Ho-Oh... Had Been Caught?!

The commotion caused by Ho-Oh's appearance didn't end when it flew away.

That night, a host in Ecruteak City spread the astonishing news over the radio.

"Welcome to Ecruteak Radio! It's now 7:15 p.m.!"

"This afternoon, the Legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh appeared in Ecruteak City! It seems to have heard the monks' calls from inside the Bell Tower."

"Even more astonishing, a human was riding on Ho-Oh's back! Who is he? Is he Ho-Oh's Trainer? If so, just how powerful must this Trainer be?"

"However, this quaint, old-fashioned city of Ecruteak seems to have shared a deep connection with a Pokémon like Ho-Oh since long ago. What could Ho-Oh's appearance today mean?"

"Hey!"

Outside the broadcast room, Xiao Sha, the assistant responsible for recording the program, opened her mouth and silently gestured to the host, Elsa, asking whether it was really all right to say that.

Elsa switched the program to a song and said:

"All right, by now, everyone has probably just finished dinner. Let's listen to a song and unwind!"

Taking off her headphones, Elsa looked outside.

Xiao Sha couldn't help asking, "Elsa, is it really all right for us to say that?"

"According to the eyewitness reports, the person riding on the back of that Legendary Pokémon was clearly a boy around two years old..."

"Heh, you just don't get it!" Elsa said with confidence. "This is the only way to pique the curiosity of the Trainers listening to the program. We might even attract quite a few people to Ecruteak City."

After all, whether they were ordinary people like them or Trainers, anything involving Legendary Pokémon was impossible to pass up.

They were powerful, rare, and precious.

If someone managed to catch a Legendary Pokémon, it would cause a huge sensation. Their moment of fame might be right now!

"All right, then." Xiao Sha seemed to understand, more or less.

Elsa smiled faintly, then continued recording the program.

In an age when information didn't travel very freely and journeys were always slow, most Trainers and ordinary people had the habit of turning on their Pokégear or radio to listen to broadcasts while traveling or resting at night.

Meanwhile, in a wilderness far from any city,

a young man with a head of red hair, a cloak over his shoulders, handsome features, and a resolute expression sat around a campfire with a Dragonair, listening to the broadcast.

"Ho-Oh..."

Having grown up in the Dragon Clan, Lance knew far more about Legendary Pokémon than ordinary Trainers did.

He knew that Legendary Pokémon were incredibly powerful and rare beings in the Pokémon world.

Some exceptionally powerful Pokémon were the only ones of their kind in the entire world.

Ho-Oh was one of them.

"Ho-Oh appeared in Ecruteak City?" Lance murmured.

The woman's voice on the radio continued.

[Even more astonishing, a human was riding on Ho-Oh's back! Who is he? Is he Ho-Oh's Trainer?]

"What?"

Lance's pupils contracted. A Pokémon of Ho-Oh's caliber had already been caught by a human?

From what he knew about Legendary Pokémon, most of them were proud by nature. They would never allow a human to trample on their dignity like that.

There were only two ways someone could accomplish such a thing.

The first was to earn the Legendary Pokémon's recognition and become very close to it.

The second was to conquer it through sheer strength and become its Trainer.

"Someone actually caught Ho-Oh...?"

Would that person compete in this year's Quartz Conference?

At that moment, Lance suddenly found himself filled with anticipation.

In the countryside of Kanto Region, next door to Johto Region, stood a small town called Pallet Town.

Inside Professor Oak's Research Lab, Professor Oak was sitting in a chair, eating instant noodles.

Suddenly, the radio started talking about "Ho-Oh's appearance" and "Ho-Oh being caught."

Professor Oak nearly spat out the noodles in his mouth.

"What? Ho-Oh was caught? That can't be possible, can it?"

Professor Oak was stunned.

As far as he knew, there were no Trainers in either Kanto Region or Johto Region powerful enough to do such a thing.

"Who could it be...?"

Could it be a Trainer who had come from another region?

"Professor Oak! Pokémon! I want to see Pokémon!"

Suddenly, a childish voice interrupted Professor Oak's thoughts.

He turned around and saw a little boy, a little over two years old, running excitedly toward him.

The boy got too excited to keep his balance and tumbled to the ground with a thump.

"Waaah..."

"Ha, Ash? Be careful next time!" Professor Oak said with a smile, stepping forward to help Ash up.

"I'm so sorry for the trouble, Professor Oak. I know it's late, but Ash kept crying and insisting that he wanted to come here to see the Pokémon." Delia looked apologetic.

"It's fine. It just shows how much Ash likes Pokémon." Professor Oak picked Ash up and said with a smile, "Come on, I'll take you to see the Pokémon in the yard!"

"Yay!" Ash was delighted.

Watching Ash, Professor Oak wore a deeply nostalgic expression.

In a daze, he saw again what had happened in the forest that summer.

Back then, he'd still been a boy named Samuel Oak. An accident had sent him traveling through time with a Mythical Pokémon named Celebi. At the end of time, he'd met a boy named Ash and become friends with him.

The boy had introduced himself: "I'm Ash from Pallet Town!"

So, after graduating from Rainbow University, Samuel Oak had turned down offers from elsewhere. To the confusion of many people in his field, he had come to the remote countryside town of Pallet Town and founded Professor Oak's Research Lab there.

"Ash!" Professor Oak looked at him, his heart full of emotion.

It's so good to see you again.

*

[Lance was astonished that you had caught Ho-Oh. Shock Points from Lance +200!]

[Professor Oak was utterly shocked that you had caught Ho-Oh. Shock Points from Professor Oak +100!]

Back at home on Heavenly Green Mountain with Ho-Oh, Dongshu was busily preparing to renovate the place when two notifications suddenly appeared on his panel.

Those two familiar names had appeared out of nowhere, leaving Dongshu rooted to the spot.

Lance, Professor Oak... Were they the two people he knew?

But how had even they found out?

Dongshu tried to look through the notifications on the panel.

As it turned out, the Shock Points hadn't stopped coming when people left. They'd kept trickling in steadily, one after another.

The rate had already slowed, but just now, another huge wave of Shock Points had suddenly come in, nearly flooding the panel.

He hadn't known until he checked, and then he was shocked.

Every single person in the later notifications was astonished that he had caught Ho-Oh.

A bead of exasperated sweat appeared on Dongshu's forehead.

The rumor was getting more and more exaggerated!