Arthur was not happy.
Ethan knew this before he even climbed out of the opening.
Grandpa was standing at the bottom of the rocky slope with his arms crossed, Stoutland beside him.
Ethan stopped halfway down.
Arthur looked at the dirt covering Ethan’s clothes, then at the opening behind him, then back at Ethan.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
Arthur stared.
“Not nothing.”
“Better answer.”
Ethan climbed down.
Arthur grabbed his shoulders and looked him over.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Hit your head?”
“No.”
“Bitten?”
“No.”
“Poisoned?”
“I don’t think so.”
Arthur’s expression changed.
“You don’t think so?”
Ethan immediately realized that had been the wrong answer.
“I’m fine.”
Arthur checked him anyway — arms, head, eyes — then his attention moved toward the opening.
“What is that?”
Ethan hesitated.
This was the moment.
He’d spent the walk through the tunnel trying to decide what to say, and hadn’t come up with anything good.
“A cave.”
“I can see that.”
“I found it while checking the irrigation line.”
“And naturally you decided to crawl inside.”
“Houndour found it.”
Arthur’s eyes narrowed.
“So Houndour forced you into the cave?”
“No.”
“Good.
I was worried he’d learned how to talk.”
Despite everything, Ethan almost smiled.
Arthur didn’t.
“How long were you inside?”
“Maybe…
an hour?”
Grandpa’s face hardened.
“Ethan.”
“I didn’t mean to be.”
“How do you accidentally spend an hour inside a hole?”
Ethan looked back toward the entrance.
There was no way around it.
“Grandpa.
You need to see something.”
Arthur stared at him.
“Is it going to explain why you disappeared?”
“Yes.”
“Is it dangerous?”
Ethan thought about passing out.
“Maybe.”
Arthur closed his eyes briefly.
“Wonderful.” He reached for Stoutland’s Poké Ball.
“Return.” Red light pulled the large Pokémon inside.
He looked at Ethan.
“You stay behind me.”
“But I know where—”
“Behind me.”
Ethan nodded.
“Okay.”
Arthur took out his phone, turned on its flashlight, and they entered.
He noticed the carvings immediately.
“These aren’t natural.”
“I know.”
“You came this far by yourself?”
“Houndour was with me.”
Arthur stopped.
“That isn’t the defense you think it is.”
Ethan said nothing.
They continued.
When they reached the chamber, Arthur stopped.
The portal was still open, its shimmering surface filling the ancient stone arch, warm light from the other side spilling across the cave floor.
Arthur didn’t speak.
For several seconds, he simply stared.
Ethan watched his face.
“Well.” Grandpa finally said.
“That’s inconvenient.”
Ethan blinked.
“Inconvenient?”
Arthur approached the portal carefully.
“You were expecting me to say wonderful?”
“Maybe.”
“There’s an unregistered Secret Realm underneath my orchard.” He looked at Ethan.
“That’s rarely simple.”
Ethan understood what he meant.
Secret Realms were valuable, which meant governments cared about them, corporations cared about them, Trainers cared about them.
Everyone cared about them.
Arthur examined the stone arch.
“Did you go through?”
Ethan didn’t answer.
Arthur slowly turned.
“Ethan.”
“Yes.”
“Of course you did.”
“I checked first.”
“How?”
“I put my hand through.”
Arthur’s expression did not improve.
“And?”
“I smelled the air.”
“Excellent scientific procedure.”
“Houndour checked too.”
Arthur rubbed his forehead.
“Ethan.”
“He could breathe!”
“So your safety test was putting your Pokémon in danger first?”
“I didn’t put him through first.”
“That makes it better?”
“A little?”
“No.”
Ethan lowered his head.
Arthur looked back at the portal.
“What was on the other side?”
“A forest.”
“Pokémon?”
“Yes.”
“What kind?”
“I saw Butterfree, Caterpie and Nidoran.”
“Anything dangerous?”
“Not that I saw.”
“Not that you saw.”
Ethan nodded.
“How far did you go?”
“Not far.”
“Define not far.”
“I could see the portal the whole time.”
That seemed to make Arthur slightly less angry.
Then he asked, “Why were you gone so long?”
Ethan froze.
He could lie — say he’d lost track of time — but Grandpa probably wouldn’t believe it.
His mother had trusted Arthur, and Ethan trusted him too; hiding something like this from the only adult who could help was stupid.
“I passed out.”
Arthur went completely still.
“What?”
“For about forty minutes.”
Arthur grabbed him again.
“I’m fine.”
“You lost consciousness for forty minutes and didn’t think that was important?”
“It happened when I crossed.”
Arthur checked his pupils with the phone light.
“Grandpa.”
“Any headache?”
“A little when I woke up.
Not anymore.”
“Nausea?”
“No.”
“Dizziness?”
“Only when I first sat up.”
“Breathing problems?”
“No.”
“Anything else?”
Ethan hesitated, and Arthur noticed immediately.
“What else?”
Ethan looked at the portal, then at Grandpa.
“This is going to sound weird.”
Arthur gestured toward the glowing doorway to another world.
“We passed weird twenty minutes ago.”
Ethan almost laughed, then turned serious.
“Something happened after I woke up.”
“What?”
Ethan glanced at Stoutland’s Poké Ball, clipped to Arthur’s belt.
“Can you let Stoutland out?”
“Why?”
“I want to check something.”
“Ethan.”
“Please.”
Arthur studied him for several seconds, then removed the ball.
“Come out.”
Light flashed.
Stoutland appeared in the chamber.
“Stout.”
Ethan focused on him.
Nothing happened.
He frowned.
Then the information appeared.
Species: Stoutland Type: Normal Grade: Elite Potential: Yellow Ability: Intimidate
A list of moves followed.
Ethan’s eyes widened — he recognized some, others he didn’t.
Arthur watched him.
“What?”
“Stoutland’s ability is Intimidate.”
Arthur’s expression changed slightly.
“You know that.”
“He’s Yellow Potential.”
“You know that too.”
“He’s Elite Grade.”
Arthur crossed his arms.
“You’ve known that for years.”
“I can also see his moves.” Ethan looked at Stoutland again and read several aloud.
Arthur’s expression gradually changed.
Then Ethan reached one he didn’t recognize.
“Reversal.”
Arthur stopped him.
“How do you know that?”
“I didn’t.” Ethan swallowed.
Stoutland looked between them.
Arthur stared at Ethan.
“What exactly are you seeing?”
“Information.”
“Where?”
Ethan pointed vaguely in front of his face.
“Just…
there.”
“On what?”
“Nothing.”
“That clears it up.”
“It’s like words floating beside the Pokémon.”
Arthur looked at Stoutland, then back at Ethan.
“Do it again.”
Ethan focused.
The information returned.
“Stoutland.
Normal type.
Elite Grade.
Yellow Potential.
Intimidate.” He read more of the move list.
Arthur didn’t interrupt.
When Ethan finished, Grandpa remained silent for a long moment.
“You couldn’t know all of those.”
“I know.”
“Did something inside the Realm tell you?”
“No.”
“Did you touch anything?
Eat anything?”
“Grandpa.”
“I’m asking.”
“No.”
“Drink anything?”
“No.”
“Did a Pokémon attack you?”
“No.”
“Then what happened before you lost consciousness?”
“Nothing.” Ethan thought.
“I crossed.
Looked around.
Took some pictures.
Then my head started hurting.”
Arthur held out his hand.
“Phone.”
Ethan gave it to him.
Arthur opened the photos — the portal, the forest, trees, plants, a blurry Butterfree in the distance.
Then nothing.
He returned the phone.
“And when you woke?”
“I could see it.”
“Immediately?”
“Not immediately.
I was going back through the portal.
I looked at Houndour and the words appeared.”
Arthur looked toward the Realm.
“What did you see for Houndour?”
Ethan told him — Beginner Grade, Yellow Potential, Flash Fire, the moves.
All correct.
Arthur’s face became more serious with each answer.
“Can you do it outside the Realm?”
“I don’t know.” That was an obvious question.
He hadn’t tested it.
Arthur recalled Stoutland.
“We’re leaving.”
Ethan looked at the portal.
“But—”
“No.”
“We haven’t even—”
“You lost consciousness.”
“I’m fine.”
“You are twelve.”
“I’m almost thirteen.”
Arthur stared.
Ethan sighed.
“Fine.”
They headed back, testing Appraisal before they even reached the house.
A Machoke was moving berry crates near one of the storage buildings.
Ethan stopped, and Arthur stopped beside him.
“Try.”
Ethan focused.
The information appeared.
Species: Machoke Type: Fighting Grade: Advanced Potential: Green Ability: Guts Moves: Low Kick, Leer, Focus Energy, Karate Chop, Seismic Toss, Revenge
Ethan read it aloud.
Arthur listened, then called one of the workers over.
“Ben.”
The worker approached.
“Sir?”
“What’s Machoke’s ability?”
Ben looked confused.
“Guts.”
Arthur nodded.
“Thank you.”
Ben waited.
Arthur said nothing else.
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
Ben looked at Ethan.
Ethan shrugged.
The worker walked away.
Arthur continued toward the house.
Ethan followed.
“It works.”
“I noticed.”
“Outside the Realm.”
“I noticed that too.”
Ethan smiled despite himself.
This was real.
It wasn’t some temporary effect inside the Secret Realm — whatever had happened to him had stayed.
They reached the porch, where Delcatty was sleeping on one of the chairs.
She opened her eyes when Ethan approached.
He stopped and focused.
Species: Delcatty Type: Normal Grade: Normal Potential: Green Ability: Cute Charm
Several moves appeared beneath it.
Ethan read them silently, then stopped.
Mom’s Pokémon.
For a moment, the excitement faded.
Delcatty jumped down and rubbed against his leg.
Ethan crouched and scratched beneath her chin.
“Hey.”
“Del.”
Arthur watched him but didn’t say anything.
They sat at the kitchen table twenty minutes later.
Arthur had insisted Ethan eat something — apparently discovering a Secret Realm and gaining an impossible ability didn’t cancel lunch.
Ethan was halfway through a sandwich, and Grandpa hadn’t spoken for several minutes.
Finally Ethan asked:
“So what do we do?”
Arthur leaned back.
“About which problem?”
“Problem?”
Arthur counted on his fingers.
“An unregistered Secret Realm beneath the orchard.” One.
“My grandson entered it alone.” Two.
“Lost consciousness for forty minutes.” Three.
“Woke up able to somehow identify Pokémon information by looking at them.” Four.
He lowered his hand.
“Pick one.”
“The Realm.”
“We don’t enter again today.”
Ethan groaned.
“Grandpa.”
“No.”
“We found it.”
“You found it.”
“Exactly.”
“That does not improve your argument.”
“We should explore.”
“We should figure out whether entering it is going to knock you unconscious again.”
Ethan couldn’t argue with that.
Not convincingly.
“What about telling people?”
Arthur’s expression changed.
That was the question Ethan had been thinking about since the cave.
Grandpa looked toward the window, where Bennett Orchards stretched beyond it.
“Secret Realm registration laws exist for a reason.”
Ethan’s excitement sank.
“So we have to report it?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“What’s the difference?”
“The difference is that I’m not making a decision about something this important twenty minutes after finding it.”
That sounded very Grandpa.
Arthur looked at him.
“And your ability?”
Ethan immediately understood.
“Don’t tell anyone.”
“I didn’t say that either.”
“But you’re thinking it.”
Arthur was silent.
That was basically yes.
“Potential alone makes it valuable,” Ethan said.
Arthur nodded slowly.
Breeders and professional teams spent enormous amounts of money evaluating young Pokémon.
Ethan needed none of that.
He only needed to look.
“If people knew…” Ethan began.
“They’d want to know how,” Arthur finished.
Ethan’s excitement disappeared completely.
“And we don’t know how.”
“No.”
“Or if someone else could get it.”
“No.”
“Or what happened when I passed out.”
“No.”
Ethan looked down at his sandwich.
That suddenly made the ability feel less like winning the lottery.
Arthur leaned forward.
“Until we understand what happened, you tell nobody.”
“Not Dad?”
Arthur hesitated.
“Nobody.”
Ethan looked up.
That surprised him — Arthur and Daniel weren’t close, but Grandpa had never tried to keep Ethan from his father.
Arthur continued, “This isn’t about whether we trust someone.” He tapped the table.
“It’s about information.
Every additional person who knows is another person who can accidentally say something.” He looked directly at Ethan.
“So for now, the Realm and whatever happened to you inside it stay between us.”
Ethan nodded.
“And Houndour.”
Arthur stared.
“Houndour knows.”
Arthur sighed.
“Fine.
The dog can know.”
“Houndour.”
The Poké Ball at Ethan’s belt didn’t respond.
Ethan smiled anyway.
Arthur pointed at him.
“And you are not entering that Realm alone again.”
“But—”
“No.”
“What if—”
“No.”
“You don’t even know what I was going to say.”
“I raised your mother.
I’ve heard every version.”
Ethan stopped.
Arthur’s expression softened slightly.
“She would’ve gone through too.”
Ethan smiled.
“Really?”
“Absolutely.”
“So technically—”
“She would’ve been grounded too.”
Ethan laughed.
Arthur almost smiled.
Almost.
Then he became serious again.
“Tomorrow, we go back properly.”
Ethan straightened.
“We explore?”
“We inspect.”
“Same thing.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“Can Houndour come?
Stoutland?”
“Obviously, to both.”
“Machoke?”
Arthur thought about it.
“Probably.”
Ethan’s excitement returned.
A real Secret Realm exploration — not a school training field, not a controlled spar.
An unexplored world hidden beneath his home.
Arthur stood.
“Finish eating.”
“Then what?”
“You’re helping me secure the cave entrance.”
Ethan stared.
“More work?”
Grandpa walked away.
“You found it.”
“That’s not how treasure works!”
“It is on a farm.”
Ethan looked at Delcatty.
“This family has no respect for discovery.”
“Del.”
Ethan finished his sandwich.
That night, Ethan couldn’t sleep.
Houndour’s Poké Ball sat on the bedside table, Delcatty curled at the foot of his bed.
Ethan stared at the ceiling, still seeing the forest, the portal, the Nidoran.
And the words.
Potential: Green.
He thought about professional Trainers, breeders, tournaments, Pokémon teams.
Every Trainer had to choose which Pokémon to catch, which to train, which had the potential to become truly powerful.
For most people, there was uncertainty.
Ethan could look.
That alone was enormous.
Then there was the Realm itself.
They’d seen only a few meters.
What was deeper inside?
Berries, evolution items, Mega Stones?
Ethan stopped himself — Appraisal couldn’t answer that.
He’d already tried it on rocks and plants.
Nothing.
It only worked on Pokémon.
Still more than enough.
Ethan turned onto his side.
This morning, his biggest concern had been getting Houndour ready for the Junior Battle Team.
Tonight, an entire hidden world existed beneath Grandpa’s orchard, and Ethan had something nobody else knew about — something that could help him choose Pokémon other Trainers might overlook, find talent other people missed, build a stronger team.
Maybe much stronger.
Ethan smiled in the darkness.
For the first time, the dream of reaching the top didn’t feel quite so far away — not solved, not even close, but closer than it had been yesterday.
Tomorrow, he and Grandpa were going back through that portal.
And this time, they were going prepared.