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The moment Sato laid eyes on Celebi, he completely believed the identity of the small, light-green Pokémon before him. There was no mistaking it—this was indeed the mythical, time-traveling Pokémon Celebi.
Yet what puzzled Sato was the state Celebi was in. Its gaze was vacant, lifeless, as though it were nothing more than a puppet. This eerie sight instantly reminded him of the legendary Pokémon in Tobias's possession.
"Correct. This is the gift I wish to present to you, Mr. Sato. As you can see, this is the legendary Pokémon, Celebi."
"Do you like this gift, Mr. Sato? If you desire it, it is yours from this moment."
"As for who I am—you will know in due time. For now, I can assure you we are not your enemies. On the contrary, we would very much welcome your joining us."
Chris spoke with a satisfied smile, clearly pleased with Sato's astonished expression. She had thought it would be difficult to win him over, but now it seemed he was like many trainers—drawn to the allure of legendary Pokémon. If he accepted Celebi, she would have the perfect way to pull him into her faction.
Sato, hearing her words, fell silent. His eyes flickered with uncertainty as his mind raced, weighing countless possibilities and hidden risks.
No trainer could stand before a legendary Pokémon without the desire to claim it—especially when someone was offering a living legend as a gift. Few could resist that temptation.
Sato was no exception. If anything, his longing was even greater than most, because within him lay a system that required the primal essence of legendary Pokémon to recharge.
If he could capture one, it would provide him with immense reserves of that essence—enough to exchange for items in the system's shop and greatly strengthen his entire team in a short time.
But Celebi made him hesitate. When he probed it with his system's detection function, its aptitude showed only as a mid-tier purple grade—shockingly low for a legendary Pokémon, almost insulting to the name.
Coupled with his knowledge of Tobias's puppet-like legendaries, he was now certain: this Celebi must be connected to those very same abominations.
That meant one thing—Chris was very likely in league with Tobias, that enigmatic figure shrouded in mystery.
And clearly, she could not be a member of the League. This was not the League's way. The League was never so generous as to hand out a legendary Pokémon as a gift. In fact, the League usually worked to prevent anyone from catching one.
So who exactly was Chris? She was extravagant beyond belief—her first move was to offer a legendary Pokémon, a gesture more lavish than even Giovanni's. She also had the means to track Sato's location through the Pokémon Center's network.
The force behind her must be unimaginably powerful. But why would such a force seek him out?
After a moment's thought, the answer became clear: they had recognized his potential. After all, he had defeated Tobias, a trainer with multiple legendary Pokémon, relying only on ordinary partners.
In terms of strength, Sato already stood at the pinnacle of pseudo Elite Four level trainers. And he was still young—most believed it was only a matter of time before he became an Elite-Four level trainer. Investing in him now, while he was still "weak," was a foolproof strategy.
But Sato understood well the principle: there is no such thing as something for nothing. Could there truly be such a thing as receiving a legendary Pokémon for free?
No—this Celebi, with its poor aptitude and puppet-like state, was clearly a baited hook. If he accepted, he would inevitably be tied to the shadowy organization behind Chris.
And an organization holding numerous legendary Pokémon could not possibly be a benevolent one. Its relationship with the League was almost certainly hostile. The League would never allow such a group, with power capable of toppling them, to thrive.
Moreover, the fact they were so willing to "give away" a legendary Pokémon spoke volumes. Such creatures were far rarer than pseudo-legendaries. No legitimate organization would hand one out as a casual gift.
Sato's mind returned to two questions he had long pondered:
i) Where did Tobias's Pokémon come from? ii) And why were his legendaries so weak?
Now, Chris's "gift" provided the answer.
The first was obvious: Tobias's legendaries came from this organization.
The second? They were likely clones. That alone could explain their weakness.
Sato recalled the movie Mewtwo Strikes Back. Cloned Pokémon had feelings too, but their emotions were unstable, often extreme, and they bore a natural hatred for their creators.
Even controlling ordinary cloned Pokémon was difficult. Controlling cloned legendaries would be exponentially harder—Mewtwo itself had proven that.
Perhaps, in the beginning, cloned legendaries obeyed. But with their high intelligence and innate pride—even in clones—rebellion was inevitable once they began questioning their existence. They might rage, just as Mewtwo had.
To prevent this, the organization must have tampered with their minds, reducing them to obedient puppets.
And there were surely other flaws—such as shortened lifespans.
Piecing everything together, one question loomed sharply in Sato's mind:
For the sake of a low-aptitude Celebi, likely nothing more than a clone, was it worth entangling himself with a mysterious organization hated by the League?