Pokemon: Gym Leader

This bird is a little petty.

Dylan was sure of it—Ho-Oh was really stingy. He had only caught one Entei, and now Ho-Oh was acting like he was some kind of thief.

"Wow! Dylan, you actually caught such a powerful Entei!"

Ash, of course, had no idea about Ho-Oh's attitude. He was just amazed that Dylan had managed to capture Entei—so strong!

"Congrats, Dylan."

Misty and Brock also offered their congratulations.

"Thanks, guys… Still, it's a bit of a shame." Dylan sighed. Among the Legendary Beasts, Entei was his favorite, but he didn't mind Suicune either.

If not for that one time on his journey where Suicune completely ruined its own image, he probably would have been more interested in it.

"Girl."

"..."

Leaf looked up at Ho-Oh, who was still gazing at her with gentle eyes.

"Take this Rainbow Feather."

A radiant feather floated down in front of Leaf, glowing with a soft light.

"If, one day in the future, you find yourself in danger, you may use it to call upon me once. I will come to your aid with all my strength."

This was no ordinary feather. It was one imbued with Ho-Oh's blessing, making it special.

Not every Rainbow Feather held mystical power—only those personally blessed by Ho-Oh.

And with these words, Ho-Oh had essentially made a promise to her, a way to atone for its past mistake.

As for Entei… Entei wasn't caught by Leaf, so Ho-Oh saw it as a completely unnecessary loss!

Ho-Oh was suffering in silence.

"Thank you."

Leaf accepted the warm-feeling Rainbow Feather, pressing her lips together before offering Ho-Oh a grateful nod.

"This is my apology to you… Back then… ah, never mind."

Ho-Oh sighed softly, its gender-neutral voice fading into silence. What else could it say?

"We shall meet again, if fate allows."

With a powerful flap of its wings, Ho-Oh soared into the sky, its massive form once again radiating with dazzling golden light.

The magnificent, sacred rainbow-colored bird circled the group once before gracefully flying off toward the horizon, disappearing beyond the rainbow's edge.

"It left… What a shame. I totally wasn't ready to fight it."

Ash scratched his head in disappointment. It wasn't every day he got to see Ho-Oh.

"Oh, right! Dylan, why didn't you challenge Ho-Oh?"

Ash turned to Dylan in confusion. If anyone had a shot at catching Ho-Oh, it would be Dylan, right?

"There's no point. Ho-Oh wouldn't follow me. Even if I forced it into a Poké Ball, it'd be useless." Dylan shook his head.

"Huh?"

"Ash, do you know? The bond between a Trainer and a Pokémon is never just a one-sided choice."

Dylan patted Ash's shoulder, then ruffled Pikachu's little head. The Electric Mouse really had a great texture—plus, being Pikachu gave it bonus points.

"A Trainer chooses a Pokémon as their partner, but the opposite is also true. Pokémon choose their Trainers too, or at the very least, they judge whether the Trainer meets their standards."

Dylan spoke slowly, making Ash's eyes widen in realization.

"That… actually makes a lot of sense."

Ash glanced at his Pikachu thoughtfully.

Strictly speaking, Pikachu had never acknowledged him from the start. Forget battling for him—Pikachu refusing to attack Ash had already been an act of mercy.

In fact, the only reason Ash had even left Professor Oak's lab with Pikachu was because he tied it up with a rope and dragged it along.

If any Pokémon welfare activists had seen that, they would've roasted him alive.

But later on, Ash's care and devotion had moved Pikachu, and eventually, it had accepted him as its Trainer.

"Ho-Oh seeks humans with pure, untainted hearts. And I don't meet that requirement." Dylan smiled.

"But Dylan, you're a good person!" Ash blurted out.

To him, Dylan was a good person. He fought against Team Rocket, he was kind, and he was always willing to help others.

"Ash, you still don't get it, do you? Idiot."

Misty rolled her eyes.

"It's not about being a 'good person' in the usual sense. Ho-Oh is looking for someone pure, like you. It makes sense that Dylan doesn't fit the criteria."

Brock nodded. He understood now.

As people mature, their thoughts naturally become entangled with desires and ambitions. But Ash's mind was still completely pure—that was why Ho-Oh had taken notice of him.

"Exactly. If our values don't align, then there's no need to force things. If I did, catching Ho-Oh would just become a bigger hassle."

Dylan nodded. Capturing Ho-Oh by brute force wouldn't work. The bird could easily fly off whenever it wanted, and a Poké Ball wouldn't be able to actually restrain it.

What, was he supposed to make Necrozma watch over Ho-Oh 24/7? That'd be ridiculous.

Besides, he wasn't even that interested in this oversized golden turkey. Maybe they'd cross paths again someday.

"Honestly, Ash, I'm more interested in the Pokémon hiding in your shadow."

"Huh?"

Ash blinked in confusion.

"According to legend, those who are chosen by Ho-Oh and receive the Rainbow Feather are watched over by the Shadow Guide. It's said that the three Legendary Beasts will eventually test them one by one."

Dylan smirked, intrigued.

"Ehhh…? But we never saw the Legendary Beasts."

"That's because we flew straight to Mt. Tensei. Suicune and the others didn't even get the chance to show up." Dylan chuckled. Ash had basically speedran his trial.

"But the Shadow Guide has been in your shadow for quite some time now—it was just waiting for you to arrive at Mt. Tensei."

Dylan patted his backpack and gestured for his partner to help out.

"Clefairy~"

A round, chubby Clefairy peeked out, its eyes glowing with deep psychic energy as it focused on Ash's shadow.

Moments later, a dark, shadowy Pokémon was forcibly pulled out from Ash's shadow by telekinesis.

"Whoa—there was a Pokémon in my shadow?!" Ash was stunned.

If there had really been a Pokémon there the whole time… did that mean it had been watching him even when he went to the bathroom?!

"This is the Mythical Pokémon Marshadow."

Dylan grinned as he examined the small creature.

"Ma…"

Marshadow struggled against the psychic energy but couldn't break free. In the end, it simply gave Clefairy a weak look.

Seriously? You guys are targeting me now? I was just following orders! Ho-Oh is already gone—why are you doing this?!

"Hey, little guy, I think you and I have great chemistry. Why don't you come with me? Free food and shelter sound better than hiding in people's shadows all day, don't they?"

Dylan motioned for Clefairy to release Marshadow and spoke to it with a friendly smile.

"..."

The moment it was released, Marshadow immediately sank halfway into the ground, its hollow orange eyes staring curiously at Dylan as it tilted its head.

"Trust me, you'll have a much better future with me than with that big flaming chicken. Ho-Oh can't even protect itself these days. Who knows? Some old guy in a wheelchair might forcefully capture it one day—how's it supposed to take care of you?"

"If you come with me, you'll have delicious food every day. Just look at Clefairy—see how well-fed it is?"

Dylan grinned like a fox.

Marshadow hesitated, glancing at Clefairy.

This Clefairy definitely looked way too well-fed… Unlike itself, all skinny and underfed…

But after all, he was still Ho-Oh's subordinate. Wouldn't it be a bit disloyal to just switch sides like this?

"Then let's have a capture battle. That way, Ho-Oh won't have a reason to blame you."

"Ma~!"

Marshadow floated up and took a big leap forward, signaling its agreement as it assumed a battle stance against Dylan.

Entei had already been caught by this guy—would it really be surprising if it got caught too?

"Not bad, not bad. I like how aware you are of the situation."

Dylan nodded in satisfaction.

"Ogerpon, you handle this."

From behind Lillie, Ogerpon—who had been watching the show—pouted. Lately, it had been obsessed with the drama "The Bossy Charizard Fell in Love with Me", and it was right at the climax!

"Something about this feels… off."

Misty finally snapped out of her daze, her eyelids twitching wildly.

Wasn't this supposed to be a Mythical Pokémon? How was it this easy to convince it to battle for capture?!

Was Dylan playing a completely different version of "Life Online" from them?

"Dylan is obviously on a whole different level from us."

Brock sighed helplessly.

"But this Marshadow is so cute!"

Lillie's eyes sparkled as she looked at the little Pokémon. It resembled a small child, its entire body seemingly made of smoke and shadow.

Its large, hollow, orange-yellow eyes were both eerie and adorable, and the smoky collar around its neck only added to its charm.

Beep—Marshadow, Fighting/Ghost-type, Gloomdweller Pokémon.

Ability: Technician

Moves: Spectral Thief, Copycat, Drain Punch, Sucker Punch, Pursuit, Force Palm, Fire Punch…

Pokédex Entry: It can slip into an opponent's shadow, mimicking their movements and abilities. During this process, it can even surpass the original in strength.

It looked incredibly powerful.

Ash and his friends read through Marshadow's Pokédex entry. There was no doubt—this Pokémon was strong.

But somehow, this one felt even stronger!

"Bo-ne~!"

Ogerpon let out a low growl, its body bursting into a dazzling, crystal-like glow. With a crisp shattering sound—

A massive, emerald-green mask appeared over its face, reflecting its shimmering form. Ogerpon's speed instantly surged.

"WHOA!! What is that?!"

Ash was stunned.

"This is Terastallization from the Paldea region. It allows a Pokémon to change its type to its Tera Type as a form of enhancement."

Dylan explained with a smile. Thanks to his Tera Shellgon, he no longer had to worry about running out of Tera Energy.

Although Terastallization wasn't something commonly used in normal battles, Ogerpon clearly wanted to end this fight quickly.

"T-Terastallization? Tera Type?"

Misty was dumbfounded. She didn't fully understand, but she was definitely impressed.

And sure enough, the battle didn't last long. Marshadow was never a match for Ogerpon in the first place—let alone when it was eagerly looking for a better living situation.

With a single powerful blow from Ogerpon's Thorned Club, Marshadow 'struggled' to get up but ultimately failed. Its head lolled to the side as it "fainted."

Dylan thought for a moment before tossing a Luxury Ball. The ball struck Marshadow.

Beep… Ding!

The ball barely shook once before settling.

*Misty: "…"

*Leaf: "Ehhh…"

Lillie: (—)

"Wait… Why do I feel like Marshadow wasn't actually knocked out just now?"

Ash scratched his head in confusion.

Brock sighed. Wasn't it obvious? That Marshadow had clearly thrown the match.

"Marshadow, caught."

Dylan retrieved the Luxury Ball that Ogerpon brought back, feeling its smooth texture as a smile spread across his face.

Not bad. This was a solid catch.

"He caught another one… Dylan is seriously terrifying."

Brock clicked his tongue in amazement. Another Mythical Pokémon? No wonder Lillie had said Dylan could already assemble two full teams of Legendary Pokémon.

They had just witnessed him catch both Entei and Marshadow back-to-back.

"Yeah… Who could ever beat Dylan when he's using a full Legendary team? That's practically impossible."

Misty nodded in agreement. She was seriously starting to doubt whether anyone could defeat Dylan's team of Legendary Pokémon.

Just from what she had seen in the past couple of days—Zapdos, Entei, Marshadow, and that Ogerpon—she couldn't think of any Trainer who could take them all down.

"I can!"

"..."

Misty and Brock turned to look at Ash, who had spoken without hesitation.

"Ash, you still can't even beat Zapdos."

Misty rolled her eyes. She wasn't trying to belittle Ash, but at his current level, even his entire team couldn't handle Dylan's Zapdos.

"Me and Pikachu will definitely defeat Zapdos one day!"

Ash's eyes burned with determination as he stared at Dylan, who was still holding the Luxury Ball.

As if sensing Ash's gaze, the dark-clad boy lifted his head and smiled at him.

It's just a Zapdos! My Pikachu will never lose to some bird!

Yes—one day, he would defeat it!

"I will definitely get the Rota Badge!"