Once, many years ago, a man from another world fell down and woke up alone in the middle of a great forest. He was from a world quite unlike our own but, though the rules that bind our world, he opened his eyes as a spewpa and took in the sights of the quiet forest. The forest was unlike any around today, for it was cared for by a special being who loved the plants and cared for them like they were her own children. As he wandered the forest, the creature descended from the trees and welcomed him to her domain. She showed him the best places to find berries and nuts, and the softest spots to rest when he got tired. But, he was not happy in the forest, despite the attention the guardian gave him. He missed people and he yearned for the love of others. He traveled out of the woods two weeks hence and found a village where the world was true and as real as can be.
A year went by and still he felt lost and alone. He wanted love and he wanted affection, but, no matter how many pokemon he met, he did not feel either. Perhaps, he thought, it was because he was from another world. Maybe that gap still rested between him and the rest of this world he now called home. He wondered what was missing and if there was a way to find it. He listened to the whispers of the other pokemon until, one day, he heard of three miracle workers who granted the wishes of those they met. He traveled for three days and three nights until he found the trio, and asked them,
“Are you the genies who grant pokemons’ wishes?”
The three said that, aye, they were, and asked the man what it was he desired the most. He told them he wished to be loved, and the three told him it would be so.
The spewpa returned to town and, to his delight, found himself the center of everyone’s attention. No matter where he went, pokemon wanted him. He had any pokemon he desired as his mate and basked in the love of others when he did not feel a need for commitment. But, with each person he left behind, more and more chaos grew within the town. Mates who were together for years split apart when the spewpa fancied one and not the other, and tensions rose as eggs were laid that did not match the typing of some pokemon’s mates. Yet, every time the pokemon went to confront the bug from another world about what a mess he’d pulled them into, they could not help but think of how much they wanted him and how much they needed to be around him.
As it happened, the guardian of the forest was on a trip into town with her friend and, caught up in the buzz of chaos along main street, got separated from her traveling partner. There, lost and alone in town, was where the spewpa found his first protector. He felt a tug in his heart, and wanted her affection and love, for, she had been the first to care for him and, despite the love the rest of the town showed him, he could not fill the hole within himself. He thought, maybe if I win her love, I will be content. But, the guardian, being innocent and unknowing of the way of love and passion, did not react how the spewpa expected. She demurred and blushed, but did not pursue him or react to his advances.
He was at a loss. How could he be denied like this when his wish had been for love? If he felt love towards the protector, shouldn’t they love him back? Fair was fair and he refused to consider that this was one pokemon he should not pursue. The guardian excused herself and fled back to her friend, sick and confused by the emotions she felt, and her friend took her away from the town so she could recover.
Over the next weeks, the spewpa thought only of the guardian and her clear blue eyes and soft voice. He wanted her as his mate and it pained him to think about how she fled when he said such kind words to her and told her how sweet she was. He asked his lovers around the town what they knew about the woman. He learned that she was called the celebi and that she helped the plants grow and prosper. None of them knew more than that, but he heard of a dragon who lived in a tower that gave advice to those who asked. He left his town and traveled for weeks until he reached the city of rhyme and reason.
As he traveled through the streets, he continued to receive attention from strangers. They slowed his progress to the tower and, for the first time, the spewpa wondered if being the center of attention was the easiest way to live. It took him a day to reach the tower and get an audience with the dragon. The dragon, a wise and just ruler, looked him over and realized something was amiss. Being a creature of much experience and knowledge, it shook off the effects of the ability the genies blessed the spewpa with and saw him clearly. He asked them what it was he came to ask, and the man told his whole story from start to finish.
The dragon considered what he said and, after he weighed all sides of the spewpa’s situation, asked him what it was he wanted as a solution. Did he want to break the wish and return to normal, or did he want to capture the celebi’s heart. When he heard his wish talked of in such a blunt way, the bug faltered and said he wished to break the curse, for he could not bear the thought that such a wise dragon would think so low of him. The dragon suggested he find the genies once more and ask for them to modify their magic, at least so it was less powerful than now.
That is how the spewpa ran into the wish granters one more time. When he came across them, he said to them, “genies, my wish is useless! I cannot win the love of the person I want. I want to get the attention of the celebi.”
The genies considered his request and pulled out a flask and a strange orb. They told him, “take these and stand in the middle of the celebi’s forest. When you find an old tree with metal decorating it, pour the contents of the flask around it and drop the orb onto the ground the liquid touches. Do this and we promise you that you will have the celebi’s attention.”