A Gathering of Legendary Pokémon

The enormous silhouette of golden-red light flew in from far away, gradually revealing the shape of a bird.

It was a Pokémon no one had ever seen before, its imposing presence no less powerful than Lugia's.

And that rainbow seemed to hold some mystery of its own.

In mere moments, the great bird Pokémon had flown overhead, its form remaining hazy and indistinct.

No one knew what this Pokémon was.

Only Qi Shijun and Su Bai knew its identity.

The Legendary Pokémon, Ho-Oh.

Ho-Oh featured in legends across every region, especially the Dragon Nation and Johto.

The Dragon Nation of this world also had the legend of "a phoenix calling on Mount Qi," along with countless other tales and allusions involving phoenixes. In the Johto Region, Ho-Oh was even worshipped.

And because Ho-Oh was extraordinarily mysterious and rarely revealed its true appearance, very few people had ever actually seen it.

Even Professor Oak referred to Ho-Oh as an "unknown Pokémon."

Why had this mysterious, proud Pokémon suddenly appeared here? What was it going to do?

Qi Shijun gripped his Pokémon Ball tightly, cold sweat pouring down his body.

What kind of day was this? A gathering of Legendary Pokémon?

A Lugia of unknown origins had already put him under immense pressure, and now a Ho-Oh had appeared as well.

If it were just the Legendary Pokémon, he wasn't afraid.

He certainly couldn't win a fight, but if he wanted to escape, they might not be able to stop him unless Ho-Oh and Lugia both targeted him.

But Legendary Pokémon were ultimately mysterious, powerful forces beyond anyone's control. If they suddenly turned violent and harmed the citizens here...

Qi Shijun wouldn't be able to stop them.

Still, Su Bai was the most panicked of all.

Had summoning Lugia drawn Ho-Oh out?

If so, he really was in trouble!

"System, why did Ho-Oh come here?"

[Please work that out yourself, host. This system does not know.]

The system claimed complete ignorance, leaving Su Bai's stomach churning with anxiety.

Gengar, on the other hand, had plenty of nerve. Two top-tier Legendary Pokémon hovered overhead, glaring at each other, yet Gengar wasn't afraid at all and even poked half a head out to watch the show.

Ho-Oh and Lugia stared at each other for a long time, seemingly communicating.

Legendary Pokémon possessed clear minds and keen, rich emotions, fully capable of communicating in depth.

The two Legendary Pokémon called out for a while. It felt like a long time, but only a few dozen seconds had actually passed.

They weren't communicating through those cries, either. Their communication was more like telepathy; the cries were merely an outward expression.

Then Ho-Oh and Lugia both turned toward the crowd.

Naturally, no one knew what the two Legendary Pokémon were looking at. Some curious onlookers were still taking photos and recording videos.

Only Su Bai knew that Ho-Oh and Lugia were both looking at him!

Old Ghost had already retreated into his shadow, too.

Fortunately, the two Legendary Pokémon only looked and did nothing else.

Lugia turned and flew away, while Ho-Oh circled the area that had been engulfed by the wildfire before turning and flying away as well.

After Ho-Oh departed, the rainbow bridge shattered into specks of rainbow light.

As the light fell, those near the disaster site clearly saw the charred trees left by the wildfire crumble into ash.

Within the ashes, tender shoots of luminous green sprouted one after another, growing into towering trees before their very eyes.

People marveled at the sight. Many took out their phones to record it, intending to post the footage online.

Even more people hugged their Pokémon and sobbed.

It was finally over.

All that remained was search and rescue. With professional soldiers and large numbers of Trainers working together, it wouldn't be difficult.

"Let's go, Altaria."

Su Bai waved to Altaria, who had been hiding out of sight, and rode back to J University.

The search-and-rescue operation continued until noon the following day, and Su Bai slept until then as well.

He was utterly exhausted.

Unlike the others, Su Bai had spent some time deep within the flames to lead Team Rocket out.

After waking, Su Bai still couldn't shake his lingering fear. Only when he saw Pikachu and Growlithe sleeping beside him did he truly believe he had made it back.

That was terrifying. He definitely wasn't risking his life like that again.

But once he calmed down, Su Bai had to face a situation that demanded serious thought.

He needed to earn 500 credits in less than two years.

Hard! Like two grown men standing on each other's shoulders-difficulty piled on difficulty!

It seemed he couldn't rely on conventional methods to earn credits for the foreseeable future.

Did I really have to challenge the Donghuang League with just two Pokémon and make it into the top four?

[Ding! Gratitude from the Ten Directions Mountains detected. You have obtained a supernatural power-forest's favor.]

The system's electronic voice suddenly sounded in Su Bai's mind, and he sat straight up.

"System, you said gratitude from the Ten Directions Mountains? Does that mean the Ten Directions Mountains are conscious?"

[Host, are you an idiot?]

The system told Su Bai that, after last night's wildfire had been extinguished, the Pokémon in the mountains, the citizens of J City, and the mountain residents whose livelihoods depended on the Ten Directions Mountains were all grateful to Lugia for putting out the fire.

And Lugia had been summoned by Su Bai's Legendary Pokémon trial card. Although none of that gratitude had been directed at Su Bai himself, the system judged that it rightfully belonged to him.

That was why it had rewarded him with forest's favor.

Su Bai nodded in satisfaction. He hadn't done any of this for a reward, but he was still delighted to receive something tangible that helped offset his 500-credit deficit.

Then Su Bai questioned the system closely about what forest's favor actually was.

This power allowed a person to grow closer to Pokémon, draw strength from forests, and use its supernatural energy to strengthen themselves or heal Pokémon.

It even allowed them to communicate with Pokémon.

Forest's favor had another, more familiar name-the Viridian Force.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, on attracting Ho-Oh's attention. Title obtained: Pseudo-Rainbow Hero.]

Pseudo-Rainbow Hero effect: chance of encountering a Shiny Pokémon increased by 10%.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, on arousing Lugia's interest. Title obtained: Pseudo-Silver Wing Hero.]

Pseudo-Silver Wing Hero effect: chance of encountering a Totem Pokémon increased by 10%.

They were useful, but not particularly useful to Su Bai.

Whether in this world or the games, the chances of encountering Shiny or Totem Pokémon were low to begin with. A 10% increase was merely better than nothing.

Besides, Su Bai already had two Pokémon and couldn't raise any more for the time being.

The effects would only be of some use later, when he became an official Trainer and went out to catch Pokémon.

Compared with those two buffs, Su Bai was more concerned about what the system had said.

Ho-Oh's attention?

Lugia's attention?

Why were you two paying attention to me?

Lugia paying attention to me made sense. After all, I'd summoned Lugia to work for free.

But what did my summoning Lugia to work have to do with you, Ho-Oh?