When Grafaiai woke up, it was blinded by a bright light and then stared at an unfamiliar ceiling.
It tried to move, but found itself tightly bound, unable to even wiggle a finger.
Before it could struggle, it heard footsteps approaching, and a human man entered, accompanied by a Pokémon in dark purple armor — with a plume of fire on its helmet.
Grafaiai recognized the Pokémon: Ceruledge, Fire/Ghost type, a mighty swordsman Pokémon coveted by many.
Once inside, the man and Ceruledge came straight over, and Grafaiai, regaining its vision, found itself looking into the human's eyes.
As expected — a cold gaze, but not as harsh as the one it remembered, more indifferent than malicious.
Grafaiai was confused. Apparently its actions had been exposed.
Wouldn't this person be angry?
The man spoke: "Since you're awake, good. Before Officer Jenny gets here, let's have a talk."
"Grafaiai?" ("Why?")
Grafaiai rasped out a question.
Ceruledge brought a chair, and Lucas sat down, clapped his hands, and a majestic fiery bird — Moltres — entered.
"Let me introduce: this is Moltres, our translator. This is Ceruledge, my Pokémon. And I'm Lucas — the farm owner you almost poisoned."
Lucas spoke calmly.
He got straight to the point: "Why did you poison the berries in my warehouse? And the other three places? We never did anything to you."
Mentioning this, Grafaiai's confusion turned to pain and agitation.
"Grafaiai, grafaiai, grafaiai~!?" ("You're all from the same place as the one who abandoned me. People in the same uniform wander around here — how could I not hate you? We swore to be together forever — but to humans, is a promise so easy to break!?")
Ceruledge shifted slightly, looking at Grafaiai with complicated eyes.
Lucas couldn't understand Grafaiai's words, but its emotion was clear.
When Moltres finished relaying the translation via telepathy, Lucas understood, and his expression turned complicated.
He hadn't expected the reason for the poisoning to be just that — that the person who abandoned Grafaiai wore the same uniform as the farm workers, and in a desire for revenge, it had poisoned them.
But what did "same uniform" mean? Lucas frowned, wanting to ask more, but Ceruledge intervened.
Ceruledge suddenly raised its arm, sword blazing, staring at Grafaiai.
"Ceruledge~?" ("Because you were abandoned and betrayed, you think you're miserable and in pain, right?")
Intimidated by Ceruledge's sword, Grafaiai's voice faltered.
"Grafaiai~!" ("That's right! Why am I the only one suffering? If I can't find him, I'll take revenge on everyone who looks like him — sooner or later, I'll find him and make him feel this pain!")
Ceruledge thought of its own past. A year ago, it had felt the same — full of thorns, convinced the world was against it, full of bitterness.
It too had thought of inflicting its pain on others, but ultimately held back. Misfortune wasn't an excuse to hurt others.
The only difference was, Ceruledge had found its own light and been saved.
Now, it felt both pity and anger for Grafaiai.
"Ceruledge~—?" ("Let me ask you — you gave in to darkness. How are you any different from the human who broke his promise and abandoned you? Aren't you both hurting others for your own pain?")
Grafaiai hesitated for a long time, finally muttering, "Grafaiai~..." ("You have such a good life — what right do you have to judge me...?")
Ceruledge laughed, flames rising higher.
"Ceruledge~?" ("Right? I was abandoned too. Is that enough of a right for you?")
Grafaiai froze. Ceruledge quietly shared its own story and journey after meeting Lucas.
Moltres translated for Lucas, who listened in silence, curious about Ceruledge's view of him.
Ceruledge was always the most reserved member of the team, rarely showing its feelings.
If he didn't know Ceruledge liked him, Lucas thought he'd never understand it.
Luckily, that charm of his was working!
Ceruledge finished its story just as Officer Jenny's siren wailed at dawn.
Looking at Grafaiai, lost in thought, Lucas felt a mix of pride (for how Ceruledge viewed him) and pity for Grafaiai.
As Ceruledge had said, being abandoned was tragic, but it didn't justify hurting innocents.
Lucas hadn't lost much — just a few baskets of berries — so he didn't hate Grafaiai.
But he couldn't forgive it on behalf of the other victims.
Now, there was only one thing left to do —
Hand Grafaiai over to Officer Jenny.