The sun filtered through the canopy in lazy, golden shafts, dappling the forest floor in shifting patterns of light and shadow. It should have been peaceful. I walked the trail with a practiced ease, enjoying the soft crunch of leaves under my boots. Butterfree, my newly evolved partner, floated overhead like a delicate purple kite, her wings catching the morning thermals. Beside me, Oddish toddled along, its leafy top bobbing with each step, a picture of botanical contentment.
But the forest was holding its breath.
There were no Pidgey chirps from the branches, no rustle of Rattata in the undergrowth. The air, usually a symphony of clicks, calls, and songs, was unnervingly silent. It was a vacuum where life should have been.
"Weird, right?" Lila murmured, her eyes scanning the silent trees. "It's too quiet."
"Nah, nature's just hitting the snooze button," I said, forcing a grin. "Even the early bird needs a day off."
Lila didn't look convinced. My own instincts, the part of me that was more beast than boy, were screaming that this was wrong. This wasn't rest; it was fear.
A sudden whoosh of displaced air cut through the silence. Butterfree jerked backward with a nervous flutter, her antennae twitching frantically. My hand instinctively went to the Poké Ball on my belt. Something was coming, and it was coming fast.
A familiar, cocky voice sliced through the tension. "Still scaring the wildlife, Greenie?"
I relaxed, a groan escaping my lips as he stepped out from behind a thick-trunked oak. Derek. His spiky, dark hair was as defiant as ever, and a smirk was plastered on his face. Perched on his shoulder, his Charmander puffed out its chest, the flame on its tail burning with a confident, steady flicker.
His tone was different this time, though. The sharp, dismissive edge from our first encounter was gone, replaced by something that sounded almost like… friendly condescension. Progress, I guess.
I shot a smirk right back at him. "Look who's back for a rematch. You sure you don't wanna bring snacks this time? You'll be here a while."
Rex chuckled, a genuine, short bark of a laugh. "Confident. I like it. Makes it more satisfying when I win."
"Okay, time out," Lila interjected, planting her hands on her hips and staring Derek down. She had zero patience for trainer posturing. "Are you two going to throw Pokémon names at each other all day, or are you going to use your own? Who even are you?"
Derek's smirk softened into something more like a proper smile. He gave a slight, almost theatrical bow. "Rex Carradine. Future Champion." He winked at Lila. "Remember the name, because you'll see it above yours on the leaderboard."
He then turned his gaze to me, his expression unreadable. I surprised myself by extending a hand. "Garfield Logan. But you can call me Beast Boy."
For a second, I thought he'd leave me hanging. But then his hand met mine, his grip firm and sure. It wasn't just a handshake; it was an acknowledgment. A silent treaty between two people who understood the path they were on. We were rivals, yes, but we were also trainers. The handshake said he finally saw me as one.
Rex pulled back, his competitive energy surging again. "Alright, Logan. Enough with the formalities. How about a real test? No stakes, just pride. My Charmander against your… butterfly."
"His name is Butterfree," I corrected, "and you're on."
We found a small clearing, a natural arena ringed by tall, whispering grass and a few moss-covered boulders. This time felt different. My loss to Rex in Verdant had been a hard lesson. I wasn't just the kid who could talk to animals anymore; I was a trainer who had to think like one.
"Charmander, let's go!" Rex commanded. The little fire lizard leaped from his shoulder, landing in a crouch and letting out a sharp "Char!"
"Butterfree, you're up!" I called. He descended gracefully, hovering a few feet off the ground.
"Ember, full power!" Rex yelled, not wasting a moment.
"Dodge and use Sleep Powder!" I countered.
This was the new me. Calm. Strategic. Butterfree zipped to the side, the volley of fiery pellets searing the air where he'd just been. As he moved, he released a cloud of shimmering blue spores that drifted toward Charmander.
"Use the rocks for cover!" I yelled. Butterfree dipped behind a large boulder, the spores continuing their slow, inexorable advance. Rex was sharp, though.
"Don't let it settle! Use Ember to burn it away and flush him out!"
A stream of fire shot from Charmander's mouth, incinerating the Sleep Powder and superheating the air around the rock. Butterfree shot straight up, narrowly avoiding the heat.
"Now, Stun Spore!" I commanded.
A puff of yellow dust rained down. Charmander was quick, but a few particles landed, causing it to seize up for a split second. It was the opening I needed.
"Tackle, now!"
Butterfree shot forward like a purple arrow, slamming into the momentarily paralyzed Charmander. It was a solid hit, but the fire-type was tough. It shook off the paralysis and roared, its tail-flame swelling.
Rex grinned. "Not bad, Greenie. You've learned discipline. Didn't think that was your thing." He pointed forward. "Finish this, Charmander! Flame Burst!"
Charmander inhaled deeply and unleashed a sphere of raw fire. It was too fast, too powerful. The attack exploded against Butterfree, sending him spiraling to the ground. He wasn't knocked out, but the fight was over.
I recalled him, giving the Poké Ball a gentle pat. "You were awesome, dude."
Rex's Charmander trotted back to him, getting a proud scratch under its chin. "Your Butterfree's fast," Rex admitted, walking over. "That rock-cover maneuver was smart. You almost had me."
The praise, coming from him, felt better than a win.
We sat down by the trail to share some of Lila's packed lunch. The competitive energy faded, replaced by an easy camaraderie.
"Something's off in these woods," Rex said after a thoughtful bite of his sandwich. He wasn't looking at us, but at the unnervingly still trees. "The Pokémon are… agitated. Aggressive."
I nodded. "We noticed the silence."
"It's more than silence," he continued, his voice low. "A buddy of mine was training near the grasslands yesterday. Got ambushed by a herd of Tauros. Said they were charging anything that moved, eyes glowing red. He barely got away."
"Poachers?" Lila suggested, her brow furrowed with concern.
Rex shook his head. "Doesn't feel like it. This is different. Angrier. I've been hearing rumors… whispers of a group setting up labs out here. Capturing Pokémon, not to sell, but to… change them." He looked at me, his usual smirk gone, replaced by a grim seriousness. "They say they're doing experiments somewhere near the northern ridge."
As he spoke, the feeling I'd been trying to ignore intensified. The air felt charged, like the moments before a lightning strike. A low hum vibrated through the soles of my boots, a dissonant chord in nature's harmony. Butterfree's Poké Ball twitched on my belt. He could feel it too. The part of me that was more beast than boy felt its hackles rise. This wasn't a natural energy. It was invasive. A machine-like pulse hammered against the rhythm of the wild, trying to overwrite it.
Rex stood up, brushing crumbs from his pants. "I'm heading north. Check out the next Gym town, and maybe… do some investigating of my own." He slung his pack over his shoulder, Charmander reassuming its post. He started to walk away, then paused and looked back at me.
"Don't die out here, Logan," he said, the corner of his mouth ticking up. "Wouldn't be fun winning by default."
The use of my real name hit me harder than any Flame Burst. He saw me. Truly saw me.
I grinned back, the easy, familiar gesture feeling real for the first time. "Wouldn't dream of it, Rex."
He gave a final, sharp nod and disappeared down the path, swallowed by the silent woods.
As dusk began to settle, painting the sky in shades of orange and violet, Lila and I continued our journey. The quiet of the forest no longer felt empty; it felt watchful. Butterfree, whom I'd let back out, fluttered restlessly around my head, his wings beating an anxious rhythm. Oddish glowed with a faint, nervous green light, its leaves trembling as it reacted to something unseen in the deepening shadows.
I scanned the woods, the hair on my arms standing on end. "You feel that too, huh?" I murmured, mostly to myself. "Like the world's… holding its breath."
Lila huddled a little closer, her gaze darting from tree to tree. The easy laughter from our lunchtime truce with Rex had completely evaporated, lost to the creeping dread that now saturated the air.
And then I saw it. Far in the distance, between two ancient, gnarled trees, a flicker of light. It was a sickening, unnatural crimson, pulsing once, twice—a malevolent heartbeat in the gloom. Then, as quickly as it appeared, it was gone.