"So that's how it is. You're saying that during this period, you've been dreaming about that Electabuzz the whole time, and little by little, you secretly learned Thunder Punch from it in your dreams?"
By the campfire.
As Chen Mo listened to Pichu's explanation, he couldn't help but feel that it sounded somewhat reasonable… yeah, right!
Training a move inside a dream—he had never even heard of something like that.
And besides, to dream about Electabuzz every single day… just how deep would the psychological trauma have to be?
Looking at Pichu, who, after comprehending its new move, kept pulling out Thunder Punch to play with it every now and then, its face practically glowing with joy—
Chen Mo really didn't think it had that kind of trauma toward Electabuzz.
If anything, the current Pichu was probably wishing that Electabuzz would appear right in front of it so it could wash away its former humiliation on the spot.
Just then.
Watching Pichu hop along the path, chatting from time to time with Natu and Caterpie beside it, a sudden question popped into Chen Mo's mind.
He quickly called out to Pichu.
"Pichu, aren't you sleepy now?"
"Pichu?"
Pichu tilted its head, then shook it vigorously like a rattle drum.
"Pichu! Pichu-pichu~"
It wasn't sleepy at all. In fact, after sleeping far too much over the past few days, it felt almost overly energetic now.
After hearing that, Chen Mo said nothing more, a thoughtful expression forming on his face.
Late at night.
After sending out a text message, Chen Mo drifted slowly into sleep, still carrying a trace of doubt.
These days hadn't been easy for him either. He had participated in nearly all of Pichu's training. But human and Pokémon physiques were hardly comparable. Even though the humans of this world were generally stronger than those of his previous one, they were still far inferior to Pokémon.
At the very least, when Pichu was practicing High-Speed Movement, Chen Mo—who had been training alongside it—had been completely exhausted.
Sleep soon washed over him like a tide.
That night, Chen Mo had a strange and terrifying dream.
In the dream, he saw two Legendary Pokémon—one representing the land, the other the sea—engaged in a world-shaking battle over some oceanic region.
The aftershocks of their clash were horrifying.
Tsunamis. Earthquakes. Volcanic eruptions…
Under such natural disasters, countless humans and Pokémon lost their lives.
Then—
He saw the Legendary Pokémon who controlled time and space, godlike in their authority, meet somewhere upon the earth—and immediately erupt into battle.
Apocalyptic scenes unfolded again and again before Chen Mo's eyes.
This was the scenario he feared most in his heart—the one he least wanted to face in reality.
"I am very disappointed…"
An aged voice sounded from beside him.
Chen Mo turned his head and saw a silver-haired elder wearing a crown.
He stood at the edge of the darkness, gazing at Chen Mo with indescribable disappointment in his eyes.
"Mr. Arthas…"
Before Chen Mo could say anything more, a sharp pain stabbed through his chest.
He quickly pulled out a special pendant from inside his shirt. It was the crystal of power belonging to Zekrom, given to him by Arthas.
Under normal circumstances, as long as Chen Mo held the pendant in his hand, the seemingly ordinary black bead would shed its pure-black exterior. As if responding to the ideals within his heart, it would reveal the astonishing azure lightning flashing inside.
But at this very moment, no matter what Chen Mo tried, the black bead remained unresponsive, as if it had fallen into slumber.
An endless freezing wind came from nowhere.
The earth froze over.
Facing a world locked in extreme cold and lifeless silence, within unending loneliness and chill, Chen Mo sank into utter despair—until he was forever swallowed by boundless darkness.
And then, he woke up.
Chen Mo's eyes snapped open inside his sleeping bag.
Perhaps because of the sudden movement, Pichu, who was lying beside him under a small blanket, also stirred awake. Still half-asleep, even its voice sounded drowsy and muddled.
"Pi… chu…?"
"It's nothing. Go back to sleep."
With Chen Mo's gentle reassurance, Pichu quickly drifted off again, a sweet smile on its tiny face—whether from all the delicious food it had eaten that evening or from mastering a new move during the day, who knew.
Seeing Pichu like this, a faint smile unknowingly appeared on Chen Mo's lips as well.
After carefully tucking Pichu's blanket in, he once again took out the pendant from his chest. The moment his fingers touched the black bead, streaks of azure lightning began to flicker and dance within it.
Good. It had all just been a dream.
Just as Chen Mo was about to crawl back into his sleeping bag to continue sleeping, a faint sound of footsteps came from outside the tent.
Then, a familiar voice called out.
"Brother Mo, are you awake?"
…
It wasn't even five in the morning.
In the chill of the latter half of the night, the campfire was lit once more.
Chen Mo, Ah Hui, and Brother Yi, along with Caterpie, Natu, and Pidgeotto standing behind Chen Mo, sat around the fire. Three people and three Pokémon shared the warmth of the flames, yet every one of them—Pokémon included—looked visibly unwell.
"So… everyone had a nightmare?"
"Mm-hmm."
Ah Hui nodded frantically, lingering fear from the nightmare still evident on his face.
Even Brother Yi, who was usually calm and unflappable, looked somewhat unnatural at the moment.
Chen Mo let out a soft sigh, his earlier suspicion growing firmer.
He looked toward Brother Yi and spoke slowly.
"Brother Yi, could I trouble you to bring out the camera? Something important might be about to happen."
Brother Yi responded with his usual steadiness, stood up, and went to retrieve the camera.
When Natu saw Brother Yi rise, it immediately hopped after him.
"Brother Mo, what important thing? Does it have something to do with all of us having nightmares?"
Ah Hui wasn't stupid. From what Chen Mo had just said, he had already grasped the key point.
As he added more wood to the fire, Chen Mo spoke softly.
"Do you remember the Haunter we met in Lavender Town?"
"Haunter? Of course I remember. The Ghost-type Pokémon that scared Xiao Qiao's colleague half to death—the one that loved pulling pranks?"
Though nearly a week had passed, Ah Hui still remembered what had happened in Lavender Town clearly.
Before they left, they had even made a special trip to Lavender Elementary School to look for Haunter again, but they hadn't seen any trace of it.
At that thought, Ah Hui froze.
"Brother Mo, you mean—"
"Yeah."
Chen Mo nodded, his gaze sweeping over the dark forest surrounding them.
"If nothing unexpected happened, that Haunter has been secretly following us ever since we left Lavender Town. It probably came all the way here to Evergreen Forest with us. And these nightmares… most likely, they're its doing."
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