Mother

Dongshu gave a quiet nod, then mounted Fire Emperor and headed to their dwelling with Krabby.

The mother and child lived in a small Cave. When Dongshu arrived, Graveler was indeed nowhere to be seen. Instead, he found a pile of Berries inside the Cave.

"Krabby, these are?" Dongshu paused slightly before asking.

"Krab!" Krabby explained that its mother had brought all of them back from outside not long ago!

"If that's the case, then Graveler left in the middle of the night." Dongshu pondered silently.

"Did your mother say anything to you?" Dongshu asked.

Tears shimmered in Krabby's eyes as it shook its head. "Krab..."

"Don't panic. Maybe your mother is just trapped somewhere. Let's search the forest for her first!" Dongshu comforted it.

"Krab..." Krabby wiped the tears from its eyes. Though worried and heartbroken, it had no other choice now. It could only place its hopes on Dongshu.

Dongshu said no more. Riding Fire Emperor with Krabby, he began searching all over the forest.

Along the way, they encountered quite a few Pokémon.

A Nidoking family, Electabuzz and Magmar, Rhyhorn, Butterfree, Magnemite, Oddish, Bellsprout...

The moment they saw Dongshu, they all looked over.

Dongshu did his best to rally these Pokémon to help search.

Most of the Pokémon in the forest had received help from him before. Hearing this, they all readily stepped forward to offer their assistance.

The Nidoking family searched through the forest while loudly calling Graveler's name.

Butterfree flew into the air, using its compound eyes to search through the forest.

Electabuzz and Magmar, bitter rivals who often fought on ordinary days, began working together as well.

Yet after searching for a long time, the Pokémon still found nothing.

Graveler seemed to have vanished without a trace.

"Could a human Trainer have captured her?" Dongshu could not help frowning.

That would be troublesome. Graveler might have been unwilling to be captured because of Krabby, but human Trainers often knocked Pokémon unconscious and defeated them before catching them, stuffing them into Poké Balls while they were unable to resist.

"Krab..."

Krabby was so anxious it was on the verge of tears.

Just then, they arrived in Arcanine's territory.

Seeing so many Pokémon gathered together, Arcanine ran over curiously to see what was happening.

"Woof?"

The instant Dongshu saw Arcanine, an idea sprang into his mind.

As everyone knew, Arcanine were famous for their exceptionally sharp sense of smell.

That was precisely why they were used as police dogs in the human world, working alongside humans.

With that in mind, Dongshu immediately said, "Arcanine, Krabby's mother is missing. Can you use your nose to help find her?"

This Arcanine possessed a righteous heart. Upon hearing that, it readily nodded in agreement.

"Woof!"

It first ran up to Krabby and caught Graveler's scent from its body. Then it twitched its nose and carefully searched the air.

The many Pokémon held their breath, waiting for Arcanine's results.

"Woof!"

A moment later, Arcanine suddenly barked. Its gaze locked onto a certain direction, and it immediately took the lead.

Krabby's eyes lit up at the sight.

Dongshu and Fire Emperor hurried after it.

They passed through the forest and arrived amid an endless mountain range. Continuing along the mountain path, they passed through a narrow Cave and suddenly entered a secluded valley.

The mother Krabby had been desperately searching for lay there amid a pile of bones, her eyes tightly shut.

The light around her had already faded. The bone she had always gripped in her hand had fallen to the ground, and her arms hung limply at her sides.

Even as innocent and ignorant as Krabby was, it understood what had happened at that moment.

It rushed forward in grief, clutched its mother's remains, and burst into heartbroken sobs.

"Krabby!"

Looking at the scene around him, Dongshu understood at once.

Legend had it that somewhere in the world lay a graveyard belonging only to Graveler.

Before every Graveler reached the end of its life, it would travel there alone and quietly await death.

But this Graveler had been unable to stop worrying about her child. Before leaving, she had used the last of her strength to gather a pile of Berries and bring them back to the Cave.

They were the last things she had left for her child.

And this... was the rumored burial ground of the Graveler clan.

Before every Graveler's life reached its end, it would come here alone.

Krabby's sorrowful cries echoed through the valley, and every Pokémon watching the scene could not help but be moved.

Dongshu opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but he did not know how to begin.

But then, he suddenly thought of the Rainbow Feather Lord Ho-Oh had given him.

It contained Lord Ho-Oh's power. If he used Sacred Fire to burn it into Sacred Ash and used it on Graveler, perhaps it could open its eyes again!

However, when Dongshu relayed this idea to Fire Emperor, it solemnly shook its head.

"It's useless. Lord Ho-Oh's power can only revive the dead. Graveler's soul has already left its body, and its life has reached its end. Even Sacred Ash will have no effect."

"But..." Dongshu understood the reasoning, but looking at the scene before him, he felt so terribly sad!

"Krabby." Dongshu stepped forward and gently patted Krabby's back. He wanted to comfort it, but he had no idea what to say.

In a situation like this, perhaps no words would be of any use.

Maybe Krabby needed a hug.

He wrapped his arms around Krabby and silently patted its back.

Krabby cried for a very, very long time, before finally fainting from overwhelming grief.

Rain still poured from the sky.

Dongshu could no longer tell whether the wetness on Krabby's face was tears or rainwater.

He helped Krabby up, then turned to the gathered Pokémon. "Thank you, everyone. You should all head back first!"

The Pokémon gradually dispersed.

Dongshu, meanwhile, took Krabby back to their Secret Base.

Even while unconscious, Krabby murmured sorrowfully in its sleep. From time to time, it would still let out a small sob.

Affected by its emotions—or perhaps reminded of something painful himself—Dongshu felt a heavy knot in his chest and leaned his whole body against Fire Emperor.

"Fire Emperor, what should we do?" Dongshu could not help asking. What he truly wanted to ask was what Krabby would do from now on without Graveler.

"Mm..." Fire Emperor slowly sighed before answering, "It can only rely on itself to make it through this."