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the sun has scarcely risen over route 101, painting the landscape in hues of amber and gold, when nick begins his trek. the reports of an anomalous golurk had been coming in for days now—rumors of an eerie, luminous glow emanating from its body, of its unnatural behaviors bordering on hostile. as a ranger, it was his duty to investigate and protect the natural order, even if he himself felt unmoored from it.[break][break]

the road stretches before him, the path still wet with morning dew, glistening like crushed opals under the nascent light. to either side, the verdant expanse of tall grass sway gently in the breeze, whispers of secrets carried on its undulating currents. nick's boots, worn and scuffed from countless miles, crunch against the gravel with each purposeful step, a steady metronome marking the passage of time.[break][break]

as he nears the coordinates provided by the last eyewitness account, an unsettling sensation prickle the back of his neck, like the touch of unseen eyes. the tall grass seems to part before him as if guided by an invisible hand, revealing a clearing where an enormous golurk looms, its stonelike form bathed in an ethereal, pulsating glow, touched by the brilliance of the dawn. its eyes, usually dull and vacant, burn with an otherworldly light, casting eerie shadows across the ground. nick's heart pounds in his chest as he surveys the scene, one hand reaching instinctively for a pokeball at his belt. whatever was happening here, it is far beyond the bounds of normal.[break][break]

the golurk appears to notice him now, its massive head swinging around to fix him with an unnerving stare. nick stands his ground, though every fiber of his being screams at him to run. something about this creature—this abomination—fills him with a primal, gut-wrenching terror he has never known before. its movements are jerky, almost mechanical, as it took a lumbering step forward, the earth trembling under its immense weight.[break][break]

nick's hand instinctively clutches around the pokeball on his belt as he prepares to send out his altaria--a question, wondering if it will charge, prepared to defend himself if it does.[break][break]

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