Chapter 238:
Unova Region.
In Eindoak Town.
A small figure sat atop a fruit tree, nibbling on a blueberry. It pouted slightly as it gazed at an energy barrier visible only to its own eyes, a hint of frustration on its face.
The figure was tiny, with vivid blue eyes and a yellow body. Its red hands and feet stood out, along with the distinctive V-shaped ear-like structures atop its head.
"Victini..."
It was none other than Victini, known by the people of Eindoak Town as their Guardian Deity.
It had been here for more than a thousand years.
Long ago, the ancient king had asked Victini to guard the Dragon Force sealed in this place—never expecting it would remain for millennia.
Victini had been willing at first. But to completely stabilize the Dragon Force, the king had erected a powerful barrier.
After countless years of confinement, even the strongest heart would grow weary.
A Pokémon caged for too long would inevitably long for the sky.
However, Victini feared that if it ever left, the Dragon Force would once again spiral into chaos.
It had promised the king to protect this place.
Still... leaving for just a day or two... should be fine, right?
Victini's thoughts drifted wistfully.
It wanted to go out—just for a day or two.
To see the vast sky.
It had heard tales of the sea at the edge of the world—a glittering blue expanse that stretched endlessly. What kind of place could that be?
"Victini?" (Can I go out today?)
It approached the edge of the barrier, reaching out to touch it.
The barrier remained firm and unyielding.
Victini frowned and pressed its head against it, trying to push through with sheer willpower.
After a while, the barrier didn't budge, and Victini's forehead started to ache.
"Victini..." (Still can't get out...)
It sighed and turned back, fluttering helplessly inside.
But just then—
A strange spatial rift opened before it. Victini froze, eyes wide, as a mysterious force began to pull it in.
Startled but curious, Victini let the current carry it forward.
"Victini?"
To its surprise, the guardian pillars didn't react this time—they allowed it to pass through the opening unhindered.
(⊙o⊙)?: "Victini~?"
Intrigued, Victini flew into the passage.
When it opened its eyes again, the world around it had changed from bright day to starry night.
Victini blinked in confusion—and then felt dozens of gazes fix on it.
Instinctively, it scanned its surroundings. Dozens of Pokémon were staring right at it. Panicking, Victini vanished in an instant.
"Jirachi?"
Jirachi blinked in confusion. A yellow Pokémon had just emerged from the spatial rift—then disappeared as quickly as it came.
It had only just fulfilled Big Brother Kaede's wish… why did this new Pokémon vanish again?
Had it gotten rusty from not granting wishes for so long?
The sudden appearance of the rift drew everyone's attention.
The first to react was the ever-curious Alolan Vulpix.
"Vulpix?" (Huh? Where did it go?)
It had just seen a Pokémon emerge—how could it vanish in the blink of an eye?
Without the Aura power from the Tree of Life tea, Vulpix couldn't sense Victini's location.
But Serperior, whose Aura was the strongest among them, could faintly detect Victini's presence drifting above.
As Victini floated through the air, its gaze fell upon the colorful macarons laid out below. The sweet, fragrant aroma instantly captivated it.
"Victini..." (That smells so good... I really want one...)
In Eindoak Town, it had never encountered food that smelled so delicious—round, soft, and filled with a special sweetness.
It wanted to swoop down and take one, but there were too many Pokémon gathered below. If it tried to steal one, it would surely be spotted.
And spotted it was.
[Pokémon: Victini]
[Gender: Genderless]
[Ability: Victory Star]
[Potential: Mythical]
[IVs: HP (31)...]
[Level: ???]
[Moves: Confusion, Quick Attack, V-create, Endure, Flame Charge, Incinerate, Double-Edge...]
[Friendship: 5 (Just met you.)]
[Happiness: 30 (Where am I? Did I break through the barrier?...)]
[Description: The Guardian Deity of Eindoak Town, the Victory Pokémon.]
The moment Victini appeared, Hayashi Kaede instinctively activated the [Eye of Exploration].
Seeing the information, his expression softened.
So it really was the Victini from Eindoak Town—the one that loved macarons.
Smiling to himself, Hayashi Kaede quietly put away all but one of the macarons.
From above, Victini grew restless.
When Kaede picked up the last macaron, pretending to take a bite, he even let out an exaggerated "Ah~" sound.
Right before the macaron reached his mouth—
Σ(っ °Д °;): "Victini...."
Victini suddenly appeared, waving its tiny hands frantically, as if begging him to stop, eyes locked longingly on the macaron.
The last one—it couldn't let him eat it!
"Here, it's for you~"
Seeing it finally reveal itself, Hayashi Kaede handed over the macaron with a warm smile.
"Victini?"
Victini hesitated, then took the macaron. Its face instantly lit up with joy. But before eating, it glanced shyly back at Kaede, seeking confirmation.
"Go ahead" Kaede nodded. "They're all made for you."
Victini's hesitation vanished. It eagerly devoured the macaron, licking its lips afterward with a blissful hum.
Seeing this, Kaede offered another. This time Victini was clearly more relaxed, happily munching away.
It ate several in a row, yet the increased energy activity from the macarons didn't seem to affect it at all.
Of course—it was a Pokémon of infinite energy.
"Victini..."
Victini's eyes sparkled. It didn't understand how it had suddenly arrived here, but this place—outside the barrier—felt free.
And this human… gave it such delicious food!
[Congratulations, Host! Victini's Happiness increased from 20 → 65.]
[Reward: SSS Grade Pure Energy Stone – Contains Victini's immense victory energy. Temporarily boosts a Pokémon's power without side effects.]
"Hello, Victini. I'm Hayashi Kaede," Kaede greeted warmly.
Victini perked up, flashing a cheerful "V for Victory" sign.
( •̀ ω •́ )y: "Victini~" (I'm Victini~)
"Vulpix~"
Alolan Vulpix, the ever-social chatterbox, hopped up. "Vulpix~" (I'm Alolan Vulpix—the leader of the Vulpix Squad~)
"Meeew~"
Next came Mew, floating closer curiously. It could feel endless energy flowing within Victini—regenerating as fast as it dispersed.
Even Mew found that remarkable.
"Victini?"
Only now did Victini notice the crowd of Pokémon surrounding it. It felt a bit nervous—but remembering the macarons, it mustered a polite greeting.
Seeing how friendly Victini seemed, Alolan Vulpix wasted no time with its usual "recruitment speech."
"Vulpix!" (Do you want to join the Vulpix Squad? We're going to find the Life Pokémon and defeat Rayquaza!)
"Victini?"
Victini blinked, tilting its head. "Victini..." (What?)
"Vulpix..." Vulpix began enthusiastically describing its "grand plan"—
First, finding the Life Pokémon to "build up" the plantation.
Second, defeating Rayquaza, the huge dragon that had terrified Hayashi Kaede.
Victini didn't quite understand everything, but it was drawn in by Vulpix's energy and spirit.
It had never had adventures like this back in Eindoak Town.
Before long, it was completely swayed—agreeing to help the Vulpix Squad "defeat" Rayquaza.
Then it flew closer, gently touching Vulpix and infusing it with pure victory energy.
"Vulpix?"
At first, Vulpix was startled—but moments later, power surged through its body, instinctively triggering Snow Warning.
Within seconds, thick snowflakes began to drift down from the sky...
In the blink of an eye, Aogiri Town was covered in a blanket of shimmering white.
Some townsfolk, just about to close their doors for the night, stared in shock. "Huh? Snow? This early?"
Yet, just as suddenly as it came, the snow stopped after ten seconds—melting away as though it had never fallen.
Only the faint traces on rooftops proved it was real.
Meanwhile, in the plantation, Alolan Vulpix looked at Victini in awe.
"Vulpix!" (With just one touch, I feel so strong!)
It even felt as though it could "slay a dragon" right now!
"You're all introducing yourselves" Hayashi Kaede said with a chuckle, "but no one's given Victini a proper introduction yet."
"Victini?"
Victini blinked, then once again made its cheerful "V" sign.
( •̀ ω •́ )y: "Victini!" (I'm Victini~)
"..."
Such a short, repetitive introduction made Kaede smile helplessly. He was about to explain why Victini had been summoned—
But then he noticed Jirachi, looking drowsy and remorseful.
Kaede stopped mid-sentence.
He glanced between Jirachi and the glowing, shrinking portal still lingering in the air.
His heart tensed.
At the same time, Victini felt it too—an invisible pull drawing it backward.
It turned and saw the portal closing.
"Victini..." (No... I don't want to go back yet...)
It had only just arrived.
It had made new friends, joined the Vulpix Squad...
And most importantly—it had just tasted those delicious macarons!
Beside Kaede, Jirachi looked guilt-ridden.
"Jirachi..." (Sorry, Big Brother Kaede... I'm getting sleepy...)
These past few days, Kaede had treated it so kindly—yet it still couldn't properly grant his wish.
Actually, when Victini was playing earlier, Jirachi had already started feeling drowsy. But it hadn't wanted to interrupt the fun.
Now, it could no longer hold on.
"It's alright, it's alright... Have some candy first."
Kaede quickly took out a Rare Candy and fed it to Jirachi.
And in that moment, everything clicked.
His guess had been right all along.
Jirachi's wish-granting could only create phenomena that made sense within the world's laws.
To bring Victini here, it must have used a power similar to long-distance teleportation.
There were only two Pokémon Kaede knew of capable of such feats:
Giratina, with its move Shadow Force from the Distortion World—
and Hoopa, whose golden rings could open portals that ignored distance entirely.
So Jirachi must have unconsciously borrowed Hoopa's ability to teleport.
But unlike Hoopa's portals, which vanished after teleportation, this one faded slowly—pulling back on Victini as Jirachi's energy weakened.
It must have been because of the guardian pillars.
The guardian stone pillar does not want Victini to leave so easily.
Jirachi's wish energy had likely tricked them into believing that Hayashi Kaede's area was still within Eindoak Town.
An invisible tug-of-war formed between the two forces.
As Jirachi's energy waned, the pillars began to realize the truth—and started pulling Victini back.
But Hayashi Kaede wasn't too worried.