Chapter 198:
"Jirachi?"
Jirachi wiped away its tears and looked at the Pokémon that had flown over, speaking softly: "Jirachi ..." (I just remembered my old partner. When he was around, he'd grill meat for me too, though it wasn't as delicious as this.)
"Mew?" (Partner?)
Mew floated beside Jirachi, studied its form for a moment, then its body began to shift and transform, turning into an exact replica of another Jirachi. "Mew~" (Look, is this what your partner looked like?)
"Jirachi?"
Seeing this, Jirachi's eyes widened as it stared at Mew. "Jirachi!" (You… you…!)
"Jirachi ~" (I can be your partner~)
The "Jirachi" covered its mouth and giggled.
"Jirachi?" (You can transform into me?)
"Jirachi ~" (Yes...)
Jirachi was stunned for a good while before finally snapping out of it and nodding. "Jirachi ." (Then we're partners now.)
Mew shifted back to its original form.
The transformation happened quickly, and since the other Pokémon were busy eating, no one noticed that another "Jirachi" had briefly appeared.
Mew was still curious, because it had never seen a Pokémon like Jirachi before. That was why it couldn't resist testing whether it could transform into one. And it turned out it could.
It looked at Jirachi curiously and asked, "Mew?" (What happened to your old partner?)
"Jirachi ..." (I don't know...)
A look of confusion crossed Jirachi's face.
This was its fourth millennium awake.
During the first millennium, it knew nothing, not even what purpose it served. So it spent that time wandering here and there, wasting it.
It was only after the first millennium that it learned it could only stay awake for seven days at a time.
The second millennium...
"Jirachi..." (I don't know where he is.)
"Jirachi...." (I haven't seen him in a very long time. Back then, the trees were still very, very tall, the grass very deep, and people weren't as friendly as they are now.)
"Jirachi..." (The Pokémon around were all very scary...)
"Jirachi..." (Akaze was the son of a tribal chief. His skin was darker than...)
At this point, Jirachi glanced at Hayashi Kaede. "Jirachi..." (Darker than Hayashi Kaede's. And humans back then were so strange. Some didn't have much clothing to cover themselves, going bare-chested and hunting outside every day. Some wore clothes and kept Pokémon shackled with black chains… They made Pokémon fight every day...)
As Jirachi spoke, Mew nodded along. It didn't doubt the truth of Jirachi's words because it had lived through that era too. But at the time, it had guarded the World Tree and hadn't paid much attention to most humans—with very few exceptions.
Although Hayashi Kaede was busy preparing food, he was also quietly listening to the conversation between Jirachi and Mew.
"Jirachi...." (But… Akaze wasn't like that. All he ever thought about was finding food. We would steal water from Beedrill territory, sneak berries from Ursaring territory, and farm together...)
"Jirachi...." (His tribe raised Pokémon called Caterpie that could spin silk to sell as currency to people inside the city walls. Caterpie could evolve into Butterfree, which could help defend against other Pokémon attacks.)
As Jirachi spoke, it couldn't help but smile. Clearly, those were very happy times for it.
Mew gradually realized that the partner Jirachi was talking about must have lived a very long time ago. And as far as it knew, human lifespans weren't that long.
This made Mew a little sad, and it couldn't help but empathize.
Because it had also once known a very good human.
That human had a Lucario by his side, and its Aura was very pure, earning the World Tree's recognition.
But eventually, he was gone too.
After that, Mew rarely went outside, instead guarding the World Tree. It wasn't until a few years ago that it slowly regained its vitality.
"Jirachi..." (But Caterpie were too weak... The world back then was far less safe than it is now... Their tribe lived near a Weedle colony, and conflicts would often break out between Akaze's tribe and the Weedle tribe....)
"Jirachi..." (On the fifth day, a major conflict erupted between the two tribes...)
Just as Jirachi's tone shifted dramatically, the conversation between the two floating Pokémon finally caught the attention of the others.
The first to approach was Alolan Vulpix. It looked curiously at the two Pokémon hovering in front of it. "Vulpix?" (What are you talking about?)
Then the Eevees, Goodra, and Blaziken also gathered around.
"Blaziken ?" (Aren't you going to eat your meat? If not, can I have it?)
Blaziken looked politely at the uneaten meat beneath the two Pokémon, though it was already salivating.
"Eevee, Eevee..." (little nine wants to listen too...)
"Jirachi?"
Jirachi hesitated as so many Pokémon suddenly crowded around, its words trailing off.
"Mew!" (No!)
Mew, which had been listening to the story, saw Blaziken eyeing its plate and immediately flew down to grab it.
After a moment's thought, it also used Psychic power to protect Jirachi's plate.
It knew exactly how much this tall, lean Blaziken could eat.
"Blaziken..."
Seeing that the two Pokémon weren't sharing, Blaziken turned its hopeful gaze toward Hayashi Kaede. But the next batch of grilled meat wasn't ready yet, so it could only watch and drool.
"Mew..."
Takagi Megumi, holding Sprigatito, walked over at that moment. She held out a fork with a perfectly sized piece of meat toward Jirachi. "Here, Jirachi. Thank you for helping Wartortle recover during the battle earlier."
"Jirachi~"
Jirachi didn't refuse the offered meat, closing its eyes happily as it ate. "Mhm mhm~"
Seeing this, Takagi Megumi relaxed slightly, then carefully said, "Jirachi..."
"Um, if granting wishes is a burden for you… then maybe don't grant any more wishes for me in the future..."
"Jirachi?" (Why?)