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Professor August Hawthorne shivered. He'd heard the reports about a mysterious chill in the normally pleasant Relic Forest, but it was still so much colder than he'd expected. But he had fieldwork to do, and his curiosity always won out against discomfort.
Before Cipher was defeated, they'd apparently been bringing in pokémon from other regions to be turned into shadow pokémon, and clearly, quite a few had escaped. Which meant it was up to August to study how this would affect Orre's still-developing wild pokémon population.
Based on the strange weather patterns he'd been seeing in the field, Cipher had lost some powerful pokémon. Embarrassing for them. But a fascinating research opportunity for August. What could be causing the chill in the air? An ice-type was the obvious answer, but there was a distinct lack of ice and snow in the area… really, there was a distinct lack of anything at all besides moss and trees. He hadn't seen so much as a spinarak skittering along the forest floor.
But as he set up the last of his cameras, he glimpsed a tall, shadowy figure in his peripheral vision. When he swung his head to see what it was (so quickly that his glasses fell off), it was gone.
A shiver ran down his spine that he'd hate to admit was unrelated to the cold. He had no logical reason to be scared—he'd faced much greater dangers than a shadow in the woods. But still, he couldn't shake the nagging thought in the back of his mind that he should've brought Rose. His sister could be an irritating worrywart, but she was a skilled battler, and they'd always had each other's backs when there was trouble.
But it was too late to be worried about that. Motion-activated cameras ready to capture anything that passed by, there wasn't much to do now besides wait. And keep an eye out in case he was lucky enough to spot something with his own eyes. He picked up his glasses, wiping them off with the hem of his shirt.
The sun was setting, its last fiery rays making the trees cast long, eerie shadows. For now, it was time to return to where he'd set up camp.
As he headed back to the clearing he'd found early in the day, he couldn't quite shake the feeling that he was being watched.
Sleep hadn't come easily that night, kept awake by a sound in the distance like a rapidash's whinny, but off in a way he couldn't quite describe, and August felt somehow more tired when he awoke in the morning. Dragging himself out of his sleeping bag, he emerged from his tent to stretch and check his cameras. The forest was quiet now, not even the songs of bird pokémon heralding a new day.
It was weird. Relic Forest had been one of the first places in Orre to develop a healthy wild pokémon population, its lush greenery and protection from the devoted locals making it a haven for them. Relic Forest was never so quiet.
Weirder still was when he checked the first camera and found no photos of passing stantler or curious teddiursa. And the second camera was the same. And the third.
A few of them had captured photos, but strangely, there was no sign of pokémon in them—just strange shadows. Maybe a gust of wind had caused enough motion to trigger the cameras, or there was something slightly out of frame?
Maybe that noise he'd heard last night had been the wind too.
At any rate, tired as he was, he had to set up the cameras again in different positions. Though he was already pretty deep in the forest, maybe if he went a little deeper, he'd find where all the pokémon went.
Despite the apparent absence of any wildlife, he still felt like something was watching him.
He reached for the poké balls on his belt. "Beau, Rain, come on out!"
His dustox and masquerain appeared in a flash, then turned to him, awaiting intruction.
"Scout ahead and see if you can find any sign of wild pokémon," he said, stroking each of them. "Be careful, and find me right away if there's trouble. And whether or not you find anything, come back before sunset. Something doesn't feel right out here."
Rain zipped off first with a cry of assent, fearless and eager as ever. Beau, meanwhile, pressed himself against August's chest for a moment before fluttering away. He'd been August's first partner, clingy and affectionate and deeply loyal since he was just a wurmple.
August really hoped he wasn't sending his partners into danger.
Whatever might be up ahead, he would face it too. He stepped forward.
Beau eventually returned to August, crying out in excitement, and led him to the only sign of life they'd seen—a set of hoofprints in the mud beside a river. The hoofprints were big, but shallow, as if they'd been left by something impossibly light for its size. August took some notes, then set up a camera in a nearby tree in case whatever had left them came back.
The rest of the day's searching proved fruitless, but August once again set his cameras in places that made sense for pokémon to visit—near water sources and berry trees—before calling it a night shortly after sunset, utterly exhausted. Hopefully he'd rest a little better tonight.
Every passing day August spent in Relic Forest, no matter where he searched, bore no results but hoofprints and shadows and left him increasingly drained. There were still noises at night, but when August tried to follow them he found nothing, and when he opted to sleep through them he woke up feeling more tired than before he'd fallen asleep.
A wiser man would've given up and left the forest by now, but something extremely abnormal was happening, and August couldn't leave without getting to the bottom of it.
Even though he was so tired.
His pokémon were giving him worried looks now. Beau was getting increasingly reluctant to leave his side, and had taken to spending nights resting on his chest as if afraid he might stop breathing.
Beau looked tired too.
After another day of finding nothing, and once again setting up cameras that would also probably find nothing, August was running out of patience.
When he heard eerie whinnying that night, he didn't think, didn't hesitate. He summoned all his strength and ran in the direction of the sound. Loyal Beau fluttered steadily beside him, looking as determined as he was.
This time, they would find it.
When his muscles and lungs screamed for him to stop and catch his breath, he listened for the next whinny, then took off again, spurred on by the sound. Was it calling for friends? Was it calling for him?
It didn't matter. He would find his answer.
Even though his body ached and his lungs were on fire. Even though he was so tired.
He couldn't give up. Scientific discovery notwithstanding, the more he heard those cries, the lonelier they sounded. This was a displaced wild pokemon that was probably searching for something familiar, some way home.
Maybe he could help it, if it'd let him. If he didn't drop dead first.
Dropping dead felt increasingly likely the longer he had to keep running, but he was getting closer.
He couldn't give up now. No matter how his lungs burned and his heart pounded and a chill like nothing he'd felt before came over his body, cold and numb as if he'd been plunged into freezing water.
He saw a purple blur just as he stumbled, and everything went dark.
The first thing August was aware of was something nudging his shoulder, over and over. "Ugh, Rose, go on your morning run by yourself…"
Then he registered the sound of Beau's terrified cries, and the chill of the forest, and the hard ground beneath him, and remembered where he was.
He was not prepared for the sight he opened his eyes to.
A dark, equine face was in front of him, sniffing him. It was blurry without his glasses, but he dared not move when that could startle it into fleeing or attacking. He'd been kicked by a ponyta once and that had hurt enough, he did not want to know what this tall, dark equine he'd never seen before could do to him.
It didn't seem to mind him looking, though. He took in the sight of its long, purple mane, its ears turned warily back. Its eyes were closed, but he had a feeling it could still see him. No warmth radiated from its body, but it didn't look like an ice-type… a ghost-type, maybe?
That explained why he was so tired. Intentionally or not, it must've been sapping his life force.
It could've killed him.
It still could.
Forcing down his fear, he slowly, dazedly pushed himself into a sitting position. It raised its head with a low noise, pawing at the ground.
"It's okay," he said softly. "I'm not gonna hurt you."
Beau, seeing that August was okay, cried out joyously and slammed into his chest. He wheezed.
"See?" August said, still a little breathless, stroking Beau soothingly. "I'm not an enemy. I just want to learn about you. I'm not like those people who took you from your home."
It made another low noise at that.
"Yeah. I don't know what region they took you from, but you're… probably really far from home now."
He wasn't sure if it could understand him—it was wild, after all. But it looked sad.
He wanted to tell it more, offer to use his connections as one of Orre's top researchers to help it get home, but he felt so weak. He needed to rest. He couldn't keep his eyes open anymore.
It nosed him again with a snort, like it was trying to get him to stay awake.
"It's okay, I just… need a minute."
Beau cried out again against his chest. The mysterious pokémon let out a sharp, fearful whinny.