Chapter 10: The Predator’s True Speed

The air felt heavy, suffocating in its stillness. Alex crouched low, his webbed fingers pressing against the damp ground, his wide amphibian eyes locked onto the great hawk perched above him.

This was it.

The moment he had been waiting for.

For years, this creature had haunted his sky, a shadow of fear cast over the entire island. It was the apex predator, its massive wings slicing through the air, its piercing cry sending lesser creatures scurrying for cover.

Alex had spent so long training, preparing for this battle.

But now, as the hawk's golden eyes bored into him with a cruel, knowing intelligence, he felt an ancient fear awaken in his chest—one that no training could erase.

This was a beast that knew no equal on this island.

This was a hunter that had never lost a fight.

And now, Alex was standing before it.

Alone.

Alex forced himself to breathe slowly. Stay calm.

His body tensed, every fiber of his being coiled like a spring, ready to move. He was small, nimble—faster than anything on this island.

He had stealth.

He had training.

He had PP—his strange power.

And yet…

His instincts screamed at him.

Something wasn't right.

The hawk was watching him.

Not with blind hunger, not with the mindless drive of an animal seeking food.

No.

It was waiting.

Calculating.

Alex's blood ran cold.

It knows.

The hawk had seen his movements.

It had noticed the way he blended into the environment.

And it was testing him.

For the first time, Alex realized—he wasn't the one hunting today.

He was the prey.

Alex fought the growing dread pressing against his chest.

It doesn't matter. I know its speed. I've seen it hunt before. I can counter it.

He crouched lower, exhaling through his nostrils. Slowly, he let his PP spread, blurring his outline with the environment.

The hawk tilted its head ever so slightly.

It's working.

A slow grin formed in Alex's mind.

Then—

A sudden gust of wind.

Alex didn't see it move.

His ears barely registered the rush of air—

But his body felt it.

Instinct screamed.

MOVE.

Alex threw himself sideways, his muscles acting before his brain could process what was happening.

And then—

A sound.

A sharp, bone-chilling whoosh.

A blade of wind cut through the space where he had just stood.

Alex rolled, heart hammering against his ribs. His body felt numb, his lungs burning as he gasped for air.

He turned his gaze toward the hawk—

And for the first time, he truly saw it.

It wasn't the same creature he had studied for years.

This was its true self.

Not the lazy, slow-moving hunter of lesser prey.

Not the patient observer, circling the skies above.

No.

This was the beast that ruled this island.

Unbound. Unmatched. Untamed.

And Alex… had just challenged it.

Alex barely had a second to breathe before the hawk moved again.

And this time—

He saw it.

The way its wings folded in, streamlining its massive body.

The way its talons flexed, ready to tear into his flesh.

The way its eyes locked onto him—not with rage, not with desperation, but with absolute certainty.

This wasn't a fight.

It was a hunt.

And Alex was nothing more than another meal.

No.

Alex gritted his teeth, forcing his body to move, to react.

He twisted, lunging into the underbrush, vanishing as his PP cloaked him in the environment.

Disappear.

Vanish.

Let the world forget you exist.

The warmth of his power flickered across his skin, the familiar comfort of invisibility taking hold.

For a moment, silence.

Then—

The hawk turned its head.

Directly toward him.

A sickening, creeping dread wrapped around Alex's spine.

How?

How is it sensing me?!

No creature—not one!—had ever been able to track him when he was fully hidden.

Not once in the last five years.

But the hawk…

It wasn't fooled.

Not entirely.

It couldn't see him. Not completely.

But it knew.

It could feel him.

Somehow.

Alex's mind raced as the hawk took slow, deliberate steps forward, its talons pressing into the dirt.

It wasn't attacking blindly.

It wasn't guessing.

It was hunting.

And that meant—

There was a flaw in his stealth.

Something subtle. Something small.

But the hawk had found it.

And if an ordinary animal could do this…

If a mere bird could sense him even when he was hiding…

What would happen if he met a human?

Would they sense him too?

Would they see through his stealth?

Would they… kill him?

A wave of nausea twisted in Alex's gut.

For years, he had dreamed of meeting another person.

For years, he had imagined what it would be like to speak again.

But now—

Now, the idea of being found absolutely terrified him.

Because if humans could sense him like this hawk could…

Then he wasn't just some lost soul in a Pokémon's body.

He was a monster.

Something that wasn't supposed to exist.

And in the human world…

Monsters didn't last long.

Jiraiya exhaled slowly as he stepped off the small fishing boat and onto the rocky shore of the uncharted island.

The moment his foot touched the ground, he knew.

This wasn't like the other places he had searched.

There was something here.

The air itself felt different.

And then he sensed it—

A fight.

His eyes narrowed as he focused.

The chakra was faint, almost nonexistent. Not quite human, not quite animal.

But it was strong.

And it was growing stronger.

Jiraiya grinned.

"Well, well… looks like I finally found something interesting."

Without another word, he vanished into the jungle, heading straight toward the battle.