Pokémon Invasion: Explaining Pokémon to Save the World

”I more or less understand the situation now.”

Chen Mo nodded, his expression completely calm.

”Is there anything else unusual you can think of?”

”Something unusual…”

Ah Hui had been about to say stop struggling, you fraud, but at that moment, something he had previously overlooked suddenly came to mind.

Noticing the change in Ah Hui’s expression, Chen Mo spoke slowly.

”Mr. Ah Hui, I understand your anger toward Butterfree. But since you were willing to come into this science-popularization livestream in the first place, deep down, you probably wanted to understand the truth behind what happened back then, didn’t you?”

After a brief silence, Ah Hui decided to speak.

”When we were setting up the tents, one of my friends accidentally found a strange bird egg on a tree.”

”Wait,” Chen Mo interrupted. ”Did that so-called strange bird egg look something like this?”

As Chen Mo described its appearance, Ah Hui’s expression grew increasingly strange.

”Could it be…”

”It seems you’ve already realized it,” Chen Mo said frankly. ”That oddly shaped ’bird egg’ you encountered was, in all likelihood, an egg that would hatch into a Caterpie.”

”Butterfree are a group-oriented species. In the wild, if they encounter Caterpie being attacked by bird-type Pokémon, they’ll usually go over to help. If your friend took away their egg, then being attacked by Butterfree would be a very likely outcome.”

Hearing this, Ah Hui instantly panicked and tried to sit up on the hospital bed. The movement was too sudden, and he nearly threw out his back.

With no choice, he half-lay back down and hurriedly explained.

”No—we didn’t take the egg. My friend… he did have that idea at first, but the rest of us all felt there was something off about it, so we forced him to put it back.”

”Is that so? Then that’s strange…”

Chen Mo didn’t overly doubt Ah Hui’s words. After talking for this long, he could tell that Ah Hui was a straightforward young man, not someone with too many schemes.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Mo suddenly recalled something. His expression turned serious, making Ah Hui—on the other side of the screen—feel inexplicably nervous.

”Mr. Ah Hui, I have one more question. When you said you were ’playing around’ in the flower field, what exactly do you mean by that?”

”Ah…”

Ah Hui’s expression changed yet again.

Seeing this, Chen Mo already understood everything. He didn’t continue pressing the hesitant Ah Hui, instead turning to explain things to the rest of the livestream audience.

”Compared to another Pokémon called Beedrill, Butterfree don’t place quite as much emphasis on territorial awareness. However, their attachment to flower fields far exceeds what most people imagine.”

”Butterfree absolutely love nectar. Whether it’s strong winds or torrential rain, they’re willing to tirelessly fly around just to gather a bit of nectar. Five kilometers, ten kilometers—nothing can stop a foodie’s heart.”

At once, the livestream audience understood.

That flower field—which had gone half a year without human maintenance—had grown so beautifully. Butterfree, diligently working for the sake of nectar, must have played no small part in it.

And then Ah Hui and his group suddenly barged in, inexplicably destroyed the Butterfree’s home, and trampled their most important food source.

Anyone would be furious in that situation.

Many food-loving viewers couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy for the Butterfree they hadn’t even seen yet.

[Butterfree: Where’s my home?! My huge, beautiful home full of nectar and fragrance?!]

[That’s just too tragic. Seriously too tragic.]

[If you think about it carefully, Butterfree really had it rough. Lost their home, lost their food—half a year of hard work destroyed by a group of random humans. Honestly, the fact they didn’t kill you and even let you live is already merciful.]

[I’m crying. This reminds me of when my little nephew came over and wiped out the snacks I’d hoarded for half a year.]

[The guy above—your desire to kill is leaking out. So, uh… is your nephew still okay?]

[And this Ah Hui guy still had the nerve to come stir trouble in the livestream. I’m honestly ashamed for you!]

The tone of the livestream gradually shifted. Some especially malicious comments even began launching personal attacks against Ah Hui and his friends.

Chen Mo frowned slightly and banned several overly aggressive viewers in quick succession. Only then did the chaotic chat gradually settle down.

”Right now, humans and Pokémon are at an extremely critical stage. During this process of contact and mutual integration, it’s absolutely impossible to avoid making mistakes entirely—whether for humans or for Pokémon.”

”More often than not, what we should do is learn from past mistakes, then apply those lessons to future interactions between humans and Pokémon. Only then can this world have a better future.”

As soon as Chen Mo said this, the livestream couldn’t hold back.

[’Big picture.’]

[Kid, you’ve chosen a wide road.]

[What the streamer says makes a lot of sense, and I really admire your level of thinking and your willingness to put your ideals into action. But I have one question—under the current circumstances, can humans and Pokémon really coexist peacefully?]

Another highlighted message appeared.

Seeing it, Chen Mo answered without the slightest hesitation.

”Yes. On this one point alone—that humans and Pokémon can coexist peacefully—I firmly believe it.”

”And the reason I have this confidence is that Pokémon like Butterfree, which don’t actively harm humans, actually make up the majority of Pokémon species. Some of them may be mischievous, some cautious by nature, some cold in appearance—but when facing humans, their attitude is by no means one of hatred.”

”They possess considerable intelligence. If we humans can earn their trust, they’ll become our best and most irreplaceable partners.”

”So rather than calling these unexpected visitors ’monsters,’ I personally prefer to call them Pokémon—little spirits. Creatures as wondrous as those from myth deserve a cute, myth-like name.”

At that moment, Ah Hui—who had been silent on screen for a long time—suddenly spoke.

”Don’t you think you’re being overly optimistic? You’re just one person. With only you, trying to change all of humanity’s perception of monsters—how easy do you think that is?”

”I never said it would be easy.”

Chen Mo looked at Ah Hui, an indescribable light flickering in his dark eyes.

”And besides—I’ve never been alone.”

”?”

”Ah Hui, after what we just talked about, do you still feel hostility toward Butterfree?”

”N-no… I don’t.”

Ah Hui lowered his head slightly.

How could there still be hostility? What filled his heart now was nothing but overwhelming guilt, with nowhere to go.

”Exactly.”

A smile gentler than ever appeared on Chen Mo’s face.

”As long as this livestream exists, as long as I’m still alive, there will be more and more people like you, Ah Hui. A single spark can start a prairie fire. One day, the collective strength of everyone in this livestream will change this world.”

As if infected by Chen Mo’s words, the barrage of comments and gifts in the livestream instantly exploded.

And it was at this very moment—

In a place no one noticed—

Within the grass,

a small yellow figure flashed past the camera.