Chapter 365: "Trust Me, Ho-Oh — Arceus Personally Recognized Me!"
"Ho-Oh, you're finally here! Come help me!"
Mammon shouted excitedly toward Ho-Oh.
But in truth, Ho-Oh hadn't registered a single word this naturally-villainous human was shouting at it. Because its eyes, its entire mind, had already been completely overwhelmed.
To the left, Origin Forme Giratina was systematically pounding Origin Forme Palkia into submission.
To the right, Complete Kyurem was riding Complete Forme Zygarde like a mount while blasting it with ice breath.
Up above to the left, Stellar Terapagos and Shadow Lugia were locked in a furious exchange of blasts.
Up above to the right, Dialga and Primal Kyogre were passionately going toe-to-toe.
Dead center overhead, Mega Mewtwo Y and dark-horse Calyrex were also trading blows.
And slightly higher still, one black and one green Mega Rayquaza were locked in what looked almost like an elegant, whirling dance.
Ho-Oh's entire bird brain simply broke.
Who am I? Where am I?
Had Arceus finally lost patience with this entire world and set all these Legendaries loose to brawl each other into oblivion — was the apocalypse actually happening right now?
Ho-Oh froze completely in midair.
Heaven have mercy — across its entire long life, it had genuinely never seen a spectacle this outrageous, this insane.
What in the world was going on here?
"Ho-Oh! What are you doing?!"
A familiar, unwelcome human voice cut through, finally snapping Ho-Oh back to its senses.
"Stop spacing out and get over here and help — that evil Hoopa's been chasing me nonstop, it's genuinely dangerous!"
But the moment it came back to itself, Ho-Oh made what it firmly believed was the single wisest decision of its life.
It beat its wings once and turned around without a backward glance, taking off.
"Wait — Ho-Oh! Don't run away!"
Mammon was genuinely stunned — what exactly was this giant, shiny, big-mouthed bird playing at?
"Ho-Oh? HO-OH!!"
But our beloved Ho-Oh remained thoroughly deaf to Mammon's "heartfelt" cries, simply accelerating away faster.
Goddammit!! That damned lowlife — the instant he came looking for it, it just KNEW nothing good was coming from it! First Black Rayquaza, then that three-in-one Complete Kyurem, and now he's dragging it straight into WORLD WAR THREE?!
Is this the kind of thing a rational human being even DOES??
What kind of place even IS this? Ho-Oh's eyes darted around — it could spot several genuinely terrifying figures here, more than capable of pounding it flat into the ground.
Was it seriously supposed to just walk into THAT?
Not happening. Never happening. Absolutely, categorically never happening.
It had told him repeatedly, in no uncertain terms — whenever anything like this happens, do NOT come looking for it, do NOT drag it into it. And the damned human went and did it AGAIN anyway!
Fine. FINE. You started this, don't blame me for finishing it. We're through, done, never crossing paths again!
"Ho-Oh?! Wait, hold on!"
But Ho-Oh said nothing, simply accelerating its flight faster.
It had already made up its mind — it would not, under any circumstances, look back. It would die before it looked back.
And then...
"Even Ho-Oh's kind of pathetic, huh." Confined Hoopa stared, genuinely astonished — it had never once seen a Legendary this openly turn tail and flee before.
"Tch~ Hoopa, snatch it back. It came all this way and now it wants to leave? No such luck." Mammon clicked his tongue twice.
At the same time, he had Shadow Lugia hold Evil Hoopa in place for the moment, buying them time — since if Evil Hoopa kept chasing them relentlessly, there'd be no chance to negotiate with Ho-Oh at all.
"You got it!" Confined Hoopa immediately pulled out its last still-usable ring.
Both Confined Hoopa and Hoopa Unbound could only summon as many Legendaries as they had active rings to work with. Since Confined Hoopa could only control three rings, it could only summon three Pokémon at a time — and it had already used two of them summoning Kyurem and Black Rayquaza.
In theory, Mammon could have saved that Black Rayquaza slot, since Young Rayquaza could have used "Dad, save me" — but Mammon had been genuinely worried Black Rayquaza would get snatched away by Evil Hoopa before it even had the chance to arrive. Not that it mattered now — the current lineup was more than sufficient regardless.
"Hoopa~ snatch it up!"
At Confined Hoopa's chant, the expanding ring released a thoroughly bewildered-looking Ho-Oh, flying straight out of it.
The instant it passed through the ring and spotted that naturally-villainous human again, Ho-Oh's avian face went sour instantly.
"HUMAN!!!"
Ho-Oh gritted its beak in fury, though this time it didn't bother trying to flee — it knew perfectly well that would be pointless now.
"Ho-Oh, I genuinely need your help this time. You can see it, can't you — that evil monster over there is trying to hunt us down."
Mammon wore an expression of pure sincerity.
"I refuse. Send me back right now!" Ho-Oh was thoroughly decisive.
"Ho-Oh, you once said, as long as it doesn't go against your wishes..."
"Human! This is a SEVERE violation of my wishes!"
Ho-Oh's telepathic voice nearly cracked with sheer pitch, one wing gesturing, thoroughly human-like, toward the battlefield.
"Look at what's fighting out there! You want ME to go fight THEM?! I'll be beaten to DEATH, you absolute bastard!"
Ho-Oh could never in its wildest dreams have imagined it would someday find itself dragged into a brawl at this tier of top-tier Legendary chaos. It was just a humble Ho-Oh, thank you very much — asking it to hold a camera and film this massive Legendary free-for-all, sure, it could grudgingly accept that.
But asking it to actually WADE INTO the fight itself? What had it ever done to deserve THIS?
"It'll be fine, Ho-Oh. I believe in you."
"Thanks so much for that, really. I refuse. Send me back right now."
Ho-Oh's stance was thoroughly resolute, its gaze more unwavering than it had ever been in its entire existence.
"Ho-Oh, you're a Legendary Pokémon renowned for boundless compassion — how many people worship and revere you? Can you truly bear to watch Hoopa get hurt by something this genuinely evil?"
Mammon's words carried genuine, heartfelt appeal.
Confined Hoopa played along perfectly, looking up at Ho-Oh with eyes full of tears.
"Heh~ you're worried it might hurt Hoopa, but you're not worried it might hurt ME?" Ho-Oh simply let out a cold laugh in response.
It wasn't falling for this at all — it had already seen straight through this shameless human. Trying to trick it into playing punching bag? Not happening!
"Tch~ Ho-Oh, you kidnapped my own brother once, you know!"
Mammon had no choice but to resort to full-on guilt-tripping!
"That was NEVER my intention! And besides, human, I've already helped you TWICE already!"
But Ho-Oh's righteously indignant response left Mammon genuinely stumped for a moment.
Wait, this wasn't right — when had Ho-Oh gotten this shameless? It never used to be like this.
"Ho-Oh, going back on your word like this really isn't a good look, is it? This is the absolute last time, I promise."
"I have NOT gone back on my word! Our original agreement was that it wouldn't violate MY wishes — and shouldn't it also fall within what I'm actually CAPABLE of doing?!"
Ho-Oh argued its case fiercely, absolutely refusing to admit it was breaking any promise — insisting instead that someone was simply, deliberately putting it through the wringer.
"Oh come ON, you giant turkey, have you no shame at all?"
"Naturally-villainous human! YOU'RE the one with no shame! And you're literally RIDING Yveltal right now!"
Ho-Oh glared furiously at Mammon — calling it a "giant turkey," of all things! What an absolutely despicable man!
Yveltal: "???"
Yveltal, which had been minding its own business enjoying the show, immediately turned a decidedly unfriendly look on Ho-Oh at that.
What exactly did "giant turkey" mean, anyway?
"Do you even know who I am? I happen to be..."
Mammon decided it was time to pull out his ultimate trump card.
But right at that moment, a chill shot straight down Mammon's spine, and he immediately smacked Yveltal on instinct.
Yveltal shot upward on pure reflex.
Ho-Oh was still puzzled about what Yveltal was even doing — and then, in the very next instant, a massive burst of black energy filled its entire field of vision.
Ho-Oh's expression went white with horror. That damned Yveltal!!
It immediately tried to dodge — but it was simply too sudden!
BOOM!
Evil Hoopa's Dark Pulse detonated violently right on top of Ho-Oh.
Ho-Oh let out an agonized shriek, its whole body sent flying by the blast. Ow, ow, OW!
Even with Ho-Oh's own remarkable natural durability, that single hit of Dark Pulse still left it genuinely, sharply in pain — Evil Hoopa's attacks really did hit devastatingly hard.
"This thing really is set on ambushing us at every turn." Mammon licked his lips, watching the furious Evil Hoopa glaring at them from across the field.
Shadow Lugia was already fairly badly hurt at this point too — after all, it had been forced to simultaneously fend off Stellar Terapagos's assault while trying its best to intercept Evil Hoopa. That was genuinely a lot to ask of it.
Rainbow flames flickering across its body, Ho-Oh raised its head and gazed silently up at the sky. This was genuinely too much suffering.
"You alright, Ho-Oh?"
"Human, to use your own kind's expression — I must have owed you an enormous debt in a past life."
Having taken a full hit of Dark Pulse from Evil Hoopa, Ho-Oh's earlier fury seemed to have cooled somewhat.
Yeah — as far as Mammon was concerned, the giant turkey had just been a little worked up before, hence the rebellious attitude.
"Ho-Oh, trust in my own character here. I'm someone Arceus itself personally blessed, remember."
Mammon pulled out the Azure Flute, deploying his ultimate trump card directly.
"???"
Ho-Oh's avian eyes widened, staring at the Azure Flute in Mammon's hand, then back at Mammon, then back at the Flute, over and over.
Ho-Oh fell into stunned silence. Ho-Oh opened its beak as though to say something, then stopped. Ho-Oh's gaze went genuinely, thoroughly blank.
Had the Great One, the Creator itself, developed cataracts in its old age?
Or had this naturally-villainous human simply... found it lying around somewhere?
"Fine. For its sake, I'll help you one last time." Ho-Oh finally relented, its voice thick with genuine bitterness, hoping only that it wouldn't end up beaten to death.
"Don't worry, you won't need to fight any of those Legendaries directly. All you need to do is help us hold off that evil Hoopa."
Mammon put the Azure Flute away, thoroughly pleased — honestly, that thing really was ridiculously effective.
"Once Kyurem and the others finish off their opponents, you'll be free to retire from the field with honor, Ho-Oh."
Mammon promised.
"I certainly hope so." Ho-Oh glanced over toward Complete Kyurem's side of the battlefield.
Complete Forme Zygarde had, by this point, been thoroughly pinned to the ground and pummeled by Complete Kyurem, its entire body coated in frost. Genuinely a pitiful sight.
Not that Ho-Oh found it especially surprising, though — it had personally experienced Complete Kyurem's overwhelming strength firsthand before, after all.
"Good! Use Light Screen and Reflect first, then get out there, Ho-Oh!"
Mammon was thoroughly satisfied with Ho-Oh's resolve.
Still, he made sure to give Ho-Oh a heads-up first — without Light Screen and Reflect up, Ho-Oh genuinely risked getting beaten to death by Evil Hoopa. That thing really did hit without any restraint whatsoever.
Honestly, Ho-Oh didn't even need the reminder — with its now extensive experience getting beaten up, it was thoroughly professional on this particular front by now.
With Light Screen and Reflect deployed, Ho-Oh let out a piercing cry, rainbow flame igniting across its whole body, launching into a fearless charge straight at Evil Hoopa!
Ho-Oh has entered the fray!
Seeing Ho-Oh charging straight at it, Evil Hoopa let out a furious roar, three spatial rings forming ahead of it.
Hyperspace Fury!
Three fists, wreathed in dark energy, slammed violently toward Ho-Oh. Ho-Oh halted its flight instantly, surging rainbow flame rising to meet the incoming fists.
Sacred Fire!
But the two attacks barely made contact for an instant before Hyperspace Fury tore straight through Sacred Fire.
THUD!
Hyperspace Fury slammed brutally into Ho-Oh's body, the Reflect barrier flaring to life, softening the impact somewhat.
Even so, Ho-Oh still let out an agonized shriek, its entire body sent flying, barely managing to steady itself in the air. Still, the sharp, searing pain in its chest left its face twisted in a visible grimace.
"With Ho-Oh as a meat shield, we don't need to worry too much."
Watching this unfold, Mammon relaxed considerably. Sure, Ho-Oh alone couldn't fully monopolize Evil Hoopa's attention — but with its interference in play, Yveltal would have a much easier time dodging Evil Hoopa's attacks going forward.
Which meant, from here, things should stay reasonably safe.
Once Complete Kyurem and Giratina finished off Complete Forme Zygarde and Origin Palkia, they'd be free to lend support.
How could he possibly lose?! Mammon clicked his tongue with genuine satisfaction. With Complete Kyurem, a Shiny Rayquaza, and Origin Giratina all in hand, who in this world could possibly stand against him?!
"VANISH! VANISH!! VANISH!!!"
Evil Hoopa let out a savage, furious roar, its aura growing more and more unhinged.
Its resentful gaze bore directly into Confined Hoopa, and into Mammon, still holding it in his arms.
And sensing the sheer depth of Evil Hoopa's hatred, every single Legendary under its control had their crimson eyes flare even brighter and more intense.
Their auras synchronized, growing more savage still, their fighting styles turning increasingly reckless, trading blow for blow without any regard for their own safety.
"Geh-ss~"
Tera Starstorm forced Shadow Lugia back, and Stellar Terapagos let out a high, resonant cry, its gaze turning toward Mammon, eyes flickering with an eerie, unsettling light.
Spacetime itself began to ripple — and not just spatiotemporal distortion, either. A thread of golden light, appearing from seemingly nowhere, wound its way through the ripples, twisting their trajectory.
"Huh? Mamon? MAMON??"
Confined Hoopa suddenly felt its arms go empty, and turning to look, found — to its genuine shock — that Mammon, right behind it, had simply vanished without a trace.
Wait, no! Where did Mammon GO?!
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