natural forces—lightning, fire, and water—granting them an innate connection to the natural world, each representing a key element of nature's power.
But this one…
'Too evil...'
Unlike Raikou, who had been reborn through lightning, Hisuian Zoroark had risen from spite—a darker force, born of pain, fear, and vengeance. It was this darkness that gave Hisuian Zoroark its ghastly form.
The contrast was clear.
One was the embodiment of nature's renewal, while the other, a creature born of suffering and resentment.
The energies were in conflict.