Chapter 261: The Feather That Fell from the Rainbow
Just as Will was preparing to tank another hit...
"We forfeit."
Lorelei said to the referee.
Will turned his head to look at her.
"That's enough. There's no need for Piplup to get hurt anymore," Lorelei said with a forced smile, trying to act relaxed.
Even though she desperately wanted to win, it was clearly impossible now. Letting Will continue to fight wouldn't change the outcome; it would only make him suffer more damage.
If that was the case... better to just let it go.
"Piplup, next time... we'll definitely become the Champions!" Lorelei clenched her little fist.
"...Mhm." Will nodded at her.
For Lorelei, admitting defeat like this was a form of growth.
The Sinnoh Conference officially came to an end.
The final champion was Ramos from the Kalos region.
Lorelei left the arena with a silver medal, as the runner-up.
Just as Will had expected, the optimistic Lorelei was disappointed for only a moment before she started happily admiring her medal.
Many trainers and spectators would linger in the athlete's village for a while after the tournament, using the time to hang out or take photos with trainers they admired or friends they met along the way.
But not Lorelei.
On the night the tournament ended, she dragged Will and Lucario onto a ship heading home.
"How long do you plan to rest this time? Mom didn't seem to arrange anything for you."
Will yawned, looking at Lorelei with boredom.
"A few days, then we head out immediately!"
"Where to?"
"Johto!" Lorelei grinned, then added, "To travel! Not to challenge the Johto League. We'll do that in two years."
"Oh~ That sounds good." Will nodded quickly.
Traveling meant the journey would be relaxed. No forcing himself to train every day; he could do whatever he wanted.
Back on Four Island, Lorelei stayed home for half a day before rushing out with her medal. Where she went, needless to say, was to brag to her friends.
Will and Lucario stayed home for several days straight, gaining three pounds each thanks to Mom's cooking.
A month passed.
It was now League Year 181.
Will, Lorelei, and Lucario set off again, heading northwest toward the Johto region.
They took a yacht in the morning and arrived near Cherrygrove City by the afternoon.
Returning to Cherrygrove after more than a hundred years, the changes were immense. Back then, Cherrygrove had buildings three or four stories high, which was considered quite advanced for that era.
Now, seven or eight-story buildings were everywhere, and skyscrapers over ten stories tall weren't uncommon.
Once human society entered a period of peace, the speed of development was truly mind-boggling.
However...
Sniff sniff~
"The scent of flowers isn't as strong as before," Will sighed emotionally.
You win some, you lose some. Cherrygrove had become a modern city, but its greenery coverage had dropped significantly. Even Pokémon like them could only smell a faint floral scent. Humans probably couldn't smell anything at all.
"The ship is docking. By the way, when did that rainbow appear?"
Lorelei looked at the Cherrygrove port, just a hundred meters away, then glanced up at the sky.
It hadn't rained. But there was suddenly a rainbow. Lorelei hadn't even noticed when it appeared.
"...Did you feel someone watching us?" Will ignored the rainbow and turned to Lucario.
"Mm. Over there." Lucario pointed toward a forest near Cherrygrove.
The next moment, the feeling of being watched vanished.
But that just confirmed their feeling. Something had been secretly observing them. It wasn't an illusion. As Aura users, they could distinguish between a casual glance and a gaze with a specific purpose.
"Who could it be?" Lucario frowned. He couldn't imagine who would be spying on them. They kept a low profile, and Lorelei was just an ordinary girl.
Unless... the boat captain had some incredible secret identity?!
"Don't overthink it. I know who it is."
Suddenly, Will spoke.
Lucario looked at Will, then followed his gaze to the sky.
A feather glowing with rainbow light drifted down slowly from the rainbow overhead, finally landing in Lorelei's palm.
"What is this?"
"The Rainbow Wing. Ho-Oh's feather." Will pressed his lips together, turning to look at the forest Lucario had pointed out. "And the one watching us just now was Marshadow, the 'Gloomdweller'."
"Piplup, look! This feather is rainbow-colored!"
Lorelei brought the Rainbow Wing closer, then stuck it on top of Will's head.
Lucario: "..."
Will: "..."
Lorelei: "Hahaha, Piplup, you look so cute."
"You idiot!! Take this thing back!" Will jumped up and shouted at Lorelei.
"What! If you don't like it, you don't like it! Why are you yelling!" Lorelei snatched the Rainbow Wing back, glaring at Will.
"This isn't an ordinary feather. It's fine for me and Lucario, but don't give this to anyone else!" Will stared at Lorelei seriously.
At the same time, he covertly glanced at the forest.
If the Rainbow Wing was held by someone with an evil heart, their evil Aura would corrupt the feather, causing it to lose its light.
If things reached that point... Marshadow would instantly go berserk, snatch the corrupted feather, and seal and "correct" everything.
Simply put... it would kill the main participant of this trial: Lorelei.
Only when Lorelei died would the corrupted Rainbow Wing disappear, and Marshadow could erase this "stain."
To reverse the situation at that point would require plot armor. Lorelei wasn't Ash; she didn't have that.
Although Will and Lucario possessed Aura Power and were arguably the beings furthest from "evil" in the world—making them the most suitable candidates for the "Rainbow Hero"—the one chosen was Lorelei, not them.
So Will wasn't sure if Lorelei's little prank just now would trigger Marshadow.
He felt it would. But it was strange. They were only thirty meters from the forest. That range was within Will's Aura sensory field. Normally, with Marshadow's neurotic personality, even if it didn't attack immediately to teach Lorelei a lesson, it should have at least flared with anger for a second.
But Will hadn't sensed any intense Aura fluctuations from that direction.
He could only guess that Marshadow hadn't seen it. Or perhaps... the two Aura Guardians touching the feather wouldn't anger Ho-Oh.
"I know, it's a colorful feather. I bet it's from a Fearow." Lorelei pinched the feather, examining it.
"...Keep your voice down." Will broke into a cold sweat, looking around.
"What's wrong? Do you know where this feather came from, Piplup?"
"It's Ho-Oh's feather."
"What?!" Lorelei was shocked.
"You should have heard the famous legend in Kanto and Johto, the legend of the 'Rainbow Hero'." Will turned to Lorelei.
Ho-Oh was different from other Legendary Pokémon. Other Legendaries didn't care about their reputation in the world. But Ho-Oh loved leaving legends about itself everywhere. Simply put, it liked to show off in front of humans and leave behind stories of its greatness, just like a protagonist in a novel.
So, most natives of Kanto and Johto had heard the legends of Ho-Oh and the Rainbow Hero.
"Yeah... 'Those guided by the Rainbow Wing to meet Ho-Oh will become the Rainbow Hero.' What's the use of becoming the Rainbow Hero?" Lorelei nodded, then looked at Will.
"...How should I know?" Will was stumped.
He didn't know either. The anime never said there were any benefits to being the Rainbow Hero. Ash became the Rainbow Hero, and not only did he get zero benefits, he died once on the journey and had to be resurrected by Ho-Oh.
And even though Ash became the Rainbow Hero, only a very few participants knew. Most people didn't know Ash had that title. He gained no power, wealth, or fame, and almost lost his life.
"Then what's the point of having it? Can I throw it away?"
"No." Will shook his head.
Throwing it away might make Marshadow angry or even berserk. And right now, Will and Lucario couldn't beat that guy. So Lorelei had to keep it.
"...Then isn't this thing just an annoying burden?" Lorelei's face fell. Just started her trip and ran into this nonsense. Anyone would be annoyed.
"You can't say that. It lets you meet Ho-Oh, and also Raikou, Suicune, and Entei." Will quickly raised a hand to soothe her. He didn't want Lorelei to impulsively throw it into the sea.
"Why would I want to see them? I'm not interested in them. Although... Suicune..."
Lorelei seemed swayed. Seeing one Legendary Pokémon she wasn't interested in might not be tempting. But seeing four or five Legendaries at once, even if she wasn't interested, was a huge temptation! especially since it included the Water-type Legendary, Suicune, the incarnation of the North Wind.
"Emmm, maybe if you see Ho-Oh, you can make a request. It should satisfy a small request from the 'Rainbow Hero.' Since we have nothing else to do in Johto, we might as well try."
Will pressed his advantage. He wasn't wrong. The Rainbow Hero could make a request. It was just that Ash's request was "Please battle me, Ho-Oh!" Which was basically like making no request at all.
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