"Who are you? How did you get in here?"
High Priest Shamyo turned his head, his sharp eyes locking onto Feng Che.
"My name is Feng Che. I'm a trainer," Feng Che replied calmly. "I was passing through when I saw the Bell Tower under siege by ninjas. I couldn't just stand by."
"Young trainer," Shamyo began, his gaze softening as it swept over Feng Che. "Whatever your original motive, your heart is pure, and your Power of Viridian saved the Rainbow Wing from being consumed by malice. You prevented a catastrophe."
Shamyo snapped his fingers. Instantly, the white Purifying Flames raining from the ceiling intensified tenfold. Every remaining ninja and corrupted Pokémon within the tower's walls was instantly incinerated into nothingness.
"Do you find me cruel?" Shamyo asked, looking at the charred remains. "I allowed innocent monks to be put at risk to draw out the traitor."
Feng Che remained silent. He understood the weight of a guardian's duty—sometimes, the many are protected by the sacrifice of the few.
With a wave of Shamyo's hand, the Rainbow Wing in Feng Che's pocket drifted into the air, floating toward the Priest. But suddenly, a silver streak blurred past.
Ditto (Xiao Bai) lunged forward and, with one giant gulp, swallowed the Rainbow Wing whole.
Shamyo: "..." Feng Che: "..." Mewtwo: "..."
"Xiao Bai! What are you doing?! Spit it out! Spit it out right now!" Feng Che grabbed the Ditto, shaking it in a panic.
"Hahaha! Peace, young man," Shamyo laughed, waving him off. "If the Ditto swallowed it, then it is the chosen vessel. It seems your partner has a profound affinity with Lord Ho-Oh."
Shamyo reached into a plain wooden box and pulled out another Rainbow Wing.
"I keep multiple seals to prevent the birth of a Wing of Corruption. My duty is to ensure the 'Sky Monster'—what the cultists call the Sky God—remains sealed. They belong to the Pure Sky Sect."
"Their leader is Shaka, a High Priest from a thousand years ago. He believed the Sky Monster was the only true god. Ho-Oh incinerated him, but the monster resurrected him. Now, he seeks to bathe the world in hellfire."
Shamyo held the new feather aloft. It glowed with a light even more powerful than the previous one. As the seven-colored radiance washed over the tower, a miracle occurred. The monks who had been slain by the ninjas began to sit up.
"Wait... I was stabbed?" "Where did the hole in my chest go?" "I feel... fantastic!"
The monks murmured in shock. Ho-Oh's Sacred Fire didn't just destroy; in the hands of a master, it could grant life.
"Shamyo!" Ananda threw himself at the Priest's feet, weeping with shame. "I failed you. I didn't protect the Wing."
"Rise, Ananda. I knew Kasyapa was a traitor long ago. I set the trap to force his hand," Shamyo comforted him, healing Ananda's wounds with a touch of white flame. "I must leave again. Tonight is the Hour of Demons, when the Sky Monster's power peaks. I must reinforce the seal at the Sea Cave."
He turned to Feng Che. "Young friend, I need you. Your power suppresses malice. I fear I cannot hold the seal alone tonight."
"I'm in," Feng Che nodded.
En Route to Cianwood City
Feng Che sat behind Shamyo on the back of the Pidgeot, flying toward the Whirl Islands.
"High Priest, I saw you leave with the Legendary Beasts earlier. How were you still in the tower?"
"Suicune's specialty," Shamyo explained. "It can create Mirror Images. Those who left were mere phantoms. I had to stay behind to see if Kasyapa would truly cross the line."
"If this Sky Monster is so dangerous, why does Ho-Oh simply seal it? Why not destroy it?" Feng Che asked.
Shamyo sighed. "Because the Sky Monster is Ho-Oh. Or rather, a part of it."
"Ho-Oh's true body sleeps at the peak of Mt. Tensei, acting as the anchor for the world's climate. Every hundred years, it manifests a fragment of itself—an avatar—to patrol the world. The Sky Monster was one such avatar that was tainted by human darkness and greed."
"It developed a will of its own and tried to usurp the original. It convinced the ancient monks that the true Ho-Oh was a false god. In its wrath, Ho-Oh burned the old tower to the ground, killing the Vaporeon, Flareon, and Jolteon inside."
"But Ho-Oh realized that destroying the avatar would leave its own power incomplete, causing the world's seasons to collapse into eternal natural disasters. Instead, it stripped the avatar of its power and used Sacred Ash to resurrect the three Pokémon into Suicune, Entei, and Raikou—imbuing them with the avatar's stolen strength."
"The 'Sky Monster's' consciousness was sealed in the Sea Cave of Cianwood. For four years, the avatar has been missing, and I haven't been able to contact the true Ho-Oh. Usually, Lugia helps me suppress the seal, but she is currently pregnant and has moved to the Sevii Islands to protect her offspring from the dark energy."
Shamyo looked at Feng Che expectantly. He clearly wanted Feng Che to use the Power of Viridian to reinforce the ancient seal.
First, I dealt with a Sea Monster that's probably still hunting me, Feng Che thought, half-amused and half-exhausted. Now a Sky Monster? Is my destiny just to be a janitor for ancient demons?
If these two ever team up, even Mewtwo might have a hard time...
"This must be Ho-Oh's guidance," Shamyo whispered, clutching his beads. "To send a master of the Viridian power at our darkest hour. I hope everything goes smoothly."