Little was left of the day by the time Kenji reached the base of the mountains. The forest ended abruptly, dumping him out into a grassy field. Rocks were liberally strewn about, the plants struggling to grow past the stones. The light of the sun was slowly fading, drawing up to leave the ground in shadow.

  With the setting sun, Kenji studied the mountain faces closer.

  The range was one continuous mountain, with a series of rounded peaks. Cliffs, boulders, and dusty earth were the only inhabitants that he could see. Eyeing the terrain, Kenji recognized that any forays up the slopes would be short. Dragging the sled behind him was difficult enough. Doing so uphill with rocks and loose earth underfoot was a recipe for disaster.

  If that were not all, there were other considerations. Deep shadows were scattered throughout and Kenji stared at them with a frown.

  "Caves," he murmured. Or at the very least, deep overhangs could be used as such.

  His mind cast back to only days ago when rasping, deathly roars echoed throughout the forest. He has not heard them since, and he tried to forget the terrifying hunt altogether.

  Now, he could help but wonder if that was a mistake.

  The valleys between, if they could be called that, were as bare of life as the rest of the slopes. Only sparse, thin clumps of grass managed to survive in the lifeless soil. However, it was the water that concerned him the most.

  It was filthy.

  The river flowed down from the snow touched peaks, only to spray out over the various cliffs. As it neared the base of the mountain range, the water was dark with soil and filth that the river carried along.

  The contamination quickly settled as it flowed across the plain separating the forest and mountains. He estimated that it was several bells since he last visited the river, but remembered a distinctive taste of minerals. Still, the state of the filthy water was beyond his expectation.

  In the distance, sticking out at the end of the range, was the forest plateau. It appeared closer than he originally thought, perhaps only a hard couple of days' travel. Compared to the rest of the area, the green mesa was striking.

  Sprout warbled curiously, breaking Kenji out of his inspection. The turtle was staring around, uneasy at the sight of the treeless plain.

  "Mmh?" he said absently before blinking in sudden realization. "Oh, that's right. You've probably never left the forest," he said to the young beast.

  "People live out here, somewhere, coming to the forest for wood and food," he explained. Flutter perked up at his words, though the butterfly's eyes remained on the mountain. "Hopefully, by scaling the mountain, I can get an unparalleled view of the region."

  The Pokémon chirped, his large head moving from the mountains to Kenji.

  "You don’t have to come," he told the beast. "You can stay here, if you'd like."

  A trill from Flutter distracted him, pulling his focus towards the butterfly.

  "Oh, you want to come with?" he teased, the Beautifly always eager to explore. "Unfortunately, it looks like there are no flowers out there," he pointed out.

  The butterfly trilled again, its proboscis flexing as it bobbed in the air. Instead of looking towards him, the Pokémon's large eyes were focused on the mountain.

  Following the creature's gaze, Kenji searched the slopes for whatever was attracting the butterfly's attention.

  A flicker in the rocky earth caught his attention and he squinted his eyes. It was difficult to see, but there appeared to be something moving amongst the stones. Leaning forward, Kenji studied it closely, trying to tease out the details.

  To his eyes, it looked like small rocks were moving around on the face of the mountain. However, try as he might, he could not spot what caused the stones to move.

  "What do you see, Flutter?" he asked the beast, trying to find where the butterfly was looking.

  "Ti, ti," the Beautifly squealed, jabbing forward with its proboscis.

  Kenji look again, only spotting the moving rocks and not what caused them to fall.

  "Wait," he muttered, staring closer. "Shouldn't they have stopped by now?" he wondered aloud.

  For the stones were still moving. In fact, it appeared as though a few were rolling uphill not down. Following the moving rocks, Kenji felt his mouth dry.

  "Type Beasts," he breathed.

  Searching the rest of the mountain, Kenji struggled to find evidence of more. The rocky Pokémon blended in far too well with the rest of the mountain. If it were not for their movement, he would not have seen them at all. The distance hindered him further, leaving the beasts mere outcroppings of mobile rocks.

  "Perhaps we should retreat for now," he told his companions, turning around to lead them back into the forest.

  "Bea," Flutter trilled out a denial, wanting to inspect the mountain closer.

  "No, the sun is close to setting and I would like to make camp farther away." Kenji said to the flying bug. "We are too exposed out here," he added.

  "Tifly," the Pokémon answered, waving its stubby limbs.

  "By the time we get there, we'll only have to turn around," he said with a sigh. "Besides, the Pokémon out there are liable to hold an advantage over you."

  "Ti?" the butterfly chirped in confusion. It sank in the air to be closer to eye level with him.

  "Their techniques will hurt you far more than you will hurt them," Kenji explained with exasperation. "If you want to test it out, then go ahead," he waved to the mountain. "But don't expect me to come to your rescue."

  The Pokémon looked between the distant beasts and Kenji several times before returning to the forest.

  Taking the lead, Kenji wandered closer to the river as he search for a suitable spot for camp. With the mountains and unfamiliar beasts so close, he wanted something that would offer a better chance of staying hidden. While leaning the sled up against a tree was simple and quick, inconspicuous it was not.

  Several times, he stopped to inspect the water. As he suspected the river was cloudy with filth. Fortunately, there were plenty of small pools and cascades that helped to settle the dirt and filter out what did not.

  When the water only tasted strongly of minerals instead of dust, Kenji focused on finding shelter. Outcroppings of stone were plentiful and he propped his sled up against two large boulders. They were cracked, with moss and vines working to split the stone farther apart.

  His dunk in the river was short as, this close to the mountains, the water was biting. For the first time in a long while, he donned his leather to help ward off the shivering as he waited to dry. The protective gear was painfully nostalgic, offering a memory of comfort.

  Kenji chose to keep them on until he lay down to sleep, pulling off the cut apart chest piece to rest his head upon. By now he was used to the heavy scent clinging to the leather, and he quickly fell to sleep.

  It felt like he just closed his eyes when he was awoken by coughing howls. Snapping his eyes open, Kenji did not move.

  He listened to the sounds closely in an effort to judge how close the beasts were. Strangely, while he felt a shiver of fear as a result of the roars, it was not the paralysis inducing terror of last time. Instead, the howls sound less predatory and more . . .

  Alarmed.

  The raspy bellows reached a crescendo before silence abruptly fell.

  Kenji waited, his heart pounding in his ears. Right when he thought to move to investigate, a thunderous crash filled the night.

  A continuous stream of noise, he shouted in alarm and swore that the earth was shaking. Covering his ears did little to block out the sound and listened to the rolling bombardment of sound.

  As quickly as the crash of sound started, it stopped. Clatters followed, along with the grating slide of stone on stone.

  Kenji fell back with a sigh, finally able to relax. He jumped up again shortly when the crashing began again, though fortunately softer than before. Realizing that there was no sudden danger, he forced himself to lay down again.

  The loud noises occasionally resumed, lasting only a few minutes at most and shorter as night passed. To help block out the sound, Kenji covered his ears and felt Sprout trembling against him. Resting an arm around the turtle, they fitfully slept until morning.

  Flutter's soft squeals awoke him and Kenji groaned with complaint. Rolling over, he rubbed at his face.

  "Ugh, why so early," he moaned. Despite his words, he was grateful to the Beautifly for waking him.

  The early start allowed him to waken fully and stretch before starting the long hike.

  Pausing, Kenji suddenly remembered yesterday and the strange sounds last night.

  "The mountain," he said loudly as he sat up. "We made it!"

  Grabbing Sprout, Kenji lifted the half-awake turtle up into the air. The Pokémon complaints were easily ignored. The beast enjoyed sleeping in more than he did, and would pass the day buried up to his shell in the soil if it were up to him.

  Fortunately, the young turtle had Kenji to keep him going.

  After his usual morning stretches, Kenji dunked himself in the river and leapt out shortly after.

  "Cold," he shivered. "Too, too cold."

  Shaking off the water, he hurriedly pulled on his clothes and even donned his leathers. Pulling on his pack, Kenji scratched his jaw in thought. He would move faster without the larger frame slowing him down. There were enough smaller fruits in his wooden pack to feed him for several days, perhaps longer if he was more meager with his rationing.

  If he switched out fruits for the water-laden varieties, Kenji was sure that he could go just as long without returning to the river.

  "All right, that's it then." he said aloud. Turning to his two companions, he said "We'll leave the sled here for now and continue without it."

  Sprout chirped, not understanding Kenji's words while Flutter was more responsive.

  "Ti? Beauti," the butterfly trilled, glancing at the sled.

  "Yes, I'm sure," he responded. "Let's investigate the mountains, see what we find, and then we can come back for the supplies."

  Striding away, Kenji enjoyed the sense of freedom. He could swing his arms and move faster, easily slipping around any obstacle in his path. The staff, now finished, was planted in the dirt as he walked, offering him support as he moved. His shoulders still ached, but no longer would he have to torment his limbs further.

  For a few days at least.

  As he neared the edge of the forest, he spied the mountains beyond. Frowning, there noticed a difference in the shape of the range. Dread curled in his stomach as the sounds of last night echoed in his ears.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Rushing forwards, Kenji broke out the tree cover.

  "No, no, no," he moaned in despair.

  Rubble and collapsed cliffs spread out before him. The remains of a massive rockslide extended towards the forest, dust still settling bells later. New boulders and fresh stone covered the plain, crushing the plant life beneath.

  With the state of the mountain, it was far too risky to climb. There was no way of telling when the land would give way beneath him.

  Even as he watched, another rockslide rolled down the mountain. Stones bounced off the earth, taking flight before quickly crashing back to the ground. As the rocks shattered to pieces, so too did his dreams of a way home.

  Consumed as he was by the crushed hopes of civilization, Kenji did not notice the shifting of the rubble until Flutter squealed.

  Looking up with wet eyes, he was forced to rub away his tears in order to see.

  Floating above the ground were groups of large rocks, each bearing two, long stony arms. Their wide fists dug through the rubble, pulling free fistfuls of rock. Several fights broke out as the strange beasts fought over a piece of stone.

  With each pack, or even several to a group, a boulder waddled with them. The larger Pokémon bore several arms each, with rough, craggy faces. When a fight became too aggressive, the boulders intervened with casual blows that forced the competing beasts apart.

  Kenji felt his mouth fall open as stared at the strange Pokémon. They were unlike anything he had ever seen or heard of. Greenleaf was the land of grassland and forests, not the bare stone environment that these creatures obviously favored.

  As he watched, a fight broke out between two packs of the rocky Pokémon. It appeared centered around a pile of stone that both groups desired.

  The two limbed, floating rocks were the primary antagonists as the curled into balls and slammed into each other. Others threw rocks with enough force to shatter stone while some shook the earth around them. The violence only grew when the larger boulders stepped in, grab round stone in their large fists to throw at their opposing pack.

  Except the stone they grabbed was their fellow beasts.

  Against his expectations, the packs cheered on the larger evolutions.

  "Geo, geo," they chanted.

  Meanwhile, the thrown Pokémon started to fight more directly with their fists as they rose up from landing in their enemies ranks.

  Kenji did not know how long he watched, the sight distinctly odd to his mind.

  Interrupting the fight was an upheaval of rubble as something stood up beneath the fallen pieces of the mountain. Loose rock and dust sloughed off as the beast shook itself, slowly revealing the creature beneath.

  Dull spikes jutted out of stone armor, overlapping sheets of rock protecting the body beneath. The Pokémon stood low to the ground, shorter than Kenji himself. However, the beast was nearly as wide as it was tall, making its short stature deceptive. Through the cloud of dust lingering in the air, he could spy dull ivory fangs and a wide flat horn decorating the beast's face.

  The surrounding Pokémon seemed as surprised at the creature's appearance as Kenji. They eyed the powerful looking body carefully, and Kenji could tell that they were debating on fighting the new beast or not.

  Before they could decide, the Pokémon huffed shortly, powerful breaths clearing the air of dust.

  A surprisingly small jaw fell open and the beast bellowed.

  "Rhy," the Pokémon snorted. "Rhyhorn."

  The sound easily traveled over the rubble, the stone doing little to dampen the call. As the beast called out, the earth started to shake and rise. Rocks lifted up, and even boulders were casually tossed aside to reveal more of the spiked Pokémon.

  Dozens lifted themselves up, an entire herd of beasts. The levitating rocks and mobile boulders realized that they were outnumbered and started to retreat. Kenji moved to follow before he was interrupted by the arrival of yet another Pokémon.

  Two, in fact, one quickly following the other in a sprint.

  In several, leaping strides, a large ovoid shape approached the collection of beasts. Strange, coiled limbs extended out from its body, allowing the Pokémon to easily cross the distance. Clawed paws jutted forward, launched by the coiled muscles to strike at the rocky Pokémon.

  Joining it was a more humanoid beast, with thin legs and arms that ended in powerful looking fists. The skin was bruised red from the swollen paws. Despite being several strides away from the other beasts, the Pokémon punched out. A shimmer formed in the air and stone sprayed out from one of the distant boulders as it cried out in a rough shout.

  "Grav," the rocky beast groaned in pain.

  Kenji jerked back, surprised by the sudden violence. His companions trilled and warbled, snapping him out of his shock. He hurried to hush the two Pokémon, not wanting to be pulled into the battle.

  The other beasts were just as surprised, allowing the two hostile Pokémon to land several more strikes. They moved amongst the herd, landing only a few attacks before turning their attentions onto another beast.

  The duo's actions left him confused, as there seemed little reason for them to suddenly begin fighting. Especially when they were so broadly outnumbered. That was, until he heard a shout from down the tree line.

  Turning his head, Kenji watched as two men stepped out from the cover of the trees. They were covered in leaves and dirt, which easily allowed them to blend in the surroundings. Even from several spans away, he had difficulty focusing on the two.

  The shout was from one of the strangers, who waved his arms excitedly and kicked at the air. While he was gesticulating, his companion jogged forward with a bag in his hand. Upon closing with the herd, he pulled something out of the bag and pointed it at a nearby beast.

  It was one of the injured ones, the Pokémon's spiky plates cracked by repeated blows. The strikes drove it to the ground where it struggled to stand.

  A beam of light speared out from the man's fist and struck the Pokémon. The red light covered the beast and it disappeared in a flash.

  Kenji stared at the man in horror and he put the item away and pulled out another.

  By now the wild Pokémon were starting to fight back. They rolled about in dizzying balls of speed, trying to catch their attacks. Stones were picked up and thrown, sometimes including other rock beasts. The spiked beast bellowed, using their horns to lash out as they shook their bodies in an effort to spear the assaulting Pokémon.

  However, few of the attacks landed, and those that did only seemed to encourage the fighters further.

  "Pokémon Hunters," Kenji snarled. He slid the straps from his shoulders, letting his pack fall to the ground. Glaring at the men, he gripped the bō tighter. "Flutter," he looked up at the butterfly.

  The beast trilled with fury, flapping its wings angrily. Glad to see his companion's fury, Kenji pointed his staff at the attacking Pokémon.

  "Stir up the wind around them," he ordered. "Keep those beasts from attacking the others. And stop that Hunter!"

  Flutter squealed, bounding forward through the air. The butterfly flapped harder and harder, gathering the wind around itself.

  "Sprout, stay here," he snapped.

  While the Beautifly went for the two Pokémon and one of the Ronin, Kenji raced for the other. He did not need to defeat them, only delay the two until the other Pokémon could get away.

  Racing along the tree line, he was quickly spotted by the energetic man. The Hunter faced him with a cocked head, waving at Kenji.

  Flickering an eye over to his companion, he saw it arrive with a powerful gust that picked up the rocks and threw them around. The Hunter fought to remain standing, lifting an arm to shield his face from the wind. The two Pokémon turned to face Flutter, raising their limbs to attack.

  Turning to confront his own opponent, Kenji lifted his staff with both hands.

  The man laughed, faint scars rippling on his face. It was hard to make out his form with the leaves, branches, and dirt draped across his body. He faced Kenji, raising his fists to guard himself.

  Slamming his foot down, Kenji spun, drawing his staff down and then up over his head. He focused all his momentum on the end of the wood, directing slam down overhead. He missed the Hunter's reaction, only seeing the taller man's arms shifting the staff to the side and avoiding his body entirely.

  Kenji jerked the staff sideways, attempting to catch the man in the legs and throw him off balance with a shout.

  The man recovered incredibly quickly, jumping upwards to allow the weapon to pass underneath. He laughed as he did so, shouting something that Kenji missed. The words were garbled and strange, the dialect too rough for him to catch in the middle of their fight.

  Instead of trying to understand the stranger, Kenji surged forward before he could land. Not bothering to pull his staff back, Kenji slammed his body into the larger man's.

  The glimpse he caught of the Hunter's face was one full of surprise as Kenji managed to shoved him backwards. The man rolled further, tumbling until he leapt to his feet with a grin.

  {Not bad, kid,} he said loudly. He barely looked ruffled by the fall, simply raising his hands once more. {If I'd known you'd put up a fight, I wouldn't have let you go last time.}

  Kenji glared back, not understanding the man's words and not bothering to respond. Instead, he used the moment to pull the staff close to his body and reassert his grip.

  "Hrah," he shouted, twisting with his body to lash out with the length of wood and strike at the man's side.

  The stranger blocked it with a grunt, taking the full force of his arm instead of redirecting it.

  Using the rebound, Kenji brough the other end of the staff up to strike at the Hunter's head. He twisted, bringing the weapon closer to his body as he did to enhance the strength he brought to bear. The man's block helped, giving him the push to bring the weapon around.

  His arms were too low to block the blunt end from the behind and left the man staggering. He stumbled to forwards, instinctively trying to shield himself.

  Kenji stepped backwards, keeping the Hunter at a distance. He risked a glance towards the rubble, seeing Flutter struggling to keep up the technique. The two beasts were circling around, unwilling to take the gust of wind head on.

  The rocky beasts around them were unconcerned by the rampant air, shaking off the attack. They were recovering, Kenji noted, but not as fast he would have liked. The spiky, armored beasts were still trying to free themselves from the rubble covering them while the rocky Pokémon looked confused and lashing out at everything around them.

  Meanwhile, the other Hunter was staring in their direction, a twisted grimace on his dark face. In spite of the distance, he felt the violence flowing off the man in waves.

  Suppressing a shudder, he turned back to his opponent. Kenji raised his voice and shouted at the bug.

  "Flutter!" he yelled. "Spit Thread, make it sticky as possible to slow them down."

  His words must have jarred the Hunter in front of him for he stood up straight. Instead of the snarl of anger or grimace of pain, a wide smile bared his teeth at Kenji.

  {I don't like beating up kids, but seeing as you started it,} the man said, his language unfamiliar to Kenji. Not a surprise considering the numerous kingdoms across Ransei, though he was worried what it meant for him. {Don't worry though, I'll make Jared won't get a hold of you.}

  He suddenly kicked out and Kenji frantically spun his staff. Suddenly put on the defensive, he struggled to keep the man at a distance. The Hunter was clearing trained in some form of kicking-based martial arts, as his legs cracked against the wood. Fortunately, the staff was long enough that neither his feet or legs touched Kenji, though his hands were left stinging.

  Dancing around, he tried to catch a glimpse of Flutter and the wild beasts. The aggressive Pokémon seemed to have made the mistake of trying to block the spray of string. Their limbs quickly stuck to the silk and the Beautifly was slowly trying to cover them.

  The wild Pokémon made the process difficult as they decided to simply focus their pain on all the intruders in their territory. The only saving grace was that the other Hunter was forced to defend himself as well.

  Turning his eyes back to the man in front of him, Kenji was in time to see a foot plant itself in his gut. The force was enough to throw him back several paces and rolled, struggling to hold onto his staff.

  Gagging, Kenji felt the urge to retch even as the air was forced out his lungs. He scrambled on the ground, forcing himself to his feet. His own father did not hold back in their training, often leaving bruises that took days to heal. Looking for the other man, Kenji brought his staff to bear, ready to defend himself.

  The Hunter was staring at him with a toothy grin, not bothering to press his advantage. His stance was relaxed, arms held loosely in front of himself.

  {Not bad. You from one of those old-time clans?}

  The man spoke again, the lack of understanding nearly as aggravating as his opponent's intent to not take him seriously.

  Part of him wanted to follow his father's teachings, advising Kenji to take whatever advantage he could grasp. 'There is no honor in War' the man said when asked about the rules of battle.

  The other part spent Guardians' above knows how long in a forest struggling to survive. To say that he wanted to vent was an understatement.

  Glaring at the Hunter, Kenji felt anger bubble up in him. Of all the people he could have encountered, from allies to enemy Warriors to simple strangers. He just had to run into Pokémon Hunters.

  Screaming in frustration, Kenji ran forwards, jabbing out with his staff. His opponent avoided it of course, the move openly telegraphed. Instead of growing more frustrated, however, Kenji bared his teeth in a grin of his own.

  Spinning around, he lashed out with his staff once more. This time, he used every strike, whether block or otherwise, to fuel another attack.

  The wood blurred, moving faster than he could see. Only long hours of practice kept him moving, responding before he could consciously register how his opponent responded.

  The man retreated, his grin turning into a frown of annoyance. Arms redirected the side, body twisting to avoid blows he couldn't push aside, and legs moved him side to side. He retreated, moving back towards the mountain as Kenji continued to step towards him.

  {Sinnoh's Nuts, kid,} the unknown language once more spilling from the stranger's mouth. {What's gotten into you!} the man shouted. Whether he knew Kenji could understand or not was of no consequence to either of them.

  When Kenji felt himself start to slow, he jabbed forward harshly. He extended his arms and staff as much as he dared, putting himself off balance.

  Instead of punishing him, the Hunter stepped backwards. The small kick to the ground placed him several paces away from Kenji.

  Breathing heavily, they locked eyes. Kenji was breathing heavily, the frantic pace wearing him out.

  Fortunately, hiking through a forest for nearly half a season gave him plenty of stamina.

  {Had enough?} the man said as gestured. The smile was back on his face and the man barely looked out of breath.

  Kenji scowled back at the Hunter. While the words were unclear, the message was not. Focusing on the background, he smirked and shouted at his companion.

  "Flutter!" he yelled at the Pokémon. "Spit Thread, cocoon him up."

  The butterfly, only paces away after Kenji's series of attacks, let loose a piercing trill. The man stiffened in surprise, turning to see what was happening. However, he was too late as the beast sprayed out a stream of adhesive silk.

  The thread easily clung to the man's foliaged outfit, wrapping around him as the Beautifly directed. The man shouted wordlessly, his struggles only serving to trap him further.

  Instead of sticking around to watch, Kenji dashed over to Sprout. The young turtle was trembling by his pack, not yet withdrawn. Despite himself, Kenji smiled at the sight. When he first encountered the turtle, the beast was liable to retreat from a harsh look.

  "Sprout, Withdraw," he said authoritatively as he raced up to the Pokémon. The shortened command was one they practiced well enough, and the turtle quickly did as instructed.

  Barely pausing to strap on his pack, Kenji snatched up the turtle by his shell. Turning to survey the base of the mountain, he saw the wild Pokémon finally directing their anger towards the silk coated Hunters and their beasts. Flutter joined them with more sprays of string, even as the butterfly was forced to dodge the occasional thrown stone.

  "That's enough Flutter," he shouted to his companion. "Let's go,"

  The Pokémon trilled loudly, a glittering dust stirred up by its angry wingbeats. Kenji grinned, recognizing the beginning of a new technique. While weak, the spore attack would slow the Hunters down further and give them time to escape.

  With Flutter catching up to him, Kenji disappeared into the forest. He raced through the trees, the wood frame bouncing on his back. Instead of returning to his sled and many of the supplies he managed to gather so far, his eyes landed on his new objective.

  With the mountains no longer viable, he could not avoid it any longer. The forested plateau had long weighed heavy in his sight. It was time he paid the isolated woods a visit.