1. Ash's Story (Part 10: Galar)

Chapter 3

As we head toward Victor and Gloria's house, a loud crash echoes through the air. Hop immediately speaks up, "Guys, did you hear that just now?"

"I heard it too. What's going on?" Alice asks, concern evident in her voice, as we hasten towards the sound. Upon arrival, we find the fence gate broken open.

"The gate is open, and the Wooloo it was there..." Hop remarks.

"It was tackling the fence pretty hard earlier. You don't think it actually broke through there..." Gloria observes.

"But it's off-limits. Nobody's supposed to go in there! I remember the professor's granddaughter went in once, and she came back in a real state...and that was nothing compared to the earful she got from the professor afterward," Victor gasps.

"If it's off-limits, that means the Wooloo might be in danger. We have to save it," I assert.

"Right, even if we're not supposed to, this is the kind of scene where you simply have to do what's needed. I hope we are ready for everything," Hop says as we rush into the woods.

The woods are foggy and emit an eerie feeling. Alice breaks the silence, her voice laced with concern, "That Wooloo... Where do you think it got off to?"

Gloria chimes in, her tone reflecting the growing unease, "The fog is really thickening now... If we don't find that Pokémon soon, this might turn into trouble."

As we venture further, the thick fog reduces visibility to nearly nothing. I can barely discern the outlines of the others, with Alice being the only one clearly visible beside me. Hop's voice breaks the tense silence, "This is mad... I can't even see my own hand in front of my face! I think I get now why this place is off-limits..."

Suddenly, Alice and I spot two figures approaching us. "What in the—?!"

Both figures emit loud howls, and I inquire, "Guys... are you seeing this?"

"What?" Victor responds, "I can't see anything!"

"Same here!" Hop exclaims, with Gloria nodding in agreement.

Alice voices her concern, "Are those monsters?"

"Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!" I urgently command. Pikachu releases a surge of electricity towards the silhouettes, yet the attack passes through them, having no effect.

Meowth queries, "The attack doesn't work?"

"Damn it..." I mutter in frustration. However, as the fog grows denser, the silhouettes vanish from our sight, and it seems that we also blackout.

As we regain consciousness, the fog has dissipated, and Leon hurriedly approaches us.

"Wha—? Lee? How'd you manage to find your way here? You're pants with directions. You always get lost," Hop gasps in disbelief.

"Oh, that's nice to hear from the little brother who had me worried sick! We've been waiting for ages for you, and you never showed up," Leon retorts.

"Wait, where's the Wooloo?! We were trying to rescue that Wooloo!" Hop urgently asks.

To our relief, we spot the Wooloo playing with Leon's Charizard. "Don't worry, that little chap's just fine," Leon reassures us. "Though all of you had fainted by the time we found you here. You know this place is out of bounds, but it took courage to come in here all the same. And I can understand well enough why you did it. You did good, Hop!"

"And at least that Wooloo's all right... Yeah, guys? I thought we'd had it when that weird fog started rolling in... but at least it wasn't all for nothing!"