"The Grotle is unable to battle. The winner is Wartortle!"
As the referee's voice echoed across the training field, the girl standing opposite froze in place. Her expression was a mix of disbelief and frustration. She could tell both Pokémon were around the same energy level she had even held a type advantage. Yet, despite that, she still lost.
She sighed and recalled her Grotle, then glanced at her opponent. "How long have you been on your journey?" she asked curiously.
Quinn brushed some dirt off Wartortle's shell and smiled. "How long? Oh, not long at all. I only just started traveling," she said, her tone playful. Then she grinned wider. "But if you're asking why my Wartortle is so strong, I can tell you that."
The other girl's eyes lit up. "Really? How?"
Quinn pointed at her map screen and said brightly, "Right here Verdant Town, in the Wutong District. There's this amazing place called the Neighbor's Breeding House. If you want your Pokémon to get stronger, go there. You'll understand once you see it yourself!"
She had started promoting the breeding house again, as always.
Her opponent gave a doubtful look but still memorized the name and location. After all, her Grotle needed treatment soon, so she left with the information in mind.
Judging by the yearly tournament rules, even though Wartortle won with only a slight edge, her opponent's performance was still good enough to advance to the main competition. But for now, healing Grotle's injuries from those repeated Water Guns was her top priority.
Meanwhile, Quinn fed Wartortle one of the recovery Pokéblocks Lin Feng had prepared for her. As she was about to leave the battlefield, she turned her head and her face lit up.
"Feng!"
The voice carried warmth and joy.
Wartortle was the first to react. Upon seeing Lin Feng, it forgot about its bruises and dashed forward, smiling so widely it almost looked like water overflowing from its eyes. It bumped gently into Lin Feng's waist and cooed, "Warto~!"
"Alright, alright," Lin Feng chuckled, ruffling its head. "Looks like your tackles are getting stronger, huh?"
His hand slid down to the soft, wing-shaped ears on either side of its head. They felt both squishy like jelly and light like clouds. Lin Feng smiled softly. Among Squirtle's evolutionary line, Wartortle was his favorite form still cute, but already reliable. Blastoise, for all its power, lacked that playful charm.
While Wartortle happily nuzzled against him, Quinn came running over, holding a small Pokémon in her arms.
Lin Feng waved for Wartortle to go play with his Alolan Vulpix, then turned to her.
"Were you watching the whole battle?" she asked, eyes sparkling.
"Pretty much," he replied.
"How did we do?"
He chuckled. "Not bad. But you sound like a student asking a parent how she did on a test."
Quinn laughed. "Guilty! So… any mistakes?"
Lin Feng thought for a moment. With his ability, the Eye of Insight, he could see every move and intent of both Pokémon clearly. But putting himself in Quinn's shoes someone who didn't have that advantage he began explaining carefully.
"Starting with Rain Dance that was a smart opener. But then, you focused too much on running and using Water Gun repeatedly to chip away at Grotle. You didn't notice how it was adapting and hardening itself with every hit. You were too set on your combination pattern."
He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Battle strategy shouldn't be rigid. Even the best combo can fail if it's too predictable. And yeah, I could tell you were a little nervous. In the end, if you'd commanded Wartortle to fire Hydro Pump right after dodging Grass Pledge, you could've broken through its defense completely."
Then he smiled warmly. "Still, it was impressive. For someone who's just started traveling, that was a great fight."
Hearing his praise made Quinn's cheeks flush pink. She rubbed the back of her head shyly.
Then her gaze fell on the egg Lin Feng was holding. "What kind of Pokémon egg is that? It looks familiar."
Lin Feng smiled. "It's a Sprigatito egg."
His tone carried a trace of excitement, though Quinn didn't notice. Instead, she lifted the Pokémon in her arms proudly. "Look, Feng! This is the new Pokémon I caught yesterday. Its name is Jirachi! It's really strong it can even grant peo "
Before she could finish, Lin Feng raised a finger to his lips, signaling her to stop.
Quinn blinked, then quickly realized her mistake. She shouldn't blurt out something like that in public. Even if most of the trainers here were rookies, news about a wish-granting Pokémon could spread fast.
But a new question formed in her mind. She hadn't even mentioned Jirachi's power yet how did Lin Feng know?
Jirachi, meanwhile, floated curiously, studying Lin Feng.
Last night, Quinn had told it about "Feng," the human who could make the most delicious food ever. And now, here he was.
Lin Feng glanced toward Mewtwo. "Can you seal the area for a moment?"
Without a word, Mewtwo lifted its hand. Psychic energy rippled outward like a wave. The world around them fell silent, as if the space itself had been sliced off from reality. The air stopped moving, the wind disappeared, and sound could no longer pass through.
It was a basic but powerful psychic barrier good for privacy, but it couldn't last long before oxygen ran out.
"Alright," Lin Feng said. "No one outside can hear us now."
He turned to Jirachi, studying it with fascination. A mythical Pokémon capable of granting wishes in exchange for a thousand years of stored energy, awakening only for seven days whenever a comet streaked across the sky.
"Was it you," Lin Feng asked gently, "who helped Wartortle recover some stamina during the match?"
"Jira?" Jirachi tilted its head, unafraid. It could sense Lin Feng's gentle aura. Floating up, it circled around him and nodded. "Yes! Quinn told it to hang in there, so I made it hang in there!"
The admission left Quinn speechless. So that was why she'd won Jirachi had secretly helped.
Then Jirachi hovered close to Lin Feng's face, eyes sparkling. "Quinn said you make delicious food! Will you make something for Jirachi too? In return, I can grant you a wish!"
Lin Feng's heart tightened at the offer. For a moment, temptation flickered but he shook his head. "Granting wishes consumes your life energy. The greater the wish, the shorter your time awake becomes."
Jirachi only had seven days of wakefulness. If it granted something big like bringing his parents and their Pokémon back it might burn through that time entirely.
But Jirachi only smiled softly. "It's alright. A-Feng once told me I should be like a star someone who brings hope to everyone who sees me."
A-Feng?
Lin Feng and Mewtwo exchanged a glance.
Quinn asked what they were both thinking. "Who's A-Feng?"
Jirachi's eyes grew wistful. "He's my best friend. He was so kind he always shared his food with me, even when he didn't have enough for himself."
Quinn's shoulders slumped a little. So Jirachi already had a trainer?
"Then… why aren't you with him anymore?" she asked softly.
"Because he went far away. I can't find him anymore," Jirachi said simply.
A thousand years had passed since then. That "A-Feng" was long gone.
Lin Feng opened his mouth to explain the true nature of Jirachi's wish power to warn Quinn not to ask for something dangerous but before he could, Jirachi floated up close, its small eyes pleading for silence.
Just then, Mewtwo spoke. "Time's up."
The barrier would soon collapse; oxygen was running low. Lin Feng nodded, letting it go. Everyone had their choices to make, even Jirachi.
As the silence lifted, Quinn blinked in confusion, glancing between Lin Feng and Jirachi. It felt like something had passed between them something she didn't understand.
"How do you know so much about me?" Jirachi finally asked, tilting its head.
Mewtwo turned toward Lin Feng too.
Lin Feng smiled faintly. "Take a guess."
"...Jira."
"..."
Mewtwo just sighed.
"Come on," Lin Feng said with a laugh. "Go finish your matches. I'll cook lunch later. Anything you want to eat?"
"Warto!" Wartortle shouted eagerly. (Meat!)
"Vulpix!" chirped Alolan Vulpix. (Ice cream!)
"Yay, Feng's cooking again!" Quinn cheered. Traveling had been rough especially since she couldn't cook at all. Most of her meals were instant rations: healthy, sure, but bland. Every time she watched Wartortle eat happily, she had to resist the urge to steal one of its Pokéblocks.
"And you?" Lin Feng looked at Jirachi.
"Hmm… I want meat too!" it declared.
"Alright then," Lin Feng smiled. "Barbecue for lunch."
He always kept his portable grill spotless and ready inside his storage capsule.
As the group moved off to find new opponents, the battles that followed were almost one-sided. After its earlier match, Wartortle had grown stronger again, climbing another level in energy.
It puzzled Lin Feng. In the semifinals and finals of the Youth Cup, trainers' Pokémon had been around level thirty to forty. Yet here, in the preliminaries, the strength gap was enormous.
He soon overheard the reason most serious competitors were holding back, sending their secondary Pokémon for the early rounds.
But for Lin Feng, that didn't matter. After finishing three matches each and letting Alolan Vulpix test its strength, he and Quinn stepped out of the arena. Lin Feng unfolded his map.
"Peachblossom Mountain… is this the place?"
It was the same site where his parents had vanished years ago the old "Wild Zone."
Ten years ago, it had been a sprawling nature reserve, home to a large colony of Shiftry and Nuzleaf. Because they often raided nearby markets, the League had converted part of the range into a scenic area, planting apricorn trees.
Now, every autumn, golden leaves blanketed the mountain slopes, attracting travelers from all over.
And as the amber light of afternoon spread across the hills, Lin Feng decided it would be the perfect place to cook lunch.