On a thick branch covered in clusters of huge leaves, Sylveon saw that Pokemon called Ho-oh.
Ho-oh was gripping the branch below with its two powerful talons, eyes tightly shut, the two black rings of eye-markings looking almost like dark circles from not getting enough sleep.
It seemed to sense someone's arrival, and Ho-oh suddenly opened its eyes wide, looking over this way.
"For what purpose have you two come hither?" Ho-oh asked.
Not long ago it had just returned to the World Tree from outside, planning to rest properly here for a while, and at the same time lend a hand to Naoki, whom it had taken a liking to and judged to have the potential to become a Rainbow Hero.
Once everything was over, it would set off on a new journey again, to search for humans suited to become Rainbow Heroes and bestow upon them the Rainbow Feathers on its body.
"We have something we'd like to ask you, Ho-oh!" Jirachi answered happily.
"Oh?" Ho-oh looked at Jirachi, then at the Pokemon squatting on the branch.
"It's about the Evil Dragon Pokemon!" Jirachi explained in detail: "Sylveon wants to defeat the evil dragon and become a great hero, but Naoki said there are no Evil Dragon Pokemon in this world anymore, so we wanted to come ask you!"
Hearing this, Ho-oh was slightly taken aback.
"Evil Dragon Pokemon?"
"That's right!" Jirachi nodded again and again.
"Bui..." Sylveon lifted its head to look at this sacred Pokemon in front of it, hesitated for a moment, then followed with a nod.
Ho-oh wore a look like it had seen through everything. It pondered briefly, then began carefully recalling its experiences from traveling outside.
Sylveon and Jirachi waited quietly off to the side.
After quite a while, Ho-oh finally spoke again: "Verily, I have heard tell of such."
At these words, Jirachi's and Sylveon's eyes both lit up all at once.
Ho-oh went on: "It is a Dragon-type Pokemon that dwells deep in the mountains. Legends say it comes along with blizzards, devouring children from the town. Not only that, it can also command the power of ice, freezing nearby humans and Pokemon into ice sculptures, so that no human or Pokemon dares approach its lair."
"Bui..."
Ho-oh's majestic voice gradually sketched a terrifying image in Sylveon's heart.
In the town at midnight, a gigantic evil dragon with blood-red eyes descends together with the blizzard.
Fear shrouds the entire town; the people living there scatter and flee, and a child, unlucky enough, slips on the ice and snow, falling and becoming separated from their parents.
The evil dragon seizes the chance and swallows that human child down in one gulp...
"Bui!" So scary!
Sylveon couldn't help but shiver.
When Naoki used to tell it stories, he would just skim over this in a single sentence, never scary at all, but now Ho-oh was describing everything in such detail it was as if it had witnessed it personally...
"Even so, dost thou still wish to challenge it?" Ho-oh turned its gaze on Sylveon.
After much hesitation, Sylveon finally nodded: "Bu, bui!"
Y-yes! It wanted to defeat it, rescue those frozen humans, and like what was written in the stories, b-become a great hero!
That was what it said, but inside Sylveon still felt very afraid; saying it out loud and actually going to do it were completely different feelings.
Could it really defeat that evil dragon?
If it failed, would it be swallowed up by the evil dragon in one bite, never able to return home and see Naoki and everyone again?
Yet Ho-oh seemed to see straight into its heart and did not press the topic, instead saying:
"Thy heart still harbors misgivings. Best thou return once thy resolve be firm."
"Bui..."
Sylveon left Ho-oh's dwelling with a heavy heart and went back down to the Explorer Team Guild.
Jirachi hurried after, flitting back and forth beside Sylveon, asking in puzzlement:
"What's wrong? You don't want to beat the evil dragon and become a hero anymore?"
Sylveon hesitated, then told Jirachi what it was truly thinking inside: "Bui..."
To be honest, it was a bit scared.
It had lived on Naoki Ranch since it was little and had never left Naoki or the ranch.
And from what Ho-oh had said, the evil dragon must be a very powerful Dragon-type Pokemon. If it were so easy to deal with, there would surely already be lots of heroes in this world.
With the strength it had now, it couldn't even beat Glaceon, much less that evil dragon in the blizzard.
Jirachi stopped flying and asked again: "So you're not going to challenge the evil dragon?"
"Bui..."
"It's okay if you don't go challenge it!" Jirachi comforted it cheerfully: "Naoki said everyone should do whatever they want. If you don't want to become a hero, you can join an exploration team and go adventuring on the World Tree instead!"
There's still a lot of undeveloped land on this World Tree. Sometimes everyone forms little exploration teams, heads down to the lower areas, investigates the environment and the Berries growing there, and writes everything down.
Some Pokemon have taken a liking to those places, and are even planning to move there!
Sylveon thought carefully for a moment, then replied, "Bui."
It was planning to go ask Naoki!
Naoki is like their mom and dad rolled into one, so he'll definitely be able to give it some good advice!
Sylveon immediately decided to return to the ranch.
Meanwhile, Naoki was in the middle of giving a bath to a few of the big Pokemon at home.
Koraidon, Cyclizar, and Dragonite were standing in a neat line on the grass while Naoki held the garden hose, spraying down the scales on their bodies.
The few Pokemon stood there obediently, letting Naoki use Water Gun to help them bathe.
Once their bodies were soaked, the next step was to rub on body wash. Naoki took out the Pokemon body wash he'd bought at the department store, squeezed some onto his hands, and started rubbing it all over Koraidon.
Koraidon was made all itchy, and couldn't help letting out a chuckling laugh: "A-ga-sii!"
In just a short while, its whole body was covered in a layer of white foam.
Naoki used to buy those kinds of body washes that hardly lather at all, so this was his first time using one that made so much foam.
At a glance, the Pokemon looked like it was dressed in a fluffy cotton suit, even its tail was completely smeared with bubbles. Only Koraidon's pair of golden eyes and a bit of its Red scales were still visible.
Cyclizar and Dragonite watched curiously from the side, finding Koraidon's current look absolutely ridiculous.
Naoki said with a squinting smile, "You two are up next!"
Cyclizar and Dragonite's eyes flew wide open at once, completely resistant, even wanting to turn around and run away.
But there was no way Koraidon was going to let them escape. Before Naoki could even say anything, it suddenly pushed off hard with both legs, leaping over their heads and blocking the way in front of Dragonite and Cyclizar.
Foam flew through the air, white "snow" splashing all over the ground.
Naoki: "..."
"Honestly, is it really that scary? Yesterday Pawmot and Ogerpon were having a great time when they took a bath!" he said.
Ogerpon had even started actively playing with the bubbles all over its body.
Koraidon grabbed them, one paw each, and dragged Dragonite and Cyclizar back.
The two Pokemon looked utterly miserable, with dead-fish expressions, forced to let Naoki smear foam all over them.
"Gaa-ao..."
"Owoo..."
"A-ga-sii!"
Little Indeedee, holding a few bath towels, stood off to the side watching the scene, unable to suppress its laughter.
"Little Indeedee and Big Indeedee both bathe themselves. Look at you guys—always rolling around outside until you're covered in dust, and the other day when it drizzled you even came inside with mud still stuck to your feet!" Naoki said, pointing accusingly at their noses.
Cyclizar and Dragonite both looked pitiful and wronged.
Only Koraidon puffed its chest out proudly.
"A-ga-sii!"
It wasn't talking about him anyway—he's the only one who goes down to the river to wash up properly before coming home!
Seeing Koraidon's attitude, Cyclizar and Dragonite couldn't help widening their eyes.
How annoying! No wonder they'd seen this guy specially go down to the river to wash its feet a few days ago—so this is what it was getting ready for!
Stupid dragon! And it didn't even tell them!
Naoki watched the interaction between his Pokemon, grinning.
The Pokemon at his place were getting along more and more harmoniously!
"Okay, I'll rinse you off, and then you can go play!"
As he spoke, Naoki used the tap to wash the bubbles off the three Pokemon, then took the bath towels from Little Indeedee's hands and helped them dry off.
Just then, Sylveon came running back alone from the World Tree as a single Eevee.
It found Naoki and told him about what it had encountered earlier up on the World Tree, as well as the rumor about the Ice Evil Dragon that Ho-oh had told it.
"Bui bui!"
After listening, Naoki was momentarily stunned.
An Ice Evil Dragon that, on Blizzard nights, breaks into human towns and eats children… why did that description sound so familiar?