There seems to be something wrong with these Pokémon

After winning the Nibe Gym Challenge and obtaining the gray badge, Xiaoye returned to the Pokémon Center and found a strange woman leaning against the wall, watching people coming and going in the Pokémon Center idly. When he walked by, the woman grabbed his wrist and took out a business card in his surprised gaze.

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Aoki Midori, a staff member of the Nibi Science Museum." The woman took off her sunglasses and explained why she came. "Today, the Nibi Science Museum was suddenly invaded. In order to protect your safety, our security personnel used rude means to escort you out of the Nibi Science Museum. We are deeply sorry for this, so I am here to give you a little gift from the Nibi Science Museum and invite you to visit the museum for free tomorrow to make up for the regret of your sudden interruption."

After Xiaoye took the beautifully wrapped gift and a ticket from her, Aoki Mido said goodbye and left on her own accord.

After returning to the free accommodation provided by the Pokémon Center for Trainers, Xiaoye and Snake opened the gift together.

"Fossil!" Xiao Ye and Teng Teng Snake looked at each other and saw surprise in each other's eyes.

But soon the vine snake used its vines to take out another card from under the fossil that was sealed with transparent glass. They only breathed a sigh of relief after Xiaoye read it.

"It turns out it's just a replica." Xiao Ye put the fossil in the compartment of his schoolbag and said, "If this is a real fossil, I wouldn't dare to accept it if the Nibi Science Museum gave it to me for free. Since it's a replica, I don't have any burden."

----

The next day, after having breakfast with the vine snake, Xiaoye set out for the Nibi Science Museum again.

Following the process, after paying the ticket and checking his backpack, Xiao Ye once again stepped into the place he longed for.

It didn't take Xiaoye much time to look at the exhibits on the first and second floors. He was shocked and even more excited about the gem fragment on the third floor.

But the result disappointed Xiaoye.

I don’t know why, although its shape, color and luster are no different from what I saw in the newspaper before, Xiaoye always feels that it has changed. It has really changed from a gem with mysterious power to the debris left after accidentally breaking glass.

Xiao Ye listened to the reporters around him trying to find out information and the visitors praising this unknown thing. He felt more and more bored and planned to leave.

Before leaving, he remembered the man in the black jacket who had dropped him off at the Pokémon Center yesterday, so he grabbed a random staff member to ask about his whereabouts.

"What happened yesterday morning?" The staff member smiled apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, I'm not sure. I was transferred here to work only last night. How about I ask other people for you?"

"sorry to bother you."

Xiao Ye nodded and sat on a chair nearby. After a while, the staff member came over and said to Xiao Ye in anticipation, "I'm sorry, it seems that we all received the notice yesterday at noon and were urgently transferred to Nibi City to work last night. We don't know the specific situation."

In other words, all the original staff of the Nibi Science Museum have been transferred away?

No wonder Xiaoye felt that the museum was deserted today. It turned out that there were not many tour guides to explain the exhibits. Maybe it was because the people who were urgently transferred had not been trained and were unable to take up their posts?

But why?

Do we have to transfer all the staff of the entire museum just because of the sudden alarm yesterday?

Xiao Ye couldn't guess the reason, so he had to keep the gratitude in his heart and wait to thank him properly the next time they met.

After leaving the museum, Xiao Ye found a dessert shop and went in. He told the shop that he wanted to borrow the kitchen to make some desserts. In order to avoid being rejected, he also specifically said that he could pay for the dessert shop's losses during this period.

"It's okay, please enjoy." The owner of the dessert shop was a very kind woman. She didn't worry about losing customers because she couldn't make desserts. "Anyway, the turnover of this shop is not that good. Desserts are just my hobby. Selling desserts is just to kill time."

"Thank you anyway." After saying thank you, Xiao Ye began to clean his hands, put on a hat, gloves and other tools, and walked towards the kitchen.

"You're welcome. Just let me try some after it's done." After saying that, the proprietress sat back in her chair, watching the final of the dessert competition on TV and immersing herself in it.

Xiao Ye felt a little depressed, and whenever he was in a bad mood, he would make some desserts by himself.

Xiao Ye stayed in the kitchen for the entire day and rarely came out until nightfall. He came to his senses and placed most of the desserts he had made today on the table of the proprietress who had fallen asleep. Then he quietly left with Teng Teng Snake.

Sitting on Xiaoye's shoulder, Teng Teng Snake looked at the shops and buildings on both sides of the street that were lit up with all kinds of lights, and large colorful letters were shining. Various kinds of music mixed together on the street, mixed with shouts, honking horns, and the calls of Pokémon, making it very lively.

Xiaoye also feeds him snacks bought from a nearby store at any time, which makes him feel so happy.

Xiaoye was also immersed in the bustling city, and took Teng Teng Snake to the central garden of Nibi. Colorful flags were pulled up on the garden wall, and colorful lights were hung on the ropes in the air, flashing like ribbons covered with pearls.

There was a fountain in the center of the garden, and as cheerful music started playing, the fountain began to swing up and down to the rhythm of the music, reflecting various colors under the illumination of colorful lights, which fascinated him.

The bustling crowd surrounded Xiaoye and Tengteng Snake, and soon they followed the flow of people to leave this fairyland that was like a secret garden and came to another famous tourist attraction.

"Look, a vine snake!" Xiao Ye pointed at the building that was towering into the sky and shining with colorful lights and shouted, "That's the Ferris wheel!"

Vine Snake also pointed at the Ferris wheel, his eyes full of desire.

"Legend has it that every box of the Ferris wheel is filled with happiness. When we look up at the Ferris wheel, we are looking up at happiness." A familiar figure not far away bent down, put his face close to the face of the shorter figure, and spoke in a soft tone.

"Really?" The girl, whose cheek was pressed against her brother's, said in her childish voice, "Then I want to ride the Ferris wheel with my brother! I don't want to be the one who looks up to happiness, I want to be the one who is happy!"

Then the girl took her brother's hand and walked towards the Ferris wheel step by step.

Xiaoye watched their backs as they left, her pupils shrinking. Then, like a madman, she pushed through the crowd nearby and passed through the artificially created gap. Amid the curses of passers-by, Xiaoye stretched out her hands to chase their backs as they went farther and farther away.

"Wait a moment!"

Xiao Ye only had eyes for the brother and sister. He ran towards them with all his might, but he could never reach them.

The vine snake sitting on Xiaoye's shoulder was moved without knowing what was happening, forcing it to use its vine whip to fix itself on Xiaoye's shoulder, otherwise it would be squeezed away by the crowded crowd.

Finally, when the brother and sister were about to step onto the Ferris wheel, Xiao Ye stopped them.

The brother watched the boy's eyes wandering between his and his sister's faces, and subconsciously protected his sister behind him, asking in a stern tone, "What are you doing?"

Xiao Ye looked at the two faces in front of him that were exactly the same as the ones in front of the Nibi Science Museum yesterday morning, and asked carefully in a soft voice, "Did you... go to the Nibi Science Museum yesterday?"

"Nibi Science Museum?" The elder brother frowned and said without hesitation, "No, you got the wrong person."

Then he took his sister onto the Ferris wheel, leaving the confused Xiao Ye standing on the ground, watching the box rising higher and higher on the Ferris wheel and gradually disappearing from his sight.

"I'm fine, Vine Snake." Xiaoye gently grabbed the vine that Vine Snake stretched towards his face and whispered, "Yeah, they are not the same person. Not at all."

Xiaoye, with a gloomy look on his face, quietly left the Ferris wheel with Snake in his arms. Just as he was walking towards the Pokémon Center, Snake patted his face and pointed to the location of the Nibe Gym.

"Yes, yes..." Xiao Ye quickly changed his pace and walked towards the Nibi Gym, "It's time to take Ditto home."

Ditto, who had been stuffed with a lot of knowledge by the powerful Onix at the Nibe Gym, burst into tears when he saw his trainer finally coming to pick him up. He ran towards Xiaoye with grievance, crying about the pain of being forced to learn knowledge that he couldn't understand by Onix that day.

Xiaoye picked up Ditto and soothed its wounded heart with soft words. After thanking Wu Neng, he was about to leave when he was stopped.

"Wait a minute, Xiaoye." Wu Neng pointed to the second floor of the Nibi Gym and said, "You forgot something."

"Forgot something?" Xiao Ye never remembered taking anything out of the Nibe Gym, so how could he have forgotten something?

But out of politeness, Xiaoye did not directly refuse Wu Neng, but followed Wu Neng's wishes and was led to a room by Jiro.

As soon as he entered the room, the door was closed by Jiro. There was nothing special in the room, only a black box on a wooden table.

Could it be possible that the thing Wu Neng said he forgot was in here?

Just when Xiao Ye stepped forward to open the box, the usually well-behaved Ditto stopped him.

Ditto transformed into a vine snake, stretched out a vine whip to tie up Xiaoye and pulled him down. Xiaoye, who was forced to sit down, did not feel any pain. He looked down and found that Ditto had used vines as a cushion to prevent him from falling.

"What's wrong, Ditto?" Xiao Ye asked with a smile, "I'll play with you when we get back, okay?"

Ditto shook his head, turned the corners of his mouth downward to show an unhappy look, then raised his hands and pulled up his cheeks, forcing himself to put on a smile, but it was a very ugly one.

At this time, Snake also spontaneously broke free from the Poké Ball, stood next to Ditto, and nodded to show his approval of Ditto's actions.

"Do you think I'm unhappy?" Xiao Ye raised her head and said in a clear voice, "No, I'm in a good mood..."

Before he finished speaking, Xiao Ye felt something wet running down his cheeks.

He closed his eyes and tilted his head back, saying softly, "It's really okay, don't worry about me."

Xiao Ye closed his eyes with all his strength. He felt that his eyes were filled with moisture. If he dared to open his eyelids a little, the tears would burst out.

When the water is full, it overflows.

No matter how hard you try to control the urge to cry, you cannot completely stop the tears from falling. Once a tear slides down your eye socket, you can no longer control it.

Ditto removed the whip that imprisoned Xiaoye and wiped the tears from Xiaoye's face with his hands, trying to stop his tears.

The tears were like a river that had burst its banks, so fierce that he couldn't hold them back! He could only bury his head in his chest, digging his fingernails deep into his flesh to avoid the sight of the vine snakes.

"Xiao Ye." At this time, Wu Neng opened the door and stood outside. He said to Xiao Ye who was trying to hold back tears, "I didn't mean to overhear your conversation, but as the gym leader and your elder, I need to give you a word of advice."

"If you really love your Pokémon, please share your joys and sorrows with them, truly respect them and understand them. Don't impose what you think is right on them like you would a pet."

After hearing what Wu Neng said, Teng Teng Snake immediately stood up straight, with murderous intent in the corners of his eyes, and took an attacking stance towards Wu Neng who was standing at the door.

"I, I don't treat them as pets." Xiao Ye choked up and defended, "They are my companions, my partners, and my family."

"No, you can fool others, but you can't fool yourself." Wu Neng shook his head and said, "Do you know why I told Xiaozhi that he has no hope at all?"

The room was silent, with only the rustling sound of the vine snake's whip stretched out with a fierce look.

Wu Neng ignored the Pokémon's vigilance and continued, "Because he loves Pokémon so much and truly regards Pokémon as his partners, so in my eyes, he has no hope of winning the championship."

"Take now for example. You think you are doing it for their own good by bearing all the troubles by yourself and not telling your Pokémon, but have you ever asked for their opinions?"

Upon hearing this, Xiaoye looked up at Ditto who was still looking at it with concern. When it saw its trainer raising his head, it immediately came up and hugged his head, wiping away his tears again.

"For example, when you wanted to give up because Vine Snake was tied up by Rock Snake, did you care about Vine Snake who was still trying hard to swing the whip?"

Xiao Ye shuddered and turned his gaze to the Teng Teng Snake that was baring its teeth at Wu Neng. Its actions seemed to be warning Wu Neng not to talk too much.

"You haven't. You have never considered the thoughts of Pokémon." Wu Neng closed the door and left them their own space. "Because in your heart, Pokémon has never been an equal to you."

After Wu Neng left, the room returned to silence. The vine snakes retracted their whips and walked in front of Xiao Ye, shaking their heads to indicate that they never thought Xiao Ye had any bad intentions towards them.

Ditto was so angry that he bared his teeth and claws. He reluctantly took out the apple that he had hidden in the Evergreen Forest for a long time and put it next to Xiaoye's mouth.

In Ditto's mind, if he is in a bad mood, he will forget everything after eating and taking a nap.

"Uncle Wu Neng is right." Xiao Ye wiped his face and looked at Snake and Ditto who had trust in him and said, "I really shouldn't have imposed my will on you. I'm sorry, Snake and Ditto."

"My performance today disappointed you, didn't it?" Xiaoye held the two Pokémon in his arms and whispered, "It was my fear that affected Ditto, causing it to lose the game. It was also because I didn't take into account Serpentine's determination to continue fighting, and I easily gave up the victory that was so close."

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry..." Xiao Ye gradually tightened her arms, and tears fell uncontrollably once again.

"I don't know what happened today, but I saw two people suddenly disappear in front of the museum again." Xiao Ye calmed down and explained the reason for his loss of composure tonight. "At that time, I only had one thought in my mind, which was to stop them and confirm that they really existed here."

He let go of Snake and Ditto, clenched his right fist and placed it on his chest, feeling the beating heartbeat under his hand and said, "Ever since I saw that little sister leave in tears, my heart has been empty as if something is missing. I can guess that they took away the mysterious gem of the Nibi Science Museum."

"But!" Xiao Ye suddenly raised her voice and explained, "I don't care where the gems went. I just want to know if they are safe now and why my sister left alone!"

After saying that, he leaned against the wall as if he had lost his strength, and laughed foolishly, "It's weird, isn't it? They are just two strangers, but I pay so much attention to them, like a psychopath."

Ditto and Snake didn't say much, but just sat beside Xiaoye and accompanied him, watching him pour out all his troubles and sorrows until he gradually lost his voice and slowly fell asleep.

At this time, the door of the room was opened again. Wu Neng walked in quietly, held the sleeping Xiao Ye in his arms, took him into the guest room, and gently put him on the bed.

"I lied." Wu Neng tucked the quilt for Xiao Ye, not caring about the two Pokémon following him, and muttered to himself, "I think the reason why Xiaozhi has no hope is that he only has a passion for Pokémon, and nothing else. He's exactly the same as me back then. Sooner or later, he'll fall flat on his face."

"You have good abilities, but your love for Pokémon has gone the wrong way. If you don't correct it soon, the gap between you and Pokémon will grow bigger and bigger until you are completely separated."

"So, just like I said before, I hope you can keep this 'calmness' to the end. During the journey, use 'calmness' to examine your own shortcomings and correct them in time. This is the reason why rocks can stand for thousands of years without collapsing."