Forina was the name of this region, known for its forest of quartz sandstone peaks.
Forina lay southwest of Mt. Chimney and directly north of Lavaridge Town.
Carried through the sky by Armored Mewtwo's Psychic, Damian's group reached Forina by afternoon.
Forina's environment was incredibly lush. The forests were rich and vibrant with greenery, and all kinds of Pokémon dwelled within, thriving.
"So pretty… it feels like the plants here are growing especially well."
Lillie breathed in the fragrant air, staring around in amazement.
"Yeah. We're not that far from Mt. Chimney, but the vegetation here is way too healthy."
Caitlin agreed. Mt. Chimney was, after all, a dormant volcano, and volcanic ash fell constantly, never really stopping.
That made the area around Mt. Chimney pretty hot, and plants generally couldn't grow too thickly there.
But this Forina region was clearly different.
"That's because there's a Pokémon that's been continuously feeding energy into this land's ley lines. That's why Forina is this prosperous."
Damian plucked two big, bright‑red apples from a fruit tree, wiped them off, then handed them to Caitlin and Lillie with a smile.
"Fini～!"
Tapu Fini immediately started acting spoiled.
"Alright, alright, you get some too."
Damian had no way to deal with Tapu Fini; this kid really didn't like staying in a Poké Ball much and was always popping out on her own.
Damian had figured it out by now—despite looking all cool and aloof, out of his current main roster, Tapu Fini was actually the clingiest.
He picked two more apples and passed them to Tapu Fini.
"Fini～"
Tapu Fini narrowed her eyes in satisfaction, cradled an apple, took a bite, and let out a soft, happy trill.
"One Pokémon's doing all that? That's amazing."
Lillie was stunned by how powerful that Pokémon had to be. A single Pokémon supplying life and energy to an area this huge?
That really was incredible.
"Yeah. Its name is Jirachi. It's a Mythical Pokémon out of legends." Damian nodded.
A Legendary Pokémon, huh. No wonder.
Lillie blinked. She had a sense of what Legendary Pokémon were now.
"They say that once every thousand years, if Jirachi hears a clear, pure song, it can stay awake for seven days. And there's another really interesting part of the legends about Jirachi."
Damian's lips slowly curled upward.
"Supposedly, when it wakes from its cocoon of sleep, it'll grant the wish written on the wish tag attached to its head. Any wish at all."
He deliberately emphasized that point.
"Is that for real?"
"Huh? It can actually make any wish come true?"
Caitlin and Lillie both froze.
A Pokémon that could grant people's wishes? Something like that really existed?
"Whether it can grant literally any wish, nobody knows for sure. But normal wishes should be fine." Damian said with a smile.
"Any" wish was probably asking a bit much from poor little Jirachi.
Jirachi used energy to grant wishes. For example, in the movie, the villain Butler stole Jirachi the first time, but failed because Jirachi hadn't absorbed enough comet energy.
The second time he took Jirachi, Jirachi absorbed comet energy while fulfilling Butler's wish to revive "Groudon."
But in the end, because Ash interrupted things, Jirachi cut off the energy flow. As a result, "Groudon" never fully revived—
And instead, a "monster of the earth" was born.
Worth mentioning: Damian honestly had no idea what Butler had been thinking. Groudon can't fly and didn't die, but you grab some non‑flying scale (or whatever) and tell Jirachi to revive a non‑flying thing off that?
Even Groudon would thank your whole family for that level of brainpower.
Comet energy clearly wasn't limitless either. Damian figured if he tried wishing on Jirachi for an Arceus, Jirachi would probably respond with three question marks.
Arceus was definitely out of the question.
He wondered if a Shiny Rayquaza was possible. Or maybe a Shiny Zygarde?
Now that he thought about it, in the anime "Horizons," both Shiny Rayquaza and Shiny Zygarde got caught by somebody. If they could do it, there was no reason he couldn't, right?
"A Mythical Pokémon that can grant wishes, huh—"
Caitlin's eyes flickered faintly. She didn't actually have any huge, grand wish.
If she had to pick one, it'd be to become stronger! And—to become Damian's official main wife!
She wanted all those flashy homewreckers clinging to Damian day and night to understand exactly how terrifying his rightful empress could be.
"If I wished on Jirachi and asked it to make Mr. Damian fall in love with me… I wonder if it'd work."
Unbeknownst to each other, Caitlin and Lillie's thoughts were almost exactly the same at that moment.
"Mr. Damian, are we going to look for Jirachi now?"
Lillie perked right up. She felt like this Jirachi thing was way too perfect.
"Of course. I checked—the once‑every‑thousand‑years comet isn't far off now. Once it arrives, all we'll have to do is let Jirachi hear a clear song, and it'll wake up." Damian smiled.
Technically, according to what Butler said in the movie, you needed a fated person with a pure heart to wake Jirachi. Otherwise, it'd just go back to sleep for another thousand years.
But it was worth noting: in the movie, the one who actually woke Jirachi in the end was May's song.
Victor, though, had indeed heard sleeping Jirachi's Telepathy from the start.
"A song, huh? I think I can do that!"
Lillie was fired up. She was the girl who'd played a flute and helped Nebby evolve into Lunala, after all!
"Yeah. If it's you, Lillie, I'm sure it'll be fine." Damian replied with a gentle smile.
That was exactly why he'd brought Lillie to Forina.
In Damian's eyes, whether it came to a "pure heart" or a clear song, Lillie fit both conditions perfectly.
If that really didn't work, he could always have Armored Mewtwo give the sleeping Jirachi a little "wake‑up service."
If it could wake from a song, then poking at it with the Dark‑flavored energy Psychic‑types were sensitive to should work too, right?
He really wanted to see Jirachi's limits.
Most important of all, he genuinely liked Jirachi. That little wish star was absurdly cute.
He wasn't sure whether Jirachi would keep falling into slumber after being caught, though—or maybe if they made sure not to have Jirachi overuse its power in the meantime?
After all, every time it used its power, Jirachi seemed to drop into exhaustion‑induced sleep to restore its spirit. It was pretty mysterious.
Hearing Damian's praise, Lillie went a bit shy, though her smile was radiant.
Caitlin shot Lillie a sideways glance, completely unruffled.
As expected, this girl definitely had an agenda with Damian.
But it was fine. Debts this numerous didn't weigh heavy. And besides, for a girl who wasn't even a Trainer, Caitlin really didn't see her as much of a threat.
At worst, Damian would take her for a spin as a "new car"—call it practice.
As long as she wasn't like Courtney, who was perpetually unsatisfied and demanded two or three hours every time she got Damian in a room, it was manageable.
The three of them continued on until they finally reached a low valley.
Two people were already waiting there.
"Butler, right?"
Damian looked at the purple‑haired young man in white. That man was Butler—a well‑known magician by trade.
In truth, he'd once been a scientist for Team Magma. Later, Team Magma had tossed him aside, and he'd never forgotten that humiliation.
"And you are?"
Butler narrowed his eyes.
"Courtney won't be coming. She's not feeling well today."
"What?"
Butler's face instantly twisted, teeth clenched as his fists tightened.
So even Courtney didn't believe in him?
He'd thought, as a fellow scientist, Courtney would understand his ideology.
"Don't take it the wrong way. Nobody's looking down on you. Don't let that oversensitive pride of yours take over your brain."
Damian saw straight through him at a glance.
This guy was being driven purely by his own overwrought pride into running down a crooked path.
Then again, anyone who could hook up with Team Magma to begin with probably wasn't all that "normal."
"?"
Butler froze at that.
"By the way, you probably don't know yet, huh? Team Magma's already gone."
"What?"
Butler jolted. Team Magma was gone?
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. We wiped out and swallowed Team Magma."
Damian spoke plainly.
"Personally, I appreciate your abilities. If you're willing to join us, I can give you a much bigger stage to show what you can really do."
Damian was still in a pretty good mood. And truthfully, while Butler was a little twisted, his talent was impressive.
On top of that, he was one of the top magicians in the business. Whether Damian used him to make money for the organization or for research, either way he'd be very useful.
"..."
Butler's expression flickered wildly.
His thoughts were a mess.
He'd poured everything into this, dug through so many records to finally find Jirachi's sleeping place.
He'd thought he was about to prove his theories right and viciously slap the faces of everyone who'd mocked him.
And now he was hearing Team Magma was already done?
Then what had all his hard work been worth?
Right now Butler felt like all this burning passion of his had just been fed to the dogs.
"Take your time and think it over. Give me your answer later."
Damian knew Butler's brain was probably in a full‑blown storm right now.
"Mewtwo."
"It's in there."
Deep purple flames flickered in Armored Mewtwo's eyes. It could feel that a special aura lay inside the valley.
The three of them walked in. The valley air was pleasantly cool.
Armored Mewtwo lifted its arm; the rock wall exploded, and a purple crystalline mass floated up under the pull of its Psychic.
"That's Jirachi?"
Caitlin and Lillie both stared curiously at the purple crystal drifting toward them.
"Right. It's still asleep right now—hasn't woken up yet."
Damian caught the crystal and smiled.
"It's so amazing."
Lillie couldn't help marveling. It really was incredible.
Once every thousand years, it woke for only seven days—and it could grant other people's wishes.
Lillie had no idea how to even describe that.
"This world's just that mysterious."
Damian chuckled lightly and studied the purple crystal for a moment.
Green light bloomed from his hand as the power of Viridian—the power of nature—flowed steadily into the purple stone.
But the crystal showed no reaction at all. Damian's ears didn't pick up any cute little Telepathy voice either.
It did look a bit more gleaming and bright, though.
"Pfft～ As expected. Even the power of Viridian doesn't work, huh? You really sleep that hard?"
Damian couldn't help roasting it, cutting off the flow of Viridian power.
The little thing might not have responded—but it had absolutely absorbed every drop of that energy.
Greedy.
"Forget it. We'll wait until the Millennium Comet gets here."
Damian tossed the crystal into his space bag. Since there were no signs of it waking now, there was no rush.
Back outside the valley, Damian found that Butler and his childhood friend Diane were still there. Butler, at least, looked calmer.
"Sir, may I ask your name?"
Butler stepped forward. With Team Magma gone, his obsessive fixation on Jirachi had cooled a lot.
When it came down to it, he'd chased Jirachi mainly to prove his theories correct and smack the faces of those in Team Magma who'd mocked him.
"Damian. So—have you made up your mind?" Damian raised a brow.
"Lord Courtney is your subordinate now?"
"That's right."
"Not just Courtney. Team Magma's former boss Maxie is one of my subordinates too. Butler, I'm not here to sell you fake dreams."
Damian spoke bluntly.
"As long as you join us, with your ability I'm sure you'll have a very bright future. When that time comes, trampling all those people who laughed at you under your feet won't be impossible."
Butler's breathing instantly quickened.
That was a temptation he simply couldn't turn down.
"Please allow me to join!"
"Excellent. Get in touch with Courtney. She'll set you up with a position. And since your intel was so useful this time, I'll have her give you some special treatment."
"Thank you, Lord Damian."
Butler gave Damian a refined bow. He really was an exceptional magician.
"Please allow me to offer a small token of my gratitude."
He pulled out a top hat, waved his hand over it twice, then produced a beautiful, vivid bouquet of roses from inside.
"I'm sure your lady companions will be very pleased."
Butler stepped back gracefully.
He felt that move had been absolutely brilliant—earning favor with both Damian and his girlfriend at the same time. Perfect!
"You little…"
Damian's smile tightened as he accepted the rose and turned toward Caitlin and Lillie.
Lillie ducked her head shyly, while Caitlin's cheeks also flushed faintly as she half‑turned away, gaze sliding off somewhere else.
But in truth, neither girl's expectant side‑glances had stopped for even a second.
Emmm…
Who was he supposed to give the flower to?
Damian broke out in a cold sweat.
Damn you, Butler. Courtney was definitely getting told to give you a hard time.
"Waa～ what a gorgeous flower. Can I have it?"
~~~
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