A piercing cry echoed through the skies.
With each flap of its fiery wings, the Moltres painted the sky a blazing red.
Everyone turned instinctively to Johan.
"Still denying you're a Legendary Magnet?"
Feeling all the eyes on him, Johan was practically screaming internally.
"This has nothing to do with me!"
It just came on its own! Even if... maybe the Rainbow Wing had something to do with it...
The Rainbow Wing belongs to Ho-Oh.
The Legendary Birds should fall under Lugia's domain... shouldn't they?
But Moltres didn't seem to care about Johan. Its gaze swept over the crowd and locked onto the sacred flame burning in the silver brazier.
With a blast of searing fire, Moltres unleashed a torrent of flames into the brazier.
The flames surged higher, burning brighter than ever.
Cheers erupted from the crowd.
Molters blessing the sacred flame? This made the Indigo League Tournament more prestigious than ever.
Meanwhile, Professor Oak, seated in the VIP section, pulled a silver feather from his pocket, his expression thoughtful.
"Was Moltres attracted by this?"
That feather had been set aside as a special prize for the tournament's champion. After all, Johan's participation and the records he'd broken had made this tournament unprecedentedly popular.
Suddenly, Johan's Rainbow Wing glowed faintly again.
Moltres, who had been preparing to leave, paused and turned its gaze to Johan.
"The Rainbow Wing is... calling it?"
[Rainbow Wing: Hey! Where are you going? You came all this way—leave something behind! Gimme! Now!]
Sure enough, a fiery feather spiraled down, drifting gently until it landed right in front of Johan.
Why did it feel like the Rainbow Wing had... corrupted the Moltres?
"A Moltres feather! It's a blessing from Moltres!"
"You still deny it, Johan? You Legendary Magnet!!"
Johan sighed, holding the warm feather in his hand.
Was this feather supposed to help him survive the winter or something?
After leaving the feather, Moltres flapped its wings and flew off into the distance.
The crowd finally settled, though some still glanced back at Johan with suspicion.
Ancient Legendary? Ties to the Birds? Theories were spiraling fast.
Meanwhile, in the tournament's ghostly corners, Marshadow peeked out from the shadows, clutching half of a broken mop handle.
Seeing Moltres leave obediently after dropping its feather, Marshadow gave a satisfied nod.
It tossed the mop handle aside and vanished into the shadows again.
With the Moltres excitement out of the way, the final match resumed.
Ancient muscle and jaw strength unleashed, Feraligatr stomped into the field with a loud thud.
"Johan has chosen Dragonair!"
Dragonair's elegant form glided onto the field, its serpentine body gleaming as snowflakes drifted around it.
Ancient, powerful. Pristine.
"Sand Attack, Feraligatr!"
The crocodilian Pokémon whipped its tail across the snowy ground, kicking up a cloud of sand that blew toward Dragonair.
Dragonair hovered into the air, but Feraligatr was relentless, slinging sand over and over to block its vision.
Feraligatr burst through the sandstorm with glowing purple claws.
Dragonair threw up a shimmering Reflect barrier, deflecting the attack.
But Johan wasn't done.
Dragonair's tail lashed out, slamming Feraligatr into the dirt with a splash of water.
"Hydro Pump, Dragonair!"
"What? A Hydro Pump after being hit with Sand Attack? Does he not fear the dreaded 'Triple Miss'?"
Dragonair's Hydro Pump erupted.
A monstrous tidal wave crashed down on Feraligatr.
When the spray cleared, Feraligatr was embedded in the mud, unconscious.
Dragonair landed gracefully, flapping its wings to shake off droplets of water. A rainbow glistened in the air behind it.
The audience sat stunned.
Was that really a water attack?
It looked more like a natural disaster!
"Johan's Dragonair is as elegant as ever," Steven noted, his arms crossed thoughtfully.
As the crowd buzzed, Goodrian sent out his next Pokémon.
The blazing fire pig stomped in, flames billowing around its neck. Emboar was a force to be reckoned with, full of passion and fiery spirit.
But Johan was unfazed.
He glanced at his belt.
"Rotom... you want to go?"
From inside the Pokédex, Rotom peeked out with wide, worried eyes.
Johan chuckled and picked another Pokéball.
From the shadows, Gengar emerged with a mischievous grin, donning its signature sunglasses.
The two stocky Pokémon faced off.
It was the battle of the big boys!
"Gengar... is terrifying."
"Emboar, Flare Blitz!"
Emboar roared, flames surrounding its body as it charged at Gengar.
But Gengar just stood there, grinning.
More Gengars appeared.
"What the heck is this?!"
"Doesn't matter! Destroy them all!"
Emboar charged, but...
Johan's eyes flashed.
"Gengar... Maximum Shadow Ball!"
All the Gengars summoned massive Shadow Balls, the dark energy swirling ominously.
The sheer size of the attack was absurd.
Even Agatha's Gengar paused its knitting to glance at the screen.
Agatha chuckled softly.
"Looks like someone learned from you."
Back on the field, the colossal Shadow Ball was launched.
Emboar was obliterated.
All that remained was a singed battlefield and a dazed Goodrian.
"Johan... can you please act like a normal human?"
Gengar panted, pretending to be exhausted.
The crowd wasn't fooled.
Johan chuckled softly.
He didn't recall Gengar.
Goodrian's final Pokémon was about to hit the field.
The match wasn't over yet.
For 20 advance Chapters: /michaeltranslates