Even though Ash's Insight Eye had spelled the name out clear as day, Ho-Oh, he still didn't understand what those two syllables meant. Just like with Pikachu's Ability Static, the name alone told him nothing of its true meaning.
His mouth itched to ask Misty: 'Is Ho-Oh some kind of Legendary Pokémon? Why are you so worked up?' But the words stuck in his throat.
The other Ashes in the chat group had warned him again and again, never expose the existence of the group. There were too many people in the world with greedy hearts, and even telling someone you trusted could cause disaster. The safest secret was the one only he knew.
So Ash kept quiet. Instead of blurting out his ignorance, he decided to wait and ask the veterans in the group later. For now, all he could do was let the rainbow bird's presence wash over him. The awe, the weight, the thrill, it was like nothing else.
"Pikachu, you've got to become as strong as her someday!" Ash blurted, clenching his fist.
"Pika… Pi?" Pikachu jabbed a paw at his own chest, giving Ash a look that clearly said, 'Are you serious right now?'
He didn't know much about Ho-Oh either, but the sheer pressure rolling off her was terrifying. To compare him to that, it was like asking a Pidgey to outfly the sun.
But Ash only smiled, eyes blazing. "You can do it, Pikachu. Because you're my partner."
This time, he wasn't joking. His voice rang with absolute trust.
"Pika… Pikachu!!" Pikachu's cheeks sparked as he puffed up proudly. They'd only been together for less than a day, but to already receive that kind of faith, it stirred something deep in him.
He thumped his chest with tiny paws. Someday, no matter how long it took, he'd become a thunder-clad giant, a super electric mouse who could rival even Ho-Oh herself!
Misty, watching from the side, blinked hard, her lips twitching. She wanted to say something, maybe remind them that comparing Pikachu to Ho-Oh was… ambitious, to put it lightly.
But seeing the boy and the mouse gazing at each other with such fiery determination, she bit her tongue. She'd let them have their dream.
Still, the thought crossed her mind anyway: 'Making Pikachu as strong as Ho-Oh? That's about as likely as a Pidgey evolving into Ho-Oh.'
But looking at the ambitious rookies, Misty ultimately held her tongue. If you don't have dreams, you're no better than a Magikarp flopping on land. Even if Ash's dream was wildly impractical… it was still a dream.
"Misty, look at that!"
Misty, lost in her thoughts, nearly jumped out of her skin when Ash shouted. She followed his pointing finger, and gasped. Ho-Oh's radiant form had already vanished into the clouds, but from the heavens, a rainbow seemed to descend straight down to earth.
"Come on, let's go check it out! You take the bike!" Ash called, scooping Pikachu onto his shoulder and sprinting off without another word.
"W–wait up!" Misty yelped. She scrambled onto her bike, pedaling hard, but when she looked up, Ash was already a blur in the distance.
'Good grief, how is he that fast?! I can't even ride this fast!'
Meanwhile, Ash tore across the fields like a gale. The place where the rainbow touched down was nearly a kilometer away, yet he covered the distance in less than a minute, shattering his own personal record.
Pikachu clung desperately to his shirt, fur flattened by the wind. His round eyes narrowed in disbelief.
'Seriously?! If you had this kind of speed when we were running from those Spearow, we wouldn't have had to fight them at all! Don't tell me you slowed down on purpose just for the battle!!'
Ash skidded to a halt right beneath the rainbow's end. The golden light poured over the grass, and in an instant, the weeds around him grew like they'd been fed a bucket of Rare Candy, sprouting ten centimeters taller in the blink of an eye.
And in the center of that glow, nestled within the rainbow's radiance, lay a single feather.
"Is this… a feather?" Ash breathed.
The plume gleamed with shifting, prismatic colors, each hue flowing into the next like liquid light. Its shape was unmistakable, Ho-Oh's feather. But its coloration was unlike any on the bird's body.
Ash reached down with trembling fingers. The moment he lifted it, the rainbow light began to fade, leaving behind a gleaming core of pure brilliance.
"A rainbow-colored feather… A Rainbow Wing?"
Words etched themselves into his vision, the Insight Eye flaring to life once more. It seemed anything tied to Pokémon, even their relics, triggered the ability.
But aside from the name, no other details surfaced.
Ash frowned, staring at the treasure in his hand. A feather shed by Ho-Oh itself… even just a single plume from a Legendary Pokémon was leagues apart from anything ordinary.
Screech, screech, screech!!
The furious sound of pedaling echoed behind Ash. A second later, Misty skidded to a stop with her bike, tires squealing like a Pokémon using Tail Whip. She nearly toppled over, her fair face flushed, sweat dripping down her temples.
"H–huff… I said… you ran… too fast! I couldn't… even catch up on a bicycle!" she panted, chest rising and falling as if she'd just finished a Gym match.
Before Misty could continue scolding him, Ash lifted the Rainbow Wing right under her nose.
Her eyes widened instantly. "Is this… Ho-Oh's feather? It's so beautiful!"
She gingerly took it from his hands, holding it up against the dusky light. The prism of colors shimmered for an instant, then, shockingly, drained away, leaving the feather dull and gray in her grasp.
"Wh–what?! Ash, I didn't do anything!" Misty panicked, clutching the lifeless feather as if it might crumble apart.
Ash scratched the back of his head, just as bewildered. "Uh… I don't get it either. It was glowing fine before. Maybe… once it's away from Ho-Oh too long, it loses its shine?"
Misty quickly shoved the Rainbow Wing back into his hands. The moment Ash touched it, the drab gray exploded into radiant color once again. The feather pulsed with a faint rainbow aura, casting warm light over them. Pikachu's ears perked up, his little body relaxing as if the glow itself soothed him.
Ash and Misty stared in unison.
"So it only shines when you hold it?"
Ash blinked at the glowing feather, then puffed out his chest, trying to hide his own confusion behind a grin. "Guess Ho-Oh just likes me better!"