Leaving behind the Gringey City area—still faintly suffused with a lingering sacred aura, yet utterly transformed—Ash, Misty, and Brock set off down the road toward Fuchsia City.
They had actually spent several days resting in Gringey City before departing, in no particular hurry to leave.
Though what Ash had done at the garbage dump was known to almost no one, Brock and Misty's actions had been witnessed by a great many people. They were heroes who had protected the city, after all.
Ash, for his part, had no intention of broadcasting his own role.
The whole business of being the 'Rainbow Hero'—while not exactly classified—was not widely known either. Generally, only powerful Trainers and high-ranking League officials had any awareness of it. And being publicly associated with Ho-Oh would create a certain... distance between him and ordinary people. After all, Ho-Oh's faith spanned the entirety of Kanto and Johto.
How would an ordinary person look at the chosen representative of a god? The mere thought of his reputation spreading and having everyone stare at him like that made Ash's skin crawl.
If people admire me for my own strength, that I can accept.
But being admired as a side effect of someone else's greatness... I couldn't stand that.
I should be noticed for who I am.
I refuse to be treated like a rare circus animal.
The area affected by the battle between Ho-Oh and Beedrill had been vast. Even now, having left Gringey City behind, the ground beneath their feet seemed to pulse with a vibrant life force born of Ho-Oh's Sacred Fire, and the air was impossibly, almost unbelievably fresh.
This, truly, was the power of a god.
"I still can't believe it—we actually saw Ho-Oh with our own eyes!" Misty exclaimed, still riding the high of it all, her cheeks flushed with excitement. "That was Ho-Oh! And it purified the entire city of Gringey City! This place is going to become one of the most fertile regions in all of Kanto!"
In Misty's view, Ho-Oh had descended specifically to resolve Gringey City's pollution crisis—which fit perfectly with the legend of Ho-Oh always appearing to rescue humanity from the brink of disaster.
In truth, while Ho-Oh did have a covenant of protection with humanity, it wasn't exactly a babysitter. If the problem wasn't too serious, it simply wouldn't bother.
Brock nodded in agreement, though as a former Gym Leader, his thoughts ran a bit deeper. "That's right. Gringey City has turned disaster into fortune. The residual Sacred Fire energy will continue nourishing this land for a very long time—both crops and wild Pokémon will benefit enormously. The League will definitely make this area a priority for development."
He paused, his gaze drifting almost imperceptibly toward Ash.
"Speaking of which, Ash... you were the closest to it. Did Ho-Oh say anything to you?"
Over the past few days of conversation, Brock had learned quite a bit from Ash—but he was equally certain that Ash hadn't said everything. Which was fair enough; when gods were involved, some things naturally weren't meant to be shared.
Ash's hand instinctively moved to his chest.
Hanging there was a deep-blue crystal pendant, condensed by Suicune's power. Sealed within the crystal was a small pinch of holy ash that shimmered with faint rainbow light—a gift from Ho-Oh itself, imbued with the miraculous power of life and purification.
Enough holy ash to revive ten people.
Which meant Ash was, in effect, carrying ten revival tokens on his person at all times.
To kill him permanently, someone would need to kill him at least eleven times. After that, his soul would be drawn before Ho-Oh and resurrected once more.
Heh. I guess you could say I'm unkillable now.
(≧□≦)
His other hand had instinctively tightened around an ordinary-looking Poké Ball at his belt.
"Mm... It said some encouraging things," Ash answered vaguely, opting for a partial truth. "It acknowledged our efforts."
He couldn't possibly lay out every detail of the Rainbow Hero trial—especially not the brutal choice it had forced upon him, nor the climactic fusion battle with Ho-Oh itself. There were too many threads involved, including the unique connection that now existed between him and the legendary divine bird.
Besides, the more you said, the more you risked saying something you shouldn't. Rather than worry about being pumped for information, it was far simpler to just close the topic off entirely.
Ho-Oh had, in fact, made it explicitly clear that Ash should probably not share the details of the trial. The reasoning was simple: it was rather like having the exam questions leaked in advance. A long-standing tradition existed of keeping the specific contents of the Rainbow Hero's trial discreet—everyone could know that the trial existed, but no one should know exactly what it entailed.
So: trust in the wisdom of those who came before, and keep the specifics to himself.
"Even so, what an incredible encounter!" Misty, completely oblivious to Ash's deliberate vagueness, was still buzzing with excitement. "And I even caught a glimpse of Suicune from afar! It was so elegant, so cool!" She clasped her hands over her heart, eyes shining with pure longing.
For someone like Misty, who aspired to become a Water-type Pokémon Master, Suicune was the stuff of dreams made real.
"Gym Leader Koga arrived afterward as well," Brock added, "and handled the remaining Grimer, Muk, Trubbish, and Garbodor. As a specialist in Poison-types, he was the perfect person to relocate and guide those Pokémon."
As the Gym Leader of Fuchsia City, Koga's Fuchsia Gym was located on the outskirts of the city, with more than enough space to house the displaced Pokémon. With their numbers now drastically reduced, it would be feasible to establish a managed waste site just outside Fuchsia City where the Pokémon could live in a controlled, semi-wild state—though strict population controls would naturally be necessary. A repeat of Gringey City's unchecked breeding cycle could not be allowed.
"The crystalline residue on the Muk really is a useful material for Poison-type Pokémon," Ash said, nodding thoughtfully, his gaze drifting upward toward the sky.
Up there, Pidgeot was stretching its newly evolved, broader and more powerful wings, weaving through the clouds in a playful chase with Charizard, who was vigorously testing the explosive speed and strength that came with its evolution. Well—more accurately, Pidgeot was tutoring Charizard on the finer points of wing-based flight. They were both fliers who relied on their wings, and even if their body structures differed, there was still plenty of experience to exchange.
This was nothing like flying with Golden Gyarados.
Behind the two of them, Golden Gyarados wound its way through the air in a lazy, undulating glide. Its scales were more dazzling than ever before, each one catching the sunlight and scattering it like hammered gold. Ho-Oh had shown a particular fondness for this gleaming giant, and had blessed it most generously of all—its vitality, defensive resilience, and latent potential had all received a comprehensive boost.
...Which was really a matter of personal taste on Ho-Oh's part.
...Ho-Oh simply adored the color gold—much like how it loved draping itself in a layer of golden radiance whenever it made an entrance.
...So a certain degree of favoritism toward the Golden Gyarados was perhaps inevitable.
Misty followed Ash's gaze, and it eventually settled on the Poké Ball he was idly turning over in his hand. A mischievous grin spread across her face.
"By the way, Ash..." she began.
"That golden Fearow you caught last... isn't it a little... well, you know what I mean."
She didn't quite have the heart to just say 'tacky' outright. The thing was, Ash had already acquired a golden Gyarados—and now he'd gone and caught a golden Fearow on top of that.
Seriously, what's wrong with your taste?
What's so great about that flashy nouveau-riche gold?
Gold-yellow is so gaudy!
Are you some kind of overnight millionaire?!
And there was another point worth noting: most Fearow simply weren't that impressive in battle. In the wild, Pidgeot was generally considered slightly stronger than Fearow.
Spearow could beat Pidgey. Pidgeotto could beat Spearow. Fearow could beat Pidgeotto. But Pidgeot could beat Fearow.
Those two were Kanto's most common 'starter birds,' and that was roughly how the hierarchy shook out between them. In Misty's opinion, if you wanted an early-route bird, you were better off raising a promising Spearow than just grabbing a Fearow. And a golden Pokémon like this was best suited for display, not serious competitive battling.
Ash's eye twitched.
He heroically suppressed the urge to burst out laughing and answered with perfect composure: "I think it has a lot of potential. And besides... we really clicked."
In truth, what was sitting inside that Poké Ball was Ho-Oh itself, having assumed a transformed form.
Pokémon do possess a certain degree of ability to alter their body size—which was, in fact, one of the core principles behind the design of Poké Balls. For ordinary Pokémon, this was a passive process. But for a divine being like Ho-Oh, it could of course be controlled consciously.
Originally, after settling affairs in Gringey City and bearing witness to the completion of the Rainbow Hero trial, Ho-Oh should have departed. It had the whole of the new world to soar across, guiding the atmospheric currents, just as it always had.
But here was the thing—as the God of Atmospheric Currents, Ho-Oh had no supervisor.
Or rather, the one who could be called its supervisor—Arceus—was off somewhere unknown, probably napping and shirking duties. So if Ho-Oh wanted to take a vacation, it could simply take one.
And then there was the experience of merging with Ash into the Immortal Divine Bird form. Ho-Oh had developed a deep, genuine fondness for Ash.
Oh~~
This is my Rainbow Hero!
My dear child~ might as well spend some more time together~
When Ash had asked Ho-Oh if it might accompany him to Viridian City for a while... Ho-Oh had simply declared it wasn't leaving. It volunteered to follow along with Ash temporarily, disguised as a 'Golden Fearow.'
—Ho-Oh accepts your invitation.
—Ho-Oh chooses to play hooky~~
This was, of course, not a capture in any sense of the word. This was a god freely choosing to accompany its chosen hero.
Ash was more than happy with the arrangement—this was Ho-Oh! Even in a disguised form, traveling alongside it was the highest of honors.
More importantly...
Who in their right mind would dare mess with me right now?!
Even if Giovanni himself showed up, I could send him packing!
As for whether Ho-Oh's flimsy disguise might be seen through—those with poor perception simply couldn't tell. Those with sharp enough perception wouldn't dare say a word.
That was roughly how things stood. Which happened to describe Brock and Misty perfectly: Misty couldn't tell, and Brock could, but kept his mouth firmly shut.
Brock adjusted his non-existent glasses and let a quiet, knowing gleam pass through his eyes. He had seen enough of the world to piece it together: the unusual energy fluctuations he'd sensed earlier, Ash's deliberately vague answers, and the unmistakable aura of noble dignity—subtle, yet impossible to ignore—radiating from that 'Fearow.' He had already formed a fairly confident guess.
He simply smiled steadily and said nothing.
After all, even the Giant Dragonite, one of the great Sea Kings, had carried itself with overwhelming majesty. Who could have imagined that the supreme divine being who presided over the skies and the rainbow—holder of Kanto and Johto's highest faith—would be willing to stoop to masquerading as a common Fearow?
That sense of humor, Brock thought, was probably a distinctly Ho-Oh sort of personality quirk. Even among all the gods, Ho-Oh was considered one of the more approachable and easygoing. Not that it couldn't get angry—it just tended toward reliability and good nature.
The group walked on, chatting and laughing, until the outline of Fuchsia City finally appeared on the horizon.
It was just on the outskirts of the city, in a clearing among the trees at the road's edge, that a familiar yet somehow unexpected figure suddenly blocked their path.
"Hey! My dearest rival—Ash Ketchum!"
There stood Gary Oak, hands in pockets, making his characteristically breezy entrance, with his loyal entourage of fangirls trailing behind him. His gaze swept over Ash's group and lingered on Brock with a raised eyebrow.
"Didn't expect to see the Pewter Gym's own Gym Leader Brock traveling with you—seems like you've actually been doing alright for yourself," Gary said. "But none of that matters!"
He stepped forward, brimming with confidence, and pointed at Ash with an air that bordered on arrogance.
"So, Ash? Since we've run into each other, let's have a Pokémon battle! A chance to measure how much we've both grown since leaving Pallet Town! And don't you dare tell me you're too scared to accept!"
Gary and Ash had known each other since childhood—practically since birth, both the same age and height, both setting out on their journeys at the same time. But as Gary had grown older, his personality had taken on a certain... edge. He'd become a bit high-handed, a bit dismissive of others—something even Professor Oak complained about regularly.
Looking at Gary's utterly unhinged 'I'm the center of the universe' expression, a perfect idea—one with more than a hint of mischief—immediately leapt into Ash's mind.
You seem a bit full of yourself, don't you?
...Boy.
Using his Aura, Ash quietly sent a message to the special red-and-white Poké Ball at his waist.
Ho-Oh, are you listening?
A 'friend' of mine wants to battle me.
Would you like to get some exercise?
Ash might not have had a mean bone in his body. The 'might not' was doing a lot of work in that sentence.
Funny how things worked out.
Ho-Oh, in private, was actually quite playful. This wasn't really a big deal, after all. Using power against the weak? Well—
Who said I'm Ho-Oh?
I'm a Shiny Fearow right now!
So when Ash extended the invitation, Ho-Oh didn't hesitate for a moment.
Sounds fun~~
...Why not play along for a bit.
A warm, faintly amused pulse of intent drifted out from within the Poké Ball.
With that confirmation, Ash's heart settled. His face, however, managed to maintain an expression of mild reluctance—tinged with just the faintest hint of hesitation.
"A battle, huh... Alright then. One-on-one. How's that?"
Don't laugh. Hold it in. Don't you dare laugh!
Ash was fighting heroically to keep his face neutral. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the fish to take the bait. He absolutely could not let Gary sense that anything was off. Gary might have an unreliable personality, but he was genuinely clever and sharp—if he caught even a whiff of something strange, he'd call the whole thing off immediately.
Under Ash's performance, Gary, of course, noticed nothing amiss. No matter how clever he was, he could never have imagined that Ash would pull out Ho-Oh for a battle.
This was going to be absolutely ridiculous.
— A Trainer on the road challenges you to a Pokémon battle.
— The Trainer sends out Tyranitar, Black Rayquaza, Zygarde.
— ...Funny.
"Perfect!" Gary snapped his fingers. "Let me show you the Pokémon I've been raising with care!"
Ash drew a deep breath, and under the watching eyes of Gary—expectant—Misty—curious—and Brock—desperately trying not to laugh—he reached for the Poké Ball containing the 'Golden Fearow' and tossed it lightly forward.
"I choose you! Go!"
Ash couldn't quite bring himself to call out the Fearow's name at the end.
How to put this...
Calling Ho-Oh by the name 'Fearow' was just a little too much... pfft... hahahahaha—
Hold it in! Don't laugh!
Ho-Oh could certainly feel the laughter Ash was suppressing. But this sort of thing Ho-Oh had already come to terms with.
Red light flashed.
A 'Fearow'—slightly larger than a normal Fearow, every feather gleaming with gorgeous, dazzling gold—appeared on the battlefield.
Divine as Ho-Oh was, it wasn't capable of shrinking itself to truly tiny proportions. It could adjust its size within a certain range—but this form, slightly larger than a normal Fearow, was currently the smallest it could make itself. Truthfully, it had never needed to practice shrinking down before. A bit more practice later and it could probably get smaller.
Ho-Oh stood utterly composed.
It even lazily preened a few feathers on its wing, its gaze holding the faint, lofty indifference of something that looked down upon all living things. Which, honestly, couldn't be helped. After existing for however many countless years, truly treating all creatures as equals was simply beyond Ho-Oh's nature. In its view, most living beings it met today would be dead by tomorrow. That was the fundamental difference in how an immortal perceived time.
The result was a truly devoted, borderline-smothering affection for its Rainbow Hero—the one constant it actually cared about.
To Gary, however, that overwhelmingly radiant gold simply screamed 'tacky nouveau riche.' His take aligned perfectly with Misty's: gold was fine in principle, but it had a way of looking... cheap.
"Pfft—BWAHAHAHA!" Gary stared for a full second, then erupted into exaggerated laughter, his fangirl squad tittering and covering their mouths behind him.
"Ash, Ash, Ash! What am I going to do with you?"
He pointed at the golden Ho-Oh—disguised as a Fearow—laughing so hard he nearly doubled over.
"Figures that the kid who showed up late on the day everyone got their starter Pokémon would have the worst luck and worst taste in the world! You actually caught... a dyed Fearow?!"
"I already heard you painted a Gyarados gold. I didn't think you'd pull the same stunt on a Fearow too!"
"HAHAHAHA— your journey is doomed to be one sorry disaster after another!"
For the record, on the day everyone had set off, Gary had actually waited a little while for Ash to appear—he had wanted a quick battle before hitting the road. When Ash failed to show up after a suspiciously long time, Gary had eventually left in mild exasperation.
He had been quietly stewing over that snub for a long time. Running into Ash on the outskirts of Fuchsia City was, in a way, exactly the outlet he'd been waiting for.
Ash gazed at Gary with an expression that was an artfully blended cocktail of pity, sympathy, and heroically suppressed laughter, and said with perfect sincerity:
"Gary... my friend."
"I genuinely wish you... the best of luck with what comes next."
He meant every word.
After all—your opponent is Ho-Oh.
Even self-limited and disguised as a Fearow, that was Ho-Oh. The difficulty rating: nightmare mode.
Oh, you say it was me who sent it out? Well then, never mind.
Meanwhile, the reactions among Ash's Pokémon who were in on the secret were varied, to say the least.
"Pika..." Pikachu pressed its tiny paw over its face and slowly shook its round little head, unable to watch. The sparks on its cheeks even seemed to flicker more faintly from secondhand embarrassment.
"Mai mai~" Misdreavus floated in the air and made a face at Pikachu, conveying one clear sentiment: this one's a lost cause.
Pidgeot and Charizard, who had just landed, exchanged a single glance, then both turned away in perfect unison and became very interested in studying the shapes of the clouds overhead.
Even Golden Gyarados, typically seething with short-tempered fury, was lying quietly to one side, its enormous eyes expressing a solemn, almost funereal moment of silence for a human too ignorant to know what he was ignorant of.
Considering that the fool standing there was about to challenge Ho-Oh, Golden Gyarados decided it would not waste any emotional energy being annoyed about the 'painted gold' comments right now. Even a Gyarados perpetually consumed by rage couldn't quite muster any anger at this particular moment.
"Hmph, all smoke and mirrors!" Gary, completely unaware of how badly he'd misjudged the situation, assumed Ash was putting on a bluff. After all, in Gary's mental model of him, Ash was absolutely the type to showboat.
"My beloved~"
"My Pokémon~"
"Show them what you've got!"
Gary kissed his Poké Ball with a flourish, then tossed it with practiced flair.
"Show them everything! With you, nothing can go wrong!"
Light burst outward, and a Nidoking—imposing, magnificently built, clearly raised with great care—slammed down onto the ground with a thunderous roar. Its razor-sharp poison horn gleamed with an icy light, and the earth itself trembled faintly beneath the impact.
This was, without question, Gary's prized ace. Its power was not to be underestimated.
Gary's assembled fangirl squad immediately began waving their pom-poms with enthusiasm.
"Gary is so cool! Gary is so cool! Gary! Gary! Go, Gary!"
Misty stared at the display in quiet disbelief and shot a look at Brock: ...and you gave this person a Badge?
Brock returned the look: Your three sisters gave him one too.
"..." The two of them sank into a shared state of wordless resignation. Perhaps the Badge should not have been awarded to this particular idiot.
"Nidoking, let your opponent feel your strength! Use Poison Jab!" Gary swept his arm forward with a triumphant flourish.
Nidoking let out a mighty roar.
Its massive claws gathered a dense, rich purple aura of Poison-type energy as it lunged forward with thunderous, heavy steps, charging straight at the flashy-yet-seemingly-fragile Golden Fearow. Its momentum was nothing short of awe-inspiring.
...We shall briefly set aside the question of how, exactly, a ground-based Pokémon intended to fight a bird.
...Because even if Ho-Oh chose to stand on the ground and be a 'land chicken' for this fight, there was simply no way it was going to lose.
____
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