"Ha? Ho-Oh? I have no idea!"
"But that day, I did see a Pokémon I'd never seen before!"
He even still had one of Ho-Oh's feathers in his possession!
So it was actually a really powerful Pokémon?
…
At the Indigo Plateau Pokémon League—
Damaranchi was completely shaken by the result.
"Ho-Oh! It's actually Ho-Oh!"
His gaze toward the screen was now filled with excitement.
As the answer was revealed—
The scene that had flashed by earlier began to replay.
This time—
Everyone could see it clearly.
The Legendary Pokémon, Ho-Oh, with its radiant rainbow-colored plumage, soared across the sky above Ash.
And from the heavens—
A single feather, glowing with seven-colored light, drifted down.
Ash picked it up.
Looking at the unfamiliar Pokémon, his heart was filled with a strange, indescribable feeling.
Standing under the setting sun with Pikachu, Ash said confidently,
"Someday, we'll meet it again!"
"Pika!"
Pikachu had no doubt in Ash's words!
They would definitely meet again!
Watching the interaction between Ash and Pikachu—and Ho-Oh's brief appearance and departure—
Who would dare say Ho-Oh hadn't appeared because of Ash?
No one dared.
Unlike ordinary Trainers who only had vague knowledge of Ho-Oh—
As Chairman, Damaranchi knew far more about it.
Hundreds of years ago—
Ho-Oh had maintained contact with humans.
Ecruteak City in the Johto region had once been the place most closely connected to Ho-Oh.
The legends of Ho-Oh could be traced back over seven hundred years.
In Ecruteak City stood two towers, symbolizing the harmony between humans and Pokémon.
At that time, Ho-Oh would occasionally descend upon one of them—the Bell Tower—to rest.
From time to time, it would even communicate with humans.
Until one day…
Driven by greed for Ho-Oh's power, humans went to war.
They fought and slaughtered one another!
In the end—
The Bell Tower, Ho-Oh's dwelling, was burned to the ground.
At the same time, three unknown Pokémon perished in the fire that raged for three days and nights.
Then—
Ho-Oh descended.
Using its miraculous power of resurrection, it revived those three Pokémon, granting them new life and immense strength!
Raikou—the embodiment of lightning!
Entei—the embodiment of volcanoes!
Suicune—the embodiment of the north wind!
From that day forward—
Ho-Oh never again appeared before humanity.
It left those three reborn Pokémon as its watchers.
It waited—
For the day when humans and Pokémon could truly coexist in harmony.
Until that day came—
Ho-Oh would never choose to reveal itself to humans again.
Even when the people of Ecruteak realized their mistakes and rebuilt a new Bell Tower—
The clear chimes atop it never rang again.
Ho-Oh had left the human world forever.
But now—
Now!
Ho-Oh had appeared before a rookie Trainer!
And had even gifted him a precious feather!
The more Damaranchi thought about it, the more overwhelmed he became.
There was simply too much information to process!
"…Professor Oak, did Ash ever mention this to you?"
After a moment, Damaranchi asked the man on the screen.
Professor Oak: "…"
An awkward expression appeared on his face.
"Ash… did mention it to me."
Damaranchi's eyes lit up.
Say more!
Tell me everything!
This was Ho-Oh!
The spiritual symbol of Kanto and Johto!
Under Damaranchi's eager gaze, Professor Oak hesitated before continuing,
"Well… before this video, who would've believed it was real…?"
As he spoke, his eyes met Damaranchi's.
An awkward silence settled between them.
Damaranchi: "…"
That… kind of made sense…
No—it didn't!
That was Ho-Oh!
That was Ho-Oh!!!
Damaranchi could not calm down!
…
Someone else who couldn't stay calm—
Was the Gym Leader of Ecruteak City, Morty.
"Ho-Oh… has Ho-Oh appeared again?"
"Then why didn't it return?"
Morty couldn't understand.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't make sense of it.
Living in Ecruteak City, a place steeped in Ho-Oh's legends, Morty's curiosity toward Ho-Oh was absolute.
He had devoted himself to training there, hoping that one day, he would witness Ho-Oh with his own eyes!
And yet—
Ho-Oh had not returned to Ecruteak City.
Instead—
It had appeared before a rookie Trainer who had just begun his journey!
Morty was deeply shaken!
"What's so special about him…?!"
His eyes widened as he stared intensely at Ash on the screen.
He desperately tried to find the reason Ho-Oh had chosen to appear.
As the Gym Leader of Ecruteak—
Morty knew even more legends about Ho-Oh.
"It is said… Ho-Oh will appear before Trainers who are pure-hearted and who truly love Pokémon!"
"Those who earn Ho-Oh's recognition and receive its feather are usually called—"