He observed each of them as they slept soundly and peacefully, their breathing snores being music to his ears. To him, he felt secure, warm and comforted by whom he least expected, but he knows, that to his own Pokémon, as they treat him as their own Father, HE and HE alone is the proverbial chain/cord that keeps their Hearts, Minds and Souls at peace, as well as keep them from "TURNING OFF all at once". His presence to them makes them be their usual, peppy, cheery selves, and what keeps them on doing about their day. He realized that after all they've been through, his need to be with his Pokémon is quite flexible and tolerable by a very, VERY long shot than that of his Pokémon's need to be with him.
To them, he always MUST be within their line of sight. They weren't kidding when they proclaimed that their need to be with him far much exceeds by a very long thread compared to his need to be with his Pokémon, whom he treated as his family. They are VERY overprotective of him, up to the point that his Wishing Star Pokémon, Jerry the Jirachi, transformed his newly-formed cape that was formed from his then-streamers that were grafted/attached to his back that was removed afterwards which then combined themselves to form a scarf that surrounded his neck, then its 'tails' extending themselves to almost the length of a small T-shirt, then combined themselves to form a flowing, floating silk cape. The cape then began to slither towards his back and front, flowing as it did so, then surrounded itself within Jerry's small body, almost as if it is alive on its own. It then began to split into at least 4 separate streams of fabric, the top-left and top-right parts moving and attaching themselves to Tom's rather large torso, as its tips then began converging and tying themselves up in a nice, dainty little ribbon, starting from his left shoulder to his lower right waist, to secure it tightly, taking on the appearance of a shoulder sash that happens to have a living user on it. His Wishing Star's scarf's remaining strips of fabric then combined and formed another cape to compensate, which he got when that infamously historic night happened, the memory also still fresh on Jerry's still innocent mind after 3 long years.
His Star sat very close to where his cheek is and snuggled onto him, enjoying the sight from where its sitting while moving its entire feelers in a form of a tickle massage, nudging its face onto Tom's in synchronization with Jerry's scarf feelers moving and wriggling themselves on his body. It then said through Tom's mind in a slightly dazed but satisfied manner, in its cute, calm, echoing but soothing voice:
Jerry: /'Me told by Brothers and Sisters to be with Papa. Me guard and be with Papa. Me hug Papa. Me hold on to Papa. Me no let Papa go.
/Me must be brave and strong. For Papa.'
Jerry: /'Me love you very much, Papa. Me protect Papa. Always.'
In short, his Wishing Star used its feelers from its scarf to wrap over Tom's body, forming some sort of a shoulder belt to secure him, as well as itself, as it sat over Tom's left shoulder, enjoying its work as it snuggled close to its "Papa's" cheek, discreetly claiming that it will protect him with all its might.
It made Tom a bit confused to why would his own Wishing Star go so far to do this for him.
The little Star, with such child-like innocence and simple-minded wisdom, as much as it could with its limited vocabulary, just told him through his mind using its telepathy again with its cute, calm, echoing but soothing voice, then and there:
-Jerry:/'Papa love us. Us love Papa. Papa love Big Brothers and Big Sisters and Little Brother, too. So, We all love Papa back, and much, much more. Me always stay with Papa so he not hurt. Papa save Jerry from Very Bad Long Sleep. Me thank Papa very much and promise that Me always be with Papa no matter what.'
His Wishing Star continued.
-Jerry: /'Papa take care of me and others every day. So we take care of Papa, too. Me save Papa too if he in danger and sad. Me promise protect Papa from any bad meanies. Me not let go of Papa. Me hold on to Papa. Me always be with Papa. Me very much love Papa. Forever and Ever.'
-Jerry: /'Me always feel funny when me be away from Papa, me pushed and called by Funny Tummy and always make me hurry back to Papa. So if Papa need something, it come from Papa first to say, too.'
He was very touched by that, he admitted. He found it also endearing too, even with its limited vocabulary, that it still managed to tell him what's on its mind. He could pretty much tell his Star was just born not too early, probably after its very first 1000-year-old slumber, after it first explored during its first 7-day Wishing Duties whilst using its backup mental defenses that increases its understanding of basic communication and acts as a Split Personality that appears when it needs to grant Wishes for others, as well as if the Star is under intense emotional stress.
He remembered once again from a book that he read a while back that states that contrary to popular belief, Jerry's kind just happens to be normal Pokémon that has the same progressional development as humans do, but their supposed immortality has an unintended equivalent exchange of them resting for 1000 years, rendering their cognitive and mental development MERCILESSLY STUNTED AND SLOWED and them unable to form long-term connections to their recent respective caretakers and friends they encounter on the event of their 1-week awakened state.
Their Wish-granting abilities were also hindered because of their innocence, as well as certain Wishes being beyond their abilities, considering the source of energy they rely on only lasts in synchronization with their remaining days awake before they eventually suffer an another almost 'eternal' chronostasis, in which the crystal cocoon shell their kind uses to protect themselves while hibernating will reappear and come to claim them once again, having filled their once-in-a-thousand-year weekly quota, to be reused again by the next generation, which will then suffer the same thing once again. And again. And again. And there is nothing they can do about it.
Forever, unless they're FREED from it.
It tore his heart into a million pieces to know that even the most kind-hearted souls have to suffer on a job or destiny that they never asked for, never to be given a chance to experience the sorrows, joys and different facets of life itself, that its purpose is to ONLY change the course of the world itself little by little, the hapless others none the wiser, be it for entertainment purposes or a necessary challenge for certain chosen people/representatives to overcome, then for them to just disappear for the time being after they've completed their quota, for a millennium, until they are needed again. So far, no one has even bothered to even take advantage of the fact that these creatures have been SILENTLY SUFFERING, just as the brightest Stars in the sky also burn the fastest, and they needed help saving from their own weights that they carry for such a very young age, if not from the moment of their birth.
It's as if they weren't meant to be saved. Like this is what they were created for.
He almost threw up at the thought of that.
They're sentient creatures, too, he lamented and cried out. But then, he grimaced at the potential consequences of that knowledge, and the proceeding implications that will be unleashed if those were analyzed intrepidly, the resulting catastrophic postulates being laid bare for one to see and hear.
What would happen if the implications of what IF a Wishgranter Star in this world of theirs discover their TRUE symbol and purpose? If they realize that their quota of granting Wishes for one week, only for them to rest for one thousand years to refill their energy, and them being confused as to why would they only rely on a comet that ONLY comes through the planet they're currently living in and WAKING UP AT THE EXACT SAME TIME, the same time they then sleep AFTER that same comet fades out after it completes its transit for it to reappear once again after a thousand years IS implemented and PROMULGATED by common knowledge, when they can just rely on gathering their Wishing Energy from the Celestial Bodies' (Sun, Moon and the Stars) self-sustaining cores instead?
What happens when they realize that their bodies can also CHANGE AND ADAPT to the conditions their Master/Caretaker had Wished for them on their behalf, and why nobody even bothered granting them their freedom from having to SLEEP FOR A THOUSAND YEARS, as well as changing how they gather energy for them to carry out granted Wishes, that they can actually do so with their accumulated power to rival that of a Genie?
That they have the ability to also convert Solar, Lunar And Stellar Energy into Wishing energy, IF THEY WILL IT SO, and they can on their Master's behalf?
That because of how WEAK their energy collection processes are, they can only teleport objects that the Wisher wants, rather than actually grant Wishes that TRANSCEND PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS, rendering their intended purpose almost completely useless?
What's the point of being a Wishing Star if they DO NOT actually carry out granted Wishes?
Do their species just happen to be normal Pokémon that can teleport things, that happens to think they can carry out granted Wishes?
That nobody even thought of helping them turn into what they are ACTUALLY SUPPOSED TO BE in the first place?
Even if the 1000-year Comet's exclusion to the question, what would happen if they discovered that they can only grant at least ONE Wish for every subject they encounter, when they should by default at least grant THREE Standard Wishes, that up to the point one has to grant a Wish that enables them to be granted said THREE Wishes? Their energy-gathering's power being quite EXTREMELY low, when they can just rely on gathering their Wishing Energy from the Celestial Bodies' (Sun, Moon and the Stars) self-sustaining cores instead, as stated before, which also happens to be synchronized to how their bodily functions rejuvenate to work properly? The Sun and Moon's energy can be focused for them to replenish their energy for as long as they like, so why wouldn't they do so in the first place?
What about the experiences the Star has created for themselves and the friends they've made upon their awakening? What if, because of their hibernation process, they'll FORGET every single one of them? What would happen if, knowing that their Caretaker knows the situation they're in and WILL react accordingly, THEY themselves realize that they will eventually leave their caretaker to sleep for another millennium, never to see their caretaker awake and alive ever again by the time they come back from their slumber? If a Star's willpower to resist the effects of the unnoticed "Wishgranter Star Emotional Dampener Compulsion Protocol" actually starts to affect the Star's way of thinking, that its Wishing Protocol Mental Defense or "Wishy", as it is called, also recognizes the threat of their Caretaker by this point have also grown themselves attached to, and themselves' eventual separation? What happens if the Star IS their Caretaker's designated emotional support ONLY, and if they discover that they'll eventually leave each other? What if the Star itself does not want to leave their Caretaker? What if it does not want to do its duties anymore because of knowing and recognizing the weight of said realization?
This must be the reason why the Wishgranter Star Emotional Dampener Compulsion Protocol was created as a tool to decrease a Wishgranter Star's Emotional Bond Connection Enabler and make them act childlike but at the same time their innocence coming off as a bit of an intended deliberate ignorance, as they were supposed to be left alone and aren't meant to create attachments to Earthly facets. But he realized too, that their supposed innocence (which is actually 'Altered') is BY DESIGN and ON PURPOSE, and if their continued 'altered' innocence alters their perspective of the world, they then become "wiser beyond their years", but they are forever unhappy and think about certain worldly issues THAT NO CHILD SHOULD EVER BE CONCERNED ABOUT AT ALL.
His Wishing Star was just born not too long ago, and as such IS very unaware of its actions.
It will be a confused little child. A Pokémon that was a danger to everyone and everything. A child that has only seven days to be free but yet, it will understand nothing about the nature of its ever-changing world. And Tom knows that it isn't its fault.
It was evident that from what he has discovered about his Star's species, he felt sorry for hearing that their vocabulary was also hindered because of their intended insufficiency on learning how to speak properly, and knowing that these things have granted terrible, undesirable Wishes long, long ago because of their mental inacuity made him want to throw up. They're innocent, little toddlers who did not know any better, and are blamed for everything that they did not do by choice.
It was up to the point that almost, he remembered, his own Wishing Star resigned itself to give up its daring dream of granting TRUE Wishes, because it knows, or rather, is forced to know and realized that it cannot tell the difference between a Good and a Bad Wish. It knows its life is unfair to it, that it has to force itself to be happy, even though it knows it will NEVER, EVER experience true happiness in its lifetime EVER again.
This was the moment his Star's Split Personality Mental Defense first manifested itself and took over for him for a while, and gave him a chance to breathe.
His Star was just a child that just took an information that no child this young should ever have to hear, that it forcefully activated its mental Safe Mode to keep it from going irreparably insane, unable to do its duties anymore because its intended goal has been mercilessly severed from its mind, as well as realizing its terrible, tragic life at a very early age.
Wishing Stars may be very beautiful when they shine the brightest on the night sky, but some of them burn out the fastest very early on, as well as to live with the most certainly well-known fact that nobody should have to suffer at all.
They're just... there... so many, but at the same time, ALL ALONE in the cosmos. Trying to talk to and to impress things that do not speak back to them. Them trying to make sense of their situation. Them trying to create their own semblance of stability and sanity, when it's just them, exploring and observing the quiet, farthest reaches of space... with NOBODY BUT THEMSELVES to share their joy and experiences with. Them staying there, for all eternity. Alone.
Suffering. Weeping silently, with no one but themselves hearing their own lamentations and grievances.
They give and offer Blessings, but their own lives are literally a horrible Curse, and they cannot and never will have what they give for others. THEY ARE SERVANTS THAT ARE CONSTANTLY SUFFERING. And it wouldn't be before long one of their species realizes this fact. Or maybe they did, and resigned themselves to surrender to their terrible destinies.
How disgustingly abhorrent and terrifyingly horrible.