Chapter 242:
Hayashi Kaede gave her a brief introduction to Victini.
"It can provide victory energy to Pokémon to make them stronger?"
After hearing Kaede's explanation, Takagi Megumi's eyes immediately lit up as she looked at Victini in delight.
"Victini…"
Victini was still too shy to speak, so Alolan Vulpix stepped forward first.
It patted Victini gently with its paw, then called out proudly to Takagi Megumi, "Vulpix!" (Yes, yes! This is our Vulpix team's new member! It can help us become really strong!)
But to Takagi Megumi, the sight of the proud-faced Alolan Vulpix only made her smile knowingly. With a soft "hee hee hee," she scooped it up and rubbed her cheek affectionately against its snowy fur.
While nuzzling, she praised, "Vulpix… you're so cute."
She didn't have the Power of Aura or the power of Viridian, so naturally she couldn't understand what Alolan Vulpix was saying.
The held Vulpix froze for a moment, then quickly wriggled free from her embrace.
After hopping back onto the table, it looked at Takagi Megumi and sighed, "Vulpix…"
The meaning was roughly, Such a silly human—you can't even understand what I'm saying.
Listening nearby, Hayashi Kaede couldn't help but chuckle inwardly, though he said nothing.
Takagi Megumi wasn't angry either; she knew that Alolan Vulpix rarely showed affection toward anyone other than Kaede. She simply giggled.
Finally, Jirachi floated over, eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Jirachi~ Yes! Victini is the little friend Kaede wished for me to find. It can give me lots and lots of energy!"
"Do you have a wish you'd like to make?"
This time, with Victini's help, Jirachi had plenty of energy, and its voice brimmed with confidence.
It placed its hands on its hips and looked at Takagi Megumi energetically.
"Kaede made a wish?"
Takagi Megumi tilted her head in curiosity. Glancing over at Hayashi Kaede, who was wiping Salamence's mouth, she pulled Jirachi aside and whispered, "Why did Kaede make a wish to you?"
She remembered—didn't Kaede usually say he didn't believe in wishing?
Jirachi replied without hesitation, "Because he wanted to find me a partner I can always meet again in the future!"
Always meet?
Takagi Megumi blinked in confusion, not quite understanding the meaning of that phrase. She couldn't help but look back at Victini.
More and more mysterious Pokémon were appearing around Kaede—
Jirachi, who could grant wishes.
Victini, who could provide unlimited energy.
Something about all this didn't sit right, though she couldn't quite grasp what it was.
Why would Kaede, who never relied on wishes, make one for such a special Pokémon?
Ugh… my head's going to explode from thinking about this…
Unable to figure it out, she quickly gave up and instead turned her attention to Jirachi with renewed excitement.
"So, I can make a wish too, right?"
"Jirachi~!" Jirachi nodded eagerly, its eyes sparkling as it looked at her. It was determined to show off its wish-granting powers properly this time.
But the next thing the girl said made it freeze in place.
"Then I wish for Wartortle, Sprigatito, Jirachi, Alolan Vulpix, Serperior, Gardevoir, and Sandshrew to always be happy…"
She counted on her fingers as she slowly recited the names of all their Pokémon.
Jirachi's eyes lit up.
That was a wonderful wish—if everyone were happy, there would be no worries or sadness left in the world.
After circulating the energy within its body, it made the wish and looked around curiously.
The two Sprigatito were still lapping up milk, looking perfectly content.
Jirachi beamed, thinking the wish had succeeded.
But when it turned to look at Salamence, it saw the same scowling expression as before—like a dragon being owed money—showing no trace of happiness at all.
Did it fail?
Before Jirachi could react, Hayashi Kaede approached and pointed toward the golden-ringed portal in the sky.
"The previous wish hasn't been completed yet."
The portal shimmered with a golden halo. Yesterday, Kaede hadn't noticed it carefully and thought Jirachi had simply borrowed Hoopa's "ring teleportation" ability.
But now it seemed not only had it borrowed Hoopa's teleportation—but even its golden rings.
No wonder so much of Jirachi's wish energy had been consumed.
Still, it was unclear which Hoopa's ring had been borrowed—the one sealed in the Prison Bottle, or the purified Hoopa?
Either way, the real Hoopa was probably very confused right now—wondering where its golden ring had gone.
Things were becoming increasingly complicated.
That thought flickered through Hayashi Kaede's mind.
Hoopa's golden ring, Victini's guardian pillar…
These were all events that, according to the original timeline, Ash was supposed to experience. Yet now, all of them had become connected to him instead.
At this point, Ash had only just left the Orange Islands. Who knew where he was now?
Would the butterfly effect caused by his interference disrupt the normal course of events?
After pondering for a while, Hayashi Kaede shook his head.
Thinking too much was pointless—the situation had already developed this far.
"Jirachi?"
Realizing it couldn't fulfill two wishes at once, Jirachi quickly floated over to apologize to Takagi Megumi.
The girl, of course, didn't mind.
To her, happiness itself was important—but the process of finding happiness mattered even more.
After breakfast, she didn't linger in the garden for long.
Instead, she eagerly took Wartortle and Sprigatito to the Sky Challenge site.
She'd only recently learned that Hayashi Kaede had built a challenge arena near the breeding house.
With the recent buzz surrounding the junior Cup, many traveling Trainers stopped by to try their luck at the Sky Challenge whenever they had time.
There were also several resident Trainers in Aogiri Town stuck at various levels of the challenge, constantly studying strategies for how to clear it.
They often came to observe others' attempts as well.
On challenge days, it wasn't uncommon for ten to thirty Trainers to gather as spectators.
Recently, the crowds had grown even larger.
With more participants, the old rules had started to feel unreasonable.
Originally, Kaede had intended the challenge to help Trainers and their Pokémon grow stronger through the process.
But now, with so many people eager to participate, a single Trainer occupying too much time turned the experience into tedious grinding.
So he adjusted the rules—each attempt would now last three minutes, with challengers queueing in line. Naturally, the entry fee was also reduced.
That way, even if someone failed quickly, it wouldn't feel like a waste of time.
During these gatherings, Trainers who got along often engaged in friendly Pokémon battles.
And since battles inevitably led to injuries—though mostly minor ones—many Trainers would then bring their Pokémon to the breeding house to seek out the Big Brother Indeedee for treatment.
Because it needed to collect gratitude energy, the fee for treatment was very low.
However, this also meant that when the breeding house had guests, Big Brother Indeedee would sometimes become extremely busy.
That made Hayashi Kaede start to wonder—maybe he needed to find a few more Pokémon to help out.