After parting ways with Riven, I continued toward Pewter City. At least, that was the plan.
But the forest had other ideas.
What should've been a straight trail out of Viridian turned into a twisting path with turns I didn't remember taking. Landmarks I passed once… I passed again. The trees were whispering in static. Even the sky seemed off, like the color palette had dropped a few hues.
System Alert: Area Loop DetectedPossible Dimensional Instability – Hidden Node Signature Present
Do you wish to engage with the anomaly?[Yes] | [No]
"…Like I have a choice," I muttered.
I tapped [Yes] and the forest around me shifted.
One blink. That's all it took.
Now I stood in a new clearing: dense, misty, and filled with towering trees whose trunks glitched in and out of reality. Each one had bark that resembled pixel textures moss growing in straight lines instead of natural patterns.
Charmander and Ralts stood beside me, both on edge. Ralts's eyes glowed faintly, reacting to the anomaly. I pulled out its Pokéball and scanned.
Ralts [Lv. 10] – Glitchborn VariantAbility: Psychic/Data InterfaceNew Trait Unlocked: "Echo Memory" – Can reveal map of corrupted areas once per day.
Suddenly, Ralts let out a soft chime and raised its hand.
A holographic mini-map appeared before me patchy, but enough to see we were inside something called…
"Labyrinth Grove – Node 2 of 5"Status: Semi-StabilizedThreat Level: Moderate – Codewalls Present
"Let's move carefully," I said, gripping my pack tighter.
As we explored, twisted Pokémon started appearing.
A Paras with glowing white eyes and a flickering mushroom cap crawled across a branch.
A Shroomish that left behind binary code instead of spores waddled across our path.
Wild Pokémon: Corrupted Paras – Lv. 8Hostile. Attempting Code Infection.
We fought through several encounters, slowly uncovering pieces of the grove's map thanks to Ralts's Echo Memory ability. But something bigger stirred deeper in.
A hum. A vibration in the air, like a server fan struggling to keep up.
Then we found it:
A pedestal, ancient-looking but clearly digital, stood in the heart of the grove. Floating above it was a cube of spinning code.
System Fragment Detected: World Anchor (2/5)Warning: Guardian Protocol Active
A roar echoed through the grove.
From the mist emerged a towering figure: part plant, part data.
Guardian of the Grove: Tangrowth [Lv. 18] – Corrupted VariantStatus: Defensive – Controlled by Node Corruption
Unique Trait: Rootcode – Drains system stability each turn
I staggered. "Level 18?! No way"
System Override Unlocked: Emergency Evolution Protocol – Conditions Met
Would you like to allow Ralts to undergo forced, unstable evolution?Warning: May result in alternate or corrupted form.
[Evolve Now] | [Delay]
My hand hovered… then clicked [Evolve Now].
Ralts stepped forward. The glow was intense no stone, no friendship triggers. Just code, rewriting itself.
Ralts's body glitched wildly. First toward Kirlia then twisted. The final form that emerged was humanoid but subtly… wrong. Or maybe just new.
New Form Acquired: Ralts → Kirlia (Glitchborn Form Alpha)
Ability: Echo Sync – Can boost other Pokémon's moves by syncing code patterns.New Move Learned: "Signal Pulse" – A psychic/data-type hybrid move.
I stared, stunned. "That's not in any Pokédex…"
"Kirlia" if I could still call her that turned toward the Tangrowth and raised her hand. Charmander stepped beside her, flame flaring higher than ever.
"Let's end this!"
Mini-Boss Battle – Corrupted Tangrowth
Using Echo Sync, Charmander's Ember became supercharged, melting through corrupted vines.
Tangrowth's Rootcode lashed out, causing weird status effects like reversed controls, slowed actions, and even UI scrambling.
But Signal Pulse finally shattered its defenses.
Tangrowth DefeatedNode 2 Stabilized. World Integrity: +5%
World Anchor Secured (2/5)Hidden Ability Fragment Acquired
New Title Earned: Glitchhunter
As we left the grove, the forest shifted again this time, naturally. Back to how it was. Normal.
Or close enough.
But I was different now.
My Ralts Kirlia had evolved into something the world didn't even recognize.
And I was no longer just a glitch observer.
I was a hunter of the corruption.
And someone or something was watching me work.