"What's happening with them?" The girl was momentarily stunned as the fierce Spearow retreated, leaving her somewhat dazed. Had they really just withstood an attack from a flock of Spearow?

"They probably realized they couldn't win and got scared..." the boy explained to the girl.

"But why didn't they flee?" The girl looked puzzled as she watched the Spearow circling nearby. If they were scared, why were they still hovering close by instead of leaving?

"It's because of their companions," the boy suggested, turning his gaze to the Spearow lying on the ground. Those who had lost their ability to fight were likely the reason the rest of the flock hadn't left.

The girl nodded slowly, her expression complex as she looked up at the circling Spearow. Despite their ferocity, Spearows were also incredibly loyal to their flock. Even in such dire circumstances, they refused to abandon their fallen comrades.

"Let's go..." The boy had no desire to finish off the wounded. After all, it was their disturbance that had triggered the Spearow's relentless pursuit in the first place.

"Yeah..." The girl nodded, withdrew her Poké Balls, and recalled Staryu and Starmie. Stepping onto the pedal on the back of the bike, she looked back one last time and saw that the Spearow had flown to their companions' side to guard the unconscious members of their flock.

The girl pursed her lips. Although the Spearow had attacked her, their loyalty touched her in an unexpected way, instilling a feeling of respect for not abandoning their mates.

After they had put some distance between themselves and the Spearow, the boy finally stopped the bike again. The girl dismounted, and the boy, exhausted, collapsed to the ground, not caring about the mud.

"That was really close. Luckily it rained, or we might not have been able to get away from those Spearow..." The boy's tension eased, and he felt incredibly tired.

"Pika pi..." Pikachu slumped tiredly into the boy's lap, equally exhausted. This fierce battle was unlike anything it had ever experienced, and it had drained a great deal of its energy.

"You're still joking about this!" The girl frowned upon hearing the boy's words, ready to scold him, but seeing his exhausted appearance, her heart softened and she held back her criticism.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this..." The boy looked up at the girl with an apologetic expression. "By the way, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Ash, from Pallet Town, and this is my partner, Pikachu!"

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"Pika pika—!" Pikachu waved at the girl, expressing gratitude.

Hearing the words "Pallet Town," the girl raised an eyebrow and then extended her right hand to the boy. "My name is Misty, from Cerulean City."

"Nice to meet you! And thank you for your help!" Ash grasped Misty's offered hand, pulling himself to his feet and smiling gratefully at her.

"You don't need to be so formal..." Misty paused, slightly taken aback by Ash's warm smile, and then responded hesitantly.

Just then, the rain began to lessen, and the skies started to clear, a ray of sunlight shining down and enveloping them both.

"The rain's stopped!" Ash suddenly looked up at the sky, reminded of something, and Misty, puzzled by his action, also looked up.

"What? Is there something in the sky..." Before she could finish, a look of astonishment spread across Misty's face, for in the clearing skies above, not far away, a peculiar bird Pokémon appeared in her line of sight!

"This... this... this..." Misty opened her mouth, wanting to say something but too shocked to find the right words. The Pokémon before her eyes was the legendary Pokémon, Ho-Oh, the ruler of the skies!

Ho-Oh was large, enveloped in a golden glow. Its passage left a trail of faint, shimmering light that looked both dazzling and mystical.

"Pika..." Pikachu uttered in awe. The beauty of Ho-Oh was unlike anything it had ever seen, igniting a desire within it to one day reach such majestic heights.

"Ho-Oh... the legendary Pokémon..." Ash stared at Ho-Oh, his eyes ablaze with fervor. This was his dream, to one day stand before Ho-Oh and challenge it!

Seeing Ash and Misty's gaze, Ho-Oh slightly lowered its head to look towards them, a movement that left Misty rigid, too fearful to move.

This was a being perched atop the pinnacle of the world, capable of ending her life with ease. Although Misty knew that Ho-Oh wouldn't harm humans lightly, the gravity of its presence was overwhelming.

After a brief glance at Misty, Ho-Oh's attention settled on Ash and Pikachu. There was a trace of immeasurable curiosity in its eyes as it sensed an unusual aura from Pikachu, an essence that rivaled its own.

Pausing momentarily, Ho-Oh then averted its gaze and continued on its path, but a single feather dislodged from its body and fluttered down from the sky, eventually coming to hover in front of Ash.

"This..." Ash was stunned by the feather before him, and he quickly looked up in the direction of Ho-Oh, only to find that it had already vanished from his sight without looking back.

"Ho-Oh's feather!" Misty exclaimed, her voice tinged with envy as she looked at Ash. She understood that the feather was not meant for her but for Ash.

"People say that seeing Ho-Oh brings eternal happiness, and you even received a feather from it..." Misty's expression was complex as she gazed at Ash, puzzled by what might have drawn Ho-Oh's favor to him.

In this world, even sighting Ho-Oh was exceedingly rare, let alone receiving a gift from it. Misty felt that Ash might be the only human ever to receive such a token from Ho-Oh.

"Do you want it? Then... here, it's yours." Ash reached out, grasped the floating feather, and offered it to Misty without any hesitation.

"What?!" Misty was clearly taken aback by Ash's gesture. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and after a moment of internal struggle, she shook her head vigorously, "No, it was given to you by Ho-Oh, not me."

"Because it was given to me, it is now mine to give, and I want to give it to you as a thank you for your help just now!" Ash insisted earnestly.

"No, it's too precious. If it were something else, I'd accept it," Misty still shook her head, unable to accept such a valuable gift. The feather of Ho-Oh was far too precious for her to take lightly.