The massive bird Pokémon was drawing steadily closer, an invisible, formless pressure crashing down over them.
The sheer oppressive force felt like it could squeeze the air out of your lungs, making everyone's chest feel unbearably heavy, each breath coming harder and harder.
Even though that rainbow‑colored silhouette hadn't fully approached yet, the air already felt thick and viscous.
But as psychic power overflowed from Armored Mewtwo's body, that crushing pressure vanished.
A moment later, the enormous Ho-Oh finally arrived in the sky above the three of them, looking down from on high with imposing, regal eyes.
"T‑that's… the legendary Ho-Oh?!"
Erika clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes going wide at the sight of the bird Pokémon.
She recognized it.
Wasn't this exactly the Ho-Oh recorded in myths and legends?
The one whose body was said to shine with rainbow light, leaving a rainbow behind wherever it flew—
And the one people said would grant eternal happiness to anyone who saw it.
Stories about Ho-Oh were something almost everyone in Kanto grew up hearing.
But Erika had never imagined that one day Ho-Oh would actually appear right in front of her.
That alone had her buzzing with excitement.
This was Ho-Oh.
Sure, Suicune and the others were Legendary Pokémon too—but Ho-Oh was on a completely different level.
Even so…
The longer Erika stared at this legendary Pokémon from the old myths with clear eyes, the stranger she felt.
From far away, it had looked absolutely divine—beautiful and noble.
Up close, though… its appearance felt kind of… off.
Emmm.
Ho-Oh, of course, had no idea what kind of thoughts were running through the humans' heads below.
It had simply followed the spot where Suicune and the others' auras had last vanished.
Now that it was close, the sensation was unmistakable—
Suicune and the other two were right there, on that human boy.
Ho-Oh's eyes cooled.
It could feel it clearly: that boy's heart wasn't pure.
If that was the case, there was no way Suicune and the others had willingly accepted this human.
Ho-Oh had complete faith in its own subordinates.
Suicune and the others believed in it deeply, and their "taste" in choosing whom to follow was similar to its own.
And to be perfectly honest, Ho-Oh found the way this human was looking at it extremely disrespectful.
It wasn't sure what exactly was wrong with that gaze—
But it definitely wasn't polite.
"Nice to meet you, Ho-Oh.
You really are as beautiful and moving as the legends say."
Damian coughed twice, then put on a showy smile and waved up at Ho-Oh.
Up close, Ho-Oh really did just look like an overgrown roast bird—
But that was the sort of rude line Damian would never say out loud.
Ho-Oh's expression didn't change.
It could tell that wasn't this human's true feeling.
Humans… still so fake.
Ho-Oh sighed in its heart.
It truly wished that one day, humans and Pokémon could coexist, could genuinely understand each other.
Seven hundred years ago, when the people of Ecruteak City built the Brass Tower and the Bell Tower, Ho-Oh had chosen to dwell in the Bell Tower.
Those two towers had been built to symbolize the friendship between humans and Pokémon.
But a hundred and fifty years ago, lightning struck the Brass Tower—
And on that day, Ho-Oh had left.
Because it had seen clearly that the wall between humans and Pokémon still stood.
So Ho-Oh departed in disappointment.
Even now, Ho-Oh still hadn't found a human that won its heart.
"Human.
You caught Suicune and the others?"
With that thought, Ho-Oh's interest dropped.
It spoke directly into Damian's mind with a neutral Telepathy.
"Yeah.
I feel like there's a pretty strong bond of fate between us."
Damian smiled back.
"Suicune and the others are members of my Legendary Beasts.
I shouldn't forcibly control their future.
But I can feel it clearly."
Ho-Oh's gaze stayed fixed on Damian.
"Human, you didn't catch them with their acknowledgment, did you?"
"Does that matter?"
Damian raised a brow.
"It matters a lot."
Ho-Oh's reply was firm.
This was something it took seriously—because it had already suffered once from getting this wrong.
Strength alone could never decide whether a Trainer was truly compatible with it.
If their values didn't match, conflict was guaranteed, sooner or later.
"Pretty domineering of you.
So, Ho-Oh—what do you want to do?"
Damian looked at Ho-Oh with genuine interest.
In truth, he didn't know that much about Ho-Oh.
The "cameraman" barely showed up in the anime.
Aside from its brief appearance at the end of "I Choose You!", it was almost never actually on screen.
From the lore, he knew Ho-Oh was a kind Legendary Pokémon—
But its exact personality was anyone's guess.
"Return Suicune and the others."
Ho-Oh fell quiet for a moment, then spoke to Damian.
"Ho-Oh, don't you think that request's a little rude?"
Damian chuckled.
"I caught Suicune and the others through official battles.
I didn't use any cheap outside tricks.
And now you expect me to just release them because you said so?"
The smile at the corner of his mouth was half amused, half mocking.
"You really are full of yourself, Ho-Oh."
"All you did was use power greater than theirs.
The relationship between humans and Pokémon can't be measured by strength alone."
Ho-Oh's tone was low.
It felt this human's ideology was wrong.
"Of course.
I agree completely.
The bond between humans and Pokémon is built on feelings and shared bonds."
Damian nodded.
That actually surprised Ho-Oh.
It could tell—that part, at least, was sincere.
"But those bonds aren't something that exist by default from the start.
Right now, there honestly isn't much of a bond between me and Suicune and the others.
But I believe that as we spend time together, they'll understand me better—and I'll understand them more deeply too."
Damian's tone shifted mid‑sentence.
If Ho-Oh had eyebrows, they'd definitely be furrowing hard right now.
"Human, you and Suicune and the others aren't compatible.
You'll never be the right kind of friends."
Ho-Oh sounded helpless.
"Isn't that a bit too arbitrary, Ho-Oh?
No one can predict the future.
I believe I can win them over."
Damian put on a harmless smile.
Ho-Oh gave him a long, hard look.
"Enough talk.
Human, since you acknowledge catching by strength, then my strength surpasses yours.
That gives me the right to demand you return Suicune and the others."
Ho-Oh finally decided it would have to play the rude one.
It didn't believe Damian and Suicune could ever have a good future together.
Because without question, this human's slick, sophistic way of talking already said plenty about his true nature.
"Pff～
So at the end of the day, you just want to force me to release Suicune and the others.
Why bother dressing it up in such lofty ideals?"
Damian laughed under his breath.
"I am curious about your strength, though, Ho-Oh."
He tilted his head, the grin on his face stretching wider.
"Mewtwo."
Armored Mewtwo slowly lifted its head.
The limiter armor covering its body began to detach on its own—helmet, shoulder plates, chestplate—
In the blink of an eye, all of Shadow Mewtwo's armor had dropped away, clattering to the ground.
A crushing wave of psychic power seeped out from its body.
Shadow Mewtwo rolled its neck, the power that had been held down by the limiter armor now surging freely through its veins.
The intoxicating sensation of being completely filled with what felt like endless power…
Even Shadow Mewtwo couldn't help wanting to let out a low moan.
So good.
Ho-Oh narrowed its eyes slightly, studying Shadow Mewtwo as it slowly beat its wings.
Rainbow‑colored flames began to kindle around its body.
"Huh? That armor… it comes off?"
Erika blinked.
She'd always assumed that armor was a part of Shadow Mewtwo's body.
"That's limiter armor.
Damian said it was made to hold back the psychic power Mewtwo couldn't fully control yet."
Caitlin murmured.
"???"
Erika was stunned.
Armored Mewtwo had already been ridiculously strong—way beyond what she'd imagined.
And now she was being told that form had actually been limiting Mewtwo's power?
Holy crap.
"The legendary Ho-Oh, huh.
Let's see how strong you really are."
Deep purple flames burned in Shadow Mewtwo's eyes as it slowly rose into the air, floating up until it was level with Ho-Oh.
Its hoarse Telepathy echoed out.
A dark purple aura with streaks of black coiled around its body—
That was the psychic energy Shadow Mewtwo couldn't help leaking.
"You carry Mew's aura.
What's your relationship to Mew?"
Ho-Oh watched this unfamiliar Pokémon with clear puzzlement.
It had never seen Shadow Mewtwo before—
But there was definitely a trace of Mew's aura on it.
Weird.
The two of them even had a few similarities—
Aside from the body color being completely different, of course.
"Mew?
I'm its dad."
Shadow Mewtwo answered flatly, leaving Ho-Oh in stunned silence.
Even though Damian's nonstop needling had dulled Shadow Mewtwo's obsession with Mew, it certainly didn't feel any fondness toward it either.
And that line was something Damian had taught it—
Telling Shadow Mewtwo that if it ever ran into Mew, it should hit it with that one first.
After following Damian for a while, Shadow Mewtwo understood exactly what the line implied—so it had quietly memorized it.
Ho-Oh didn't respond.
It continued to flap its wings in slow, measured strokes.
The sacred rainbow‑colored flames at either side of its body only grew thicker and brighter.
The air temperature spiked.
Soon the blazing fire had become a sea of multicolored flames, terrifying to behold.
"So hot…"
Erika fanned her face with her hands.
The temperature had shot up to a ridiculous degree in an instant.
And…
Looking up at Ho-Oh and Shadow Mewtwo facing off in midair, Erika couldn't help worrying.
"Damian, is Mewtwo really a match for Ho-Oh?"
Even knowing how powerful Shadow Mewtwo was, its opponent this time was the legendary Ho-Oh.
"Who knows."
Damian shrugged.
This was his first time fighting a high‑tier legend too—he had no idea how strong a legendary on Ho-Oh's level actually was.
The entire reason he'd wanted Ho-Oh to come here was to test the current limit of Shadow Mewtwo—
And to get a feel for how strong a Legendary like Ho-Oh really was.
Ho-Oh wasn't like Nebby.
Nebby's strength had skyrocketed after it evolved into Lunala, sure—
But that was a newborn evolution.
No one knew exactly how far the altar's stored energy had actually pushed Lunala.
If they went by game levels, Nebby had only been around level 55 when it evolved.
You couldn't directly apply game levels to reality, but Damian still seriously suspected Lunala's strength right now was only on par with Shadow Mewtwo's—
Maybe even a bit lower.
So using Lunala as Shadow Mewtwo's sparring partner was less appealing than using Ho-Oh.
Among all the high‑tier legends, Ho-Oh's strength was solidly middle of the pack.
Not on the level of Rayquaza, Kyurem, or Sinnoh's Creation Trio—
But definitely stronger than a freshly evolved Lunala.
"Either way, we don't need to worry about safety.
Ho-Oh doesn't attack people.
Worst case, we just give Suicune and the others back."
Damian sounded completely unconcerned.
With Ho-Oh, there was zero need to sweat survival.
Even if they lost, Ho-Oh would never go all out on humans.
"Wouldn't that be a huge waste, though?"
Caitlin's brows arched.
They'd just managed to bag Suicune and the others.
This overgrown roast bird was really shameless—
It could seriously force them to release a Pokémon they'd just caught?
"What's the big deal?
If we have to release them, we release them.
It's not like we can't catch them again."
Damian didn't mind in the slightest.
"Eh?"
Erika froze.
Release them first… then catch them all over again?
Was that really okay?
"Plus, I've got dirt on Ho-Oh.
If it pushes me too far, I'll just hit it with a morality hostage situation."
The grin at the corner of Damian's mouth climbed higher.
He didn't consider himself cheap at all.
Dirt on Ho-Oh???
Erika and Caitlin both perked up, intensely curious.
Even Ho-Oh had black history?
~~~
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