Pokémon Creepypasta A to Z

Braid

There are certain rules one must follow while traveling through Ilex Forest.

First, should you consider doing it, never stray from the path. Ever.

Before you looms the darkness of Ilex Forest. You've just earned your second badge in the Johto League, and you're already excited about getting your third. It doesn't strike you as odd that no one in Azalea Town told you much about the forest. It strikes you as a little odd that no one will tell you how to get through it. Nonetheless, you know from the map in the Pokémon center that it stands between you and Goldenrod City, and you need to get to Goldenrod within a week. (There is, in reality, no reason why you absolutely need to be there within a week. You simply decided right after defeating Bugsy that you want to get your next badge right away.) So, you need to go through Ilex Forest.

You pass an elderly couple on your way through the pristine checkpoint. They stare at you for awhile before the old man turns to his wife.

Part of you swears you can hear him mutter, "You know we can't warn anyone, Muriel. Don't you remember what happened to the last kid we tried to tell the story to?"

Shuddering, you glance back at them for a second and then shrug it off. It's just your imagination, and you know it.

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there was a tiny village by the sea. Now, this village wasn't anything particularly special at first glance. It had its chieftain and its people and its traditions, just like any other village. What made it at all special was the fact that every year, just after the first harvest, all the women took baskets full of fruits and vegetables to the edge of the village and left them there. That was all there was to that ceremony. There were no words from the chieftain. There was no harvest festival. The villagers didn't even share the story behind their tradition unless asked. It was simply understood that the baskets were to be left, and the villagers must not look back as they left them there.

Second, should you stray from the path, never take your eyes off it. If you don't take your eyes off it, you will always be able to get back to it. However, the moment you look away, the trees around you will swallow it up.

Although it's noon when you start off, the forest canopy, with its lush spread of leaves overhead, quickly blocks out the sun to make it look like the dead of night. You're not scared. You've been through the Ruins of Alph already. You've seen gastly in Sprout Tower. You even faced Team Rocket in the depths of Slowpoke Well. Besides, you have Pokémon with you - high-leveled ones, to be exact. After all, you just defeated Bugsy. Your team can face anything.

Not far into the forest, you come across a young boy. He's muttering to himself and pacing back and forth in front of a small tree. Blinking, you slowly approach him.

"Hey, are you all right?" you ask.

He looks up. His eyes are wide, and his face looks pale, even in the shadows.

"It's my boss," he says. "He's gonna kill me."

"What makes you say that?"

The boy wrings his hands. "I brought his farfetch'd in here to cut wood. But I don't have any badges, so they wouldn't listen to me and ran off into the forest! I can't get them back! Even if I knew where they were, they'll just run away from me." He hangs his head. "If my boss finds out I lost his farfetch'd..."

You smile. You know you have the badges to get Pokémon to follow you, and you're always willing to help someone out. Besides, they're farfetch'd. They're no match for your team, and you know that, too.