The sun was setting behind Mount Kaida when I found the symbol again.
I'd been sitting on the cliff for over an hour, watching the sky turn from blue to orange to that deep purple that only happens right before dark. Below me, the path down the mountain snaked through pine trees and disappeared into mist. Somewhere beyond that mist was the rest of the world—cities with tall buildings, arenas where trainers battled, Pokemon Centers that stayed open all night. At least, that's what the travelers said when they passed through our village. We didn't get many travelers.
The stone was cold under my hand. I'd been tracing the grooves without thinking, the way you touch something familiar without really seeing it. But when I looked down, my stomach dropped.
It was the same symbol from my dreams.
Three intersecting circles with a broken line through the center. I'd been drawing it in the margins of my notebook since I was twelve, always the same pattern, never knowing why. And here it was, carved into the cliff face, weathered by years of rain and wind but still clear enough to recognize.
I pulled my hand back like the stone had burned me.
"You're too close to the edge."
I scrambled to my feet, heart pounding. Elder Makoto stood a few feet behind me, leaning on his walking stick. He always moved quiet as a ghost. Made it impossible to hide from him when I was younger.
"I was just watching the sunset," I said.
"You're always watching the sunset from this spot." His eyes were sharp despite his age. "Watching that path down the mountain. Wondering what's out there."
There wasn't much point in lying. "Sometimes."
"Your aunt worries about you."
"Aunt Yuki worries about everything."
Elder Makoto moved closer, but not to scold me. He looked out at the path too, at the world beyond our village. For a moment his expression was almost sad.
"The mountains protect us, Akira. There's a reason we built the village here, far from the cities and the League." He paused. "There's a reason your aunt brought you here when you were three years old."
I'd heard versions of this speech before. Never quite like this, though. Never with that weight in his voice.
"What reason?" I asked.
But he was already walking away, back toward the village houses with their warm lights and dinner smells drifting from windows. He stopped after a few steps, not turning around.
"Stay away from the path. Some people aren't meant for the world beyond the mountains."
He left me there with the symbol and the darkening sky.
I looked at the carving one more time before heading home. Three circles. A broken line. In my dreams, someone was always running from something. I could never see their faces, but I heard them breathing hard, heard footsteps echoing in a place that sounded like metal and concrete instead of trees and earth.
The dream always ended the same way. Guards in uniforms I didn't recognize. Shouting. Then nothing.
I shook my head and started back to the village. Dreams were just dreams. The symbol was just a coincidence.
But I traced it one more time with my finger before I left, and the stone seemed to hum under my touch.
Aunt Yuki was waiting when I got home. I could tell because dinner was already on the table and she was standing by the window instead of sitting down. She only did that when she was upset.
"You were at the cliff again."
"It's not against the rules."
"There aren't many rules in this village, Akira. Maybe there should be more." She finally sat down, but she wasn't eating. "You're eighteen now. Old enough to understand why we stayed here, why I kept you close."
"You never explained it, though. You just said it was safer here."
"It is safer."
"From what?"
She opened her mouth, then closed it. I'd seen her do this a hundred times when I asked about my parents, about why we lived so far from everything, about why I'd never been allowed to leave the village even when other kids went to the city with their families.
"Aunt Yuki, I'm not a kid anymore. You can tell me."
But she just shook her head and pushed rice around her plate. "Eat your dinner. It's getting cold."
We ate in silence. Through the window I could see other families in their houses, lit up warm and golden. Normal families who didn't have secrets, who didn't act like the world beyond the mountains was something to fear.
After dinner I went to my room and pulled out my old notebook, flipping to a page near the middle. I'd drawn the symbol there dozens of times over the years, always trying to get it right, always feeling like I was remembering something instead of making it up.
Three circles. A broken line.
I was still staring at it when I heard the sound.
At first I thought it was wind chimes, the ones Mrs. Tanaka hung on her porch. But the sound was wrong—too bright, almost like bells. I went to my window and looked out at the village square.
There was nothing there. Just empty streets and closed shops and the old well in the center with its worn stones.
But then I saw it.
A single white light, floating down from the sky like a falling star. It drifted past my window, so close I could have reached out and touched it. For a second it seemed to pause, hovering right there in front of me, and I could swear it was looking at me even though it didn't have eyes.
Then it dropped something on my windowsill and vanished.
I stood frozen for a full minute before I worked up the nerve to check what it left behind.
It was a letter.
The envelope was crisp and official-looking, sealed with red wax. My name was written on the front in careful handwriting: Akira Sato.
My hands were shaking when I broke the seal.
Dear Akira Sato,
You have been accepted to the Regional Pokemon League Training Academy. Classes begin in three weeks. Please report to the main campus in Crescent City with this letter and proof of identification.
Congratulations on this opportunity. Few trainers receive direct invitations.
—Admissions Committee
I read it three times. Then I read it again.
I'd never applied to the academy. Never even thought about applying because Aunt Yuki would never allow it. Trainers who went to the academy became gym leaders, League officials, sometimes even Elite Four members. They left their villages and never looked back.
But someone had sent me this letter. Someone wanted me to leave.
I heard footsteps in the hallway. I shoved the letter under my mattress just as Aunt Yuki knocked on my door.
"Akira? Are you all right? I heard something."
"I'm fine," I called back. "Just... dropped a book."
She hesitated outside my door. "Get some rest. Tomorrow's a long day."
When her footsteps faded I pulled the letter back out and stared at it until my eyes hurt.
The symbol from my dreams seemed to be glowing in my mind. Three circles. A broken line.
And somewhere beyond the mountains, someone knew my name.