Deep within the Black Forest…
Matthew was still chasing after that mysterious beast.
After several days of pursuit, he still hadn't managed to capture it.
But rather than grow frustrated, Matthew was becoming more and more excited—he was even beginning to consider capturing and raising this magical beast himself.
Awoo! Awoo!
The Mightyena dashed swiftly through the forest.
Suddenly, it skidded to a halt, its nose twitching rapidly in the air.
Once again, it had lost the mysterious beast's scent. With a low whine, it turned and barked toward its master.
"Lost it again?"
Matthew scratched his head in frustration, then glanced up at the sky.
Still, he wasn't in a rush. After so many days of chasing, this wasn't the first time they'd lost the target.
The mysterious beast didn't seem particularly strong, but its awareness was unbelievably sharp—it always managed to detect them before they got too close.
Even worse, it possessed teleportation abilities—an absolute escape skill.
Every time, it had used that ability to vanish before they could close in.
What made things even more difficult was that teleport left no scent behind, making it impossible for Mightyena to track continuously. Each time, they had to start the search all over again.
Whoosh!
Just then, a sudden gust of wind swept through the trees.
A purple figure dove down from the sky, its two pairs of wings flapping rapidly behind it.
"It's here."
Matthew quickly raised his arm.
In the blink of an eye, the airborne figure vanished and reappeared perched on his outstretched arm.
It was a purple bat Pokémon with two large, crossed pairs of wings—Crobat.
Screech! Screech!
Crobat lightly flapped its wings and pointed its wing-finger toward the southern part of the forest.
"So, it ran off to the south, huh?"
Matthew nodded, then swung his arm to launch Crobat back into the air.
Mounting his Mightyena, he charged off toward the southern reaches of the Black Forest.
Whoosh, whoosh— Crobat flapped vigorously, sending out bursts of ultrasonic waves to scan the area.
Last time, it had detected the mysterious beast using this sonar—but the target had reacted instantly, escaping with spatial movement.
…
In the forest, Ralts was chewing on a berry.
Its eyes drifted down toward the ground, where it noticed a few Oddish poking their heads out, curiously peeking at it.
Ralts took another bite of berry, tilted its head thoughtfully, then glanced at the berries beside it.
A faint psychic glow shimmered in its eyes as it lifted a berry with telekinesis and floated it down to the Oddish.
"Odd odd odd~"
The Oddish happily received the berry, squealing in delight and bowing to Ralts in thanks.
The red horn on Ralts' head twitched. A wave of cheerful emotion flowed into its mind, making its eyes curve into a smile.
"They're coming… They're coming…"
Suddenly, urgent cries rang out in Ralts' mind.
Without hesitation, it activated its psychic power and used Teleport—its body vanished in an instant.
Moments later, Matthew and his Mightyena arrived at the scene.
Crobat hovered above, releasing ultrasonic pulses—but Ralts had long since disappeared.
"Escaped again?"
Matthew groaned, ruffling his hair. This magical beast really was too cautious.
Awoo… Mightyena whined in agreement. This Mightyena - Crobat team had never been in such a sorry state.
"Odd…"
Under the effect of Mightyena's Intimidate, the nearby Oddish were frozen in place like statues.
Matthew gave them a glance, then patted Mightyena. "Ease up. Cancel the intimidation."
Squatting down, he picked up the berries Ralts had left behind.
"These berries are ours now. You lot—scram."
The Oddish bolted instantly, vanishing into the underbrush with only the rustling of grass to mark their escape.
…
Near a stream in the Black Forest, Ralts reappeared.
"Ralts…" It gazed into the water and saw its own reflection—the blue hair.
Staring at it, Ralts' eyes dimmed with sorrow. It let out a sigh, full of melancholy.
From the moment it was born, it had blue hair—completely different from the green hair of its kin. It always felt like an outcast.
As it grew, it developed psychic powers far stronger than its peers.
Along with that came telepathy and the ability to sense others' emotions.
But this only made things worse. Even if the others didn't say it, Ralts could feel the unspoken rejection from its companions.
So, this spring, it left the group—choosing to live freely on its own.
After wandering down the mountain, it found itself in this forest—where it encountered a human full of malice. That encounter began a half-month-long game of escape.
"Ralts~"
"When will this all end…"
Bending down, Ralts took a sip of the cool river water.
After a short rest, it used Teleport again—this time aiming westward through the Black Forest, trying to shake off that persistent human once and for all.
Ever since awakening its telepathy and empathic senses, its psychic powers had continued to grow.
Thanks to this period of life in the wild, its Teleport ability had grown stronger. As long as it had a brief rest, it could use it again.
…
At the Pokémon Safari Zone, Aven was busy training Pokémon.
Thanks to his efforts, the outskirts of the Black Forest was now completely under his control.
The safari zone had grown lively—many Pokémon had left the Black Forest and settled here.
Meow~ Meow~
A Luxio dashed across the grass, five Shinx cubs playfully chasing behind it.
Two Luxray lounged nearby, watching the young ones with warm, gentle eyes.
Though they had only been here for a few days, they had already fallen in love with this place and hoped to stay forever.
Just then, a human stepped onto the wooden bridge in the distance.
The Luxray instinctively became alert—then remembered Aven's rule:
No human or Pokémon is allowed to initiate conflict within the territory.
This rule applied equally to all. It was a land where humans and Pokémon could live together peacefully.
'I must follow the rules… It took so long to find a safe place like this…' the Luxray thought solemnly.
…
"This is the Pokémon Safari Zone? All you have to do is gain the approval of a magical beast, and you can take it with you?"
A young man dressed as a noble gazed across the endless grassland, speaking in amazement to the man beside him—Sir Berrin.
"Of course. I can vouch for it." Berrin nodded. "But I must remind you—these aren't 'magical beast' anymore. Here, they're called Pokémon."
"Got it, big brother!" the young noble said, eyes sparkling with excitement.
His gaze fell on the Luxray and the Shinx in the distance—his eyes gleamed.
A trained Luxray from the Gilded Fang merchant guild would easily fetch close to a thousand gold coins…
But here, as long as you earned its approval, you could take it with you?
"Maybe you should try."
Berrin handed him some food. "This is specially made Pokémon food. It might help you earn the Luxray's trust."
He shrugged. This noble was his younger brother. If he could tame a Luxray here, it would be a big win for their family.
Meow~
Luxio gave the approaching humans a glance, then ignored them and went back to playing.
Scenes like this were becoming common in the safari zone. Although it hadn't been fully opened to the public yet, many villagers and apprentice trainers had already begun exploring.
The noble had earned access by paying the breeding house's membership fee, giving him the right to enter and tame Pokémon.
…
On the grasslands, Aven was training a group of Oddish.
Some came from the Black Forest and had been accepted into Vileplume's tribe.
Others had been sent by Berrin to receive training—he had already paid 20,000 gold coins for the service, a major boost to the territory's finances.
"Plume~"
Vileplume cast Grassy Terrain, enveloping the Oddish in a nurturing field.
With both Rototiller and Grassy Terrain boosting them, Aven was saving a fortune on fertilizer.
Bathed in energy, the Oddish were steadily growing stronger.
Then, by applying the powder potions, the Oddish will be able to learn the three powder moves and will have very good combat effectiveness in a short period of time.
In the future, these Oddish would serve as patrol Pokémon. Since they loved wandering around in grassy fields, this role suited them perfectly.
With enough Oddish, the zone's order could be fully maintained. Their eyes would prevent both humans and Pokémon from breaking the rules.
"Odd odd!"
Just then, an Oddish came running fast from the distance.
It was one of the specially-trained Oddish with Run Away, responsible for scouting and relaying messages quickly.
Though he didn't understand their language, Aven had spent enough time with them to know what it meant:
Magical beast hunters had entered the forest again.
"These damn hunters are really stubborn!"
Aven took a deep breath. He'd already caught quite a few recently.
He showed no mercy to them—every single one was arrested and brought to justice under his territory's laws.
"Vileplume, keep training the Oddish."
"Petilil, Froslass, Rhydon—come with me!"
The three Pokémon nodded. Their strength was already at the level of advanced magical beasts—plenty enough to handle some hunters.
…
Back in the forest, Ralts once again used Teleport.
This time, it suddenly found itself on a wide-open grassland, stretching endlessly into the distance.
"Ralts…" It called out softly, noticing a group of Young Rattata gathered nearby.
The Rattata flinched when they saw it, but after a brief pause, they calmly returned to laying.
Ralts blinked in surprise. In the forest, every time it met wild Rattata, they would charge without hesitation.
But these Rattata… felt different. Its red horn twitched—it sensed no hostility.
"Ralts?"
Puzzled, Ralts activated telepathy.
"Hello, Rattata."
The sudden voice in their minds startled the Rattata.
They looked up, then quickly turned their attention back to Ralts.
Squeak squeak!
The Rattata greeted it curiously.
Seeing they could communicate peacefully, Ralts smiled and began chatting with them.
"Ralts?!"
After a brief conversation, Ralts finally understood where it had landed.
This place was actually created by humans—a place where Pokémon could live peacefully.
Here, fighting between humans and Pokémon was strictly forbidden.
They could live freely and peacefully in this land!
Could a place like this… really exist?
What's the deal with that human named Aven...?
Countless questions surfaced in Ralts' mind.
In addition to its telepathy and empathic abilities, it also possessed a truth-sensing ability that allowed it to detect lies.
(End of Chapter)