Kay began jogging toward the cliff, his eyes and ears sharp, scanning the area for any signs of danger.
He knew that anyone could jump out and attack him at any moment, and he didn't want to be caught off guard.
The cliff he had seen earlier was now appearing to his right. To reach it, Kay needed to cross through the thick forest that lay in that direction.
The trees there were packed tightly together, and their tall branches blocked most of the sunlight, making it even harder to see what was ahead.
"Eevee," Kay whispered, keeping his voice low, "Stay alert. Keep listening carefully to everything around us. If you hear anything strange, let me know right away."
Eevee gave a small nod and began trotting beside him, its ears perked up and turning in different directions like little radar dishes.
The forest was dense, and Kay couldn't rely on his eyes alone. Hearing would be their best tool here.
Kay began moving carefully through the trees, making sure his steps were as quiet as possible. He didn't want to snap a twig or rustle a branch and give away his position. Every step he took was slow and deliberate.
After a few minutes of walking through the dense undergrowth, Kay could finally see the edge of the path.
There was a clearing just ahead where the trees became less crowded, and sunlight poured in.
But just as he was about to step out of the forest, he froze.
There were sounds; sharp, quick movements, flapping of wings, and the loud voice of a trainer giving a command.
"Zubat, Air Cutter!"
Kay crouched behind the last line of trees and peeked through the leaves. Just outside the forest, there was another player.
A boy, maybe around Kay's age, stood with his arm stretched out, giving orders to his Pokémon. In front of him was a wild Oddish.
Zubat, a bat-like Flying-type Pokémon, was soaring in circles above the Oddish. With a flap of its wings, it released a sharp, crescent-shaped gust of wind; it was the Air Cutter attack.
The wind slashed through the air and hit the Oddish directly, making the small Grass-type Pokémon stumble backward.
Oddish tried to fight back. It fired a few seeds from its mouth, attacking Zubat; it was Bullet Seed, but the attack was too slow. Zubat easily dodged it by flying higher.
"Zubat, use Air Cutter again!" the trainer shouted.
Another sharp gust of wind flew toward Oddish, and this time, it knocked the Pokémon out completely. Oddish fell to the ground and fainted. The battle was over, and Zubat had clearly won.
Kay smiled to himself and stepped out from behind the trees, slowly clapping his hands.
The other trainer turned around quickly, startled. His eyes instantly moved to Kay's chest, checking the number printed on his shirt.
Kay noticed the way the boy looked at his number ticket on his chest and concluded that he wasn't his target.
"I think you're heading for that cliff over there, right?" Kay asked, keeping his voice calm and casual.
The boy looked back toward the cliff in the distance, then nodded slowly. His body was still tense, unsure of Kay's intentions, as he didn't know if Kay was targeting him; at the end, he couldn't know Kay's target's number even if Kay told him.
After all, there was always a risk that someone might lie about who they were targeting.
Kay had expected this reaction. That's why he had approached openly instead of hiding; he wanted to catch the player's genuine reaction.
Kay thought that if he surprised him, the player wouldn't have enough time to fake his reaction, which would show Kay if he was that player's target.
He also couldn't just ignore this player. They were clearly heading toward the same location: the cliff.
As a strategic location, the cliff was too valuable to let someone else take it freely. If Kay let this player go first and then followed behind, he could be walking into a threat, as he couldn't know if he was his target. But by confronting the player now, Kay could judge whether or not he was a threat.
Kay didn't show it on his face, but he had a plan forming in his mind. If this player weren't a threat, maybe they could both benefit by working together, at least for a while.
But first, he needed to be absolutely sure.
"Don't worry," Kay said with a small smile. "I'm not looking for you. You are not my target."
Even though Kay said that the other player wasn't his target, the boy didn't lower his guard. His posture stayed tense, his eyes still fixed on Eevee, ready to command Zubat in case Kay was lying and was planning to attack him.
Kay couldn't blame him; trusting anyone in this game wasn't easy. Especially when showing your card was forbidden, there was no way to confirm anything. Words alone couldn't be trusted.
Kay glanced at the number on the boy's shirt. It was 20. Kay decided to save it just in case he needed it later. Kay, until now, wasn't one hundred percent sure that he wasn't his target.
Then the player spoke. "What's your target's number?" he asked, his voice serious but calm.
"27," Kay answered right away without hesitation. Then he asked in return, "What about yours?"
The player looked at Kay, paused for a second, then answered, "12." But right after saying that, he added, "How can you trust me, even if I told you the truth? I can lie to you, as you know."
Kay nodded slowly and replied in a calm voice with a smile, trying to sound honest and reasonable. "For me, I prefer to trust you, as you didn't look like a liar. I know that it's hard to trust anyone in this game, not when we're not allowed to show our cards. But in our case, we're both heading to the same place; that cliff. If we don't trust each other, we can't go there together."
He paused, letting his words settle in the other boy's mind.
Then he continued, "You have two choices. The first is to trust me, and we go to the cliff together. The second is to forget about the cliff, turn around, and search for another spot for yourself."
The boy didn't reply right away. He stood there, thinking about what Kay had just said. His eyes weren't angry or scared, just calculating.
Kay could tell that he was seriously considering the options. And Kay was right to be careful too; this boy could still be lying. But Kay had already gone through all the risks in his mind.
Even if this player was a good actor and faked his reaction earlier, Kay was confident he could win in a battle, especially if he used both of his Pokémons, Eevee and Growlithe.
After a few seconds of silence, the player finally answered, "Okay. I'll trust you. Because the chance that you're actually targeting me is one out of fifteen, and that's a low chance."
Kay chuckled softly and said, "I like the way you think. So, let's go."
With that, the two of them turned and began walking toward the cliff together. It was close now, they just had to climb up to reach the top.
The air between them was still cautious, but there was also a quiet agreement: for now, they would trust each other.
See you in the next chapter...
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