Because Marshadow still couldn't fully control the extraordinary power it was born with, during the time it spent hiding within Chen Mo's shadow, some of its energy would occasionally leak out unintentionally, stirring up the deepest negative emotions buried inside Chen Mo's heart.
Of course.
Chen Mo had long since grown accustomed to it. With Marshadow quietly helping him, he could quickly sort through those unpleasant emotions. So far, it hadn't caused any significant problems in the outside world.
Besides that, Marshadow had another characteristic due to its imperfect control over its power.
As everyone knew—
Marshadow possessed two forms.
Under normal circumstances, aside from its orange-red eyes, its body was primarily composed of gray and black shadows resembling drifting smoke.
This state was known as Shadow Dweller Marshadow.
But when Marshadow's fighting spirit ignited, it entered another state. Its eyes glowed brightly, and yellow-green flames emerged from its head crest, wrists, and collar.
This form was known as Full-Power Marshadow, the same form it had displayed during Gengar's evolution at Cangqing Mountain.
Unable to perfectly control its powers, Marshadow would occasionally reveal traces of its Full-Power state whenever its emotions fluctuated violently.
Just like now.
Chen Mo could see that Marshadow's orange-red eyes shone like dancing flames. If one looked carefully, wisps of yellow-green fire continuously rose from the top of its head before quickly vanishing.
"...So it's not possible... But Marshadow, why are you so... agitated?"
Under Marshadow's intense gaze, Chen Mo instinctively leaned back slightly.
Originally, he had wanted to ask why Marshadow was so angry. But after thinking about it, he changed the wording to "agitated."
"..."
At last.
Marshadow seemed to realize there was something wrong with its current state.
Lowering its head, it silently sat back down without saying a word.
Seeing that Marshadow didn't want to elaborate, Chen Mo chose not to press further.
There was one thing he understood clearly.
Although Marshadow stayed by his side, it had never truly become his Pokémon.
Back when their favorability had reached maximum, the system's list of six Pokémon hadn't included Marshadow.
So—
Chen Mo regarded Marshadow as a friend.
Friends could talk about many things.
But friends were still friends.
There were some topics that couldn't be discussed without restraint.
However...
As Marshadow sat silently on the corridor with its head lowered, it suddenly noticed a pair of hands entering its field of vision.
Chen Mo gently shook a box of red-packaged Pokéblocks and said softly,
"Here. If you're feeling down, eat something. Maybe it'll help you feel a little better."
"..."
Marshadow looked at Chen Mo for a long time.
In the end.
It accepted the Pokéblocks, tore open the package viciously, opened its mouth, and dumped the entire contents inside.
Crunch. Crunch.
The sound of chewing continuously echoed from Marshadow's puffed-up cheeks.
Chen Mo stared blankly.
Gulp.
After swallowing an entire box of Pokéblocks in one go, Marshadow swept through the remaining boxes like a whirlwind.
Within moments.
It had already devoured ten boxes.
Chen Mo swallowed nervously and couldn't help but advise,
"Marshadow... actually... eating too much isn't good either..."
Pokéblocks were different from ordinary food.
Take Pikachu, for example. Three to five boxes in one meal was already enough to leave it completely stuffed.
As for Marshadow...
"I'm different from Pikachu and the others. No matter how much I eat, nothing will happen."
Marshadow's childish voice sounded inside Chen Mo's mind.
Then—
Before Chen Mo could respond, Marshadow set down the empty box and slowly said,
"Becoming a Rainbow Hero isn't nearly as easy as you imagine. Not just anyone can become one."
"Is that so..."
Chen Mo felt somewhat skeptical.
In the original story, Ash had encountered Ho-Oh almost immediately after setting out on his journey and received a Rainbow Wing.
Judging from how the story unfolded, Ho-Oh had likely been moved by the bond between Ash and Pikachu and chosen him as a prospective Rainbow Hero.
In other words—
Shouldn't any trainer who demonstrated a deep bond with their Pokémon have the qualifications?
Although it wasn't hiding in the shadow world at the moment, Marshadow, who spent every day with Chen Mo, could more or less guess what he was thinking.
Its expression remained calm as it continued,
"You mentioned the story of the Bell Tower back in Evergreen Forest. So you should know that Ho-Oh descended into the mortal world because it witnessed the bond between humans and Pokémon in that city."
"Let's call that city Ecruteak City."
"What's important is that Ecruteak was very special. If we use your world as an example, it was practically equivalent to the city beneath your feet right now—a major center of an era's transformation."
"Therefore."
"To become a true Rainbow Hero blessed by Ho-Oh, there are two extremely important prerequisites."
"First, the hero must possess an exceptionally deep bond with Pokémon."
"Second, the hero must serve as a bridge between humanity and Pokémon during their era, someone capable of changing history and guiding the direction of the age."
Marshadow paused.
Its orange-red eyes casually drifted toward Chen Mo.
But Chen Mo didn't notice at all.
He was busy stroking his chin, deep in thought.
According to stories Marshadow had told before, every era produced several prospective Rainbow Heroes who received Rainbow Wings from Ho-Oh.
Yet only a tiny handful ultimately became true Rainbow Heroes.
Previously, Chen Mo had wondered why.
Now it seemed the requirements were simply too demanding.
Thinking back to the original series, Ash had most likely earned Ho-Oh's final recognition and become the new Rainbow Hero.
His bond with Pokémon went without saying.
By the time Chen Mo had been transported to this world, Ash had already become the first Champion of the Alola Region and was steadily pursuing his dream of becoming a Pokémon Master.
After all—
He was the protagonist.
Ash was destined to become a Pokémon Master.
And once he reached that point, he would certainly qualify as someone capable of changing history and guiding the course of an era.
As for Ah Hui...
Just as the thought surfaced in Chen Mo's mind, Marshadow spoke again.
"That human you call Ah Hui—his personality alone ensures he can never become a true Rainbow Hero."
"His personality..."
Chen Mo frowned.
"But the bond between him and Butterfree is genuine. Entei acknowledged him too..."
"Entei's acknowledgment alone isn't enough."
For perhaps the first time, Marshadow interrupted Chen Mo.
"The Legendary Beasts and I are all examiners on the path of the Rainbow Hero."
"Because Entei acknowledged him, Ah Hui does possess the qualifications to become a prospective Rainbow Hero."
"But he will never become a true Rainbow Hero."
"He wouldn't even pass Raikou's trial."
Hearing this, Chen Mo froze.
"Raikou?"
"That's right. Raikou."
Marshadow then revealed something astonishing.
In its original world, the overwhelming majority of prospective Rainbow Heroes had been eliminated by Raikou.
Raikou was by far the strictest examiner on the path to becoming a Rainbow Hero.
The second strictest examiner was Marshadow itself.
"You seem to know quite a bit about many Legendary Pokémon. I don't know how much you know about Raikou, but Raikou is completely different from Suicune."
Marshadow's orange-red eyes flickered as it stared directly at Chen Mo.
Its expression was serious.
"Only Raikou truly hates humans from the bottom of its heart."
"Huh!?"
Chen Mo's expression changed instantly.
His face became serious.
"Can you tell me more about Raikou?"
"I can."
Marshadow's lips suddenly curled into a smile.
Its gaze drifted toward the pile of empty Pokéblock boxes nearby.
Chen Mo immediately understood.
"Ask for as many as you want. Marshadow, please—tell me everything you know about Raikou."
"Twenty boxes... no, thirty!"
"No problem! Fifty if you want!"
Chen Mo answered without hesitation.
He took Marshadow's words very seriously.
To be honest, after personally meeting Suicune and hearing Ah Hui's stories about Entei, Chen Mo had already begun viewing all three Legendary Beasts under Ho-Oh as Legendary Pokémon humans could safely approach.
Now, hearing that Raikou genuinely despised humanity immediately put him on alert.
After all—
Approaching Raikou while carrying those previous assumptions could easily lead to disaster.
Having completed the transaction, Marshadow didn't beat around the bush.
Or rather—
Today's Marshadow seemed unusually talkative.
It revealed information much more freely than usual.
Completely focused on Raikou, Chen Mo didn't even notice this.
He listened attentively as Marshadow recounted the story.
The Legendary Beasts had been born through Ho-Oh's power.
After the Burned Tower incident, Ho-Oh became deeply disappointed in humanity.
Likewise, the Legendary Beasts, attacked by humans immediately after their resurrection, naturally held little affection for mankind.
Among them—
Raikou's dissatisfaction toward humans was the strongest.
Part of that stemmed from its nature as an Electric-type Legendary Pokémon.
While it wasn't quite as explosive as Zapdos, Raikou was still very much the type of Pokémon who solved problems head-on.
Of course.
If that had been all, things might have been different.
Ho-Oh still held hope for humanity.
No matter how displeased Raikou was, it could only suppress those feelings and continue carrying out its duties.
Under normal circumstances.
Its resentment would have gradually faded over time, just as it had for Suicune and Entei.
But things rarely went so smoothly.
The Legendary Beasts were all single-type Pokémon.
Over the long years, they gradually earned a set of lesser-known titles:
Suicune — Guardian of Water
Entei — Guardian of Fire
Likewise—
Raikou — Guardian of Lightning
These titles stemmed from their close relationships with Pokémon sharing their respective elements.
Among them, Raikou stood out the most.
At one point, countless Electric-type Pokémon regarded it as their guardian deity.
To protect Electric-type Pokémon, Raikou fought countless battles.
Eventually.
Its overwhelming power drew the attention of people with ulterior motives.
Unlike Chen Mo's world, the original Pokémon world possessed human trainers capable of rivaling certain Legendary Pokémon.
Many movie storylines even featured humans using advanced technology to capture Legendaries.
And one day—
Raikou suffered the same fate.
The Legendary Beasts usually acted independently.
By the time Entei and Suicune learned what had happened and reunited with Raikou, the once-majestic Legendary Pokémon had already been gravely wounded.
Fortunately.
As a servant of Ho-Oh, Raikou would not die so easily.
But from that day onward—
Its hatred toward humanity became absolute.
At the same time.
The difficulty of the Rainbow Hero trials skyrocketed due to Raikou's influence.
"That human Ah Hui truly shares an extraordinary bond with Butterfree. Even in our world, such people are rare."
"But Ah Hui himself admitted it, didn't he? The Pokémon he likes most are Bug-types."
"A flaw that small would be ignored by Suicune and Entei."
"In human terms, they'd simply turn a blind eye."
"But Raikou would never tolerate it."
"It would seize on that weakness and crush him mercilessly."
"If he's unlucky, Raikou's near-intimidation tactics could leave him with psychological scars that never heal."
"And once the Rainbow Wing loses its radiance, he would lose all qualification to become a Rainbow Hero."
Marshadow glanced at Chen Mo.
Frowning deeply, Chen Mo recalled the events of Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! and asked,
"So Rainbow Hero trials require trainers to battle the Legendary Beasts directly?"
"Sometimes yes, sometimes no."
"Ho-Oh never established a strict standard for that."
"And I've told you before—"
"The Legendary Beasts act according to their own wills."
"Raikou's methods may be more extreme, but they don't violate the rules of the trial."
Marshadow looked up at the moon beyond the eaves.
Then, for once, it didn't try to conceal its intentions.
Instead, it turned directly toward Chen Mo.
Meeting his gaze, it spoke seriously.
"So I say this with certainty."
"That human will never become a Rainbow Hero."
"And in the end, he has always been chasing after your footsteps."
"Nothing more than one shadow among countless others cast by you."
"As a shadow..."
"It can never become the rainbow that illuminates the world."
Author's Note:
The Raikou depicted here is primarily based on the version from The Legend of Thunder! special—the Raikou who was never rescued.
The title "Guardian" for the Legendary Beasts comes from the Suicune travel episode, where it was explicitly used, and I've also blended in some elements from The Legend of Thunder! storyline regarding Raikou.
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