"Alright, alright. I know you hate parting with your lollipops."
Chen Shi reached into his backpack, took out another one, and tossed it to Togekiss.
Togekiss froze, then glared at him indignantly.
Did he think she was that black-hearted cat?
It was only one lollipop.
If the poor little thing had eaten it, then so be it.
Why would Togekiss care?
Chen Shi raised an eyebrow.
"Not enough?"
He reached into his backpack again and tossed over five more.
"How about now?"
Togekiss stared at the six lollipops on the ground and swallowed.
Was this really happening?
It wasn't that she lacked principles.
Chen Shi had simply offered too much.
Fine.
She, Togekiss, would accept the charge of being stingy over a lollipop.
Watching Little Plane scoop up all six and happily flutter away, Chen Shi shook his head with an amused smile.
"Everyone, there'll be a meteor shower tonight."
"When it appears, Jirachi will awaken."
"But this is one thousand years ago, so Jirachi doesn't know us yet."
"I'll have to trouble all of you to play with it one more time."
"Draga~"
An image of a game called Angry Dragapult immediately surfaced in Dragapult's mind.
Its head began to ache.
Surely they weren't going to do that again?
Swampert and the others did not think much of it.
They only needed to accompany Jirachi for a few days.
That was hardly a problem.
Seeing that no one objected, Chen Shi placed the crystal meteorite beside him and took out some food for everyone.
"You're probably hungry."
"Eat something first."
"Ralts~"
The moment she heard there was food, Ralts set aside her lollipop and turned around.
She watched Chen Shi take out a large pile of the same sparkling blocks she had eaten earlier.
Remembering how delicious the Pokéblocks had been, a thin line of drool escaped the corner of her mouth.
Chen Shi beckoned to her.
"Come over."
"You can eat Florges's Pokéblocks for now."
"Later, I'll see whether I can find suitable Berries in this era and make a special recipe just for you."
As a high-level Pokémon Breeder, Chen Shi naturally carried a Pokéblock machine in his backpack.
If he could find the right Berries, he would be able to create a custom Pokéblock formula perfectly suited to Ralts.
"Ralts~"
Ralts sniffled and gave a soft cry.
Compared with when they first met, she was now far more adorable.
After everyone had finished eating, Chen Shi spread a blanket over the ground and lay down to watch the sky.
Dragapult and the others copied him, either lying down or sitting nearby as they looked upward.
"It should be almost time."
"Jirachi is about to wake up."
Chen Shi glanced toward the crystal meteorite beside him and murmured softly.
The moment those words left his mouth, the dark night sky seemed to be brushed aside by an invisible hand.
It brightened ever so slightly.
One meteor after another slowly appeared across the heavens.
They resembled brilliant spirits dragging long trails of light behind them as they cut through the silent sky.
More and more meteors emerged.
Their radiance grew brighter until the entire night sky looked dreamlike, like a magnificent painting slowly unfolding before everyone.
Curled against Chen Shi's arm, Ralts stared in wonder.
So these are meteors?
They're beautiful.
Suddenly, the brightest comet in the sky cast down a beam of pure white light.
It shone directly upon the crystal meteorite beside Chen Shi.
The sudden phenomenon immediately drew everyone's attention.
"Jirachi is about to awaken!"
Chen Shi exclaimed in delight.
Dragapult and the others hurriedly gathered around.
Jirachi from one thousand years ago—
How rare was that?
Before long, the comet's light faded.
The crystal meteorite had vanished.
In its place floated Jirachi, eyes still closed.
"Mmm~"
Jirachi rubbed its eyes, still half asleep.
Chen Shi spoke gently.
"Hello, Jirachi."
"My name is Chen Shi."
"It's nice to meet you."
As he spoke, he removed the golden mask from his face.
Dialga had told him that he did not need to hide his identity from Jirachi.
So there was no reason to keep wearing it.
Jirachi stared blankly at the human in front of it, shrinking back slightly before speaking in a quiet voice.
"Hello."
"I'm Jirachi~"
Chen Shi suddenly couldn't hold back a laugh.
As expected, Jirachi was ridiculously adorable no matter when he met it.
"Why are you laughing?"
Jirachi puffed out its cheeks.
Its voice was so soft and sweet that anyone who heard it would want to tease it.
"I'm laughing because Jirachi is cute."
Chen Shi reached out and gently pinched its cheek.
Mm.
The familiar texture.
Exactly the same as before.
"Come on."
"I'll introduce you to my companions."
"Let's all play together for a while, alright?"
"Mmm~"
Still somewhat dazed, Jirachi was lifted into Chen Shi's hands as he introduced Dragapult and the others one by one.
"Toge~"
Togekiss flew over excitedly and produced a lollipop, offering it to Jirachi.
One thousand years later, Jirachi had always treated her very well.
Whenever it had something delicious, it would share.
So Togekiss wanted to share one of her hidden lollipops with Jirachi too.
Unfortunately, there was no ice cream.
Only lollipops.
Otherwise, Jirachi would definitely have been even happier.
"Mmm~ What is this?"
Jirachi tilted its head and looked curiously at the unfamiliar object.
"Ralts~"
(It's something delicious. It's very sweet.)
Ralts answered first.
"Toge!"
Togekiss chuckled, unwrapped the lollipop, and pushed it into Jirachi's mouth.
"Oh!"
"This is delicious!"
Jirachi's eyes lit up with joy.
The last few times it had awakened, no one had been there to play with it.
It had thought this time would be the same.
Instead, it had met a human named Chen Shi and so many friendly Pokémon.
Jirachi was delighted.
"Tasty, right?"
Chen Shi asked with a smile.
"Mhm! It's delicious."
"You're a really good person."
Chen Shi fell silent.
"..."
They had only just met, and Jirachi had already handed him the good-person card?
"ROAR!!"
Before Chen Shi could say anything, a furious roar suddenly exploded across the sky.
A terrifying pressure descended from above, almost tangible as it crashed toward the earth.
Across the entire continent, people from tribes large and small raised their heads in confusion, unable to understand what was happening.
Countless Pokémon sensed the horrifying battle overhead and fled in panic, hiding wherever they could.
"It's Rayquaza."
"Who is it fighting?"
Chen Shi's expression turned solemn as he stared toward the heavens.
Since the battle was taking place in the sky, its opponent probably wasn't Groudon or Kyogre.
If those three Legendary Pokémon were fighting, the conflict should have been happening on land or over the sea.
Not in the upper atmosphere.
After all, Groudon couldn't fly.
Even if it wanted to fight in the sky, it had no way to get there.
But if Rayquaza wasn't battling Groudon or Kyogre...
Then who could its opponent be?
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