Chapter Eleven: The Guardian of the Skies

The town of Ecruteak had not always been the home to the mystical phoenix, Ho-Oh. No, Ho-Oh only sought to temporarily take residence upon the rooftop of one of the temples, until she could figure out a possible means of permanent survival. Ho-Oh was young, and running from a sort of danger that terrified her tremendously. From where she had initially originated from, she was the victim of Pokémon poachers, who sought to capture her and keep her as a prize, a mere trophy. However, she did not know of her enemy; as far as she was concerned, her only enemy was confusion, and her lack of knowledge as to what was happening.

At least twenty years before Ho-Oh became branded the "Guardian of the Skies"; she had lived on mountaintops in a perilous area that brought about constant blistering winds and the infernal scorching heat of the sun; far from the humble town of Ecruteak.
Her nest resided high on the craggy cliffs, sitting on the edge, right next to the steep drop of the bluff. Most of the mountainsides had sharp, vertical plunges, smooth cliff faces with nought a crevice or a fracture in the fluent flatness of the precipice's border. The sky directly above was forever cloudless, and rain hadn't streamed from the firmament in centuries. This was evident by the splintered and arid ground at the base of the mountains. This sort of environment suited Ho-Oh just fine.

She didn't know where she came from, or how she came to be; her first memory was of awaking in the smouldering cinders of what was left of a flaming inferno. Any event that happened before that, the majestic phoenix had no recollection of. She had sauntered across the lands, trying to find a way to survive, and had accidentally stumbled across the barren wasteland, which she decided to call home, and which would remain her home until she would be driven out by the same poachers that had first approached her.

It was at least 5 to 10 years following her discovery of her desert dwelling when the men had tracked her down. They watched her for weeks, observing her movements, and the patterns of her lifestyle, just as they had done previously. They already knew how she acted, but something went wrong, and the bird became aware of their presence. When they had tried to hastily capture her, she went on a vehement rampage, spreading her fire onto all forms of life. The poachers had lost three men that day. Whilst the trees were burning avidly, thick plumes of eye-watering smoke replaced the pure air. In the confusion of the havoc being caused, and the blinding destruction being thrust upon the environment, one of the men accidentally let his arrow fly into the smoking inferno.

That arrow sped through the murky black air, and the tip embedded itself into the breast of the elegant bird, piercing through the thick muscles that enveloped the beasts' fast-paced heart. Ho-Oh's heart immediately ceased to work, and within minutes, she was lying on the ground, her breathing heavy and shallow. Just moments before she had died, her feathers spontaneously combusted, and were flaring intensely. Large, bright flames sparked and flickered on the equally bright feathers. They sizzled and sputtered as they burned.

It was only when the flames had completely engulfed the mystical phoenix-Pokémon that the bird had passed. Her lungs burned as the fire had started singeing through the skin and into its organs.

The men were still fumbling their way through the fiery inferno that was surrounding them, trying to find their way out of this conflagrating maze. Only after the fires had ceased did they realise their terrible accident that cost them a one-of-a-kind Pokémon.

But of course, Ho-Oh remembered none of this. She only remembered waking up in the smouldering embers and the scattered ash in an austere, desolate field, with burnt lumps of blackened tree carcasses scattering the ground. She did not remember as the metal head of the arrow penetrate her heart; she did not remember the selfish lust the men had at the sight of her, and their plot to capture her for their own greedy desires. She remembered none of that.

These men had given up all hope when they saw the burning carcass of Ho-Oh; they thought that they had killed her. However, when they heard rumours of a golden bird whose feathers glowed with the colours of the rainbow under the ardent gaze of the sun. The tales all agreed that this strange bird was situated in the rough, barren desert, just east of a volcanic town. These men spent years travelling to the land of Hoenn, grasping onto the simple tales of those rumours with tiny specks of hope. This brought them to survey every movement of the magical bird for weeks on end. They wanted to know their prey as well as possible so that the next time, they would not botch the job again.

Hiding behind large weather-beaten boulders, they sat in the dead of night, waiting until the bird would finally fall asleep. With the sun gone, the bitter air nipped at their skin. An icy wind swept through the canyon, whistling between the rocky formations. One of the men exhaled a staccato'd whistle, signalling that they move out to their positions.

They climbed for a few hours over a rough, fractured wall of the mountain, using the rocks that sharply jutted out as footholds. They finally reached the vicinity of Ho-Oh's territory at dawn, when a small sliver of the sun eagerly peeked over the top of the rugged landscape. The bird would awaken in a just a few hours, so they had to work quickly to prepare themselves.

Suddenly, one of the men stepped on a loose patch of rock, and stumbled towards the edge, not quite being able to find any balance on his feet. The others turned their heads and their breaths were caught in their throat. One by one, they slowly turned to the sleeping bird, anticipating the opening of its eyes. Then came a scream, as the man fell over the side of the cliff, his shrieks becoming faint. A dull, mellifluous thud was heard, and the others felt their stomachs lurching at the sickening sound.

At the sound of the thud, Ho-Oh's eyes snapped open, and the crown of curled feathers atop its head sprang upright. It swivelled its head towards the shallow breathing of the people only a few feet from the nest, and her black-rimmed eyes widened. Almost immediately, her wings launched the bird upwards, and she quickly escaped. The men attempted to throw a thickly weaved net over her, but it barely scraped against her long tail.

Curses erupted from their mouths. Another foiled attempt at capturing the mystical and magical Ho-Oh.
For years, the bird roamed the lands, searching for a safe place to settle down. She stopped only when it was absolutely necessary, and one of those occasions was when she stopped atop the ornate roof of the Tin Tower. Whilst there, she was offered food, and shelter, and was begged by the kinder souls of the human race to stay. She accepted their offer, knowing that she would be safe with these people.

To this day, Ho-Oh remains the mascot for Ecruteak town; but she is always on the lookout for danger. She is always suspecting...