"Are we really going up there? I'm scared~"
Jirachi pouted in Chen Shi's arms, clearly reluctant.
It could sense just how terrifying the battle above was.
Going closer now would be dangerous.
Chen Shi comforted it gently.
"It's alright. Don't be afraid, Jirachi."
"As long as we keep our distance and don't get anywhere near the actual battlefield, nothing should happen."
Jirachi wanted to refuse.
But then it remembered how much delicious food this human had given it, and how he had promised to play with it.
The refusal simply wouldn't come out.
Jirachi was only awake for seven days at a time.
It craved companionship far too much.
During its previous awakenings, only Mew had ever stayed and played with it.
Most of the time, Jirachi had been alone, quietly waiting for the day it would fall asleep again.
It tilted its little head toward the sky and secretly made up its mind.
Even if they ran into danger later...
It would protect this human.
...
Dragapult was extremely fast.
Before long, they were already approaching the clouds.
Before coming up, Chen Shi had put on the mask given to him by Arceus, just in case Rayquaza or the others saw him.
But just when he thought he was finally about to discover what was going on—
The battle above suddenly stopped.
The sky returned to complete calm.
Chen Shi stared upward in disbelief.
"It's already over?"
Jirachi, on the other hand, looked delighted.
"Yep! Rayquaza and the others won~"
The reason Jirachi was so happy was simple.
The fight was over.
That meant going closer wasn't dangerous anymore.
Chen Shi's mouth twitched.
That ended way too quickly.
Back when Hoenn's three Legendary Pokémon had fought, the battle had dragged on for quite a while.
But after thinking about it, he could understand.
This had been two Rayquaza and Zygarde ganging up on a single Deoxys.
Forget Deoxys.
Even Eternatus probably wouldn't be able to withstand those three attacking together.
"Draga?"
(Are we still going over there?)
Chen Shi hesitated for a moment before sighing.
"Forget it. Let's go back."
"The fight's already over. If we show up now, nothing good will come of it."
If the battle were still raging, Chen Shi could have watched from a distance.
Rayquaza and the others would have been too busy fighting to care about a spectator.
But now that everything was finished?
That was different.
What if Rayquaza got annoyed and casually threw a Hyper Beam at him?
Chen Shi still vividly remembered the first time Mew took him to meet Rayquaza.
That thing had opened with Hyper Beam without the slightest hesitation.
It had not been joking around.
Just as they were about to leave, Chen Shi caught a flash of green light from the corner of his eye.
He immediately focused on it.
Then, once he saw clearly, he nearly became speechless.
What second Rayquaza?
That had obviously been Mew in disguise.
The green figure he had glimpsed was Mew, who had just transformed into Rayquaza to join the battle.
Now that the fight was over, it was preparing to leave.
Perhaps sensing someone staring, Mew suddenly turned its head.
Chen Shi immediately pulled the white robe around Jirachi, hiding it from view.
"Hm?"
"An interesting human~"
Mew murmured softly after noticing Victini beside him.
As for Ralts and Dragapult, Mew instinctively ignored them.
Just two ordinary Pokémon.
They were not worth its attention.
Without thinking much more about it, Mew turned and flew away.
Before long, it vanished into the distance.
"So I actually got to see that black-hearted cat here..."
Chen Shi shook his head with an amused smile.
"Though I suppose it makes sense."
"It's the number one wandering busybody in the world. Nothing it does should surprise me."
After complaining for a moment, Chen Shi told Dragapult to head back immediately.
...
Before long, Dragapult brought them back to the campsite.
Chen Shi relit the extinguished campfire and released all of his Pokémon again.
"Jirachi, I didn't get the chance to give you anything tasty earlier."
"How about I give you a lot now?"
"Is it that sparkly stuff?"
Jirachi's eyes immediately filled with anticipation.
The lollipop had been very sweet.
But it preferred those sparkling blocks even more.
They suited its tastes better.
"Don't worry. You're getting those too."
"I saved all of this especially for you."
Chen Shi set down his backpack and started rummaging through it.
Then Togekiss watched in horror as he pulled out—
Lollipops.
Honey.
Strawberry candies.
All the things she had been forbidden from eating since arriving in this era.
Togekiss's eyes instantly turned red.
"Toge?!"
(Didn't you say we needed to save those?! What is this supposed to mean?!)
Chen Shi curled his lips and replied as though it were obvious.
"What do you think I was saving them for?"
"Now that we've found Jirachi, there's nothing left to conserve."
Those words shattered Togekiss on the spot.
So...
So it wasn't that those treats couldn't be eaten.
They just couldn't be eaten by her.
And she had actually believed Chen Shi's nonsense about needing to conserve supplies!
Togekiss's eyes went hollow.
She looked like a walking corpse.
She had even shared one of her own lollipops with Jirachi.
Turns out Jirachi didn't need her generosity at all.
Her Trainer had already saved an entire treasure trove of delicious things specifically for it.
"Alright, alright."
"If you keep making that face, you won't get any."
Chen Shi sighed helplessly.
"Toge!"
Togekiss shrieked and immediately threw herself onto the pile of treats.
How could she possibly not get a share of so much delicious food?
A plane would die!
Watching Togekiss's ridiculous behavior, Jirachi covered its mouth and giggled.
"These are things Shi gave me."
"You're not allowed to eat them."
Togekiss froze.
Then slowly turned toward Jirachi in disbelief.
Was this really Jirachi?
How could such a warm little mouth say something so cold?
Even if this was Jirachi from a thousand years ago...
Togekiss had still shared her lollipop with it just moments earlier!
And now Jirachi wouldn't let her eat anything?
"To... Toge..."
This time, Togekiss truly looked ready to break.
Dragapult and the others immediately burst into laughter.
Chen Shi smiled and rubbed Jirachi's head.
"I didn't know you had such a mischievous side."
"Look at Togekiss. You're about to destroy her."
Jirachi giggled and scooped up a handful of sweets from the ground.
It held them out toward Togekiss.
"I was only joking~"
"Let's eat them together."
"Ralts~"
At that moment, Ralts jumped down from Chen Shi's shoulder and opened a packet of rainbow candies.
She ate one herself.
Then handed one to Jirachi.
And another to Victini.
The three little ones immediately looked perfectly content together.
Togekiss stared at them with deep resentment.
She felt as though her Trainer no longer loved her.
They had promised to be each other's angels.
And yet...
Her Trainer had broken that promise.
There was no longer a place for her in this family.
Togekiss let out a long, sorrowful sigh.
Since you already have other little cuties now...
Then as your angel...
I suppose it's time for me to step aside.
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