"Pokéblock ~ My favorite! I want to eat them again after finishing one meal~ Roy said he'd make them for me every day~ (sniffs intensely)"
Huh!?... Isn't this Roy's scent?
As Marshadow hummed the song Roy had taught him, he suddenly caught a familiar scent as they flew over Mt. Pyre.
He originally planned to bring Ho-Oh's flames to Ecruteak City in the Johto before setting off to find Roy.
I didn't expect to sense Roy's presence in the Hoenn. Since I'm not in a hurry with my current task, I might as well go and see what Roy is doing here.
Just as Marshadow was about to land to see what was going on, she suddenly saw a black crack.
Sensing the chilling aura emanating from the crack, Marshadow recognized it at a glance: this was... the entrance to the Spirit World?
Marshadow, as Ghost type Pokémon with Divine Authority, naturally knows about the Spirit World. But why is Roy's presence felt at the entrance to the Spirit World?
Could it be that Roy was sucked into the Spirit World...?
The terrifying thought had barely formed in Marshadow's mind when a feeling of unease instantly arose.
Marshadow couldn't imagine what the world would be like without Roy.
He seemed to understand why the Annihilape in his dream had gone berserk after he killed Roy.
The exact same emotion arose in Marshadow's heart.
Don't be afraid! I'm here to save you, Roy!!
Damn Spirit World Envoy! Give me back my Roy!
Marshadow rolled up his arms, and the black shadow giant behind him also got ready, poised to charge.
Just as Marshadow was about to rush into the black entrance to the Spirit World, he discovered the Lampent emanating from the center of the Pentagram Altar on the mountaintop, along with Roy waiting nearby.
The moment Marshadow saw that Roy was alright, he felt as if he himself had come back to life.
Roy!
Hearing the familiar voice, Roy turned around and looked at Marshadow in the air.
Marshadow breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Roy had not been absorbed into the Spirit World.
"Marshadow?"
Roy was puzzled as to why Marshadow was here. Hadn't he gone to Ho-Oh last month to receive some kind of mission?
Could it be that the free-roaming chicken is now at Hoenn?
"I...
Marshadow told Roy that he was carrying out Ho-Oh's mission, which was to escort Ho-Oh's Flame to Ecruteak City.
Are you escorting the fire sent by Ho-Oh?
To Ecruteak City?
But didn't Ho-Oh already abandon Ecruteak City?
Roy remembered that Agatha had told him that Ho-Oh had left Ecruteak long ago and never returned.
Marshadow nodded. It was indeed as Roy had said, but every year, quite a few believers from Ecruteak City would come to Bell Tower to worship Ho-Oh and the three Legendary Pokémon.
Their persistence led Ho-Oh to decide to give those humans another chance, so he had Marshadow light the embers on the newly built tower in Ecruteak City.
If humanity doesn't start wars indiscriminately, Ho-Oh might occasionally return to Bell Tower to rest.
Seeing Roy's curiosity, Marshadow spread out a large hand behind him, revealing a Golden flame enveloped in Ghostly Purple energy.
To Roy's astonishment, Marshadow reached his hand into the Golden Flames enveloped in Ghost-type energy.
"Ah!"
Marshadow cried out in pain, and after a few seconds, realizing that Roy beside him was not reacting, he opened his eyes and secretly looked at Roy.
Roy was propping himself up on his arms and looking at him.
All Roy could say was that Marshadow's acting was incredibly fake. If you were really burned, wouldn't you have pulled your hand away first?
Who yells while being burned?
Marshadow scratched his head. Roy was right; the Golden flames hadn't harmed him at all.
He only wanted to play a prank on Roy, but he didn't expect Roy to Detect him so easily.
"Roy, you should try it too, it's not hot at all."
Seeing that Marshadow alright, Roy also tried to put his hand into the Golden flames. The Golden flames seemed to be burning, but they did not cause him any harm.
The Golden flames even warmed his hands, and when he stretched them out, he found that even a barely noticeable scar he had accidentally gotten on his hand during training had disappeared.
Is this Ho-Oh's flame?
Recalling the scene in the movie where Ho-Oh revived Ash at the end, helping myself repair my scars doesn't seem like a big deal anymore.
Unbeknownst to Marshadow, while he was explaining the origins of the fire to Roy, the still-open rift in the Spirit World in the sky suddenly reacted.
The Ghost-type energy of Marshadow, imbued with Divine Might power, is an invaluable supplement to the Spirit World.
While Marshadow was chatting with Roy, a powerful suction force was generated at the entrance to the Spirit World of Mt. Pyre, drawing away the Ghost-type energy that was surrounding the Golden Flames.
When Marshadow discovered that the Golden Flame in his hand had disappeared, he looked again and saw that the Golden Flame had already appeared at the gap in the Spirit World.
"My spark!"
In Marshadow's despairing gaze, the Golden flames were drawn into the Spirit World.
The entire process took less than a second.
Oh no, the spark is gone.
Marshadow never expected the spark to be lost in this way. How was he going to explain it to Ho-Oh?
But the next second, something unexpected happened: the entrance to the Spirit World miraculously spat out Golden flames.
However, the Ghost-type energy that was surrounded by Golden Flames had disappeared.
The Golden Flames were about to penetrate the cylindrical Barrier and land on the Lampent in the center of the pentagram on the altar.
Marshadow, a black, shadowy hand stretched out more than ten meters away, as if it had eaten a rubber fruit.
Just as the Golden flame was about to fall onto the Lampent, Golden grabbed it.
Thankfully, we caught it.
The problem is that the Ghostly Purple energy enveloping the flames has disappeared.
The Golden Flames Infiltrator directly through the giant hand of the black shadow, melting a transparent hole, and landed on the Lampent at the center of the pentagram directly below.