"You are a descendant of the Takahashi family… then who is Mika Takahashi?" Ash couldn't help asking when he heard Takahashi's surname.
"Huh? I didn't expect you to know the name of my ancestor." After hearing Ash's question, Morty looked at him in surprise.
The name Mika Takahashi was rarely known nowadays. Only a few major families—or those who preserved records from over three hundred years ago—still remembered it.
"Ho-Oh told me," Ash replied calmly. "Your ancestor, Mika Takahashi, was the first human to communicate with Ho-Oh."
"...So Ho-Oh still refuses to forgive us." Morty sighed after hearing Ash's words.
It was clear he had made many efforts over the years to earn Ho-Oh's forgiveness, yet none of them had succeeded.
"Master, what are you two talking about?" Emiya Shirō asked in confusion. "I can't understand anything."
Ash nodded slightly and began to explain.
"The Burned Tower, which you see today, was once called the Brass Tower. More than three hundred years ago, a noble girl named Mika Takahashi lived in Ecruteak City."
"She loved Pokémon deeply. At that time, however, humans and Pokémon didn't coexist very peacefully in the wild."
"In order to change that, Mika Takahashi built the Brass Tower. She dedicated it to Legendary Pokémon, hoping that one day they would recognize humanity and help create a world where humans and Pokémon could live together in harmony."
"One day, Ho-Oh passed by and discovered the tower. It also noticed Mika Takahashi."
"After seeing her sincerity, Ho-Oh decided to communicate with her. Eventually, Ho-Oh began visiting the tower regularly."
"The tower soon became famous, but Ho-Oh initially only met with Mika Takahashi. Over time, however, Ho-Oh gradually lowered its guard toward humans."
"Even after Mika Takahashi passed away, Ho-Oh continued to meet periodically with her descendants."
Ash paused for a moment.
"But things didn't last long."
"After Mika Takahashi's death, members of the Takahashi family began fighting over her legacy."
"Some of them even became greedy for Ho-Oh's power."
"Of course, capturing Ho-Oh wasn't easy. So when Ho-Oh came to the Brass Tower again, those people sealed the entire tower. No one—human or Pokémon—was allowed to enter or leave."
Morty clenched his fists silently.
"And Ho-Oh noticed the betrayal."
"In its rage, Ho-Oh burned the entire tower."
"Ho-Oh is a Legendary Pokémon of fire. When it became angry, its flames engulfed nearly the entire Ecruteak City."
"But at that moment, three Pokémon rushed into the flames despite Ho-Oh's fury."
"They saved most of the innocent Pokémon caught in the disaster."
"Unfortunately, those three Pokémon perished in the flames."
Ash continued calmly.
"Afterward, Ho-Oh realized that many innocent Pokémon had been involved in the tragedy. Fortunately, thanks to those three Pokémon, almost none of the others died."
"To repay them, Ho-Oh resurrected the three fallen Pokémon."
"They awakened to the power of natural laws and became the Legendary Pokémon known as Entei, Suicune, and Raikou."
Ash's explanation left everyone present stunned.
Even Morty himself had never known the full truth behind the story.
"So that's how the three Legendary Pokémon were born…" Shirō muttered in disbelief.
He had always assumed Legendary Pokémon were born that way.
Ash shook his head slightly.
"Very few Pokémon are born as Legendary Pokémon."
"Most must comprehend natural laws to reach that level."
"The Legendary Beasts and even the Legendary Birds are examples."
"And around the world, there are other Pokémon like them."
"It's just that, compared to those six Legendary Pokémon, they haven't truly mastered the power of laws. In terms of strength, however, they are at least between the Champion level and the Elite Four level."
This was something Ash had analyzed himself. Of course, without Ho-Oh revealing certain truths to him, Ash would never have been able to understand secrets like these.
"So there are Ho-Oh in other regions as well?" Sabrina asked after hearing Ash's explanation.
Ash shook his head.
"No. Ho-Oh is one of the very few Pokémon that are born as Legendary Pokémon. From the moment it was born, it already possessed innate divine power and talent. In other words, it was born with the power of laws."
Sabrina's question made Ash chuckle slightly.
If there were Ho-Oh everywhere, then Legendary Pokémon would hardly be rare anymore. In reality, most Legendary Pokémon—and especially the highest-tier ones—exist as unique beings in the world.
"What about Lugia then?" Emiya Shirō asked curiously. "There are legends of Lugia appearing in many different places."
It was widely rumored that Lugia had appeared across several seas, making it unclear whether there was only one or multiple.
"Although Lugia is also a top-tier Legendary Pokémon, it didn't start that way," Ash explained.
"It rose to that level through evolution over time."
"In the ancient era, Lugia weren't completely unique. Their numbers were small, but they weren't unheard of."
Ash paused slightly.
"Unfortunately, in the present era, their numbers have probably declined drastically."
"That's also one of the reasons Lugia tends to resent humans even more than Ho-Oh."
"In truth, there isn't much difference between being born with the power of laws and acquiring it later."
"If you really want to compare strength, it ultimately depends on how well one has mastered those laws."
"You could say Ho-Oh had a head start."
"But Lugia's potential is no joke."
"In the ancient era, Lugia's initial strength was actually lower than many regional pseudo-Legendary Pokémon."
"But the Lugia that appeared earlier…"
Ash's tone became slightly serious.
"That one was already a fully matured Legendary Pokémon."
"A being on the same level as Ho-Oh."
(End of Chapter)
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