Aurore was speechless.
She had never realized before that Ethan could be this… unserious.
They had finally encountered a Wishing Star, and he used it to make that kind of wish?
"Ethan, be serious," she said, unable to hold back.
"Make a proper wish—not something ridiculous like that."
Ethan turned back with an innocent expression.
"But my wish was serious."
The Sky Eagle Alliance was already his enemy.
Wishing for it to disappear—how was that not reasonable?
Should he wish for powerful Pokémon instead?
He didn't need to.
With or without the Wishing Star, he could already obtain and raise powerful Pokémon.
Compared to this thing—
His system was far more reliable.
"…Then at least make a smaller wish," Aurore insisted.
"Like getting a strong Pokémon, or something realistic. That might actually work."
Ethan tilted his head.
"But if it's something I can already do myself… why waste the Wishing Star?"
He already had multiple god-tier Pokémon.
And back home, there was even an Articuno that seemed suspiciously close with his team.
If that worked out—
That would be another one.
As for resources?
More than enough.
Anything related to Pokémon—
The system handled it better anyway.
If this actually worked, his system might just quit out of spite.
Aurore fell silent.
She couldn't argue with that.
Among their generation—
Ethan's strength had already surpassed even many veterans.
And his growth speed?
Unmatched.
At least in her experience, no one in the world came close.
"…Fine," she sighed.
"Then try wishing for something smaller. Maybe… a weaker alliance?"
Ethan's eyes lit up.
"Hey—that actually makes sense."
He gave her a thumbs-up.
If the Sky Eagle Alliance was too strong—
Then maybe a weaker one?
He clasped his hands again.
"Wishing Star, I wish the Frost Alliance disappears from this world."
…Nothing happened.
Not even a flicker.
Ethan waited.
Still nothing.
"…Yeah, figures."
He stood up, disappointed.
At least his system didn't pretend to work—it just gave him the power to do things himself.
This Wishing Star?
Completely useless.
If it had been alive, it would probably be kicking his knees right now.
"Alright, your turn," Ethan said, waving dismissively.
"Maybe it just prefers you."
Aurore hesitated.
"Maybe the legend is fake…" she muttered.
Still—
She decided to try.
Closing her eyes, she placed her hands together and spoke softly:
"Wishing Star… let me obtain a powerful god-tier Pokémon."
Ethan almost laughed out loud.
Wasn't that just as outrageous as his wish?
Catching a god-tier Pokémon—
That was practically the same as wiping out half an alliance.
But then—
His smile froze.
The soft white glow around the Wishing Star…
Moved.
It slowly drifted away from the stone—
And gathered around Aurore.
The light wrapped around her for a few seconds—
Then vanished completely.
Aurore opened her eyes, confused.
"…Did something happen?"
"Why did the light disappear?"
Ethan stared at her.
"…I think your wish actually worked."
Now he understood.
The Wishing Star didn't respond to those who had already achieved their dreams—
It responded to those who still had them.
He already had power.
Already had strength.
Already had everything needed to challenge the Sky Eagle Alliance.
So—
He didn't qualify.
"…That's not fair," Ethan muttered under his breath.
Aurore blinked, still confused.
"But I don't feel any different…"
"And where's my god-tier Pokémon?"
Ethan thought for a moment.
"…Maybe it's still on the way."
It was the only explanation he had.
Even though the light had disappeared, Aurore carefully stored the Wishing Star away.
Whether it worked or not—
It was still a rare memory.
After all, witnessing a meteor fall and finding a Wishing Star firsthand…
Was something most people would never experience.
After packing up, the two went to regroup with Metagross and the Cleffa.
"Alright, little guys," Ethan grinned.
"To thank you—eat as much as you want!"
Meanwhile—
Elsewhere in the forest—
A Pokémon leapt swiftly through the treetops, arriving at the meteor impact site.
It noticed the crater and jumped down curiously.
After searching around for a while—
It found nothing.
Disappointed, it turned and left.
It had come hoping the fallen meteor would bring something fun.
Instead—
Nothing.
If Ethan had been there—
He would have been thrilled.
Because that Pokémon…
Was none other than the one tied to his Opportunity—
A Darmanitan.
And it wasn't the only one drawn to the meteor.
Other trainers had entered the mountain range overnight as well.
After all—
Many people had witnessed the meteor fall.
For something this rare—
Curiosity was inevitable.
And of course…
Everyone hoped to get lucky.
After feeding the Cleffa, morning arrived.
Golden sunlight spread across the Duanbai Mountain Range, draping it in a warm glow.
Ethan and Aurore tidied up the campsite—
Then went back to sleep.
After all, they had barely slept five hours.
Once the excitement faded, exhaustion came rushing in.
But reality had other plans.
Less than two hours later—
Voices rang out from outside the tent.
Even with Ethan's usually calm temperament—
He was now very much not in the mood.
"Stop shouting!"
He crawled out of the tent—
Only to find at least twenty people gathered around their camp.
"Holy—it's really Ethan?!"
The group instantly grew excited.
They had all come searching for the fallen meteor—
Only to find nothing but a crater.
Then they discovered Ethan's tent nearby…
And everything suddenly made sense.
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