[Wallace: Ash and Suicune are a true two-way bond. Ash gave Suicune hope to live, and Suicune is willing to live for Ash in return.]
[Leon: Mutual devotion like this is always so upright and moving! Suicune is practically reborn from the brink of death—it was completely healed by Ash.]
[Siebold: Now I finally understand why so many Pokémon are so eager to get close to Ash. Who wouldn't like someone willing to sacrifice himself for Pokémon?]
[Delia: Sigh… he's always been like this. Even after growing up, that part of him never changes.]
Delia felt sorrowful.
She didn't oppose her child's love for Pokémon.
After all, Ash's dream since childhood had always been to become a Pokémon Master,
and he had been striving toward that goal all along.
But seeing Ash choose to sacrifice himself to protect Pokémon—
as a mother, her heart still ached to the core.
Even though none of these things had actually happened yet.
[Morty: Isn't anyone paying attention to Ho-Oh?! Ash is way too outrageous—he's summoned Ho-Oh twice already! Saying Ash is Ho-Oh's illegitimate son wouldn't even be an exaggeration.]
[Professor Magnolia: I'm actually more interested in the Terapagos Ho-Oh mentioned. I've never even heard that name before. What kind of deity is it?]
[Cynthia: I only know a little. Terapagos should be a legendary Pokémon tied to the Terastal phenomenon in the Paldea region. It is said to wield the power of eighteen Terastal attributes and is known locally as a "Lesser Creator God."]
[Flint: Huh? Has Lord Arceus's status dropped that low? How is everyone suddenly crowding in on the creator role?]
[Lance: Awakening its original Dragon power?! Damn! A legitimate Water–Dragon! If Suicune fully recovers and awakens its Dragon attribute, wouldn't that mean Ash's team gains yet another Dragon-type powerhouse?!]
[Professor Oak: A Water Dragon, huh? That reminds me of a very interesting legend. According to ancient tales, Suicune, Entei, and Raikou all existed in prehistoric times. Their true forms were dinosaur-like Pokémon, similar to juvenile tyrannosaurs.
Suicune's original form was called Walking Wake—a terrifying being capable of unleashing ultra-high-temperature water streams even under blazing sunlight!]
[Lance: What?! So if Suicune regains its Dragon attribute, it'll revert into Walking Wake?!]
[Lorelei: Someone's mental defenses just broke—but I'm not saying who.]
[Bruno: Lance, is that red nose I see on the ground yours?]
[Lance: You two are enough already! Is it really necessary to kill and then desecrate the corpse?!]
Defense shattered!
Lance was truly broken this time!
It was bad enough that Ash had more "true dragons" than his Dragon-type Pokémon.
Now there were even Legendary-tier true Dragon Pokémon?!
This made him, the Dragon-type Elite Four of Kanto, look utterly ridiculous!
No, this couldn't go on!
If he kept being called the Dragon-type Elite Four like this,
he'd never be able to hold his head up in the Trainer world again!
He had to find a way to become Champion!
Then who would care what type he used?!
Lance applauded his own brilliance—what a clever guy!
[Lorelei: Don't bother thinking about it~ I absolutely won't hold back~]
Lance: GG!
...
On the screen—
The poachers were escorted out of the forest by Officer Jenny and Morty.
News of Ho-Oh's appearance spread like wildfire.
Trainers who had originally come to this area to see Suicune immediately turned their attention toward Ho-Oh instead.
After all, this was the most mysterious Pokémon in all of Kanto—nay, the entire world.
As for Ash,
he and Suicune were rushed to the Pokémon Center by the arriving Nurse Joy.
Even while Ash was undergoing treatment,
Suicune stayed faithfully by his side.
Its Origin power had been temporarily stabilized by Ho-Oh using Sacred Ash.
But to fully recover, it would have to awaken its original Dragon-type Origin.
That meant finding the Pokémon called Terapagos.
The difficulty was immense.
But that wasn't important right now.
Suicune lifted its head and quietly gazed at the boy lying on the bed.
With Ho-Oh's help, Ash's life force had been replenished.
The fatigue on his face had already faded.
As for why he hadn't woken up for so long—
that was due to the mental exhaustion caused by prolonged use of Aura.
He simply needed enough rest.
Yet as it stared at Ash's face,
Suicune felt an unprecedented sense of peace.
"Suicune! Don't die!"
Suddenly,
Ash jolted upright in bed.
His eyes frantically searched the room.
Then, as he lifted his head, he met Suicune's azure gaze.
Seeing the very-much-alive Suicune,
Ash didn't think twice—he threw his arms around it.
"That's great! You're alive—thank goodness you're alive!"
Pure, heartfelt emotion spilled out in that moment.
This instant stirred a ripple in a heart that had been sealed away for centuries.
At this point, whether Terapagos could be found or not
didn't seem that important anymore—
at least not before its life came to an end.
Human lifespans were far shorter than those of Legendary Pokémon.
As long as it could accompany Ash until the end of his life,
that would be enough.
'It's okay. I'm still alive.'
As it spoke, Suicune extended its tongue and gently licked away the tears at the corner of Ash's eyes.
Feeling the dampness on his face,
Ash broke into a joyful smile.
In that moment,
he truly felt that Suicune was alive—undeniably so.
"You have to promise me—promise me you'll live properly. You absolutely can't die!"
Ash stepped back, looking at Suicune with firm determination.
Since he had saved Suicune,
he would never allow it to die like this.
Suicune didn't say much in response.
Instead, it simply smiled.
Terapagos wouldn't be easy to find—after all, even Ho-Oh didn't know its exact location.
Better not mention it for now.
It still had time to accompany the boy before it.
'Would you like to become my partner?'
Suicune tilted its head as it spoke.
That adorable gesture was completely mismatched with Suicune's normally majestic demeanor.
But that single head tilt instantly emptied Ash's HP bar.
"You mean… you want to become my partner?"
'Of course. Who else would it be here, if not you?'
"There's also Pikachu!"
'...'
"Pika pika!"
Only then did Pikachu, who had been hugging Ash, finally let go,
casually waving at Suicune as if nothing had happened.
'So—do you accept?'
"Of course I do! If I can become partners with Suicune, that would be amazing!"
Ash eagerly pulled out a Poké Ball from his pocket
and placed it in front of Suicune.
"It's an honor to become your partner! I hope we can take care of each other on our journey ahead."
Suicune said nothing more.
It reached out and pressed the button at the center of the Poké Ball.
Its body transformed into a red beam of light and was absorbed inside.
With a click,
the Poké Ball confirmed the capture.
Pikachu stepped forward, picked up the Poké Ball,
and handed it back to Ash.
Ash gently tossed the Poké Ball, releasing Suicune once more.
"My name is Ash! My dream is to become a Pokémon Master! I've been working hard toward that goal! I hope we can get along well on the journey ahead!"
Ash smiled brightly as he extended his hand.
Suicune naturally leaned its face against Ash's palm,
rubbing gently with the fur on its forehead.
"Hahaha~"
Laughter echoed through the Pokémon Center's ward.
Ash was happy—not only because he had gained a new partner,
but also because he had saved Suicune's life.
[Chairman Damaranch: Sincere emotions are always so moving. Every time I see Ash capture a Pokémon, it reminds me of my youth. Back then, I too was filled with passion for Pokémon.]
[Lance: Chairman, isn't that the truth! The first time I ever saw Dratini, I resolved to become a Dragon Tamer and worked tirelessly toward that goal.]
[Flint: Same here! I just want to ignite everyone with fiery passion!]
[Diantha: So Ash is basically a succubus to Legendary Pokémon and gods, right? Look—even Suicune, who had already embraced death, chose to rekindle its will to live after just a few words from Ash!]
[Cynthia: Ash's charm is undeniable, but Pokémon respond to him because they're moved by his sincerity. There's no such thing as a "succubus constitution."]
[Caitlin: Let me translate what this tsundere blonde champion means—"I don't know about succubi, I'm just simply attracted to Ash~"][
[Cynthia: You're asking for death.]
[Caitlin: Help! The Sinnoh Champion is trying to kill someone! Hehe~ Just kidding—I'm hiding~ Bleh~ You'll never find me!]
Line after line of messages made the audience cry out,
"I can't watch this!"
But of course, they absolutely couldn't stop watching.
If it was too embarrassing to look straight at it—
they'd just turn their heads and keep watching anyway.
...
On the screen—
After successfully capturing Suicune,
Ash didn't send it back to Professor Oak's lab as usual.
Instead, he settled Suicune in the backyard of the Cerise Laboratory.
After all, before completing his Masters Eight journey,
Ash felt that staying in Vermilion City was more convenient.
There was no helping it—
Vermilion City's transportation was leagues ahead of Pallet Town's.
Moreover, after entering the Ultra Ball tier,
the opponents he was matched with became far more diverse.
His opponents could be from entirely different leagues.
Without convenient transportation,
it would be hard to complete battles within the allotted time.
After all, Ash was charging toward the Masters Eight.
His current ranking had already reached the low 300s!
He was just one step away from the top 100—Ultra Class!
One day, in the Cerise Laboratory's backyard—
Suicune lay resting on the shaded branches of a tree.
As a Legendary Pokémon,
no one in the backyard dared act out of line in front of Suicune.
Of course,
Suicune didn't bother with these Pokémon it viewed as children either.
Days passed leisurely like this.
From time to time, Ash would come chat with it and relax.
Life flowed on calmly.
Although Suicune never proactively mentioned that its Origin power was only temporarily stabilized,
Ash clearly sensed that something was off.
These days,
Ash had been in constant contact with Cynthia.
As a scholar of mythology,
she naturally had research on conditions like Suicune's.
Sure enough,
Cynthia immediately identified Suicune's current state
and proposed the same treatment method as Ho-Oh.
That was Terapagos—
the Legendary Pokémon capable of granting attributes to other Pokémon.
With a concrete treatment plan in hand,
the next step was finding the right person to help.
At Ash's request,
Cynthia readily agreed.
Cynthia really did adore Ash~
...
Meanwhile—
The backyard of the Cerise Laboratory had always followed one rule of survival:
the strong held authority.
On Ash's side, aside from the strongest Suicune and the weakest Alpha Magikarp
(Pikachu not included),
there were originally three Pokémon of roughly equal strength:
the unevolved Riolu,
Scorbunny,
and Farfetch'd.
We walk together as brothers, yet you secretly get stronger.
Farfetch'd hadn't felt much about this phrase before.
But ever since its good friends returned from Galar—
one evolved into Cinderace,
another into Lucario—
their strength had skyrocketed.
Only it remained an obscure Farfetch'd.
Duck was angry.
And when Duck got angry, the consequences were serious.
Driven by determination,
Farfetch'd devised a training plan:
swing its leek ten thousand times a day.
All to continue growing stronger.
Under normal circumstances, Farfetch'd had no possibility of evolving.
But Ash's Farfetch'd wasn't ordinary.
Its place of origin—Galar
(Farfetch'd: You're suspicious!)—
meant it possessed even greater latent potential in its base form.
According to its predecessors' descriptions,
a Farfetch'd that mastered the true power of its leek
would comprehend its ultimate meaning
and grow into Sirfetch'd
(Farfetch'd: You're not actually planning to eat me, are you?!).
Sirfetch'd, according to Galarian records,
is a Pokémon that evolves from Farfetch'd after martial combat.
It possesses calm conviction and a knightly creed—
victory must be achieved honorably and head-on.
An elegant yet powerful Pokémon.
For a long time,
Sirfetch'd had existed only in legend.
Because Farfetch'd that adhered to knightly ideals and remained calm were rare,
even modern Galar had only a handful of Sirfetch'd.
This left Farfetch'd deeply troubled.
It had heard the stories of Sirfetch'd,
but had no idea how it was supposed to evolve.
Especially when its friends had evolved into far stronger forms,
its agitation only grew.
You worry your brothers will suffer—
but you also fear they'll drive luxury cars.
Not only were its brothers not suffering,
they had evolved into even more powerful beings!
Sweat streamed down Farfetch'd face as it continued swinging its leek,
never once giving up.
Even though the leek in its hands felt as heavy as a mountain,
it persisted.
Such resolute eyes
even caught the attention of Suicune resting nearby.
This one had limitless potential.
Few Pokémon caught Suicune's eye—
Farfetch'd was one of them.
That unwavering gaze left Suicune with a favorable impression.
Training alone wouldn't allow Farfetch'd to evolve into Sirfetch'd.
So—
Suicune stood up and gracefully walked over to Farfetch'd.
'Have you ever heard the story of Sirfetch'd?'
Upon hearing Suicune's words,
the Farfetch'd that had been pushing itself instantly froze in shock.
"Ga?!"
When you're sleepy and someone hands you a pillow—
Suicune's words made Duck absolutely ecstatic!
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