Trying to restrain these little Pokémon with nothing more than a tent was clearly unrealistic—even if most of them hadn't fully grown yet.
Chen Mo quickly came to a conclusion.
There had to be something threatening them, forcibly preventing them from leaving the tent.
And within Hongjingpo Forest Park, the only being connected to Chen Mo—and capable of doing something like this—was the Pidgey he had once treated.
It wasn't just Chen Mo who thought so. Many viewers had reached the same conclusion.
[Mo-bao, this wasn't done by that Pidgey, was it?]
[Why do you think that?]
[Well… maybe it thought Mo-bao likes these Pokémon, and since it wanted to repay the favor, it caught them and brought them to Mo-bao as gifts?]
[Uh… that actually doesn't sound impossible…]
[Very possible! Maybe that Pidgey really is the type Mo-bao talked about—looks cold on the outside, but is extremely sentimental on the inside.]
[It even feels kind of tsundere. Some viewers might not have seen it last night, but that Pidgey didn't acknowledge Mo-bao at all—just lay there by the campfire with its eyes closed. I felt awkward for Mo-bao just watching it.]
[I get the logic, but seriously… what kind of situation is this?]
That stubborn Pidgey, lying by the campfire with its eyes shut, once again surfaced in Chen Mo's mind.
He shook his head, a helpless smile appearing on his face.
When he treated Pidgey, Chen Mo had never once thought about asking for anything in return. At most, he'd harbored a tiny, guilty thought about coveting its potential.
After all, as a saying he'd heard in his previous life went—
Who wouldn't want to ride a valiant, majestic Pidgeot and soar freely across the vast blue sky?
So if he said he hadn't felt even the slightest temptation upon seeing that Pidgey, that would've been a lie.
"It's completely misunderstood…"
Looking at the frightened Pokémon hiding inside the tent, Chen Mo felt a headache coming on.
And when he noticed that there was a Nidoran♂ and a Nidoran♀ among them, the headache intensified.
These two Pokémon usually lived together, and where they lived, there was a certain chance that Nidoking and Nidoqueen were also nearby.
Especially Nidoking—its temper was notoriously bad.
Chen Mo still remembered an episode from a Pokémon short in his previous life, The Budding Dream, where the heroine Larel almost caused a major disaster in town after provoking a Nidoking and Nidoqueen because of a Nidoran.
Although the misunderstanding was eventually resolved—and the Nidoran even became Larel's first partner—if that kind of "parental visit" happened here, Chen Mo would be in serious trouble.
"Pichu, I'll leave it to you. Help these Pokémon leave the tent and return to the forest."
"Pichu!"
Pichu nodded and hopped into the tent, starting to communicate with the Pokémon inside.
Compared to Chen Mo, who was human, Pichu—being a Pokémon itself—was obviously much easier for them to understand.
After a while—
Some Pokémon cautiously began stepping out of the tent. After confirming it was safe, they quickly disappeared into the forest.
One… two…
Once all the Pokémon had left, Chen Mo finally let out a long sigh of relief.
"Hopefully this kind of thing won't happen again…"
However—
What Chen Mo didn't realize was that this was only the beginning.
Early the next morning.
Still groggy with sleep, Chen Mo was jolted awake by a shrill alarm. Calling out to wake Pichu, he put on his clothes and prepared to head to the abandoned campsite management station near Red Leaf Lake to wash up.
But the moment he unzipped the tent and saw what lay outside, Chen Mo froze—mouthwash cup still in hand.
At some point unknown to him—
A small hill, nearly a meter tall, made entirely of Berries and Apricorn Balls, had appeared right outside the tent entrance.
"Pichu~~~"
Rubbing its eyes and yawning, Pichu stumbled out of the tent.
Without paying attention, it bumped straight into Chen Mo's leg.
"Pichu?"
Completely confused, Pichu looked up. When Chen Mo didn't respond, it walked around him and took a look.
The next instant—
All traces of sleep vanished. Fully awake, Pichu stared at the pile of Berries, its pupils sparkling as if light itself were flickering inside.
"Pichu~~~"
Is this… heaven?
Chen Mo looked at the dazed Pichu, already slowly walking toward the berry hill, and pressed a hand to his forehead.
There was no doubt about it.
This was yet another thank-you gift from Pidgey.
This laugh-or-cry situation convinced Chen Mo of one thing—he had to have a proper talk with that emotionally constipated Pidgey.
Based on what Pichu had confirmed yesterday, Pidgey had only appeared to leave the campsite. In reality, it had been following Chen Mo and Pichu the entire time.
Every time Chen Mo finished introducing a Pokémon and moved on, Pidgey—mistakenly believing Chen Mo had taken an interest in that Pokémon—would suddenly appear, snatch it up, and bring it back to the tent, threatening it into staying put.
Who would've thought that a Pokémon species widely regarded as gentle and mild-tempered would do something like this?
Still, that also meant one thing—
Pidgey was probably watching him even now, from somewhere nearby.
The livestream went live once again.
After briefly explaining the whole situation to the viewers, Chen Mo began to act.
"Pidgey, are you there? There's something I'd like to talk to you about. I hope you can come out for a moment."
"Pichu pichu."
One human and one Pokémon kept calling out around Red Leaf Lake, searching for Pidgey.
The method was… extremely primitive.
Meanwhile, a Magikarp in the lake spat out a string of bubbles, staring at the two of them like they were idiots.
"Gulu gulu…"
After a moment, Magikarp slowly turned its head, looking toward a certain direction in the forest.
And at that very instant—
A violent gust of wind suddenly swept through.
Chen Mo abruptly turned around.
A massive shadow descended from the sky, wings beating as it hovered in front of him. Its gaze was sharp as lightning, its head held high, posture proud and heroic.
For a brief moment, Chen Mo even forgot that this was "just" a Pidgey.
And the instant Pidgey appeared, the livestream chat exploded.
[No matter how many times I see it, this Pidgey is ridiculously cool.]
[Mo-bao said its final evolution, Pidgeot, can carry people while flying. Just imagining that feels incredible.]
[Honestly, after everything Pidgey's done for you, Mo-bao, it'd be criminal not to take it home.]
[Agreed. Strongly recommend Mo-bao abduct—uh—bring Pidgey home.]
[So jealous. You've already earned Pidgey's friendship. At this point, if Mo-bao said the word, Pidgey would probably follow him without hesitation.]
[Same here. And Mo-bao said Pidgey is one of the best Pokémon for beginners. In a few days, I'm going to the wild too—maybe I can lure one back myself.]
[Careful—don't accidentally provoke a Pidgeotto.]
Indeed.
The moment Pidgey made its entrance—
Chen Mo's heart was completely, utterly captured.
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