"Please rest assured, Dawn, you're so trusted by me that I won't let you down."
Damian smiled and reassured Dawn.
"Uh~!"
Dawn showed a beautiful smile; her refined, innocent face was very captivating.
Although the initial meeting wasn't very nice, Dawn held many prejudices against Damian personally.
After all, which person wouldn't form a stereotype when someone threatens their family?
Moreover, he was the notorious boss of Team Rocket?
But Dawn now just wants to say that outsiders don't understand Mr. Damian at all!
And after the serious talk, the room's atmosphere cooled.
One second, two seconds, three seconds.
As time passed, in a room where a man and a woman were alone again, Dawn's delicate hands unconsciously began to tighten the edge of her clothing.
"That..."
Looking at the handsome boy opposite, Dawn felt the temperature on her face rising again.
"Dawn, it's already ten-thirty. If you're not leaving now, are you planning to sleep with me?"
Damian glanced at the clock on the wall and teased Dawn.
"No—not really, sorry, Mr. Damian. Good night."
Dawn's face instantly reddened, she stood up, nervously bowed to Damian, and hurried toward the door.
How could Mr. Damian do this!!
Dawn's shyness was off the charts. What does it mean to sleep with Mr. Damian? Is that something you say to a pure lady?
"Good night, remember to close the door."
Damian was amused.
"I understand."
Dawn closed Damian's room door, letting out a long sigh and lightly patting her developing chest.
Just now her heart had been in her throat; it was really embarrassing.
And now thinking back, she'd been quite daring, sneaking into a single man's room at midnight for so long.
It's lucky Mr. Damian has some bottom line.
Dawn calmed her mood, her steps a bit brisk as she walked back to her own room.
But anyway, she had finally gotten a satisfactory answer, which relaxed her a lot.
However, what Dawn didn't notice was that after she left, in a room with a slightly cracked door, an eye was watching her back.
Hm, not like sneaking a bite, this is safe.
Time comes to the next day, afternoon.
Paul went on a mission, Damian, Caitlin, and Dawn wandered Viridian City.
Of course, mainly Damian took the two girls sightseeing, since Viridian City is Damian's hometown.
"Damian Damian, we did it!"
Outside the Long Branch forests, Ash ran over excitedly to shout at Damian.
"We captured four traitors; Pikachu beat them easily, and we brought back the loot and the Pokémon!"
"Pika Pika!"
Ash sounded very excited; on Ash's shoulder Pikachu cheerfully echoed with pride.
"Really? You did great, Ash. I knew you could."
Damian smiled, not surprised.
"Hehe~ Are there more missions like that, Damian? Leave it to me!"
Ash felt a bit addicted to this kind of good deed; this is what he should do after becoming a top-tier trainer.
"Hey, hey, Ash, don't be so proud."
Misty was speechless.
"If it weren't for Archer providing detailed info data, we wouldn't have had such an easy time."
It seems the mission wasn't that hard; the main reason was Archer's very detailed information on movements and locations of the Team Rocket traitors.
Guaranteeing that first step.
Then they only needed to reach the location and battle and capture, which was naturally efficient.
"As for missions, you guys should just refresh the mission board; take whatever suits you."
Damian said with a smile.
"By the way, Ash, there should be something important you still need to do, right?" Damian looked at Ash.
"?" Ash replied with a puzzled question mark.
"Don't forget, you're a Trainer who's been looked at by Ho-Oh."
Damian wagged the Rainbow Wing in his hand.
"Rainbow Wing? Damian, you have one too?"
Brock stared at Damian in surprise. Wait, could Damian also be chosen by Ho-Oh? That doesn't seem right.
Wait, thinking back, when Damian and Ash last battled, he had used Suicune, so Damian is indeed one of Ho-Oh's favored ones.
"Ah~ My relationship with Ho-Oh is quite good; we've shared a battle that'll be etched in memory, we're good friends."
Damian spoke as if Ho-Oh was a trusted ally.
Well, Damian truly believes Ho-Oh, this overgrown roast bird, is very useful as a tank.
Moreover, Ho-Oh often butts heads with him, but it's just talk; when it truly needs to step up, Ho-Oh will.
"Huh? That's great; I haven't seen Ho-Oh in a long time."
Ash also pulled out his Rainbow Wing; Ho-Oh, since leaving Pallet Town, he hasn't seen again.
So Ash is the one Ho-Oh chose?
Dawn studied Ash's Rainbow Wing curiously; Kanto's legendary Ho-Oh—
Dawn knew that seeing Ho-Oh would bring eternal happiness, though not sure if true.
"That means you have to actively go find it; Ho-Oh is also a legendary Pokémon, it won't appear before you all the time."
Damian explained to Ash; after all, Ho-Oh wants face too, doesn't it?
"But I don't know where to find Ho-Oh."
Ash scratched his head, troubled.
"I know, Ash, I'll take you to find Ho-Oh."
Damian's lips curled upward,
"Really?"
Ash's eyes lit up.
"That's right, if you're lucky you might even catch Ho-Oh."
Damian answered confidently.
Ash was thrilled; catching legendary Ho-Oh would surely boost his strength!
Then he could punch Paul in the face and kick Red, dreams not far away!
Misty and Brock exchanged a look, feeling Damian likely didn't have such good intentions.
"Damian, do you know where Ho-Oh is?"
"That I don't know, but I know where you can summon Ho-Oh; whether you can catch Ho-Oh depends on your own skill, Ash."
Damian spoke of Rainbow End Mountain, Mount Tensei.
Mount Tensei is the highest peak of Cloudy Peaks, the Rainbow End, where anyone with a Rainbow Wing can summon Ho-Oh.
In the movie I Choose You!, Ash summons Ho-Oh there and battles with Pikachu.
The result isn't known, but it's clear Ash enjoyed the battle.
"I want to go! Damian!"
Ash decided without hesitation; Ho-Oh—he wants to see Ho-Oh again.
As he pledged with Pikachu when they first left Pallet Town.
Someday, we'll meet that guy!
And now, Ash felt the timing was right.
"Alright, I'll go too; I haven't seen Ho-Oh in a while, I'll take you there."
"Yay!"
Ash was happy.
"But Damian, are you free like this? As the boss, you must be busy."
Ash blinked, puzzled.
"Ha, I'm Team Rocket boss; time's free for me, Ash."
If the one asking wasn't Ash, Damian would think it was a test, but whatever.
"And to be honest, Ash, I've set my eyes on a Pokémon, but it's best after you meet Ho-Oh and catch it."
Damian answered plainly.
"Oh, what Pokémon is it?"
Ash exclaimed. "That you'll find out later. Move quickly—let's go."
Damian planned to guide Ash quickly through Ho-Oh's dungeon.
"Sounds good!"
Ash's resolve was high.
And unseen, in the shadows, Ash's two orange eyes shifted to a look of confusion.
Finish!
Because he had done a prior investigation, Damian wasn't unfamiliar with Mount Cloud Peak's location.
So, riding a flying Pokémon, Damian and the group arrived at Mount Tensei's summit by four in the afternoon.
"When Rainbow Rock blooms with a rainbow flower, Ho-Oh descends."
They landed; Damian looked at the huge rock not far away and spoke.
"Ash, put your Rainbow Wing on it and summon Ho-Oh."
"Got it!"
Ash trusted Damian; he rushed to Rainbow Rock, climbing swiftly.
Soon he reached Rainbow Rock's top, placed the Rainbow Wing on it.
Then Ash stepped back to join the others.
Rainbow Wing hovered above Rainbow Rock, and the rock shimmered with a brilliant rainbow sheen.
As the gigantic pillar shot toward the sky, the clouds broke to reveal a blue sky.
A beautiful rainbow began at Rainbow Rock and spread rapidly outward.
"So pretty~"
Dawn exclaimed from the heart, hands clasped to her chest, gazing at the rainbow.
Ash's orange eyes, which had been hidden, now glowed; a small humanoid black Pokémon formed from Shadow—Marshadow, the Mythical Pokémon, the "guide of shadows"—appeared.
But at this moment Marshadow paused, thinking about what its guide was.
Would Lord Ho-Oh blame it? Probably not. After all, they were here.
Then Marshadow shivered; it turned its head and saw Damian's smiling face.
Marshadow swallowed hard, stepping back several paces; it felt this human seemed off, like he was coming for it.
Chiu〜!
A high, melodious hoofbeat sounded from afar.
A bird Pokémon cloaked in golden light and color appeared from the rainbow.
"Ho-Oh! It's Ho-Oh!"
"Oh my god! I really saw legendary Ho-Oh."
"So beautiful!"
Ash and the others were overjoyed; Dawn especially thrilled that Ho-Oh could bring happiness, as legends say.
Ho-Oh's bird face wore a human-like smile; its mood looked good.
It had judged and rewarded the humans who gave Rainbow Wing, and after passing the Legendary Beasts' test under Marshadow's guidance, it arrived here.
What does this mean?
It means its eyes were right!
Indeed, only pure humans are the world's future.
But—
When Ho-Oh soared above Ash and the others, ready to circle and show off its beautiful figure, Ho-Oh's bird eyes suddenly narrowed, almost popping out.
Because below, the smiling, trembling Marshadow was being held by that boy with a smile.
Damn! This rascal is here too!
Bastard! That's my Marshadow!
You rascal, why are you holding it? And Marshadow, why are you so cowardly—let him hold you if he wants?
~~
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