Chapter 69: Celebi Arrives
Not long after leaving Charicific Valley, Ryan's phone rang. The gruff voice announced, "You win. The Celebi family has decided to entrust you with a Celebi. In return, you will solve that Mewtwo's problem. In addition, that Mewtwo must unconditionally aid the League ten times."
"No more than two times," Ryan said without hesitation.
"Nine times."
"Two times."
"Eight times!"
"Two times."
"Seven times!"
"Two times."
"How dare you bargain like that?!" the voice roared. "No less than five times, or the deal's off."
"Deal," Ryan said. He simply wanted to test the League's bottom line. After all, Ryan admitted that he couldn't convince that paranoid Mewtwo, so he could only rely on his own Mewtwo.
"When can you send Celebi over?" Ryan asked.
"When you arrive in the next city, call this number, then go to the Pokémon Center. Use the Pokémon Center's teleportation system and you'll receive it there," the gruff voice said. "Also, you'll need to visit Ilex Forest in Johto. There, members of the Celebi tribe will evaluate you. If you don't meet their expectations, they'll take Celebi back."
Ryan's face darkened, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Two times at most!"
"Beep," a dial tone echoed from the other end of the line. Ryan practically gnashed his teeth. Experience was everything, and veteran negotiators were always the craftiest. He thought he'd gotten the upper hand, but it turned out he'd been played.
They said they were giving him a Legendary Pokémon, but with one condition after another—and they could take it back if he didn't comply. How could they operate like that? Ryan had learned his lesson. He wouldn't be so accommodating the next time he dealt with the League.
He checked his PokéGear map. If he remembered correctly, the next city was probably Sunflora City, known for its abundance of Sunflora. Shaking his head, Ryan put away the map. Now that Charizard was training and Dragonite had been sent back to the ranch, he'd better make his way there on foot.
Two days later, Ryan arrived in Sunflora City. He eagerly headed to the Pokémon Center and called the number.
The phone rang twice before disconnecting. A seemingly ordinary Poké Ball emerged from the teleportation machine, which was retrieved by Nurse Joy. Then, the Pokémon Center announcement blared: "Ryan from Pallet Town, Ryan from Pallet Town. Please come to the front desk when you hear this announcement. There's a Poké Ball waiting for you."
Ryan clutched the phone, almost wanting to punch something. He'd originally planned to be tougher on the League later, but now, he decided to make them regret this treatment.
He took the Poké Ball from Nurse Joy at the front desk, put it in his backpack, and requested a room. He decided to stay at the Pokémon Center for the night.
He returned to his room and locked the door. Before Ryan could even examine it properly, the Poké Ball cracked open on its own, revealing a Celebi—a small, green, fairy-like creature. Celebi had round, toeless feet and three-fingered hands. Its head was round and curved, converging to a point. Celebi had light blue eyes with thick black rings around them, and green antennae with blue tips.
Celebi flew in a circle, humming a melodic tune, and perched on Ryan's right shoulder. Ryan examined Celebi's status.
Pokémon: Celebi (Mythical Pokémon)
Level: 8
Gender: Genderless
Height: 0.6 ft
Weight: 11.0 lbs
Ability: Natural Cure
Moves: Leech Seed, Confusion, Recover, Heal Bell
As expected of a Mythical Pokémon—at only level 8, it had already mastered several advanced techniques. Furthermore, this little one was clearly newborn, just like Mewtwo had been initially.
However, unlike Mewtwo, Celebi was truly recognized by the system as a Mythical Pokémon, meaning it had already comprehended the true power of origin energy. Mewtwo, on the other hand, was still learning from the other Mewtwo.
"Hello there, little one," Ryan gently touched Celebi's head with his finger. Celebi's body was incredibly soft, and he could sense the natural, life-giving energy emanating from its small frame.
Celebi disdainfully pushed Ryan's finger away and chirped a few times. Ryan nodded and said, "I'll be your trainer from now on. I can understand Pokémon language, so we'll have no problem communicating."
Celebi nodded, then noticed something and flew to Ryan's backpack. With a graceful gesture, it opened the zipper telekinetically, and Cosmog floated out. The two small creatures immediately began playing together in a delightful display.
This was Ryan's ultimate goal! One could travel through time, the other through space. Combined, they could theoretically control all of time and space. But for now, it was just a dream—the two little ones hadn't matured yet. Mastering time and space was something they could only discuss in the future.
"Little one, come here, get in this ball. I'll give you a power boost," Ryan said, holding out a Premier Ball. "Try not to break it—these are expensive."
Celebi curiously touched the button on the ball and was captured within it.
Ryan then used the system to maximize Celebi's Individual Values and allocated optimal EV points. After releasing Celebi, he felt a noticeable increase in the Pokémon's strength. This wasn't just an illusion, but a comprehensive, all-encompassing improvement from the inside out. Celebi gave Ryan several soft cries of gratitude.
"It's no problem—this is my standard setup for all my Pokémon. You'll see the benefits of being on my team soon enough," Ryan said with a wave of his hand.
Ryan thought to himself: No matter what it costs, even if it means spending a fortune, I'm going to keep Celebi.
Cosmog looked at Celebi and Ryan, and suddenly became interested in the Master Ball in Ryan's hand. However, the Master Ball was out of reach. Suddenly, Cosmog remembered there seemed to be a more beautiful Poké Ball in the backpack. With a mischievous smile, it dove back into the backpack, found the Master Ball, and pressed its button.
A flash of red light appeared, and Cosmog was stored in the Master Ball. Ryan watched the red light flash in his backpack, and for some reason, he felt a sense of foreboding.
He opened the backpack, only to see the Master Ball settle with one final tremor. Ryan was speechless: "You can guard against thieves day and night, but you can't prevent one living in your own house!" He had hoped to slowly build a relationship with Cosmog and then capture it with the Master Ball at the right moment.
This way, he could have saved the Master Ball for maybe, possibly, perhaps capturing another Legendary Pokémon later. Now it was too late. He couldn't release Cosmog. The system also warned Ryan that a Master Ball could only be used to capture a Legendary Pokémon once. If the Pokémon was released, the Master Ball would become ineffective and function like an ordinary Poké Ball.
What could he do? He could only accept it.
What made Ryan even more concerned was that Celebi saw the Master Ball and thought it was much more beautiful than its Premier Ball and wanted to trade.
Ryan immediately tried to reason with Celebi, but Celebi just responded: "I don't want to listen, I don't want to listen, I don't want to listen!"
Ryan had no choice but to promise Celebi that he would immediately get it a Master Ball after the Silver Conference, and only then did he manage to calm the already agitated Celebi.
Ryan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead: Celebi should be genderless, so why is it acting like a demanding little princess?
(End of Chapter)
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