POKEMON HEART SOUL ADVENTURES
Chapter 59 – On Rainbow Wings
In the proximities of Ecruteak City, a few Pokemon were busy doing some warming up – which, according to Tracey and Brock, was the best way to get back in shape after having been inactive for quite a while. Most of the Pokemon that Ash had caught in Sinnoh were at the moment doing some sparring matches, trying to get the cobwebs out and find new and interesting attack combinations, Among them were also Sceptile, the newly evolved Crawdaunt, and the fierce and proud Swellow that had won Ash many a victory in Hoenn.
And of course, there was also another important member of Ash's team… but this one, the Torkoal that Ash had saved from a bunch of bullying Steel-type Pokemon, did not seem to be much in the mood for training. Sceptile had even tried to goad Torkoal into a mock battle, but the mild-mattered fire turtle had just sighed, turned down the challenge and slowly walked away, leaving a bewildered Sceptile behind. Ash was busy watching a training battle between Crawdaunt and Swellow, but he wasn't so lost in it as not to realize what was going on with his Pokemon. He had managed to catch a glimpse of what was going on with Torkoal.
"Hm? Is it just me, or Torkoal isn't feeling well?" Ash noted. Crawdaunt and Swellow interrupted their training to take a curious look at their travelling companion, while Torkoal sat away from the group and began munching absent-mindedly on the leaves of a nearby bush. He squatted on the ground and let out a cloud of white smoke from his nostrils, as if he was trying to hide from his companions' eyes, and it was clear that something was the matter with him. "Yeah… definitely not one of his best days…"
"I kinda think he's still sore over losing to Morty's Dusknoir." Tracey affirmed as he looked worriedly at the Fire-type Pokemon isolating himself from the rest of the team. Alongside him stood his Dunsparce… and his Venomoth, who seemed to be out of breath from keeping up with the energetic Dunsparce!
Ash slowly nodded, convinced that his was the most likely explanation. Sceptile and Crawdaunt had managed to get their wins, but Torkoal had fallen short, even though he had given Morty's Dusknoir a run for his money. "Yeah… I guess I'd better go and talk to him a bit." He stated. "Say, Tracey, could you keep an eye on Swellow and Crawdaunt? I'll be back in a while…"
The young artist nodded as the giant swallow and the crayfish turned to their trainer, as if asking what the problem was. Ash motioned to his two Pokemon that everything was okay, and that they could resume their training, and both Swellow and Crawdaunt, although they did not seem to be completely convinced, shrugged and went on with their mock battle. For their part, Pikachu and Sceptile approached Ash, the plant-reptile Pokemon pointing to the despondent Torkoal.
"Scep, sceptile..." the Grass-type Hoenn starter began, not knowing what to do.
Ash gave him a reassuring nod. "Don't worry about that, Sceptile… Pikachu and I will go speak with Torkoal, although I think I know what's the problem right now…" the dark-haired teen stated as he looked around searching for his friends. Misty, Brock and Ursula were not around… they were probably around there somewhere to train. Anyway, only he and Pikachu were needed for what he was about to do, so he just made a mental note to check on Misty and the others later, and approached his Torkoal, waving away the cloud of white steam that the turtle-like Pokemon was using to try and hide. Right then, Torkoal raised his head and looked sadly at Ash and Pikachu…
Ash smiled slightly and waved at him. "Hey, Torkoal…"
"Pika!" Pikachu went on as he raised his ears and tried to look carefree. Much to Ash and Pikachu's disappointment, Torkoal sighed and went back to his sulking, as if he wanted to be nothing more than wallpaper.
"Oookay, that wasn't the best approach." The black-haired teen commented. "Fine then… let's see what else we can do."
"Pika pi, pikachu pika pi pika pika chu?" Pikachu asked, looking like he had an idea but wanted to hear Ash's opinion on that as well. The Pallet boy thought about it for a moment, then nodded and gave his best friend a thumbs-up.
"Yeah, why not? I guess that going right to the root of the problem would be the best thing to do, in this case." The young aspirant Pokemon Master thought out loud. After carefully taking a step inside of Torkoal's smokescreen, Ash waved the steam away and knelt near his Hoenn-born Fire-type, who raised his head and looked at him gloomily. "Hello, Torkoal… well… guess you're a little down in the dumps because that battle at Morty's Gym did not go how you wanted, right?"
"Torrrr..." the turtle-like Pokemon sighed after thinking about it for a few seconds. Ash rubbed his forehead, understanding that his Pokemon had taken that loss quite poorly, worse than he had thought, in fact.
"Yeah, I can see what you mean…" he stated. "I'm sorry about that. But don't fault yourself for that. You always do your best, just like all the others do. If it didn't go how you wanted, well.. that's partly my fault, and partly because Morty is a really serious trainer. The truth is, I kinda neglected the Pokemon I had caught before I went to Sinnoh, and… well, that's pretty much it. But I'm not going to let my Pokemon stay inactive that long again. I will make sure you get back in the groove, Torkoal… along with all the Pokemon I have been neglecting."
"Torkoal..." the flaming turtle Pokemon sighed, still not completely convinced, but reassured by the fact that his trainer was willing to spend more time training him and trying to cover his weaknesses. Perhaps his next battle would not be that humiliating…
Noticing that Torkoal seemed to be a little more confident, Sceptile got closer as well and nodded in approval… and the turtle-like Pokemon, after having dispersed the cloud of white steam he had tried to hide himself into, smiled and stepped forward, accepting the challenge that the Grass-type Hoenn starter had set earlier. Both Pokemon stood on guard in front of each other, just like Swellow and Crawdaunt were doing at that moment, and started throwing a few feints to test their opponent's defenses.
Ash rubbed the back of his head, sitting near Pikachu. "That's something that I should have taken care of before, Pikachu. Every time I go to another region, I always start from scratch, or very nearly so. I always leave the Pokemon I have caught at Professor Oak's ranch, and capture new ones as I make my way through the Gyms. That way, I always find interesting new species and get to challenge myself a bit more… but the problem is, all the training I have already done with my earlier Pokemon gets interrupted. I think… I will have to do all I can to make up for the time I have lost."
"Pika pikachu..." Pikachu answered, convinced that Ash was already doing a good job in that direction. If there was something he had surely learned in Sinnoh, it was to know how to rotate his team and to never be predictable. That was how he was able to win his first league… "Pika pi, pikachu pi pi pika pikachu pika?"
"Oh… you mean, where did Misty, Brock and Ursula go?" Ash asked. "Well… last I saw them, they were getting some training elsewhere. You know, I think Misty is taking a shine to Pokemon contests. As for Ursula, she said she wanted to perfect her technique. She sure isn't going to let up until she has defeated Dawn somehow…"
"Pika pika..." Pikachu answered with a shrug, seeing where such an attitude might have come from.
"Perhaps I might try my hand in a contest as well." Tracey said, petting Dunsparce while Venomoth fluttered lazily around them. "There's just something artistic about them that draws my curiosity. What about you, Dunsparce, Venomoth? Do you like the idea?"
The giant moth slightly frowned as if in thought, then slowly nodded, herself curious to know more about that kind of competition. However, Dunsparce did not seem to be equally enthusiastic, and shook his head while slowly beating his small wings. "Dunnnn…" he chirped, causing Tracey to become slightly somber…
"It seems to me that Dunsparce is more interested in actual battling." He said to himself, admitting that he wasn't very happy about this…
oooooooooo
"Alright, Horsea, now try a Water Gun attack! Mantyke, use Bubble Beam!" Misty ordered to her two Pokemon, currently swimming through the crystalline water of a river. Actually, to say that they were swimming was not quite correct. Mantyke was flying in circles just a little above the water, and Horsea was getting carried along by him, holding the young manta ray Pokemon's tail with his own. It had been Misty's idea to make use of that odd positioning in order to try and create something artistic… but judging from Ursula's amused and haughty expression, the result was more silly than anything else.
As the executed their trainer's order, both Pokemon started to fire their attacks, and only managed to create a bunch of waterspray and multicolored bubbles that soaked Misty, and finally resulted in Horsea and Mantyke falling back in the water with a desolate splash!
"Ugh… well, this wasn't my best idea ever." A rather disgruntled Misty commented while both Pokemon remerged with an apologetic glance.
"Mantyke..." the manta ray cub said, opening his fin sas if to say he was sorry. Misty sighed and petted both Pokemon on their heads.
"Now, now, no need to be too hard on yourselves, guys…" she cheered them up. "After all, it was I who had this sudden urge to take part in a coordinator contest, and I guess it's a kind of competition I must still get the hang of…"
"You can say that again! You wouldn't go for in a contest, what with that rough excuse for a composition!" Misty heard Ursula's cocksure voice criticizing her, and rolled her eyes in exasperation. "And anyway, you should know that it's hardly a good idea to use two Pokemon of the same type… unless they are two species that work well together like Plusle and Minun! You'd only end up creating something silly and unispired, and lose points!"
"Thanks a lot, Ursula… Whenever I actually want your tips, I'll ask for them!" Misty sarcastically quipped, wondering how could that girl be likable at times, and insufferable at others.
Ursula did not seem to mind Misty's annoyance with her, and simply shrugged while turning her nose up at Misty as she walked close to her, accompanied by her Gabite and her Jigglypuff.
"Is that so? Well, that's good to know, since it seemed to me that you needed a few pointers. Seeing how your Pokemon were fumbling around…" Ursula stated, her hands behind her head in a gesture of smugness. "Of course, even if you did need help, I wouldn't give it to you! I already have a rival I need to take care of, my dear, and I'm not going to sabotage my own chances of winning a Grand Festival! Still… I guess I can give you some tips, unless of course you're too proud to accept them! Hehehee…"
"Ugh… I'd really love to be able to say no here…" Misty grumbled. Horsea and Mantyke were glaring at the haughty Sinnoh coordinator as well, but the simple fact of the matter was, Misty was too inexperienced about Pokemon Contests to be able to win without some support. "I guess I can swallow my pride here. I just ask that you cut the arrogant act! You're not a bad person, all in all, but do not test my patience."
Staring at Misty straight in the eyes, Ursula found herself unable to keep up the haughty attitude. She had to admit, as down-to-earth and unrefined as she might look to her, Misty knew how to get respect. "Hmph… fine, I guess I kind of overdid it. My apologies." Ursula sighed, before clearing her voice and continuing. "Still, as I was saying, two Pokemon of the same type rarely work well together in a Pokemon Contest. It's not a hard and fast rule, but it is a better idea to bring two differently-typed Pokemon, and in fact, two Pokemon whose types are opposed to each other can create some really unexpected and spectacular combinations. You know, if that ditz Dee-Dee wash ere, she'd be more than happy to show you."
"Hmm…" Misty murmured, taking a look at Horsea an Mantyke as they emerged close to the shore, listening to every word. "I understand. In other words, a combination of two different types might yield better results."
"Or at least, results that the judges will like better." Ursula went on as she stroked her Gabite's back, the landshark emitting a low growl in appreciation. "And one more thing. To repeat the same move twice in a row tends to be a bad mistake, and will almost surely lower your points. If possible at all, avoid it."
"Alright, thanks for the heads-up. I will try to remember that." Misty thanked her traveling companion. She might have been abrasive at times, but Misty had definitely seen worse.
"It's not like it costs me anything." Ursula said with a shrug. "Rather, I would be the one that needs some pointers. Aside from meeting Erika and Jasmine at Olivine City, I haven't met anyone who could help me with my technique. All I got from Erika is that I concentrate on my opponent too much, whatever that means. Anyway, let's keep up our training. I wish you good luck with your Pokemon, because you still have quite a long way to go before you can win a Contest!"
"Jigglypuff!" Ursula's round pink Pokemon answered. Misty scrunched her nose as she attempted not to lose her cool over Ursula's taunting, and turned back to Horsea and Mantyke.
"Alright, guys! I think we have a better idea of how to do it!" the redheaded Gym Leader said. "Mantyke, we'll try out one of your Flying-type moves this time… perhaps we'll manage to work up something better! Horsea, I'm counting on you! With all that Daisy and the others had you do in their silly exhibitions, I'm sure you've learned something really spectacular!"
"Sea!" the cute seahorse Pokemon answered, nodding and unrolling his long tail. Ursula took a look at the redhead and her two Pokemon… and even though she didn't exactly like admitting it, she had to say that girl had quite a bit of potential for Pokemon Contests.
"I wouldn't want to have gotten another rival without really wanting it." She murmured to herself, before whispering something in her Gabite's ear. "I don't think she'll get to my level in such a short time, but still… keep an eye out on her, Gabite."
The landshark frowned and nodded, always ready to do everything in order to help her trainer…
oooooooooo
Brock, for his part, was in a rather odd situation: his travelling companions were keeping up with their training, and he had been relatively idle ever since the battle between Ash and Morty had concluded. At that moment, the young Pewter City trainer was trying out a few moves with his Gible. Steelix was standing near Brock, eyeing suspiciously the young earth dragon – from the glint in Gible's eyes, Steelix could imagine that he was wondering what a metallic tail might taste like! However, a stern gaze from Steelix was enough to convince Gible to not even try.
"Okay, Gible… can you come here for a moment? I'd like to try something out…" Brock stated, motioning for Gible to come closer. As the drake Pokemon began wandering around, Brock rolled his eyes (nevermind that they were closed as always…) and took a sweet treat out of his pocket, drawing Gible's attention at last. "Alright. I guess this is what you wanted, right?" he asked with a knowing smile. Gible tottered towards his trainer and gulped down the treat in a single bite, rubbing his rotund belly in satisfaction.
"Gib gib gible!" the small landshark exclaimed. Brock nodded, then cleared his voice and asked him a question.
"Alright, Gible… we have seen that strange attack you used to get us out of the caves in Quest Island… Draco Meteor, I think Lance had called it…" he stated seriously. "Still, I believe you'd need to know a few more moves as well. After all, Lance told me that repeated use of Draco Meteor will quickly tire out the user. Still, I think it's necessary to work on other moves as well. I'm not really keen on Pokemon battles, but it's a good idea to be ready for everything.
The small Ground/Dragon type nodded in understanding after a few moments of silence, and Brock smiled slightly and went on. "Okay. In this case, Gible… I believe we can start working on a fairly simple move." He stated. "Let's see… I think learning something like Dragon Claw might be a good start. Would you like to try it out with Steelix? And you, Steelix, can you help Gible with that?"
"Steel..." the enormous Steel/Ground type answered, still not completely convinced. The metallic serpent rose in all of his impressive height in front of the small Ground/Dragon Pokemon, who did not seem impressed as he took a fighting stance, his short claws raised in front of his face. Without further ado, Gible charged head-on and began delivering a flurry of blows with his short arms, which hit Steelix's metallic tail… and only managed to do a few superficial scratches on its shiny armor. The embarassed drake stepped back and looked at his own claws, wondering what had gone wrong… and steelix shook his head in dismay.
"Hmm… okay, that didn't go too well…" Brock stated, rubbing his forehead. "We need to think of another way for you to learn this move, Gible. And in the meanwhile, we also need to think…"
"Gible?" the little landshark grunted, hopping up in surprise as soon as he saw the clouds in the sky above them starting to move about in a strange manner. Brock quickly realized that the recent addition to his team seemed fearful and suspicious… and that even Steelix had frozen in his tracks, looking at the swirling clouds in amazement. Not only that, Brock could see some odd shadows flying among the clouds, weirdly reminding him of a swarm of winged Pokemon…
"What's the matter, everyone? Is that another one of those swarms we heard about?" Brock asked. The dark-skinned young man tried to take a better look, and saw that numerous small figures were flying above the clouds, heading towards Tin Tower, the tallest and most ancient construction in Ecruteak City…
Soon after, the swarm of winged Pokemon flew down and through the white clouds… and Brock could see that it was a pretty heterogeneous group, composed of Flying-type Pokemon from all four continents he had travelled in! There were the more common Pidgeys, Spearows, Taillows, Starlies… as well as rarer Pokemon like Noctowls, Farfetch'ds, Chatots, and even a few Swablus! But most importantly, this swarm was much more numerous and noisier than the one they had seen on their way to Ecruteak City! As the Pokemon flew down from the skies, they formed a cloud of sorts that progressively dimmed down the light of the sun!
"Giiiible!" the small Ground/Dragon type Pokemon screeched in alarm, and took a fighting stance again in case some of the swarming Pokemon decided to attack them… but luckily, the Pokemon seemed too concentrated on Tin Tower to think about him or Steelix. The Flying-type Pokemon began to gather around the huge tower, and Brock took advantage of that moment to order his Pokemon to leave them be and go warn the others!
"I'm sure Ash and the others will have noticed that already…" he stated. "Gible, Steelix! You return to your Pokeballs for now! I think this is something we really need to keep under control!"
"Steel!" Steelix grunted as a red beam erupted from Brock's Pokeball and reabsorbed him inside. The young Rock-type expert did the same for Gible and ran towards his companion, hoping to himself he was not witnessing the prelude to some other disaster…
oooooooooo
Indeed… Ash, Tracey, Misty and Ursula couldn't miss such a multitude of squeaking, screeching Flying-type Pokemon. As soon as they could, the small group of trainers had gathered in Ecruteak City's main square, along with a uge crowd of inhabitants and tourists who had been equally startled by the appearence of so many Flying-type Pokemon all in a single place. A veritable cloud of bird-like Pokemon from alla cross the four continents had gathered around Tin Tower, fluttering around its upper floors with a deafening flapping of wings… and some Ecruteak City residents were beginning to show fear! What was happening was without precedents. Even the workers and the reporters working arounf the tower seemed to be tense as they kept cameras and other instruments pointed to the top floor of the Tin Tower.
"Woah! Have you seen that? There's even more than in that flock we have seen before we got to the Miltank farm!" Ash exclaimed in shock. "I don't like this, guys… what are they trying to do at Tin Tower?"
"Well, I'm not going to be able to answer you anytime soon." Ursula stated, tormenting one of her spiralling pigtails with her fingers. The Flying-type Pokemon had been swarming around the ancient tower for quite a few minutes now, and yet nothing had happened, which only heightened tension. The whole city seemed to be under a spell that left them in awe and worry of what might happen…
"What on Earth are tey trying to do?" the voice of a young man asked, standing out from all the others in the crowd.
"I dunno, but someone should do something about it!" a worried female voice answered. "Tin Tower is a symbol of our town… if it was damaged, it would be a terrible thing for all of us!"
Despite these affirmations, though, there was little, if anything, the citizens could actually do. Even Ash and his friends were stumped, being in the midst of the huge crowd, without having any chance to actually reach the tower. Pikachu had climbed on his trainer's head and was looking for a path to reach the ancient building, but the crowd was so thick he knew there was little chance to do so.
"Pikachu..." the electric mouse murmured, shaking his head.
"It's okay, Pikachu, we'll just have to find another way…" Ash reassured him. "By the way, guys, have you seen Morty and Eugene? I thought they'd be around here somewhere…"
"No clue. I think they're at the Gym still, but they should be long in coming, at this point." Misty answered, wincing in annoyance when some inattentive guy in the crowd ended up elbowing her in the ribs. "Ugh! Watch where you're going, doofus! Anyway, after seeing what's going on, I guess they'll be here in a moment…"
"Indeed, here we are." Eugene's clear voice answered as he and Morty reached the team. They were accompanied by an Electrode, a Pokemon similar to a giant-sized Pokeball with a stylized face and a mischievous smile permanently etched on its face; and by the Gengar that Morty had used in his battle against Ash. They seemed quite worried about what was going on themselves; especially Eugene, who was keeping his eyes on the flock of Pokemon as if expecting to see something descend at a moment's notice. "We saw all those Pokemon gathering from Morty's Gym, and we came here as soon as we could. I'm afraid I know what all those Pokemon are here for!"
"What?" Tracey asked. His Dunsparce was staying close to him and waving his drill-like tail, but it was hard to know whether he was excited or frightened. "What, exactly, should be happening now?"
Morty cleared his voice and motioned for his Gengar to keep an eye on the Tower's upper floors. "We aren't completely sure, to be honest… but this is the Tin Tower, the building known for its connection to the legendary Ho-Oh! From what I know of this particular Legendary Pokemon… he's about to appear here!" the Ghost-type expert answered. "And when such a powerful Legendary is involved… one needs to be prepared for everything!"
"In otherwords, you're saying that Ho-Oh himself might come out!" Misty answered, half sarcastically and half jokingly. "Oh, that's just grand! Fantastic! Terrific! Another Legendary popping out of nowhere! I'm actually starting to think that we're magnets for the dang things!"
"You're telling me, Misty… It's not like we're doing it on purpouse, either!" Ash answered, trying to think of what should be done.
"In any case, I think what we should do now is actually get to Tin Tower." Brock suggested, still looking for a way through the crowd. "If only we could get somewhere, that'd be a start…"
"Wait, I know what to do…" Morty stated, stepping up and clapping his hands twice. His Gengar floated a few feet off the ground and begin giving off a strange dark auea from his body, attracting the citizens' attention and causing the noise and cgaos to actually die down a little. "Everyone! Everyone, please, it's me, Morty, your Gym Leader! Please, I need you to make way for me and my friends. We'll get to the Tower and see if we can solve this mess!"
"Oh… hey, look, everyone! Isn't that Morty?" a voice was heard. "And that one with him… tgat must be that Eugene guy I heard so much about…"
"What's that guy doing here, anyway? I thought he was only into Legendaries…" another one stated, to which Eugene cleared his voice and began explaining.
"Ladies and gentlemen… we believe this massive gathering of Flying-type Pokemon is nothing less than the prelude to the unveiling of another Legendary Pokemon!" the elegant trainer exclaimed as his Elektrode rolled nonchalantly around him. "We need to get to Tin Tower in order to ensure that everything is under control, and that the Pokemon about to appear is not hostile to us!"
This explanation was all the people of Ecruteak City needed. After standing around in wonder for a couple seconds, one of the citizens motioned for the rest of the crowd to let Morty and his friends through, and a path immediately opened in the massive crowd, allowing Morty and the others to get to the ancient tower. Morty thanked everyone with a nod, then began leading his companions' way towards Tin Tower, the young trainers waving at the crowd and trying to reassure them that they'd see a solution to the current problem.
"Pika pika..." Pikachu squeaked, nodding as Ash's team got closer to the Tower. Up close, Tin Tower looked even more majestic than the first time they had come to Ecruteak City, and they would probably have stopped to admire it a little longer, if on,y they didn't have far more urgent matters to deal with. The Flying-type Pokemon encircling the tower had gotten more aggressive, some of them flying out of the flock and passing dangerously close to the young trainers' heads, but none of them seemed to be about to attack, partly thanks to Pikachu threatening to unleash a Thunderbolt attack on them if they had gotten too close.
"Ugh… darn, are we sure that these featherheads won't try to get us?" Ursula asked, her Vaporeon walking close to her and glancing up in order to shoot an Ice Beam or Blizzard attack had it been necessary.
Eugene's Electrode unleashed a series of small electrical discharges, and managed to impress some of the closest Flying-type Pokemon enough that they flew away at a safe distance. "We are not sure about that at all… but right now, we don't have much of a choice!" he stated, in answer to any objection she might have had. "We need to get to the Tower's upper floors, I believe that's the only place where we can start doing something to solve this mess. Keep your Pokemon ready, anything might happen at this moment."
"We know that…" Misty affirmed, with Starmie at her side, Mantyke fluttering near her, and Horsea in her arms. An overconfident Pidgeotto swept down in a dangerous manner and passed right by her face, causing her too halt in her tracks for a moment. "Ugh… we can see that! There's definitely something wrong with these Pokemon!"
"Something is affecting their behaviour…" Brock stated. "Sure, some of them are aggressive by nature, but others… well, I'm surprised they're even here, that's what I'm saying."
"Perhaps this Legendary Pokemon's presence is causing them to act strange?" Ash ventured. "I mean, I'm no expert, but still… you'd think that such a Pokemon would affect them in some way."
As he said that, a strange feeling washed over her, like an electric shock going into his brain and causing him to experience some strange sort of deja-vu… for a moment, he felt like he had returned to the very beginning of his long journey, about four years ago, when Pikachu had saved him from that flock of Spearow… and he had seen Ho-Oh sear through the skies, flying to some place he couldn't even imagine.
"Pika pi!" Pikachu squeaked, worried for his trainer.
"Ash? Ash! Earth to Ash!" Misty exclaimed, waving her hand in front of the young boy's face as soon as she saw that he was spacing out. With a shudder, the young trainer shook his head and called himself back to reality as he looked at Misty.
"Er… My bad, Misty, I sorta went out of it for a moment there." Ash answered, rubbing his forehead. "I kinda relived that moment four years ago, when I saw Ho-Oh when I was going to Viridian City…"
"You're going to have to tell me about that, one day…" Ursula commented, trying to stay close to the rest of the group. "But let's cross our bridges when we come to them. And we have a pretty big one to cross right now… I would prefer for us not to end up as breakfast to a Legendary Pokemon."
"If everything goes as planned, we should be able to put everything back in place before Ho-Oh shows up. Hopefully." Morty stated. By now, the team had reached the main entrance to Tin Tower, a large double swing wooden door, placed at the end of a short, impervious staircase. Taking extreme care, the group began to ascend the stairs, ignoring the Pokemon fluttering menacingly around them as much as they could. Morty reached the double doors first and pushed them open with an eerie screeching sound, allowing the team into a large vestibule with a polished wooden floor, almost completely empty except for an altar placed in front of some sort of Buddhist statue, and a few Chinese kanji etched upon it. A penetrating smell of incense floated in the air, and once again, the team felt like they were going back in time…
"This is such a fascinating place…" Tracey commented, being the last to enter the tower and closing the door behind him. "I just regret not having the time to take a better look at it… then, Morty, Mr. Eugene… you know more about this place than we do, what should we do now?"
"The monks that once lived in this sanctuary once told me… that there was something hidden in the last floor of the tower… an artifact, or some such… that bounded Ho-Oh to our city. Of course, I am talking about many centuries ago, when the daimyo still ruled." Morty explained. Much to his annoyance, he found himself forced to raise his voice, since the screeching of the Pokemon outside made it hard to converse normally. "So, we need to go up and take a look there. Maybe the Rainbow Wing has reappeared there somehow."
"You're talking about the Rainbow Wing, I reckon." Eugene answered, as expert on Legendary Pokemon as he was. "Yeah, I remember that. Ho-Oh left this city when the Rainbow Wing was stolen by unknown thieves, and from then on, Ho-Oh roamed the world in search of his treasure, only appearing to a pure-hearted person from time to time. Now, if Ho-Oh is really here… that would mean that the Rainbow Wing has come back somehow! How is that possible?"
"I'll admit, I am sort of reaching. But it's not an impossible thing, either." Morty stated.
Ursula was not amused about this. "Oh, come on! You're being philosophical and hoping that you're right, when something supernatural is about to happen out there! You can't honestly tell me that we're supposed to just take what you're saying for granted, can you?" she asked angrily as the team climbed the stairs to the top floor and the roof, the old wood squeaking underfoot.
"Well, Ursula does have a point." Misty admitted. "What you're talking about are old legends that we can't be sure are in any way relevant here!"
"I know, it's a bit of a long shot… but at the same time, one we cannot exactly dismiss out of hand, after all." was Eugene's commenta s the top floor finally came in sight. Ash and Pikachu, the first ones to reach it, could see that they had entered some sort of great cerimonial hall, furnished with a splendid gold-plated altar that had marvelously withstood the insults of time, probably also thanks to the monks taking care of it. The lower part of the dais was decorated with an effigy representing a fierce-looking Gyarados, and it was flanked on both sides by two Arcanine statues… but what drew Ash's attention even more than that was the item placed on top of the altar: it looked like a feather plucked out of a gigantic bird's plumage, and it shone in all the colors of the rainbow, alternating themselves in quick succession and projecting shades of red, yellow, green, blue and every color in between all around the place. The young boy blinked in amazement as he studied the strange feather and it bright colors, and he stepped aside just a bit in order to allow his friends to reach the last floor, all the while keeping his eyes on the multicolored relic. He was pretty sure he already knew what that was…
"Pika pi? Pikachu pika, pika chu?" Pikachu asked, his frown deepening and his ears laying flat as he slowly approached the dais. The cute Electric type Pokemon could sense something very otherworldly in that object… some strange sort of energy that was probably responsible for all those Pokemon gathering there, being attracted to it like iron to a magnet. Immediately, Eugene's eyes widened in utter disbelief.
"That's true, then… this is the Rainbow Wing!" the expert in Legendary Pokemon exclaimed. "It has been centuries ever since it was last seen… how did it reappear like this? Such a retrieval… would have caused an upheaval throughout Johto!"
"I don't have the slightest idea. But it's here, there is no mistaking it!" Morty stated. "Now that I see it here… the possibility of Ho-Oh appearing here suddenly becomes all the more of a certainty!"
"Gengarrrr..." Morty's ace Pokemon grunted, his eyes narrowing as he glared at the Rainbow Wing and its feverishly changing colors. Just like Pikachu, he had a really odd feeling about that feather. However, there was something that didn't quite add up. He thought the Rainbow Wing would have emitted a greater amount of energy, enough to stop him from physically getting closer…
The trainers and their Pokemon started pacing carefully around the altar, not knowing what to do as the mayhem outside grew worse at every moment, the screeching calls of the Flying type Pokemon reverberating inside the very walls of Tin Tower! It seemed like the Flying-type Pokemon had realized that someone was getting closer to the Rainbow Wing, and not liking it one bit!
"Pika pika?" Pikachu asked, his cheeks lighting up as a group of Farfetch'd got dangerously close to a window. The odd birds squeaked noisily and waved their leeks at Ash and his companion as if they were using shortswords, but a Thunderbolt attack Pikachu unleashed at that moment managed to scare them away! Unfortunately, it was clear that the enemies would have won by sheer numbers, if things went on like that any longer…
"Darn… what do we do?" Brock exclaimed, as Tracey tried to defend himself from a small flock of Spearows fluttering menacingly around him. The young artist's Dunsparce screeched and, after taking aim for a moment, he propelled himself forward with his short wings and struck the closest Spearow with an Headbutt attack! The small bird of prey crowed in pain and surprise as he fell to the ground, while Dunsparce did a midair flip and landed with his raised!
"Dunsparce?" Tracey asked, impressed at the courage his young Pokemon had shown. He was never too keen on Dunsparce actually fighting, at least not before he had grown up at least a bit… but right now, the odd Land Snake Pokemon was giving him ample proof of his skills!
"Dun dunnn..." Dunsparce exclaimed, looking at the young artist as if saying he had no need for protection, and he could hold his own. After a moment of surprise, Tracey smiled back at Dunsparce… and gave a warning shout when a fierce-looking Fearow bore down upon him!
"Be careful, Dunsparce! He's right above you!" Tracey exclaimed. Dunsparce turned in the Normal/Flying Pokemon's direction as well, and flapped his wings to make a quick getaway, but luckily, someone else came to his aid: Ursula's Vaporeon opened his mouth and fired an Ice Beam at the enemy Fearow, hitting him and encasing him in a block of ice! "Phew! That was too close for comfort! Thanks, Ursula!"
"Don't mention it." The Sinnoh-born coordinator answered. "You'll thank me later, after we have gotten out of this mess. Hey, red! Can your little seahorse handle all these birdbrains?"
Misty grinned victoriously at Ursula. "Just watch this and learn! You might be the better coordinator , but when it comes to actual fighting, we will leave you in the dust! Your turn, Horsea! Use Smokescreen!"
"Horseaaa!" the seahorse Pokemon extended his mouth and fired a cloud of black smoke against the Pokemon trying to enter from the windows, slowing them down considerably and giving Pikachu and Electrode all the time they needed to knock them out with well-placed electrical discharges! Still, all they managed to do was thin out the enemy ranks a bit, and more Pokemon were reinforcing them any moment!
"Darn… we have to do something with that feather!" Brock stated, standing close to his Gible and his Graveler. "If only we did know what to do with that thing, we might have a chance…"
oooooooooo
Above the clouds, bathed in the icy azure infinity, Ho-Oh implacably continued his descent, irresistibly attracted by that sudden surge of energy he had felt, and whose intensity had only increased with time.
The majestic phoenix-like Pokemon unfurled his rainbow-hued wings as he let himself be carried by the winds and the air currents, and a beautiful rainbow trail followed him as he went… but as spectacular as his descent was, at that moment it could only mean chaos and misfortune to anyone foolish enough to stand in Ho-Oh's way.
A sullen rage burned slowly but tirelessly in the majestic Fire/Flying Pokemon's heart, even though he was remembered as a benevolent protector…
The same ungrateful human beings that had deceived him so long ago would be punished, and he's reclaim what was his by right… and who has stupidly given to those filthy mortals.
Ecruteak City's Tin Tower soon appeared in his sight, as Ho-Oh's massive form began to appear in the clouds…
oooooooooo
TO BE CONTINUED…
Author's notes: Well, I managed to update again. I hope you guys liked this chapter – I decided to make use of Ho-Oh, who was only brought up in the first episode of the anime, and then dropped until the (crappy) 20th movie – which is an AU anyway, so it doesn't really count. And as you can see… Ho-Oh isn't exactly an happy camper right now.
Hopefully I can manage to give a little more spotlight to some of Ash's more obscure and ignored Pokemon… Torkoal was indeed one of the ones I had in mind.
That's pretty much it for this chapter. I am working on Super Robot Wars S, and I hope I can update it before the end of this month. See you soon!