Liyue Port - Pokémon Home Store.
The digital air in the customer group chat was thick with the scent of high-grade tea and low-grade envy.
Yelan: [Video: Jirachi's precious video.avi]. I just received a pot of Immortal Tea Brewing. Thank you, Manager Hiroshi, for the treat! The aroma is unlike anything in Liyue.
Hu Tao: I'm so sour! My teeth are hurting just watching you drink that!
Ningguang: I am willing to pay 100 million Mora for such a pot of tea. One sip of that purity is worth a month of meditation.
Yelan: Ningguang, you rich woman, you can't even buy this with money. This is a blessing from a first-level god.
Venti: Manager Hiroshi, please! Bring me a jar of the best fairy brew in Teyvat! I'll compose a hundred songs in your honor!
Paimon: Venti, I'm answering for the Manager—you tone-deaf singer, get out of here! No wine for bards!
Prince (Aether): A wish...? Anything?
Dainsleif: Manager Hiroshi, if a first-level god can grant wishes... could you let me go back five hundred years? Or, can it stand on the long river of time and space and change the fate of Khaenri'ah?
Khaenri'ah!
At the mention of that taboo name, the heated atmosphere of the group chat suddenly went cold. The scrolling text stopped. No one dared to follow this topic.
The Weight of History
Meanwhile, at the Research Institute, Zhongli and Venti were taking a break from their game. Because Zhongli had been distracted by the meteor Jirachi created, he hadn't made his move in the final round of Auto Chess, resulting in a rare loss.
At this moment, both Archons were staring intently at the group chat interface. Venti gasped and murmured to his old friend:
"The person named Dainsleif in the group... the members of this 'Ghost Group' are so courageous. They dare to directly mention the name of Khaenri'ah?"
"He wants to go against the flow of time," Zhongli's eyes were deep, his voice a low rumble. "To go back five hundred years and stop the divine punishment from the Heavenly Principles? A heavy wish indeed."
Zhongli didn't express an opinion. He wanted to see how Hiroshi would answer.
Back in the store, Yelan sighed as she read the chat. "In fact, the more I investigated the Chasm, the more tragedy I felt for the collapse of that ancient country. Have you seen the Hilichurls all over Teyvat today?"
"They are a cursed people," Yelan continued, her green eyes fixing on Hiroshi. "It is easy to imagine how prosperous Khaenri'ah was—a population explosion, technological development... the pinnacle of human achievement."
Yelan was a woman who lived for the truth. Taboos didn't stop her; they only made the chase more exciting. "Manager Hiroshi," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper, "Does Jirachi's wish truly have the ability to change the timeline and history?"
Retelling the topic made Yelan's throat dry. She was nervous. If Hiroshi nodded, he wasn't just a store manager; he was a god far more powerful than the Seven.
Hiroshi thought about it carefully. He gently poked Jirachi's soft belly. "I'm skeptical about whether Jirachi can do something on that scale," he said softly. "Even if it could, Jirachi would fall into a thousand years of sleep immediately due to the exhaustion of power. I don't want it to sleep like that anymore. It's part of my family now."
Jirachi let out a sweet, happy chirp.
So, it is possible? Yelan's eyebrows twitched. She realized that Hiroshi's calm wasn't fear or vigilance; it was simply that a "Wishing Machine" wasn't the highest authority he dealt with.
"If not Jirachi," Yelan tentatively asked, "Is there another mythical beast with the power to go back in time?"
Hiroshi answered casually, "Yes. Celebi, the Time Travel Pokémon. It wanders through various timelines. Changing small things or resurrecting the dead is easy for it, as it already exists in the past, present, and future simultaneously."
The information was a nuclear bomb. Hiroshi dropped it into the group chat, and a deathly silence followed.
Fate in the Palm of a Hand
"Hello——" Hiroshi waved his hand in front of Signora (Rosalyne) and Yelan. "Come back to reality. It's time to draw your respective initial Pokémon!"
Signora looked at Hiroshi, her eyes soft and full of a moisture she hadn't felt in centuries. She clicked the start button.
Beep! The result appeared: Popplio!
Hiroshi smiled. "This little guy is hard-working and has a great personality. It evolves into Brionne at level 17 and Primarina at level 34. Primarina will be the absolute main force of your team."
A Primarina has a base stat total of 530, nearly identical to a Lapras. It is a Water and Fairy type.
"It's a soloist," Hiroshi explained. "It uses its singing voice to control water balloons, singing and dancing while dealing fatal blows. It's a stage-performer of a Pokémon."
Signora's eyes sparkled. Long ago, before the fire consumed her, she too was a girl with a pure, angelic voice. "That's the one," she decided. The sense of destiny was overwhelming.
Next was Yelan. Her result flashed on the screen: Rotom!
A small, orange spirit surrounded by lightning, looking like a glowing tadpole.
"Hold the grass..." Hiroshi was startled. "Rotom! The strongest support Pokémon."
Rotom has a base stat total of 440 in its base form, but it can possess machines. When it does, its stats jump to 520, and its secondary typing changes depending on the appliance.
"I'll give you a demonstration," Hiroshi said, bringing out a Rotom and a Popplio from the back.
"Lotto~?"
Yelan tried to poke the electric aura surrounding Rotom. ZAP! A strong shock made her jump. Rotom's original form was like a cute ghost, earning it the nickname "Electric Ghost."
Suddenly, Rotom spotted Yelan's Pokédex. With a swish, it dove into the device.
Yelan and Signora watched in shock as the Pokédex began to levitate and change shape. Hands and eyes sprouted from the casing. It was no longer just a tablet; it was alive!
The Rotom Dex flew over to the Popplio, scanning it with a cute, robotic voice: "Popplio! The Sea Lion Pokémon. After practicing hard every day, it is finally able to make big, useful balloons! Lotto!"
The Tide of Competition
As the sun began to set, Hiroshi checked his system logs. The popularity points for his Auto Chess game were surging.
With the first Trainer Conference only two weeks away, every faction in Liyue and Mondstadt was arming itself.
"Manager," Zekrom spoke from the shadows, its blue electricity crackling. "The humans are growing stronger. The balance of ideals is shifting."
"That's the point, Zekrom," Hiroshi replied, looking at the lively crowd outside his shop. "The era of the 'Vision' being the only power is over. Now, let's see who truly understands the bond between human and Pokémon."
Hiroshi looked at his mission progress. 950,000 / 1,000,000. He was almost there. One more big event, and the next tier of rewards would be his.
"Jirachi," Hiroshi said to the little star in his arms. "Do you have any wishes?"
"I wish..." Jirachi yawned, snuggling closer. "I wish for seven days of nothing but fun!"
Hiroshi laughed. "We can certainly make that happen."