Might As Well Call It the Man-Eating Forest

Night deepened. The mist shrouding Eternal Forest swallowed everything, and a scream tore through the silence, echoing into every corner of the woods.

"!!!"

Surrounded by mist, Lillie jumped in fright. The fog was so thick, and the moonless night so dark, that she couldn't see her companions even with her flashlight on.

"I told them we shouldn't come in..."

She crouched on the ground with her hands over her head, panic written all over her face. She couldn't hear her companions, either, though they had been nearby just moments ago.

It was as if she alone had been left behind. Fear surged through her...

Elsewhere, Selene, who had been with her, now found herself alone too. With a Rowlet beside her, she searched the mist for her companions.

"Where did everyone go? Lillie! Mallow! Lana... Everyone!"

She called their names, but no one answered. The temperature around her plunged, and Rowlet's feathers puffed up as the Pokémon froze in place.

"What... Is something there?"

Selene stared warily ahead. Several ghostly blue flames were drifting toward her through the mist.

Unease exploded into terror. Her instincts screamed at her to run, but it was too late. A huge blue hand shot out of the mist and seized her.

"Ah!!!"

Another scream rang out...

Hearing it, Candila rushed over at once. But all she found was an unconscious Rowlet and someone hanging upside down from a tree...

"Was I too late...?"

Candila stared at Selene in disbelief. She could see no wounds, and even Selene's clothes were undisturbed, but her expression looked as though she had seen something utterly terrifying.

Candila couldn't tell whether the student was still alive, but one thing was certain: this forest was deeply strange. She had followed the students ever since entering, yet everything had changed