"Cos~"
Nebby in Julian's arms opened its eyes and looked around. Seeing nothing but sand all around, it gazed curiously at Julian as if asking, 'Where is this?'
"This is a desert," Julian said.
Having been born only recently, this was Nebby's first time seeing a desert. It couldn't help but fly out of Julian's arms, scooping up a handful of sand and watching it slip through, its eyes filled with wonder.
It tried grabbing the sand several more times, but the result was always the same. Its curious expression soon turned into one of frustration. In its tiny mind, it was puzzled—why couldn't it hold onto the sand?
"Jirachi, look at Nebby—it looks so stupid," Celebi said with a smile.
"And what gives you the right to say that? You cried the first time you ate fried chicken," Julian retorted with a hint of disdain.
Hearing that, Jirachi immediately perked up and asked, "Celebi, why did you cry?"
"Because it was just too delicious!"
Celebi didn't seem annoyed at all. Instead, it said with a hint of pride, "A true gourmet should shed tears when tasting truly exquisite food."
"Jirachi, you still have a long way to go in this regard."
Jirachi, being easily swayed, found Celebi's words rather convincing and nodded in agreement.
But then it seemed a bit troubled and said, "Celebi, every time I eat something delicious, I find it incredibly tasty, but I never feel like crying. Why is that?"
Celebi's eyes rolled as it thought for a moment. Then it hammered its right fist into its left palm and said in an extremely certain tone:
"That must be because you haven't eaten enough good food yet. How about this—once we're out of this secret realm, I'll take you to a few places you've never been before. They are my personal secret spots."
Jirachi nodded excitedly, completely unaware that Celebi was just leading it on. It even felt a bit slighted that, as brothers, Celebi had been keeping such secrets from it.
"But you have to treat me, okay?"
Celebi finally showed its true colors.
It spent money as soon as it got it, so its allowance was never enough, while Jirachi, on the other hand, tended to save a bit.
Now, Celebi had set its sights on Jirachi's little savings.
"Mm, I'll treat you."
Jirachi agreed readily.
Julian shook his head as he listened. Celebi really was something—always tricking its good buddy out of money. And Jirachi too, after being fooled so many times, still never learned its lesson.
"You truly are my good brother! Your seven hundred bucks should be enough for us to have a good meal."
Celebi hooked an arm around Jirachi's neck, looking all buddy-buddy.
"Mhm."
Jirachi nodded, seemingly not catching the problem in Celebi's words.
"Celebi, how did you know Jirachi has seven hundred bucks?"
Julian asked with feigned surprise.
With Julian's reminder, Jirachi finally reacted.
"Yeah—Celebi, how did you know I have seven hundred bucks?"
That was its secret stash, carefully hidden away. How did Celebi know about it?
Celebi's expression stiffened. Perched on Julian's head, it shot him a resentful glare.
This blockhead was definitely doing this on purpose.
As for how it knew—of course, it had stumbled upon Jirachi's hiding spot. But why hadn't Celebi just taken the money secretly?
Celebi's logic was simple: if it stole the money, Jirachi would just find a new hiding spot next time, and Celebi would lose track of it.
So getting Jirachi to treat it to a meal was the smarter choice. Celebi considered itself quite clever in that regard.
"Jirachi, don't you remember? You told me last time," Celebi explained.
"Ah? I told you?"
Jirachi looked surprised. It hadn't even told Julian about its secret stash—why would it have told Celebi? And why couldn't it remember?
"You told me when you were half-asleep. Maybe you just forgot," Celebi said.
"Mm, that's possible."
Things said while half-asleep—forgetting them did seem normal.
Seeing that Jirachi had been fooled again, Celebi let out a quiet sigh of relief, then retaliated by tugging Julian's hair.
This blockhead definitely did it on purpose.
'Seven hundred—hidden behind the bedside cabinet, right?' Julian sneered inwardly.
"Jirachi, Celebi already knows where you keep your money. You'd better be careful—don't let your hard-saved little stash suddenly disappear one day."
As soon as Celebi heard this, it exploded.
"Blockhead, what do you mean by that? Am I that kind of Pokémon? Jirachi is my brother—how could I ever take my brother's money?"
"Yeah, Julian—Celebi isn't that kind of Pokémon."
This time Jirachi also stood on Celebi's side.
"Mm, that's good. I was just saying."
Julian nodded.
'Once we're out of this secret realm, I'll make sure to take your little stash. Let's see how buddy-buddy you two still are then.'
"Jirachi, don't listen to this blockhead. He's just jealous of how close we are and trying to drive a wedge between us. He's a petty person."
Celebi whispered as it flew up to Jirachi.
"Mhm, I believe you, Celebi."
Jirachi nodded, but then looked at Celebi uncertainly and added in a low tone, "Just… don't ask me where I hide my money while I'm asleep again, okay?"
Jirachi had already made up its mind to move its stash—maybe behind the left bedside cabinet this time.
"Mm-hm, there won't be a next time."
Celebi patted its chest in assurance.
'You can change the spot all you want—I'll still figure it out. Probably behind the left bedside cabinet.'
The two little ones smiled at each other, looking like the best of friends, though each had their own thoughts.
"Tyr~"
Tyranitar suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?"
Julian asked, his attention snapping back. He'd been so focused on the two little ones that he hadn't noticed anything.
"Tyr~"
Tyranitar pointed ahead.
Only then did Julian notice that about hundred meters in front, pairs of eyes were watching them.
"An undiscovered Pokémon?"
Julian's eyes lit up slightly.
Previously, everything he had found in the Primal Secret Realm had been regional variants—different from those outside but not entirely new species.
But now he'd stumbled upon a genuinely brand-new species.
"Silicobra? It really does look quite silly."
Looking at the information displayed by his Probing Eyes, Julian couldn't help but find the name oddly amusing.
Silicobra looked like a little snake carrying a bundle on its back. With its drooping eyelids, large nostrils, and tear-like eye patterns, it looked like a total pushover.
"This snake looks so punchable. I really want to give it a hit."
Celebi looked at the little creatures ahead and felt its fists itching, really wanting to punch them and make them cry.
*****
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