Chapter 145: His Fee Is Also 200,000 a Year!!!

Huo La looked at Entei, Raikou, and Suicune roaring with heads raised by the cliff, then turned to look at Marshadow, which had fallen silent and hovered after kicking Delibird away. His gaze gradually darkened.

He quietly stepped back two paces and lowered his voice to say to the Gastly in the shadow: "Old Ghost, can you hypnotize Xiao Gang and the others?"

"Kid, what are you trying to do?" Gastly's voice carried a hint of confusion.

"I have something to ask Marshadow." Huo La's eyes remained fixed on Marshadow.

As if hearing their conversation, Marshadow's orange-red eyes turned and stared straight at Huo La.

"Alright!" Gastly agreed immediately.

The moment the words fell, a faint purple Smokescreen suddenly rose in the morning light atop the mountain. As the mist slowly spread, Xiao Gang, Ash, and the Pokémon beside them all collapsed limply to the ground, falling into a deep sleep.

Entei, Suicune, and Raikou sensed the anomaly and immediately stopped roaring, warily staring at the source of the purple smoke—Gastly was hovering behind Huo La, who had already pulled a handkerchief from his backpack to cover his nose and mouth.

Feeling the gaze of the Three Sacred Beasts on him, Huo La lowered the handkerchief and said clearly to them and Marshadow: "I have a way to find Ho-Oh!"

"Roar—!" Entei suddenly stepped forward and let out a bellow, as if pressing for an answer.

"It asks, what way could you have?" Gastly translated immediately.

Without another word, Huo La reached into his backpack. After a moment, he pulled out a coldly gleaming silver-white feather and held it up before everyone: "The Silver Feather!"

The moment this feather appeared, the pupils of the Three Sacred Beasts sharply contracted. Even Marshadow's mist-like body trembled slightly, clearly extremely shocked.

"Roo~" Suicune leaned forward and let out a low cry.

"Suicune asks, is this the feather that can summon 'Lugia'?" Gastly spoke up in time.

"That's right." Huo La nodded, his tone firm. "Since Kamen has made a move against Ho-Oh, he absolutely won't let go of Lugia, who is Ho-Oh's equal. I have this feather, and I can summon Lugia—when that happens, he might show up again."

"Roar!" Raikou suddenly growled low, its voice full of doubt. "It asks, what makes you so sure this person will make a move on Lugia?"

"I'm not sure." Huo La shook his head honestly, but then shifted his tone. "But his obsession with Ho-Oh is too deep. He most likely won't let go of Lugia, another Legendary Pokémon. And… I guess that he is the previous 'Rainbow Hero.' You should know him, you just don't know where he is now, right?"

The Three Sacred Beasts exchanged glances, offering no response, but their eyes grew complicated.

Just then, Marshadow suddenly drifted to a spot one meter in front of Huo La.

Seeing its movement, Entei, Suicune, and Raikou all took a step back in unison—Huo La narrowed his eyes. This step back made it seem as if Marshadow's status was above that of the Three Sacred Beasts.

"Marsh~" Marshadow let out a soft cry, its voice carrying a question.

"It asks, how do you know all this?" Gastly translated.

"Simple, I guessed." Huo La shrugged, his tone relaxed but his reasoning clear. "From Kamen's words, I could tell that he and Ho-Oh not only know each other but have a past conflict. Add to that his disdain for the 'Rainbow Hero,' combined with Fan Ye's legend that the 'Rainbow Hero hasn't appeared for decades,' I suspected he was the previous 'Rainbow Hero.'"

"I just don't understand why he turned out this way, even to the point of trying to capture Ho-Oh and ending in a complete fallout."

"Marsh~ Marsh~" Marshadow called out twice in succession, its voice more urgent than before.

"It says your guess is right. Kamen is indeed the previous Rainbow Hero." Gastly's voice paused, then continued translating. "And it's because of him that the Rainbow Hero became a legend for decades."

"It also says that after what happened back then, Ho-Oh waited this long to choose a new hero again. Even it doesn't have the answer, and it never expected today's events. But what it finds even stranger is that the aura on your body is very special—it has both an ancient, old flavor and a scent of death. Why is that?"

Huo La's heart tightened—sure enough, these beings close to 'gods' or even 'gods' themselves could all sense the anomaly on him, yet couldn't pinpoint its source. That only made him more nervous.

He kept his composure on the surface, merely shrugging: "I don't smell anything special myself."

"Marsh~ Marsh!" Marshadow's voice suddenly turned heavy, and its mist-like body seemed to solidify a bit.

"It asks, what do you want? What will it take for you to give it this Silver Feather?" Gastly's tone carried a hint of amusement.

"I can't give you the feather." Huo La shook his head directly, but didn't close the door entirely. "But I can let you follow me. Soon I'll go to Xuan Luo Dao to summon Lugia, and I want to see it with my own eyes too."

"And if you follow me, you might find Kamen faster."

"Marsh?" Marshadow tilted its head, puzzled.

"It asks, are you trying to make it your Pokémon?"

Huo La nodded first, then immediately shook his head: "Look at the Gastly beside me. It's not my Pokémon, but it's my partner, helping me with things. I'd really like you to become my Pokémon, but if you're unwilling, we can also cooperate like Gastly and I do—I'll help you find Kamen and save Ho-Oh, and until then, you'll be my companion and act with me."

Marshadow turned to look at Gastly, who made a funny face at it, its expression mocking.

Just then, Entei, Raikou, and Suicune suddenly let out low roars in unison, their voices full of dissuasion.

Marshadow glanced back at them, then said softly: "Marsh~ do~"

Huo La looked at Gastly, the meaning obvious.

Gastly wobbled, and its voice sounded in Huo La's mind: "The three of them told Marshadow not to agree, saying that following you might bring trouble."

"Marshadow replied that it's just following you, not becoming your Pokémon, and told them not to worry. The most important thing now is to find Kamen's trail."

Huo La raised an eyebrow—the Three Sacred Beasts saying "trouble" wasn't wrong, but Marshadow being willing to follow was undoubtedly good for him. After all, he'd gained a powerful helper without having to pay "compensation" upfront.

But the next second, Marshadow suddenly spoke: "Marsh!" Its tone was firm, carrying an air of no room for argument.

"It says it can follow you like me and become your partner, but its… fee is also 200,000 a year!" Gastly's voice was full of strange amusement, clearly not expecting Marshadow to bring this up either.

Huo La was instantly stunned, his expression frozen: "!!!"

Before he could react, Marshadow's figure flickered and, like melting into water, slipped into Xiao Gang's shadow, leaving only a faint, candle-flame-like glow to mark its presence.