Legendary Pokémon, because of their duties, powers, personalities, and countless other factors, all held different attitudes toward humanity.
Manaphy belonged to the group that was naturally friendly toward humans.
Generally speaking, Legendary Pokémon like Manaphy—those capable of granting blessings or bestowing special gifts upon other living beings—would refrain from offering such blessings once they discovered that a human already bore the mark of another Legendary Pokémon.
Among the human-friendly Legendaries...
That was an unspoken rule.
After all...
Legendary Pokémon possessed extraordinarily long lifespans.
Some had existed since the creation of the world itself.
Setting aside the more hotheaded Legendaries that either slept all day or woke up only to cause trouble...
The rest, having witnessed countless ages pass, generally tried to avoid unnecessary conflicts with other Legendary Pokémon.
It was, in its own way, a simple means of maintaining the world's balance.
That said...
From a Legendary Pokémon's perspective...
Humans were an incredibly fascinating species.
The reason so many Legendaries were willing to approach humans was because of the beautiful qualities hidden within them.
Kindness.
Courage.
Justice.
Responsibility.
Perseverance.
Although exceedingly rare...
Throughout the endless passage of time, there had indeed been exceptional individuals who displayed humanity's finest virtues to such an extraordinary degree that they astonished multiple Legendary Pokémon at once.
Those people...
Received blessings from more than a single Legendary.
Of course...
Whenever several Legendary Pokémon chose to bless the same person, they would first communicate with one another beforehand to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.
Ho-Oh, who had refined the entire process of selecting, testing, and ultimately choosing the Rainbow Hero into a complete system, naturally knew this better than anyone.
In fact...
One could even say Ho-Oh had been among those who established such conventions.
The fact that even Ho-Oh—a Legendary that both upheld and helped shape those rules—had been so impressed by this Hero of Ideals that it was willing to bend tradition slightly by assigning Marshadow to watch over him ahead of time...
Couldn't help but pique Manaphy's curiosity.
Don't tell it Ho-Oh hadn't done it intentionally.
Other Pokémon might not know...
But Manaphy had friends everywhere.
It knew exactly what kind of Pokémon Ho-Oh's Marshadow was.
Other than appearing before Ho-Oh itself and the three Legendary Beasts...
Marshadow only revealed itself briefly during the trials of prospective Rainbow Heroes.
The rest of the time...
Although it often slipped into the shadows of humans to imitate and study their movements and abilities...
It almost never showed itself before them.
Much less...
Protect someone.
Or interact with them so closely.
Given all that...
This had to be Ho-Oh's arrangement!
Manaphy was convinced it had seen through everything.
Of course...
Since this involved beings like Ho-Oh and the Dragon of Ideals...
Its curiosity only went so far.
After all...
In this era...
Manaphy also had a human it recognized.
It never believed its own Heguang was inferior to the Hero of Ideals standing below.
"If Heguang were still alive..."
"I'm sure he could have..."
The thought caused Manaphy's entire body to deflate like a punctured balloon.
Its long antennae drooped limply.
Although it had managed to preserve Yu Heguang's spirit...
Allowing him to avoid being forcibly drawn into the Spirit World...
That was already the limit of what Manaphy could do.
Yu Heguang had still lost his physical body.
He could never again pursue the dreams he once held.
Shaking its head, Manaphy pushed those thoughts aside.
Whatever the case...
Chen Mo had helped it tremendously today.
Now that Qin Kaicheng's lingering attachment had finally been resolved...
It could soon bring Yu Heguang's spirit back to the temple.
And...
As a Legendary Pokémon with maxed-out social skills and emotional intelligence...
Manaphy felt it ought to personally thank him.
"...Another time."
It glanced toward the townspeople still aboard the ship and let out a soft sigh.
Just as it prepared to call the Lapras away...
Another strange energy fluctuation arrived from a familiar direction.
Manaphy froze.
Its eyes widened.
"...There's another one?!"
Meanwhile...
Hidden inside the Shadow World...
Marshadow also sensed the powerful energy emanating from Chen Mo's backpack.
This time...
Before Marshadow could even say anything...
Chen Mo had already noticed.
Unlike the quiet, gradual absorption whenever Jirachi normally consumed comet fragments...
The backpack on his back was now visibly trembling.
"Is Jirachi finally about to wake up?"
Overjoyed, Chen Mo immediately reached for his backpack.
But...
The trembling quickly subsided.
Then stopped completely.
Using his Aura...
He could still clearly sense the Cocoon of Slumber resting peacefully among the pile of comet fragments.
By the time the Sea Farewell Ceremony ended...
And every ship safely returned to Crescent Moon Town...
The sun had already begun sinking beneath the horizon.
Golden light reflected across the sea.
Normally...
Chen Mo would've taken his Pokémon down to the beach.
He would've sat quietly on the sand...
Watching them run around while admiring the sunset.
But...
After what had happened with the Cocoon of Slumber...
He had no heart for sightseeing.
After hurriedly saying goodbye to everyone...
He immediately rushed back to his hotel room.
With all of his Pokémon gathered around...
Chen Mo carefully took the Cocoon of Slumber out of his backpack.
Marshadow also emerged from the shadows.
Its fiery orange-red eyes fixed themselves upon the remaining comet fragments.
The next moment—
Marshadow lightly beckoned with one hand.
The fragments floated neatly into its palm one after another.
After briefly examining each one...
They all returned to the backpack.
"Marsha."
"No mistake."
"Every one of these comet fragments has already been completely drained."
"There's not a single trace of energy left."
Hearing the conclusion once again...
Chen Mo frowned deeply.
Ever since obtaining Jirachi's Cocoon of Slumber...
He had always carried it inside a dark-colored backpack along with several comet fragments.
Normally...
The amount of comet fragments he carried exceeded Jirachi's daily needs many times over.
Yet now...
Not only had every fragment been completely consumed...
Each one had been drained clean.
That was completely unlike Jirachi.
Normally...
Perhaps because it believed in leaving something behind...
Or perhaps because it simply preferred moving on to richer fragments...
Jirachi always left behind a tiny remnant of energy inside every comet fragment.
But this time...
It was as if a child who usually left rice in their bowl had suddenly licked every grain clean.
Chen Mo couldn't help wondering...
Was Jirachi starving?
Or perhaps...
It had reached the very brink of awakening...
And was making its final preparations.
"Marsha?"
"What do we do?"
Marshadow turned toward the thoughtful young man.
"What do we do..."
Chen Mo had already opened the System Shop.
Without the slightest hesitation, he declared,
"We satisfy it completely."
One richly energized comet fragment after another appeared through the system and was placed around the Cocoon of Slumber.
The moment everyone realized Jirachi might truly be waking up...
Every Pokémon in the room became excited.
Pikachu and Gible immediately climbed onto the bed.
Together with Gengar floating overhead...
The three of them surrounded the cocoon, staring so intently they barely even blinked, terrified of missing the exact moment Jirachi awakened.
The more reserved Pidgeotto...
Absol...
And even Magikarp inside its fish tank...
Though much calmer...
Couldn't stop watching the cocoon either.
Thirty seconds passed.
Nothing.
The Cocoon of Slumber seemed to have frozen again.
Despite being surrounded by fresh comet fragments...
It showed no reaction whatsoever.
"...Did I guess wrong?"
Chen Mo looked puzzled.
Just as he refused to give up...
Preparing to use his Aura to connect with Jirachi's consciousness like before—
Marshadow suddenly floated upward.
It turned toward a corner of the room.
"As expected of the Guide of Shadows."
"I hid myself as carefully as I could..."
"...and you still noticed me."
A watery blue figure slowly emerged from the shadows.
Looking toward Marshadow...
It bowed politely.
"It is a pleasure to meet you..."
"Lord Marshadow."
Marshadow froze.
Never before had another Legendary Pokémon addressed it with such respect.
But it wasn't over yet.
After greeting Marshadow...
The unexpected visitor turned toward every Pokémon in the room.
It greeted each one individually.
Every title...
Every gesture...
Every piece of etiquette...
Was utterly impeccable.
Only when it reached Chen Mo...
Did it hesitate for the briefest instant.
Glancing discreetly toward Marshadow...
Manaphy abandoned its original intention of addressing Chen Mo as the Hero of Ideals.
Instead...
Choosing the safest form of address possible...
It bowed deeply.
"Lord Chen Mo..."
"Thank you very much for everything you did today."
Then...
After briefly glancing toward the Cocoon of Slumber...
The Prince of the Sea looked back at Chen Mo.
"It appears you've encountered a small problem."
"As it happens..."
"I may be able to explain both Jirachi and the Cocoon of Slumber..."
"...as well as the unusual phenomenon aboard the ship today."
Originally...
Chen Mo had plenty of questions he wanted to ask Manaphy.
But after hearing those words...
Every other thought vanished instantly.
Compared to matters already settled...
Nothing concerned him more than Jirachi's delayed awakening.
"Could you explain in more detail?"
"Of course."
Manaphy nodded.
"A long time ago..."
"I befriended a human who devoted his entire life to researching Jirachi and the Cocoon of Slumber."
"He shared a great deal of knowledge with me."
"I imagine..."
"You already know most of it."
Its gaze drifted toward the pile of comet fragments.
"Jirachi awakens by absorbing the energy of comets."
"If one wishes to wake it before its natural cycle..."
"The key is supplying it with vast amounts of comet energy."
"The fragments left behind when comets strike the planet..."
"...are the crucial catalyst."
"However..."
"I'm sure you also know..."
"Jirachi can't absorb too much comet energy all at once."
"If you wish to accelerate that process..."
"You'll need another method."
Manaphy paused briefly.
Then quietly spoke a single word.
"Music."
"...Music?"
Chen Mo immediately fell into thought.
Manaphy's voice continued.
"Pure music."
"Music carrying the sincerest emotions."
"It accelerates Jirachi's absorption of comet energy."
"Today..."
"The melody Mrs. Qin played during the Sea Farewell Ceremony accelerated Jirachi's absorption of the comet fragments."
"That final burst of energy..."
"Was most likely Jirachi asking for more."
"...I see."
Chen Mo murmured.
Jirachi had only appeared twice in the original series.
Thinking back carefully...
In Pokémon: Jirachi—Wish Maker...
When May discovered Max asleep on the ground while holding Jirachi's Cocoon of Slumber...
She looked up at the Millennium Comet crossing the night sky.
Almost unconsciously...
She began humming the lullaby their mother used to sing.
Not long afterward...
Jirachi awakened.
As for Jirachi's appearance in the TV series...
Chen Mo couldn't remember every detail.
But he was certain...
There had been no musical component.
Because of that...
He had never considered music particularly important.
Now that everything clicked into place...
Chen Mo immediately looked toward the blue Legendary before him.
"Manaphy."
"If music accelerates Jirachi's absorption..."
"Does the singer have to be physically beside the Cocoon of Slumber?"
"No."
Manaphy smiled and shook its head.
"Just as you suspected, Lord Chen Mo."
"As long as the music is pure..."
"And filled with sincere emotion..."
"It works."
"Even a recording can have the same effect."
"I understand."
Chen Mo's face lit up with excitement.
He immediately turned toward the large purple Pokémon floating nearby.
"Gengar!"
"Quick!"
"My laptop!"
"Geh?"
Although confused...
Gengar obediently reached into its body and produced Chen Mo's laptop with practiced ease.
Chen Mo accepted it immediately.
Connected to the hotel's Wi-Fi.
Opened the official Pokémon Home website.
And without hesitation...
Selected the recording of the Pikachu Cup Finals.
When it came to music...
There was probably no being in this world superior to the Legendary Pokémon who embodied melody and song.
Meloetta...
I choose you!
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