"Big sis Dawn, can you please help me convince Ash to release Suicune?"
At the Pokémon Center, a crying Mai, who had returned moments later, was hugging Dawn's leg, looking pitiful. After discovering that her childhood friend, Suicune, had been caught, Mai had quickly gotten back on her Drifloon and rushed to the Pokémon Center to plead for its release. Mai, smart for her age, didn't approach Ash directly. Instead, she went to Dawn, who was standing nearby, trying a different approach. It was clear to her that Dawn and Ash had a special relationship.
"I... I'm sorry, Mai. That's a Pokémon Ash caught, so I can't make that decision on my own!" Although she felt sorry for Mai's friend being caught, she wasn't so sympathetic that she would convince Ash to release the Pokémon. She didn't want to make Ash feel uncomfortable, and besides, her mother's words about the rules of Pokémon rang true.
According to her mother, if a Pokémon is caught fairly, it belongs to the trainer. So from the moment Suicune was caught, no one had the right to tell Ash to release it unless it was his personal choice.
"Then... Big Brother Ash..." With her first attempt unsuccessful, Mai could only look at Ash with her tearful, watery eyes.
"No way!" His refusal was firm and decisive. Although she was a high-status little girl, he wasn't going to fall for it. Besides, as a trainer, he had the right to capture a Pokémon that hadn't been caught yet. He turned his head, hardening his heart, and refused the smart little girl who knew his weak spot. But Mai continued to cling to his weak spot—Dawn—with a pitiful expression that made Dawn, with her bleeding heart, not know what to do. So she could only imitate Ash and turn her head, refusing to look at the crying Mai.
"Mai, what's all this about?"
Just then, the mature Nurse Joy and the teenage Nurse Joy, along with Brock, who was wearing an apron, walked out of the kitchen. It was clear what the three of them had been doing inside.
"Mai, what's wrong? You can't just cling to our guests like that!" Ayaka, the older sister, came forward to pull Mai off Dawn's leg and wipe her tears.
"Sis... our friend... it... it got caught..." Mai sobbed, burying her head in her sister's arms.
"Oh, Mai..." Ayaka felt sympathetic as she held her sobbing sister. The two were very close, and Ayaka knew that Mai's "friend" was a special Pokémon that had been by her side for a long time. It was only natural for Mai to be sad that someone else had caught it. However, the situation was complicated. It was perfectly normal for a trainer to catch a Pokémon they liked, so they couldn't just ask Ash to release it because Mai wanted them to. This didn't align with the principles of the Joy family.
"Ash, what happened here?" Brock took off his apron and walked over, a confused look on his face. He thought Ash and Dawn had gone on a date, using "training in the forest" as an excuse. It was clear to his "Brock's eyes" what was happening. So why had they made the cute Nurse Joy cry?
"Uh... it's a bit complicated. We can talk about it later?" Ash said, with a headache, looking at the gossipy Brock.
"I'm sorry, everyone. Please forgive my daughter's behavior." The mature Nurse Joy's face was filled with apology. A Joy family member shouldn't ask a trainer to release a Pokémon without cause.
"Waaaah!" Seeing that her mother and sister wouldn't help her, Mai cried even harder. Her wails echoed throughout the lobby.
Bang!
The sound of a Poké Ball was heard, and Suicune's graceful figure appeared in the lobby. It slowly walked towards Mai and nuzzled her head.
"Suicune!" x3
Brock, the mature Nurse Joy, and the teenage Nurse Joy all looked on in shock. The mature Nurse Joy, in particular, thought her daughter's "mysterious and beautiful Pokémon" was something like a wild Milotic, not a Legendary like Suicune. The mature Nurse Joy was more composed. Having a family, her experience had grown in every aspect. As for Brock, he was just surprised that Ash had caught his first Legendary. He had seen many Legendary Pokémon on his journey, but he had never seen a trainer actually catch one.
"Hmph! So you finally decided to come out!" Ash said. He wasn't surprised that Suicune could break out of a Great Ball. If even Brock's Croagunk could do it, why couldn't a Legendary Pokémon like Suicune?
"Suicune!" Mai, seeing the familiar figure, cried even harder and hugged the blue gem on its head. Suicune looked cautiously at Ash. When he nodded, it lowered its head to comfort the sobbing Mai.
"Does this mean Mai has Suicune's approval?" Ayaka immediately understood what was happening and exchanged a look with her mother. It reminded them of a rumor from Kanto: a distant relative of theirs, a Nurse Joy, became a police officer and had the approval of Latias. It seemed her younger sister was in the same situation, but she had run into a powerful trainer like Ash, who had forcefully caught the Pokémon. If it weren't for Ash, Suicune might have chosen Mai as its trainer.
"Ayaka, don't think about it anymore, got it?" The mature Nurse Joy looked at her daughter and reminded her. No matter what happened before, Suicune was now a captured Pokémon. It belonged to someone else.
"I..." Ayaka looked at her mother, wanting to say something, but couldn't find the words. In the end, she could only reluctantly say, "I understand, Mother."
"Miss Joy, how about we talk somewhere else?" Ash saw how the two Joys were acting and knew his plan was working. He spoke directly.
"Is that really what you're going to do?" Dawn murmured, not understanding. On the way back to the Pokémon Center, Ash had told her about his plan for Suicune. It was so simple and crude that she was confused. It was as if Suicune was an insignificant Pokémon in his eyes.
"Alright." The mature Nurse Joy was a bit surprised, but when she saw the look in Ash's eyes, her experience kicked in, and she understood his meaning. She led Ash to a private room.
"Suicune, you come, too!" Before entering the room, she quickly called Suicune over.
The mature Nurse Joy closed the door, blocking her daughter Mai from following them. She faced Ash and said, "What do you mean, Mr. Ash?"
Ash didn't answer immediately. He looked at Suicune's data panel, then said, "Miss Joy, I sympathize with Mai's experience. As her mother, you wouldn't want to see your daughter sad, would you...?" Ash straightened up and took a step toward the graceful Nurse Joy.