After fleeing the battle, Natsui and the others deviated from the path back to the village and ran deep into the forest. After running for a long time, they finally stopped by a lake, realizing they were lost.
They were surrounded by an endless forest, with dense trees looking the same in every direction.
"Are we lost?" Ash asked, scratching his head.
"It's fine," Brock said, shaking his head. "We ran without any specific destination. Even if that Pokémon hunter tries to track us, it'll take him a lot of effort."
The sun was slowly setting. Natsui looked at the group, saw they were all exhausted, and decided not to push further. He said to them, "We've run far enough. Vicious probably can't catch up for now. Let's camp here for the night."
Ash and the others had no objections. Hearing they could rest, Misty collapsed onto a nearby rock, panting heavily.
She was drenched in sweat, her clothes soaked through. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't run anymore.
After rushing around all morning, back and forth between the forest and the village, and the big battle just now, everyone was starving.
Under Brock's direction, the Pokémon went to gather firewood and berries, while Brock himself began preparing dinner.
Natsui went to the edge of the camp and released his Jolteon and Eevee, placing them in two hidden spots as sentries to guard against a surprise attack from Vicious. Only then did he return to Erika's side.
Everyone pitched in, and a simple camp was quickly set up. A campfire was built, and their tents and sleeping bags were laid out.
At Natsui and Erika's tent, Erika had already given Celebi emergency treatment. After resting for so long, Celebi's breathing was stable, and it seemed to be out of danger.
"How is it?" Natsui asked, sitting down next to Erika.
"It's fine, it should wake up soon," Erika said, shaking her head. She then looked at Natsui and said softly, "You really want to catch it, don't you?"
"Huh?" Natsui raised an eyebrow. "You figured that out?"
Erika smiled lightly. "You're making it too obvious. You've been stealing glances at Celebi this whole time. Your intention couldn't be clearer."
Natsui was stunned for a moment, then laughed.
It just went to show how well they knew each other after sharing a bed for so long. Just as he knew every inch of her skin, she could read his intentions from his smallest actions.
"What about you?" he asked. "It's a Grass/Psychic mythical Pokémon. It matches your type preference."
"Me?" Erika stroked Celebi's large head and said honestly, "Of course I like it too. But liking it doesn't mean I have to catch it. Besides, I know you want to catch it more than I do. How could I compete with you for it?"
Her sudden heartwarming words touched Natsui. If others weren't around, he would have pulled her into a deep, passionate kiss.
"Hehe," Natsui said, pulling her into his arms. "It doesn't matter which of us catches it. What's yours is mine, and what's mine is yours."
Natsui and Erika didn't know that Misty, not far away, was watching them speak these cheesy words and shaking her head helplessly.
It wasn't that she was jealous of their relationship, but she was close enough to overhear their conversation and found it rather amusing.
She was well aware of their relationship and was no longer bothered by it. After all, she knew she wasn't an adult yet and couldn't compete.
She looked down at her not-so-developed chest and sighed...
Sigh, I'll have to wait until I'm older to fight for Natsui.
In fact, after seeing Natsui mysteriously holding the GS Ball last night, she hadn't understood why. But the moment she saw Celebi today, it all made sense. She knew Natsui would definitely try to catch it.
Although she didn't know how Natsui knew in advance that Celebi would be here, like Erika, she didn't mind him catching it.
She would fully support whatever the person she liked wanted to do.
And if Celebi had to be caught, she believed no one deserved to own such a mythical Pokémon more than Natsui.
The aroma of food wafted over the campsite. When Brock, stirring the pot, called out for dinner, almost everyone appeared before him instantly.
Like a "mother hen," Brock, wearing an apron, served everyone. Just as he was about to put the pot back on the fire, he was surprised to see Celebi had also appeared at the table.
"Huh? Celebi! You're awake?"
Hearing his voice, Natsui and the others turned and saw Celebi, who should have been asleep, now hovering by the table, sniffing the food on the plates with its small nose.
Its condition seemed fully recovered; otherwise, its movements wouldn't be so light and natural.
"It must be hungry," Misty said with a smile. "Brock's cooking must be so good it woke it up."
"Is that so?" Ash said with a grin. "You really are a little glutton."
It was easy to understand. Celebi had lived in this forest its whole life, eating nothing but berries. No matter how sweet they were, it must have grown tired of them. Now, smelling human food, how could it resist?
Brock served Celebi a plate as well. The moment it was set down, Celebi dove in, eating heartily.
Seeing how much it enjoyed the food, the others' appetites were stoked. They stopped watching it and focused on their own meals.
For a while, no one spoke. They were all busy filling their stomachs, the only sound being the clinking of cutlery on plates.
After cleaning its plate, Celebi licked its lips and stared at Brock again.
Shaking his head, Brock could only serve it another full plate.
After this incident, Celebi seemed to have completely dropped its guard around them. After the meal, it flew around the group curiously with a full belly, its previous wariness gone. It didn't even think about leaving.
This showed that Celebi was naturally innocent and curious about humans, not fierce or reclusive like some other legendary or mythical Pokémon.
After Ash and the others finished eating, they fought off their sleepiness to play with Celebi for a while. Eventually, they couldn't stay awake any longer, yawning as they returned to their sleeping bags.
Natsui and Erika also returned to their tent and quickly fell asleep. Celebi, however, seeing the lively camp suddenly become quiet, felt a bit lonely.
The moon was high, and the lakeside was calm. It looked up at the sky, feeling that this brief contact with humans had greatly impacted its life.
Both the battles and the delicious food were things it had never experienced before.
Just then, the sound of light footsteps approached. A Jolteon walked over from the side.
Jolteon didn't even glance at Celebi. It held its head high, scanning the camp methodically. After confirming there was no danger, it turned and left in another direction.
Without thinking, Celebi flapped its light wings and followed.
Although it had never seen one before, it could tell from Jolteon's scent that it was with the humans. Celebi was curious about Pokémon raised by humans, wondering how they differed from itself.
Jolteon moved through the forest. It glanced at Celebi behind it but paid it no further mind.
It leaped over bushes and streams, arriving at the other side of the camp.
This was Eevee's designated patrol area, but after searching for a long time, Jolteon couldn't find it. Frowning, it searched carefully and finally found Eevee fast asleep in some bushes.
It walked over and nudged Eevee with its paw. To its surprise, Eevee didn't wake up, just grunted, rolled over, and continued sleeping.
Jolteon didn't hesitate this time, releasing a jolt of electricity as a wake-up call.
Crackle!
Eevee, shocked, leaped up in pain.
It thought it was being attacked and prepared to fight back. But seeing it was Jolteon, its fur immediately drooped like a wilted plant.
Celebi, hovering above, giggled, covering its mouth. Although it didn't know why, it knew this Eevee must have done something wrong.
Eevee, unlike the cold Jolteon, had a playful personality. It looked up at Celebi and chirped a few times, quickly befriending it and starting to play.
Jolteon just shook its head at the sight.
As expected... guarding the camp is up to me.
It stopped bothering with them, turned, and left to continue its patrol, leaving Eevee and Celebi to play.
And from Eevee, Celebi learned the difference between wild Pokémon and human-raised Pokémon.
In summary... the treatment was significantly better, and you no longer had to worry about what to eat every day.
Eevee, blinking its large, innocent eyes, told Celebi that if you stick with humans, you get three meals a day, someone washes you when you're dirty, you get a soft bed, and they help you train and grow stronger without interfering with your freedom.
Hearing Eevee's description, and remembering the delicious food from earlier, Celebi drooled with envy...
It was true. Compared to the berries it always ate, human food was just too good!
...
The night passed peacefully.
Morning light covered the campsite, chasing away the darkness and signaling a new day.
When Natsui stepped out of his tent, the first thing he saw was his Eevee, chasing and playing with Celebi around the camp.
He rubbed his eyes, finding it hard to believe.
Huh? What's going on?
How did those two start playing together?
He ducked back into the tent, then stepped out again. The scene was the same. It wasn't an illusion.
"What's wrong?"
Hearing Natsui hesitating at the tent entrance, Erika's confused voice came from behind.
"Nothing. I'm just surprised that Eevee completely neglected its guard duty and was just playing with Celebi instead."
Good thing he trusted Jolteon to pick up the slack, otherwise, if Vicious had attacked last night, they would have been caught completely off guard.
This little guy really needs more training...
Natsui didn't know what ideas Eevee had planted in Celebi's head overnight. He called Eevee over for a scolding, but that's another story. After Brock woke up and began preparing breakfast, he found Celebi already beside him, looking at him expectantly.
"What? Hungry?" Brock said gently. "Just wait a little longer, it'll be ready soon."
When the delicious breakfast was served, Celebi once again ate ravenously, much to everyone's amusement.
Even Misty couldn't help but put her hand to her forehead. "I can't believe it," she said. "It looks so cute, but it's such a glutton..."
After breakfast, they packed up, and Natsui's group set out again.
This time, to prevent another attack from Vicious, they decided to return to Arborville first. It was a human village, so Vicious and Team Rocket would be more hesitant to attack there. They could also rely on the help of others instead of being as passive as they were yesterday.
Ash sent out his Noctowl to fly above the forest and get their bearings. The group then followed its guidance towards the village.
The journey was tense and apprehensive.
No one knew where Vicious was or when he might attack. This uncertainty kept everyone on edge, ready for battle at any moment.
Celebi flew above their heads. The group chatted occasionally, which, while not completely dispelling the tense atmosphere, at least kept it from being boring.
Just as they were getting close to the village, the thing they feared finally happened again.
The sound of whirring cut through the air, and two long mechanical arms suddenly shot out from behind several large trees, grabbing at the airborne Celebi.
Fortunately, everyone was prepared. The moment the arms appeared, the Pokémon on guard reacted instantly.
Pikachu leaped high into the air and sliced one of the arms in two with its Iron Tail!
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