Lin Feng shook his head and ignored them, knowing their minds hadn't caught up yet.
Around the plantation, there were no powerful Pokémon. Even in the nearby forest, the strongest Pokémon were only at Gym-level strength.
Though Alolan Vulpix looked small, its energy level had already reached dominator-level.
Besides, Uncle Liang's Lucario was also patrolling the forest, so there was nothing to worry about.
After chatting a while longer, it was almost noon.
As expected, when lunchtime arrived, the children returned, covered in mud from head to toe.
They complained that they hadn't found the God of Life in the forest, only Caterpies and Beedrills. They had even gotten into a skirmish with a few Beedrills.
In the end, every Beedrill in the forest chased them out.
Fortunately, Alolan Vulpix was strong enough to get them safely out of the forest.
Lin Feng sighed and told them the truth: the God of Life was in the Kalos region. That place was across a vast ocean. They couldn't possibly walk there—they would need to fly a very long distance.
Hearing this, the children immediately slumped in disappointment.
However, the smell of Lin Feng's delicious cooking soon drew them back to reality, and they decided to prioritize food for now.
The mission of "finding the God of Life as a companion" was temporarily set aside.
After lunch, Sprigatito woke up once.
The moment she opened her eyes, she began crying and clinging tightly to Blissey, saying she wanted to find Lin Feng.
Lin Feng, having finished cooking, rushed into the room, picked up Sprigatito, and gently soothed her until she calmed down.
After finishing her milk, the newborn Sprigatito quickly fell back asleep.
Lin Feng let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Looking at Sprigatito sleeping on the bed, he suddenly realized that she seemed unusually attached to him.
When Alolan Vulpix was born, she hadn't been this clingy. Lin Feng had been able to have the nearby Snivy take care of her for a while.
Perhaps it was because Sprigatito was born on New Year's Day.
Lin Feng quickly figured out the reason…
After all, Sprigatito was an exceptionally sensitive Pokémon. She had needed a lot of care when she was first born.
Gently, he covered Sprigatito with the small blanket he had originally prepared for Alolan Vulpix and Eevee.
Then he returned to the kitchen.
The afternoon was busy because he had to prepare energy blocks for the nursery's sales the next day.
Although the work was demanding, Lin Feng enjoyed it. He wasn't alone—Gardevoir was helping him.
The moment he stepped into the kitchen, the pink psychic energy of Gardevoir began to control the ingredients. They moved through the air as if they had hands and feet, arranging themselves in the right places.
For example, berries floated from the storage balls into the blender, juice extracted, and pulp filtered out.
Cornstarch was mixed with water and poured into molds in batches to thicken the mixture.
This was the step for solidifying the energy cubes.
"Gardevoir," Lin Feng called softly, "is Sprigatito asleep?"
Gardevoir replied gently, and Lin Feng nodded. "Yes, sorry I'm late."
Gardevoir didn't speak much. She slightly shrank her controlled area, giving her trainer more space.
Lin Feng chuckled and joined in making the energy cubes.
Whether human or Pokémon, everyone had become skilled at making energy blocks for the nursery, especially with telepathy to assist.
About two hours later, the energy blocks for tomorrow's nursery were complete.
After finishing, Gardevoir looked at Lin Feng curiously.
Normally, he would have left by this time to play with other Pokémon. This was his happiest part of the day. He would only return to the kitchen when preparing dinner.
But today, Lin Feng didn't leave. He stayed in the kitchen.
"Gardevoir?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"
Gardevoir tilted her head in curiosity.
"I've been thinking about something," Lin Feng said. He collected all the solidified energy cubes into a storage ball and turned to Gardevoir.
"Gardevoir?" she asked, as if reading his thoughts. "Are you worried about Jirachi?"
Lin Feng nodded.
He rubbed his head in frustration. "Yes. I've been thinking about Jirachi's wish mechanism."
This had been bothering him for days.
Wishes weren't created from nothing—they required using energy to realistically fulfill the desire.
For example, in the anime, when Ash, May, and Max made a wish to Jirachi for snacks, the treats that fell from the sky actually came from someone else's stall.
In the Pokémon world, people couldn't expect impossible phenomena to happen.
It was similar to the movie Jirachi: Wish Maker. The magician Butler tried to use Jirachi's power to resurrect Groudon.
But the creature that appeared wasn't Groudon—it was a strange and terrifying Earth creature.
Though its power was enormous, it wasn't actually Groudon.
Had its energy been insufficient?
At that time, Jirachi opened its third eye, absorbing the vast energy of the Millennium Comet.
From one perspective, the Earth creature's strength wasn't weaker than Groudon's.
But the wish was never truly fulfilled.
The creature that appeared was merely a distorted energy form caused by the wish.
Would disturbing Jirachi's thousand-year slumber have irreversible consequences?
Lin Feng was about to explain his concerns to Gardevoir.
But Gardevoir gently tapped his forehead. "Gardevoir," she said softly, "you don't have to explain. You've done very well. I don't fully understand it either."
"Gardevoir," she continued, "but no matter the outcome, you've brought happiness to Jirachi."
Her voice remained as gentle as ever.
"Gardevoir," Lin Feng thought, remembering, "just like you once helped me. Even if the curse of nightmares was never lifted, perhaps I wouldn't have stayed. But I will remember that someone in my life gave their all to help me, just as you helped Liang Feng."
"Gardevoir," she said softly again, "if you still have doubts, perhaps you should go ask Jirachi… ask what it thinks."
After saying this, Gardevoir left the kitchen.
She had work to do—harvesting the ripe berries in the plantation and sorting them for the new energy blocks the next day.
This life was rather monotonous, but she loved it.
After all, she had spent much of her life drifting.
If the curse still lingered, she would have to continue wandering endlessly.
Lin Feng stood still, pondering Gardevoir's words: "Ask what it thinks?"
Had he ever actually asked Jirachi about its wishes and intentions?
"We should go ask it," he finally said to himself.