(A/N: Bonus Chapter! Enjoy!)
As expected, no matter where you went, this island nation was nothing but trouble.
Entei immediately approached Suicune. Marshadow hurried to follow.
By the time John reached Suicune, Entei and Marshadow had already communicated his intentions fairly clearly.
"Guiding the Rainbow Hero to meet Lord Ho-Oh is indeed my duty, but..." Suicune paused, addressing John directly. "Could you wait a moment? I have something extremely important that must be completed first."
"Purifying this environment?" John glanced at the discolored, polluted ocean waters surrounding them.
"Exactly." Suicune nodded. Even while not running, it continuously radiated its purification power, desperately trying to cleanse the surrounding contamination. "If this pollution continues spreading, it may accelerate the awakening of a terrifying existence. When that happens, the entire world will face destruction."
"You're talking about Zygarde?" John asked directly.
Any being capable of destroying the world had to be extremely high-level, at minimum, a deity commanding one of the fundamental forces of nature.
In the Pokemon world, Zygarde represented nature itself, or more specifically, the ecosystem. It was Arceus's "purification protocol" for the Pokemon world. Once the world's ecological system and balance were sufficiently damaged, Zygarde would appear and initiate a complete reset, returning everything to its natural state.
Returning to nature meant, quite simply, destroying civilization.
John understood the combat capabilities of this world's trainers quite well.
Humanity fundamentally lacked the ability to prevent a complete-form Zygarde from destroying the world. However, due to other Legendary Pokemon's existence, Zygarde would likely only manage to annihilate the Island Nation before being forcibly repelled from the field.
"You know of its existence?" Suicune stared at John in astonishment.
The Water Guardian looked at John with growing alarm, wondering if this human's methods might be somewhat too brutal.
When Suicune didn't respond further, John didn't press the issue.
At this rate, one of three outcomes seemed inevitable: either Suicune would exhaust itself to death first, or it would completely awaken to reality and follow his suggestion to capture the ocean polluters directly. Or finally, Suicune simply wouldn't purify fast enough, and Zygarde would make its spectacular entrance.
John was content to wait and watch. If Zygarde did appear in this world, then it would become another Legendary Pokemon for his collection.
"I'll call Raikou over to help activate the Rainbow Wing first," John said.
"That works. Wait for me a moment, I'll come to your island immediately."
"I've already left Sky Island," John stated flatly.
"Left Sky Island?" Magnus's confused voice came through the phone. Hadn't they just parted ways?
Even if John left Sky Island immediately, he'd only be on a flight heading back toward the Draconia. But that didn't make sense... Could John have possibly encountered Suicune while on an airplane?
"No need for such trouble. Just tell Raikou to wait peacefully and not resist," John said, then hung up.
Back on Sky Island, Magnus and Raikou stared at each other, wide-eyed. "He said to wait peacefully and not resist?"
"Rai?" Raikou couldn't understand what his trainer's words meant.
In that moment, space distorted. Reality shattered.
Raikou looked completely dumbfounded.
"Raikou's here. All of you help me activate the power within the Rainbow Wing," John said, presenting the Rainbow Wing to the three members of Ho-Oh's Guardian Beasts.
Entei stepped forward and gave Raikou a smack, jolting it fully awake.
The moment they touched the Rainbow Wing, that warm power surged forth like a tidal wave. John felt as though he'd been immersed in a comfortable hot spring, waves of soothing energy washing over him.
The Rainbow Wing pulsed with increasing intensity in John's grasp. The three Legendary Beasts, Entei, Suicune, and Raikou, had formed a triangle around him, each channeling their unique powers into the sacred feather.
Crimson flames from Entei. Crystal-pure water from Suicune. Crackling lightning from Raikou.
The three elemental energies spiraled together, weaving into the Rainbow Wing until it blazed with multicolored radiance that could be seen for miles across the ocean.
"This power..." Suicune's eyes widened. "The Rainbow Wing is responding. Lord Ho-Oh will sense this call."
"How long?" John asked pragmatically.
"Hours, perhaps. Maybe a day." Suicune's voice carried uncertainty. "Lord Ho-Oh moves according to its own will. We can only signal, we cannot command."
John nodded, considering the timeline. His first tournament match was in three days. Plenty of time, assuming Ho-Oh didn't take too long making an appearance.
"While we wait, let's discuss your pollution problem," John said, turning his attention back to Suicune. "You're treating symptoms, not the cause. Purifying water that's being actively contaminated is like trying to empty the ocean with a bucket."
"What would you suggest?" Suicune's tone held genuine curiosity mixed with defensiveness.
"Simple. Find the source. Eliminate it." John's eyes were cold. "You're a Legendary Pokemon, not a cleanup crew. Stop acting like their janitor and make them stop polluting in the first place."
The three Legendary Beasts exchanged glances. In their ancient understanding, they were guardians, they protected, they purified, they maintained balance. But this human was suggesting something far more direct.
Something almost revolutionary.
"The humans won't listen to reason," Suicune said quietly. "I've tried. They see only profit, not consequences."
"Then make the consequences immediate," John replied. "You have the power. Use it."
Marshadow watched this exchange with fascination. This human truly was different from any Rainbow Hero in recorded history. Most sought harmony and peace. This one advocated for action.
Perhaps that's exactly what this era needed.
The Rainbow Wing's glow intensified further, now shooting a beam of pure rainbow light straight into the sky, a beacon that would pierce through dimensions themselves to reach Ho-Oh's domain.
The summons had been sent.
Now they would wait for the Phoenix's answer.