Rainbow Wing?
Did Ho-Oh shed a feather again?
Might be a fake...
[Ding! Rainbow Wing detected.]
[Quest: Trial of the Rainbow (Pending Activation)]
It's real!
But why is it still "pending activation"?
[It is said that only Trainers with a heart as pure and righteous as the sky can earn Ho-Oh's recognition.]
How am I not pure and righteous enough?
That Fearow was being a pain—one Rock Slide and it was done for!
"Gua~sī."
Haunter giggled as it took the feather from Caleb's hand.
The dull gray feather suddenly emitted a faint, rainbow-colored glow.
???
Caleb snatched the feather back—the glow vanished.
Handed it to Haunter again—the glow returned.
Took it back—dark again.
Gave it back—glowed.
Took it—dark.
Glow.
Dark.
Glow.
Dark.
...
Oh, hell no.
Caleb had Haunter and himself each hold one end of the feather.
Let's see what you do now...
The side in Haunter's grasp glowed brightly, while the side Caleb held remained dim.
Screw this!
Caleb snatched the feather fully into his own hands. "I'll show you who's boss here!"
Viridian Force—activate!
The power of Viridian not only heals Pokémon, it can also fix TVs, clean dirty floors, smooth wrinkled clothes—basically the ultimate lifehack.
Super useful... but unfortunately, doesn't last long.
Caleb could barely sustain it for three seconds before totally burning out.
But hey, where there's a will, there's a way.
He pulled out a handful of rainbow-colored Pokéblocks from his pocket and stuffed them into his mouth.
Instantly, golden light flared.
A surge of energy poured out from within.
Activate!
Activate!
Activate!
Bit by bit, effort piled upon effort—until finally, the Rainbow Wing began to respond.
But not enough. Not nearly enough.
"I still can't feel your sincerity."
Activate!
Activate!
Activate!
One hour later—
In the dimly lit storage shed, a shimmering rainbow glow lit up the space.
Brilliant. Holy.
Rainbow Wing: Okay okay, that's enough. I give.
Hah. Thought you could resist me?
...
"Here, this is the Solaceon Badge. Keep it safe." Caleb handed a feather-shaped metal badge to Ritchie.
Poor kid had been standing there for a full hour and didn't even think to sit down.
Ritchie shook the numbness from his legs as he took the badge. "Th-thank you."
"And this too."
It was something Caleb had found in Old Man Man's storage, used as a reward for Trainers who cleared the Gym challenge: a TM—Toxic.
A dark purple disc.
Ritchie instinctively reached for it, then hesitated, pulling his hand back.
"Uh, let me put on gloves first."
"Relax, it's not actually poisonous. Promise."
...
As Ritchie exited the Gym, the red, yellow, blue, and green gang immediately swarmed him.
And behind them? Grey, white, pink, and purple.
These were all senior members of the chat group, who had heard Ritchie earned the Solaceon Badge and came to see it for themselves.
"What took you so long in there?"
"Did that guy give you a hard time?"
"Did you really get the badge?"
"Yeah, I got it." Ritchie showed them the feather-shaped badge in his hand.
The path had been rough, but the moment he received the badge, it all felt worth it.
"Whoa, it's the real Solaceon Badge!"
"It used to be super easy to get. What the hell happened?!"
"I honestly thought this Gym was just some sick joke, but it actually gives out badges?"
"Ritchie, from this day forward, you're like a blood brother to me, so uh... mind teaching your big bro how you pulled it off?"
"Same here, same here! From now on, the four of us are sworn brothers who've survived the same battlefield!"
"Big bro."
"Second bro."
"Big bro."
"Third bro."
"Third bro."
"Second bro."
"Little bro."
...
"You're talking about Ho-Oh?"
Fiona looked at Caleb, lips parting gently as she replied in a soft voice.
"I've heard the legend from some of my elders... but—"
"Wait, wait—'legend from town'?!" Caleb suddenly interrupted, eyes wide in shock. "How come I never heard about this?!"
Fiona saw his blank face and looked surprised. "Your father never mentioned it to you?"
Caleb shook his head. Old Man Man, as usual, was useless.
If he was even a little bit competent, I wouldn't call him that all the time.
Seeing Caleb's reaction, Fiona sighed gently and explained, "Then let me tell you, starting with our town. You see, our town wasn't always called Solaceon."
"What was it called before?" Caleb asked curiously.
"Random."
Caleb: ?
"I mean the town's name was literally 'Random Town.'"
"...That's pretty random."
Caleb mumbled.
"About 150 years ago, after Ecruteak City burned down, Ho-Oh vanished. There was an old man in town who claimed he'd seen Ho-Oh once, resting on the Firmiana tree in his backyard.
That same year, the man's child was born. He saw it as a blessing, threw a huge feast in town, and renamed the place Solaceon."
Okay, Ho-Oh perched on a Firmiana tree... makes sense thematically, but—
"Why not name it Ho-Oh Town? Isn't that the blessing?"
"Oh, supposedly the old man didn't even know what a Ho-Oh was. He thought it was just a shiny Fearow attracted by the tree. He renamed the town Solaceon because he believed the tree was the lucky charm."
Hmm... I mean, that actually does check out.
"And then?" Caleb asked.
"And then? That's it. It's just a legend, and a pretty silly one at that. You don't actually believe it, do you?" Fiona blinked and smiled.
"Where'd you hear it from?" Caleb pressed, still curious.
"From the old folks around town. They used to talk about it a lot when I was a kid. But... I think they've all passed away now."
Caleb: "..."
All of them?
Not even one left?
Wait—no, there's still that one guy.
...
"A legend?"
"Yeah, the one about Ho-Oh perching on the Firmiana tree."
Caleb looked at the old man in front of him, full of hope.
If anyone in this town was still kicking, it'd be this guy. He'd outlived just about everyone.
The old man glanced at Caleb, then at himself, like he was digging through memories. He leaned in and whispered, "Come closer. I'll tell you, but don't let anyone else know."
Caleb leaned in, intrigued.
The old man scanned the area, then said in a hushed voice, "You see... I'm actually Ho-Oh's chosen Rainbow Hero."
!!!
Caleb looked at him, eyes wide. "For real?!"
"Of course! How else do you think I became a member of the Elite Four?" the old man said, nostalgic. "Back in the day, Entei, Raikou, Suicune—they were all my sidekicks. I told them to go west, they wouldn't dare go east.
I traveled Sinnoh with them—challenging the League, saving the world. Ah... the memories."
???
Okay, this is starting to sound very questionable.
"Because of my countless heroic deeds, my story reached Ho-Oh's ears. It personally acknowledged me as its Rainbow Hero, said it had to be caught by me.
We went through everything together—storming the Champion Road, braving Mt. Silver, taking down Rayquaza—but then I was betrayed by the one I trusted most. My life's work became someone else's glory..."
"Stop!"
"You actually believe this?" Caleb cut him off sternly. "I'm seriously asking you here—can we not joke around?"
"You're the one who started joking." The old man pouted, looking almost hurt. "Rainbow Hero, Chosen One... those are just fairy tales to tell kids. I didn't think any adults would fall for them."
"Tales for kids?"
"Yeah."
"So the legend of Ho-Oh is fake?"
"Who knows? That's just how the story goes."
"And you had fun messing with me just now?"
"Of course."
???
"Chansey, take him away. He just volunteered to be your new sparring partner."
...
Back at Caleb's house, in the backyard—
To keep Garganacl and Dusknoir in check, Caleb had installed cameras everywhere.
He had to—those two had a habit of wrecking the place.
And today, they got into it again. This time, it was over Pokéblocks—should they eat the sweet ones or the salty ones?
Smart as ever, they picked a remote spot to start fighting.
After all, the backyard's huge—no way Caleb installed cameras everywhere, right?
That tree over there looks perfect...