"Alright, I understand. Pikachu and the others aren't home, so they've probably gone out searching. And I asked gengar earlier to watch over Gible. Even though that guy is usually pretty unreliable, he's dependable when it matters. Nothing serious should happen."
"Mm, sorry for troubling you all."
After hanging up yet another phone call, Chen Mo stared at the tunnel dug through the living room floor and couldn't help sighing.
Yes.
Gible had run away.
And after appearing in Anping City, it had caused quite a stir.
Since waking up, Chen Mo had already received five separate calls related to Gible. One of them even came from the high school girl he had previously met in Axew territory—
Mo Yu.
According to her, Gible had suddenly burst out from underground and rammed Axew.
Thankfully, nothing too serious happened, but it still gave Chen Mo a headache.
That said—
He wasn't overly worried.
Aside from Magikarp, who couldn't move easily, and Marshadow, who still hadn't responded, every Pokémon at home had already gone out.
A trainer knew their Pokémon best.
And as both trainer and guardian, Chen Mo understood their personalities very well.
Pikachu and the others were almost certainly following behind Gible the entire time.
So while there might be a little chaos—
Just as Chen Mo had told the authorities earlier, nothing truly dangerous would happen.
Huuuuu—
The air conditioner in the living room continued blowing warm air.
Before going upstairs to sleep, considering Gible's species was extremely sensitive to cold—and with gengar staying beside it—Chen Mo had deliberately turned on the heater despite it being summer.
After shutting off the AC, Chen Mo sat down on the sofa and became increasingly irritated the more he thought about it.
gengar, what happened to the promise you made me!?
Chen Mo felt he'd spoiled that guy too much lately.
Not waking him after Gible woke up was one thing—
But actually letting Gible run off?
You lot really don't take me seriously as your trainer anymore!
Checking the time, it was already almost eleven.
"…Forget it. I'll go out and look for them myself."
Finding a Gible capable of tunneling underground at any moment wouldn't be easy.
But with official assistance, locating Pikachu and the others would be simple enough.
A quick check of surveillance cameras would do.
Just as Chen Mo was about to call for help—
He suddenly heard movement nearby.
Turning around—
He saw Pidgeotto's massive body descending from the sky, landing directly in the still-unrepaired courtyard.
At the same time—
A white figure leapt gracefully over the wall and landed beside Pidgeotto.
"Gengui!"
The voice arrived before the Pokémon itself.
Compared to Absol, who still needed to jump over the wall, gengar had things much easier.
Walls meant nothing to it.
Its plump body casually drifted straight through the wall itself.
The Pokémon in this household really never used normal entrances.
"You're finally back."
Chen Mo set down his phone and strode into the courtyard.
His face stern and expression serious.
"Gengui…"
gengar immediately sensed disaster approaching.
Its momentum vanished instantly as it quietly retreated behind the other Pokémon.
Absol looked up at the sky.
Pidgeotto stood at the very front, directly facing Chen Mo's icy gaze.
It was panicking internally.
Its eyes unconsciously drifted backward.
"Pika!"
Soon—
Pikachu dragged along a head-lowered Gible and brought it to the front.
"Gaao…"
Gible secretly glanced up at Chen Mo once before immediately lowering its head again like a child too afraid to meet an adult's eyes after making a mistake.
Chen Mo ignored Gible and looked toward Pikachu instead.
"Pikachu, you all—"
At that moment—
Gible suddenly darted in front of Pikachu.
Though clearly frightened, it still forced itself to look at Chen Mo.
"Gaao… gaao gaao…"
The words Chen Mo intended to say got stuck in his throat.
He froze.
Gible was apologizing.
It was claiming all responsibility belonged to itself.
Beside it, Pikachu instantly panicked after hearing Gible's response.
That's not what we agreed on!
Before returning home, they had already discussed everything with Gible.
Running away from home would definitely upset Chen Mo.
So Pikachu and the others planned to step forward and shoulder most of the blame themselves.
Turn a major problem into a minor one, and the minor one into nothing at all.
After all, Pikachu had experience with this sort of thing before.
As long as it acted cute toward Chen Mo a little—
The matter would pass quickly.
But now—
The Gible that had originally agreed to the plan suddenly stepped forward on its own.
Pikachu immediately became anxious.
When their trainer got serious, he was genuinely scary.
And if Gible, the actual runaway culprit, got scolded too harshly and became emotionally withdrawn, that would be terrible.
"Absol!" "Bibi!"
While Pikachu desperately tried explaining things for Gible, Absol and Pidgeotto also stepped forward.
As the older members of the team, they wanted to shoulder the blame too.
"Gengui…"
After hesitating for a moment, even gengar floated over.
Protected behind them all, Gible felt deeply moved.
Chen Mo stood there silently.
First surprised—
Then gradually relieved.
Truthfully—
Ever since Gible's rampage yesterday, what worried Chen Mo most was the relationship between Gible and the others.
Absol was one thing.
But Pikachu and gengar had actually been attacked by Gible.
He had genuinely worried they might resent it.
He'd even been thinking about ways to repair their relationship.
Yet—
After only a few hours outside together—
Their relationship had become this good already.
Good enough that they were fighting over who got to take responsibility.
"That's enough!"
Taking a deep breath, Chen Mo interrupted the noisy Pokémon once again.
The courtyard instantly fell silent.
All the Pokémon stood nervously, too afraid to make a sound in case they upset him further.
Just as Pikachu and the others braced for a storm—
They suddenly saw Chen Mo's stern expression soften completely like spring rain.
Looking at them warmly, he spoke gently:
"As your trainer and companion, I've always hoped you'd support each other and move forward together. And now it seems you've truly done wonderfully. I'm very happy."
"Stop standing around outside. Come inside already. It's lunchtime. What do you all want to eat?"
The Pokémon froze.
Then—
Their faces exploded with joy.
"Gengui!"
gengar even threw both stubby arms into the air in celebration.
YES!
No scolding!
An absolute victory!
"Gengui gengui!"
Now completely relieved, gengar floated happily up to Chen Mo and immediately started listing all the things it wanted for lunch—
Berry salad, nutritious soup, stew—
But at that moment—
Chen Mo's gaze suddenly turned cold again as he stared directly at gengar.
"You're the exception. You don't get lunch today."
"GENGUI!"
gengar froze like it had been struck by lightning.
WHY!?
As Chen Mo walked ahead, he casually tossed out a sentence that made all the other Pokémon secretly laugh.
"Think carefully about what you promised me before I went to sleep. Out of everyone here, you made the biggest mistake. And you still want all this fancy food? Be grateful you get anything at all."
"Gengui!" (You're bullying ghosts!)
gengar felt utterly heartbroken.
It had clearly done everything for Chen Mo's own good because he looked so exhausted.
And this was how it got repaid!?
Feeling deeply wronged, gengar instantly dove into Chen Mo's shadow world.
It wasn't good to cry outside where Pikachu could see.
It was going to complain to Marshadow about Chen Mo's evil deeds!
"Gaao…"
Standing in the middle of the group, Gible looked completely lost while watching all the smiling Pokémon around it.
Then—
A figure blocked its view.
Looking up—
The human wore a gentle smile.
Using both heavily bandaged hands, he softly rubbed Gible's head and quietly said:
"Welcome home."
Tiny sparks of light flickered in Gible's black-and-white eyes.
Many Pokémon, like humans, gradually lose clear memories of their early childhood as they grow older.
But—
Gible would never forget.
That summer.
The memories between itself, him, and them after it was first born.
Those were memories Gible would willingly protect with everything it had.
—
"The friendship's increasing so fast…"
Summer afternoons were always hot.
At two o'clock, after lunch and a short rest, Chen Mo drove out with all his Pokémon toward the Special Response Bureau.
Along the way—
Chen Mo repeatedly used Detection Eye on Gible.
The speed at which its friendship was increasing was unlike anything Chen Mo had ever seen before.
Almost every time he checked, the value had changed again.
After lunch, Gible's friendship had already reached ninety.
And now—
It had completely maxed out at one hundred.
Even Absol's friendship had never reached one hundred until now.
Yet Gible had overtaken everyone and become the first.
"…At heart, it really is a good kid."
Though the newborn Gible had caused plenty of trouble and even injured Chen Mo—
Children making mistakes was normal.
A famous writer from Chen Mo's previous world, Romain Rolland, once said:
"Life should involve making mistakes. Through mistakes, we gain understanding."
As long as things hadn't completely spiraled out of control, Chen Mo was perfectly willing to tolerate it.
After all—
What mattered most was whether Gible understood its mistakes, admitted them, and could improve moving forward.
And judging by Gible's actions—
It had done very well.
From the moment it stepped in front of Pikachu and voluntarily admitted fault, Chen Mo had already lost any desire to scold it.
Blind criticism had no meaning.
Love and discipline had to coexist.
For a Gible that already knew it was wrong—
What it needed more was care.
That said—
"You two, stop sticking your heads out the window! That's dangerous! Especially you, Pikachu—don't corrupt Gible. Act like a proper older brother!"
Hearing Chen Mo's voice—
Pikachu, who had been gleefully leading Gible in sticking their mouths into the rushing wind outside the car window, immediately sat down obediently.
Seeing that, Gible no longer dared continue fooling around either.
But its eyes still remained fixed curiously on the rapidly changing scenery outside.
Unlike Absol, who deeply loved it yet got carsick—
Gible absolutely loved riding in the car.
It enjoyed the feeling of speeding forward.
"Gaao…"
Whenever the vehicle accelerated, Gible would squint happily in excitement.
Chen Mo noticed but said nothing.
"Pika pika!"
Using incredibly agile movements, Pikachu climbed toward the front seats of the SUV.
It was curious why Chen Mo had brought everyone out.
This far away—
It probably wasn't training, right?
"It's too hot right now. Training can wait until tonight."
While driving, Chen Mo smiled and explained:
"This afternoon we're heading to the Bureau to register Gible officially."
Nowadays, every Pokémon living within a city needed to be officially registered.
Even Garbodor's Trubbish group and the Koffing line, who had recently settled in Anping City without trainers, had completed the proper registration procedures under official arrangements.
Everything was for easier management and to prevent unnecessary trouble.
Of course—
Registration didn't necessarily require going to the Special Response Bureau.
Not every city had one.
Local police stations and other official agencies now also handled Pokémon registration.
The main reason Chen Mo specifically chose the Bureau was simple:
He hadn't visited since returning, so he figured this was a good chance to stop by while handling Gible's paperwork.
"Gaao…"
Hearing its name, Gible turned curiously toward him.
It didn't really understand what "registration" meant.
But when Chen Mo explained that once registration was complete, they could officially live together—
Gible became very happy.
It wanted this registration done.
It wanted to stay together forever with Chen Mo, Pikachu, and the others.
Thinking about that, Gible visibly grew excited.
"… "
Chen Mo glanced at the rearview mirror.
Watching Gible sway happily along with the movement of the vehicle, eyes squinting in joy—
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"We're almost there…"
Judging by the scenery outside, they were getting close to the Bureau.
At that moment—
Construction noises drifted into his ears.
Turning his head—
Chen Mo saw that what had once been empty land was now a massive construction site, with a huge building already beginning to take shape.
Chen Mo blinked in surprise.
"…Are they building a stadium?"
The structure's outer design was mostly complete already.
And from its unique appearance—
It looked suspiciously similar to a large-scale sports arena.
🌟 60+ Chapters Ahead!
👉 [email protected]/plotwired
💬 10 Reviews = 🎁 Bonus Chapter
🔷 100 Power Stones = ⚡ New Chapter
🔥 The more you support, the faster the story grows!