Pokémon: Above the Top

All around was a blanket of white: no sense of direction, no sign of the path they had come from.

Sato could only follow closely behind Suicune, not knowing how long he had been behind it. Gradually, the surroundings became more real. Crimson maple leaves covered the ground, and thick, towering maple trees began to appear on both sides.

Suicune finally slowed its pace, turning to glance at Sato. It seemed dissatisfied with Houndoom's speed earlier and signaled him to keep up.

Sato curled his lip, too lazy to argue. Wasn't Suicune a Legendary Pokémon? Did it think just any random person or Pokémon could keep up?

'My Houndoom is already pretty amazing!'

Seeing that Suicune wasn't planning to keep running, Sato jumped off Houndoom's back and quickly followed on foot.

Behind him, Zoroark and Gengar were still out. Sato hadn't recalled them.

After just a few minutes of walking, two black shadows suddenly darted out from the maple forest, flanking Suicune on the left and right.

Entei, Raikou… the three Legendary Beasts had gathered. They exchanged glances, then walked side by side ahead, completely ignoring Sato trailing behind.

"Tch…" 'Am I not the mc of this journey? Why is everyone acting like I'm invisible?' Sato clicked his tongue, a bit exasperated.

But he soon had no time to worry about such minor details. With the three Legendary Beasts leading the way, Sato was gradually led deeper into the forest.

He had once been able to glimpse a bit of blue sky. Now, when he looked up, all he could see were endless red leaves blocking out the sun.

At last, the three Legendary Beasts brought Sato to the end of the path, stopping before a colossal maple tree.

'A tree so massive… you could stew- cough.' Even the three Legendary Beasts, each easily over two meters tall, looked small before this tree; let alone Sato.

"TEI!"

"RAI!"

"SUI!"

The three Legendary Beasts howled simultaneously, red, yellow, and blue light glowing from their bodies.

The lights resonated with each other, then slowly merged into a platinum-colored beam that shone directly onto the enormous maple tree before them.

Shaaa~ sha sha~ shaa~

A breeze stirred, and the tree shadows swayed. It felt almost like an illusion, as if all the maple trees around them had come to life.

And of all the trees, the giant maple tree swayed the most violently in the wind.

Pop~

A faint sound, like a burnt-out lightbulb, echoed through the area. Though subtle, in this quiet space it stood out sharply.

Sato looked toward the sound and saw a maple leaf spontaneously ignite, turning into a golden-red flame that lingered without fading.

Like a virus spreading, the maple leaves began to catch fire one after another, all turning into flames. Brilliant yet gentle on the eyes.

Amazingly, Sato felt as though each flame had a life of its own, brimming with spirit.

When all the leaves had become fire, Sato realized that apart from the solid ground beneath his feet, everything around him had turned into a sea of golden-red flames.

The unknown always inspires fear. Even though the flames hadn't raised the temperature in the slightest, Sato still felt unbearably restless, short of breath.

Without knowing why, Sato turned to look at the three Legendary Pokémon -still and silent- hoping to glean some clue from them.

…But unfortunately, Suicune and the others seemed entranced, simply gazing silently up at the golden-red sea of flames, saying nothing at all.

"HOOOT!"

Suddenly, a clear bird cry rang out from all directions. Sato looked around, but couldn't find the source.

But Entei, Raikou, and Suicune became visibly excited, all standing tall as if awaiting something to arrive.

The golden flames began to gather. Clusters of fire separated from the maple trees and floated toward the enormous maple tree.

The flames started to merge and condense, accumulating more and more, gradually forming a giant golden firebird that closely resembled the legendary Pokémon in Sato's mind.

…Legendary Pokémon: Ho-Oh!

As he watched the slowly forming Ho-Oh in the sky, Sato still found it hard to believe.

He, Sato, given a second chance at life, had somehow been fortunate enough to meet the legendary Ho-Oh in person.

What a rare opportunity that was!

Suddenly, Sato felt a burning sensation in his chest. He pulled open his collar and saw the Rainbow Feather slip free from its string, slowly drifting toward the fiery bird in the sky.

When feather met flame, one might have expected the latter to burn the former… but instead, the feather became the source and transformed the flame.

With the Rainbow Feather that Sato had brought as its core, feathers began to sprout rapidly from the fiery bird's body.

In less than a second, the Ho-Oh from Sato's memories had fully taken shape before his eyes.

"HOOOO!"

A single cry rang out like thunder in spring, and the aura unique to a Legendary Pokémon spread through the air. The three Legendary Beasts immediately prostrated themselves, showing submission and respect.

…But Sato stood tall where he was, silently watching Ho-Oh.

Zoroark, Gengar, and Houndoom weren't so lucky, they were all crushed to the ground by Ho-Oh's overwhelming aura, struggling to stay up.

Still, standing under that immense aura, Sato didn't feel well either. If not for the sudden surge of Dark Energy within him, he might have collapsed under Ho-Oh's aura as well.

'Dark Energy… what are you really?' Sato couldn't put it into words. The Dark Energy inside him was boiling over. Faced with Ho-Oh's aura, it reacted like a frightened newborn: small and weak, yet refusing to yield.

"HOOOO~"

Ho-Oh cried out again, circling the clearing slowly as if to stretch its body.

Then it spiraled down, lowering its massive head until it was nearly level with Sato's.

Like Suicune, Ho-Oh's eyes were amber in color. And just like Suicune, it also liked to stare in silence.

Sato felt a tremendous weight on him.

The Dark Energy within his body was nearly out of control, ready to burst forth at any moment. And now Ho-Oh was staring him down with what felt like a death glare.

No matter how you looked at it, this wasn't shaping up to be a friendly encounter!

"An unpleasant aura."

The telepathic voice rang out in Sato's mind. Despite that, he felt slightly relieved. At least there was communication.

"Ho-Oh… sir(?), do you know the origin of Dark Energy?" Sato respectfully used formal speech without hesitation.

"You've passed the trials set by Suicune and the others, and you brought the Rainbow Feather to awaken me. Now it's my turn to test you."

Ho-Oh didn't answer Sato's question. It simply spoke again via telepathy, then suddenly flapped its wings.

In the next instant, countless golden flames roared toward Sato. He didn't even get the chance to activate Dark Energy before being completely engulfed.

His head went hazy. Limbs aching and powerless, Sato could feel the changes happening in his body and instinctively tried to channel his Dark Energy.

'…Huh? Where's the Dark Energy?'

He forced his eyes open, struggling to look around and assess his surroundings.

"Zoroark! Gengar! Houndoom!"

Seeing the three Pokémon nearby, all unconscious as well, Sato let out a big sigh of relief. As long as his partners were by his side, things couldn't be that bad.