Second day.
Morning.
Cain emerged from the alternate space accompanied by his Pokémon.
"Something's not right," he said after just a glance around; he immediately noticed something different.
The night before, he had completely buried the remains of the campfire, and yet now there was a small hole in that spot.
Judging by the size of the hole, it was very likely someone had stuck a human finger in there.
In addition, there were human footprints on the ground with no attempt to hide them.
"They must've thought I'd already left and didn't bother covering their tracks," Cain narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint flashing in them.
He crouched down and carefully examined the depth and size of the footprints.
"Interesting. Two people. A man and a woman. Did they meet by chance, or do they have some special way of reuniting quickly?" Cain wondered silently.
It wasn't a far-fetched possibility.
He and Drake didn't know much about this mysterious space.
And if the enemy had been able to plan Wattson's ambush with such precision right before entering the space, they probably knew a lot more about this place.
Cain slowly stood back up.
"They couldn't have gone far in just one night... I might still be able to catch up to them," Cain decided. After a quick breakfast with his Pokémon, he set out in pursuit.
Whether ally or enemy, running into someone would help him better understand this space.
"Huh...?" Suddenly, not long after he had started moving, the ground began to shake.
Not just the ground... the entire space seemed to tremble!
And then something completely abnormal happened.
A gigantic tree of an unknown species emerged on the horizon, as if rising from the very bowels of the earth—and it kept growing at an alarming rate.
Cain froze, watching the tree as it continued to rise.
He had previously flown above the canopy of this vast primeval forest, and even from the air, he hadn't been able to see its end—it seemed to stretch on infinitely.
And the ancient trees that grew here were already enormous.
That's why he had assumed this entire space was just one vast jungle.
But that tree... that single tree... kept growing without pause.
From his location, Cain felt it was as distant as Mt. Chimney looks from Leafy Town: clearly visible, but unreachable.
"What kind of tree is that...? It's already over three thousand meters tall, and it's done that in just half an hour... And it doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon," Cain muttered in awe.
Could it be the legendary Tree of Life?
The appearance of that tree was a clear message.
Whatever secret was hidden in this space, everyone inside was surely now heading toward that natural colossus.
But Cain couldn't do that.
According to his judgment, Steven and Phoebe—aware of their situation—wouldn't rush toward the tree, but rather approach it cautiously.
If he charged in headfirst, he might fall directly into an ambush.
So he decided to temporarily ignore the giant tree, which was finally starting to slow its growth a bit (though still showing no clear sign of stopping).
Cain continued tracking the two people who had found his camp, hoping they hadn't strayed too far yet.
...
Somewhere in the mysterious space...
An old man with a white beard stood on a branch, chewing jerky and drinking liquor as he looked at the colossal figure of the tree in the distance.
Beside him, a light-blue Pokémon flapped its scarlet wings.
It was Drake, who had been separated from Cain when entering the space.
After swallowing the dried meat and a big gulp of liquor, he wiped the alcohol from his beard.
"That tree must be the central secret of this space... I don't know if Steven, Cain, or those other brats are heading toward it, but I need to go first. If there's a secret there, we can't let their side get it first. And if there's nothing there, at least staying near the tree is better than wandering around blindly," Drake thought.
He stored away his canteen.
"Who knows how long I'll be stuck here... I better ration the liquor," he said as he mounted his Salamence.
He had complete confidence in his strength, so he flew straight toward the tree.
Although there were many powerful wild Pokémon in this space, few could pose a real threat to him; in fact, they were nearly nonexistent.
Among wild Pokémon, reaching the Elite level was already a rarity. And to reach Champion level... well, most would never even see one in their lives.
Aside from Drake, others scattered throughout the space also began heading toward the tree.
Whether it held secrets or not, that tree now pointed the way forward.
...
Cain, however, was an exception.
He continued following the trail of the two people who had been at his campsite.
But in the middle of his search, the footprints simply vanished.
As if, just like him, they had hidden themselves in an alternate space.
Or perhaps...
Above!
Cain looked up sharply.
And there he saw it: a Pidgeot soaring through the sky, with a woman standing on its back. She was staring down at him with a cold expression.
"Only one person?" Cain frowned.
That didn't make sense...
Where was the other one? Hiding? Or did he head straight for the tree?
In that situation, if they had reunited, it would've made the most sense to move together for safety.
Soon, Cain shifted his attention to the woman.
She was dressed in red, with an "Ω" symbol on her clothing. The emblem of her organization was unmistakable: Team Magma!
Cain watched her closely as she descended on her Pidgeot.
So he was right... someone was trying to pin the blame on Team Aqua.
And who better to do that than Team Magma themselves?
Water and fire don't mix.
The woman also stared at him intently as she ordered her Pidgeot to descend slowly.
"Team Magma, huh? And your partner?" Cain asked coldly.
"Tch, I thought I felt someone following us. Turned out I was right. Hey, little League boy... haven't they told you it's dangerous to follow a lady without her permission?" the woman jumped off her Pidgeot and stood in front of Cain with a flirtatious smile.
Was she... flirting?
Seriously?
Cain frowned even more.
If her partner had gone to the tree, that was fine.
But if he was hiding nearby and Cain hadn't noticed... then there was definitely a problem.
"I have a few questions I'd like to ask you. That's why I followed you," Cain replied, showing not the slightest bit of fear.
"Oh? And what if I let you ask them? Maybe this big sister can help you with the answers," the Team Magma woman said, laughing as she openly flirted.
(End of chapter)