The first thing Ren noticed about Ash's "training style" was that it didn't exist.
By midmorning, Ash was already outside the town's grassy outskirts, waving his arms dramatically, Pikachu perched grumpily on a rock.
"Alright, partner!" Ash declared. "Time to catch our very first Pokémon!"
Pikachu yawned, sparks lazily flickering on its cheeks. Ren sat on a nearby fence post, arms folded, Ghastly hovering like a shadowy balloon beside him.
"You do realize you're supposed to weaken a wild Pokémon before throwing the ball, right?" Ren said flatly.
Ash grinned. "Details, details." He lobbed a Poké Ball with all the subtlety of a baseball pitcher. The ball smacked into the grass with a thud… and bounced back to land at Ash's feet.
The Pidgey it had been aimed at fluttered its wings once, unimpressed, then flew off into the sky.
Ren pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're hopeless."
"Hey, don't doubt me," Ash shot back. "I'll be the world's greatest Trainer!"
Pikachu squeaked something that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.
The next attempt went even worse.
Ash tried tackling a Pidgey with his bare hands.
The bird retaliated with a sharp Gust that sent Ash tumbling backward into a ditch. Pikachu cackled openly this time.
Ren sighed, floating Ghastly down to offer an illusory hand of shadows to pull Ash up. "This is painful to watch."
Ash spat out a mouthful of dirt. "Just warming up! You'll see!"
But before Ren could reply, the grass nearby rustled violently. From the thicket burst a Spearow, eyes blazing, feathers bristling.
Ash's eyes lit up. "Perfect! A stronger one!"
Ren's stomach dropped. He knew this scene. This was the scene. And that meant trouble.
"Wait…"
Too late. Ash hurled another Poké Ball. It bounced harmlessly off Spearow's head. The bird shrieked in outrage, wings flaring wide.
And with that cry, the sky darkened.
One Spearow became five. Then ten. Then an entire flock, swarming from the trees with murderous intent.
Ash froze. Pikachu's ears flattened.
Ren cursed under his breath. "You idiot."
The flock dove.
Everything happened in a blur.
Ash scooped up Pikachu and bolted down the dirt road, the air filled with furious shrieks. Ren sprinted after him, Ghastly whirling in the air beside him.
"Ghastly, Confuse Ray! Scatter them!"
Ghastly's eyes flared, and ghostly rings of light shot outward, weaving illusions across the sky. For a moment, the Spearows faltered, seeing duplicates of themselves colliding, branches twisting into phantom talons.
It bought them seconds. No more.
The flock reformed, angrier than before. Their beaks slashed the air, their talons raking dangerously close.
Ash tripped over a root, barely catching himself. Pikachu clung to his chest, glaring at the swarm.
Ren's lungs burned. His heart pounded. He knew how this story went, but being inside it was something else entirely. The danger was real. The Spearows weren't just angry birds, they were a storm of knives.
"Head for the river!" Ren shouted. "We can lose them in the water!"
Ash nodded, too panicked to argue, and veered toward the rushing sound ahead.
They burst from the trees onto the riverbank. The water churned violently, swollen from last night's rain. Ash skidded to a halt, looking between the river and the oncoming flock.
"We're trapped!"
Ren's mind raced. His chess-player's instinct screamed at him to find the move hidden in the chaos.
The Spearows dove as one.
And Ash… did the unthinkable.
He turned, clutching Pikachu to his chest, and spread his arms wide.
"Leave him alone! If you want to hurt someone, hurt me instead!"
The Spearows struck. Lightning flashed.
Pikachu's cry split the air. Thunder erupted in a blinding arc, leaping from bird to bird until the entire swarm fell back, smoking, their shrieks scattering into the distance.
The storm clouds parted.
Ren shielded his eyes, breath caught in his throat. He'd seen this moment on a screen once. But here, now, it was raw, it was alive, it was destiny unfolding.
And then the light changed.
Above the rainbow that shimmered into being, wings of gold and crimson spread across the sky.
Ho-Oh.
Its feathers caught the sunlight, trailing sparks of rainbow light behind it. Its cry rang like a hymn, echoing over the valley.
Ash stared, wide-eyed, every ounce of exhaustion forgotten. "Wh-What is that?"
Ren couldn't move. His ghostly sense shivered, his entire body humming with energy he didn't understand. To Ash, Ho-Oh was light, brilliance, hope.
To Ren… it was something else.
In the great bird's shadow, where rainbow light turned to dusk, he felt a pulse. A whisper. A recognition. As if the rainbow's shadow had chosen him the way its brilliance had chosen Ash.
Ghastly floated still beside him, eyes wide, uncharacteristically silent.
For a moment, the world held its breath.
Then Ho-Oh wheeled upward, vanishing into the horizon.
Ash collapsed to his knees, laughing breathlessly. "Ren… did you see that? That was amazing! Incredible! Legendary!"
Ren swallowed hard, forcing his voice steady. "Yeah… I saw."
But inside, his thoughts churned.
Ho-Oh was supposed to mark Ash. That was canon, that was unshakable. But what had it marked him with? What shadow had fallen across his path?
As the rainbow faded from the sky, Ren knew one thing with certainty.
His haunted house dream had just become entangled with forces far larger than he'd planned for.