The Night Owls worked fast. In less than half an hour, the second episode had been reviewed and uploaded.
Meanwhile, over in Dan the Demon King's livestream, the viewers were still idly scrolling through the chat, discussing the plot of the first episode. Some had even started analyzing the flight patterns and group behaviors of the Spearow flock.
Then Dan the Demon King reflexively refreshed the page, and his eyes went wide.
"Holy crap! Guys! I think... it updated!"
He slammed his hand on the desk, his voice cracking with excitement.
"No way! Already?!"
[It's real! I can see it! Pokemon: Episode Two!]
[It's actually there! That was insanely fast! Whoever said the production team wasn't professional earlier, come take your beating!]
[Go go go! Stop talking and click it! I need to see Pikachu!]
Dan the Demon King fumbled with his mouse and opened the video. That familiar screen appeared once again.
This time, there was no leisurely opening. Instead, tense, urgent music kicked in immediately.
The scene cut to Ash clutching a badly injured, unconscious Pikachu, stumbling frantically through the entrance to a city. His clothes were torn and ragged, smeared with mud and blood, his eyes wide with panic and desperation.
"A doctor! Is there a doctor! Please, someone help my Pikachu!"
Ash screamed at the top of his lungs as he ran.
The entrance to Viridian City was busy with foot traffic, and his cries drew stares from every direction.
Suddenly, a female officer in a blue uniform with short dark green hair stepped into his path.
"Hey! You, kid! What are you yelling about? It's late and you're out here making all this noise..."
She frowned, clearly assuming Ash was just some troublemaker. But the moment her eyes landed on the bleeding Pikachu in his arms, her expression shifted instantly.
"This is... what happened? How did this Pikachu get hurt so badly?"
"This is my partner Pikachu, Officer Jenny. Please, you have to help him!"
Ash blurted out.
Officer Jenny seemed to grasp the seriousness of the situation immediately.
"Show me your Pokedex."
Ash hesitated for a split second, then did as he was told.
Jenny took one look at it, swung onto her motorcycle, and nodded toward him.
"Come on! The Pokemon Center is just up ahead. I'll take you there. Nurse Joy should be able to help him."
"Thank you!"
Ash clutched Pikachu tightly and jumped onto the bike.
As the motorcycle roared off into the distance with Ash on board, the viewers in the livestream let out a collective breath of relief.
[Thank god. I thought she was going to arrest him.]
[So this is Officer Jenny from Viridian City. She seems pretty responsible. She still asked to see his Pokedex even in a situation like this. Probably checking to make sure he's not some kind of criminal.]
[Please let Pikachu be okay...]
The camera cut quickly to a building with a red roof, its Poke Ball logo glowing prominently against the night sky. Ash burst straight through the front doors.
"Is anyone here! Please, someone help me!"
Behind the front counter stood a young woman with pink hair and a nurse's uniform. Nurse Joy.
She turned at the sound of his voice, and when she saw the battered Ash and the barely conscious Pikachu, her expression hardened.
"Are you a trainer? How did you let your Pokemon get into this condition? That's completely irresponsible!"
Her words were sharp, but her hands were already moving. She hit the emergency button on the counter without a moment's delay. "Quickly! Chansey, get the stretcher! Prep the emergency treatment room!"
A round, pink Pokemon came rolling out, carefully lifting Pikachu and placing it on the stretcher.
Ash watched Pikachu be wheeled away, then collapsed against the floor, gasping for breath.
"Please be okay... please be okay..."
The chat flooded with messages of hope and prayer.
[Nurse Joy acts tough but she's got such a good heart.]
[So this is a Pokemon Center? Like a hospital specifically for Pokemon?]
[Ash did everything he could. It's not his fault. Those Spearow were just brutal.]
[Pikachu has to pull through. He just has to!]
The red indicator light above the emergency room burned like a wound in the quiet lobby.
The seconds ticked by. Ash sat rigid on a bench, hands balled into fists.
His eyes never left the closed door, raw worry written across every inch of his face. He looked up at the red light above the emergency room and whispered without meaning to.
"Pikachu..."
His voice was hoarse and trembling.
The atmosphere in the livestream had grown suffocatingly heavy. Every viewer could feel the weight of the boy's emotions.
[I don't know why, but watching Ash like this is actually breaking my heart.]
[That scene was brutal. All those Spearow, and Pikachu fought to the last breath just to protect Ash, and still ended up like that...]
[These writers are ruthless. This is only episode two! They spent episode one building the bond, and now they're hitting you with this?]
[Pikachu has to be fine. He's the main character. He's not going to die... right?]
Dan the Demon King stared at the dejected boy on screen, a heavy feeling settling in his chest. He let out a slow breath. "This production team really knows how to work your emotions. The pressure from the Spearow attack hasn't even worn off yet, and now they pile on this agonizing wait. They've completely maxed out the tension."
Just then, as if searching for something to anchor himself, Ash gave his head a small shake and glanced around the lobby. His gaze drifted to the wall nearby, where an ancient-looking stone tablet was mounted at the center, framed by intricate carved patterns. It looked mysterious and solemn.
Ash rose to his feet and walked slowly toward it.
As the camera zoomed in, the viewers in the livestream could finally make out what was carved on it. There were four Pokemon depicted in distinct forms. At the center, wings spread wide in majestic flight, was a large avian Pokemon, its body blazing gold and red, resplendent as a living rainbow, its posture radiating divinity and power, as if it were gazing down upon the world below.
Beneath it stood three Pokemon of the land: a tiger wreathed in crackling lightning, a great beast charging through volcanic ash, and a sleek predator howling through arctic winds.
Ash's eyes lingered on the winged figure at the center, and something in his expression stilled.
"Huh?"
He murmured to himself, a flash of gold passing through his memory.
"This Pokemon... where have I seen it before?"
The chat erupted.
[No way! That stone tablet is giving off serious legendary vibes! Just look at the art style!]
[Wait! The one in the middle! That golden bird! Is that the same one Ash saw at the end of episode one?!]
[I knew it! I knew that bird was something special! I always believed Ash wasn't seeing things!]
[What about the three below it? They look absolutely terrifying too. Especially that electric tiger. One bite and it could swallow the whole Spearow flock.]
Dan the Demon King leaned closer to his screen and pointed at the carvings. "Looks like this tablet is here to fill in the world-building. Those four look seriously powerful."
Ash was still staring at the carvings, trying to line them up with something in his memory.
Then the video phone in the corner of the lobby suddenly rang.
"Oh! The phone!"
Ash startled, snapped back to the present, and hurried over to answer it.
The screen lit up to reveal a middle-aged woman in casual home clothes, with a gentle, warm face. It was Ash's mother, Delia.
"Oh, Ash! You made it to Viridian City! I knew it!"
She looked visibly worried, words tumbling out rapid-fire. "How is everything? Where exactly are you? Is Pikachu doing okay? Have you caught any new Pokemon yet? I've been worrying about you every single day!"
Ash blinked, his eyes darting away for just a moment, before he forced a smile onto his face.
"Mom, I'm fine. I'm in Viridian City now."
"Viridian City! Oh, good, good, that's a relief." Delia exhaled, and almost immediately slipped back into full mom mode. "You have to keep working hard, okay? Even if you're just starting out, you need to aim to be a Pokemon Master! And make sure you're going to bed at a reasonable hour, and don't be picky with your food..."
"Okay, Mom, I know, I know!"
Ash managed a few more vague responses before steering toward an excuse.
"Hey, Mom, I've got something I need to take care of. I'll talk to you later."
He hung up, took a long breath, but barely had a moment to collect himself before the phone rang again. He picked it up.
This time, a deep, booming voice came through.
"Oh! Is that Ash!"
Professor Oak's familiar face filled the screen. He appeared to be somewhere in his lab, currently holding a steaming cup of instant noodles. "How's it going? I just heard from your mother that you're in Viridian City! Catch any new Pokemon yet?"
He slurped a noodle casually and asked as an afterthought, "And how's that Pikachu behaving? Still giving you trouble?"
The light went out of Ash's expression.
"No new Pokemon. I haven't caught any."
"What?" Professor Oak looked genuinely surprised. "You've been out there this long and you haven't even tried to catch anything?"
Ash quickly explained. "It's because Pikachu got hurt. Really badly. He's in the emergency room right now."
"What?!"
Professor Oak nearly spilled his noodle broth. "That serious? What on earth happened? You just left today!"
Ash gave him a quick rundown of the Spearow attack and everything that followed.
Then he shifted topics, turning to gesture at the stone tablet across the lobby.
"Professor Oak, I noticed a carving on the wall in here. It shows four Pokemon, and one of them is a golden bird. I think I might have seen it on my way here, with Pikachu."
"A golden bird?"
Professor Oak paused, as if rummaging through his memory.
"Oh! You mean that stone tablet! Those are legendary Pokemon!"
He set down his noodles, pushed up his glasses, and his tone became uncharacteristically serious. "What's depicted there is Entei, Suicune, Raikou, and Ho-Oh. These Pokemon are the stuff of legend in this world. They're said to possess extraordinary power, and virtually no one has ever actually encountered them."
"Ho-Oh..."
Ash repeated the name quietly.
"Professor Oak, I really did see it. Right before Pikachu and I passed out, a massive golden bird came flying out of a rainbow. It looked exactly like the one in the carving."
"You're saying you saw Ho-Oh?"
Professor Oak's expression was one of clear disbelief, and he seemed to be suppressing a chuckle. He was fairly convinced the kid had just been so overwhelmed that his mind had played tricks on him.
"I'm serious! I wouldn't make it up! When it appeared..."
"Now, now, Ash." Professor Oak cut him off, adopting a patient, grandmotherly tone. "Ho-Oh is a legendary-class Pokemon. There's almost no verified record of anyone actually seeing it throughout history. You just started your journey, and you've been through a lot today. You might just be exhausted, or maybe you confused it with another Pokemon. Don't overthink it. Focus on Pikachu right now."
"But Professor, I really saw it!"
"Yes, yes, alright, we'll talk more later. I need to check my... oh no. Oh no no no! My noodles!"
Professor Oak suddenly let out a yelp. In the background behind him, a plume of black smoke had begun to rise. Apparently his other pot of noodles had been left on too long and boiled dry, and might have been on the verge of catching fire.
"It's burning! It's on fire! Ash, I have to go!"
Click. The call disconnected.
Ash stood there holding the receiver, staring at the blank screen with a look of mild exasperation.
The livestream chat had dissolved into laughter.
[HAHAHAHAHA is Professor Oak secretly the comedy relief? Doesn't believe in legendary Pokemon, immediately gets done in by instant noodles!]
[I'm dead. This old man is completely useless, I'm calling it now.]
[Poor Ash. He actually saw it, and the professor just brushes him off. Though I guess it does go to show how legendary Ho-Oh really is if literally no one's ever confirmed seeing it.]
[I'm telling you, Ash is the chosen one! He encounters a legendary Pokemon on day one and the professor doesn't believe him. Classic information gap storyline!]
[Old man is just too proud to admit it. Watch him hang up and immediately regret not asking more questions.]
Dan the Demon King let out a laugh.
"Professor Oak is definitely the mentor archetype, right? Old, kind-looking, the friendly wise-man type. But from what we've seen so far, it really does seem like he's more of a figurehead than someone with any real capability."
Ash sighed and set the receiver back in its cradle. He drifted back to the bench and sat down, his gaze drawn once more to the carving of Ho-Oh on the wall.
The memory surfaced on its own: a halo of gold, wings like a living rainbow, and that single, fleeting glance from something sacred and untouchable.
Then, with a click, the lobby lights flickered.
The room dipped into near darkness, leaving only a few spotlights trained on the entrance. Three silhouettes appeared in the doorway, framed perfectly in the light like performers stepping onto a stage, each striking a dramatic pose.
"Who are you...?"
The sudden entrance left Ash looking thoroughly confused.
Then, one corner of a shadow's mouth curved slowly upward.
"Hey."
"You just asked... who we are, didn't you?"