Subsequently, Ash and Misty tried several more times and finally determined that the Rainbow Wing truly selects its holder, only recognizing Ash and his Pokémon.
Whether Ash or Pikachu was holding the Rainbow Wing, its colors remained brilliantly bright.
But when Misty held the Rainbow Wing, its colors instantly dimmed.
There are two possible reasons for this: one is that the Rainbow Wing only rejects Misty. But Misty insisted that this was impossible, as she considers herself kind-hearted and a self-proclaimed super invincible beauty—why would the Rainbow Wing reject her!
So, the second reason is that the Rainbow Wing only acknowledges Ash and his Pokémon. Anyone else touching it would see it lose its brilliance.
Misty initially wanted to test with her Pokémon, but found that none of the three Pokémon she brought had hands, and Ash only had Pikachu, so this second hypothesis couldn't be verified either.
Regardless, the fact stands that the Rainbow Wing only recognizes Ash, which reminded Misty of a legend.
"The Rainbow Hero legend?"
"Pika Pika?"
Seeing the expressions of the person and the mouse, Misty nodded seriously, "That's right, according to legend, Ho-Oh chooses Trainers pure of heart and with great potential as Rainbow Heroes."
"It will entrust a token to the hero, and after the hero grows stronger, it will use the token to find and challenge it. Should the hero win, Ho-Oh will willingly become the hero's Pokémon. This is the legend of the Rainbow Hero."
"Eh~~~" Both Ash and Pikachu's eyes sparkled brightly, clearly fascinated by Misty's recounting of the legend.
"So, after we become stronger, this feather will guide us to find Ho-Oh, and we can challenge it, right?"
"Not sure, after all, it's just a legend... By the way, Ash, why did you refer to Ho-Oh as 'she'? It's a deity! A deity should be referred to as 'it', you know?"
"…Oh, got it." Ash hesitated for a moment before reluctantly agreeing.
The truth is, Ho-Oh is female; the Eye of Insight couldn't be wrong, but he couldn't just tell Misty that, so he had to go along with her for now.
"Let's go to Viridian City. Today's been really lucky; we met reliable companions, saw Ho-Oh, and even got the Rainbow Wing. Hehe, it really foretells my future as becoming a Pokémon Master, right, Pikachu?"
"Pika Pi~" You're absolutely right~
Pikachu responded with a resigned shrug, then tugged on Ash's hair, signaling him to move. He was hungry.
"Hungry? I have some instant snacks; do you want some?"
"Don't like it. Do you want the tomato flavor? Hey, are you getting picky now!"
"..."
Ash and Pikachu playfully bickered in front, while Misty watched the duo from behind, her emerald eyes reflecting a thoughtful expression.
Although they had just met less than half a day ago, Ash's extraordinary feats surpassed the bounds of human understanding.
Whether it was facing down a flock of Spearow barehanded, running as fast as a car, or encountering Ho-Oh now and possibly becoming the Rainbow Hero, all proved Ash's uniqueness.
Even though Ash sometimes appeared ignorant, it didn't affect his immense potential. From the perspective of an inexperienced Gym Trainer, Misty was certain Ash would secure a future spot among the Champions.
Maybe even... reaching Leon-level as a Trainer isn't impossible.
Even Leon may not have encountered a Legendary Pokémon so rare that it only appears once in centuries at the start of his travels.
"Well... anyway, I've basked in his glory, too. Without him, perhaps I'd never see Ho-Oh in my lifetime. Traveling with him may be the best decision I've ever made." Misty mumbled softly, then quickly caught up with Ash.
...
At two in the morning, Ash and Misty reached Viridian City, which had turned into a dark city with only streetlights illuminating the roads.
Their plan was to rest for the night before reaching Viridian City, but Ash seemed overly excited, so they hurried through the night.
On the empty nighttime streets, Ash and Misty encountered no obstacles reaching the Viridian City Pokémon Center.
The nurse, Miss Joy, was already asleep; a single Chansey was on night duty at the front desk.
Generally, a Pokémon Center has only one Miss Joy, so the night shifts have to rotate with Pokémon. Otherwise, even if you had a body of iron, you couldn't endure it.
The drowsy Chansey instantly awoke upon hearing movement. Seeing Ash and company, she immediately came over, bowed respectfully, and softly chanted something sounding like 'lucky, lucky.'
"Hello, are there any rooms available here? I'm a Trainer who just started traveling. Here's my identification." Ash showed his Pokedex to the Chansey.
The Pokedex noted the Trainer's departure date and identification, making it an extremely convenient tool, as you wouldn't even need an ID card when traveling with it.
However, only a handful of new Trainers can possess such a tool.
Another point is that, as per league regulations, Trainers within their first year of travel can have free accommodation and daily meals at Pokémon Centers. This is a subsidy for new Trainers, encouraging more young boys and girls to become Trainers.
This subsidy isn't a minor expense for the League, but given the endless stream of talented Trainers that emerge each year, it's undoubtedly valuable.
"Lucky, lucky~" Chansey carefully looked at the Pokedex Ash presented, then nodded with a smile, gesturing that there were available rooms.
"Oh, by the way, this is my travel friend, Misty. She should also be eligible for free accommodation, right?" Ash asked, pointing to Misty.
"Lucky~~" Chansey gestured emphatically, trying to express something. Ordinarily, others wouldn't understand Chansey, but with Aura Power, understanding Pokémon was easy for Ash.
"As long as you share the same room, it's fine. The room has bunk beds... I see, thank you, Chansey." Ash waved and thanked Chansey.
Indeed, the Eye of Insight skill is truly handy; without it, he'd probably be using the Pokedex to find out Chansey's name right now.
But with the Eye of Insight, names at least didn't need to be checked with a Pokedex anymore.