The forest's edge shimmered under the golden haze of early evening, its shadows flickering with the warmth of residual sunlight. Ashwin's footsteps slowed as he approached the final boundary of his farm's property—beyond it lay the wilds where spores were known to infect Pokémon. He was returning from his scouting rounds with Elygem, who hovered silently beside him, eyes glowing faintly as it surveyed the environment for traces of the psychic disturbance.
Ashwin's breath caught.
A few paces away, a strange ripple pulsed through the air like heat rising from stone. Then, as if emerging from a memory long lost, a figure slowly became visible—fur ash-colored, robes scorched at the hem, and a mystical stick in its paw glowing faintly with red-orange runes. A Delphox stood motionless in the clearing, its eyes flickering with conflicting emotions—fear, grief, and pain. Psychic energy wafted around it like smoke, curling and dispersing unnaturally into the air.
"…You're not wild, are you?" Ashwin murmured.
Delphox didn't respond, but its gaze locked onto his. Elygem buzzed with an alert [Minor Psychic Instability Detected — Subject Delphox]. Ashwin stepped forward slowly, hands low, aura calm. The Fire/Psychic-type growled low, the air shimmering again with uncontrolled heatwaves and erratic energy pulses.
[New Side Quest Unlocked: "The Flame that Forgets"Objective: Calm the destabilized Delphox and discover the origin of its psychic dissonance.]
Ashwin realized this Pokémon wasn't just sick—it was broken. Its psychic presence was fragmented, memories torn apart, held together by instinct and barely contained rage. He crouched beside it as Elygem gently pressed a psychic pulse outward to stabilize its mind.
"Hey," Ashwin whispered, "You don't have to burn everything. We'll figure this out together."
Suddenly, the ground beneath them pulsed—an ancient echo, a forgotten place buried beneath the wildlands. Delphox's staff hit the dirt with a soft clack, and it slumped into a sitting position, exhaustion overtaking rage.
Ashwin reached into his satchel and pulled out a soothing flame balm, usually used for calming fire Pokémon in overheat. With slow, careful motions, he began to treat Delphox's flickering fur and inflamed psychic veins.
As the light dimmed around them and dusk deepened, Elygem and Ashwin worked in tandem, building a temporary stabilizer circle of psychic rocks and flame-reducing herbs. Delphox, despite its pain, remained.
And in the fading light, Ashwin finally heard it—a faint psychic whisper directly into his mind:
"I was... guardian... something stolen... something forgotten..."
Ashwin nodded slowly. "We'll find it. Whatever they took from you... I'll help you remember."
Ashwin awoke in the early twilight hours, the farm still and bathed in a soft mist. The fields were silent save for the occasional flutter of wings or rustle of leaves. Inside the underground grotto, Delphox rested in a specially arranged chamber, surrounded by woven psychic stabilizers and herbal wards. Its breathing was steady now, no longer erratic. The burn scars on its fur were already healing with Vespiquen's balm and Munchlax's freshly prepared berry mixture.
Ashwin stepped out quietly, Elygem hovering by his side, pulsing with a steady [Readiness: 87%] status.
[System Notification:Time-Limited Mission – "Sporefall Containment" OngoingObjective: Investigate Wild Zone Spore Origin – Progress 48%Secondary Objective: Identify contamination vector and potential countermeasure.]
Outside, fire-type Pokémon were already stretching and warming up. Growlithe practiced controlled Ember bursts in marked lanes. Chimchar balanced on fenceposts while hurling flame wheels at moving targets. Cyndaquil remained close to Ashwin, focused on producing steady flame without overheating.
"Alright," Ashwin said. "Time to see what Delphox makes of the samples."
Inside the lab extension of the Grotto, Ashwin arranged the most recent spore samples he'd collected from contaminated Pokémon and terrain. Microscopic residue clung to the edge of each vial, even after purification efforts.
Delphox stepped forward slowly, robe swaying, and ran its fingers over the containers. A faint purple hue coated its fingers—its psychic senses sharpening as it gently pried into the memory of the materials themselves.
Its staff flared with orange-blue light.
A vision hit Ashwin.
Burning spores raining over a wild glade. Pokémon writhing as their auras distorted, minds fractured. Then—shadows. Figures in gas masks, extracting something deep underground. A tree. No, beneath the tree. Something pulsing. Contained.
Ashwin reeled back, clutching his head. Delphox staggered too, but steadied itself with a long breath.
"…It's not natural," Ashwin said under his breath. "That spore… it was grown."
Delphox looked at him and nodded solemnly. It pressed its palm to his chest, and an image shimmered in his mind—a place beneath twisted roots, psychic residue like ink smeared across earth.
[New Clue Registered – Subterranean Spore Growth NodePotential Cultivation Site: 78% MatchCountermeasure: Fire-Type and Psychic-Type Dual Infusion Treatment in progress]
Ashwin exhaled. "We need to treat the infected Pokémon faster—and get to that node."
Ashwin moved with his fire-type team, accompanied by Elygem and Delphox, to a nearby glade where several infected Pokémon had been spotted. Smoke from Ember disinfection training still lingered as Growlithe and Cyndaquil carefully cleared the underbrush.
The infected Pokémon, including a Linoone and a pair of Spinarak, trembled under the effect of the spore. Delphox stepped forward calmly, tracing psychic symbols mid-air, then nodded to Ashwin.
He activated the portable flame chamber they had prepared, a specialized tent infused with psychically charged incense and controlled heat.
The Pokémon entered, weak but willing.
[Wild Patient Status: Stabilizing – Infection Level 37% → 21%Quest Progress: "Sporefall Containment" → 63%Reward Tier: Tier 2 Reached – Bonus: "Enhanced Flame Preserver Recipe" Unlocked.]
That night, under the silver moonlight filtering through the Grotto's vines, Ashwin and Delphox sat in the quiet, surrounded by the low hum of energy from the rescued Pokémon.
"Let's see what they stole from you," Ashwin whispered, offering Delphox a memory stone—infused with residual aura extracted from the psychic field.
Delphox clutched it, and the Grotto dimmed. Images flowed like water:
A ceremonial glade. Young Delphox standing guard over a sealed root. An ancient altar carved with runes. Intruders in black. An explosion. Screams of Pokémon and flames flickering in the wind. A final psychic surge. Everything burning. Then—nothing.
Ashwin stared at the vision, heart pounding.
"…You were protecting something ancient," he said. "They broke it open."
Delphox let go of the stone and curled its fingers, staff flaring again. A memory—painful but now clearer.
And with it came a vow, silently echoed by Delphox and felt by Ashwin:
"We will find them. We will restore what they took."