Oliver watched everything Celebi did from start to finish, his forehead instantly filling with black lines.
This Celebi was surprisingly skilled at freeloading—almost on the same level as Oliver himself.
Sure enough, perhaps because it had just eaten a top-tier Energy Block, Celebi's previously stagnant level jumped straight to Beginner High Rank, only one step away from reaching Intermediate.
Celebi licked its lips with lingering satisfaction.
"Bi~
That was so good… If only there were more."
Seeing that Kirlia was about to take out its own share of food, Oliver quickly pressed down on Kirlia's hand.
"That's enough. Since I'm here to help you, explain everything properly. From start to finish.
How did this secret realm end up like this? And what exactly is that so-called malice?"
Once the conversation turned serious, Celebi finally stopped fooling around and began explaining the full story.
Celebi had only recently awakened from a long slumber.
True to its playful nature, it began drifting around this secret realm, wandering freely and having fun. During that time, it met many Pokémon. Although all of them regarded it as a godlike being, Celebi itself had no awareness of being a 'god' at all—it simply did whatever it pleased.
Until one day.
In a patch of grass, Celebi discovered a black feather.
The aura clinging to it felt strangely familiar, making Celebi instinctively recognize it as belonging to an old friend.
But that only deepened its confusion.
Did that friend ever have black feathers?
Driven by curiosity, Celebi picked it up.
The moment it did—
The pitch-black feather suddenly erupted, violently absorbing Celebi's energy.
Celebi panicked and tried to throw it away, but the feather clung to its hand like it was glued there, impossible to shake off.
An energy channel had already formed between Celebi and the feather.
In the end, Celebi had no choice but to forcibly sever the connection at the cost of severe injuries.
But after absorbing enough power, the black feather began radiating terrifying malice.
Like an expanding dome, it spread outward at a frantic pace, threatening to engulf the entire secret realm.
Celebi immediately used Teleport to return to the place where it had first awakened.
Realizing it had caused a catastrophe, it urgently used its psychic power to notify all nearby Pokémon, calling them to its side.
Even so, most Pokémon didn't make it in time before the malice swallowed them whole.
Agonized cries echoed through the forest.
Pokémon corrupted by the malice lost their sanity and began attacking anything they encountered—Pokémon and humans alike.
Watching companions it had once played with turn into monsters before its eyes, Celebi was overwhelmed with grief.
Yet it could do nothing.
All it could manage was to gather the last of its remaining strength and protect this tiny region.
From that point on, the entire forest secret realm—
aside from the area under Celebi's protection—
became territory ruled by malice.
And because it had forcefully overdrawn its power, Celebi was reduced to its current state:
only Beginner-level strength, unable to naturally recover through time, forced to rely on absorbing external energy instead.
"So… all of this happened because you messed around and picked something you shouldn't have?" Oliver said flatly.
Celebi scratched its head in embarrassment.
"Well… you can't really say it like that. Who would've known that feather was so shady?"
Oliver sighed.
"Enough of that. What matters now is this—how do we restore the entire forest to normal?"
Celebi thought for a moment before replying.
"That black feather is the source of everything. It continuously releases malice, corrupting all Pokémon.
If we want the forest to return to normal, the feather must be destroyed."
Then it added another problem.
"The closer you get to the source, the stronger the Pokémon you'll encounter. With your current strength, it'll be extremely hard to get through."
That much was true.
Oliver's strongest Pokémon right now was Milotic at Advanced High Rank.
This secret realm already had Gym-level Pokémon—there was no way there weren't plenty of Veteran-level ones as well.
"And there's another issue," Celebi continued.
"I couldn't do anything about that feather even before. Now that it's absorbed even more of my power, it'll be even harder to deal with. Destroying it might be nearly impossible."
As it spoke, even Celebi itself began to feel despair creeping in, as if it could already see a bleak, hopeless future.
"Hmph! Even if I'm going to die, I'll die with a full stomach!"
With that, Celebi somehow pulled out another Berry and started munching again.
Oliver, however, suddenly said,
"Maybe… I have a way to deal with the source."
Celebi and Decidueye both froze, staring at him in shock.
Completely destroying the black feather was indeed difficult.
But Oliver was different.
He had the system.
If he couldn't destroy it, he could simply store it inside the system.
Surely it wouldn't be able to leak malice through a system space, right?
"You… have a way?" Celebi asked.
"You don't need to know the details. I can make it disappear from this secret realm."
Celebi clapped its hands excitedly.
"If that's true, then I can let Decidueye accompany you! With its protection, you'll definitely make it to the source!"
Decidueye was startled.
"Treeh…
But once I leave your protected area, I'll be corrupted by the malice too…"
Celebi patted its belly confidently.
"Haha! Thanks to that delicious thing I just ate, I've recovered a bit of strength.
I can put a thin energy film on you—a small protective barrier to block the malice."
Decidueye straightened, placed a wing across its chest, and bowed deeply.
"In that case, for the forest that shelters us, and for our fallen friends…
I will give everything to escort this honored guest to the source of malice."
Oliver nodded.
"Then let's prepare and set out."
After some quick preparations, a faint green energy barrier enveloped Decidueye as well.
Watching one human and two Pokémon depart, Celebi quietly grabbed another Berry and took a bite.
"My kin actually found someone this mysterious…
Maybe he really can eliminate the source of malice and save the forest."
It paused, chewing slowly.
"But ever since I tasted that thing…
these berries just feel so bland now.
I really want to eat that again…"
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