At dawn, Sato woke up early. His Pokémon's morning training sessions were never canceled unless something urgent came up.
The night before, Larvitar had been secretly released to feast on solid black stones before quietly returning to its Poké Ball to sleep.
Being a species that naturally undergoes a pupa-like state, Larvitar was highly adaptable to long periods of dormancy, so Sato wasn't concerned about it staying inside its Poké Ball for extended periods.
After about half an hour, Wester finally emerged from his portable house. Seeing Sato already training his Pokémon, he wisely chose not to disturb him and instead released three of his own Pokémon to begin his own morning training.
By 8:30, their morning routine was complete. After packing up their supplies, Sato kept Zorua and Haunter by his side, while Wester only had Houndoom follow him. Feraligatr and Skarmory were not suited for traveling on foot.
As they approached the ruins, crumbling walls and broken pillars came into view. Unlike most wild areas, there were no trees in the Ruins of Alph, only stubborn tufts of grass growing through the cracks in the stone.
Before coming here, Sato had revisited his memories of the Ruins of Alph and was now comparing them to what he saw firsthand.
The Ruins of Alph were eerily silent, with almost no human visitors. Normally, such a location would attract wild Pokémon like Sandshrew, Raticate, and Mankey.
Yet strangely, not a single Pokémon could be seen.
However, there was one type of Pokémon that had been recorded appearing here multiple times—
Unown.
Considered even more mysterious than Legendary Pokémon, Unown were said to bring fortune to those who encountered them.
Sato didn't believe that for a second.
Because in his past life, when he came to the Ruins of Alph, he didn't encounter Unown—he encountered something far more terrifying.
The Ruins remained completely silent, aside from the sounds of their footsteps. Following his past knowledge, Sato navigated through the ruins until he arrived at a peculiar site.
A weathered stone wall stood before them, covered in ancient Pokémon inscriptions. Sato couldn't read them, nor did he need to.
At first glance, the engraved characters appeared random, but upon closer inspection, there was an unnatural symmetry—the entire wall was perfectly mirrored along a vertical line down the center.
Tracing his index finger along the center line, Sato slid his hand downward.
At first, nothing changed.
But then…
"Haunter, Mean Look."
"Kehehe!"
Haunter rose from the ground, and in an instant, a deep purple aura engulfed the surroundings.
Suddenly, countless dark eyes opened within the shadows, revealing everything that lurked unseen.
"Yiiip!"
A distressed cry suddenly rang out.
From behind a collapsed pillar, a deep blue, ghostly figure drifted into view—
A Shuppet.
"Yiiiip! Yiiiip!"
This time, Shuppet's cry was filled with rage.
Its body radiated an ominous red glow, and even the inscriptions on the stone wall behind it began to glow crimson!
"Wester, it's all yours," Sato said, stepping back. "This Shuppet is far stronger than most you'd find in the wild."
Having fulfilled his promise, he left the capture to Wester.
"Leave it to me!" Wester grinned. "Houndoom, Flamethrower!"
"Woof!"
A searing jet of flames erupted from Houndoom's maw, rushing toward Shuppet!
However, before the flames could even get close, Shuppet's red aura flared violently, completely repelling the attack.
The flames scattered, unable to even graze it.
"Yiiiip!"
Shuppet let out a chilling cry, as if questioning their presence.
At the same time, a massive shadow loomed behind it, expanding rapidly until it blanketed the entire battlefield.
The shadow swallowed both Houndoom and Wester whole.
Sato stood still, watching calmly. It was not his battle—he would not interfere.
"Awoo!"
A howl suddenly pierced through the darkness.
Houndoom ripped through the shadowy abyss, its fur bristling as it emerged from the attack.
Wester staggered backward, his face pale. That Night Shade was terrifying.
He clenched his cold, sweaty hands and noticed Houndoom was trembling as well.
Night Shade was a unique move—the higher the Pokémon's level, the greater the fixed damage inflicted upon its opponent.
A wild Shuppet that had yet to evolve should have had its limits, yet for a brief moment, Wester felt as if he were about to be completely devoured by darkness.
Fortunately, at the critical moment, Houndoom's Howl greatly boosted its fighting spirit, allowing it to barely break free from Night Shade's overwhelming grip.
Glancing at the ancient inscriptions glowing red around them, Wester speculated that Shuppet's power had been amplified by these very markings.
"Houndoom, turn this place into a hellscape!"
"Woof!"
Houndoom slammed its forepaws onto the ground, summoning a massive sphere of crimson fire. With a sudden eruption, the flames burst apart, transforming into chains of fire that surged outward, crawling toward the crumbling walls.
"Yiiip!"
Shuppet let out a panicked cry as the red glow around its body dimmed drastically—its strength instantly fell back to the Elite level.
"Close in—Fire Fang!"
With an explosive burst of speed, Houndoom lunged at Shuppet, its fangs engulfed in flames. The attack landed cleanly.
"Go, Ultra Ball!"
Wester seized the moment, launching a black-and-yellow Poké Ball directly at Shuppet.
The Ultra Ball hit its mark. Landing on the ancient stone floor, it began to tremble violently, its red light blinking furiously.
Wester clenched his fists, eyes locked onto the ball. Even Sato, arms crossed, found himself holding his breath.
Ding!
"It's caught!" Wester exclaimed, picking up the Ultra Ball and raising it triumphantly toward Sato.
"Check its potential."
"Let's heal it first—it took quite a bit of damage," Wester said as he prepared to release Shuppet.
"Wait. Let's move further away first."
Sato didn't stop walking until they were far beyond the Ruins of Alph—only then did he nod for Wester to proceed.
"Yiiip…?"
The newly captured Shuppet emerged, its body still marred by a severe bite wound and burn marks. Wester unceremoniously applied a high-quality healing spray, and soon, Shuppet's energy returned.
"Yiiip! Yiiip!"
Yet, rather than acknowledge its new trainers, Shuppet floated anxiously, glancing around in every direction, searching…
"It's…"
"It's looking for home," Sato interrupted, his tone heavy with meaning.
"Yiiip…"
Shuppet slowly drifted downward, settling onto the grass-covered ruins. Its tiny form, for the first time, seemed utterly lost and alone.
"Sato," Wester suddenly turned to him, his expression unusually serious.
"You know something, don't you?"
"Yeah."
Sato stepped closer, sitting beside Shuppet, as if carefully choosing his words.
"Not knowing how to return home… it's painful, isn't it?"
"Yiiip?"
Shuppet tilted its head, looking at Sato in confusion, but a faint glimmer of emotion flickered in its ghostly eyes.
"They say," Sato continued, "that Shuppet is a Pokémon born from the intense resentment of a spirit that died with unfinished regrets."
Wester sat beside them, listening in silence.
"And if that spirit was an abandoned Unown…"
"That must have been unbearably painful."
"Yiiip!"