Pokémon: The Mysterious Region (book 1)

Chapter 5: Grasp of the Hypno

A knock on my door caused me to glance up from my notes. My brother, Ryan, held the door open and was looking in at me.

"Hey," he said, stepping inside. "Still working on it?"

I nodded and turned back to the map I was working on. "We have the coordinates, but they're slightly unfinished. So far," I pointed to three points on the map with my pen. "These three places seem the more likely spots where we should search."

I ran my hand through my wild blonde hair. "But they're in uncharted waters. There hasn't been much exploration into the West."

Ryan nodded as he came to stand next to me, his long blonde hair in a ponytail. "What about those points?"

He pointed to two dots that were the outliers, much more of a distance away than the other three dots which were grouped together.

I shook my head. "The one closest to Galar is dead center in one of the new shipping lanes, so I doubt it's that one."

"Then what about this guy?" He asked, pressing his finger on the dot most Southwest from Galar.

"Maybe," I said uncertainly. "It's just that that these three locations are closer together and are directly West from the Unovan colony."

Ryan put a hand on my shoulder. "Remember, it isn't just about what's more convenient."

I sighed. "Yeah yeah. But if we shoot for this one, it's about 1100 miles Southeast from the Unovan colony. Who in this region is idiotic enough to take us there?"

Ryan flashed a grin. "I know a guy."

I rolled my eyes and turned back to the map. "Of course you do."

I dipped my pen into the ink bottle. "Contact him then. I'll plot our route on here. And if that location doesn't work, we can always head West to check out the other locations."

"And," Ryan leaned over me. "We can go on the shipping route to the Unovan colony and check that outlier, just in case."

I nodded. "Alright then. This might just work."

Ryan ruffled my hair. "Dad would be proud."

I gave a sad smile. "He would've wanted to come."

"He is," Ryan said firmly. "He'll be on your journey wherever you go."

I nodded as he left, not missing that fact that he said "your" not "our".

...

I felt myself being dragged across the rough ground, my brain foggy. I tried to open my eyes, but they felt so heavy. I couldn't move at all. 

As I tried to focus, I realized I was being dragged by an invisible force. 

"Who?" I managed to rasp and I felt myself drop to the stone floor.

Soft padding sounded to my right and I could feel a presence next to my head. 

"Liam."

That voice. Was it-

"Liam. Open your eyes."

I almost did. It was my brother's voice. He must be dragging me to safety. But from what. Then I remembered where Ryan was.

I firmly kept my eyes shut, as the voice seemed to echo around the tunnel, its voice inside my head.

"Liam. Open your eyes. Now."

I felt my eyes forced open by an invisible force. I was staring into the pink glowing eyes of a Hypno, its pendulum swinging in front of my gaze.

"You are mine."

I struggled to move, to look away, anything. But that voice, it was so, warm.

"You are mine."

My mind went blank and everything became background noise.

"Stand."

I picked myself of the ground and stood, listening to that fuzzy voice in my head.

"Now walk."

I began walking down the dark tunnel. What felt as an eternity I reached the edge of a cliff, leading down into the dark abyss.

"Stop."

Feet from the edge, I halted.

"Die."

I felt my foot moving. I knew something was wrong. I can't stop. I have to. I want to. I want to die.

"Survive."

A different voice. A familiar voice. My brother's. Ryan's.

"Survive."

I felt feeling return to my body and I slammed my right foot down and pushed myself backwards. I hit the Hypno and we went tumbling back down the tunnel.

I quickly got to my feet and ran. I reached the point where the path split ways and I took the right most path this time, the one leading up.

"No one shall leave these caves! Ever!"

I ignored it, chanting the word inside my head. Survive. Survive. Survive.

"No one must enter the island!"

Light. I could see light. I burst out of the ground and into a jungle, sunlight streaming through the trees. 

I felt my knees buckle and I collapsed on the ground. I turned around and looked back at the cave entrance. The Hypno was standing there, half of it shrouded in darkness. Then it turned and walked back into the shadows.

I let my head fall on the mossy ground, breathing deeply. I stayed like this for a while. 

Eventually, I rose to a sitting position. I checked as much as my person as I could. A few scrapes and bruises, nothing major as far as I could tell, but with a killer headache. My spear was still sticking out of belt, but the torch and flasks were gone. Everything else was still with me, including the gun.

I groaned, grabbing my head as I stood, and stumbled into a tree. I held on to it to support myself and straightened. Then my brain went fuzzy and I collapsed.

Yeah, these chapters are short huh? Well, at the moment it's all just setting things up so to speak. We'll get to longer chapters soon, I think? Well, we'll all find out when I get there. Toodles