Ho-oh and Lugia
A rainbow descended from the cloudy sky. Softly glowing, the red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet kept in a ribbon, bound in white. But it did not behave as the usual rainbows. It curved and twisted, turned and dropped, more like a fluttering ribbon than a perfect curve. Ahead of the rainbow, there flew a legendary bird of fantastic colors. Bright red tipped with green, a few golden curls… Ho-oh had heard a beautiful music, and knew there was a sacred dance. She had come.
It had been a long time since she had last come home. Her roosting tower had been struck by lightning and set ablaze. However, few seemed to remember the source of that lightning. Because of that source, she had declined to come back, even after they had built an impressive new tower to replace the old one. But a ringing of that quality, coming across in supernatural means, meant that someone of a pure heart was there, calling her home. She would answer.
And yet, as she circled the human town in its gray drizzle, something didn't seem right. Her mind's eye was not so powerful compared to others of her level, although it was far above the mortal Pokemon who lived with the humans. Through this, she could see that a black shadow pervaded the land. The hearts of people and Pokemon alike were beating in fear. Violence and greed were controlling them from secret places. Even the sacred dance had an undertone of fear, as if they couldn't fully let the world go in favor of the music.
Ho-oh considered leaving. The darkness wasn't a world for her. Then again, there was that pure heart and the song had reached out to her on supernatural levels. That could mean that one of the greater powers, far above any Pokemon she knew of, wished her to return. Perhaps her presence was meant to put a crack in the shadow so that the light of justice could shine.
She came to the top of the new tower and began to descend in a hover, to see who was calling. It turned out to be one of the kimono girls, while her four peers were closing up the dance now that she had appeared. Although Ho-oh had come, the one with the clear bell was anxious, as if not really wanting to see her. At least, not like this. Near her, there were four men. Three wore waterproof black uniforms that had a bright red R on them; those uniforms were unsettlingly like the darkness that held everyone in fear. The fourth was not well, a man with a purple scarf who was being threatened with some kind of small weapon.
This was definitely not how she was meant to be called on.
Reasonably, she wasn't supposed to interfere with human matters. But they were involving her, whether she liked it or not. If she returned to the rainclouds, the black uniformed men might kill their captive, or even the kimono girls. She didn't like the thought of that. Maybe if they meant to capture her, it would be fine if she fought back.
Ho-oh came closer, calling out a challenge to the thugs. One came forward with a small device and activated something. On the rod atop the tower, a black box began to glow, then fired a red beam at her. It struck her legs, but instead of harming her, the energy beam latched on and would not let go. She beat her wings and tried to pull it off, but it pulled back tighter, briefly making her lose feeling in her feet. They had her, but for what purpose?
Realizing that she was in deep trouble, she cried out across the heavens.
Off the southern shores of Johto, there lay a confusing patch of sea. Whirlpools and rocky reefs created a surface maze that few could navigate. Below the rough waters, there were caves and tunnels, many of which led to dead ends. And underneath all that, in the deep waters, he kept to himself.
It wasn't out of malice that he hid, no. He loved the world above the waves too, and enjoyed flying through the blue skies. However, there were problems with this. He was simply too powerful for his own good. When he beat his wings against the air, he stirred up storms. The winds that came in his wake were destructive, tearing up that which the humans built. Feeling guilty because of this, Lugia had dove into the ocean. Now he only flew in the water.
It didn't help when he heard that those on land said that when hurricanes came, he must have been in the air. Given that he had been in the seas for nearly a century, it was never him. He wanted to make a better name for himself, so he looked to take care of the seas. He watched over ships that respected the waters and troubled those that did not. When he felt the fears of castaways, he encouraged the sea Pokemon to go assist them. But this never quite overcame his history as the storm maker.
Over the past five years, a creeping darkness had come across Johto. He had felt it even from beneath the waves. It had started in Kanto, a band of thieves that didn't seem dangerous. But its leader was much more than a thief and those who lived by crime began to take over. Now they controlled the human towns, the ones marked by the red R.
Lugia was troubled by their presence, but he did not interfere directly. He had warned the sea Pokemon to be cautious. While he wanted to hassle their ships, they had the cunning to travel along with innocent civilians. He wouldn't harm them, so there wasn't much he could do from underwater. At this point, staying out of their grasp seemed to be the wisest course.
And then a cry of fear reached out to him. The sound could not pierce from the sky to the sea, but the feel of it went right to his heart. Raising his head, he searched for the meaning of this. It seemed that she had returned and they were trying to capture her.
Why did she come back now? It was a dark time, and she was attracted to light. And they would have dangerous intents. From the Pokemon of Johto, he had often felt such suffering, like Slowpokes who were held captive in darkness to harvest their regrowing tails. They wouldn't hesitate to harm her for their own benefit. She could fight back though, even avoid capture. Right? Then why did she sound scared?
But it was her, and it didn't sit well with him that she was in trouble. It was dangerous for him to fly above waters. But maybe those of the red R needed to know the kind of power they were dealing with. They needed to see that their darkness was not welcome. Hoping for the forgiveness of the innocent people he was about to trouble, Lugia beat his wings and ascended through the dark depths.
Overhead, there was a light rain shower that spread itself over much of the land. He was the storm maker, though, and his anger was growing. The ocean waters gathered around him as he burst from the surface and headed for the clouds. From the shores, any witnesses would barely see him within the mass cloud of suddenly evaporating water. He rose and the water rose, joining the dark clouds overhead. As he beat his wings, the air stirred to life. Gusts started flying, causing particles to rub against each other and build static. When he reached the height he wanted, a bolt of lightning jumped within the clouds. The gentle rain shower was now his storm.
He flew straight for Ho-oh's tower, empowering the storm to begin wreaking havoc below.
She kept struggling with the bright leash on her feet, but every time she pulled, it pulled back tighter. She tried to fight the black uniformed men, but they had planned for her. With them were Pokemon that were effective against her power types. And they were powerful; in their eyes, she could see that they were driven by cruel training and a resulting madness. How could the humans have turned so abusive against their partners?
But there was still good. She could see that in the kimono girls, and even in the captive man. While he was flawed, it wasn't bad flaws. He could overcome them. That is, if they didn't kill him here. Some kind of poison seemed to be in his body, keeping him from fighting back. Ho-oh had managed to burn the one holding him, letting the girl with the bell pull him away. But the men seemed to be armed with dangerous tools and dangerous Pokemon.
Seeing that, she made a special call to the skies, asking for the blessings of the sun. The cloud cover began to thin in spots as bright sunlight pierced through. The coolness turned to warmth and the power of her flames grew. However, she was still fighting a Pokemon of rocks and a Pokemon of waters. Those kinds were not easily burned.
And then she saw it: a wall of wind and water that was barreling across the landscape. She knew that kind of storm. It only came when he was around. While it was a relief to have help, it was surprising. He had been out of the skies of Johto for longer than she had. Perhaps Lugia had remembered her and had come for her.
The approaching storm was dangerous, especially for those atop the tower. Ho-oh startled them briefly with a gust of hot dry wind from her wings, then dropped down to where the tower would block part of the winds. At first, she nearly couldn't get there. But then a ripple of power shot ahead of the storm, striking the black device and ending its hold on her. She was then able to brace herself.
The rain wall crashed into the city, turning a light drizzle into a heavy downpour. Lightning lit up the clouds that drastically darkened the sky. When it hit the tower, it shuddered but did not fall. The people on top were not as lucky. The men in black uniforms were knocked down to the floor, while the kimono girls yelped and grabbed hold of each other. As for the weakened man and the other girl, they weren't so lucky. The wind blasted them with enough force to blow them both completely off the tower. She managed to catch them on her back, but that meant she had to hover carefully so as not to drop them.
In a break of the thunderclaps, there was a fierce howl of anger from Lugia. Ignoring normal courtesy, he attacked the black uniformed men, keeping them from getting up. His power made the storm stay strong, but her power made the sun stay strong. Little shafts of golden light broke through the violent winds. In the presence of them both, the raindrops turned into prisms, sending forth all sorts of colors into the air so that it seemed to be pouring rainbows. Yet, this was dangerous. His cold waters and her hot fires would eventually turn the air so wild that it formed deadly cyclones.
She made a pleading cry to him. The R men had captured her, yes, but the kimono girls and the man she had were not at fault. They would be in danger if left here. And yes, she had come for one of the girls.
He relented readily; it must have been a hard decision for him to leave the waters to come after her. His mind's eye was enhanced by his power, which allowed him to suggest to the humans that they should leave with them. Carefully, he perched on the edge of the tower. The girls were initially reluctant, but went with it to get out of the danger.
Once they had the six secured, Ho-oh and Lugia flew off to the west.
His flight across Johto had done some damage. But it pleased Lugia some that the greatest damage he sensed was to a place where the red R group coordinated their efforts across the region. And people had seen them, not just these six with them. The tale of what happened today would hopefully inspire the humans to fight the darkness, not accept it.
They had landed on a quiet beach of an island southwest of the Johto mainland. Lugia had sent his storm to continue over the sea, to calm it out safely. Now that they were on land, the five kimono girls had tended to the man with them. Two got sent off to a nearby town for an antidote. Lugia considered returning to the sea, but Ho-oh had convinced him otherwise.
Even after all this time, she was much the same. She didn't like this darkness either, but she wanted to inspire the good people. She wanted to reward them, make the children happy. Even though the dark ones had tried to capture her, she had decided to stir up what light there was.
It had been so long since they had been together. He could remember why he liked being around her. While he still felt guilt over his storms and repulsion at the greedy men, she could make him feel hope for light and forgiveness again. The years when they had both been gone had been heavy with sadness. But did he dare come out of the seas more often to see her more often?
The man, whose name was Morty, began to stir again. He seemed to be in stunned awe on seeing the two guardian birds together, still there and waiting to see if he'd be all right. Such simple things causing wonder; that was the kind of things she liked.
And then Ho-oh sang for a short bit, directing his attention to the skies over mainland Johto. There was a bright and bold double rainbow out there. In her song, she told him that they ought to bring rainbows to this land more often. She could make them, but to make them so brilliant, she needed his support.
Lugia sang back to her softly. It would make him happy to help create rainbows with her.
…
Ho-oh Fire Red entry: A legend says that its body glows in seven colors. A rainbow is said to form behind it when it flies.
Lugia Soul Silver entry: It is said to be the guardian of the seas. It is rumored to have been seen on the night of a storm.
Yay for 200 stories!
Obviously, this is an AU story where Giovanni and Team Rocket weren't defeated by future Pokemon Champions. And because I thought it would be neat to link these two and the evil team plot better.