140. Fulfilling Wishes

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Emerging from the shock of Caroline's strength, Henry composed himself and asked, "Master Ho-Oh, what does it mean to ascend to the second floor?"

This time, Ho-Oh didn't speak cryptically but gave a direct explanation.

"The presence you see now is merely my will residing in the Sacred Fire, not my true self," Ho-Oh explained. "Every floor of Bell Tower hosts fragments of my will within flames like these. My physical form fell into a deep slumber a hundred years ago and has not yet recovered."

"By entering the second floor, you would encounter another manifestation of my will. And on the top floor of the tower, my actual body resides."

A hundred years ago? Roy's heart skipped a beat.

"Your main body fell into a deep sleep... was it because of the War?" he asked cautiously.

"Yes."

Ho-Oh's gaze settled on Roy.

"The war a hundred years ago... To stop the conflict between the two sides, I resurrected many who had perished in battle, dispelling much of the hatred. Because I overused the power of 'resurrection,' I had to enter a deep slumber, waiting for my power to replenish."

Resurrection of the war dead...

How many would that have been? At least hundreds of millions of lives?

This was truly the power of a 'Legendary'...

The Ho-Oh in the traditional Pokémon world wasn't nearly this powerful. After the worlds merged, even the capabilities of "Legendary" Pokémon had been strengthened.

Roy was amazed at Ho-Oh's power but also felt relieved.

No wonder the Pokémon War had ended so quickly, and the order of the Pokémon Alliance was established with such speed.

In the end, it was the root of hatred that had been severed by Ho-Oh.

Sometimes, war wouldn't stop merely because one side recognized the strength of the other. You couldn't expect people consumed by hatred to possess the rationality to think, "If we continue fighting like this, the earth will perish."

Pure violence could never create peace.

Henry continued to inquire, "Master Ho-Oh, what difference would seeing another manifestation of you make?"

Ho-Oh's voice resonated through the chamber.

"You are here because you appear on the list of chosen ones. Every twenty years, chosen ones like yourselves appear. The chosen come here, and I fulfill their wishes."

"Each layer of my will possesses stronger power than the previous."

"Thus, the higher you climb, the greater the wishes that can be fulfilled."

"I can grant you one wish now. When you have the strength to reach the second floor, you will receive a second opportunity to make a wish."

In the legends of the Pokémon world, Ho-Oh possessed the power to resurrect the dead and could bestow eternal happiness upon those who beheld it.

What was happiness?

The concept varied from person to person, but the fulfillment of wishes was undoubtedly the most direct form of happiness.

Ho-Oh, you're putting Jirachi to shame...

Roy complained silently.

Jirachi was also a Legendary Pokémon, but it wasn't known for being "able to grant any wish" to the same extent.

Currently, there were no rumors about Jirachi on Earth.

Like Zekrom, it simply hadn't appeared.

"In the past hundred years, has no one awakened your main body?" Henry asked, surprised.

"No one has," Ho-Oh confirmed.

Henry's expression revealed his disbelief.

Because his father, Frances, was undoubtedly among the previous generation's chosen ones, and even as Champion, he had never reached the top of the tower...

A Trainer stronger than the Champion was the illusory 'Master' from legends that no one had ever achieved.

Was Ho-Oh's standard impossibly high?

"Humans have never reached the level of true 'Trainer,' so who do you think proposed this standard?" Ho-Oh questioned.

"It was us."

The explanation given by Ho-Oh caused Henry to reflect silently.

Over the past hundred years, countless people must have been frustrated by this standard, but Ho-Oh had long since grown accustomed to it.

The Legendary continued, "In addition to fulfilling wishes, you are also responsible for guarding my sleeping form."

"There are barriers on each floor of Bell Tower. If intruders attempt to attack my body, they must defeat the Sacred Fire manifestations on each floor, break through the barriers, and climb the tower step by step. Each layer delays them long enough for the Pokémon Alliance to respond."

"An exquisite design," Henry praised.

"Well..." Roy hesitated, finding this setup familiar—like the classic 'Magic Tower' in RPG games.

Considering this, Roy suddenly felt uneasy and boldly posed a question.

"Couldn't an intruder just blow up the tower? Why climb it floor by floor?"

Henry fell silent.

Ho-Oh was quiet.

Caroline remained as silent as ever.

"You... are very perceptive," Ho-Oh eventually responded, noticeably pausing before regaining composure.

"If someone wanted to destroy Bell Tower from the outside, they would need to face all the power of the Sacred Fire simultaneously. If invaders possessed the strength to combat all manifestations of the Sacred Fire at once, they truly wouldn't need to climb the tower—they couldn't be delayed."

"This is indeed a blind spot in our thinking, a flaw in the design."

"A hundred years ago, I was eager to enter my slumber and didn't consider this thoroughly."

Even the wisest can overlook something.

Ho-Oh wasn't omniscient or omnipotent, so it wasn't surprising that it could make mistakes. Roy found himself surprised that no one had pointed out this design flaw in the past hundred years...

Looking at the embarrassed Henry, Roy suddenly understood why.

Humans instinctively held 'Legendaries' in awe and rarely questioned them. Even Henry, a proud genius, behaved with extreme deference before Ho-Oh—at best, he was modest and cautious; at worst, he was somewhat sycophantic...

For a hundred years, even if some of the chosen ones thought this design was flawed, they probably assumed Ho-Oh had some greater plan.

In contrast, Roy, having encountered Ho-Oh many times in games during his previous life, had jokingly referred to Ho-Oh as a 'Mega Fearow,' just as he'd noted that Groudon couldn't fly and that Arceus resembled an alpaca...

In short, Roy innately lacked the typical reverence for these "Legendaries."

Ho-Oh seemed to recognize this rare human attitude.

The Legendary hadn't paid much attention to Roy previously, as he was the weakest among the three trainers. Of course, for his age, he was already remarkably strong, but Ho-Oh had seen countless prodigies over the past century.

Talent alone wasn't enough to earn Ho-Oh's respect.

At this moment, however, Ho-Oh focused on Roy for the first time.

...Confusion and aura power together? Interesting.

...A Z-Crystal? Has someone finally accessed this power?

There's a familiar presence in the Poké Ball at his waist...

The next moment, the Sacred Fire vibrated violently. A trace of terrifying heat radiated outward, illuminating the entire tower as bright as day for a brief instant.

"What's this...?" Henry looked bewildered.

It must have noticed Cosmog, Roy speculated silently. He'd been mentally prepared for this possibility before arriving.

As a fellow Legendary, Ho-Oh would surely recognize Cosmog, itself a Legendary.

Roy didn't know Ho-Oh's attitude toward the Ultra Beasts, but Ho-Oh was known to be kind toward humans and maintained a cooperative relationship with the Alliance.

Even if Cosmog was technically an Ultra Beast, it belonged to Roy, placing it firmly on humanity's side.

So, Roy felt he had nothing to hide.

In fact, he hoped to gain some insight from Ho-Oh.

He wanted to ask if there was any way to accelerate Cosmog's growth.

Simply feeding it energy cubes always seemed too slow...

But contrary to Roy's expectations, the Sacred Fire gradually calmed and returned to its original state.

Ho-Oh showed no intention of inquiring about Cosmog, instead returning to the matter at hand.

"Tell me what wishes you all desire to fulfill," it said.

Ho-Oh's gaze turned toward Caroline.

"Let's begin with you. The other two, please wait outside the tower."