Flames

Under the gaze of everyone, Ho-oh flew over Mount Tensei along the Rainbow Bridge.

With the arrival of Ho-oh, countless colorful sparkles rained down. Whether they were humans or Pokémon, all their injuries were miraculously healed.

Lying unconscious on the ground, Yuga slowly opened his eyes when touched by these sparkles. His gaze immediately fixed upon the radiant Ho-oh soaring in the sky.

"Chimecho!"

Seeing Yuga awake, Chimecho happily flew to his side and nuzzled his cheek with her small head.

Observing the healing effect of Ho-oh's sparkles, Yuga released all his Pokémon that had lost the ability to fight. Soon, Charmeleon, Ivysaur, and Breloom regained their vitality. However, Chatot, who had already passed away, remained lifeless in Yuga's arms.

Not only Yuga but even the nearly lifeless Eusine benefited from Ho-oh's healing. However, despite his injuries being healed, Alakazam, who had lost a leg, did not regain his limb.

Yuga surmised that these sparkles Ho-oh scattered were likely the legendary Sacred Ash, known for their ability to heal any injuries.

However, the Sacred Ash had no effect on the deceased Chatot or the lifeless body of the middle-aged man nearby.

After all humans and Pokémon had recovered from their injuries, Ho-oh landed on the crystal boulder with the Rainbow Feather and then, in the next moment, the Rainbow Feather transformed into a stream of light and disappeared.

Ho-oh silently regarded Gon, who had completed the Trial of the Rainbow Hero. It seemed to be asking if he had any requests.

Taking a few steps forward, Gon approached Ho-oh and said, "Ho-oh, can you save that Chatot?"

Gon knew that Yuga's purpose in this journey was to rescue Chatot. Now that Chatot lay dead before him, he knew Yuga must be devastated, so he wanted Ho-oh to help him.

Hearing Gon's request, everyone, including Yuga and Sabrina, was surprised. No one had expected Gon to make this request here. Everyone knew how precious the opportunity to request something from Ho-oh was.

Even Ho-oh's eyes flickered with a barely perceptible sense of surprise.

Ho-oh gently nodded at Gon's request. Then, with a gentle flap of its wings, a faint breeze swept over to Yuga, lifting Chatot from his embrace and bringing it closer to Ho-oh.

Ho-oh exhaled a white flame that enveloped Chatot's body.

After about ten minutes, the white flame completely disappeared, revealing Chatot inside.

Chatot was now fully awake but utterly baffled. Flapping its wings and gazing around, it muttered, "Wait, I'm not dead, am I?"

However, the Chatot before their eyes looked completely different from before. Its wing and abdominal feathers, once blue and green, now shone in vivid red, and the white feathers around its neck had transformed into a shade of blue. It appeared somewhat mismatched.

When Chatot noticed Ho-oh observing it, it instantly realized that Ho-oh must have saved it. Consequently, it didn't dare to act recklessly in front of Ho-oh and returned discreetly to Yuga's shoulder.

"Thank you, Yuga," Chatot whispered softly into Yuga's ear.

Yuga merely nodded without saying much. In truth, Chatot should be thanking Gon.

As Chatot perched on Yuga's shoulder, it felt invigorated, as if all the long-standing malaise in its body had suddenly vanished.

Observing Chatot fly to Yuga's shoulder, Ho-oh stared at Yuga for a moment.

As the God of Life, Ho-oh clearly sensed something unusual about Yuga. Apart from emitting a unique life force, Yuga also exuded a strong aura of death. In its perception, Yuga's presence seemed entirely out of place on Mount Tensei.

However, as a deity once revered by humans, Ho-oh understood that whether it was ghostly energy or his unique fire attribute energy, they were merely parts of the world's natural order, similar to light and shadow, with no inherent good or evil.

Nevertheless, this ghostly energy was obviously unfriendly to living humans. It would gradually erode Yuga's life force, weakening him over time.

After pondering for a moment, Ho-oh suddenly breathed out a stream of flames, directing it towards Yuga.

Upon seeing Ho-oh spewing fire at him, Yuga was momentarily perplexed, thinking that he had offended Ho-oh.

Not only Yuga but also Yuga's Pokémon believed that Ho-oh intended to attack Yuga. Especially Charmeleon, a Fire-type Pokémon, unhesitatingly positioned itself in front of Yuga.

After all, Yuga appeared unharmed on the surface, and no one had anticipated that Ho-oh was trying to help him.

The milky-white flames instantly engulfed Yuga and Charmeleon. However, Yuga and Charmeleon soon realized that the flames surrounding them were not scorching but rather incredibly warm and soothing.

The flames permeated their skin, causing them to feel pleasantly warm and invigorated with newfound strength.

Simultaneously, wisps of black mist within Yuga's body were gradually expelled by the white flames, dispersing into the air.

Seeing the black mist emanating from his body, Yuga was momentarily puzzled. Although he sensed that it belonged to the ghostly energy type, he did not understand its origin.

Because the Ghost World Origin Stone was activated by Yuga's intense emotions, it had shaken his mind, and he couldn't remember what had transpired. He remained unaware of the battle between Gengar and Mismagius, powered by the black mist, or the emotional connection formed with Mega Absol, leading to their mutual Bond Phenomon and subsequent rampage.

Aside from the transformation within Yuga, Charmeleon also underwent significant changes.

As the milky-white flames entered Charmeleon through its skin, all the flames surrounding it were drawn toward a red orb located in its abdomen.

This red orb was one of the four gems Yuga had obtained—the Red Gem. Yuga had entrusted it to Charmeleon, encouraging it to comprehend the gem's power. However, Charmeleon had secretly swallowed the gem, concealing this action from Yuga, who remained unaware of it.

As the flames dissipated completely, Charmeleon's tail flame, initially orange-red, turned milky-white, a stark contrast to its bright red body.