The forest stayed silent.
Too silent.
Even the wind seemed afraid to move between the trees.
Alex stood still with Charmander beside him, staring at the strange boy who had stepped from the shadows.
Yellow stayed a few steps behind, clutching the edge of her hat nervously.
The boy spun the Poké Ball on his finger again.
Smooth.
Confident.
Annoyingly calm.
"Well?" Alex said. "You gonna explain the whole 'test subject' thing?"
The stranger's smirk widened slightly.
Charmander growled.
"Char…"
For a few long seconds, nobody moved.
Then—
The boy burst out laughing.
Not a chuckle.
Not a smirk.
Actual laughing.
"PFFT—HAHAHAHA!"
The tension shattered instantly.
Yellow blinked.
Alex stared.
"…What."
The boy wiped at his eye dramatically.
"Oh man, your faces were priceless."
He pointed at Alex.
"You seriously thought I was some evil mastermind?"
Alex's expression flattened immediately.
"…I was about five seconds away from punching you."
"Yeah, I noticed." The boy grinned. "Especially the scary staring thing you do. Kinda intense."
Yellow looked completely confused.
"S-So… y-you weren't controlling the Koffing?"
"Of course not!" the boy said. "That thing almost exploded on me too."
He tossed the Poké Ball into the air and caught it again.
"I just saw the battle from nearby and thought it'd be funny to mess with you."
Silence.
Alex slowly inhaled.
Then exhaled through his nose.
"…Charmander."
"Char?"
"If I ever start acting like him, use Flamethrower on me."
"CHAR!"
The boy laughed again.
"Okay, okay, fair enough. Maybe I overdid it."
Yellow still looked shaken.
"You r-really scared us…"
The boy scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Yeah… sorry about that."
That seemed genuine, at least.
Alex studied him carefully.
The smug attitude was still there.
But the dangerous feeling from before?
Gone.
Mostly.
"Well," Alex said, "since you're apparently not a criminal scientist, got a name?"
The boy grinned.
"Damian."
"Alex."
Yellow gave a tiny wave.
"Y-Yellow…"
Damian's eyes shifted toward Charmander.
"That Ember attack at the end was impressive."
Charmander puffed its chest proudly.
"Char!"
"Your timing was sharp too," Damian added. "Most trainers panic against unstable Pokémon."
Alex shrugged slightly.
"I've dealt with worse."
That answer made Damian raise an eyebrow.
"Really now?"
Alex instantly realized what he said.
"…In games."
Smooth recovery.
Probably.
Damian snorted.
"Sure."
A brief silence settled between them.
Then Damian glanced deeper into the forest.
"Still though… that Koffing really was weird."
Alex's expression sharpened again.
"You noticed it too."
"Yeah." Damian nodded. "Wild Pokémon around here have been acting strange lately."
Yellow looked nervous again.
"S-Strange how…?"
"More aggressive," Damian said. "Unstable too. Like something's irritating them."
Alex crossed his arms slightly.
"And you thought this was a good time for jokes?"
"In my defense," Damian replied, "your reactions were hilarious."
Alex looked completely unamused.
Damian coughed.
"…Right. Bad timing."
Very bad timing.
Suddenly, a loud growl echoed somewhere nearby.
Everyone froze.
"…That sounded big," Yellow whispered.
Another growl answered.
Closer this time.
Charmander immediately stepped in front of Alex.
"Char!"
Damian finally stopped smiling.
"…Okay. That wasn't me."
The bushes ahead rustled violently.
Heavy footsteps shook the ground.
Alex narrowed his eyes.
"Everybody back."
Yellow immediately obeyed.
Damian tossed his Poké Ball upward.
"Guess we're doing this for real now."
A flash of light burst from the ball.
A Nidorino appeared with a sharp roar.