Maritime World.
In front of the large screen on Island 14 of the Sabaody Archipelago, countless people from all over the world had gathered.
In this world, not every household owned a "screen." In fact, it was more common for people not to have one, as this technology had never been widely popularized.
"Ho-oh? Never heard of such a Pokémon before."
"A legendary Pokémon?"
"I wonder what it looks like."
"Sounds powerful."
"I suppose you can only see it on Pokémon Island?"
The big screen broadcasted the entire opening ceremony live, and what Dak said was naturally recorded by the Pokémon Global Terminal.
Everyone was very curious about "Ho-oh."
Even though they hadn't seen the true appearance of Ho-oh, nor had any way to imagine it, the colorful flame burning brightly on the torch Hancock had taken had already given them an unusual feeling.
In their hearts, they had begun to describe Ho-oh with words like "divine" and "noble."
Dak didn't know what everyone would think once they found out Ho-oh looked a lot like a Fearow.
"Ho-oh, where can one see it?" Hancock looked at the flame that was so close.
Although flame is supposed to be a symbol of heat, Hancock didn't feel any burning sensation from this flame, only a gentle warmth.
With such a feeling, her imagination of Ho-oh became even fuller than that of others who could only imagine based on the flame.
In Hancock's heart, Ho-oh now also had the tags of "gentle and kind."
But beyond that, Hancock also began to feel a longing for Ho-oh.
She wanted to make a "divine Pokémon" like Ho-oh her partner.
The reason was that she wanted to live up to her idol, Dak. As a man who owned a "divine Pokémon," Hancock felt that if she could make Ho-oh her partner, she would be closer to Dak.
Therefore, she wanted to know where Ho-oh was.
"Ho-oh is somewhere on Pokémon Island, at a place called Bell Tower, which is its resting place."
Hearing Hancock's question, Dak grinned.
In reality, there was no such place as Bell Tower on Pokémon Island.
The Bell Tower was a tall tower east of Ecruteak City in the Pokémon world, and it used to be Ho-oh's resting place. Suicune, Entei, and Raikou—the three sacred beasts—were revived by Ho-oh in that place.
On the western side of Ecruteak City was the Tin Tower, where Lugia resided.
The two towers were originally built to commemorate the friendship between humans and Pokémon.
However, after the Tin Tower was burned down in a massive fire, both Ho-oh and Lugia left Ecruteak City. Ho-oh began searching for the Rainbow Hero with a pure heart, while Lugia went to the depths of the Whirl Islands to start a family.
All of these were legends from the Pokémon world, and Dak wouldn't document them.
But in the future, legends about Ho-oh and Lugia would surely spread here as well.
The Bell Tower and Tin Tower would also be built eventually, and leaving people with a hope like this was kind of interesting for now.
"Bell Tower..."
Hancock murmured, remembering the name.
At the same time, countless people watching from screens also noted down the name.
Many travelers began pondering when they might go looking for the Bell Tower.
"Miss Hancock, it's getting late. Please start the torch relay."
Seeing that they had lingered here for quite some time, Dak signaled it was time to begin.
"Hmm."
Hancock snapped out of her thoughts and nodded.
Under the eyes of the crowd, Hancock and Serperior began running from the starting point towards the northern part of Alliance City.
The crowd watched the tall figure, especially admiring the high heels stepping beneath those long legs.
Sometimes, one couldn't help but be amazed by the strength of women. Running such a long distance in ten-centimeter heels was truly something fierce.
Although the number of onlookers on the roadsides decreased during Hancock's run, the number of people watching her on screens gradually increased.
As the first torchbearer of the first-ever Pokémon Battle Tournament, and even the first torchbearer in the entire history of the tournament, Boa Hancock's name would definitely go down in history and make her famous in multiple worlds in the future.
During the entire torch relay, the torchbearer would never feel lonely.
Dak wanted every torchbearer, and everyone watching from the screens, to understand one thing: Pokémon would always accompany you.
...
About half an hour later, Hancock had already run ten kilometers, which was two-thirds of the course.
A normal person would struggle to run ten kilometers, needing between sixty and ninety minutes, and even a strong individual would need forty-five minutes.
For Hancock to manage ten kilometers in half an hour while wearing high heels was beyond incredible.
The main reason was her own physique. Even though the suppressive effects of Pokémon Island acted on her, her physical condition was still far superior to that of most ordinary people.
"Huff... Huff..."
Hancock was already panting, her breathing slightly disordered.
"Ser~"
Serperior, who was running alongside, looked at Hancock with some concern.
Although it was also quite tired, it was still in a better state than Hancock since Pokémon were not affected by any suppression on Pokémon Island.
"It's fine."
Hancock, stubborn as she was, refused to admit exhaustion, even though she was clearly fatigued.
"Sssss~"
"Sss~"
Suddenly, the sound of numerous snakes could be heard from both sides of the path.
Hancock and Serperior looked at the roadsides in confusion. Without them realizing it, a variety of serpent Pokémon had appeared, accompanying their run.
Seviper, Ekans, Arbok, Onix, Dragonair...
Many wild serpent Pokémon appeared on both sides of the path, running alongside Hancock.
This was a surprise that Dak had prepared for the torchbearers.
During the long-distance run, wild Pokémon matching well with each torchbearer would appear to accompany them.
Of course, the runner passing through the city center might not have such a great experience.
The crowds in the city center were too large, and the roads too congested for Pokémon to run alongside them, so flying-type Pokémon would have to take up the job instead.
"...."
Hancock looked at the adorable Pokémon and couldn't help but smile.
Suddenly, she felt significantly lighter, as if these Pokémon had taken on much of her burden.
The second torchbearer was Sabo.
"Good job."
Sabo politely acknowledged Hancock, who was already breathing heavily, and took the flame from her.
When the torch was in his hand, he realized that this wasn't just a simple relay.
This flame relay certainly had some special meaning, though at this point, no one could clearly perceive it; they could only dimly sense it.
"It's all yours."
Hancock, already exhausted, didn't want to say anything more.
Though she had sparred with Sabo a few times over the past month at the Pokémon Club, she wasn't the type to talk much with people she wasn't close with.
After the flame was passed to Sabo, his companion Pokémon was Typhlosion.
"Roar!"
Typhlosion was noticeably more energetic and enthusiastic compared to Serperior, growing excited as soon as the run began.
"Haha, slow down, slow down, there's still a long way to go ahead."
Sabo wiped some cold sweat from his forehead.
He had a feeling that running the entire route would take him quite some time, as his physical condition wasn't as great as Hancock's.
But Sabo wasn't someone who would easily give up; he would grit his teeth and keep running.
Midway through Sabo's run, a large group of fire-type Pokémon appeared from the plains on both sides, joining in the run.
After an hour and a quarter, the third torchbearer finally took over.
"Well, well, hard work, young man."
This greeting clearly indicated that the torchbearer, Kuzan, had been set up by his colleagues.
He could see that Sabo didn't even have the strength to speak, so after taking the torch, Kuzan began running at a leisurely pace.
From this point onwards, they had entered Alliance City's urban area.
It was already past eight o'clock, and there were gradually more onlookers on both sides of the path, though not yet in large numbers.
Kuzan had excellent control over his running pace, maintaining it at an energy-efficient level, controlling his breathing, and barely feeling fatigued.
It could only be said that, as a former admiral who had undergone rigorous training, Kuzan had surely done his fair share of running under Zephyr's guidance.
Kuzan's companion Pokémon was Glalie, who effortlessly floated in mid-air throughout the entire run.
"Surprisingly, it's quite a nice experience."
When Kuzan felt the surrounding temperature drop and saw various ice-type Pokémon appear, his mindset shifted slightly.
It felt like participating in such an event was quite a meaningful thing.
At least, he probably wouldn't regret it in the future.
Kuzan finished his fifteen-kilometer run in just half an hour, ranking second among the eight participants in terms of time.
The fastest was Newgate, who covered the distance quickly due to his long strides and excellent physical condition.
The fourth torchbearer was Dracule Mihawk.
His companion Pokémon? Psyduck.
Mihawk had originally planned for Psyduck to cling to his head while he ran, carrying it with him.
But at such a time, the little duck showed its stubborn side, insisting on waddling along with its small legs beside Mihawk.
Mihawk ended up being the slowest runner since he had to stop and wait several times for the exhausted Psyduck.
The Pokémon that appeared along this route were rather peculiar, consisting mostly of slow, seemingly dumb-looking Pokémon.
They didn't run with Mihawk but simply watched him and Psyduck from the roadsides, cheering them on.
(End of Chapter)
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