"Ooo, look, a shooting star!" a young girl said with the vigor that matched her age. "Come on, wish for something!"
The young, but older boy next to her hadn't been listening, but the loud exclamation snapped him out of his reverie.
"Huh? What did you say?"
"Sheesh, pay attention," the girl gripped. "Look up there, it's a shooting star. You gotta make a wish!"
The boy looked up to where she was pointing. Indeed, in stark contrast with the stationary stars around it, a lone light was gliding across the sky, fairly quickly.
"Come on, quick, before it goes away! Wish!" the girl pressed again.
"I don't really have anything to wish for, though," the boy answered. This was met by a look of shock from the girl.
"Come on, don't be stupid, you've gotta have some kinda wish."
The boy thought about it some more. After he was taking too long, the girl prodded him with another "Hurry!". Eventually, the boy landed on something.
"I guess if I had to wish for something, I would wish to be stronger," said the boy. "That way I could win all of my fights."
"Geez, all you care about is beating people up. You're such a punk."
"Hey, they are always the ones who ask for it," the boy retorted. The girl sighed and looked back up at the sky.
"Well, my wish is that we'll always be close like this, forever."
"Oh come on, that's not realistic," the boy shot her down. "Once we grow up we'll have our own lives to deal with, and then we'll have to move away."
"Not literally, silly," the girl teased. "I meant in our hearts. That we won't ever fight or hate each other."
"That's a stupid wish," the boy said quite bluntly. This was met by a face of betrayal from the girl.
"Wha- how could you say that?!"
"Well, because that's already a given," the boy continued. "It's kinda pointless to wish for something that's sure to happen anyways, right?"
The girl's face quickly lessened at these surprising words. It was very cheesy, but she still took them to heart because she knew he meant them. Soon, a giggle came out from her mouth.
"Yeah…I guess so," she said, clearly thinking about the boy's words. The boy looked back into the sky to find the shooting star gone from sight, with no evidence left that it had ever been there.
"Well, it's gone now. Do you think we even said our wishes in time?" the boy asked.
"Who knows," the girl said, not really caring anymore. She let out a large yawn before leaning onto the boy's arm.
"Hey, you can't sleep out here, Nezumi. Come on, let's get you to bed," the boy said before getting up and helping the girl to her feet. She affirmed the plan with a grunt and a nod as she wiped some of the sleep from her eyes.
After that, the two of them started back home, their path illuminated by the starry night.
Sunlight streamed in from the window, waking Rory up from his sleep. He didn't feel like getting out of bed immediately, but eventually forced himself into a sitting position since he knew that he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. His mind drifted back to the dream he had.
"Why did I remember that now?" Rory said to no one in particular. He shook off that idea and got out of bed. Upon seeing the wreck that was his room, Rory suddenly remembered the events of last night and that Celeste was most likely still in the living room.
A few seconds passed as Rory stood motionless, thinking in silence. His thoughts traveled back to the girl, and the smile that she bore that night.
"You know" he thought, "Maybe it wouldn't hurt to ask."
Making sure not to wake the still sleeping Flora, Rory snuck his way to the door of his room and opened it quietly. Walking into the living room, he found a sight he wasn't expecting.
Celeste was still here, and she was still on the couch, but her entire attire had changed. Instead of the white dress she wore before, she was now wearing what could be considered an athletic outfit. A breathable tank-top, flexible shorts, a sun cap on her head with her hair back in a long ponytail, and some running shoes to complete the outfit.
This change of clothes confused Rory quite a bit, but he would have time to ask about that later. Right now, only one question was on his mind.
Celeste was finishing up tying her shoes when Rory entered the room. It didn't take long for her to notice him.
"Oh hey, good morning," she said before getting up from the couch and giving her arms a bit of a stretch above her head. "Don't worry, I was just about to head out," she said preemptively, "So don't go getting all angry on me ag-"
"Last night, you said that everyone has a wish," Rory interrupted her. He paused as he looked back up to Celeste, whose eyes were also squarely on Rory, "Do you really believe that?"
"I do. I really do." Celeste said genuinely. "Hopes and wishes are a crucial part of any living creature. You aren't really alive if you don't have them." Celeste paused before adding, "That's what I think, anyway."
Rory stood thinking for a second. "I guess maybe it's worth a shot then," he mumbled to himself.
"What was that?" Celeste asked.
"Let's suppose that…I do have a wish," Rory said, ignoring her previous question. "If I did have a wish that I wanted granted, or I suppose, that I would want help fulfilling, then could you help me with it now?"
Celeste was clearly a little surprised at this change in demeanor, especially considering his stance last night. Her face changed from surprise to elation before settling on sadness.
"Nope, sorry, I gotta complete your first one first." She replied glumly. "Even though you said it in jest, I still took it as a real wish, and I have to complete that one before I can give you another one; real sorry about that, but dems da rules."
"The rules?"
"Yeah, Genie rules!" Celeste said, as if that clarified anything. Rory didn't have the mental energy to question it right now. There was really only one thing on his brain that he had the energy for.
"Well in that case…" Rory stopped and started to scratch his head kind of aggressively. That rule was a pain to deal with, but Rory wasn't entirely surprised by it. "...I guess we've got no choice then, do we?"
Celeste was confused by his words. "Soooooo, does that mean…?" she trailed off, waiting for Rory to finish. He gave her a condemning glance for her whimsicality, but continued anyway.
"So, while I do think it's going to be a chore," Rory let out an exhausted sigh before finishing, "Sure, I'll come with you to get this first wish over with." He ended that statement with an affirming nod. "Let's go get a Legendary Pokemon, I guess."
A bright smile formed on Celeste's face.
"You know, for fairness sake, I'll tell you: you don't actually have to come with me." Celeste clarified. "Not that I don't want you to, but I could just go grab a Legendary and come back with it. That would still complete the wish. I was just about to leave to do that."
"Wait, you were going to go do it anyway?"
"You said I could, didn't you?" Celeste asked. Rory remembered that he did say something like that off-handedly last night. "I can't start granting someone else's wishes before I finish at least your active one, so I needed to go off and get you a legendary even if you didn't care about it."
"Let me guess, Genie rules?" Rory asked sarcastically.
"Yup!"
"Whatever," Rory pushed past it. "Even so, I'm still coming with you. It wouldn't feel right if someone was out there doing something for me without me even trying to help. I'd hate that even more than having to come along."
Celeste giggled at this. "You're kinda stubborn, huh?"
"Watch it," Rory warned. "Don't make me regret this."
"It's gonna be a long trip, so you better start packing," Celeste said, getting back on topic.
"Yeah, I guess so," Rory agreed.
"Oh, and by the way," Celeste stopped him before he could move. "I'm uh…sorry about your room," she apologized. "I kinda got carried away last night."
"Oh that?" Rory casually pointed over his shoulder back into the room. "Yeah whatever. The room was already messy; you didn't make it much worse."
"Mar~" came a very sleepy voice from the direction of the bedroom. Rory turned around to see Flora rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, slowly making her way over to him.
"Oh, sorry, Flora, did I wake you?" Rory asked. She didn't reply, but only let out a simple yawn. Rory knelt down to Flora's level. "Hey, so, uh, how do I say this?" Rory ponderend. Flora just stared at him inquisitively. "It looks like I'll be gone for a while, so I'll need you to hold down the fort while I'm gone, got it?" he said, as gently as he could.
It took Flora a few seconds to process what Rory had just said.
"Mar?" her eyes widened as her sleepiness started to wear off.
"Hey, I know you'll be fine without me." Rory said, patting her on her flowers before getting up and continuing his walk to his room. He wasn't able to take one step, however, before he felt something heavy start to weigh his leg down. Rory looked down to see Flora grabbing onto his pant leg, her beady eyes staring up at him.
"Maractus!"
"Huh? What's the matter?"
"She wants to come with you," Celeste commented as she walked over to the two. This was confirmed by a fervent nod by Flora. "See?" Celeste quipped.
"You can understand her?" Rory asked.
"Well of course!" Celeste said proudly. "I wouldn't be much of a Genie if I didn't know the Pokemon language. Humans aren't the only ones who can make wishes, you know."
"Right…" Rory shook his head. He needed to address the problem."No, Flora, you know I can't take you with me," he said, looking down at her. "You've never been physically well, and a long trip out of town would be dangerous for you."
At these words, Flora's eyes started to water.
"Mar mar mar mar mar mar!" she suddenly exclaimed as she started to shake her head viciously.
"Ow-hey, Flora, those spikes hurt, stop grabbing me so-ow!"
Flora, however, refused to yield. Rory's pleas were only met with a tighter grip from her.
"Mar mar mar!" Flora continued to yell.
"Okay, I got it, you can come along, just let go of me!" Rory said quite frantically. Once he finally caved, Flora immediately let go and gave a little jump of jubilance.
"Maractus!"
"But listen, if you're coming with me, you'll need to promise me that you'll stay in your Pokeball when I tell you, okay? I'm pretty sure all the travel will be too hard on you."
Flora's bright face and joyous "Marac!" told Rory that these were agreeable conditions. A moderate laugh erupted from Celeste, which brought Rory's gaze over to her.
"What's so funny?"
"It's n-nothing," she said once she had calmed down. "I guess it's true what they say: birds of a feather flock together."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Rory snapped back.
"Don't worry about it," Celeste waved off his reproachful attitude. "Go on, get ready," she hurried him, "We're burning daylight here."
Rory suppressed a growl at her presumptuous nature. Wasn't he supposed to be the one in authority here?
Why couldn't I have gotten a cooler genie? He thought as he walked back into his room to pack.
"Well, you finally ready?" Celeste asked Rory as he approached the front door that she was currently leaning on. Rory had not only changed clothes, but also had prepared a backpack full of objects he thought he might need for a journey. Extra clothes, some spare camping equipment he had gotten for his birthday 3 years ago, a few extra food items for the road, his cell phone, and a small watering can, which was for Flora. The grass type had her own small backpack which was filled to the brim with all of the little trinkets that she collected from her booth.
Despite all this, Rory still replied, "No, not yet." Celeste's response was a raised eyebrow. "I still need to talk to someone before I go," Rory clarified. "You can go to the outside of town and wait for us there."
"Oh come on, we both know that's a lie," Celeste teased lightheartedly. "There's no way someone like you has any friends."
"Shut up," Rory said with only a hint of malice. Mostly just annoyance.
"Alright, alright, I'll go, I'll go," Celeste conceded between giggles. "Oh but first, take this," Celeste tossed her lamp to Rory, which he caught despite the sudden throw.
"You want me to have it?" Rory asked.
"It's tradition for the wisher to hold onto the lamp," she explained "Also you're the one with the backpack."
"I guess that's true."
"Anyways, you better not take too long saying your goodbyes," she continued as she opened the door. "We want to make as much ground today as possible. Carpe Diem and all that!"
Before Rory could reply, Celeste closed the door behind her, leaving the house as quiet as it had been all morning.
"Do you think…this might have been a mistake?" Rory asked as he looked down at the lamp and then at the grass type next to him. Flora simply shrugged back before giving a smile.
"I guess we'll just see huh?"
"What, you're leaving?" Nurse Joy asked, looking up from her computer screen.
"Yeah, something came up, so I'll be heading out of town," Rory explained from across the counter. "I came to tell you I won't be able to work anymore. Sorry for the short notice."
"Oh that's completely fine," Nurse Joy said with a smile. "You were more on a volunteer schedule than an official one anyway."
"Thanks for understanding," Rory replied.
"So, are you going on a Pokemon journey then?" Joy asked. Rory dodged her gentle eyes before replying.
"Not…really…" Rory replied evasively. "It's a bit complicated." He slowly looked back at Joy, who did look a bit confused.
"No way I could tell her the real reason," Rory thought.
"Well, whatever it's for, I'm glad you are getting out there," Joy said, getting up from the chair to properly address Rory. "This town is too small for someone like you."
"What?"
"Sorry, I'm rambling again," Joy apologized. "I won't keep you any longer then. Take care, and have fun."
"I'll…try," Rory said back. He didn't think the trip would be fun at all, but he wasn't going to say that.
"That means you too, Flora," Joy said to the maractus next to Rory. Joy knelt down and pat Flora's flowers. "Don't push yourself too hard, alright?"
"Mar!" Flora affirmed with jubilance.
"Well, thanks for everything, I guess," Rory gave as a last farewell.
"Same to you," Joy replied with her signature smile. "Off you go then, you're burning daylight, aren't you?"
Rory felt his brain hurt from hearing that phrase again.
"Yeah, I got it, I'm going."
After trading one last goodbye, Rory and Flora left the Pokecenter and started to head to the edge of town.
"Well, Flora, this will be the first time either of us leave this town since we got here, won't it?" Rory asked as they walked down the road.
"Mar!" Flora replied. Rory didn't need to understand her to know she was agreeing with him.
"You seem to be a lot more excited about this than I am," Rory noted. "Don't you think this is just gonna be a hassle?"
Flora shook her head. "Maractus!"
"Well, at least one of us will have fun," Rory commented with cheerlessness. "Let's just hope this is all worth it for that second wish."
After a bit more walking, the two of them made it to where the town met the forest, marking the edge of the city. Celeste was already there, leaning on the sign by the road out of town.
"Excus town, huh?" She read as Rory approached. "I'll admit, this is the first time I've heard of this place."
"I don't blame you," Rory replied, stopping by the sign to examine it himself. "This city is not too well known."
"You know, I got a glimpse of a map on my way here, and I'm pretty sure I've been in this part of Unova before," Celeste explained. "I don't remember this town being here when I was here last. How old is this place?"
"I dunno, I only moved here two years ago," Rory answered. "But a few decades, at least."
"Ah, that explains it," Celeste said with confidence.
"How? In what possible way?" Rory thought. He didn't want to voice it, though, fearing Celeste's response.
Seeing Celeste again, Rory remembered a question he had before.
"You know, I've been meaning to ask this, but where did you get those clothes?"
"Oh these? You like them?" Celeste said, posing to show them off. "Genies can change their outward appearance to look like clothes. I saw these in a magazine you had and thought I would look good in them. What do you think?" she added with a wink, bending down to strike another pose.
"I couldn't care less," Rory replied bluntly.
"Aw come on, you're no fun," Celeste said teasingly. "I bet Flora can appreciate them, right?"
Sure enough, Flora gave a large smile while she replied.
"Marcatus!"
"See?"
"Anyways," Rory said, desperately wanting to change the subject, "What's your plan going forward? I don't think getting a legendary Pokemon is going to be very easy."
"Oh don't you worry your little head about that," Celeste said, wagging a finger. "I happen to know a friend who owes me a favor. The hard part will be getting to them."
"Sure, sounds like a good enough place to start as any," Rory said, somehow already feeling exhausted. If he was this tired now, how the hell was he gonna survive the entire trip?
"Oh yeah, one last thing," Celeste piped up. "What's your name, wisher?"
"Huh?" It took this line for Rory to realize he never introduced himself. "I'm Rory."
"Rory, that's a cool name, huh?"
"I…guess?" ,
"Well, now with that out of the way, I think I know generally where we're headed. Our first stop is Verbank City, so let's get going!" Celeste shouted as she bounded away down the road.
Rory let out another sigh.
"Generally, huh?" Rory muttered to himself. "Yup, I was right. This was definitely a mistake." He slowly trudged down the road after Celeste, hoping that this trip wouldn't take too long.