The next morning, Takashi awoke to loud squawks outside the tunnel. Light shone in through the entrance.

"I told you, gramps. Takashi wants to be a berrier and he needs your help."

"Well, that doesn't justify dragging my old feathers here!"

Takashi assumed it was Hato's grandclaw.

"I didn't drag you here. You decided to come!"

"Well, I don't remember saying that, young'un."

"That's 'cause you're old."

"Language!" scolded Hato's grandclaw.

"Language yourself," grumbled Hato.

"Mind your manners, young'un!"

"Quit squawking so loud, will you? Takashi, Voltheo and Perla are still asleep!"

"Too late," Takashi called out, pushing his way outside. "You guys woke me up."

Taking a good look at Hato's grandclaw, he realized with a jolt how old the Pokémon was.

Hato's grandclaw's feathers were dull, as if he had stopped caring for them. There were visible wrinkles underneath his eyes too. At some places, feathers were missing. His feet and beak were covered in white stuff, which Hato lacked.

Hato sighed impatiently. "See? You've just managed to wake a sleeping Espeon. You're lucky he's friendly! Now, Perla and Volt-"

The old Pidgeot cut him off. "Who in tarnation is this Perla? Is she your mate-to-be or something?"

"Actually, I like males," Hato said sarcastically. He sounded like a mutinous Fighting-type being reprimanded for not training hard enough.

Hato's grandclaw ignored him and turned to Takashi. "You're the berrier wannabe, aren't you? I'm here to teach you what I know."

"So you finally admit you actually wanted to come here?" came Hato's drawl. "Well then, I'll just leave you here with Takashi so you two can get to know more about each other. Goodbye, gramps."

Turning around, he muttered, "Grumps!" before flying away. Hato's grandclaw shook his head. "Young'uns nowadays."

He took a closer look at Takashi. "T'name's Hirasuru. So you're one of Hato's friends, eh?"

Takashi shifted. "Yes."

"Well, I must as well teach you something useful then. We're wasting time."

Takashi gave a little bounce. "So, what's the plan, Hato's grandclaw?"

"Call me by my name, if you please," the old Pidgeot waved his right wing.

"Sorry, Hirasuru. So, now what?"

"First, we must introduce you to the Starpelts and Starfeathers as a new berrier. Berriers have to be acknowledged by them first, you know. If they don't recognize you as one, you won't have the berrier status."

"Okay. How do we do that?"

"Well, you'll have to go and sleep to meet the Starpelts in your dreams."

Takashi flicked his tail. "How do I know I'll dream of them? Before you woke me up I had a dreamless sleep."

"The Starpelts and Starfeathers will surely come to you when an experienced berrier's with you. And if you actually want to be one," Hirasuru told him.

Takashi yawned and stretched. "Well, I'm still kinda tired anyway, so no problem there."

Later, Takashi woke up.

Wherever he was, it sure didn't feel like his nest. Or look like his tunnel.

All around him were green pastures. A thick forest stared from a distance. And the sky was dotted with stars, brighter than any he had ever seen.

However, what amazed him the most was the Pokémon around him.

Some of them seemed normal, without anything unusual.

The rest seemed to fade into the background. And were glittering. Takashi strained his neck. What was the glittering stuff?

A sudden tap on his shoulder startled him. Takashi jumped around with fur on end only to find the one Pokémon he had missed so dearly.

"Mom?" he croaked. Up close, he could see that she, too, had a glittering pelt that shined like stars. He felt his heart soar again as it had not had since Rei had died.

Rei's eyes glittered. "Welcome, my son. And how is your little sister doing?"

"Err…what?" Takashi was confused. Sister?

"The egg," Rei replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh! How do you know she's a girl?" Takashi was surprised.

"I'm a spirit now. I can see things you can't. I can see the unborn Eevee, squirming in her egg, dreaming about soft clouds and green grass. But never mind that, I have come here to show you something, which, as a berrier, you need."

With that, she bounded away with Takashi tailing her. Along the way, they passed two Pokémon, one glittering and the other like any other Pokémon in the forest.

"Now, Yuko, if you see a Pokémon drop a berry, what should you do?" the starry Xatu asked patiently.

"Eat it, of course!" the Purrloin answered eagerly.

"That is incorrect," answered the Xatu patiently. "You should return it to that Pokémon immediately!"

"Why can't I get any of these questions right?" wailed Yuko.

Takashi pointed to the pair. "What's going on?"

Rei sat down. "Some Pokémon, especially Dark-types like Yuko, are misguided. We seek them out in their dreams and try to teach them right and justice. But not every one of them listens and goes down the dark path of a Shadowpelt or Shadowfeather."

"Oh no," whispered Takashi quietly.

"Well, I need to show the special items to you now. Let's get going." Rei walked more slowly now. As Takashi left the Xatu and Purrloin behind, he heard another conversation between the two.

"Yuko, if you see an injured Pokémon with a berry, should you try to help it, or should you claw it and take its berry?"

"Answer number two. Duh!"

"That is also incorrect. It was number one." The Xatu then impersonated Yuko's voice. "Duh!"

"Awww!" grumbled the Purrloin yet again as her voice faded. Looking back in front, Takashi realized that Rei had come to a halt and he had almost crashed into her.

Rei moved so that he could see. "Ta-da! These are the berry pots. They allow you to plant berries. Here in the place of the Starpelts and Starfeathers, we can grow a special type of berry-the Starberries! It completely heals the pokemon who eats it."

So the Pokémon with glittering pelts and feathers were Starpelts and Starfeathers, Takashi thought. He should have guessed.

"So how do I grow them?" Takashi asked aloud.

Rei put her tail round one of the pots. "You see that Squirtbottle over there? Use it to water the berries once you've planted them in the pots." She looked a tad guilty. "Well, that was the first and will be the last time we'll let a theft go. Thanks to a Nopelt's Murkrow, we have a way to cultivate berries."

Before Takashi could react, Rei stood up. "You'd better go now. In the waking world, you've been sleeping long enough."

The light around him dimmed, and dimmed to shade of black so dark that Takashi began to get a little creeped out. He wondered if this was a common trait among Psychics.

Then, he heard voices. Squabbling ones, as always.

"Quit squawking! Takashi's sleeping!"

"How much do young'uns need to sleep anyway? That wannabe's been asleep for the longest time. Once he starts learning, he'd better not be this lazy!"

"If you remember, you woke him up in the first place."

"Ah, yes, but that doesn't justify laziness."

Takashi opened one eye. "And you woke me up once again." He sat up. "Where's Dad?"

"Took the egg for a walk," Hato told him.

"She," murmured Takashi. "It's a girl. Mom told me that."

"Oh, wow." Hato seemed surprised. "What did she say? And how was it like in that place? I wanted grumps here to tell me, but he kept fussing about your 'sleeping habits'." Hato made air quotation marks with his claws awkwardly.

"Manners!" scolded Hirasuru.

"Whatever," Hato grumbled.

"Anyway, Takashi. Once you're done cleaning your fur or whatever it is that Espeon do, meet me outside." The Pidgeot walked out of the tunnel.

"I'll be happy to get some time to myself," Hato muttered to Takashi, before walking after his grandclaw.

Takashi sat down for a while, reflecting on what had just happened in his dream. He let the scenes play over in his mind, again and again. Mum. His heart tightened again. She was still dead, but now that he had seen her as a Starpelt, the pain didn't hurt as much.

It didn't matter if he was late. He could just use 'cleaning fur' as an excuse.

It didn't take long for the Pidgeot to realize how late he was. "Hey, wannabe! Get your pelt here before I skin you alive!"

With a half-amused sigh, he ran to join him.