Chapter 2– Ho-Oh and Lugia
In the old days, if someone wanted to see a beautiful, sacred pokemon, they would go to Johto's Ecruteak. Why? Because in the Bell Tower of Ecruteak resided the beautiful Ho-Oh.
Elegant and colourful, Ho-Oh basked in the praises showered on it from the humans, enjoying, taking pride in them. Many a time it raised people's morale with a beautiful rainbow while Lugia ended storms which Lugia itself accidentally started. Despite it's compassion for all living things, Ho-Oh spoke and saw everything with a touch of condescension. The reason for this vice would be attributed to the humans' treatment of it, as Ho-Oh, to them, embodied beauty, magnificence and elegance. Perhaps it was a touch too much of reverence.
As for Lugia, Ho-Oh treated it with the same compassion and kindness coupled with slight condescension that it treated everyone else with. Really, Ho-Oh had no hostility towards it's counterpart. It tried to see Lugia as an equal as much as it could. Lugia, however, was a different story.
Once upon a time, when it had first came to Ecruteak, people had favored Ho-Oh yet liked it as well. That was until Lugia's great, uncontrollable power ripped the town apart with a storm.
A mere flap of its wings. Tearing the air apart, the great power behind it's wingstrokes flung the sky, bright blue and dotted with fluffy white clouds, into a black-grey pool devoid of light. It nearly become a 40-day storm. Fortunately for the residents, Lugia had the power to quell any storm, an ability that it used to great effect. Only when it looked back did it realize that the people were glaring at it. They did not care that it had corrected its own mistake, that it had stopped the storm for them. It did not matter to them that it was truly sorry for what had happened and willed them to understand that it could not quite control its power.
Once Lugia could not manage to hold the power running in its veins back as it flew around it's roost, the Brass Tower, the same thing would happen. A storm would start, the people would scramble for shelter, yelling insults to Lugia and prayers to Ho-Oh, who would pacify the incensed, scared people with some rainbows and dazzling showcases of light while Lugia simply stopped the storm feeling remorse for the power it was cursed with. The birds would return to their roosts and people would shower Ho-Oh with praises, the bird itself subconsciously showing off it's multicolored feathers that glowed with different colors. Lugia would just hang it's head a little lower and wish for a little love that would never come from the people. All they knew was how to insult Lugia as they walked past the tower, to give it a daily glare that became normalcy for the poor bird.
Whenever Ho-Oh tried to approach it, Lugia would don a stoic mask and lie that it was not affected by the way people saw it, nor would it try to do anything to change that. Fooled by this, Ho-Oh would leave it alone in it's peace and quiet. Or at least what seemed to Ho-Oh to be Lugia's peace and quiet, for in reality it yearned for the love of the humans yet was unable to gain it. No matter what it did, no matter how many children it saved from kidnappers, no matter how many regular storms it calmed in an instant.
Love was simply something that Lugia was unfortunate enough to bypass for it's whole life.
Day after day, Ho-Oh was praised. So much, in fact, that a day without a single praise would be considered out of the norm to the bird. Then there was one day, when Ho-Oh turned it's head to observe it's counterpart and pondered what it would be like to be the receiving end of everyone's anger. Little more than a minute later, Ho-Oh gave up. There was simply no way it could imagine itself in the situation Lugia was in. Nor could it put itself in Lugia's mind in more than an superficial level. It could not fathom how Lugia endured the verbal abuse.
This understanding that it and it's counterpart were worlds away in terms of situation and status (even if on the outside they seemed to be equal) shook Ho-Oh. As it ran the words people had used against Lugia in it's mind, it realised that it had been ignoring Lugia. As in, it had not tried to stop the people from insulting Lugia. Ho-Oh may have showed concern afterward, asking Lugia if it was all right, but how could that account for turning a blind eye when the bullying was happening? Lugia always said that it was all right, that it felt no hurt–but how could that be true? No pokemon was without feelings.
As such, Ho-Oh came to the conclusion that pride and lack of interest had blinded it from Lugia's true misfortune. Had it known, cared or noticed, something would have been done to stop the people. Yet, it was almost too late. Ho-Oh was certain that damage had been done. All it could do now was to stop more damage from being wrought. Trying it's best to keep the guilt consuming it's insides from showing in it's voice, Ho-Oh began to apologise to a stunned Lugia.
As it listened to Ho-Oh's apology, Lugia did not know what to think. Then, bitterly, it thought, It's not like Ho-Oh tried to stop them from saying those things to me!
Even so, something in it's heart seemed to heal, to pull those broken fragments together. Not feeling the rain on it's silver feathers, not hearing the crack of a lightning bolt sent into the air, not registering Ho-Oh's shocked cry, Lugia basked in the strange satisfaction Ho-Oh's apology had brought it. At last, an ally in a world of hurt. Perhaps the pain would be alleviated slightly. For a moment, the pain went away and everything radiated with ebullience.
Until the fire brought the pain right back.
Finally registering Ho-Oh's cries of, "Fire!", Lugia flew from the tower, the rain putting out some flames from its tail. Turning, it dimly noticed Ho-Oh's desperate attempts to bring three small pokemon out of the flames. This had to be a dream. This could not be happening. The Brass tower–Lugia's roost, it's beloved roost–could not be in flames in front of its eyes. It was so ironically funny. Just when it had thought things might get better, they took a turn for the absolute worst.
It was as if Arceus had gone out of its way to spite Lugia.
Tearing its eyes from Ho-Oh, wondering if there was something it could do to save it's roost, Lugia met the eyes of many people. Perhaps Lugia could not read minds, but it knew in an instant that those people had known that the tower would burst into flames. It's eyes reached those of an Ampharos and it's trainer. Then Lugia knew.
Somehow, it did not feel anything. It was as if the people had thrown stones at it so many times that it now felt no pain when boulders were thrown. Instead, Lugia flew to Ho-Oh and saw the golden bird displaying a rare show of sadness and misery. Lying in the charred remains of the tower, which had it's flames put out by the rain, were the small, burnt bodies of three dead pokemon, unrecognisable due to the fire that had snatched life away from them.
"Three young lives, taken away by forces beyond their power, forces used for despicable means–did they deserve this? They did not," Ho-Oh said at large. Unfortunately for the humans, they had no way of understanding what the Guardian of the skies had said, though the Ampharos who had started the fire with it's electricity listened and bent its head in shame.
"I shall bring them back to life in more majestic forms for a second chance at life," Ho-Oh said, and revived the pokemon, their bodies glowing and reshaping themselves until they had become the three legendary beasts, Entei, Raikou and Suicune.
After the three had left, Lugia began to fly away. It did not want to live with humans anymore. Perhaps being alone was best for it. That way, no one would have to fear its power, the power that drove people away from it, that made people fear it.
Ho-Oh surprised it by following suit. "Where are you going?" Lugia asked as they flew from Ecruteak.
"I believe that there are still some good humans in this world. I will appear before a pure-hearted trainer in battle, and I shall bless him."
Ho-Oh ended up traversing the world in search of a worthy human, and Lugia took up residence deep within the Whirl Islands, where no one would disturb it. Up till today, Lugia has not been caught by any trainer. Ho-Oh found it's human, who captured it but later let it go free. The Guardians of the Sky and Sea are began together but ended apart. Perhaps they might meet each other again, but for now, who knows...