Route 10 – The Quiet Between
It started with silence.
Not peaceful. Not still.
Just... wrong.
The grass didn't rustle the way it should. The wind didn't carry birdsong or bug cries. Just an emptiness that clung to the skin like a wet blanket.
I kept walking.
Every so often, I'd see flickers. Out of the corner of my eye. A pixelated ripple in a tree's bark. A grass tile briefly misaligned before snapping back.
I blinked, shook my head, kept going.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE – Anomaly Detected]Route 10 – Overlay Conflict DetectedError: Wild Pokémon Displacement Event (x6)Nearby Fragment Signature: Weak – Mobile
Six? What did that mean?
A howl cut through the air.
Not a Mightyena. Not a Houndour. Something older. It echoed like data bending.
I ran.
The Stone Tower Ahead
By dusk, the mountain path narrowed into a sharp dropoff. Lavender Town stretched below in the valley like a wound. Even from here, the tower stood tall too tall, too dark, like it didn't belong.
I camped near the cliff's edge that night.
But sleep never came.
Instead, I stared into the distance as the Pokémon Tower's lights flickered like static.
The system pulsed once, then went dark for a full minute.
And in the silence, I swore I heard a voice not unlike the Guardian's:
"They buried the truth in stone… but not deep enough."
Lavender Town – Arrival
By morning, the fog had returned.
Not natural fog. Data-fog. Thick and buzzing, like walking through half-rendered air.
Lavender Town's streets were nearly empty. The Pokémon Center was closed "System maintenance" scribbled on a paper note, taped to the door.
The few people I passed stared at me like they knew. Like they could smell the code on my skin.
I reached the base of the tower.
The gates were slightly ajar.
No one stopped me.
[SYSTEM PROMPT – Zone Entry Detected]Lavender Tower: Fragment Layer AccessedActive Relic Signature: DormantWarning: Unknown Ghost-Type Signal Detected
I stepped inside.
And the doors shut behind me without a sound.