Green motes of light drifted lazily through the air.
Clear lake water reflected the sky, and life pulsed through the surrounding forest.
This—this—was what the land where Celebi lived was supposed to look like.
Not the hollow, lifeless scenery from before, beautiful in appearance yet dead at its core.
Decidueye escorted Oliver here and then quietly departed. It still had something important to do—bringing back Noctowl's remains and giving its old friend a proper burial. In the end, only Oliver and Celebi were left in this place.
When Celebi saw Oliver again, it felt that something about him had changed.
His eyes seemed deeper, calmer—like someone who had gone through a storm and emerged with a stronger heart. But when Celebi blinked, that feeling vanished, as if it had been nothing more than an illusion.
"I've already removed the source of the malice," Oliver said. "The owner of that feather… it was Lugia, wasn't it?"
Celebi stared at him in shock.
"You even know about Lugia?!"
In this world, the era of legendary Pokémon openly appearing hadn't arrived yet. Ordinary humans weren't supposed to know about beings like Lugia at all.
"Lugia's nothing special," Oliver said with a faint smile.
"Ho-Oh, Kyurem, Rayquaza, Arceus… I know far more than you think."
Celebi was left speechless.
Then Oliver suddenly changed the topic.
"By the way, I helped you solve a problem this big. Don't you think you should give me something in return?"
Even Celebi—an oddball among its own kind—felt a little embarrassed.
Oliver had genuinely saved the entire forest, including Celebi itself. Giving something back was only fair.
But the problem was…
If Celebi were still at full power, it could have used a massive amount of life energy to elevate Oliver's Pokémon to Champion-level potential without hesitation. Resting for a while afterward would have been enough.
But now?
With its strength reduced to this state, Celebi really didn't have much it could offer.
…Or did it?
Suddenly, a thought occurred to it.
Celebi glanced around the forest with complicated emotions, then clapped its hands.
"Ta-da! In recognition of you saving the entire forest, this Pokémon has decided to temporarily go with you instead! How about that—feel honored!"
Oliver froze.
That was a very roundabout way of saying "I want to be caught."
Even though Celebi's current strength was only at the Beginner tier, it was still a being that had lived for who-knew-how-many years. Its understanding of Pokémon, life, and the world itself was leagues beyond ordinary trainers.
And who said it could never recover its strength?
Earlier, it had already climbed back to Beginner High just by eating an energy cube—only to drop again after forcefully maintaining the barrier against malice.
Oliver hesitated.
"But… isn't it still too early for mythical Pokémon to appear?"
Celebi nodded seriously.
"That's right. The real reason is that legendary and mythical Pokémon are simply too powerful. The world's will doesn't allow such overwhelming strength to appear directly—it's giving life time to adapt."
Then it grinned.
"But my strength is only Beginner Low right now. If I become your Pokémon and hide under your identity, the world's will won't say a thing. And then I can finally go out and play in the outside world!"
Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose.
"So that was your real goal…"
After being stuck in this Secret Realm for so many years, Celebi had probably explored every corner of it. Wanting to see the outside world fit its playful nature perfectly.
That said, Oliver wasn't unhappy at all.
The first human to ever capture a mythical Pokémon…
Yeah, that title was probably his now.
Oliver took out an empty Poké Ball and held it in front of Celebi.
Celebi added hastily, "Once we're outside, I'm not staying in the Poké Ball most of the time!"
"No problem," Oliver replied without hesitation.
"Just don't let yourself be seen."
"And another thing—about that tasty food from earlier, I want it every day!"
"No problem. My Pokémon have never gone hungry," Oliver said confidently.
After all, resources for Pokémon were no different from education.
You never cut corners there.
"I also have one more—"
Oliver directly pressed the Poké Ball button against Celebi's forehead.
"Enough. In you go."
A green light flashed.
Capture successful.
The Poké Ball immediately opened again, and Celebi popped back out.
"Hey! I wasn't done talking yet!"
Oliver ignored it and released Milotic and Kirlia, letting them relax in this restored land.
Both of them were genuinely happy that Celebi had become a new companion, and Celebi—having finally made new friends—quickly joined in, playing around with them.
Oliver opened Celebi's status panel.
Pokémon: Celebi
Level: Beginner – Low
Potential: Mythical (Tier-3 Deity)
Evaluation: Due to unknown reasons, its energy has been exhausted and cannot recover naturally. It must replenish strength by absorbing energy from various resources.
One human and three Pokémon played around on the grass for a while.
Then, the system notification Oliver had received earlier finally resurfaced in his mind.
Ding! Congratulations, Host, on successfully capturing Celebi.
Achievement Unlocked: Mythical Pokémon
Achievement Reward Obtained.
Oliver opened the reward.
Obtained: Ultra-Condensed Energy Crystal ×1
Ultra-Condensed Energy Crystal:
A crystal formed by compressing an enormous amount of pure energy into solid form.
Oliver's eyes lit up.
Celebi needs energy more than anything right now.
Just like the Marvel Scale he'd received earlier, the system always gave him exactly what he needed most.
Leaving the system space, Oliver suddenly asked,
"Aren't you going to say goodbye to them? You won't have many chances to come back here."
Celebi fell silent for a long time.
Finally, it said casually, "No need. If they notice I'm gone, they'll probably just think I went off to play somewhere again. I disappear all the time anyway."
But Oliver understood.
Celebi still blamed itself.
After all, it was Celebi who had touched the Dark Feather—who had provided the energy that allowed the malice to spread across the entire Secret Realm.
Even though it had protected a portion of the forest with its last strength, countless Pokémon had still been displaced… or lost their lives.
Maybe the others didn't blame it.
But Celebi couldn't forgive itself.
That guilt had become a knot in its heart—and leaving this place was part of its escape.
As the Pokémon once protected by Celebi learned that the forest was returning to normal, they cautiously stepped out of the protected zone, reuniting with nature once more.
Meanwhile, unnoticed by anyone, Oliver had already begun walking toward the Secret Realm's exit.
The Venusaur and Torterra were nowhere to be seen—perhaps they, too, had gone to enjoy the reborn forest.
"I'll say this first," Oliver warned calmly.
"Once you're outside, don't show yourself in public. I won't be able to protect you then."
Celebi's voice echoed in his mind.
"Relax. I may like having fun, but I don't want to be dissected by humans either."
Oliver's figure gradually disappeared into the distance.
He didn't notice that, high atop a tree branch behind him, a Decidueye stood silently watching.
Its sharp gaze rested on the three Poké Balls at Oliver's waist.
"Treee…"
I respect your choice, my god.
He is a human worthy of trust.
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