Sprawled on the floor of the room it had been placed
in, a pokemon cursed silently. Silently, not because it didn't want to
offend anyone nearby - it would have loved to - but because it simply didn't
have the energy to move itself enough to talk, even psychically.
Pathetic... how could we have made such a mistake?
It asked itself for the thousanth time. The locked room was designed to
drain it's energy and keep it in a state of perpetual weakness and pain,
but nothing it was doing could compare to the mental torture it was putting
itself through.
It's mind was starting to blur from the fatigue,
pain, hunger... it's thoughts blending together into an awful swirling
slideshow of the long, horrible memories of the events that had landed
it here... A trail that started almost fifteen years ago...
Oak was studying a trainer's Weepinbell when his daughter, a recently-married young lady of twenty-three, ran into the room with a huge smile on her face and something in her hand.
"Daddy, daddy, look!" She cried, jumping on and hugging him hard. He was taken slightly by suprise, and the Weepinbell looked up, confused.
"What, what is it, sweetheart?" He gasped, trying to pry her off far enough so he could breathe.
"Look!" She showed him the tester she was holding. "I'm pregnant!"
Through one of the many high windows of the complex, a stately pokemon watched the two celebrate over this luck with a knowing smile, then set off for another house.
Another girl - much younger, barely out of her teens - sat crying after doing the same test. It was positive; she was pregnant too, from when she'd lost her way after a bit of a drink with her friends in Viridian City. She'd strayed into an alley and... she didn't want to think about it.
The pokemon watched from a distant rooftop, not wanting to get close enough to be seen. It mourned the woman's predicament, but if things went right... the child would become powerful enough to protect her from anything...
Though the pokemon's body lay sprawled in the cell in the present, it's mind flew wild through the memory. As if it were a third-person spectator over the scene, it watched itself, nearly fifteen years younger, watch the poor brunette slowly cry herself to sleep, before returning to the first pair, who had now been joined by the husband; The three of them had joined into a sort of merry dance. Strange, that the same event could drive people to such different extremes of emotion.
Only staying to watch the trio for a short time, it quickly returned to the other, watching her sobbing in her sleep. Was that it? thought the appiration watching the memory. Was my judgement clouded by my sympathy for that poor woman?
And then the view shifted... Years passed in a blur.
It lived in the city, managing to avoid getting seen by the populace. The
winter was long and hard, and both women had their children. And, unexpectedly,
both tables were turned... Oak's daughter's birth was hard, and she died;
Pallet's meagre medical staff just wasn't enough to save her. The husband
ran away, and was not seen again. Oak mourned for days, but brought up
the boy as his own, around the pokemon which he eventually came to train.
The other's birth went smoothly, a few months later,
and she cared for the boy herself, telling him that his father had been
a pokemon trainer before him. He never asked where his father was.
And it left the town, leading his own life, coming
back when the two boys were old enough to get their first pokemon. And
so, it looked over as the trainers Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak began their
pokemon journey...
The testing began with Ash... it called up a powerful
storm, challenging Ash to get through with an incooprative and half-dead
Pikachu and a flock of Spearows on his tail. His loyalty to his Pikachu
shone through and the Pikachu saved his life, all but killing the flock,
and Ash survived and brought the pokemon to the next city for treatment.
And then he went to challenge Gary... and for the rest of both their journeys
it watched them from afar, testing them time after time, and they both
shone through easily. But the time came for the choice... and it was important,
the very fate of the world at stake, maybe. Both had done it so well that
it was impossible to choose... Both had, in fact, become pokemon masters
- Ash of the Orange League, Gary of the Indigo. How could one decide between
two such perfect targets?
But... Years later, weeks before the present...
The time had come... They could delay no more...
"I still say we should give them more time..."
"It's dangerous..."
"No telling what could happen if we choose the wrong one..."
"We can't." Another figure said from behind them. They respectfully moved aside as the fourth stared down at them. "He has more compassion with his pokemon."
"The other is stronger..." Started one. "Isn't there some way we can tell?"
"No... it is time, I know. It must be done now..."
"Then let us go."
"Yes..."
One by one, they launched themselves from the ledge, swooping down upon the unsuspecting three... But the fourth stayed, watching from afar...
Two more fluttered down behind him - one a bright yellow, feathers arranged in very spiky patterns and very threatening-looking; The other red with a crest and long tail which fluttered in a way which suggested flickering flames. Tracey was shuddering with disbelief - this was a pokemon watcher's dream.
"Good morning, Ash Ketchum." The Articuno said as it bowed - quite weird, from a bird. "We've been sent to fetch you... our master believes you have something he needs..."
"Master?"
"You can talk?"
"Yes... We'd love to stay and chat but the master's quite urgent, so..." Articuno turned, offering his back to Ash. "Please climb on and we'll take you."
"What about us?" Misty asked.
"I'm sorry, you can't come. Moltres and Zapdos will take you to wherever you wish to go, but Ash must come with me."
"What?"
"Please do not ask questions. Ash?" Articuno guestured. Ash shrugged.
"Sounds important... I'll see you later, guys..."
"Bye, Ash..." Misty whispered as he climbed onto Articuno's back, and the ice bird flapped upwards, soon becoming invisible against the bright sunlight.
"Don't worry, he'll be safe..." Said Moltres.
"If he's the one..." Zapdos muttered under his breath. Moltres shot him an angry look, then the two of them stood ready to take the other humans to their destinations...
Articuno bowed and flew out, and Ash moved cautiously forward. Pikachu, on his shoulder, looked very curious.
"Come on, I haven't got all day. Get moving!" It called impatiently. Ash was shocked out his slow walk and ran forward, tripping on a loose stone and catapulting forward uncontrollably, but then stopped. He found himself caught in what appeared to be a heavy, multicoloured sheet. Closer examination revealed it to be... feathered?
A voice chuckled by his ear. "Clumsy, Ash. However, your Pikachu..."
Pikachu had been thrown off his shoulder and landed hard on the ground. He cried out and ran to comfort it, before looking at the creature behind him.
It appeared to be another bird, wildly multicoloured with long feathers sticking out in every direction. A very long beak protuded from it's small head, on a long, twisting neck. It looked very wild, but strong, and very... regal. Powerful.
"Interesting. You would have your own pokemon full priority over even looking at me, an undiscovered, one of a kind pokemon. I haven't seen such an attitude in a long time..."
"What are you?" Ash thought the bird seemed familiar... had seen it somewhere before...
"My name? I have no true pokemon name. However, I have chosen my own name: Houou. The Legendary Phoenix, lord of all pokemon." With that, it spread it's wings wide, showing an impressive multicoloured wingspan. It finally clicked within Ash.
"The Rainbow Bird!" He cried suddenly. "I remember! I saw you on my first day, you flew over the rainbow..."
"Yes, that is true. I have been watching over you since birth, Ash. I have been with you your whole life. But you probably want an explaination...
"Ever since pokemon have ever been, there has always been one... a unique pokemon, different every time, watching over all. A Guardian, if you will. I am one such Guardian; Many others have come before me. The Guardian holds a bond with every pokemon on earth, their attitude connected to the Guardian's. A strong-willed Guardian will increase the power of all pokemon for his time; a sympathetic one will increase the compassion of all pokemon, and so on.
"But as each Guardian grows old, they must select a new one. Pokemon alone cannot become a true Guardian. Nor can a human. But a true human and his pokemon, one which share a special bond, may become the guardian together.
"So it was with me. I was once human; but then, so was I once pokemon. It was a Fearow, the first pokemon I ever caught as a trainer, which I trained to perfection and became bonded like very few have ever bonded." He stopped and sighed happily, apparently lost in memory lane... Ash realised he could see the resemblance to the Fearow... "The previous Guardian was half Vaporeon; She called herself Suikun, a huge water wolf, far taller than you, me or even the other birds. Many others, far too many to name, came before us. But now I lay the burden upon you, Ash. You have the bond, you have the power, will you and your Pikachu accept and become the next?"
Ash was, quite simply, shocked speechless. Becoming a pokemon master, his life's dream, that had been fantastic. But now he was being asked to become part pokemon, the guardian of the earth...
He managed to squeak out a "yes..."
"Then hold your Pikachu. The three birds - Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres - they will guide you, as will I while I stay here, like Suikun did me. Be kind, Ash. Now be ready, this will not be pleasant... but it will be worth it."
Ash closed his eyes, holding his Pikachu in front of him, and suddenly felt the power wash over him. He felt like he was falling in a huge dark abyss, and Pikachu was no longer in his hands... his body was shuddering, convulsing wildly, he had no control...
And that was before the electricity started.
Houou looked at him, thrashing around on the floor, in incredible pain, electricity sparking off and hitting the walls all over, deflecting from an invisible barrier around Houou. This wasn't right... this wasn't what had happened to him when he'd recieved the power... but then, he'd felt the endless plains of wind, buffeted through the air as his body had changed... His pokemon was a flyer, maybe this was how it worked for electric types?
And the body began to change, slowly taking more shape of the Pikachu, but going further... Shining a bright white, it changed... Houou had to look away as the light grew stronger; there was no guessing what form the hybrid would take.
But hen Houou felt the waves of power radiating back, and hitting him, sucking the energy from his body. Now he knew something had gone wrong... and he had a psychic image of a tall, early-teenage boy with spiked brown hair look around, confused, suddenly getting a great sense of... loss?
It was then that he knew. He'd made the wrong choice. Gary was the destined Guardian. But it was too late...
Ash hadn't been strong enough to control the power,
and it had broken him. The mind of Pikachu, more resistant to mental trauma
as pokemon generally are, managed to survive relatively unharmed, but as
the minds became one, both became warped. This Guardian would not sit around
and watch over calmly.
Articuno, hovering outside the cave, flew inside
the moment it felt something had gone wrong. Moltres and Zapdos, who were
in the middle of an interesting conversation with Tracey, suddenly halted
in mid-flight and -talk and dropped their passengers off as soon as they
could, giving apologies before flying back to the cave, top speed.
It was too late.
Articuno came up and saw the end of the change,
just as the light began to fade, and Houou's body fell to the floor, exhasted.
Groaning inwardly, he realised the awful truth - it had been the wrong
choice. He immediately flew back to halt the other two, knowing there was
nothing more he could do to save his last master... but stop the new...
And then Ash's changed body slowly picked itself
up, and laughed at the sight of the half-dead bird in front of it, the
shining rainbow feathers dulled, and began his rulership of the world...
But 'the freedom of the world' was not readily available anymore...
The world had changed quickly. The first change had been the pokeballs - the Pikachu within the hybrid still held a morbid fear of the things, and as soon as Ash had gathered enough power to affect the minds of pokemon, every pokemon of every trainer shook in their balls, before bursting out and destroying the devices.
And the stubborn wish of Ash to become a pokemon master, hold all pokemon under his metaphorical wing, was interpreted too... The pokemon left. Simply abandoned their trainers as if called away. Those trainers which mistreated and beat their pokemon were first hit back, their pokemon ganging up and leaving them for dead. Those who bonded and were friendly with their pokemon were simply left behind as the pokemon tirelessly ran off. It is not sure which group suffered the greater blow, but the general result was that every pokemon, trained or wild, young or old, weak or strong, gathered to Ash's banner.
And Ash's banner was soon flying on top of a tall fortress, built without question or complaint by the pokemon under his rule. And there was nothing anyone could do about it - how could anyone fight off an army composed of every single pokemon on earth, not to mention Ash himself, if they had no pokemon of their own to use to challenge them?
Not every pokemon... Houou still lived free, but he'd transferred most of his power to Ash and, while in this room, was powerless to even use the most minor of attacks, let alone stop Ash.
The three birds - Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres... they were immortal, unaffected by Ash. But they would not be able to stop the entire army, and they wouldn't wish to - they loved pokemon. Ash would probably have them placed in the same predicament he was in right now...
Wait, there was one more... but his thoughts were blurred... couldn't...
"Hiyaaaaaaaa!" A long shreik came from outside, and a spiky yellow form flew into view, slamming it's beak into the glass, shattering it into thousands of fragments. Houou looked up, alarmed.
"Don't... come in... power drain..."
"We understand, master." Moltres said, flying into view from above. Articuno, flapping wildly, unleashed an Ice Beam at the bottom of the window, creating a small ledge for them to perch on.
"We don't have much time before Ash's troops arrive, master, so we'll be brief." Articuno said. "This has happened once before, over a thousand years ago, the gift was given to the wrong person. A time of evil and trouble, the pokemon attacking their own trainers, just like you can see now."
"But the previous Guardian countermanded his mistake by giving the powers of pokemon to a group of humans, and they defeated the evil master..."
"There are still colonies of the 'elementals' as they call themselves living in out-of-the-way areas, shunned by many humans as freaks."
"You do not have contact with humans, so you can not do the same again. The powers of the humans have become diluted over the years, and they will not be able to defeat Ash."
"But the next master came up with an idea, should this ever happen again."
"As you know, the being of every Guardian before you is contained within you, thier spirits, in effect..."
Houou had enough energy to look suprised, and this in turn suprised the three legend-birds.
"You didn't know that?"
"I thought they all-"
An alarmed cry came from below. The birds immediately got back to business.
"They've spotted us... we should leave, we'll explain the rest on the way."
"No... too slow... would catch us, no hope..." Houou protested weakly. "Continue..."
"Alright." Articuno said, taking a deep breath. "The spirits inside can be released in a sort of physical form, which can be utilized by humans, absorbing the essence of the Guardian, in effect. They would become like super-powered pokemon, be able to defeat Ash."
"Although it's never been tried." Moltres said, always the pessimist.
"It's the legend-birds!" A pokemon cried from below. "They're trying to get Houou!" Speech... that was another thing... the pokemon had been taught basic english, most quite crude communicators but some - generals and such - were as good as any human.
"Shush! Now... quickly, come and we'll take you to safety..." Articuno was almost pleading, not wanting this beautiful bird killed by Ash's armies...
But Houou slowly shook his head. "No, I think not..." He said. "Protect the window..."
Articuno nodded sadly, a crystal tear falling from one eye... and all three pushed off in a fluttering of wings.
And he started concentrating, even in the power-drained room the energy being released was tangible. The awakened spirits of the long-dead Guardians fed Houou in anticipation of being released once more... and soon, objects started materialising in front of Houou. A Pinsir burst into the room, but had forgotten the energy-drain field and fell to the floor with a decending shriek. The objects solidified into oval-shaped... medallions, almost... gold-edged and backed, with a large crystal set in the center with a dramatic image of the being held within etched upon it, colour indicating the element of the pokemon. One by one they flew out over the world, seemingly randomly. They kept forming... but now the pokemon armies were utilizing their own flyers, and the three birds were hard pressed to keep them off long enough.
And, just when their backs were turned, a Scyther turned off the field and entered the room. Moltres turned, and screamed a warning, but it was too late...
The Scyther slashed hard, hitting the Rainbow Phoenix a fatal blow to the body. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the three birds turned from their battles to see their master gasp, choke, and slowly... ever so slowly collapse...
Time resumed it's course as Fire Blast, Blizzard and Thunder attacks hit the Scyther simultaneously, tearing it to shreds. All three flew in, Zapdos and Moltres guarding as Articuno, the leader of the three, leant down by their master's side.
"Master..." He said, and choked on his tears quietly.
"Do not worry... escape..." Houou managed to say, and his head fell down once again, eyes closing, and the body faded slowly, dematerializing into nothingness...
No, not nothingness... One last medallion formed where his body had lain, spinning gently, the gem's colour a swirling rainbow, shifting as it spun.
And Articuno felt more than heard Houou echo the last word... Escape... escape... escape... ESCAPE!
Shocked out of his reverie as the rainbow medallion shot out with that last shout, Articuno jumped up and out, throwing himself out into the sky, followed by the other two, as hordes of pokemon led by Ash himself broke through the wall.
"They won't escape me..." Ash whispered to himself, laughing softly.
And so, with the death of the Rainbow Phoenix Houou,
a legend began... the quest to stop Ash, and release his hold over the
pokemon of the world...
