The echoes of battle still rang faintly through the stone chamber. Charmeleon's flame cast tall shadows along the jagged walls, his chest rising and falling slowly, like a warrior cooling down after war.
Skylar knelt beside the blackened crater, hand hovering over the warm stone.
Misty stood beside a side tunnel—narrow, veiled with hanging moss and mist. A faint breeze carried the sound of dripping water, deeper and more distant than the cracks in the chamber should allow.
—"There's something down that way," she said.
Skylar didn't look up. "Anything moving?"
Misty narrowed her eyes. "No. But I hear water."
He stood, brushing dust off his gloves. "Let's check it—together."
Misty hesitated.
Then shook her head.
—"Let me go first. If it's just a water source, I can navigate it faster. Starmie and I can scout ahead."
Skylar frowned. "You sure?"
She gave him a look.
—"You've got your hands full with a freshly evolved fire lizard and a collapsing alien crater. Let me take this one."
Skylar nodded reluctantly. "Don't take risks."
She smirked. "Never do."
And with that, she turned and disappeared into the shadows.
The tunnel narrowed fast.
Water ran in thin streams down the walls, pooling around her boots as she moved further in. Starmie spun silently beside her, its gem pulsing in rhythm with her steps.
Eventually, the path opened into a low-ceilinged cavern—one with a shallow underground lake at its center. Pale light filtered down from tiny cracks above, shimmering across the surface like a silver veil.
Misty stepped forward carefully, scanning the walls.
The rock here was… different. Blackened, like volcanic stone, but too smooth. No signs of wild Pokémon—no Golbat or Zubat nests. Not even insect noise.
Just water.
And silence.
—"This place is… dead," she murmured.
Starmie twitched once.
Then twice.
Then froze.
Its core gem flared a sharp red.
Misty's heart skipped. "What is it?"
The lake moved.
The center rippled unnaturally—as if something had exhaled beneath the surface. A cluster of bubbles rose, followed by a deep, guttural clicking.
—"Back," Misty whispered. "We're not alone."
Starmie floated beside her, preparing a Water Pulse—just in case.
Then the surface of the lake exploded.
A creature launched itself from beneath the water, shrieking—a form once recognizable as a Poliwag, now twisted. Its spiral had turned completely black, with cracks like exposed veins of obsidian. Its skin shimmered with oil-like darkness, and its eyes were lidless and glowing white.
Misty staggered back. "What happened to you?!"
Two more surged from the water—deformed Poliwhirl, their arms swollen, movement twitchy and aggressive. Their cries were gurgled—like they were trying to scream through choking shadows.
—"Starmie—Rapid Spin! Clear them off!"
Starmie blasted forward in a spinning wheel of water and light, crashing into the first Poliwag and knocking it back into the lake.
But the others came faster.
Misty dodged left, slipping on the wet stone as a Poliwhirl launched a punch that cracked the wall behind her.
—"Water Gun—then Barrier!"
Starmie launched a jet of pressurized water, forcing one Poliwhirl back just long enough to raise a shimmering shield between them.
Misty panted, heart pounding.
—"This isn't natural. They're… infected."
She glanced at her Poké Balls, hesitating.
She needed another Water-type.
One not corrupted. One untainted.
Suddenly, a movement in the shadows caught her eye.
A small shape, barely visible near the far edge of the water—hiding behind a rock.
A blue form with wide eyes.
Froakie.
It was shaking—but watching.
Uncorrupted.
Wild.
Alive.
—"Hey," Misty whispered. "Stay hidden."
The corrupted Poliwhirl smashed against Starmie's barrier again.
She had to make a call.
Fight or fall.
—"Starmie—cover me!"
Misty dove toward Froakie, slipping a Poké Ball from her belt.
She didn't have time for a battle.
Only one shot.
She met Froakie's eyes—then threw the ball.
It struck true.
Red light flashed.
Shake.
Shake.
Click.
The corrupted Poliwhirl shrieked in rage.
But now Misty stood, Froakie's Poké Ball clutched tightly in her palm.
She had help.
And she wasn't going down.
Back in the crater chamber, Skylar looked toward the tunnel as a strange wind blew through.
Something was coming.
And it wasn't human.