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

Chapter 4: First Catches

We were on our way to Victor and Gloria's house when the crash tore through Postwick.

It came from the direction of the fence near the Slumbering Weald, a hard wooden crack that made every conversation stop. Hop, who had been walking ahead with Sobble and Wooloo, spun around so fast he nearly tripped over his own feet.

"Guys, did you hear that just now?" he asked.

"I heard it too," Alice said, already turning. "What happened?"

We ran toward the sound. Pikachu balanced on my shoulder, ears pinned forward, and Eevee kept pace beside Alice. Gloria held Scorbunny close for only two steps before the Fire type squirmed free and bounded ahead, sensing the urgency even if it did not understand the danger.

The broken gate came into view through the hedges.

One side hung crooked from the fence, and fresh splinters marked where something round and determined had pushed through. The path beyond it disappeared into the thick trees of the Slumbering Weald.

Hop stared at the opening. "The gate is open, and the Wooloo that was here..."

"It was tackling the fence earlier," Gloria said, her face paling. "You do not think it actually broke through there?"

Victor swallowed. "But that place is off-limits. Nobody is supposed to go in. The professor's granddaughter went in once and came back in a terrible state."

"If the Wooloo went in, it might be in danger," I said. "We have to save it."

Hop's hands tightened around his bag strap. "Right. We are not supposed to go in, but this is the sort of thing where you do what needs doing."

Pikachu looked into the trees, tail stiff and sparks low against his cheeks, "The air feels wrong, but something helpless is farther in."

I nodded. "Stay close, everyone."

We stepped through the broken gate together.

The Slumbering Weald swallowed the sound of Postwick almost immediately.

The trees grew close enough to make the path feel uncertain, and pale fog curled around roots, stones, and hanging branches. Every few steps, the mist thickened until the world behind us looked less like a road and more like a memory already fading.

Alice stayed beside me. Gloria kept one hand near Scorbunny. Victor watched the ground carefully, and Hop called for the Wooloo again and again until his voice began to sound smaller than the fog.

"That Wooloo," Alice said quietly. "Where do you think it went?"

Gloria hugged herself. "The fog is getting worse. If we do not find it soon, this might turn into real trouble."

Sobble trembled beside Hop's leg. Wooloo tried to look brave for Sobble, but even it stopped bouncing.

Pikachu's ears twitched sharply beside my face.

A shape moved ahead, half swallowed by white mist.

Then another shape emerged beside it.

Two figures stepped out of the white fog, low and large, their outlines like wolves made from shadow and breath. I could see them clearly enough to feel their gaze, but not clearly enough to make sense of their bodies. It was as if the fog had drawn the idea of them without finishing the rest.

"Alice," I whispered. "Do you see them?"

"Yes," she answered. "Ash, what are those?"

Hop's voice came from behind us. "See what?"