Chapter 237:
[SSS Grade Ingredient – Zapdos's Divine Feather: A lightning feather formed from condensed Zapdos energy, brimming with powerful electric energy.]
Hayashi Kaede stared blankly at the feather in his hand, completely stunned.
This was a Zapdos feather—and judging by its quality, it belonged to the strongest of its kind.
He could tell from experience; the feathers of Legendary Pokémon varied greatly in quality. For example, the Moltres feather granted by the system was SSS-grade, while the one Mew plucked from Champion Kazephyr's Moltres was only S+ grade.
"Meeew~" (These fell off when they were fighting! I picked up a few~)
Mew giggled playfully, pulling two more feathers out of who-knows-where.
One was icy blue, exuding a biting chill.
The other was a brilliant crimson, glowing faintly as if wreathed in living fire.
[SSS Grade Ingredient – Articuno's Divine Feather: A freezing feather formed from condensed Articuno energy, containing immense Ice-type power. Can be worn or ground into powder for cooking.]
[SSS Grade Ingredient – Moltres's Divine Feather: A flame feather formed from condensed Moltres energy, imbued with Fire-type energy. Can be worn or ground into powder for cooking.]
And that wasn't all—Mew pulled out two more Zapdos feathers.
"Jirachi~" (Yes, yes! The three Legendary birds fought each other and got captured!)
Jirachi chimed in excitedly from the side.
"Fell off during a fight?" Hayashi Kaede repeated in disbelief, then suddenly realized something. Mew and Jirachi hadn't been home for days—they must have gone somewhere far away.
"Meeew~" (Yes! And this too~)
Mew rummaged around again and pulled out a silver feather that shimmered faintly.
"Meeew..." (This one's from Lugia! I asked for it. Didn't you need their feathers for cooking? This one was a little damaged. Hehe, I promised to bring it some delicious food next time, and it agreed~)
"???"
[SSS+ Grade Ingredient – Damaged Silver Feather: A unique feather from the legendary Whirlpool Pokémon, Lugia. Contains immense Flying-type and Psychic-type energy. Can be worn or ground into powder for cooking.]
Looking at the silver feather in his hand, Hayashi Kaede finally understood what had happened.
These past few days, Mew must have taken Jirachi far across the sea—to the islands of the three Legendary birds.
They'd somehow stumbled upon the events of The Power of One—and not only witnessed them, but managed to collect these feathers, and even asked Lugia for one personally?
Even if the details differed, that had to be close to the truth.
Hayashi Kaede was silent for a long moment. Mew, thinking he suspected it of stealing again, puffed up and protested,
"Meeew~!" (I didn't steal them this time! I asked for them!)
Snapping out of his daze, Hayashi Kaede smiled wryly. "No, no, I didn't say you stole them."
He hesitated. "But... are you sure you want to give these to me?"
After all, these were items from Legendary Pokémon. Even if they weren't of much use to Mew, their value was beyond comprehension—priceless, really.
Such items didn't circulate on the market. They were treasures for collectors or materials for Pokémon to absorb energy from.
"Meeew~" (Doesn't Hayashi Kaede need these for cooking? I'm giving them all to you~)
Mew tilted its head, as if wondering why he was asking something so obvious.
"Then... alright." Hayashi Kaede smiled gently.
Maybe Mew's habit of wandering off to play wasn't such a bad thing after all. Even when it was far away, it still remembered the human who cooked for it every day.
He carefully stored away the Legendary feathers, his mind already spinning with inspiration.
If Mew's eyelashes could be turned into food, then surely the feathers of other Legendary Pokémon could be used too.
Besides Zapdos's feather, his own Pokémon shared elemental affinities with Articuno and Moltres. That could work perfectly.
Now, the question was—what kind of dishes could he make from them?
As Hayashi Kaede pondered, Mew happily flew to its mint-flavored macarons. It sniffed them with its nose, and a blissful expression instantly appeared on its little face.
(*︾▽︾): "Meeew~" (Mint... my mint, hehe....)
Watching it, Hayashi Kaede couldn't help but chuckle softly.
Oh, little cat... you'll never stop loving mint.
After carefully putting away the feathers, Hayashi Kaede sat beside Jirachi.
Watching Jirachi nibble happily on macarons, he extended his Aura and asked gently, "Jirachi, is it good?"
"So good~ these little macarons are so sweet…"
Jirachi mumbled through a mouthful of crumbs, eating quickly and barely chewing before swallowing.
It was no surprise—it had been playing all day, and it was truly hungry.
But also...
Tonight was already the fifth day.
After the night of the day after tomorrow, it would fall asleep again—and never get to taste these delicious macarons until the next millennium.
The thought made Jirachi's heart sink.
Time passed so quickly.
It had visited so few places. Big Brother Kaede had told it so many stories about Legendary Pokémon, yet it had only met a handful of them.
Rayquaza no longer remembered what happened a thousand years ago.
Mew could transform into it—but would Mew still exist a thousand years from now?
And if it did… would it still remember Jirachi?
Would Lugia remember it?
Jirachi feared that feeling of being forgotten most of all.
Every time it awoke, it met new people and new Pokémon—but never the same ones again. Surely, one day, it would wake up to a world that no longer welcomed it.
Just like the first millennium.
Back then, Pokémon were wild and cruel, thinking only of survival.
They didn't talk about friendship—they just wanted to eat you.
Every awakening came with hope… but not every hope was fulfilled.
Time passed so quickly and it will soon be time for it to sleep again. So soon… so soon, and it hadn't even played properly with Takagi Megumi yet.
Only two days left. It couldn't go adventuring with Mew anymore.
But it still wanted to see more of the world...
Still, when Hayashi Kaede approached, Jirachi smiled brightly, its wish-tag ornaments glimmering.
"Big Brother Kaede, is it time to make a wish?"
Hayashi Kaede took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah… but before that, I want to ask Jirachi a few questions."
"Jirachi?" Jirachi put down the macaron and looked at him curiously. "What is it, Big Brother Kaede?"
Hayashi Kaede sat beside it, picking up a macaron himself. "It's the same question as before, Jirachi. After meeting Rayquaza… do you have any other wishes you want to fulfill?"
"Jirachi?" Jirachi tilted its head, puzzled.
"Think about it" Hayashi Kaede said softly. "A life without goals… loses meaning. Jirachi must have something it wants too, right?"
"Something I want…" Jirachi muttered, deep in thought.
Then it smiled. "I want to eat Big Brother Kaede's food every day. And I want to travel to more and more places to play!"
It looked at him with shining eyes.
Hayashi Kaede blinked. "That's all?"
"Yeah, isn't that enough?" Jirachi said, popping another macaron into its mouth. "Oh! I also want to have more and more friends—and I hope they'll still remember me a thousand years from now."
"That way, I won't have to find new ones every time… not every friend is a good one."
It trailed off, remembering something, and sighed.
"Meeew?" Mew, just recovering from its catnip haze, tilted its head in confusion.
It hadn't been there when Hayashi Kaede explained Jirachi's story to everyone—so it didn't understand.
What did Jirachi mean about "finding new partners"? Or "being remembered"?
Puzzled, it floated closer and reached out its tiny paw.
"Meeew~" (We're partners! I'll always remember you~)
Jirachi's eyes shimmered. It held Mew's hand tightly and nodded. "Jirachi…"
The bond between the two Mythical Pokémon had grown deep over the past days.
Watching them, Hayashi Kaede's heart softened.
If Jirachi wanted everlasting friendship, then other Mythical Pokémon like Mew—kind and long-lived—were surely the best companions.
Even after a thousand years, they could find each other again.
But Mew didn't think that far ahead. After shaking hands, it happily flew back to its minty macarons.
Jirachi, meanwhile, floated back to Hayashi Kaede's side.
At that moment, Hayashi Kaede finally asked, "Jirachi… have you ever thought about breaking free from your thousand-year cycle? About living like a normal Pokémon—waking with the sun, sleeping under the stars?"
"Jirachi?" Jirachi froze, startled by the question.
Around the garden, several Pokémon overheard and quietly gathered near.
They'd almost forgotten Jirachi's brief existence—just seven days.
Some realized with a jolt that this was already the evening of the fifth day.
Others, less aware, still felt time slipping away too fast.
Dragonite rubbed its neck uneasily. "Dragonite…" (So short… time flies so fast…)
As a Dragon-type, the flow of time felt especially strange—like sand slipping through its claws.
"Steenee…" Steenee looked at Jirachi, then turned toward the plantation, heart aching.
That was where its doll still sat—its bountsweet doll with the ever stone, the key to its evolution.
Without that doll, it wouldn't have found the courage to change.
Jirachi fell silent, gazing up at the dim night sky. After a moment, it whispered, "Big Brother Kaede… I can't."
Its eyes shimmered with quiet longing.
Hayashi Kaede followed its gaze. The sky was dark and sparse, with only a few bright stars glimmering.
Late autumn. Winter was near. A clear sky tomorrow, perhaps.
"The stars are so bright…" Jirachi murmured. "Akaze once told me I was like a star—bringing hope to everyone who saw me."
"It was so dark back then. Even a little light could make people smile. They said I was hope itself."
"But a thousand years later… every home has light. No one fears the dark anymore."
"Now, the stars' light isn't important. People don't look up anymore. They don't need us."
Jirachi flew a little higher, twirling softly in the air. "But shooting stars are different."
"When a bright meteor streaks across the sky, people look up. They make wishes. When I awoke, I saw the shooting star that awakened me—it carried so, so many hopes."
"I gathered them all."
"So this time, I want to be the shooting star—to carry everyone's wishes."
It fell silent, its luminous eyes locked on Hayashi Kaede.
It didn't say the rest:
That in two days, its own comet would blaze across the heavens.
Its True Eye would open, absorbing the comet's energy—energy that would sustain the land after it fell asleep again.
It had done this countless times before.
"Does that make you happy?" Hayashi Kaede finally asked.
Jirachi flew down and said with a grin, "Yes... Brother Kaede you once said, you are not... a fish? What fun? Oh, I forgot what next."
"You are not a fish, how can you know the joy of a fish." Hayashi Kaede repeated.
Jirachi looked as if this was a bit "embarrassing it," "It's so difficult, forget it..."
"Big Brother Kaede, tell me your wish now! I can't wait any longer!"
Hayashi Kaede gently picked it up and smiled. "You want to meet more friends who will remember you, right?"
"Hm?" Jirachi blinked.
Hayashi Kaede lifted a macaron. "Then let's wish to bring you another Pokémon—one that will still remember you a thousand years from now. Its name is Victini…"
The moment the wish was made, a glowing passage opened before them, radiating with soft, ethereal light.
And at that exact moment—In the Unova region, in Eindoak Town...