Silver Wing

"It's amazing that there are flying Teddiursa in this world," Ivan said, astonished. But when he noticed Naoki's strange expression, he asked in confusion, "Don't you find that surprising? I've only seen extraordinary Pokémon like that here on your ranch." He was referring to the Pawmot that flew around the ranch all day wearing a red cloak.

Naoki: "It's... definitely surprising."

"Yes!" Ivan agreed, full of emotion. "There are still so many secrets in this world that humans haven't discovered!"

"I heard that many Pokémon professors and researchers have started studying how Pokémon like Teddiursa can fly after hearing about this. Even Professor Oak, who's incredibly famous in the research community, is involved!"

Naoki was slightly stunned. "Professor Oak?"

"Huh? You don't know him?" Ivan was surprised. In his mind, Professor Oak was well-known, having discovered countless Pokémon secrets.

"I've heard of him," Naoki replied, though he hadn't expected the flying Teddiursa to draw Professor Oak's attention. It left him unsure of what to say.

Ivan's face lit up with admiration. "Professor Oak is a legend in the Pokémon world! He earned his Ph.D. from Celadon University and quickly became an authority in Pokémon research."

"It's said that Professor Oak often risks being attacked by wild Pokémon to study them up close. He believes only by observing them directly can you get real, reliable data. He's helped trainers all over the world by providing critical information about wild Pokémon."

"If anyone can uncover the truth behind these flying Teddiursa, it's definitely Professor Oak!"

Naoki: "…"

"Do you trust Professor Oak that much?" he asked.

"Of course!" Ivan nodded enthusiastically. "Professor Oak wasn't just a researcher; before he became a doctor, he was an incredibly skilled Pokémon trainer!"

Naoki raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You really want to be a trainer, don't you?"

Ivan nodded, his eyes full of longing. "That's been my dream since I was a kid! To have my own Pokémon, to travel the world with it. What a romantic life that would be!"

"So why do you stay in this small town and work as a postman?" Naoki asked, curious.

Ivan sighed, looking slightly resigned. "Because I have to take care of my grandmother."

He paused, then continued, "After my mom passed away, my dad started drinking. One day, he went out drunk and never came back. Since then, it's been just me and my grandmother living together."

Naoki: "I'm really sorry."

But Ivan simply grinned, showing a cheerful smile. "It's okay, it's all in the past. Even though I can't travel, I'm happy living with Pokémon. Anyway, I need to head to the next ranch to deliver some mail. See you later!"

Naoki nodded and saw Ivan off, watching him disappear down the path. He couldn't help but sigh.

Alas, this is a pitiful person! Naoki retracted his gaze and looked up at the sky.

It had been several days since he'd received any letters from Mew and Baby Bear. Based on what Ivan said earlier, it seemed like they had wandered off to the Orange Islands.

The Orange Islands, located in the middle of the sea, weren't a single landmass but a group of islands separated by great distances. Naoki figured that Mew and Baby Bear were probably bouncing between the islands, unable to find a stable place to stay, which explained the delay in their letters.

But, as the saying goes, speak of the devil, and he will appear.

Just as Naoki was about to head back to the house to continue making Poffins, a sound of metallic friction echoed from the sky.

When Naoki looked up, he spotted a Pokémon covered in gleaming silver armor, its feathers sharp as knives, landing gracefully in the pasture.

"Skarmory," Naoki thought immediately.

The Skarmory was holding a letter in its silver claws.

It glanced at Naoki with its piercing eyes, then opened its beak and let out a metallic cry.

With a soft "thud," the envelope dropped onto the grass.

Naoki was used to this by now. He approached the letter, picked it up, and smiled at the Skarmory. "Thank you for your hard work!"

The Skarmory seemed pleased, responding with a sharp hiss.

Naoki waved his hand, and Brother Indeedee, who was standing nearby, came forward.

"Can you bring some Poffins, please?" Naoki asked.

Brother Indeedee eyed the Skarmory and the letter in Naoki's hand, understanding the situation. He then turned and headed back to the room, asking his sister for a large box of Poffins.

Naoki handed the box to the Skarmory, saying, "Here's your delivery fee. There are two portions—one is for you, and if you manage to catch up with Baby Bear and Mew, please give them the other one."

The Skarmory happily accepted the task. It grabbed the treasure box in its claws, flapped its wings, and soared away with a satisfied expression.

Naoki headed back inside to the living room with the letter in hand.

The envelope was heavier than usual, immediately reminding Naoki of the time Baby Bear and Mew had picked up the three gems guarded by the three legendary birds.

But they had already returned those gems, so this letter must have contained something different.

"Let's see what Baby Bear and Mew sent back this time!" Naoki thought excitedly.

As he opened the letter, Brother and Sister Indeedee gathered around, curious about the new delivery.

Sister Indeedee looked at the letter in Naoki's hands and tilted her head, asking curiously, "Ai-e?"

Naoki hadn't eaten any of the translation seeds, but from her expression, he could guess her meaning. He smiled and said, "Yes, this is from the Baby Bear I told you about before, the one who's been traveling."

"Its trait is picking up. Pokémon with this trait love to collect all kinds of little trinkets. See that display shelf over there? All those items are treasures Baby Bear picked up while exploring."

The Indeedee siblings glanced at the shelf and, sure enough, saw a pile of mismatched items. There were Water Stones, regular pebbles, broken Poké Balls, and even fruit cores from Berries.

Naoki chuckled and explained, "It might look like junk to us, but to Baby Bear, each one is a real treasure."

Hearing this, the Indeedee siblings exchanged glances, their curiosity about the mysterious Baby Bear growing even more.

At that moment, Naoki finally opened the envelope and looked inside.

There was a photo and a feather emitting a soft silver glow.

As soon as Naoki saw the feather, his heart skipped a beat.

"Could it be... the Silver Wing?"

The Silver Wing is a legendary feather from Lugia. It's said that the holder can summon the mythical Pokémon Lugia somewhere in the world by using this feather!

But that wasn't the exciting part for Naoki. Instead, his mind drifted to the "Thunder Buns" he made last time using a feather from Zapdos.

So the question arose: 'could this Lugia feather also be used to make... buns?'

'If so, what kind of magical buns would it create?'

Naoki felt a surge of excitement.

The idea of summoning Lugia didn't really matter to him. Even if he could summon it, capturing Lugia would be impossible.

Rather than letting the feather gather dust on a shelf or keeping it for mere collection, why not use it as a magical ingredient in cooking—just like before?

With a firm decision made, Naoki placed the Silver Wing aside and picked up the photo Baby Bear and Mew had sent.

On the back of the photo were two small paw prints. Naoki recognized them instantly as belonging to Mew and Baby Bear.

Baby Bear's paw prints were standard bear prints, while Mew's prints looked like they belonged to a playful cat.

This time, however, the photo didn't feature Baby Bear or Mew.

Instead, it captured a serene, cloudless sky stretching over an endless ocean. The blue sky reflected perfectly in the calm water, making the sea and sky appear to merge as one.

And high above the tranquil scene, an elegant and majestic silver-white Pokémon floated gracefully.

On its back sat a young boy, wearing a Poké Ball-emblazoned jacket with the Alliance logo clearly visible.

Naoki recognized the boy immediately.

It was Ash.

In the distance, behind Lugia, three islands of similar size could be seen. Flying towards the islands were three distinct figures. Naoki knew them by their shapes and colors without a doubt.

From left to right were the God of Thunder, Zapdos, the God of Ice, Articuno, and Moltres.

Looking at the scene, Naoki couldn't help but wonder how Baby Bear had come across this Silver Feather.

He thought it over carefully and came up with two possibilities.

The first was that Baby Bear somehow managed to steal the feather amidst the chaos of the battle between the legendary Pokémon.

The second possibility was that the feather was knocked off Lugia during the fight, and Baby Bear just happened to find it.

Naoki figured the second option was more likely. After all, Baby Bear is so adorable—how could it turn into a troublemaker?

But then again, the legendary birds in the Johto region do seem to have a habit of dropping feathers all over the world.

Lugia's Silver Feather, for instance, is said to be given only to humans it deems worthy.

Ho-Oh's Rainbow Feather, on the other hand, serves a different purpose—it's used as a ticket to participate in the Rainbow Hero Trial.

And then there's the Lunar Feather from Cresselia, the Dream Goddess, which can help people dispel nightmares.

Of course, Cresselia isn't from Johto—it's from Sinnoh.

As these thoughts swirled in his mind, Naoki chuckled to himself: "I wonder if Baby Bear will ever meet the Phoenix King, Ho-Oh."

Though, in truth, what Naoki was really after wasn't Ho-Oh itself, but one of its feathers.

Not to join the Rainbow Hero Trial, but to use it for cooking.

But then Naoki remembered something: Marshadow, the Pokémon who watches over those chosen by Ho-Oh, can sense the hearts of humans carrying a Rainbow Feather.

After Ho-Oh grants a feather to its chosen human, Marshadow follows them, hiding in their shadow, to see if they truly possess the qualities to become the Rainbow Hero.

If Marshadow or any of Ho-Oh's guardians ever found out that Naoki was using the Rainbow Feather for cooking, their reactions would be priceless.

Thankfully, Naoki had one rule he never broke—he never used Pokémon themselves in his dishes. Otherwise, Marshadow would likely have finished him off by now.

With that thought, Naoki carefully put the photo away, planning to frame it and hang it on his wall as a keepsake.

As for the Silver Feather that had fallen from Lugia, it seemed like he would need Kelly's help again.

Leaving the ranch chores in the capable hands of the siblings, Naoki hopped on to Koraidon and rode straight to Kelly's cabin.

When Kelly saw him approach, she raised an eyebrow. "What new ranch facility are you thinking about this time? A Pokemon House? Or maybe a water mill?"

Naoki grinned and took out the Silver Feather from his pocket. "I'm not building anything this time. I just want to borrow your crusher."

Hearing this, Kelly turned her gaze toward the feather, which emitted a soft silver glow.

"This is…?"

Naoki almost said "Lugia," but realizing that would be hard to explain, he quickly changed his words. "It's a feather from a Swanna."

Swanna is an elegant and beautiful Pokémon that evolves from Ducklett. It dances gracefully on the lake at dawn, which is how it got its name.

"A Swanna? No wonder its feather is so beautiful," Kelly marveled. "That Swanna must have been really well cared for. Its feather seems to be glowing."

"Come with me," Kelly said, turning around and leading Naoki to the workshop where the crusher was kept.

She didn't ask Naoki why he wanted to crush the feather. She just stood aside and switched on the machine. "Go ahead and put it in."

Naoki nodded and placed the feather inside.

Kelly pressed the switch, and the crusher began to rumble.

As the machine started running, the Silver Feather was swallowed by the crusher. Naoki and Kelly stood by, waiting in silence, but suddenly a strong wind whipped through the room.

The gust sent Kelly's drawings flying into the air like snowflakes.

Startled, Kelly asked over the noise, "What's happening?"

Naoki shielded his face from the wind with his arms and made a wild guess. "Maybe it's the flying energy stored in Swanna's feather?"

Kelly looked bewildered. "Isn't this a bit much?"

But Naoki quickly realized something was wrong.

He saw specks of silver light swirling out of the machine. It wasn't just ordinary dust—it was the shattered remains of the Silver Feather!

'Oh no!' He should've realized sooner. A Silver Feather capable of summoning Lugia couldn't be as simple as the feather of an ordinary Pokémon like Zapdos. It had to contain immense energy that Lugia could sense!

Naoki reached out, trying to catch the silver light, but it slipped through his fingers, vanishing into the wind.

He felt a pang of regret. 'What a loss!'

Kelly hesitated, unsure whether to turn off the machine.

Thankfully, the wind stopped just then.

The scattered drawings drifted back down, covering the room in a snowy mess.

Naoki's heart pounded with guilt. He quickly apologized to Kelly, looking sheepish. "I'm really sorry, I didn't know the energy in that feather would be so overwhelming!"

Most of the drawings were just casual sketches that weren't too important, but seeing Naoki so flustered, Kelly decided to tease him. "If you really want to make it up to me, send over some pumpkins later! Halloween's coming up, and I want to use them to decorate the house."

Seeing that Kelly wasn't upset, Naoki breathed a sigh of relief and quickly promised, "Absolutely! You'll have as many pumpkins as you want!"

He mentally noted to have Dragonite deliver the pumpkins as soon as he got back.

Kelly burst into laughter. "Relax, I'm just kidding! I've never seen you this nervous before."

Naoki rubbed the back of his neck, a little embarrassed. "I just really don't like causing trouble for other people."

Kelly opened the crusher's outlet and looked at the remaining feather powder inside. "Do you still want this?"

"Yes!" Naoki rushed over and carefully collected the remaining powder into a glass bottle he had prepared.

Once they cleaned up the room together, Naoki said goodbye to Kelly and hopped on his Koraidon to head back to the ranch.

On his way back, he finally had a chance to examine the effects of the feather powder more closely.

[Lugia Feather Powder: A legendary ingredient. This powder contains immense energy. It can be used in cooking, but its effects are unknown.]

...

Let's roll up those sleeves, summon all the hidden accounts 👀, and start tossing stones like there's no tomorrow. Extra chapter drops at 500 Power stones