Skylar's breathing slowed as he stared into the darkness where the alien creature had vanished. His hand rested near Charmeleon's Poké Ball, just in case. The air was still again—but now it felt alert. As if the cave itself had opened a single eye… and refused to blink.
Beside him, Misty crouched near the stone ring, her body tense, eyes locked on the tunnel beyond.
—"We need to follow it," she said, quietly but firmly.
Skylar nodded. "I know. But we don't rush. That thing isn't wild—it was watching us."
He activated his PokéGear's scanner function, pointing it toward the path where the creature disappeared. The screen blinked twice, then distorted—static.
—"No signal," he muttered. "It's interfering."
Misty stood slowly, adjusting the strap on her shoulder where Froakie rested. "Then we use the old method. Sticks, instincts, and prayers."
Charmeleon stepped forward, flame glowing low. Gardevoir followed behind, her psionic field wide open now—searching not for presence, but for intention.
And something… was waiting.
They followed the creature's trail down a spiraling tunnel laced with unnatural scorch marks—thin black lines across the rock that pulsed faintly with violet light. The temperature dropped, but the ground grew warmer with every step.
After ten cautious minutes, the tunnel opened into another chamber—this one half-collapsed, its walls slick with strange mineral growths that reflected no light.
Skylar stopped at the edge.
His eyes narrowed.
—"This is a dead end."
Misty looked around. "Or a trap."
And then the stone behind them shifted.
Too late.
The creature dropped from above—not one, but two of them. They moved like water, silent and fluid, but struck with all the force of a Golem. One tackled Gardevoir directly into the wall—another lashed out toward Misty.
—"Froakie—Quick Attack!"
The Water-type leapt from Misty's shoulder and slammed into the creature's chest mid-lunge. It hissed—not from pain, but surprise—and twisted away unnaturally, bones bending in the wrong direction.
Skylar's voice snapped out like a whip.
—"Charmeleon—Dragon Breath, hard left!"
The fire-type spun and unleashed a blast of green-blue energy at the second creature. It hit—and for a moment, the shadow-wrapped body shimmered, glitching like a broken projection.
—"They're not just dark types," Misty shouted. "They're unstable!"
The one on the left shrieked—not a vocal cry, but a psychic blast, and Gardevoir winced, holding her head.
—"They're interfering with my thoughts," she gasped. "Blocking aura!"
Skylar gritted his teeth. "Then we go primal."
He grabbed a stone from the floor and threw it at the wall beside the creature—distracting it for half a second.
Enough.
—"Charmeleon, Metal Claw! Aim for the legs!"
Charmeleon's claws shimmered silver and slashed downward. The blow cut through the creature's knee—it shrieked and collapsed with a flicker of corrupted energy, vanishing into itself like smoke.
One down.
The other turned on Froakie, mouth opening unnaturally wide to reveal rows of crystalline teeth.
—"Froakie—Water Gun! Starmie, follow up with Psywave! Now!"
Twin blasts hit the creature mid-charge—first the water, then the psychic pulse. The energy twisted through the black matter and sent it skidding back against the far wall.
It shimmered.
Glitched.
Then exploded into ash and light.
Silence returned.
The only sounds were their ragged breathing and the soft crackle of Charmeleon's tail.
Misty leaned against the wall. "Okay. That was worse than anything we've faced so far."
Skylar walked over to where the second creature vanished.
In the ash it left behind, something remained.
A small, glowing crystal shard—jagged, violet, still warm.
Skylar picked it up with his glove.
It pulsed once in his hand.
Not energy.
Not light.
Memory.
A vision flashed through his mind—something falling from the sky. But not a meteor.
A pod.
And inside it… movement.
He snapped out of it, eyes wide.
—"They didn't just come from the meteorite…"
Misty looked at him. "What?"
—"They were sent."