Divine Beast Poké Ball: Journey to the Far North

Back at the Dormitory.

Chi Hong looked at Greninja with some regret.

"Too bad we couldn't bring back the Splash Plate too. You'll have to settle for being beneath Charizard for now."

"Ko-ga."

Greninja gave a calm cry, signaling that it didn't care. A true powerhouse didn't rely on outside help.

Charizard stomped the floor and shot Greninja a provocative look. The flame on its tail flared brighter, as if to say:

Come fight me if you dare.

Greninja was too smart to take the bait now that Charizard had grown much stronger. It simply closed its eyes and ignored the look.

Until it possessed Ultimate Water, it wouldn't accept a single challenge from Charizard.

Charizard cast it a disdainful glance. With its position as top dog secure again, it looked smugger than ever.

Chi Hong paid no attention to their silent clash. He turned to the information on the panel.

[Professor Oak sent his congratulations on finding the Flame Plate.]

[Professor Oak considers you a reliable Trainer and has sent you a gift.]

[You obtained a Poké Ball.]

An ordinary Poké Ball appeared in Chi Hong's hand. It seemed to contain a Pokémon.

He muttered,

"Why send me another Pokémon? I haven't even reached level thirty."

After the Freshman Assessment, his Soul Power Level had risen to twenty-seven. Progress only grew slower as his level climbed.

Without competitions, gaining one level a month was about normal.

Then Chi Hong checked the Pokémon's information. His eyes went wide.

Divine Beast Poké Ball · Ho-Oh

Requirement: Control the Flame Plate

Uses: 1

Age level: 999999 (this world's limit)

Type: Fire + Flying

Ability: Pressure. The moment Ho-Oh spreads its wings, an invisible pressure blankets the field. Its opponent's movements grow heavy and sluggish, and every attack costs far more stamina than usual.

Hidden Ability: Regenerator. When Ho-Oh folds its wings, a rainbow-colored glow envelops its body. Wounds heal visibly, and its stamina steadily returns.

Moves: Sacred Fire, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Solar Beam, Brave Bird, Recover, Safeguard...

Duration: Ho-Oh engages an enemy who threatens you in a one-on-one battle until it defeats that enemy or dies.

Can someone tell me what this is?

Who put this thing in my hand?

Chi Hong was dumbfounded the moment he saw the Poké Ball's information.

He was a diligent Trainer who worked hard to raise his Pokémon. Somehow, he'd been handed a demigod-level Pokémon.

Was this my real cheat all along?

At the sight of those six nines in its age level, he wanted to march straight into Star Dou Forest, take down Di Tian, and seize the three Plates!

But after thinking it through, he calmed down.

The Poké Ball didn't let him use Ho-Oh without limits.

It probably worked like a battle: choose one opponent, defeat them, and the use was over.

Besides Di Tian, Star Dou Forest held several other Ferocious Beasts. Ho-Oh might have no trouble with them, but it would leave as soon as it defeated Di Tian.

And a troublesome Silver Dragon Fish still slept in the Lake of Life.

"Wait—does that mean I can only use it to save my life?"

Now that Chi Hong had a Poké Ball like this, the thought of not using it left him itching with frustration.

"Hold on. It says I need the Flame Plate to use Ho-Oh's Poké Ball. If I get other Plates, could I get a one-time use of other divine beasts too?"

Chi Hong rubbed his chin. If so, he had to spend his divine beast Poké Ball use on collecting Plates.

And he'd need a situation with only one opponent.

"That's a lot of restrictions. If I could just sweep Star Dou Forest in one go, I'd get three more Plates and three divine beast uses. Then I could crush the remaining empires and sects one by one. Done."

"Of the Plates left, the Splash Plate is the only one I can get from Mu En for free. I'll have to investigate the others."

Chi Hong fell into thought.

"The Far North is the only place where a Plate definitely exists and there are fewer top-tier fighters."

"The Soul Beasts there that could pose a threat and are over two hundred thousand years old are the Ice Bear King, the Titan Demonblood King, and the Ice Empress. The Snow Empress shouldn't be there at this point."

"Still, none of them can hold a candle to Ho-Oh."

"But I'll have to sneak into the Far North and find the Ice Pillar Plate first. What if I run into one of them along the way and have to summon Ho-Oh? If it wins too quickly, then what?"

"Maybe I can make use of Tian Meng."

Chi Hong settled on a plan.

Time flew by.

The students left the academy one after another.

Chi Hong pulled down the brim of his hat and rode Charizard north under the envious yet fearful gazes of the others.

A few days later, Chi Hong arrived in the vast, frigid Far North.

All he could see was an endless expanse of white, with icy winds howling everywhere.

But none of it affected Chi Hong. With the Flame Plate in his possession, no amount of cold could harm him.

The same was true of Charizard. Even as it flew through the bitter wind, the flame on its tail never dimmed.

After they had traveled a little farther, Chi Hong said,

"Charizard, stop here."

Charizard immediately landed and let Chi Hong down. Then it folded its wings and used Roost to recover its strength.

The long flight had left it tired.

"Thanks for the effort. Greninja can take over from here."

Chi Hong let Greninja out and returned Charizard to its Poké Ball.

The Far North was home to plenty of dangerous soul beasts. Charizard gave off the aura of Solar Fire, making it far too conspicuous in this frozen land.

If they ran into a powerful soul beast, they'd be in trouble.

Greninja, on the other hand, excelled at stealth. It was better suited both to fighting soul beasts along the way and to sneaking around in search of the Ice Pillar Plate.

"Greninja, are you afraid of the cold?"

Chi Hong asked with concern.

As far as he knew, frogs needed to keep their skin moist. Severe cold could crack it, so they generally weren't suited to freezing environments.

Water types were weak against Ice types too. More importantly...

Greninja's pink scarf won't freeze to its neck and become impossible to take off, will it?

Greninja let out a hearty "Ko-ga!" Such conditions were nothing to fear—it felt right at home.

"All right. Let's head for the target area. I can sense the Ice Pillar Plate somewhere beneath this ice."

With that, the two figures faded from notice, moving unseen through the frozen landscape.

Ever since his Pokémon had grown stronger, Chi Hong had discovered that he could use some of their abilities himself.