"You know this Pokémon?"
Marshadow's voice, tinged with surprise, echoed in Chen Mo's mind.
The deep violet crystal lying among the pile of Evolution Stones perfectly matched an image from Chen Mo's memories.
Without hesitation, he replied mentally,
"Yeah."
"It's a very pitiful little fellow."
"Under normal circumstances, it's only awake for seven days out of every thousand years."
"The rest of the time..."
"It remains in the cocoon of slumber you see now, waiting for its next awakening."
"No wonder the energy it gives off feels so... sorrowful."
Marshadow found it difficult to imagine that such a Pokémon could exist.
A thousand years...
Only seven days of freedom.
"Can something like that even be called living?"
"Isn't it no different from being dead...?"
Meanwhile...
While Chen Mo and Marshadow conversed through telepathy...
The Clefairy clan was also caught in a storm of emotions.
Their home planet had long since become a world of dwindling resources and increasingly harsh living conditions.
To escape that dying world...
And to search the cosmos for a new homeland...
Every Clefairy on the planet had devoted themselves to one goal—
Developing spaceflight technology.
Thus...
The Great Age of Clefairy Space Exploration began.
Watching countless Clefairy board their spacecraft with unwavering determination in search of a new home...
Every Clefairy remaining behind sincerely prayed for their success.
But...
Ten years passed.
Twenty years passed.
...
The Clefairy who had stayed behind slowly grew old while waiting.
Even on their deathbeds...
They never saw those explorers return.
The universe...
Was simply too vast.
Interstellar travel was filled with endless dangers and hardships.
And finding a planet suitable for an entire species to inhabit...
Was never an easy task.
As the years dragged on...
The Clefairy of the homeworld gradually gave up hope.
Life on their planet was difficult.
But after living that way for generations...
It had become something they simply accepted.
Thus...
The stories of the ancestors who had ventured into space became nothing more than ancient legends.
To most Clefairy...
Their harsh lives were simply fate.
Something impossible to escape.
Yet...
Just as humanity has always produced those unwilling to bow before destiny...
The Clefairy homeworld never lacked brave souls willing to challenge it.
Bearing the unfinished dreams of their predecessors...
A new generation of Clefairy embarked upon another voyage.
Only then...
Did they truly come to understand everything their ancestors had endured.
Food supplies dwindled.
Energy reserves ran dry.
No hope of resupply.
Surrounded by the freezing, suffocating emptiness of space...
The Clefairy aboard the ship gradually sank into despair.
Unless a miracle occurred...
They would perish unnoticed in the endless stars.
Yet...
None of them regretted setting out.
What truly filled them with despair...
Was failing to find even a sliver of hope—
A world where every Clefairy could finally live happily.
Then...
Just as they resigned themselves to death...
In the blink of an eye...
A vast blue planet suddenly appeared directly before them.
The entire crew froze.
"The gods..."
"The gods have blessed us!"
They didn't overthink it.
Nor did they have any other choice.
They guided their damaged spacecraft toward the beautiful world—
A planet infinitely more vibrant and breathtaking than the one they'd left behind.
To the Clefairy...
Everything felt like a dream.
Within only a few days...
They completely fell in love with this new world, blessed with abundant food and lush environments.
They had decided.
This...
Would become their new home.
But...
They had never forgotten their homeland.
Nor the countless Clefairy still struggling there.
They immediately resolved to repair their ship...
And return to bring everyone back.
Unfortunately...
Upon entering this planet's atmosphere...
The spacecraft had been struck by an unknown energy.
Its defensive systems were disabled almost instantly.
The vessel itself suffered severe damage.
Thus...
Before returning home...
They first needed to repair their ship.
That proved far easier said than done.
Unfamiliar with this world...
They cautiously searched the wilderness for materials.
Along the way...
They encountered countless creatures unlike anything they'd ever seen.
Some were friendly.
Some were violent.
They sought help from those willing to listen.
But when it came to repairing a spacecraft...
No one had the slightest idea how.
Nor could anyone provide the specialized resources they needed.
So...
After struggling for more than half a year...
The Clefairy expanded their search farther and farther.
Until one day...
They left the forest...
And arrived at Greenfield City.
They had already heard about humans.
The wild Pokémon generally agreed—
Humans weren't especially easy to approach.
But...
If there was anywhere likely to possess the things the Clefairy needed...
It would be human settlements.
Returning home...
Had become the obsession of every single Clefairy.
If they continued relying solely on scavenging the wilderness...
No one knew how many years it would take before the ship could fly again.
Driven by that obsession...
The Clefairy nervously approached Greenfield City.
To their surprise...
Humans were even kinder than they'd imagined.
All they had to do...
Was sing.
Dance.
And humans would happily offer them the things they wanted.
"Humans..."
"They're such a kind species."
The Clefairy were deeply grateful.
Even after the people of Greenfield City gradually stopped feeding them...
Their gratitude never faded.
Instead...
The guilt of eventually stealing human belongings for their own selfish desire only grew heavier.
"So..."
"This is our punishment..."
The Clefairy looked toward the human standing before them.
Their emotions had become impossibly complicated.
Several Clefable at the front exchanged glances.
Then...
As though reaching a silent agreement...
They stepped forward together.
Their eyes filled with pleading.
They desperately begged Chen Mo.
"Clef... Clefable..."
Understanding that Chen Mo still couldn't fully understand the Clefairy language...
Pikachu quickly translated.
"They're saying..."
"They're willing to accept any punishment for what they've done..."
"But..."
"They're begging you to let at least some of the Clefairy go..."
"So they can board the spaceship..."
"And return home."
After Pikachu relayed everything—
And Chen Mo repeated the translation for the livestream—
He nodded quietly.
Despite holding an overwhelming numerical advantage...
The Clefairy had never shown the slightest intention of resisting.
Instead...
They voluntarily accepted responsibility.
At the very least...
Their attitude toward admitting their mistakes deserved recognition.
But...
The same principle still applied.
Whether to forgive them...
Was Greenfield City's decision.
Chen Mo...
Was only the mediator.
His phone vibrated inside his pocket.
Seeing the caller ID...
Chen Mo smiled.
"Perfect timing."
He answered immediately.
"Teacher Mo!"
"We're done over here!"
Fang Yu's excited voice rang through the speaker.
"I've talked to all twenty-three shop owners who had things stolen."
"I explained the value of the Berries and Evolution Stones."
"They've all decided to forgive the Clefairy."
"Excellent."
"You did great, Xiao Yu."
"It wasn't really me."
"The Clefairy handled things well."
"They divided the compensation very fairly."
"None of the shop owners had any objections."
Hearing that...
Chen Mo finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Now...
Everything would be much easier.
Meanwhile, Greenfield City...
After hanging up...
Fang Yu looked once more at the surrounding residents.
His gaze swept across each of the shopkeepers.
Watching them clutching their Berries and Evolution Stones—
Their faces overflowing with excitement and nervous joy—
He shook his head.
One more time, he reminded them,
"These Berries and Evolution Stones are compensation from the Clefairy."
"They're payment for everything that was taken."
"The Bureau will not confiscate them."
"So don't worry."
"If you'd prefer to exchange them for cash immediately, the Bureau is willing to purchase them..."
"...Actually, never mind."
"You can decide what you want to do yourselves."
The moment he said that...
Every shop owner immediately showed expressions of refusal.
After all...
The Bureau would only pay standard market value.
But rare Berries and Evolution Stones...
Would fetch significantly higher prices elsewhere.
Fang Yu didn't mind.
Just as he prepared to report the results of Greenfield City's first phase of negotiations...
A child's innocent voice suddenly rang out.
"Officer..."
"Will the Clefairy come back?"
Fang Yu froze.
Slowly...
He turned around.
The scene before him was lively.
Shopkeepers hugged their treasures as though they'd won the lottery.
The surrounding crowd looked on with envy...
Jealousy...
Some even regretted the Clefairy hadn't stolen from their stores.
All those emotions...
Stood in stark contrast...
To the little boy's bright, hopeful eyes.
Fang Yu deliberately avoided looking at him.
Instead...
He raised his head toward the distant mountains beneath the blue sky.
Softly...
He answered.
"Probably..."
"They won't."
Perhaps...
There was a reason Greenfield City...
Never became another Mount Cangqing Town.
Back at the sinkhole...
"...That's what happened."
"The Berries and Evolution Stones you gave away fully compensated the shop owners."
"They've chosen to forgive you."
"There are still a few follow-up matters to deal with..."
"But those are human affairs now."
Looking at the stunned Clefairy before him...
Chen Mo smiled gently.
"Congratulations."
"You're no longer guilty."
Silence enveloped the entire Clefairy clan.
The next moment—
Cheers erupted.
The Clefairy embraced one another.
Joy filled every face.
"Pi Pi!"
"We can all go home together!"
"Pi Pi! Pi Pi!"
"Humans really are an incredibly kind species!"
"When we return home, we have to tell everyone how wonderful the humans here are!"
"Pi Pi!"
"Thank the gods for guiding us here!"
"Thank you!"
For the Clefairy...
The greatest joy wasn't merely that they could all leave together.
Ever since the day they began stealing...
Every one of them had carried crushing guilt.
Now...
Hearing from a human himself...
That Greenfield City's residents had forgiven them...
It felt as though the thorny vines wrapped around their hearts had finally fallen away.
After a brief celebration...
The Clefairy hurried back to work.
Their spaceship had finally been repaired.
They couldn't wait to return home.
Chen Mo quietly watched them.
At that moment...
Several Clefable approached him once more.
Using the etiquette they'd learned from observing humans...
They awkwardly bowed deeply in gratitude.
Chen Mo smiled.
"I only did something very small."
"You don't need to thank me."
"Just remember..."
"Stealing is wrong."
"Don't do it again."
"This time..."
"Greenfield City's people forgave you."
"But next time..."
"You may not be so fortunate."
The Clefable nodded repeatedly.
Had they not been desperate to return home—
To tell their suffering brethren they'd found a new world—
They never would have chosen such a path.
Then...
Chen Mo sighed softly.
The Clefable looked at him in confusion.
He spoke slowly.
"Clefable..."
"Do you know..."
"This world..."
"Or rather..."
"This universe..."
"May no longer be the same universe your home once belonged to."
"If you board that ship and head into space..."
"There's a very high chance..."
"You'll never find your original home."
"Maybe that's too complicated."
"Let me explain—"
Before he could finish...
The Clefable interrupted.
"Clef! Clefable!"
Their voices were firm.
Unwavering.
From the very moment Earth had suddenly appeared before them...
They had already realized...
Their course had gone astray.
Finding their way back...
Would become an unimaginably difficult journey.
That...
Was exactly why they'd been so desperate to repair the ship.
Why they couldn't bear to waste another moment.
Because...
The Clefairy were afraid.
If they remained on Earth for too long...
If they grew accustomed to this beautiful world...
A paradise unlike their dying homeland...
Then...
By the time the repairs were finally complete...
They no longer knew...
Whether they'd still possess the courage...
To leave it all behind...
And fly once more into the endless stars.
So...
No matter what...
They couldn't delay any longer.
They had to depart.
Now.
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