By the time Lin Hao dragged Deoxys-now known as Big Red-down from Mt. Moon, the back of his shirt was soaked with sweat. "Master, I think he believed you," Deoxys whispered in his ear.
"Like hell he did." Lin Hao tugged his cap lower. "Steven's a Champion, not an idiot. He'll definitely look things up when he gets back, and then 'Big Red' will end up on a wanted poster."
"Then what do we do?"
"Deal with it," Lin Hao said, picking up his pace. "First, we get back to Viridian City and find somewhere to stuff you back into the system space. From now on, nobody comes out without my permission." All he wanted now was to hurry back to the inn and get that bunch of royal pains settled.
Today had been exhausting enough. First came picking up Pikachu, then Team Rocket's robbery, then a battle with Red, and finally snatching a Legendary Pokémon on Mt. Moon. Every step of his life was a new heart-stopper.
May hurried to catch up, panting hard. "Lin Hao! Why are you walking so fast?"
"I'm in a hurry."
"How did Mr. Steven end up letting you go?"
"I just told him I'd raised Big Red since I was little. He didn't believe me, but he had no evidence."
Lin Hao answered offhandedly, "Champions need evidence, you know."
"What a load of crap!" May glared at him. "You must have pulled something!"
"I'm just an ordinary guy. What could I possibly pull?" Lin Hao rolled his eyes. "If you don't believe me, go ask Steven."
"You..."
As they argued, a Trainer emerged from the bushes and waved at Lin Hao. "Hey, man! Did you just come down from Mt. Moon? Did you see the Legendary Pokémon?"
Lin Hao held his breath and didn't so much as lift his eyes. "What Legendary Pokémon?"
"The one on the news! A Pokémon nobody's ever seen before. Even Mr. Steven went to investigate!" The Trainer grew animated. "I heard it looks really cool and can change forms!"
"Oh. Didn't see it." Lin Hao quickened his pace.
"Wait!" The Trainer stared at Lin Hao's cap. "What's that on your hat?"
Lin Hao stopped short. Looking down, he saw a brilliantly colored feather poking out from beneath the brim, gleaming conspicuously in the sunlight. It trembled gently, enjoying its sunbath. That damn bird had snuck out again. He clamped a hand over his cap and cursed through gritted teeth, Ho-Oh! Get back in there!
Ho-Oh's voice rang out in his mind. "Master, I just wanted some sun. There's no sunlight in the system space..."
Sun, my ass! Are you trying to put me on the news?!
The Trainer leaned closer, staring at his cap. "Man, that's a pretty feather. Where'd you buy it?"
"Picked it up by the road." Lin Hao pushed his cap down. "It's an imitation. Fake."
"A fake can shine like that?" The Trainer reached out to touch it.
Lin Hao stepped back, roaring at Ho-Oh through Telepathy, Hurry! Right now! Shrink down and get all the way inside! Ho-Oh muttered under his breath. In the blink of an eye, the feather shrank into a tuft of down and withdrew deep into the cap, too fast to follow.
The Trainer rubbed his eyes. "Weird. I could've sworn I just saw..."
"You saw wrong." Lin Hao turned and walked away. "It's so hot out, your eyes can play tricks on you."
"Really?" The Trainer scratched his head but didn't follow.
May stared at Lin Hao's back and slowed her steps. "Lin Hao, just now, you..."
"Your eyes were playing tricks too," Lin Hao cut her off. "It's been an exhausting day. Hallucinating is perfectly normal."
"Who do you think you're fooling?"
"You," Lin Hao said without looking back. "Officer, I'm heading back. Stop following me."
"You..."
Back at the inn, Lin Hao locked the door, took off his cap, and tossed it onto the bed. "Come out!"
Golden light spilled between his fingers, and Ho-Oh emerged from the cap, returning to his original size. He huddled at the edge of the bed with his head bowed. "Master, I was wrong..."
"What did you do wrong?" Lin Hao folded his arms and stared at him.
"I shouldn't have snuck out to sunbathe."
"And?"
"I shouldn't have let my feather show."
"And?"
Ho-Oh drew his neck in. "I shouldn't... shouldn't have made you worry, Master?"
Lin Hao let out a breath. "Listen carefully, Ho-Oh. Starting today, you're not even allowed to touch the door to the system space without my permission. If you dare sneak out again, I'll lock you in the confinement cell on the lowest level and let you keep Groudon company."
"Please, no, Master!" Ho-Oh wailed. "Groudon roars in there all day! I'm practically going deaf!"
"Then stay put!"
Ho-Oh gave a low cry, turned into golden light, and slipped back into the system space. The room was finally quiet. Lin Hao sprawled on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He had only just transmigrated here, and he was already so exhausted that all he wanted was to fall asleep. Not one of these Legendary Pokémon was easy to handle. They were powerful, sure, but their talent for causing trouble was just as impressive.
He rolled over, about to catch up on sleep, when the bedside phone rang. It was Professor Oak. "Lin Hao, are you free tomorrow?"
"What is it, Professor?"
"I have a small task for you," Professor Oak said, his voice strained. "An important package needs to be delivered to the Viridian Forest Research Station. A researcher was supposed to take it, but he suddenly fell ill. I'd like to ask you to make the trip."
Lin Hao was about to refuse when a disturbance stirred deep in Viridian Forest, and the Full Pokédex's detection needle began jumping wildly. "All right," he heard himself say. "I'll leave first thing tomorrow." After hanging up, Lin Hao rubbed the space between his brows.
A peaceful life was probably out of the question. He opened the system interface and looked at those 898 Legendary Pokémon portraits, his temples beginning to throb.
Just then, Ho-Oh's voice drifted out of the system space again, very softly. "Master..."
"What?"
"Um, I just sensed something." Ho-Oh lowered his voice. "There's a Legendary Pokémon's aura running wild over in Viridian Forest. It's incredibly powerful and frenzied." Lin Hao went still. "And," Ho-Oh added, his voice dropping even further, "whoever that aura belongs to probably has a grudge against Groudon."
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