Fang Yu didn't know much about music, but as he listened to the song, he inexplicably felt a pang of sadness.
"Yeah... I still prefer the song Meloetta sang at the Anping Stadium two days ago."
"Meloetta is the best!"
Using a bit of mental self-suggestion, he forcefully suppressed the unnecessary emotions welling up inside him.
As an official Trainer responsible for mediating conflicts between humans and Pokémon, Fang Yu considered himself a professional. The more delicate the situation became, the more important it was not to let outside influences cloud his judgment. Otherwise, it would be all too easy to lose one's sense of fairness.
The ancient melody sung by the Clefairy slowly came to an end.
Under the direction of the larger Clefairy at the front, the dozens of Clefairy lined up neatly and bowed deeply toward Liuli Commercial Street.
"Pi..."
Their apologetic cries echoed throughout the now-silent alley.
"We should go."
Chen Mo's voice suddenly came from beside him.
"Ah... right!"
Having unconsciously relegated himself to the role of assistant the moment Chen Mo arrived, Fang Yu snapped back to reality. He hurriedly nodded and quickly followed after the tall figure ahead.
However...
The instant the two of them stepped out of the alley, the Clefairy, who had been packing up their wooden carts in preparation to leave, reacted as though they'd seen some prehistoric monster.
"Pi! Pi! Pi!"
They cried out in alarm as they scattered in every direction.
It was obvious they'd rehearsed this before.
Although panic filled their faces, their teamwork and movements remained astonishingly organized.
Some Clefairy fled into the surrounding alleyways.
Some suddenly curled themselves into tiny balls before diving into piles of miscellaneous junk.
Others lifted sewer covers and jumped straight underground.
There were even a few that used Teleport, instantly disappearing from sight while taking several other Clefairy with them.
Fang Yu stared, completely dumbfounded.
Only then did he finally understand something that had been puzzling him all this time.
He'd already spent over a week in Greenfield City trying to solve the Clefairy theft problem.
Every single time, by the time he received a report and rushed to the scene...
The Clefairy had already vanished without a trace.
Even surveillance cameras couldn't determine where they'd gone afterward.
With no other options, Fang Yu had requested reinforcements from headquarters.
Which was why such a large flock of Pidove and Tranquill had been dispatched.
"So that's it..."
"With so many escape routes..."
"Even Teacher Mo wouldn't have been able to stop them all!"
Fang Yu figured the Clefairy must have misunderstood something.
As he chased after the fleeing Pokémon, he stretched out a hand and shouted,
"Wait!"
"We're not here to catch you!"
The Clefairy only ran even faster.
Within seconds, every last one of them had disappeared from Liuli Alley, leaving Fang Yu standing there alone, battered by the metaphorical wind.
"Teacher Mo... what do we do now?"
"No need to rush."
Chen Mo looked completely composed, as though he'd expected this outcome all along.
"Whether they escaped with Teleport or through the sewers, they all have the same objective."
"They need to leave the city and return to the mountains."
"So as long as we station the Pidove at every exit beforehand, eventually one of them will spot the Clefairy."
"Once that happens, we simply follow their trail straight back to their habitat."
"Of course!"
Fang Yu slapped his forehead.
He'd been so flustered earlier that he hadn't realized it.
The whole reason he'd requested that huge flock of Pidove and Tranquill from the Bureau...
Was precisely for a moment like this.
Just as Fang Yu reached for his whistle to summon the birds waiting in the city square...
Chen Mo raised a hand once more to stop him.
"The Clefairy seem extremely alert."
"I have Pidgeotto."
"It'll be much easier for us to quietly follow them from the sky."
"So leave that part to me."
Fang Yu froze for a moment.
Then he immediately understood.
Generally speaking, among Flying-type Pokémon, only fully evolved species were capable of carrying humans through sustained flight.
Chen Mo's Pidgeotto was an exception.
Meanwhile...
The flock in the city square consisted only of Pidove and Tranquill.
There wasn't a single Unfezant among them.
Which meant they couldn't carry Fang Yu into the air.
Following on foot wasn't realistic either.
Even ignoring whether he could keep up with the Clefairy's speed...
Given the extraordinary vigilance they had just displayed, even the slightest disturbance would probably expose him.
Under those circumstances...
Chen Mo's proposal was undoubtedly the best solution.
Still...
After finally getting a chance to work together with his idol...
His only contribution amounted to handing over a whistle.
That left Fang Yu feeling somewhat conflicted.
"What are you spacing out for?"
"Hurry up."
Chen Mo had already blown the whistle.
As he waited for the Pidove and Tranquill to arrive, he spoke without turning around.
"The Clefairy's apology was sincere."
"But their thefts were real as well."
"As mediators, our responsibility is simply to follow procedure."
"If they should be detained, then we detain them."
"If they should be released, then we release them."
"As for whether the people of Greenfield City choose to forgive them..."
"That's their decision."
"We don't have the right to make that choice for them."
"Xiao Yu."
"You understand what I mean."
Realization dawned on Fang Yu.
He glanced at the shopkeepers, who were cautiously reopening their storefronts after the Clefairy had left.
Then he nodded earnestly.
"I understand, Teacher Mo."
"I'll do my best."
"Good."
Chen Mo tossed another Poké Ball.
Pidgeotto emerged once again.
Amid the chorus of countless Pidove and Tranquill filling the sky, Chen Mo smiled.
"In that case..."
"Just as before."
"I'll handle that side."
"I'll leave this side to you."
"No problem!"
A powerful gust swept across the street.
Following Chen Mo's command, the flock of Pidove and Tranquill immediately spread out toward every exit of the city.
Meanwhile, Chen Mo remained riding atop Pidgeotto, hovering quietly above the city square while awaiting news.
It wasn't long before a Tranquill flew over, reporting that the Clefairy had been spotted.
"Thank you."
After recalling the flock with the whistle's unique signal, Chen Mo directed Pidgeotto toward the reported location at top speed.
Only a short while later...
A procession of Clefairy marching through the forest toward the distant mountains came into view.
"Found them."
Chen Mo finally let out a sigh of relief.
When the Clefairy had fled from Liuli Alley...
He'd actually been fully capable of having Gengar, who was filming overhead, or Pikachu intercept one or two of them.
The reason he hadn't...
Was because he wanted to personally visit the Clefairy's home.
There were several theories he wanted to verify.
Meanwhile...
As news of the Clefairy's appearance spread, many viewers who had assumed today's stream would consist of nothing but another highway road trip gradually flooded back into the livestream.
The chat exploded.
[Honestly, I still don't understand. Why did the Clefairy steal things? And if they felt guilty afterward, why apologize with so many Berries and Evolution Stones? Their behavior makes no sense.]
[Some Pokémon species naturally have a habit of collecting random objects. My Zigzagoon, for example, can't resist grabbing anything shiny and stuffing it into its nest. I can't stop it. Maybe the Clefairy have a similar instinct.]
[But the Clefairy's taste is bizarre... Didn't that shop owner say they even stole broken plastic toys and empty liquor bottles? They're Fairy-types! That's not exactly what I imagine when I think of fairies.]
[That's because you're letting the word "Fairy" influence your expectations. Don't judge Pokémon by their typing. Just look at Wan Yushu's Granbull from the Pikachu Cup. Aside from being pink, what part of it resembles the fairies from mythology?]
[True... The whole thing feels strange. They stole everything, then apologized out of nowhere. And that song they sang... It made me feel sad, but I can't explain why.]
[Don't laugh... but after hearing that song, I suddenly wanted to go home. Maybe it's because I haven't been back in three years...]
[You guys can speculate all you want. This is something only an actual Pokémon expert can explain.]
[Exactly! Teacher Mo, you told us so much about Jigglypuff before. You must know plenty about Clefairy too, right?]
Seeing the flood of requests, Chen Mo finally snapped out of his thoughts and nodded gently.
"There are still some things I'm not completely certain about."
"But as for why the Clefairy's song sounds so sorrowful..."
"I can answer that."
"One viewer mentioned that hearing the song made them miss home."
"That wasn't your imagination."
"The Clefairy's singing stirred up those emotions."
"It seems some of you have already guessed the answer."
"That's right."
"The Clefairy miss home."
The statement immediately filled the chat with confusion.
[Then why don't they just go home?]
[...Actually, I think I understand. You have to think about it from an adult's perspective. Every Spring Festival, countless people across China rush home to reunite with their families. But not everyone makes it back. Some stay behind year after year. Is it because they don't want to go home? Maybe for a few. But for most, it's because they simply can't.]
[When you put it like that...]
[That's heartbreaking...]
[It's fine! Teacher Mo is here! He'll definitely help them!]
[Wait! You're all forgetting something! Pokémon have lived alongside humanity for months now, so everyone's gotten used to them—but originally, our world didn't have Pokémon at all!]
[...]
[Oh no...]
[The home they're longing for... isn't this world. It's the other world... Even Teacher Mo can't solve that...]
Before Chen Mo could respond...
Quite a few viewers had already realized part of the truth.
Only...
Part of it.
"It seems some of you have figured out part of the answer."
"But your assumptions are still too limited."
"That's understandable."
"You simply don't know enough about Clefairy yet."
Chen Mo glanced at the screen overflowing with question marks before looking back down at the Clefairy below.
"When you think of another world, most of you picture the planet where Pokémon originally lived."
"For convenience..."
"Let's call it Earth Number Two."
"But a world doesn't consist of only a single planet."
"I think everyone understands that."
"A planet is merely one part of the larger universe."
"Earth Number Two is no exception."
"The overwhelming majority of Pokémon were naturally born on Earth Number Two."
"But..."
"There are also certain Pokémon that never belonged to that planet in the first place."
"They were born in outer space."
"Through chance..."
"Or perhaps because of some greater purpose..."
"They eventually arrived on Earth."
"And the Clefairy line..."
"Is one of them."
The instant those words fell...
The livestream erupted.
[Pokémon from outer space?! Holy crap! Just how many kinds of Pokémon exist?!]
[Teacher Mo, swear you're not making this up!]
[I have a question. If there are Pokémon living in outer space in Earth Number Two's universe... then when Pokémon came to our world, did those space Pokémon come too? Did they appear in our universe? Or did they stay behind?]
[My brain hurts...]
[My old dream was to meet every Pokémon in the world. Now I need to upgrade it—I want to meet every Pokémon in the entire universe!]
[Dream on. Our technology can't even get us into space yet. But... this makes the Clefairy even more pitiful...]
[I wonder how powerful space Pokémon are. What if one day they invade Earth?]
[You're thinking way too far ahead...]
Everyone had their own thoughts.
In the Pokémon world...
There were indeed quite a few known extraterrestrial Pokémon.
The most famous among them was the cosmic virus, Deoxys, whose power rivaled that of Legendary Pokémon themselves.
Just as Chen Mo was pondering this...
Marshadow, who had remained silent all day, suddenly spoke inside his mind.
"I can sense a very unusual energy signature."
"It's coming from the mountains ahead."
"...Hm?"
Chen Mo's expression immediately became alert.
After all...
For Marshadow to speak up at a time like this...
There was a very good chance it had sensed something on its own level.
In other words...
A Legendary Pokémon.
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