Ben looked up from his book when he heard his brother yell at him to come outside. His eyes shot wide open when he looked out of the window and realized just how much time had passed.

The Pikachu climbed down from his chair, making his way to the bedroom door. He took one last look at the book on his desk before leaving. Ben opened the door and turned to face his older brother.

"Ben! Where have you been?!" the Raichu asked him. Ben took a deep breath,

"Sorry Max, I lost track of time… Let's get to work, shall we?" he tried to work up an enthusiastic tone to mask his fleeting attention span, but it wasn't very convincing.

"Hmm… Alright." He did see right through it, but at least his brother was agreeing to work.

The two made their usual preparations for de-rocking the fields. They put on their sun hats, picked up a chisel and a bottle of water, and headed out to clear the rocks from the fields for planting. Beginning from the bottom-left corner, they intended to work in rows until the entire field was done. As they worked, Ben looked at the gray clouds in the sky and commented that it would rain soon.

"Don't let the rain get you down… Challenging work, isn't it?" Max attempted to strike up a conversation with his younger brother, but as the wind provided temporary relief from the heat as it roared up around them, it also made loose tools clang and doors sway, drowning out any potential reply from him.

Max noticed a large log half-buried in the soil and pulled out his metal chisel, attempting to wedge it underneath the log. He struggled to move the log even while pulling, yanking, and shoving with all his might. He called out to Ben for help, and together, they applied their combined strength to the log.

However, their progress was interrupted by a subtle but constant crackling noise emanating from their house, which grew increasingly louder.

They looked on in horror as flames began to lick the sides of their house through the windows, quickly growing to engulf the entire structure. They frantically searched for anything to extinguish the fire, but their efforts were in vain. They had no access to firefighting supplies, and there was nobody nearby to help.

In despair, they watched as their home, where they had lived for 13 years, crumbled into a pile of ashes and rubble.

"Arceus…" Max muttered under his breath, unable to comprehend how the fire had started so quickly without them noticing. They searched for any signs of someone else being there and starting the fire, but there was none to be found.

Ben wept, and Max struggled to hold back tears himself. He needed to be strong for his younger brother. They had to wait until the coals cooled before they could investigate what was left of their home.

"Ben!" Max called out to him, "I think I found something."

It was a body lying in the center of what was left of their kitchen. they noticed it was tall and wearing a white helmet and suit that spared them from the gruesome sight of burned flesh. The only defining feature was a dark red dot in the place where its face should have been. Filled with a mixture of fear, anger, and frustration, Max sent a thunder wave directly at the body, but it remained motionless. Suddenly, the red dot glowed brightly for a moment before returning to its original shade, causing the brothers to jump back.

Approaching the body cautiously, Ben noticed a different shade of orange glowing from underneath the corpse. Curiosity getting the better of him, he poked it, and immediately regretted it as a searing pain shot through his paw.

"GAAH!" he screamed in agony.

After a minute of vigorously shaking his paw and suppressing the pain, Ben rolled over the corpse to get a better look. The object lying beside it was long and straight like a paintbrush, as large as his arm, and had a strange copper pattern on its tip. He picked it up from the much darker and safer-looking area, noting that it was surprisingly lightweight and balanced like a weapon.

Intrigued, he let a little of his electricity flow out, and the mysterious stick absorbed it, glowing much brighter before returning to its dim state. He repeated the experiment, and it had the same result.

"This is probably what caused the fire, but why did he stay behind?" Ben wondered as he showed his brother what he had found. Max became curious about the electricity and sent another bolt into the body, observing closely this time. He saw the face light up briefly and noticed a small percentage display on one of the arms. It changed from 15% to 25% as he watched.

"I don't think this is a 'He', I think this is an 'It'," Max said. "The only reason it would just stay behind and die would be if it was never alive in the first place."

Ben took the stick back and swung it at the thing's face, leaving a soot mark behind. The face didn't glow this time, but the display changed again, this time from 25% to 18%. Every swing he took had the same effect, gradually reducing the mysterious percentage until it reached zero.

The next swing took off a small chunk of the suit, revealing a segment of flesh inside. It took Max only a moment to realize that his assessment was wrong, and that's when they knew it was time to stop. It was interesting while it lasted, but it wasn't helping them answer their most pressing questions.

"Why were they here?"

"What species is this?"

"Where will we go without a house?"

The first two questions could wait to be answered, but they couldn't survive without shelter, especially with the threat of rain looming overhead.

The nearest house was nearly twenty kilometers away, so they would need to start their trek as soon as possible.


The day was hot, but the wind was chilly, and the sky seemed undecided on whether to unleash a storm or not. The grass on the hills they climbed was prepared for whatever would happen.

"Let's just hope they'll take us in," Ben said.

"After hearing our story? I'm sure they will," Max reassured him, and he tried to meet Ben's eyes, but he only saw him staring at the ground. "If it makes you feel better, we can offer to help with their chores in exchange."

There was still no response. Ben mindlessly twirled the stick around, trying to figure out how it could be of use to them. The village wasn't large, but they had a few friends they could ask for help, and if they weren't around, they would go door-to-door. But if everyone refused...

"We're almost there, right?" Ben asked.

"Almost? We're here!" The Raichu laughed as they rounded the final hill. They had made it in record time and avoided the rain.

Now all they had to do was find someone who could help, and that was easier said than done.

The brothers gasped when they saw the village, now burned down just like their home. All the houses were gone, and the villagers were seemingly missing. They searched every building, looking for survivors, but saw only scarred interiors reduced to ash and rubble

There was nobody left, and Max only hoped that it was because they had all escaped.

After searching through all the buildings, they entered the last house and found the only corpse in the village. It was eerily similar to the one they had seen before, with the same suited figure holding the same rod. Ben went to investigate while Max took the stick from him.

Disappointed at the lack of new information, Max got up and turned to leave. It wasn't until a moment later that Ben heard his brother's scream.