The edge of the valley, nighttime. Fog everywhere.
Venusaur couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about Charizard and those weird burn marks on his claws.
So tonight, he decided to follow Charizard. Like a detective! A really big, really slow, really loud detective.
The sun went down. The stars came out. And sure enough — Charizard woke up, stretched his wings, and flew north.
Venusaur tried to sneak through the forest after him. But sneaking is hard when you weigh as much as a car.
CRUNCH. SNAP. CRUNCH.
???"You know, for a spy, you're really, REALLY bad at this."
Venusaur froze. That voice came from... everywhere? He looked left. He looked right. He looked up.
And there she was.
— purple mist swirls and sparkles fill the air —
Mismagius floated down from the treetops, covered in sparkles and glowing purple light. She was a Ghost-type who'd lived in the valley forever. Nobody knew where she came from. She just... showed up wherever something interesting was happening.
Some Pokémon called her the Witch. She preferred "Observer."
Mismagius"You're following the big dragon, aren't you?"
Venusaur"I'm INVESTIGATING. That's different."
Mismagius"Sure, sure. Very professional. Very sneaky. Not at all like a Tauros crashing through a gift shop."
Venusaur's face got hot. His flower started blooming. That always happened when he was embarrassed.
Venusaur"Do you know what Charizard is doing every night?"
Mismagius stopped smiling. Her sparkles changed from pink to dark purple. She floated closer.
Mismagius"I know EVERYTHING that happens in this valley at night. I know Charizard flies to the northern caves to keep the baby Pokémon warm. But that's not the scary part."
Venusaur"There's a SCARY PART?"
Mismagius"Something new has come to the valley. Something made of metal. It has a cannon on its back. It doesn't eat. It doesn't sleep. It just flies around scanning everything. And it's heading straight for those caves."
— SCREEEEECH! A metallic sound echoes from the mountains —
They both looked up. A streak of purple and silver light shot across the sky like a rocket. It wasn't a bird. It wasn't a Pokémon they'd ever seen. It moved like a machine — fast, sharp, and scary.
Genesect. A robotic Pokémon with a giant cannon on its back, blasting through the sky straight toward the northern caves.
Straight toward Charizard. Straight toward the babies.
Venusaur"We have to warn Charizard! NOW!"
Mismagius"WE? Oh no no no. I'm a ghost. I float and I watch. I don't DO running."
Venusaur"Mismagius. Please."
She looked at him for a long moment. Then she sighed — a sigh that made all the flowers around them shiver.
Mismagius"Fine. But I'm floating the whole way. And if anything bad happens, I'm blaming you."
And so the grumpiest Pokémon in the valley and the spookiest Pokémon in the valley started running (and floating) north as fast as they could.
Behind them, the valley slept peacefully.
Ahead of them, Charizard had no idea what was coming.
And above them, Genesect's cannon glowed in the dark.
To be continued...