Chapter 7: Rainbow Feather — Ho‑Oh's Trial

【Xiba: Just settled like that? What about that flock of Spearow?】

【Dan Di: Impressive, defeating Spearow with thunderous force, not giving them a chance to summon their flock; I thought Black Satoshi would decisively defeat Spearow, but I didn't expect Pikachu's speed to be this fast, not giving Spearow a chance.】

【Yulongdu: It seems Black Satoshi didn't study with Professor Oak in vain; he understands Spearow's temperament, thus greatly reducing the risk of injury to himself and Pikachu.】

【Juzi: Huh, if you'd been with Old Man Oak that long and still don't know even this bit of Poké Ball common sense, you might as well just go home.】

【Xiaomao: Ash, see? Black World's Ash is way better than you; you started your journey looking so miserable, learn from him properly.】

Seeing the on-screen comments, Ash also didn't know what to say, he was so angry his teeth itched, and Xiaomao found an opportunity to lecture him.

【Professor Oak: Ash never had the idea, like Black World's Ash, of preparing for future travels since childhood, nor did he come to learn Poké Ball knowledge from me, so when he first saw Pikachu he got shocked; the two Ashs share a love for Poké Ball.】

Everyone strongly agreed with Professor Oak's statement.

Black World's Ash went forward, encountering wild Poké Ball along the way, and commanded Pikachu to engage in battle.

Along the way they were leisurely, occasionally having a few battles that weren't intense for Pikachu.

This is the correct way for a novice trainer to start a journey; how could a trainer just leave town and be swarmed by dozens of Poké Ball?

After a morning of battles, Ash arrived beside a clear, see-through river.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, dappling the water surface with sparkling golden spots.

Ash looked around, confirmed the area was safe and tranquil, and decided to rest here briefly.

He took out the lunch he had carefully prepared that morning from his backpack, knowing Pikachu loved tomato sauce, so he added extra tomato sauce for Pikachu.

Pikachu saw this, its eyes lit up instantly; it excitedly jumped in front of Ash, staring fixedly at that special lunch with its expectant eyes.

Ash handed the rice ball to it, and Pikachu eagerly took it.

With each bite, one could hear its satisfied "Pika‑pika~", a clear, pleasant sound.

Suddenly a clear, pleasant sound rang out—the sound of a fishing line taut and a fish leaping out of the water—as an orange‑haired girl successfully reeled in a Gyarados onto the shore, her face beaming with pride and joy.

But her happiness didn't last long; a Rattata swiftly snatched her food and darted off, moving nimbly and slyly.

Upon discovering her food stolen, the girl's face instantly shifted from joy to anger, brows furrowed, mouth corners slightly down, showing both indignation and helplessness.

"I still have plenty of food; if you don't mind, let's eat together."

Ash extended the invitation to the girl, but Rattata's speed is so great it's hard to catch up.

Her face showed a hint of shyness and embarrassment as she gratefully said, "Thank you, I'll pay for it."

Ash smiled slightly, shook his head, and said, "No need for money; isn't it normal for us trainers to help each other when we're out traveling?"

Saying that, he took out a box of homemade rice balls from his backpack and handed them to the girl.

The girl took the rice ball, a flicker of gratitude in her eyes; she lightly bit into it, and her face instantly showed satisfaction.

She looked up at Ash: "Thank you, I'm Xiaoxia."

Ash smiled and introduced himself and Pikachu: "I'm Ash, and this is my partner... Pikachu."

"You're just starting out as a trainer, right?"

"Yes, I set out from Pallet Town, striving toward the goal of becoming the world's greatest Poké Master!"

"Pika!!!"

After some conversation, they became good friends, headed to Viridian City together, and proposed traveling together.

A handsome boy with Pikachu perched on his shoulder, the girl pushing her bicycle alongside him; their side‑by‑side shadows stretched long behind them, in the sunlight appearing ever more hazy and beautiful, the scene looking somewhat youthful and hazy.

Not long after, the originally clear sky suddenly turned gloomy, clouds thickened, and soon large raindrops began to fall, quickly developing into a torrential downpour.

Ash and the girl took shelter from the rain, chatting while waiting for it to stop.

After the rain cleared, a splendid rainbow spanned the sky; a large bird emitting holy rainbow light swept across, its feathers glittering in the sunlight, its flight path echoing the rainbow.

A feather similarly glowing with rainbow light drifted down like a heavenly object, eventually landing steadily not far in front of Ash.

Ash reached out, gently grasping the feather; his eyes instantly brightened, filled with curiosity and awe.

He lifted his gaze to the sky, his eyes locked on the mysterious Pokémon receding into the distance, his heart brimming with longing and yearning to explore that enigmatic creature.

"Ash, do you want to keep this Spearow feather?"

Xiaoxia saw Ash store the feather in his backpack; she couldn't make out the distant mysterious Pokémon, but its rough outline resembled a Spearow somewhat, so she took it to be a Spearow.

"That's not a Spearow......"

"Forget it, it flew away; let's keep it as a memento—maybe we'll meet again somewhere."

Ash replied, having studied Poké Ball knowledge with Professor Oak for so long, he knew that Pokémon radiating rainbow light all over, and would tell Professor Oak about it later.

【Yulongdu: Rainbow-colored feather!!!】

【Xiba: Are you saying that feather came from that mysterious Pokémon?】

【Kenan: Guided by the rainbow feather, whoever sees Ho‑Oh will become a Rainbow Warrior.】

【Juzi: Old Man Oak really has an eye for people!】

【Professor Oak: Huh?】

【Ash: I can't understand a thing!】

【Kenan: In the Johto region there's a legend: if Ho‑Oh appears before a person and that person receives Ho‑Oh's feather, they are chosen as a Rainbow Hero; as long as the hero completes Ho‑Oh's trial and battles Ho‑Oh, if they can defeat Ho‑Oh, then Ho‑Oh will become their partner.】

【Yulongdu: Of course, this is just a legend; no such person has appeared yet.】

【Dan Di: Really, the anticipation keeps growing— a novice trainer setting out gets a trial arranged by the legendary Ho‑Oh; truly a legendary trainer, I'd love to battle the one who has captured Ho‑Oh.】

At this moment, Xiaoxia was again mocked by her sisters at the Cerulean Gym.

"Haha, you can even have your food stolen by a Rattata when you go out—don't go claiming to be the Cerulean Gym Leader."

"This is fine, but the key is she still mistook Ho‑Oh for a Spearow—is her eyesight bad?"

All three sisters were laughing at Xiaoxia; who'd have thought Black World's Xiaoxia would still be so embarrassed, though at least her bike survived, not turning into a charred scrap of metal.

Meeting and traveling with Ash, unlike them needing to sacrifice their bikes to get together, feels very pleasant and harmonious.

Xiaoxia is in a better mood, not stooping to the level of her disparaging sisters, her gaze soft as she looks at the Light Screen.

The scene of the Black World froze at the moment Ash and Xiaoxia walked forward together, facing the sunset.