This is the first of four chapters today.


"Right – so it's kind of an expression of your internal Aura?" Ash asked. "Is that why you have to change form to use Secret Sword?"

"Pretty much," Keldeo agreed. "Both Sacred and Secret Sword work in similar ways, but Secret Sword relies on the strength within – it acts almost like it isn't even a physical attack."

"Huh, interesting."

"It almost sounds like a differently shaped Aura Sphere," Lucario volunteered. "Perhaps that is a way to approach it?"

Keldeo frowned. "I know I'm coming at it from the opposite direction, but what I know about Aura Sphere... yeah, I guess it is close in some ways."

"But perhaps-" Ash began, then interrupted himself. "Hold on a minute – look!"

Both Fighting-types followed his gaze, and Brock and Misty looked up too.

Suicune essayed a bow. "Greetings, Chosen," she said, pacing closer. She cleared her throat, and spoke formally. "Are you in fit state for a challenge?"

"I guess – hold on a sec," Ash requested. "Dexter? Is Pidgeot-"

She is. Please give me a minute, she wants to make arrangements with the Professor.

Ash nodded. "Okay, you heard him... don't think I want to grab anyone else."

Suicune nodded, understanding. "That is fine. While we have the time..." she shifted her gaze to Misty. "Raikou has told us of your battle. Well done – for representing Water as well as you did, Misty. I admit, I am interested to hear how you did some of what you did."

"Well..." Misty shrugged. "The cutting water dance is one I came up with to deal with Pikachu. It-"

Ash waved his hands. "Misty! Don't give her your secrets yet, I'm just about to have a chase with her!"

Misty snorted laughter. "Sorry, Ash!"

"Drat, foiled again," Suicune said, deadpan. "So, how have you been?"

"Pretty good," Ash told her. "It's been a quiet few weeks, which is... actually the longest quiet period I've had since I was eleven."

"Fair enough."

"We've been using the time to work on Aura together," Keldeo supplied. "I'm getting quite close to managing Aura Sphere."

"A useful addition to any arsenal," Suicune agreed.

There was a clatter as a Pokéball landed next to Ash.

"Ah, good," Ash said, opening it. "Ready for this, Pidgeot?"

"I certainly am!" Pidgeot replied.

Ash returned Lucario and Keldeo, checked Pikachu was in his usual place, and swung aboard Pidgeot. She took a couple of deep breaths, rolling her wings to be sure she was ready, then nodded.

"Ready?" Suicune checked.

"Yeah!" Ash confirmed. "Let's do this!"

Suicune smiled. "Very well, Chosen One. Try to keep up!"

She reared, spun on her hind legs, touched back down facing away from Ash, and shot off.

Pidgeot took off in an incredible rush of wind. She spun an air control layer which coiled around for a moment at her departure site, and then just as she began moving forwards it manifested as a tailwind.

Wings of air snapped out, and Brock and Misty heard the sonic boom mere seconds later.

"...well, I guess we'll see him later," Brock said.


Ash clung onto Pidgeot's feathers, squinting against the residual wind leaking through her air control as she accelerated.

Miles disappeared below them, towns whipping past on either side in less than a minute and villages in seconds.

Ash closed one eye, finding the moving dot of Suicune's potent Water-typed Aura. "Okay, Pidgeot!" he shouted. "If she changes course, I'll let you know – for now, you're going the right way!"

Pidgeot responded by accelerating further.

Sparing a glance to one side, Ash saw that her wings of air were at least five times as broad as her actual physical ones. Behind, there was a swirl of displaced air and the occasional very surprised Spearow.

"Can you get close enough for Pikachu to attack?" Ash asked.

Pidgeot shook her head. "At this speed, I'd overshoot by almost a mile if she decoyed me."

"Right." Ash squared his shoulders. "Let's see how long she can keep this up, then... where are we headed?"

"South." Pidgeot rose as a saddle-pass approached, clearing the lip of the pass a few seconds after Suicune ran across it.

"Got her again," Ash reported. "She changed course – a bit to the right... there you are."

"Thanks."


Suicune did a tight little S-curve, turning her head at the point where she was at the greatest angle to her base course, and caught sight of the Pidgeot following her – not closing the distance much, either, content to pace her.

She smiled. So, they wanted a long chase?

She could give them a long chase.

Accelerating, Suicune topped a hill and saw that she was reaching the outskirts of a city. Thinking fast, she plotted four possible routes through it, and selected one in particular as it would do the least collateral damage.

The north wind coiled around her, speeding her travels - and taking the edge off her shockwave, reducing it to window-rattling rather than window-breaking. She had no desire to shatter windows across the whole of Olivine City, after all...

She darted down the hill, flitting between trees with sure paws and sending twigs flying in her wake, and then pushed off as she reached a road cutting. Her leap took her clear across the road and onto the roof of a warehouse, and she sprinted across the roof before leaping to another – bearing a little to the right, and choosing taller and taller buildings as she went.


"I lost track," Pidgeot reported. "Has she doubled back?"

"I- no!" Ash overrode himself. "She's heading for the river!"

Pidgeot duly banked to the right, heading for the river mouth. Her wings of air reconfigured, going from speed to manoeuvre, and she dropped subsonic.

"Right!" Ash called. "I think she's going to run out to sea – Pidgeot, that means we have to follow her right down near sea level, otherwise it's going to be too hard to spot her again if I lose her. If we do that, we can follow her wake."

"Got it!" Pidgeot dove slightly, and spotted the splash as Suicune reached the river. "Do we just chase her until she stops?"

"No, that might take hours," Ash replied. "Days, even. Pikachu, think you can get her with a Thundershock? How close do you need to be?"

"I can just about hit her at a quarter mile, I think," Pikachu judged. "More than that and it's a little too hard to aim right given how fast she's going."

"Right!" Pidgeot reconfigured her wings again, and dove. The shock cloud from the sound barrier formed and broke around them in a flash, and Pidgeot stooped towards the moving blue dot of Suicune.


Chief mate Blake squinted into the morning sun, as the Aqua heeled over and turned for harbour.

It would be good to get back on dry land again. Normally he enjoyed spending time at sea, but this was different – he was owed drinks by half the crew of the S.S. Aqua, because he'd finally managed to get his Masters' certificate approved.

He'd be moving up to Master of a new ship, now – and he'd miss the Aqua, but maybe he'd be aboard her again someday. Possibly even as her captain.

Then a blue blur shot past the starboard side of the ship.

"What was that, chief mate?" the captain asked.

"Don't know, sir," he replied. "Looked like a Pokémon, but I don't know what-"

Then a Pidgeot rocketed past on the same side, below the level of the deck.

Gaping, Blake ran to the rail and looked out astern. As he looked south, he saw that the blue blur had indeed been a Pokémon – and that the Pidgeot was chasing it, and that it had gigantic white wings which cut into the water at the lowest point of their travel.

Even as he watched, the two Pokémon dwindled until they were mere dots, then vanished out of sight.


Pikachu's cheeks crackled. "Sorry, still too far – I'm getting closer, though."

Another Thundershock snapped out, hitting the water just to one side of Suicune and producing a small splash of water. In response, Suicune swerved to the right – though still maintaining her course south – and kicked off a wave, leaping into the sky. She rolled forwards in a somersault, shooting an Ice Beam back at them, and Pidgeot had to swerve wildly to avoid being hit.

Ash held up a hand to shield himself from the plume of water that threw up. "Okay, Pidgeot, maybe we should head a bit higher."

Below and ahead, Suicune landed in a plume of water and shot quickly back to full speed.

"I can do that," Pidgeot said, and angled up slightly to gain height. "I'll need to get closer to her for Pikachu to be able to hit her, but the height will help."

"Good." Ash glanced ahead. "Looks like we're coming up on an island..."

"Oh, hey, I recognize those," Pidgeot cooed, as they approached – her wings beating slowly, relatively speaking, but moving so much air that they were cruising at around the speed of sound. "Those are the whirl islands – look!"

Ash did. "Wow... hey, there's a Lugia!"

"It must be the mate of the one we met in Shamouti," Pikachu said.

"Yes, it is, I recognize her." Pidgeot dipped her wings. "Let's say hi! We're going to go right past anyway, so..."


"Don't stay out too long, Silver," the female Lugia said, smiling tolerantly at her son. "That human you know is pleasant, but remember that not all humans are so nice."

"But Papa knows a nice human!" Silver said. "Remember? We met his Pidgeot!"

"I know, dear, I just said that not all humans are nice. I know there are nice humans." Lugia nuzzled her child. "Be back for lunch, okay?"

"I will, Mama – what's that?"

Lugia blinked, looking off to the north. "I... that's very strange, that almost looks like-"

In a flash of azure blue, Suicune shot past. The wind of her passage ruffled trees and feathers all around the small cove, and stirred up a rush of sand.

"Hi Lugia, hi Silver!" she said, voice dopplered by speed but still audible thanks to her tailwind shaping it, and then she was gone.

"Hi Suicune!" Silver said, waving his wing. "She was in a hurry, Mama. Why's that?"

Lugia was looking back along the path Suicune had taken. "That's – that's your Papa's friend Pidgeot. What's she doing-"

With a thunderous CRACK of displaced air, Pidgeot flew past. Once more, the wind following the speeding Pokémon slowed and carried words to the ears of the two Lugia.

"Hi, Lugia! You're looking well, Silver!"

"Hi! Nice to meet you!"

"See you some time!"

When the wind had died down, Silver spat out some sand that had gotten in his mouth. "What just happened, Mama?"

"I... don't know..."


Suicune smiled broadly, teeth bared, and luxuriated in the feeling of running flat out.

This was absolutely glorious! Running, as fast as she could manage, across the ocean under a strengthening morning sun. Running with the north wind at her back, every fiber of her being working in harmony to push her to her limits. And running a race – one she was losing.

To do as much as one could, and to find at the last that there was a worthy challenge... that was living.

Suicune leaped into the air again, this time using it to check her position. Coming to a decision, she turned a little to the west.

A Thundershock snapped at her heels. Glancing back, she saw that Pidgeot was flying at about a forty degree angle above the horizon from her, and quite close.

She decoyed right, then left, then turned right a bit more, and the Electric attacks died down for a moment.

They were connecting occasionally, though, wearing her endurance down much faster than the run alone did.

Glorious!


"How long have we been going?" Ash asked, glancing at the sun.

"A bit over an hour, I think," Pidgeot answered him. "It looks like we're heading almost back towards the north again by now."

Ash pulled out Dexter. "Where are we?"

Approximately fifty miles south of Shikoku. At current speed, we will make landfall in between five and six minutes.

He paused. Calculating... this has been a trip of around six hundred and seventy miles. A gigantic circle out in the middle of the ocean accounts for much of that.

"Wow," Ash said. "How are you holding up, Pidgeot?"

"I'm fine," she told him promptly. "I can certainly make it back to Brock and Misty, at least."

"Good," he told her. "Wait – I can see land!"


Pidgeot flared her wings, huge white crescents supporting her and slowing her down as she shed the speed she had carried for most of the last hour.

Her feet came down, and she splashed to a halt in a shallow river running right out of the cliffs that backed a large beach.

Suicune stood on a rock, waiting.

"A marvellous run, Chosen," she said, panting. "I believe that I will tire before your Pidgeot, but I suspect you do not want it decided that way alone."

"That's right," Ash agreed, getting off Pidgeot.

"A deal, then. Your Pidgeot takes no further part in the fight, and I will not flee this beach until there is a victor in our match."

"Fine by me!" Ash nodded. Pikachu agreed, his cheeks sparkling with electricity.

Suicune jumped down from the rock as Ash returned his Flying-type.

"Very well, then," she said. "Let us begin."


Ash opened by sending out Ivysaur. "Sunny Day!" he instructed.

Trusting Ivysaur to manage that, he added Lucario and Bayleef to the mix.

Bayleef set her feet on the shingle of the beach, and shook the big leaf on her head. "Petal dance!"

Suicine leapt out of the way of the blizzard of petals, and then again out of the way of a Thunderbolt from Pikachu.

Lucario rammed two Aura Spheres together, producing a cloud of seeker spheres, and she blocked them with an instant spherical eruption of water – though one less powerful than usual, as the Sunny Day effect Ivysaur had set up weakened her command of her element.

She took a Thunderbolt to the flank, the electricity crackling over her, and then Bayleef managed to redirect her petal storm into the blue Water-type.

Suicune almost vanished for a moment in the swirling pink Petal Dance, and then shot ice back out of the vortex and hit Bayleef in the chest.

Bayleef cried out, losing control of her attack, and it blasted in all directions for a moment before fading out.

At that point, Ivysaur's Frenzy Plant arrived.

Suicune jumped from root to root as they emerged, avoiding their grasping attempts to grab hold of her with difficulty, and took another blast of electricity for her pains. Growling, she fired a Hydro Pump at Pikachu, making sure to break the stream before it connected so it only blasted him backwards.

Lucario pushed off from the ground in a prodigious leap, and rammed home a Thunderpunch into Suicune's flank.

Suicune grunted at the impact. She kicked out at him, pushing him backwards just in time to avoid another Thunderpunch, and jumped into the air herself.

Inhaling, she let a Blizzard build for a moment, and then fired it down at the Pokémon below.

She managed to get Ivysaur, Lucario and Bayleef in the same attack. The two Grass-types were already drained from being hit and from using such a powerful attack respectively, and both were knocked unconscious.

Lucario, however, was much less injured by the Ice-type attack, and retaliated with another Aura Sphere. It curved to follow Suicune as she dropped back to the shingle, and she barely managed to avoid taking the blow.

Pikachu reminded her that he was around as well with a Thunderbolt.

Suicune could feel her stamina fading – quite fast, actually. The Sunny Day was a very clever idea on Ash's part, hampering most of her attacks effectively, and the seven hundred mile run wasn't helping matters much.

Two targets left.

She went for Pikachu first, darting in with Extremespeed. The Electric-type was just a little too slow to react, as she slammed both her paws into the shingle in front of him and fired off a Bulldoze.

Pikachu went flying, dazed but not defeated, and Suicune turned her attention to Lucario.

She met another Thunderpunch coming the other way. This one really hurt, and sent her skidding several feet across the shingle.

Electricity crackling around her, she ran out into the surf to gain a bit of distance.

Bulldoze would work on Lucario, too, but he wasn't going to be as easy to hit now he knew the attack was coming. So, digging deep, Suicune built up energy for one more attack.

She took a steadying breath, calming her mind, and called upon the North Wind.

"Air slash!"

"Look out!" Ash called. "Behind you!"

Lucario spun, hands shimmering with Protect, and the powerful buzz-saw-like blade of wind coming in from the north impacted his shield.

At that point, Suicune rammed into his back at full Extremespeed. His Protect broke with the surprise, and the Air Slash connected.

Lucario was blasted backwards by the blast, out to sea, and splashed into the water some distance out.

Feeling very tired indeed, Suicune looked over at Pikachu. He was dripping wet, soaked with seawater.

"Oh, no..." Ash said. "Can you still-"

Pikachu replied by firing a Thundershock. It grounded across his fur, going no further than an inch from his body, and he shrugged.

Suicune turned back to Ash. "Well. It seems that-"

She stopped. "Is that a Fire-type?"

Quilava waved. "In the name of the sun, I will defeat you! Solarbeam!"


Fortunately, it looked like Suicune had forgotten the Sunny Day boost was still active.

As soon as the attack connected, Ash's hand went to his pocket. "Fast ball, go!"

He'd asked for them, many weeks ago, for exactly this reason. If the Beasts didn't qualify, nothing did.

The lightning-flash-marked Pokéball shot out, connected with Suicune's flank, and pulled her in in a flash of light.

Ash watched, heart in his mouth.

The ball wobbled... wobbled... and clicked.

Ash let out an explosive rush of breath.

"I... I actually did it," he said, falling to his knees. "I did it! I caught a Legendary Pokémon – myself!"

"It's better than that,"Quilava said, sitting next to him. "Who did you use?"

Ash counted it up. "Well... Pikachu, Lucario, you, Bayleef, Ivysaur... and... and Pidgeot."

Quilava smiled. "Just six."

"Wow."

With a splashing sound, Lucario waded back through the surf. He was tired too, but not too tired to collect Pikachu from the shoreline and walk over with him.

Slowly, Ash picked up the quiescent Fast Ball, and opened it.

"I did not expect that," Suicune said, and bowed. "Well done, Chosen!"

She nodded to Quilava. "Beaten by a fire-type, too, I see. Well, well..."

"It's nice to have you on the team," Lucario said, inclining his head.

"Yeah," Pikachu agreed.

"Oh, that reminds me – I never had to use him." Ash released Keldeo. "I guess you overheard?"

Keldeo confirmed that with a nod. "Yeah! That sounded like a really impressive battle!"

"Oh, it was. It was." Suicune smiled. "Savour your triumph, Ash Ketchum – and I imagine I will be getting to know all of you soon."

"Actually," Ash said, glancing over at Keldeo. "I said this to Keldeo, and I'll say it to you. I know Legendaries have responsibilities, so – if you need to go somewhere, go. If you have something to do, do it. Only ask if you have time, and assume the answer will be yes."

"My thanks," Suicune said, nodding. "I have trained up Molly's friend to the point she can do most of my duties, but in extremis I will endeavour to inform you first."

Dexter made a ringing noise.

Ash picked it up. "What is it – Misty?"

"Ash!" she called. "Bad news – we just ran into Mr. White. Remember, the guy who runs the ferry service to Arborville?"

Ash worked it out, and went white. "Okay, Misty, we'll get back there as soon as we can!"

He stood in a hurry, grabbed Pikachu, and returned Keldeo and Lucario. Clipping the balls to his belt, he then returned the two unconscious Grass-types.

"Have I missed something?" Suicune asked, as Lucario and Quilava also went back in their Pokéballs.

"Last time – back before the time travel," Ash clarified, releasing Pidgeot, "Someone tried to capture a Celebi. He nearly succeeded – he did succeed, and turned it evil, and you and I just about managed to stop him."

Suicune shuddered. "That is ill news."

"I know." Ash jumped onto Pidgeot's back. "I don't know if we have time, but I'm stopping by at Olivine Pokémon centre – too many of my best Pokémon are tired. Including you."

Ash held out the Fast ball, and Suicune let herself be returned without fuss.

"Okay, Pidgeot!" Ash said. "Olivine City – fast as you can!"


AN:

Congratulations, Ash.

I hope this whole sequence worked. I tried to portray – a Legendary Pokémon is very, very powerful and fast. But not invincible.

If anyone's confused where the chase goes, it starts a little west of Kyoto (Ecruteak), goes south through the port of Olivine and threads through the Whirl Islands, traces a large circle in the Pacific Ocean and makes landfall on the southern part of the island of Shikoku.

Also – oh dear. Ash is several hundred miles out of position.