I'm popularizing ecology in the Pokémon world.

The moment Chen Mu saw Little Ibuki, he was completely stunned.

Soon, the surrounding friends also noticed this cute little thing that had suddenly appeared.

"Huh? What's that Eevee doing here? We haven't even reached Eevee's habitat yet, have we?"

"Why does this little Eevee look so familiar?"

After observing carefully for a while, Minami was the first to exclaim in surprise.

"Oh! I remember now! Isn't this the little Eevee that appeared in your forest livestream before, Teacher Chen? She came to find you!"

Seeing that Chen Mu had forgotten to start the live stream, Meibo immediately took out her phone, quietly moved behind Chen Mu, and started recording.

The next moment, Chen Mu tentatively opened his arms.

As expected, Little Ibuki let out a cheer, sped up, and crashed headfirst into Chen Mu's arms.

"Bu-i~~"

Chen Mu caught Little Eevee, squatted down and placed her on his lap, picked up the various grass leaves and twigs stuck to her body, combed her messy and tangled fur, and even turned over the little one's paws.

After wiping away the dirt, I could see that there were several small blisters on the soles of my feet.

"You silly child!"

Chen Mu picked up Little Yibu with a mixture of heartache and reproach, holding her up to his face.

"You've already returned to your homeland, why didn't you stay with your community? Why did you have to run away? And you've made yourself into this mess!"

He deliberately put on a stern face and said it in a fierce tone.

Because of the way Little Ibu looks, it's clear he's been traveling alone for several days.

This seemed extremely dangerous to Chen Mu!

However, the little guy being picked up in front of her wasn't angry at all. His tail, which was hanging in mid-air, swayed from side to side, and he was still smiling like a little angel, showing no signs of fatigue or frustration.

"Buee~"

With just a joyful cry, she easily shattered all the imposing aura that Chen Mu had been trying to maintain.

Even without any special abilities, Chen Mu could easily understand the emotions and meanings contained in that cry.

Little Ibu simply replied matter-of-factly, "Because I missed you~"

Having learned from Fat Eevee that humans wouldn't be visiting its forest area this year, Little Eevee couldn't contain its longing and decided to set off without hesitation!

She didn't hesitate for a moment.

In the days leading up to it, she had explored several surrounding areas on her own.

During this time, she sought prophetic guidance from the forest's Qilinqi, chased after Pidgey and Nightjar in the sky to determine the direction of human tourists, received help and food from the Kangaskhan herd, and hitched a ride on Shuttlecock and Shuttlecock Cotton.

Alone, he trekked over a hundred kilometers, braving the cold and heat, the wind and rain, leaving himself covered in dust and blistering on the soles of his feet and the downy hair around his neck matted.

However, when she saw Chen Mu again, she didn't feel the slightest bit of resentment or regret. She was still smiling brightly, her smile incredibly happy and sunny.

At this moment, faced with Eevee's pure smile and calls as clear as morning dew, Chen Mu's carefully constructed composure crumbled instantly, leaving him unable to utter a single word of reproach.

She really is a little angel!

With a sigh, Chen Mu hurriedly asked the three children for some water and food, as well as a comb and a roll of tissues, to feed and clean Little Eevee.

As a tour guide, Chen Mu felt quite embarrassed to be asking tourists for things at this moment.

But none of the three middle school students complained at this moment. On the contrary, their eyes were shining as they looked at Chen Mu and Little Yibu.

"Teacher Chen, you'll win her over, right? I could tell from watching your live stream that this little one really likes you, and now she's traveled all this way to see you."

Chen Mu looked at Youzhen with some difficulty, "Is this appropriate? I didn't buy a ticket."

Yuzuru pondered for a moment, then raised his index finger. "Hey, I've got it! Teacher Chen, I remember you have a hunting permit for Viridian Forest, right?"

This Eevee is technically a Pokémon that migrated from Viridian Forest. At least for this year, it's not registered in the Indigo Plateau Reserve, so you don't need to worry about the rules of the Safari Zone when you catch it.

Chen Mu asked doubtfully, "Is it really possible to do this?"

Isn't this clearly exploiting a bug in the league's rules?

Yuzuru nodded, her face clearly displaying the words "assist" in bold letters.

"Sure, I think it's fine. If you encounter any difficulties with the process after you leave, you can always ask our curator, Rika, for help."

Even Qinglian, who is usually aloof, stepped forward and said, "It's okay, Teacher Chen. If there are any problems with the adoption process for Eevee, I can go home and ask my aunt for help."

Her aunt was referring to Xia.

With the help of the two museum owners, Chen Mu felt more confident.

The three children even vied to take out their empty hunting balls and lend them to Chen Mu.

Of course, Chen Mu wouldn't take the tourists' property, so in the end he borrowed one of Yuzuru's empty Poké Balls.

As one of the rangers in the protected area, Yuzuru has the right to bring empty Poké Balls into and out of the hunting area, as long as he reports it afterward.

"Bu-i~ Bu-i~"

At this moment, Little Eevee, who was lying in Chen Mu's hands enjoying the grooming service, barked happily twice, as if it couldn't wait any longer.

However, at that moment, the shadow behind Little Ibuki suddenly lengthened.

Then the shadow arched upwards, as if something was about to burst out from beneath the black water!

Yuzuru stepped forward, pulled out his Poké Ball, and shouted, "Watch out!"

But Chen Mu reached out and stopped him.

"It's fine."

Before the creature in the shadows even emerged, merely revealing its presence, Chen Mu had already foreseen the outcome through his psionic power—

A four-legged beast-shaped Pokémon, shrouded in dark darkness, leaped out of the shadows, its aura heavy and stagnant.

That was clearly Umbreon's father, whom we hadn't seen in a long time.

Chen Mu suddenly realized—no wonder Eevee's runaway went so smoothly, and Eevee hadn't come to catch her and take her back for so many days.

It turns out that the old father had been silently hiding in the shadow of his rebellious youngest daughter all along, protecting her all the way.

Seeing that Chen Mu had already borrowed a Poké Ball from someone, the old father finally couldn't sit still any longer!

He had thought that his daughter would calm down during the arduous journey, eventually let go of her longing and return home, or perhaps she would simply get lost on the plateau for several days, feel sad and lost after not being able to find Chen Mu, and then be comforted by him before obediently taking him back.

To his utter surprise, fate can sometimes be so coincidental!

Chen Mu happened to participate in this year's hunting season and happened to choose a southward route, which led him to actually meet the runaway Eevee.

Now, even Umbreon's father knows he can't stop his daughter's feelings, but at least he still retains the last vestige of pride of a wild Pokémon—

"Aww!"

Come and fight me! If you want to take my cub away, at least pass my test!

This was the old father's last act of defiance!