"Did Mew come back?"
Lin Feng had just seen the two professors off when he immediately received some news from Serperior.
It had swum over to tell him that several new Pokémon had appeared in the Berry Orchard.
Normally, that would be enough to conclude that Mew had returned.
However, Lin Feng's Aura could not detect Mew at all.
Whenever he discovered Mew's disguises, it was usually because of the [Eye of Appraisal] granted to him by the system.
Serperior was different.
After forming a symbiotic relationship with the Tree of Life, it had developed a strange connection with Mew and Mewtwo.
Because of that connection, whenever Mew approached, Serperior could vaguely sense its presence.
In other words, as long as Serperior was around, Mew's little tricks would basically have nowhere to hide.
"Let's go, Serperior."
After hearing the news, Lin Feng didn't wait around.
He immediately followed Serperior toward the Berry Orchard.
Over the past two days, although there was now a Zoroark staying at the house, it honestly didn't feel like there was an extra Pokémon at all.
That was because the question Zoroark asked most often was about Mew.
Every morning, it would ask Lin Feng the same thing.
Had Mew returned yet?
Lin Feng always answered honestly.
At first, Alune and A-Jiu, both social butterflies in their own ways, would come over to greet Zoroark.
But Zoroark was rather aloof.
On top of that, its mind was completely focused on Mew.
So whenever Alune or A-Jiu came over, they were immediately questioned about Mew's whereabouts.
At first, Alune and A-Jiu were happy enough to answer.
But after being asked the same thing over and over again, they quickly lost interest in talking to this overly serious fellow.
Lin Feng arrived at the Berry Orchard.
Following Serperior's lead, he soon spotted three...
Well...
He really had no idea how Lugia had been corrupted by the other two into playing such a childish little game.
Obviously, the three Pokémon had chosen Furret as their disguise this time.
Three perfectly ordinary-looking Furret were diligently picking Berries.
Mew was quite proud of itself this time.
After the previous incident where they disguised themselves as Combee and were discovered, Mew had reflected deeply on what went wrong.
After thinking about it for a long time, it had finally concluded that the problem was their disguise.
They had acted too suspiciously.
They didn't even know how to collect honey.
Last time, they genuinely hadn't known how.
But picking Berries was different.
That was easy!
At least, that was what Mew thought.
Normally, Lin Feng might have played along with it.
But this time, he walked straight toward them.
Before Mew and Victini could react, he grabbed one by the neck with each hand.
As for why he didn't grab Lugia...
That was because Lugia was still unfamiliar with him.
"You two. Change back."
Lin Feng didn't waste any time and directly exposed their identities.
The two "Furret" looked at each other.
Their eyes were filled with confusion and disbelief.
They were absolutely certain they hadn't made a single mistake this time.
So how had he discovered them?
"Not going to change back?"
Lin Feng released Victini.
Then he held Mew with one hand and began rubbing its belly with the other.
Mew quickly found itself unable to withstand the treatment.
It immediately reverted to its original form, laughing and squirming in Lin Feng's hands.
"Meow..."
(Stop it, stop it...)
Only then did Lin Feng let it go.
Victini and Lugia also returned to their original forms.
[Meow...]
(Why... Why can you always tell?!)
After transforming back, Mew escaped from Lin Feng's hands and puffed out its cheeks as it stared at him.
[Hmm... We'll talk about that later.]
[Mew, I want to ask you something. Do you know Celebi?]
Lin Feng immediately changed the subject.
And just as he expected, the name caught Mew's attention.
[Meow?]
(Celebi?)
[Meow...]
(I know it... Isn't that the Pokémon that is always impossible to find and loves traveling through time?)
Mew tilted its head and thought for a moment.
Having lived for such a long time and traveled throughout the world, Mew actually knew most Pokémon.
Those that flew through the sky.
Those that ran across the land.
Those that swam through the seas.
Even among the Pokémon that lived beyond the atmosphere, Mew knew some of them.
"It's like this. A few days ago, Qin Shu was outside..."
Lin Feng explained everything about Zoroark.
Then he finished by asking,
"So, I wanted to ask if you know Celebi."
Whether the past could be changed or not, Zoroark ultimately did not belong to this era.
"Meow..."
Mew's expression immediately became troubled.
It looked at Lin Feng as if saying:
You're really asking too much of me.
Although Mew was incredibly powerful and perhaps the Pokémon in the world most capable of transforming into other forms, it wasn't actually familiar with most Mythical Pokémon.
There were several reasons for that.
Some Mythical Pokémon had their own territories or responsibilities and spent most of their time in one place.
Others were like Mew itself.
They appeared and disappeared without a trace.
When someone actually wanted to find them, they were practically impossible to locate.
[Meow...]
(I'll give it a try...)
Mew didn't refuse him outright.
It didn't want to disappoint Lin Feng.
Mew floated into the air.
Its body began to change.
A faint white light surrounded it.
When the light faded, Mew had transformed into the appearance of Celebi.
It descended behind Lin Feng.
Lin Feng froze.
This scene...
It was exactly the same as what Zoroark had seen in the future.
In other words, in the future Zoroark had witnessed, Lin Feng himself had never actually encountered Celebi.
Instead, after Zoroark told him about the matter, Lin Feng would seek Mew's help.
That was strange.
If Zoroark hadn't seen this future beforehand, Lin Feng would never have asked Mew for help in the first place.
Without that initial event, this entire scene should never have happened.
It was a strange contradiction.
After transforming into Celebi, Mew began manipulating its own energy.
It looked as though it was trying to open something in front of itself.
Energy fluctuations rippled through the air.
But in the end, the attempt failed.
The temporal tunnel disappeared.
All that remained in front of Mew was a series of spatial ripples that resembled waves spreading across water.
According to Lin Feng's [Eye of Appraisal]...
Those were Temporal Ripples.
Mew had been trying to open a passage through time.
But it had clearly failed.
Although Mew could transform into the appearance of virtually any Legendary or Mythical Pokémon, when it came to actually utilizing their powers, it was ultimately inferior to the real thing.
Still...
This was enough.
As long as the Temporal Ripples remained, Celebi would be able to sense them.
And once it sensed them, it could travel here and erase the traces of the Temporal Ripples.
But clearly...
Celebi wasn't the only one attracted by the appearance of the Temporal Ripples.
There was also...
Something else.
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