Chapter 28 – Sweets, Screams, and Shiny Moon's First Tantrum
Celadon City was calm the next morning, bathed in warm golden light that filtered through curtains in the Pokémon Center's upper rooms. Birds chirped outside, and distant chatter filled the air as the city prepared for another bustling day. But inside Kai and Misty's room, the morning was anything but normal.
A loud crunch echoed through the room.
"Shiny Moon!" Misty yelled, hands on her hips.
The shiny white Arceus—smaller than her true size, curled up in the corner like a very smug plush toy—was currently finishing the last cookie from the bakery box Misty had bought the day before.
The divine being looked up, crumbs scattered across her muzzle.
"...Mmm?" she replied innocently.
"You EAT sweets?" Ash blinked from the couch, halfway through brushing Pikachu's fur. "Wait, gods eat cookies?"
"SHINY MOON!" Misty shouted again.
The Arceus avatar tilted her head dramatically and let out a soft, guilty-sounding hum. Then she looked straight at Kai, as if pleading for backup.
Kai tried not to laugh. "To be fair… you left the box open."
"She ate eleven of them!" Misty groaned. "And licked the frosting off the twelfth!"
Shiny Moon blinked her six eyes slowly and let out a pleased burp that carried a spark of starlight.
Kai sighed and walked over, kneeling beside the shiny Arceus. "Okay, Moon, you can't just devour everything that looks sweet."
"But it was sweet," she said telepathically, voice like a divine harp trying to sound pouty.
Gardevoir, standing silently nearby, crossed her arms. "She didn't stop time, though. She just stole them the old-fashioned way."
"Progress?" Ash offered weakly.
Suddenly, Shiny Moon stiffened. Her gaze snapped to the window.
Kai turned. "What is it?"
The divine aura rippled. "Someone… tried to touch my pendant."
She vanished in a blink. A golden flash tore through the room as she warped outside.
"Wait—who tried what now?!" Ash jumped to his feet. Pikachu was already charging.
Misty grabbed Psyduck, who had been sleeping upside-down in her bag. "Come on!"
---
They rushed outside to find a very confused delivery boy standing at the steps of the Pokémon Center.
"Hey! Is this the place for—AHHHHH!"
He dove to the ground just in time to avoid a searing blast of radiant light that hit the mailbox behind him, turning it into sparkling dust.
Shiny Moon hovered above, glaring down with all the authority of a cosmic dragon… inside the body of a sparkling donut unicorn.
"Do not touch what is his." Her voice thundered like an opera sung through galaxies.
"SHINY MOON!" Kai ran over. "He was just delivering the parcel!"
She turned her head slowly toward him.
"Oh."
Then she drifted down like nothing had happened and inspected the delivery box with exaggerated curiosity.
"...It smells like cinnamon."
The poor delivery boy, still on the ground, looked up at Kai. "Sir… your… uh… mail glared at me."
Ash handed him a tip and helped him up. "Trust me, it could've been worse."
Shiny Moon was already nosing the parcel open.
Kai sighed. "Moon, boundaries. We talked about this."
"I was created from the essence of all things. I am above cardboard."
Misty facepalmed.
---
Back in the room, the box turned out to be a gift from Erika: rare Celadon tea leaves and a tiny bonsai Bulbasaur plant in a pot.
Shiny Moon poked the plant. It sneezed.
Kai blinked. "Did it… sneeze?"
"Bless you," Moon said politely.
Ash snorted.
Pikachu pawed at the tea box curiously, and Blaze sniffed the pot once before curling up again near the window.
"I think we're going to need a new definition for 'ordinary day,'" Misty muttered.
That's when Riolu waddled in, dragging a towel.
"Morning, buddy," Kai said.
Riolu didn't speak. He dropped the towel, pointed at Shiny Moon, then pointed at his cookie stash drawer.
"...You didn't."
Shiny Moon blinked, looked at the ceiling, then vanished in a flash.
Riolu screamed into the void.
---
Later that afternoon, the group took a quiet walk around Celadon's central park. It was beautiful—stone paths wound through flowering trees, children played with Butterfree and Growlithe, and a Magikarp fountain bubbled cheerfully near a pond.
Shiny Moon walked beside Kai, now in a much smaller form—looking like a puffball with tiny wings and a golden halo. Just small enough to ride on Kai's shoulder.
"Why this shape now?" Kai asked.
"Less threatening. And it gets me free fruit samples."
Ash laughed. "Smart."
Pikachu looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Pika?"
"I did not steal your ketchup. That was the Bonsly."
Pikachu squinted harder.
Shiny Moon stared back.
Misty watched the tension rise. "Please don't cause a thunderstorm here."
Moon raised a paw dramatically. "I am offended."
She then summoned a little storm cloud… and let it rain only on Ash.
"HEY!" Ash shouted.
"Balance restored," Moon said smugly.
Kai grinned. "I think she likes you."
"I think she's messing with me!"
Misty smiled as she held a cup of cold tea from the vendor stand. "Honestly… it's kind of nice."
Kai looked at her.
The air slowed for a moment. Just a second.
He wanted to say something. Not yet a proposal—but a hint.
"I'm glad you're here," he said softly.
Misty looked at him. "Yeah… me too."
Shiny Moon pretended not to listen, but her tail glowed faintly.
The sky above brightened for just a moment more.
---
That evening, after they returned to the Center, Kai sat outside while the others relaxed.
Shiny Moon lay beside him, in a relaxed fox-like form, tail swishing across the bench.
"You're adjusting fast," Kai said.
"I already knew you," she replied.
"In the future?"
She nodded. "You gave me a name. That changed me."
Kai looked up at the stars. "Shiny Moon."
"Best name in the universe."
He smiled. "She hasn't even been born yet."
"She's already in your heart."
Kai blinked.
And beside him, the god of creation fell asleep, curled into a donut with stardust clinging to her fur.
The strongest being in existence...
Snoring softly against his shoulder.
---
> Chapter End