After dinner, Ash stayed with his mother for a while, watching television together. He told her about what had happened that afternoon—about Pidgeotto's foster mother, the Fearow, and how she had passed away.
Delia sighed deeply, filled with emotion. She had long expected that Pidgeotto's past must have been full of hardship and suffering, but she never imagined it would be this cruel and tragic.
Pidgey and Spearow were both common "route birds" of the Kanto region. Yet just like how people loved Butterfree but feared Beedrill, even though they were both early-route Pokémon, Pidgey was clearly more beloved by humans.
Out in the wild, however, Pidgey and Spearow existed in a predator–prey relationship. As a result, these two bird Pokémon were natural enemies—locked in a deadly, irreconcilable rivalry.
A Pidgey being picked up and hatched by a Fearow…
A Pidgey being born into a Spearow clan…
Just imagining it was enough to understand how unbearably difficult Pidgey's childhood must have been.
Fortunately, the leader of the Spearow clan—the Fearow who had hatched Pidgey—had treated it as her own flesh and blood. That motherly love was the key reason Pidgey had been able to grow up safely within the Spearow tribe.
Yet it was precisely because of her protection of this adopted child that Fearow became the target of doubt and resentment from the rest of the clan. Long-suppressed dissatisfaction eventually erupted into rebellion.
From the clan's standpoint, Fearow's actions were indeed absurd.
But from a human perspective, the love she showed toward her adopted child was deeply admirable.
And Ash was Pidgeotto's Trainer.
Emotionally and logically, he stood firmly on Fearow's side—supporting her choice, sympathizing with her fate, and feeling nothing but disgust toward Scar-Eye and the other Spearow whose rebellion had led to her death.
"I just hope Pidgeotto and Spearow can come out of their grief soon and start a new life," Delia sighed softly. "I think… that's what Fearow would have wanted too."
"Yeah… I think so as well," Ash replied quietly, curled up in his mother's arms on the sofa, letting out a gentle sigh of his own.
Because of what had happened to Fearow that afternoon, Ash spent longer than usual downstairs with his mother after dinner.
It wasn't until nine in the evening—when Rotom reminded him it was time for his psychic meditation—that Ash finally went upstairs with his Pokémon.
A cool breeze pushed open the small wooden window in his room. Outside, several especially bright stars shone in the night sky, scattered among thin white clouds. A full moon hung like a jade plate, embedded in the gray-blue heavens.
Ash told his Pokémon to rest early. He then climbed onto his bed, sat cross-legged, and began his Aura Power meditation.
The Dream Law Imprint on the back of his right hand activated. As Ash sat there, his body was gradually enveloped in a faint, hazy pink glow.
-----
Outside Pallet Town, far in the distance—
On the hillside where the cypress tree stood, a Spearow huddled stiffly on a branch, as if frozen by the cold. Standing beside it was a Pidgeotto.
From a racial standpoint, these two Pokémon should have been mortal enemies. Yet now, they perched together on the same branch in perfect harmony—an image that would have seemed unbelievable to anyone else.
But to Pidgeotto and Spearow themselves, this felt completely natural.
After all, this was how they had grown up together.
In the past, this branch had held not just the two of them—but also their mother, Fearow, standing between them, wrapping them both in her wide, warm wings.
From now on… that would never happen again.
"…Mom… mmm…"
In its sleep, Spearow shivered. It felt not only cold, but also overwhelmed by loneliness, fear, and a grief that refused to fade.
Hearing the murmured sobbing, Pidgeotto opened its eyes. Seeing Spearow trembling, it moved closer—stepping into the spot where their mother once stood—and spread its wings, pulling Spearow into its embrace like a warm blanket.
"…Mom…"
Feeling that familiar warmth even in its dreams, Spearow stopped trembling. It nuzzled deeper into the embrace and fell into peaceful sleep.
A crescent moon drifted behind a passing cloud, spilling soft silver light. Above them, two unusually bright stars blinked like eyes—forming what looked almost like a gentle, loving smile.
…..
The night passed quietly.
At dawn, as the sun rose from behind the distant mountains and a cool morning breeze scattered the damp mist from the hills, the leaves of the cypress tree rustled loudly.
The two bird Pokémon on the branch slowly opened their sleepy eyes.
"…Huh?"
Waking within the warm embrace and seeing the figure beside it, Spearow froze in shock.
"B-Brother? Why is it you? Where's Mom?" it asked in disbelief.
Pidgeotto didn't answer immediately. Instead, it shook its stiff wings, sending dew droplets flying like strings of crystal pearls into the air.
"Pidgeotto… let's eat breakfast," it finally said. "After that, I'll take you to see Ash."
It pulled out the food Ash had left the previous night.
"No! Mom's gone… I'm not going anywhere! I'll stay here and wait for her to come back!" Spearow cried.
"Pidgeotto…"
"I'm sad too. But Mom is gone. The dead can't come back."
"No! I don't want that! I want Mom…!"
Smack!
Pidgeotto slapped Spearow lightly with a wing.
"So talking nicely doesn't work, huh? You only listen after getting hit?" it scolded.
"Waaah…!" Spearow whimpered.
"…Alright, be good."
Pidgeotto gently smoothed the messy feathers on Spearow's head.
"Mom isn't gone. Her body is sleeping in the earth—but her spirit is still watching us from the sky. She wouldn't want to see you like this."
"R-Really?"
Spearow looked up with desperate hope. "Mom is really watching us from the sky?"
"Pidgeotto… yeah."
"Mom is up there. If she were still alive, she'd definitely be flying circles above us, calling us down to eat breakfast."
"When you evolve into a Fearow one day—when you can fly as high as she did—you might be able to see her yourself."
"I don't want to wait!" Spearow suddenly cried. "I want to go now! I want to fly up and find Mom right now!"
With that, it beat its wings furiously and shot upward like an arrow.
The morning winds on the hillside were strong. Spearow struggled, barely able to maintain altitude—but it refused to give up, forcing itself higher against the gale.
Twenty meters…
Thirty meters…
Fifty meters…
"Wooo—!"
Just as Spearow ran out of strength, a powerful updraft surged upward, lifting it and nearly throwing it off balance. After barely stabilizing itself, Spearow looked up again.
Its eyes sparkled with joy.
"Brother! You didn't lie to me!"
"Mom really is up there! She really is in the sky!"
Spearow let out a bright, delighted cry toward the skies.
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T/N:
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