Ilex Forest

The group was back on the move, their next destination looming ahead. Much to Misty's dismay, they had to traverse Ilex Forest—a sprawling, bug-filled expanse of wilderness.

Ash led the way, his Rotom Phone displaying a detailed map of the area. He seemed unusually focused, glancing occasionally at the device.

As they walked, Misty peered over Ash's shoulder. "Are you sure this is the fastest route?" she asked skeptically, she wanted to get out of this place as soon as she could.

Ash gave her a deadpan look. "Well, we could cut straight through the forest... but that'd mean running into a lot more Bug Pokémon—"

Before Ash could finish, Misty darted to the front of the group. "You know what? Extra walking is great for cardio! I've got to hit my step goal for the day!" she said, forcing a grin.

Ash sighed, shaking his head helplessly. "Alright, lead the way," he said, as he followed, Brock and Yellow exchanged wary glances. Having Misty as the one leading them just seemed like they were begging to get lost, but they sighed and followed behind, too.

Yellow, on the other hand, seemed happy. Ilex Forest reminded her of Viridian Forest. She took in the scenery with a small smile as they followed Misty deeper into the woods.

—

{Deeper in the Forest}

"Farfetch'd use [Cut]!" a boy said.

In the next moment, a Farfetch'd ran up and used its leek to cut down a tree perfectly, then cut it further into smaller planks.

"Great job, Farfetch'd!" the boy, whose name was Sylvester, said. "Father will be happy—we can make lots of charcoal with this!" he praised Farfetch'd, who tilted its head up proudly.

Sylvester was the son of the renowned charcoal maker. He had Farfetch'd to help him; sure, at first, things were rocky, but eventually, they learned to work together, and now they were a great team.

As Sylvester wrapped up the wood, he suddenly noticed a mist starting to appear, making him frustrated. "Again? The darn mist comes so often now…" he mumbled.

The mist was something strange. Originally, it appeared once or twice a month, but recently, it had been happening more and more often. Now, it was nearly a daily occurrence. Sylvester had no idea what caused it; he just knew it was apparently bad news and a sign he should get out as soon as possible.

"Come on, Farfetch'd, let's go home," Sylvester said as he carried the wood on his back. But then Farfetch'd's eyes changed. It dropped its leek and started running deeper into the forest.

Sylvester's eyes widened as he dropped the wood and grabbed the leek. "Farfetch'd! Wait! Where are you going?" he shouted, starting to chase after his Pokémon.

But as he ran, he eventually lost sight of it and had to stop. Only then did he realize he had run all the way to the sacred shrine of the forest? Catching his breath, he was about to resume his search when suddenly a voice came from nowhere.

"Leave… this… forest…" the voice said.

Sylvester froze in fear. Then, as he turned around, he saw something leap at him, and he couldn't react in time.

"YAAAAAAA!!!"

—-

The gang was walking, and, unsurprisingly, they got lost. They decided to sit down and rest while Ash and Brock examined the map.

Ash was carefully keeping track of their route. It was very important to him that they visit the shrine, so he was determined to find the most direct path without unnecessary detours.

As they studied the map, Ash spotted a path to the shrine, but it involved cutting through rough terrain.

Just as Ash was about to look for another route, the gang suddenly heard a scream.

"YAAAAAAA!!!"

They all looked up in surprise.

"What was that?" Brock asked immediately.

"It sounded like someone screaming," Yellow said, glancing around. "And it sounded like they were in pain."

"Where did it come from?" Misty asked as she got up and stood next to Yellow.

Ash heard where it came from; it was near the shrine, he pointed to the north. "I think I heard it coming from there,"

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Brock said, quickly leading the way, with everyone following close behind.

As they moved through the forest, the terrain became increasingly dense. Along the way, they passed several Bug-types, which caused Misty to squeal and run faster, eager to escape that part of the forest as quickly as possible.

In her haste, Misty stopped paying attention to where she was going. As she barreled ahead, she suddenly tripped over something and fell face-first into the dirt.

"Gah! What the heck was that?!" Misty exclaimed in frustration, rubbing her head.

When the rest of the group caught up, they saw what Misty had tripped over—a beaten and unconscious Farfetch'd lying on the ground.

"A Farfetch'd?" Yellow said, kneeling beside it.

Not far away, they noticed a young boy lying unconscious as well.

"Hey, are you okay?" Brock called as he ran over to the boy. He carefully flipped him onto his back.

Ash crouched beside Brock and checked for a pulse. "He's alive, at least. But what could have done this to him?"

"I don't know," Brock said, shaking his head, "but we need to get him somewhere safe to rest." He hoisted the boy onto his back with practiced ease.

Meanwhile, Yellow had placed her hands over the injured Farfetch'd, using her power to try to heal its injuries as much as possible.

Ash gently picked up the Farfetch'd and turned to her. "Come on, it's okay. We need to get them somewhere safe. No matter how much you heal them, they're not waking up right now," he explained gently.

"O-oh, I see," Yellow said, looking sheepish. She wasn't used to her power being limited. Normally, it solved problems like this easily, so this situation felt strange and frustrating.

"Let's go," Brock cut in. "We need to find a safe place first. Then we can figure out what happened."

They nodded and started moving through the forest. As they did, they noticed a strange mist beginning to flow around them. At first, they didn't pay it much attention, assuming it was just something natural about the forest.

As they continued running, Ash noticed something odd. Even though they were heading east, they somehow kept moving north—directly toward the shrine. This was strange for many reasons, but most of all, because, while reaching the shrine was important, the injured boy required immediate attention.

Ash tried changing direction, but no matter what he did, they kept veering north. Eventually, they emerged into an opening where the shrine stood, its structure covered in vines—though some vines appeared to have been recently torn away.

As they reached the clearing, they prepared to keep moving, but suddenly, the boy and Farfetch'd began to grow heavier, unnaturally so.

Brock struggled to keep the boy on his back while the mist thickened, swirling ominously around them.

"I-is he getting heavier?" Brock asked, his steps faltering under the unexpected weight.

Ash's eyes widened in realization. He recognized what this meant—and what the mist signified.

"Brock, get him off your shoulders!" Ash shouted, throwing Farfetch'd off his own arms without hesitation.

Before anyone could react to Ash's warning—or the fact that he had just tossed a Farfetch'd—the boy flipped off Brock's shoulders, using Brock's head as leverage to launch himself. He landed gracefully next to Farfetch'd, who also recovered and landed perfectly on its feet.

As they stood, mist poured out from their bodies, and a Gengar materialized behind them, grinning wickedly.

"A Gengar! So it was a Gengar making him heavier," Brock said, reaching to his side to grab a Pokéball. He pulled out Kabutops' Pokéball and prepared to battle.

Gengar let out a chilling laugh, holding out its arm. Farfetch'd, its broken leek in hand, leaped forward to attack.

Brock released Kabutops, who raised its sharp blades just in time to block the strike. However, this Farfetch'd was far stronger than it should have been—it was clear Gengar was enhancing its strength.

As Brock struggled to hold the bird off, Ash caught something moving in the corner of his eye. He darted forward, covering his arm in Aura just as a Houndoom lunged from the bushes, jaws aimed at Brock. Ash intercepted the firehound, holding it back by its mouth.

"It's not just Gengar—we've got more company!" Ash shouted as he wrestled the Houndoom.

From the side, a sticky web shot out and wrapped around Misty's ankle, pulling her into the air. She screamed as she was yanked up into a tree, where an Ariados stood on a branch, its red eyes gleaming.

Behind Yellow, a small bird poked its head out—a Delibird. Yellow turned, and her expression softened.

"Hey, you need to go! This place isn't safe," she said gently, trying to shoo it away.

The Delibird tilted its head cutely, then reached into its tail, pulling out a gift.

"Bird!"

"For me? Oh, thank you," Yellow said, reaching out innocently.

But before she could take it, Chuchu, the Pikachu perched on her shoulder, narrowed her eyes and dashed down Yellow's arm. She swiped the present with her tail and threw it to the ground.

The moment the gift hit the dirt, it exploded. Yellow froze, staring at the Delibird, which now chuckled mischievously.

"Yellow, get away from that thing!" Ash yelled. He hurled Houndoom to the side as Pikachu leaped from his shoulder, winding its arm for a powerful [Brick Break] that struck the firehound squarely.

Ash grabbed a stick from the ground and infused it with Aura before throwing it like a dart at Ariados. Though it wouldn't cause serious harm, Ash aimed for its eye. The stick struck true, making the bug recoil in discomfort and release its grip on Misty's webbed-up body.

Misty fell headfirst, screaming, "Ahhh! Ash, grab me! Grab me, grab me, grab me!"

She shut her eyes tight, bracing for impact, but Ash managed to catch her just in time.

Usually, Ash would have made a cheeky joke about Misty 'falling for him,' but now wasn't the time. These four Pokémon weren't just random threats. Ash recognized what their presence meant—and it wasn't good.

"Ash?" Misty said, looking at his face. His expression was one of deep frustration—something she had never seen, even during his most intense battles. It was so unlike his usual carefree attitude that it unnerved her.

Ash set Misty down gently and tore the sticky webbing off her. "Not the time, Misty. We need a plan. Now!"

"What do you mean, we need a plan? Do you know something?" Misty asked as she stumbled to her feet.

Before Ash could answer, the Pokémon on the battlefield suddenly jumped aside. From their positions, a man emerged from the mist. At the same moment, Gengar released its hold on the boy, causing him and Farfetch'd to collapse limply onto the ground.

The man stepped forward, his appearance both ominous and surreal. He wore a black cloak and a strange white mask, his long white hair flowing like smoke around him as the mist spiraled unnaturally at his feet. His voice, when he spoke, was chilling—eerie and almost otherworldly.

"Stay away… from this forest…"

Ash, Misty, Brock, and Yellow regrouped quickly into a protective line as they stared down the man.

Ash's fists clenched as he focused on the man. He recognized him instantly—the Masked Man. But something felt off. Ash focused Aura into his eyes and confirmed his suspicion: this wasn't the real Masked Man. It was one of the clones the Masked Man could create; he could tell because this…thing didn't have any aura coming from it.

Even so, the presence of the Pokémon made one thing clear—they were overwhelmingly strong. Ash could tell from their movements and presence alone that they were at least high Gym Leader level, possibly even scraping Elite Four territory. A fair fight was hopeless.

The masked figure had given them an out. They could retreat, but that would mean leaving the boy and Farfetch'd behind—a choice none of them were willing to make.

Ash lowered his hat, avoiding eye contact with the man as he slowly stepped forward.

"I guess you're right," he said, his voice measured. "You're way stronger than us... I guess the only thing we can do is save ourselves." He turned away, his head tilted down.

Misty gasped, her lips parting to protest, but before she could, Ash tilted his head just slightly back and smirked.

"Is what I'd say if I was a liar." His voice shifted sharply. "Pikachu—now!"

From the shadows, Pikachu sprang into action, having circled around unnoticed. It launched down with an [Iron Tail], the glowing tail aimed directly at the masked man.

The attack caught the man completely off guard. He tried to dodge, but it was too late—Pikachu's tail struck his arm with full force.

Now, what would you expect, a bruise, maybe breaking a bone or 2? All normal things to getting hit, but no, instead of simply breaking the arm, the blow severed it entirely. The dismembered arm fell to the ground with a sickening thud.

For a brief moment, Misty, Brock, and Yellow froze in shock, their expressions stricken. But then they noticed something strange—there was no blood. The severed arm began melting into the mist, and the stump where the arm had been rapidly regenerated into a new limb.

"You brat," the masked man growled, flexing his newly formed hand. "I'll make you pay for that."

"I'd like to see you try," Ash retorted, his voice steady as Pikachu returned to his side, sparking with readiness.

Ash knew the odds were stacked against them. A victory wasn't realistic, but that wasn't the goal. If they could be annoying enough, make it more trouble than it was worth, maybe—just maybe—they could survive.

And who knows? If they worked together and used every Pokémon they had, maybe—just maybe—they could pull off the impossible.

For now, though, there was only one priority: survive.

---

And that is it, seven chapters back to back, sorry to leave you like this on a cliffhanger, but I have other priorities right now, so can I get some stones from my broken sleep schedule