He immediately stopped the hand that was letting go.
Cain closed his eyes again.
"Cele~?"
The voice was clear and ethereal.
It sounded like that of a pure, innocent child.
Seeing Cain close his eyes again, Steven and Phoebe exchanged a look of joy.
At that moment, inside Cain's mind, the channel created by his psychic power...
It was as if he had passed through another corridor, accessing another world.
He opened his eyes.
Cain found himself in a vast, endless meadow.
The sky was a deep blue, and the rays of the sun on his body made him feel warm.
"So warm... Isn't this supposed to be a realm of consciousness? How can I physically feel all this? Not just the temperature—even the air is much fresher here..." said Cain as he inhaled deeply.
The pure, natural air filled his lungs, making him feel revitalized.
"Cele~!" the voice rang out again.
But this time, it wasn't in his mind—it was next to his ear.
With the arrival of the voice, all the visible meadows burst into colorful, vibrant flowers.
In the blink of an eye, a sea of wildflowers bloomed in full.
"A Pokémon with this kind of power..." Cain observed the landscape, trying to remember who it could be.
But before he reached a conclusion, a light green Pokémon appeared directly in front of him.
It had a round, backward-curving body, two green antennae on its forehead ending in blue tips, large light-blue eyes, and dark, noticeable eye markings.
It looked like a very small and delicate Pokémon.
It moved joyfully through the flowers, with a sweet smile on its face, like a spirit of the field.
"Celebi..." Cain murmured.
Indeed, the Pokémon that had appeared before him was Celebi—a legendary Pokémon.
Just like Mew, it belonged to the category of mythical Pokémon, though it could also be called a legendary Pokémon.
As if hearing Cain's call, Celebi glided through the flowers until stopping less than three meters from him, fluttering its small transparent wings.
Its large blue eyes reflected a deep curiosity.
"Could this place... be Celebi's consciousness realm?" Cain wondered.
At that moment, Celebi sniffed the air, as if identifying Cain's scent.
"Who are you?" asked Celebi with a clear voice Cain could understand.
That confirmed even more that he was in a consciousness space.
"Hello Celebi, I'm Cain," he responded.
"Cain?" it repeated, tilting its head as if trying to remember.
"Cain? Cain!" it repeated again, and its eyes lit up as if it had suddenly remembered who he was.
"Huh?" Cain frowned at its expression.
That didn't make sense.
He had never met Celebi before. It shouldn't be reacting like it knew him.
"You know me?" he asked, curious.
Celebi smiled even more brightly and nodded vigorously.
"I know Cain! I've seen Cain! Cain, good friend!" it said joyfully.
Cain was stunned.
"Scent of Lug... scent of Mew... and also... also... that kitty's scent... You are Cain!" Celebi said without much logical coherence.
But Cain understood perfectly.
'Lug' referred to Lugia, 'Mew' was Mew, and that 'kitty'... could it be Azelf?
But soon, Celebi's face turned serious. It sniffed again, frowning, as if trying to confirm something.
Finally, it said with doubt: "Why do you have their scent? Why is that scent on Cain?"
Cain's frown never left his face.
Celebi seemed to know him well—it was even familiar with his "scent."
Could it be...?
Cain's heart skipped a beat.
He considered a possibility.
A possibility that, though surprising, made a lot of sense.
Celebi is a Pokémon that can travel through time and space.
In the multiple timelines of the Pokémon world, there is practically at least one Celebi in each.
That means that as long as time flows, Celebi will never disappear.
Could it be that Celebi had met him in the future... or in another timeline?
That was the only explanation that made sense.
"Celebi, did you meet me in another time? In another era?" Cain asked, touching his face.
Just as he suspected, in this consciousness space, his mask had disappeared. Celebi was seeing his real face.
Celebi tilted its head again, thoughtful.
It had lived through so much, had so many memories, that it was hard to remember clearly.
Its eyes lit up again—but quickly dimmed.
Cain didn't know what it had remembered.
"Can't say, can't say," Celebi said, biting its finger uncomfortably but firmly.
It couldn't say.
That feeling of having the truth on the tip of your tongue but not being able to hear it... was frustrating.
But Cain couldn't force it.
"Celebi, is this your world?" he changed the subject.
At the question, Celebi let go of its conflicted expression and smiled cheerfully again.
It nodded enthusiastically: "Yes, yes!"
As if to demonstrate, it waved its tiny hand, and a small plant emerged from the ground. Under Celebi's control, it grew rapidly.
In just a few seconds, it became a gigantic tree, whose branches blossomed and bore fruit—some light blue berries hung from the branches.
It looked like a miniature Tree of Life...
Celebi flew to the tree, picked one of the berries, and handed it to Cain.
"Cain, eat!" it said, looking at him hopefully.
Cain smiled and accepted the berry, taking a bite.
In that instant... his face went completely stiff, and his eyes turned red.
Tears began to stream down his cheeks.
Under Celebi's expectant gaze, he forced himself to swallow it.
With a smile uglier than crying, he said, "D-delicious...!"
Celebi immediately beamed from ear to ear.
But at that moment, Cain's mouth was completely numb.
He couldn't feel anything.
He finally identified the berry.
It was a Bitter Berry!
Indeed, it was potent.
He discreetly stored the remaining berries in his pocket and changed the subject.
"Celebi, do you know the outer space, outside of this place?" he asked.
"Yes, yes!" this time, Celebi answered immediately, without thinking.
"Is that space also yours?" Cain pressed further.
But before Celebi could respond, Cain felt a blinding white flash. Everything vanished.
When he opened his eyes again, he was back in front of the emerald-green jade tree. Steven and Phoebe were still behind him, waiting.
Everything felt like a dream that had faded.
"Cele~!" a clear voice echoed in the small space.
Steven and Phoebe showed expressions of shock.
They had heard it too.
That familiar light green silhouette emerged from the tree before them.
And with its appearance, all the green energy in the space froze, as if someone had pressed the pause button.
Everything stopped.
(End of chapter)