Saturday mornings were supposed to be for training.
Ethan had decided this sometime during the week.
Grandpa had apparently decided otherwise.
“Why am I doing this?”
Arthur didn’t look up from the irrigation pipe he was inspecting.
“Because you live here.”
“That doesn’t answer the question.”
“It answers most questions.”
Ethan stared at him.
Arthur continued working.
Beside Ethan, Houndour sniffed around the grass.
They were deep inside Bennett Orchards, well away from the house and public roads, where Houndour could remain outside his Poké Ball without Ethan violating public handling regulations.
Ethan had hoped that meant training.
Instead, Grandpa had given him work gloves.
“I have homework.”
“You finished it last night.”
“I could study.”
Arthur finally looked at him.
“Who are you, and what have you done with my grandson?”
Ethan sighed.
“Fine.”
Arthur pointed toward the northern section of the property.
“Check the old irrigation line.
We’ve been losing pressure somewhere.”
“You want me to fix it?”
“I want you to find where it’s leaking.”
“What if I can’t?”
“Then you come back and tell me.”
“What if I get lost?”
“You’ve been coming here since you could walk.”
“I could suddenly forget.”
Arthur went back to work.
“Then Houndour can bring you home.”
Ethan looked down at his Pokémon.
Houndour looked back.
“Apparently you’re in charge.”
“Hound.”
“Don’t let it go to your head.”
Ethan started walking.
Behind him, Arthur called out, “And don’t disappear for two hours!”
“No promises!”
“I heard that!”
Ethan smiled.
The northern section of Bennett Orchards barely looked like an orchard anymore.
Grandpa still owned the land, but parts hadn’t been actively cultivated in years — the profitable fields were closer to the house.
Out here, old berry rows had become overgrown, wild grass covered abandoned paths, branches intertwined overhead, and sections of the old irrigation system had disappeared beneath roots and soil.
Ethan followed the exposed pipe while Houndour wandered ahead.
“Stay where I can see you.”
Houndour glanced back, then continued sniffing.
Ethan checked the pipe.
Dry.
He walked farther.
Still dry.
“This is exciting.”
Houndour ignored him.
“One day, when we’re famous, I’m hiring someone else to do this.”
“Hound.”
“Exactly.”
Something moved in the trees.
Houndour’s head snapped toward it.
“Leave it.”
His ears remained raised.
“Houndour.”
The Pokémon looked back.
“Good.”
That was getting better — two weeks ago, Ethan probably would’ve had to chase him through the bushes.
He continued following the irrigation line until the pipe disappeared beneath a rocky slope.
Ethan frowned.
“That’s useful.” He crouched and pulled away several weeds.
The pipe continued underneath, and there was damp soil nearby.
“Maybe.” He followed the moisture to where a section of the slope had collapsed recently — dirt and loose stones covered the ground, probably washed down during the last heavy rain.
Ethan started clearing around the pipe.
Houndour suddenly growled.
Ethan stopped.
“What?”
Houndour wasn’t looking at him.
He was staring farther up the slope.
“Houndour?”
The Pokémon walked toward a cluster of exposed roots, sniffed, then started digging.
“What are you doing?”
Houndour dug harder, dirt scattering behind him.
Ethan climbed up.
“Did you find something?”
Houndour barked.
Ethan crouched beside him.
There was a gap between the roots.
At first, Ethan thought it was just another animal burrow.
Then he felt air — cool air, coming from inside.
Ethan stopped.
“Huh.” He pulled away several loose branches; the opening was much larger underneath.
He switched on his phone’s flashlight.
Darkness.
Stone.
A passage.
There was a cave beneath Grandpa’s property.
“Did you know about this?”
Houndour sniffed the entrance.
“Right.
Stupid question.”
Ethan shone the light deeper inside.
The passage sloped downward, and he couldn’t see the end.
His first instinct was obvious — get Grandpa.
His second instinct was equally obvious — look first.
Grandpa would definitely tell him not to enter until they checked whether it was safe, which meant if Ethan went to Grandpa now, he might not get to explore it at all.
He looked at Houndour.
“Just the entrance.”
Houndour stepped forward.
“Wait.” Ethan grabbed his collar.
“We’re looking.
Not disappearing.”
He squeezed through the opening.
The passage widened after several meters until Ethan could stand normally.
That was good.
What wasn’t good was that his phone had no signal — he’d expected that underground, but seeing the empty bars still made him uncomfortable.
He kept the flashlight on.
“Houndour, close.”
Houndour remained beside him.
The tunnel looked natural at first.
Then Ethan saw the wall and stopped.
Lines had been carved into the stone.
Not scratches.
Not cracks.
Carvings.
Someone had been here.
Ethan moved closer — the markings were old and partially covered in dirt, but too straight to be natural.
He followed them with his flashlight, and they continued deeper.
“This is definitely where we should get Grandpa.”
Houndour looked at him.
“After we see what’s there.”
Houndour continued walking.
“You’re a bad influence.”
They went deeper.
The passage ended in a chamber.
Ethan stepped inside, then stopped.
“Oh.” The chamber itself wasn’t particularly large — roots had broken through parts of the ceiling, and rocks covered the floor — but none of that mattered, because there was something built into the opposite wall.
A stone arch, twice Ethan’s height, covered in strange symbols.
He slowly approached.
Houndour stopped, a low growl rising in his throat.
“What?”
Houndour stared at the arch.
Ethan raised his phone.
The stone beneath the arch appeared solid.
He’d seen pictures of ancient ruins before — maybe Grandpa had ruins under his orchard.
That alone would be insane.
Ethan took several photos.
Then one of the symbols glowed.
He froze.
“Houndour.”
Another symbol lit.
Then another.
Ethan backed away.
“Okay.” That was enough exploring.
He turned.
A low sound filled the chamber.
Ethan spun back.
Light spread across the arch.
The stone inside it disappeared — not cracked, not moved, disappeared — and in its place was—
Ethan stared.
“A forest?”
Sunlight filtered between enormous trees.
Grass moved gently in the wind.
Something called in the distance.
Houndour stopped growling and sniffed instead.
Ethan didn’t move.
He knew what this was.
Every Trainer did.
Secret Realms.
Some were enormous worlds with whole ecosystems; others were little more than valleys or islands, owned by governments, corporations, universities, Gyms or powerful Trainer families — sources of Pokémon, berries, evolution materials, rare minerals and Mega Stones.
Even a small, stable one could be worth a fortune.
And apparently there was one underneath Bennett Orchards.
“No way.”
Ethan approached slowly.
The surface of the portal looked almost like transparent water; he could clearly see the forest beyond.
Then his excitement cooled.
An unknown Secret Realm was very different from visiting a registered one, and he remembered enough from school to know the first rule: don’t assume the environment on the other side is safe.
Ethan crouched, picked up a small stone, and tossed it through.
It landed in the grass — nothing happened, which proved almost nothing.
He cautiously placed his hand through instead.
Warm air touched his skin.
He pulled it back.
Nothing.
The air smelled like damp earth and plants.
Still not enough.
He looked at Houndour — Pokémon senses were better than his.
“Houndour.”
Houndour approached the portal.
“Don’t go through.”
Houndour sniffed and showed no sign of distress.
If the air were immediately poisonous, he’d probably react too.
Probably.
A properly equipped exploration team would have sensors; Ethan had a phone, work gloves and a twelve-year-old’s questionable decision-making.
He should get Grandpa.
Absolutely.
He stared through the portal.
Maybe just one step.
He could keep half his body on this side, then come back.
“One minute.” Houndour looked at him.
“That’s all.”
He clipped his phone securely into his pocket, then stepped through.
Warmth surrounded him.
Ethan took one breath, then another.
Normal.
Houndour remained on the cave side.
Ethan looked around — he was standing less than a meter from the portal.
“I’m okay.”
Houndour whined.
Ethan crouched.
“Come.”
Houndour crossed and immediately began sniffing the ground.
No coughing, no strange reaction.
Ethan exhaled.
“Okay.” He looked behind him.
The portal was still there, and through it, he could see the cave.
Good.
Very good.
Ethan turned back toward the forest.
It was beautiful — trees with trunks wider than Grandpa’s truck, flowers growing between their roots, vines hanging from branches far above.
Something fluttered overhead — a Butterfree, disappearing between the trees.
His mouth slowly opened.
“Houndour.”
“Hound.”
“I think Grandpa’s rich.”
Houndour sniffed a flower.
“No, seriously.”
Ethan took out his phone.
Still no signal.
He switched to the camera and photographed the portal, the trees, the surrounding plants.
He took a few steps farther, then stopped.
No.
That was enough.
Grandpa needed to know.
Ethan turned back.
And the world moved.
He grabbed his head.
“Houndour?” Pain exploded behind his eyes.
His phone fell from his hand.
“Hound!”
Ethan stumbled.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
He tried to reach the portal — it was only a few meters away — but his legs stopped cooperating.
“Houndour…”
Houndour ran toward him.
Ethan dropped to one knee.
The forest blurred, and he could hear Houndour barking.
Then his arms gave out.
The last thing Ethan saw was Houndour running toward him.
Everything went black.
Something wet touched Ethan’s face.
He groaned.
Again.
Wet.
“Stop.”
Another lick.
Ethan opened his eyes.
Houndour’s face was directly above him.
“Hound!”
Ethan flinched.
“Ow.”
Houndour immediately started licking him again.
“I’m awake.”
“Hound!”
“I’m awake!”
Ethan pushed himself upright.
The movement made his head spin.
He stopped.
Waited.
Breathed.
His heart began beating faster as his memory returned — the cave, the portal, the forest, then — he’d passed out.
“Houndour?”
The Pokémon pressed against him.
Ethan grabbed him and quickly checked his body.
“You okay?”
“Hound.”
No blood, no obvious injury, breathing normally.
Ethan checked himself next — arms, legs, head — and found nothing worse than a mild headache.
The portal was still there behind him, the cave visible through it.
Relief hit him immediately.
“Okay.” He took several slow breaths.
“What happened?”
Houndour obviously didn’t answer.
Ethan found his phone on the grass — the screen wasn’t broken — and checked the time.
Then froze.
Almost forty minutes.
“I was out for forty minutes?”
Houndour sat beside him.
Ethan’s stomach tightened.
Grandpa was going to kill him, assuming whatever had knocked him unconscious didn’t do it first.
“We’re leaving.”
He stood carefully.
No dizziness this time.
Good.
He took one step toward the portal, then stopped.
Something appeared in front of him.
Ethan blinked.
Words, floating in the air.
Species: Houndour
“What?”
The words remained.
Ethan looked behind him.
Nothing.
He looked at Houndour again, and more information appeared.
Species: Houndour Type: Dark / Fire
Ethan stopped moving.
Another line.
Grade: Beginner
Then—
Potential: Yellow
His mouth went dry.
“No.” Another line appeared.
Ability: Flash Fire
And finally:
Moves: Leer, Ember, Howl, Smog, Bite
Ethan stared.
“Houndour?”
“Hound?”
Every word matched what he already knew about Houndour — the Grade, the Yellow Potential, Flash Fire, all five moves.
Ethan closed his eyes.
The words disappeared.
He opened them and looked at Houndour again.
They returned.
His heartbeat accelerated.
“What happened to me?”
Houndour tilted his head.
Ethan looked at a nearby tree.
Nothing.
A flower.
Nothing.
A rock.
Nothing.
Then something moved near the bushes, and Houndour immediately stepped in front of him.
A small purple Pokémon emerged — large ears, a horn.
Ethan recognized it immediately.
Nidoran.
The moment he focused on it, words appeared.
Species: Nidoran ♂ Type: Poison Grade: Beginner Potential: Green Ability: Poison Point Moves: Leer, Peck, Focus Energy
Ethan forgot about leaving.
For several seconds, he simply stared, and the wild Nidoran stared back.
Green Potential — he could see its Potential just by looking.
Potential testing wasn’t impossible in the outside world, but it required specialized evaluation, records, equipment and expertise.
Ethan had done nothing.
He had looked.
That was all.
He turned toward Houndour.
Yellow.
Back to Nidoran.
Green.
Houndour growled.
The Nidoran’s ears rose.
Ethan suddenly remembered he was standing inside an unknown Secret Realm after inexplicably losing consciousness for forty minutes.
Curiosity could wait.
“Back.”
Houndour moved with him.
The Nidoran watched but didn’t follow.
Ethan reached the portal and looked around one final time — the enormous trees, the strange plants, a hidden Secret Realm beneath Bennett Orchards.
And now, whatever this was.
Appraisal.
The word came naturally.
He didn’t know if that was its actual name, but it fit.
He could look at a Pokémon and see information about it, including Potential.
Ethan looked at Houndour again, and the information appeared immediately.
He swallowed.
Forty minutes ago, he’d entered this place as an ordinary twelve-year-old Beginner Trainer.
Then something had knocked him unconscious.
Now he could do something he had never been able to do before.
That wasn’t a coincidence.
It couldn’t be.
“Ethan!”
The distant shout came through the portal.
Grandpa.
Ethan’s eyes widened.
“Oh, crap.”
“Ethan!”
He grabbed Houndour’s Poké Ball.
“Return.” Red light pulled Houndour inside.
Ethan crossed the portal.
Cold cave air replaced the warmth of the Realm.
He looked back — the portal remained open.
For a moment, Ethan simply stood there.
He trusted Grandpa more than anyone.
But how did he explain this?
Hey, Grandpa.
I found a Secret Realm under the orchard, went inside after knowing I shouldn’t, passed out for forty minutes, and now I can see Pokémon Potential.
Grandpa might kill him before the Realm got another chance.
“Ethan!”
Much closer.
Ethan quickly headed toward the passage.
“I’m here!”
“Where the hell are you?”
Ethan climbed toward the entrance and stopped once, looking back into the darkness.
Somewhere beyond it, the portal remained open.
The discovery alone could change the Bennett family forever.
But it wasn’t the Realm he kept thinking about on the walk back toward Grandpa’s voice — it was the warmth still sitting behind his ribs, like he’d swallowed a coal that hadn’t cooled off yet.