That is Cresselia, the Dream God, the embodiment of the new moon, and the counterpart to Darkrai.
A legend circulates in the city—it's said that if you sleep with Cresselia's feather, you'll be protected from nightmares and have a beautiful dream.
Just from the description, Naoki couldn't tell what more the sweetness of a level 2 dream offered compared to level 1.
After a brief moment of thought, he cut a small piece of cake and placed it in front of Ninetales.
Catching the aroma coming from the cake, Ninetales was slightly startled, a look of doubt surfacing in its bright red eyes.
"Wanna try it?" Naoki asked.
Ninetales had no appetite and didn't want to eat: "I just want to see her once."
Naoki: "Eating this will let you see her, though in the form of a dream."
Upon hearing this, Ninetales said no more.
With a bit of suspicion, it lowered its head, held onto a try-it-out mentality, and ate the cake in front of it noncommittally.
"Take a nap!" Naoki lamented that the cake did not induce sleep immediately; they would have to wait for the Pokemon to naturally fall asleep for it to work.
Ninetales blinked, thinking of the question this human asked it earlier.
"You just want to see her once, no matter the way?"
At this moment, Ninetales suddenly realized what that way meant.
Sure enough, the following words from the other confirmed its guess.
"This cake can let you dream of the person you want to see."
Ninetales remained silent.
Dreaming? This wasn't a bad idea.
"You can sleep here; don't worry, it's safe," Naoki said.
"Thank you."
Ninetales expressed its gratitude, then turned around to go outside, its eyes gazing into the distance. It then ran, with flames underfoot, to a tree, lay beneath it, and closed its eyes to sleep.
Ninetales initially thought it would have trouble sleeping, but listening to the mumbling sounds of nearby Pokemon and feeling the rhythm of the wind, unconsciously, a wave of drowsiness washed over it.
When it opened its eyes again, it was surprised to find itself in the ancient mansion from its memories, a time already over 1500 years ago.
Ninetales looked around, finding everything so familiar, almost unchanged from its memory.
Its long silent heart was suddenly moved, as if a drop of clear water fell onto a dusty floor.
A hint of anticipation silently emerged in Ninetales' heart.
Then, the door of the house was pushed open, and a young girl in a kimono, wearing wooden clogs, smiled as she walked up to it.
"So you ran here!" the girl said gently: "Won't you get sunburned? Come over here and rest!"
Next, Ryoko picked it up, walked to a big tree in the yard, sat under its shade, and began reading a book.
Ninetales didn't mind reverting inexplicably to Vulpix; it snuggled in the girl's embrace, the name Ryoko surfacing from deep within its memory.
Ryoko...
How long had it been since it heard this name? Ninetales couldn't remember anymore.
The afternoon sunlight scattered across the ground, the girl sitting under the tree reading, and Ninetales quietly accompanying her.
Was this a dream?
But why did this dream feel so real? It could even smell the scent of the surrounding plants.
This thought flashed through Ninetales' mind, but it didn't ponder further, standing up and jumping onto the girl.
The girl seemed to understand its intention, smiling as she grabbed Ninetales' two forepaws, placing it on her lap, and gently scratched its nose:
"Mischief! Alright, sleep here!"
Ninetales didn't want to sleep.
The girl frowned slightly: "Can't sleep? That won't do! Later, we'll be going to the forest to gather herbs, and without energy, it's easy to miss the herbs growing in the thickets!"
Upon hearing this, Ninetales immediately closed its eyes.
The girl finally smiled: "That's more like it! Good Vulpix!"
But just then, she noticed something wrong: "Oh? Why are you suddenly crying?"
"Woof!"
Ninetales quickly blinked its eyes, pretending it just got some dust in them.
"Got something in your eyes? Let me blow it out for you!" The girl leaned in and blew gently a few times: "There, it's gone now, you can sleep peacefully!"
Ninetales nodded slightly, then closed its eyes, curling up on the girl's lap, quietly enjoying the atmosphere.
Even years later, it would still remember this afternoon, this warm afternoon that brought it comfort.
In the pasture, Naoki was observing Ninetales through the bubble above its head.
He noticed that when Ninetales cried in the dream, a tear also rolled down its cheek in reality.
A few other Pokemon gathered around, also seeing Ninetales' dream.
Cyclizar's face showed sorrow: "Grrrr..." (So sad...)
Naoki hadn't finished eating the bowl of sunflower seeds he had this morning, so he naturally understood Cyclizar's words.
Being companions who had lived together for a long time, Naoki understood Cyclizar's meaning even without explanation.
"Indeed, but isn't it just the way things are?" he said.
"Grah-scree?" (What do you mean?)
Seeing the Pokemon looking over simultaneously, Naoki continued:
"Because different species inherently have different lifespans! Birth, old age, sickness, and death are common occurrences for people and all creatures in the world face this one day; it's just a matter of sooner or later."
Dragonite quickly asked, "Roar?" (Does that mean Naoki will also die?)
Hearing Dragonite's words, the heads of all the Pokemon drooped.
"Grrrr..." (I don't want Naoki to die...)
Koraidon looked terrified; though it came from the future, it wasn't a very distant future.
It couldn't imagine that day...
As far as it knew, humans were fragile, and their lives were short; some only lived for a few years or decades, with few making it to a hundred.
What to do? So scared, what if Naoki ends up like those short-lived ones and dies tomorrow?
The more Koraidon thought, the more uneasy it became, finally asking directly: "Gra-scree?!" (Naoki, how much longer can you live, it won't be only ten years or so, right?)
Upon hearing this, Naoki developed a headache: "Why are you jinxing me like that?!"
Koraidon quickly realized it misspoke and covered its own mouth.
Naoki understood their thoughts; they were touched by what happened to Ninetales.
After some thought, he said spiritedly: "Don't worry, for your sakes, I'll strive to live till I'm two hundred!"
Dragonite pressed on for details: "Roar?" (What about after two hundred?)
The other Pokemon also wanted to know the answer and eagerly looked over.
Naoki coughed a couple of times and said: "Maybe I'll become a Pokemon! I once heard that some Pokemon are the result of humans turning after they die. Have you ever seen a Gengar?"
He recalled watching a short Pokemon animation in his previous life, where one episode was titled "Did I become a Gengar?"
The protagonist of that episode turned into a Gengar while she stayed at school, and with the help of another Gengar, she overcame her social anxiety.
Later, keen-eyed viewers suggested that the Gengar helping the girl was likely her sister.
Because of its smile and the charms on its phone, hinting subtly.
For this reason, some speculated that Gengar might indeed be humans turned into Pokemon after death.
Although this was just an urban legend with no truth, nothing would be surprising in this world.
"Therefore, as long as you remember me and don't stop thinking of me, there might be a miracle; if I become a Gengar, I'll find you wherever you are."
Naoki smiled, reaching out to pat the heads of all the Pokemon in front of him one by one: "Then, don't fail to recognize me!"
Considering he was able to traverse to this place, it was already a miracle in itself.
Though these words lacked logic, the pure and innocent Pokemon believed it.
They definitely wouldn't! No matter what Naoki became, they'd recognize him!