Night fell over the Sinnoh Academy like a velvet curtain, studded with cold, distant stars.
Skylar lay awake in his dorm bed, eyes fixed on the ceiling. Ralts slept nearby, faintly glowing with residual psychic energy, while Growlithe lay curled near the window, ears twitching in his dreams.
But Skylar couldn't sleep.
Not since the tournament. Not since the mission in the southern woods.
There was something new in the air.
A presence.
It didn't speak. It didn't strike. It simply watched.
It had started as a feeling—barely noticeable. The hairs on the back of his neck standing up during early training. A soft rustle in the woods when no one else heard it. Shadows that felt just a little too dense, too still.
Skylar had brushed it off at first, thinking it was the pressure of high expectations.
But now, even Ralts seemed wary.
Earlier that day, Ralts had turned abruptly during meditation, staring toward the forest tree line for nearly five minutes, unmoving. When Skylar asked what it sensed, the psychic Pokémon simply looked at him… and projected a single feeling:
Watched.
Skylar hadn't told Cynthia. Not yet. There was no evidence. No attacks. Just a chill in his bones that wouldn't go away.
And unseen, in the canopy of the dark woods beyond the academy's walls, something moved.
A shadow.A pair of red eyes.And silence.
The next morning, Skylar was called to the headmaster's tower.
To his surprise, Cynthia was already there—arms crossed, Gible at her feet, eyes burning with curiosity.
Professor Rowan sat behind his desk, holding a parchment-style letter, stamped with an old insignia: a Poké Ball flanked by leaves.
Skylar blinked. He recognized it immediately.
Professor Oak.
Rowan smiled as he handed them each a formal scroll.
"It seems your performance has reached even Kanto."
Cynthia's eyebrows lifted. "Kanto?"
"Professor Oak," Rowan continued, "is hosting his annual summer research camp near Pallet Town. Normally, it's reserved for top Kanto students and junior researchers. But he's extended a personal invitation to you both."
Skylar slowly unrolled the scroll. The elegant handwriting was unmistakable:
"To young Trainers of talent and promise—You are formally invited to Oak's Regional Development and Research Program.You will train, explore, and perhaps assist with a rising mystery that requires sharp minds and brave hearts."
At the bottom, a personal note:
P.S. One of my assistants mentioned a strange energy signature coming from Sinnoh recently… Might be worth comparing notes, young Mr. Adams.—Oak
Skylar's pulse quickened.
"He knows something," he murmured.
Cynthia glanced at him. "What did your note say?"
He hesitated. "Just… that there might be something worth looking into."
Cynthia gave him a look that said You're hiding something, but let it slide—for now.
"You'll leave in three days," Rowan added. "A League airship will escort you to Kanto. Pack for battle, not luxury."
Skylar nodded, heart racing. "Understood."
Cynthia's voice was quiet. "This… this could change everything."
That evening, as students gathered in the commons, word spread fast.
"Skylar and Cynthia? Both going to Kanto?""That's the Professor Oak camp, right?""Is it true they were invited?"
But Skylar didn't pay attention to the murmurs. He sat alone on the back terrace, watching the horizon darken as the sun dipped behind Mount Coronet.
Ralts floated beside him, silent.
And out there, far in the treetops just beyond the academy…
…red eyes blinked once, then vanished.
The presence was still there.
Still watching.
Still waiting.
As Skylar finally turned in for the night, he whispered to Ralts:
"Whatever this thing is… it followed me back from the forest."
Ralts simply nodded, and nestled closer.
Far beyond Sinnoh, in a quiet lab in Pallet Town, an aging Professor Oak stared thoughtfully at a screen of fluctuating energy signatures.
His fingers tapped the desk.
"That boy… Something's tethered to him. Let's hope it's not too late."