Pokémon: Above the Top

The blazing flames spread at a speed beyond imagination, and in the blink of an eye, the Bell Tower was completely engulfed.

Beastmasters with Water- and Rock-type Beast -Pokémon- nearby began desperately fighting the fire.

But soon, they discovered something even worse.

The flames… could not be extinguished!

The master of the Bell Tower was working to maintain order at the scene, his face solemn, saying nothing.

Just as the people of Ecruteak were still confused and helpless, the Bell Tower's counterpart -the Brass Tower- also suddenly caught fire.

A cry full of majesty pierced the dark night sky, and then a golden light appeared at the top of the Brass Tower.

It was Ho-Oh!

Unfortunately, Ho-Oh had not come to extinguish the flames. Instead, it flapped its wings and soared into the sky, flying away before all of Ecruteak's eyes.

Above the Bell Tower, Sato and his three Pokémon also witnessed Ho-Oh's departure.

The moment they lost sight of Ho-Oh, they too silently vanished from where they had been.

Strange and surreal scenes flashed past like a slideshow. The content was fragmented, but pieced together, it revealed the many events that had occurred in the Pokémon world over the past several centuries.

War, integration, prosperity, decline, and war again… all the way until the establishment of the Pokémon League, which finally ushered in a relatively long period of peace.

In the next moment, the world around Sato turned into that familiar yet unfamiliar bare maple forest.

"So I just took a walk through the past…?" Sato stood steadily on the ground, feeling a sense of safety he had never known before.

"Hooo~"

Ho-Oh let out a soft cry, seemingly dissatisfied with Sato's lack of reaction.

"I'm back, Ho-Oh… sir," Sato looked up and met Ho-Oh's gaze as he spoke.

Ho-Oh stared back quietly, and its telepathy naturally entered Sato's mind.

"Why did you burn down the Bell Tower?"

Sato was stunned. "Didn't you agree to it? I asked for your permission before using the Rainbow Feather."

As he answered, Sato was still murmuring to himself internally, surprised that Ho-Oh's voice in the telepathy was actually female-like!

"Why?" Ho-Oh continued to press, its large amber eyes staring so intensely that Sato's scalp began to tingle.

"For you, Ho-Oh, 'faith' might be a symbol of strength and glory. But for the people of that era, it was the very source of disaster. They lacked motivation, produced nothing, and when problems arose, their first instinct was to pray to 'gods', to join the Bell Tower's rituals instead of working hard or being self-reliant.

They saw Pokémon as Beasts and deified Trainers -or rather, Beastmasters- beyond reason. Civilians didn't dare resist, and Beastmasters acted tyrannically.

I saw all of this with my own eyes. And once I realized that was the root of the problem, you granted me the power to use the Rainbow Feather.

So, I acted in line with the course of history, and at the same time, shattered the so-called faith in people's hearts.

I even planted a seed within them… the seed of wanting to grow stronger, waiting quietly for it to sprout and bloom."

Sato finished saying everything on his mind in one breath, but no telepathy came from Ho-Oh in response.

The chance to lock eyes with a Legendary Pokémon wasn't something just anyone could have. But the terrifying aura that came with it made every second feel like an eternity for Sato.

He had no idea how much time had passed when suddenly, Ho-Oh flapped its wings and soared into the sky once more. Under the gaze of Sato, Zoroark, and the others -as well as Suicune and its group- it once again became a flaming Ho-Oh.

Then, the flaming Ho-Oh turned into countless platinum-colored flame petals that scattered and transformed into maple leaves.

Only a single Rainbow Feather remained in the air, slowly drifting back into Sato's hand.

"…En!"

"…Rai!"

"…Sui!"

Entei, Raikou, and Suicune howled once more, seemingly bidding Ho-Oh farewell.

Sato watched the scene quietly and didn't step forward to disturb it. He could sense deep reluctance from the cries of the Trio of Sacred Legends.

Perhaps for them, it could be ten, dozens, or even hundreds of years before they might see Ho-Oh again.

After all, not every Trainer who obtained the Rainbow Feather could pass the trials set by the three of them.

And even fewer might have passed Ho-Oh's test… 'Right?'

Turning wordlessly into thousands of maple leaves… who knew whether he passed or not? Sato inwardly grumbled.

Soon, after seeing Ho-Oh off, Raikou and Entei didn't even glance back at Sato and disappeared into the maple forest.

Suicune, however, walked up to Sato. Its body began to glow with a faint blue light, which it then infused into the Rainbow Feather.

Sato was quite familiar with this. Anyone who passed the trials of the trio would receive a "blessing" from them that could be used to strengthen a Pokémon.

Sato had thought that Ho-Oh would pull off some grand finale for him, but seeing this, he figured he probably hadn't passed Ho-Oh's test.

Yet the moment Suicune finished bestowing its blessing, the surrounding maple trees began to emit a platinum-colored glow that Sato knew all too well, then surged into the Rainbow Feather.

In just a few seconds, the maple forest returned to normal, but the Rainbow Feather in Sato's hand now shimmered with a platinum glow, clearly extraordinary.

"Suicune, may I ask… how do you use this… thing?"

Suicune glanced at Sato and transmitted a message through Telepathy with surprising ease.

After hearing it, a look of uncontrollable joy appeared on Sato's face.

"Tch, what a treasure!"

He clicked his tongue and carefully placed the feather into the wooden box originally meant for it, securing it with great care.

Seeing this, Suicune said nothing more and turned to run into the maple forest. Sato quickly jumped onto Houndoom's back and followed.

Without Suicune leading the way, he probably wouldn't be able to return.

On the way, Sato wanted to ask Suicune if time in the "real" world had passed at the same rate while he was undergoing the trial.

But Suicune didn't seem to want to engage. Every time Houndoom got close, Suicune would speed up and widen the distance.

After two repeats of this, Sato got the message and quietly followed behind without saying a word.

'Forget it. Things will sort themselves out eventually. At worst, I've been missing a few days. It's the perfect chance to test if they can manage the Gym well while I'm gone.' Sato gave in and thought to himself.

Mist rose up, and Suicune led Sato through it for a while. When the mist cleared, Sato had safely returned to the Forest of Shadows.

Suicune, too, disappeared with the mist.

Sato returned to the Gym and found everyone staring at him in surprise.

He glanced at the time displayed on the computer and let out a sigh of relief. It was still the same day he had entered the Forest of Shadows.

As for why Joseph and the others looked surprised… it was simply because Sato had returned a little early today.

"Everything I went through hundreds of years ago… was it all just a fantasy?" Sato couldn't help but murmur to himself.