The sky was still a clear blue, and it wasn't very late yet. However, with Honey on him and a backpack stuffed full of Berries and Apricorns, Chen Mo had completely lost interest in continuing to wander around the forest. Burdened as he was, all he wanted now was to return to the Red Leaf Lake campsite with Pichu as quickly as possible.
Since he was taking the same route back, most of the Pokémon he encountered along the way were ones he had already introduced earlier, so there were no major delays. Before long, they smoothly arrived near the campsite.
A gentle breeze passed by. Stepping out of the dense forest, the shimmering Red Leaf Lake once again appeared before them.
"We're finally back, Pichu."
Looking at the familiar, beautiful lake surface, Chen Mo softly let out a breath.
"Pichu~"
Sitting steadily on Chen Mo's shoulder, Pichu nodded without even lifting its head, clutching a blue Oran Berry in its little paws.
Just as it opened its mouth wide, about to stuff the Oran Berry inside, Chen Mo suddenly said offhandedly,
"Pichu, be careful not to get too chubby. If you get too heavy and I can't carry you anymore, you'll have to walk on your own."
"Pichu!"
Pichu froze. It looked at the Oran Berry in its hands, then stood up and examined its own weight. Its expression immediately turned hesitant.
[Here goes Mo-bao again.]
[Pichu, how many times are you going to fall for this?]
[I really want to tell Pichu—don't follow such a bad Mo-bao anymore.]
[Yeah, come follow me instead. Food and drinks guaranteed!]
[Everyone above, keep dreaming.]
At last—
Pichu made its choice.
Compared to momentary indulgence, staying on Chen Mo's shoulder was far more important.
"Pichu…"
Goodbye, Oran Berry.
Seeing Pichu's reluctant expression, the corner of Chen Mo's mouth curled up shamelessly.
Just as Pichu was about to open the backpack and put the Oran Berry back, Chen Mo quickly stopped it.
"Don't worry, Pichu. Even if you evolve into Pikachu, I'll still be able to carry you. No need to worry—just eat it."
"Pi-pichu!"
Pichu's eyes lit up. It affectionately rubbed against Chen Mo, then swallowed the Oran Berry in one bite, its face filled with pure bliss.
[Heh, men.]
[Mo-bao is way too smooth. Pichu's getting played like a fiddle—poor thing.]
[Bad. So bad. But I like it.]
[Hey, get lost. Mo-bao and Pichu are both mine!]
Ignoring the chat, Chen Mo checked the data returned by [Eye of Detection] on Pichu.
After several days together, his intimacy with Pichu had skyrocketed from the initial twenty-three points to over eighty.
Unlike the Pokémon games, where intimacy capped at 255, the intimacy shown by [Eye of Detection], judging from its description, seemed to operate on a percentage-based system.
In other words, after a rough conversion—
Pichu was getting closer and closer to evolving into Pikachu.
That said, Chen Mo had also considered something else.
Reality might not be the same as the games. Pichu's evolution might not occur instantly the moment intimacy reached a certain level. Perhaps it also required Pichu itself to grow—its physical condition reaching a point where it could support evolution.
This was a guess Chen Mo made based on scenes of "Pika-god" evolving in his previous life.
So in that sense, gaining a bit of weight wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It might even be a sign that Pichu was steadily progressing along the path of growth and evolution.
"I really look forward to that day."
Chen Mo set down the jar of Honey in his hand and rubbed Pichu's fluffy little head again.
When that time came, he could proudly say that this child had been raised by his own hands.
Just as Chen Mo was imagining what Pichu's evolution would look like, he suddenly noticed that, out of the corner of his eye, the tent was shaking in a strange way.
In an instant, his guard shot up.
"Pichu."
He softly called Pichu's name. Noticing the abnormal movement as well, Pichu immediately became alert too.
[What's going on? Why did Mo-bao and Pichu suddenly get so serious?]
[Yeah, what happened all of a sudden?]
[Something's wrong—look where Mo-bao is staring. That tent… isn't it moving?]
[Holy crap, it really is. Could it be a thief?]
[Do you think a thief would dare come to the wilderness full of Pokémon? My guess is there's a Pokémon hiding inside.]
The viewers' guesses weren't wrong—but they weren't entirely correct either.
Activating his aura perception and entering a semi-transparent "see-through" state, Chen Mo easily saw what was inside the tent. As a result, his expression turned a bit strange.
There were indeed Pokémon inside the tent—but it wasn't just one.
"Let's go, Pichu. Let's take a look."
Without showing any unusual reaction to the chat, Chen Mo led Pichu toward the tent.
He gently unzipped the outer flap. As light poured into the tent, the viewers watching the stream finally saw what was inside.
[Holy crap, why are there so many Pokémon?!]
[One, two, three… I'm dizzy. There are actually eight Pokémon inside such a small tent. I'm done. What is going on?]
[Mo-bao, did you put something inside the tent to attract Pokémon? Why did so many Pokémon run in there?]
[Wait—everyone, look closely. These Pokémon seem familiar.]
[So what if they're familiar? Mo-bao has introduced a lot of Pokémon already—it's normal to recognize some.]
[That's not normal at all. And more importantly, haven't you noticed? These are all Pokémon that Mo-bao introduced today.]
[…That does seem to be the case.]
Rattata, Bellsprout, Nidoran…
These were all Pokémon they had encountered in the forest today, ones Chen Mo had already introduced.
Although not every Pokémon he'd talked about was present, this was already alarming enough.
Especially since Chen Mo also spotted a trembling Oddish.
Oddish didn't like being active during the day. They usually grew by absorbing moonlight and were typically nocturnal. There was no reason for it to be here.
Stare—
Chen Mo carefully observed the Oddish. The more he looked, the more he felt that this was the very same Oddish he had run into earlier in the forest.
"Maa-na!"
You again!
Seeing this terrifying human once more, the Oddish nearly broke down in tears. It wanted to hide, but aside from a group of Pokémon that all looked equally frightening—each occupying their own corner—there was nowhere safe left to run.
"So it really is you."
Seeing how timid and frightened the Oddish looked, Chen Mo was almost completely certain this was the same Oddish he'd seen earlier, rooted in the soil and pretending to be grass.
Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Chen Mo suddenly recalled that strange feeling he'd had while venturing deep into the forest earlier.
Looking at it this way, his intuition might not have been wrong after all. There really might have been something following him and Pichu the entire time.
Which raised an important question—
Who was it, and why did it bring all these small Pokémon into his tent?
For no clear reason—
A certain Pokémon's image flashed through Chen Mo's mind.
A massive Pidgey, quietly lying beside the campfire, silently waiting for its injuries to heal.
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