The huge bird Pokémon flew closer. It brought a very strong pressure. This pressure made their chests feel heavy and it was hard to breathe. Even though the bird was not fully there yet, the air already felt very heavy.
However, Armored Mewtwo sent out psychic power. The strong pressure went away. The giant Ho-Oh finally arrived above the three people. It looked down at them with powerful eyes.
"Is that... the legendary Ho-Oh?!" Erika covered her mouth. Her eyes were wide with shock. She knew this Pokémon! This was the same Ho-Oh from the old stories.
The stories said its body had seven colors. A rainbow would appear wherever it flew. Legends also said people who saw Ho-Oh would be happy forever. Most people in the Kanto region heard these stories when they were children. Erika never thought she would see Ho-Oh in person. She was very excited. This was Ho-Oh! It was a legendary Pokémon, but it was much stronger than Suicune and the others.
However... Erika looked at the bird. The more she looked, the stranger she felt. From far away, it looked like a god and was very noble. But up close... it looked a bit different.
Mmm...
Ho-Oh did not know what the humans were thinking. it followed the energy of Suicune and the others to this place. Now it was close. It could feel that its three guards were with the human boy.
Ho-Oh's eyes became cold. It could feel that the boy's heart was not pure. So, Suicune and the others did not join him because they wanted to. Ho-Oh trusted its helpers. Their ideas were like its own ideas. Also, Ho-Oh felt the human was looking at it in a rude way! It did not know why, but the boy was not being respectful.
"Nice to meet you, Ho-Oh. You're just as beautiful and moving as the legends say," Damian said. He coughed and gave a fake smile. He waved at Ho-Oh.
Up close, Ho-Oh really looked like a giant turkey. But Damian did not say that out loud because it was rude.
Ho-Oh did not show any emotion. It could feel that the boy was not telling the truth. Humans were not honest. Ho-Oh felt sad in its heart. It really wanted a world where humans and Pokémon understood each other.
That is why, seven hundred years ago, people built two towers in Ecruteak City. Ho-Oh lived in the Bell Tower. Those towers were for the friendship between humans and Pokémon. But one hundred and fifty years ago, lightning hit the Brass Tower. Ho-Oh left. It saw that humans and Pokémon were still divided. It was disappointed. To this day, Ho-Oh still had not found a special human.
"Human, did you capture Suicune and the others?" Ho-Oh asked. It used its mind to speak. Its voice sounded tired.
"That's right. I feel like I have a strong destiny with them," Damian answered with a smile.
"Suicune and the others are members of my guard. I should not control their futures. But I can feel it." Ho-Oh looked at Damian. "Human, you did not capture them because they acknowledged you, did you?"
"Does that matter?" Damian moved his eyebrow.
"It matters a lot!" Ho-Oh answered. This was very important to the bird. It had a bad experience before. Strength is not the only thing that matters. If the human and Pokémon do not have the same ideas, they will fight.
"How bossy. So, Ho-Oh, what do you want to do?" Damian looked at the bird. He wanted to know about Ho-Oh's personality. The "Photographer" was not in the show very much. Even in the movie, it only appeared for a few minutes. People said Ho-Oh was kind, but they did not know its real character.
"Give Suicune and the rest back," Ho-Oh said after a moment.
"Ho-Oh, don't you think that request is a bit rude?" Damian laughed. "I captured them in a normal battle. I did not use any bad tricks. And now, you want me to let them go just because you said so?" Damian's smile was mocking. "You certainly have a lot of nerve, Ho-Oh."
"You only used power greater than theirs. The relationship between humans and Pokémon cannot be represented by power alone," Ho-Oh said in a deep voice. It thought the human was wrong.
"Of course, I agree with that. The connection between humans and Pokémon is maintained by feelings and bonds," Damian nodded.
Ho-Oh was surprised. It could tell Damian was telling the truth.
"But those bonds do not have to exist at the start. Right now, I don't have feelings for Suicune and the others. But I believe if we live together every day, they will understand me more. I will also understand them better," Damian said.
If Ho-Oh had eyebrows, they would be pulled together right now. "Human, you are not compatible with them. You cannot become suitable friends," Ho-Oh said. It felt like there was no hope.
"Isn't that a bit too judgmental? Who can predict the future? I believe I can win them over," Damian said. He looked innocent.
"..."
Ho-Oh looked at Damian for a long time. "Talking is useless. Human, since you think power is how you capture Pokémon, then I have a right too. My power is stronger than yours. So, I can demand that you return them to me."
Ho-Oh decided to be "rude." It did not think Damian and the guards would have a good future. The human's tricky arguments showed he had a bad character.
"Tsk~ In the end, you just want to force me to release them. Why use all those noble words?" Damian sneered. "I'd actually like to test your power as well." Damian moved his head. He gave a wide smirk. "Mewtwo!"
Armored Mewtwo slowly raised its head. Its special armor began to fall off. The helmet, the shoulder pads, and the chest plate fell to the ground. A huge, scary psychic power started to come out.
Shadow Mewtwo moved its neck. The power that was hidden by the armor now moved through its body. It felt so much power that it wanted to sigh with joy. It felt so good!!
Ho-Oh's eyes became thin as it looked at Shadow Mewtwo. Its wings moved slowly. Many-colored flames began to burn around its body.
"Wait, that armor can be taken off?" Erika was shocked. She thought the armor was part of its body.
"That is power-restricting armor. Damian said it was made to suppress the psychic power that Mewtwo couldn't perfectly control," Caitlin said quietly.
"???" Erika was very afraid. Armored Mewtwo was already very strong. Now she learned that the armored form was a version with less power? This was unbelievable!!
"Legendary Ho-Oh, let's see what your level is," Shadow Mewtwo said. Purple flames appeared in its eyes. Its body rose up into the air. It was now at the same height as Ho-Oh. Its voice was low. A dark aura was around it. Its psychic power was leaking out.
"You have the aura of Mew on you. What is your relationship with Mew?" Ho-Oh asked. It was confused. It had never seen Shadow Mewtwo. But the energy was like Mew's energy. It was very strange. They looked a bit the same, but the colors were different.
"Mew? I am its father," Shadow Mewtwo answered.
Ho-Oh did not say anything.
Because of Damian, Shadow Mewtwo did not care about Mew. It did not have any good feelings for Mew. Damian taught it that line to use if it met Mew. Shadow Mewtwo had been with Damian for a while. It knew what it meant, so it remembered the words.
Ho-Oh stayed silent. It kept moving its wings. Holy, colored flames grew on both sides of its body. The air became very hot! The hot fire looked like a sea of many colors. It was scary.
"It's so hot..." Erika used her hand to fan her face. The air was burning now.
Erika looked at Ho-Oh and Shadow Mewtwo in the sky. She was worried. "Damian, is Mewtwo a match for Ho-Oh?" She knew Shadow Mewtwo was strong. But the enemy was the legendary Ho-Oh!
"Who knows." Damian moved his shoulders. This was his first time fighting a very strong legend. He did not know how strong Ho-Oh was. He brought Ho-Oh here to test Shadow Mewtwo's limits. He wanted to see how strong a legend could be.
Ho-Oh was different from Nebby. Nebby became Lunala, but it was still new. The energy it had was not clear. In a game, it might only be level 55. Reality is not like a game, but Damian thought Lunala was like Shadow Mewtwo, or maybe weaker. So, Ho-Oh was a better choice for practice.
Among strong legends, Ho-Oh was in the middle. It was not as strong as Rayquaza or the Sinnoh trio. But it was stronger than a new Lunala.
"In any case, don't worry about safety. Ho-Oh won't hurt humans. At worst, I'll just give Suicune and the others back," Damian said. He did not seem to care. With Ho-Oh as a partner, they were safe. If they lost, it did not matter. Ho-Oh would not hit them too hard.
"But wouldn't that be a pity?" Caitlin's face looked worried. They worked hard to catch them! That big turkey Ho-Oh was truly shameless. It was trying to force someone to let newly caught Pokémon go.
"What does it matter? If I release them, I release them. It's not like I can't catch them again," Damian said. He was not worried at all.
"Huh?" Erika was surprised. Release them, and then catch them again? Was that possible?
"Besides, I have 'black history' on Ho-Oh. If it goes too far, I'll just guilt-trip it!" Damian smiled. He did not think he was being bad.
Black history on Ho-Oh??? Erika and Caitlin wanted to know more. Could a Pokémon like Ho-Oh have shameful secrets?
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