Time for a battle, a test on Marina and her Pokémon. Overall, do you think she's grown any since Chapter 4? Perhaps a little? Or not at all?
Regardless, enjoy.
Chapter 59
Versus Suicune
The girl took a deep breath, the sigh slipping visibly into the winter air. Marina's evergreen eyes peered through the thin blanket of snow at Suicune, who was pensive and unmoving from its flawless battle stance. She gripped the Poké Ball in her trembling hand.
Collecting another wave of confidence, Marina hurled the sphere at her feet.
"Prince!"
Her wary face descended upon her prim psychic fox that stood a few feet away. Upon meeting gazes with the mystic water beast, who towered a good five feet over him, Prince went rigid. His long ears flicked and drooped in an unusual display of doubt; Suicune's sacred potency was easy to detect, and he swayed submissively under it. As a precaution, he glanced back at his Trainer for certain confirmation of the situation.
Marina managed a minute smile. "This is a test, Prince. We have to battle Suicune," she said, albeit grave under the encouraging tone she used. "So let's do our best!"
A placid growl from Suicune rumbled in agreement.
Prince's ears perked and a spark kindled softly in his violet eyes. He faced his opponent with a refined air—though still mildly overwhelmed, the Espeon now failed to waver.
The Aurora Pokémon returned the gesture by shifting its paws in the powder-covered dirt, an intimidating gesture declaring the end of the small talk. Marina felt apprehensive at the motion, but she recovered quickly; Suicune did not move further, as it was now waiting on her to initiate the challenge. It was best not to aggravate the beast's patience.
She nodded and commanded, "Prince, Psybeam!"
Prince's ruby glittered and fired the ray of multi-colored energy in Suicune's direction. Suicune leapt aside with a remarkable amount of strength and agility, leaving behind a gust of wind to thrust Prince aside like the snow and tumbling leaves around him. While he struggled to stand his ground, he shot awry Psybeams in vain as Suicune avoided them with ease.
Marina held onto her bandana, wincing as the frosty breeze bit her eyes. "Quick! Set up a Reflect, Prince!"
"Eif!" Prince barked. His eyes emitted a low gleam, and the winds before him subsided in the face of a transparent blue barrier.
Without interruption, the Legendary Beast continued bounding to and fro across the dirt path, dodging Prince's following attacks still. Marina gawked in both admiration and frustration as her eyes were unable to keep up with Suicune; her Espeon, however, seemed to reflect the latter despite maintaining his cultured posture. Regardless of how many endeavors he made, he failed to land a single hit.
Geez, how can Suicune be so big yet so fast? Marina thought hurriedly, shivering as fragments of Suicune's Gust attack seeped through her clothes. "Prince, try a Swift attack!" she exclaimed.
Prince complied, and a flurry of star-shaped blades erupted from his mouth in every direction he faced. The elegant Suicune attempted to evade it still, but it froze to a halt as the Swift inevitably struck. This pause lasted for but a moment, for it sped back into its previous momentum as soon as Prince traded out Swift for a quickly-executed wave of psychic energy, which missed once again.
The girl Trainer frowned; she felt helpless simply watching this unfold. That barely even put a scratch on Suicune! I mean, I don't want to hurt it too much, but...
She was ripped out from her thoughts as an icy rainbow beam blasted through the Reflect, unaffected by the artificial wall. The attack landed far from her, but it struck Prince, who screeched briefly in anguish of its below-zero temperature.
"Prince!" Marina resisted every yearning urge to run to his aid, but the stubborn and proud fox braved the numbing pain by unleashing a Psybeam a split second afterwards.
This time the psychic technique hit its mark, catching Suicune off-guard and even causing it to stumble. The Aurora Pokémon uttered a tiny, almost unnoticeable whine, tensing as it endured the hit. Once it was freed, it abruptly turned to Prince. The large crystal on its head shimmered, and a brilliant, frosty blast of ice and auroras spiraled toward the fox.
"Prince, dodge it!" Marina called the second she had spotted it. "Then keep countering with Swift!"
Prince obeyed the commands, fighting through his temporary frostbite as he sprinted out of the beam's reach. He fired another stream of razor stars, which Suicune seemed to take with less notice than before. Suicune bounded out of the Swift's range and halted, observing its opponent from afar. Prince followed suit, moving to a jittery stop. Neither moved with the exception of Suicune's ever-flowing ribbons and mane, and the snow danced around them in the unsteady wind.
This short break in fighting soothed Marina's nerves, and she took the tree time to clip Prince's Poké Ball to her belt and grab an empty one from her bag—a black and purple Heavy Ball, which was one of many custom Poké Balls Jackson had given her for Christmas. Though she had used quite a few of them prior to this day, the wood-like texture of the sphere still felt unusual on her palm compared to the classic metal of modern Poké Balls.
Instead of dwelling on minuscule matters such as this, she pondered with haste, her eyes wandering between her loyal Espeon and the beautiful Suicune. Suicune's taking any hit Prince throws at it like it's nothing! I can't hold back, else Prince might really get hurt...and I know he just hates to lose.
Marina clutched her hands in an effort to prevent her fingers from growing colder. She fixed her posture and called, "Prince, Shadow Ball!"
Prince's expression darkened as shadowy sphere spun and developed in front of him. His opponent began prowling at a distance, taking heed to the foreboding danger. With a slick flick of his tail, Prince whipped the Shadow Ball, which cackled and shot out toward Suicune like a cannonball.
Expertly countering this, Suicune opened its mouth and fired a furious beam of glowing bubbles that struck the black ball, the force of the two attacks tearing each other apart until they both dissipated. A backlash of energy blasted in all directions, but Prince and Suicune leapt away unaffected, exchanging psychic and water attacks in vain as they dodged them both.
"Swift!"
Suicune merely flinched at the face of the Swift technique and unleashed another prismatic ice beam, successively striking Prince down. In a moment of chivalry and mercy, it stayed unmoving until the shivering Espeon rose to his feet.
"Prince, are you okay?" Marina asked urgently, frowning in concern.
"Eif!" he replied and shook his head to shake off the numbness caused by the Aurora Beam.
"Good," she sighed, "Now use Psybeam!"
Prince released another couple waves of Psybeams at the fleeing Suicune, only one of the many grazing it. He was sure to avoid the next icy attack that lashed in his direction, and he seemed to glitter as the ice on his fur shed at his every move. The exchanges following became expectant, as Prince dodged Aurora Beams and Bubblebeams when Suicune evaded Psybeams and Shadow Balls, and Suicune shook off Prince's Swift attacks without affecting its serene grace. It was a stalled battle of elegance that never lost its intense atmosphere. Even so, Prince was growing exhausted, as his fluent movements began growing sluggish.
Marina noticed this and decided to end this pattern. "Prince, Quick Attack!"
One of Prince's ears perked, and he leaned close to the ground to avoid a blast of bubbles that grazed over his head. Like a released spring, he bolted toward Suicune at a speed that rivaled—if not surpassed—the Aurora Pokémon's.
Suicune strayed away at first, but seeing that Prince would soon catch up, it sunk its paws firmly into the ground and howled. The beautiful baying called forth a rapid gust of bitter tailwind, which changed into a headwind for Prince, who painfully slowed down.
"Eif!" he barked in frustration.
"Use Reflect, Prince!" Marina ordered. "Then use Quick Attack again!"
Prince opened his eyes wide, summoning the protective guard wall. With one second of charging up and another initiating his dash, he placed all his aggression into his running as he tackled into Suicune. The beast flinched and instinctively moved a step backwards, but Suicune recovered in an instant, glaring down at Prince—who glared back up at it—with its stunning crystal shining an icy white. As if mimicking this, Prince's jewel too sparkled.
"Now! Use Psychic!"
The Espeon's eyes and body tensed and shimmered with a potent indigo hue, and the air between him and Suicune seemed to distort as the powerful wave of energy blasted into Suicune head-on.
The crystal's light flickered, and an Aurora Beam shot off into the air far above Prince.
Suicune stumbled back, taking clumsy steps to prevent itself from collapsing. It turned away, eyes closed and briefly blinded from facing Prince's Psychic attack point-blank. From its throat, it murmured small growls as it struggled to quickly recover.
Prince seemed to glow with a victorious smile as it again prepared another attack.
"Good, stop!" Marina exclaimed hoarsely, her overworked voice tired from the cold. "It's alright, Prince, you can stop!"
"Eif?"
Though slightly puzzled, Prince obeyed. The distorted air around him shifted back to normal and he turned behind him, watching as Marina sprinted over to him and the nearly fallen Suicune. The girl's bell chimed in a vulnerable manner, and she gripped her navy blue Heavy Ball tight. As she slowed, she delivered the Poké Ball an awkward toss in Suicune's direction.
"Heavy Ball, go!"
Suicune looked up, but its weakened reflexes allowed it to only witness as the Poké Ball bounced onto its crystal crest. Within the time span of a few seconds, it was bathed in a red light and sucked into the Heavy Ball. It landed on the ground with a defined clunk, bouncing once before it began its decisive shaking.
Marina and Prince watched as the ball shivered. She breathed deeply, her breath trailing away into the wind, which was now steady and free in Suicune's absence. The snow continued to fall, gentle and soft. Prince took this tense time to shake off a few icy flakes with his tail, but he was sure to keep his eyes strictly planted on the Poké Ball.
The sphere shook, and shook, and shook… Marina never knew that a Poké Ball was able to shake more than the average three times, but it was obvious that this was an exception. It was a legendary Pokémon that this manmade device was attempting to contain.
Fear stirred inside the girl the more seconds crawled past. She grimaced at the shifting Heavy Ball, her trembling hand clutching onto the fine chain that held the Crystal Bell. Though Marina would've once given up literally anything in order to have Suicune be one of her trusted Pokémon, now when on the brink of doing so she thought very differently. Suicune was very strong and could probably defeat any opponent. If she used it in her Gym battles or any overall, she would have certain victory, much like how Silver fantasized about if he had captured Entei. But to effortlessly win would give no truly satisfying result; it felt like cheating. Yet Marina didn't want to never use Suicune in battle, nor did she desire simply handing it over to Professor Elm to be gawked at and examined by him and other Pokémon professors.
Would she even be a good Trainer for Suicune, the way she and her Pokémon were now? Would Suicune even choose to listen to her? Her Misdreavus, Muu-chan, was once heavily disobedient due to Marina's incompetence. Though Muu-chan now listens and acts as friendly as her other Pokémon, there was no doubt that Suicune may possibly find Marina inadequate as well.
Her frown deepened. A sense of unworthiness slipped over her.
"Maybe this was unfair too—to use a Heavy Ball. If it catches Suicune, I should just release it. There are plenty of other Trainers that are better for Suicune," she murmured, looking at the still-shaking Poké Ball with a look of regret.
Prince stared at her silently at first, but he snorted. Unknowingly playing at favorites, he very much begged to differ. "Eif!"
Marina turned to him and, seeing his unusually flustered expression, let out a giggle. She knelt in front of him and hugged him briefly. "You're right; I shouldn't doubt myself so much," she said and patted his head.
"Eif eif," replied Prince, nodding curtly as if it were the most obvious truth in the world.
She smiled.
A sinister crack sliced into the air, and both she and Prince jumped at the sudden sound. At first, Marina scanned her surroundings. She saw no one else around except the sages, Morty, and another young man—Eusine, probably—but they were watching in the distance. The sound continued and gave away its location: in front of her. Her eyes darted to the Heavy Ball, which was fracturing at an alarming rate.
Marina jumped to her feet and retreated, a surge of great relief flowing through her. "It's breaking!"
"Eif!" Prince took to the defensive at once, stepping in front of her.
The Poké Ball wiggled fiercely, its faults increasing by the second. Not a moment after the Trainer and her Pokémon had backed away, the Heavy Ball shattered in a burst of bright light. The light twisted and expanded into Suicune's lean silhouette, then faded away to reveal its vivid colors. Suicune stood with a grand posture that yielded no weakness. It opened its crimson eyes, which scrutinized both Marina and Prince as the wind fluently kicked back up.
Prince's jewel began to glow, though he did not fire a Psybeam yet due to Suicune's pacifist stance.
Marina, spotting her Pokémon's actions, stepped closer to look him in the eye. "It's fine, Prince! Once I threw that Poké Ball, the test was over. That was the agreement I made with Suicune."
"...Fi?" He eyed her again, relaxing and tilting his head in subtle understanding.
"You are good."
Not expecting the telekinetic voice, Marina flinched and turned her gaze back to Suicune. The beast lowered its head, bowing before her for what felt like a long time. Not knowing what to do or say, Marina waited quietly in case it elaborated upon its words.
Suicune did, and with a slight hint of pride. "What the Crystal Bell reveals about your character proves accurate; your heart and soul are very pure. Your kindness toward Pokémon and people is honest and good-willed.
"However," the Aurora Pokémon rose from its respectful gesture, "It entails that you are fragile, which I have also witnessed. You are naïve and inexperienced, and that, unfortunately, has obstructed your strength… You are weakened because of it. You must learn to put faith and strength not just in your Pokémon and your friends, but also in yourself."
Marina's eyebrows rose at this, but she kept her mouth shut. She nodded with a somber slowness.
"Do not be discouraged," it said, sensing her emotional reaction, "You are already at the beginning of finding courage and strength. Lord Ho-Oh is sure to be pleased with you, as am I." Again, Suicune lowered its head, but for a shorter time. "It was an honor battling you."
Eventually, a wide smile made its way on Marina's face. "Thank you," she bowed quickly, "I'll be sure to try, Suicune!"
"Then you will succeed," Suicune added as it turned away slowly. It shifted its keen feline eyes in her direction one last time, glancing at the Crystal Bell for a long while. "Go to the Tin Tower and place the bell on the first floor's altar. When you are ready, I hope that you will return here."
Marina nodded, placing the azure bell over her heart. "I will, Suicune. I promise."
"Farewell, Marina." Suicune returned the nod and, perhaps Marina's eyes were deceiving her, seemed to make a smile on its muzzle. It faced the sea of trees and bounded high into the air, leaping amongst the woods with unlimited agility and grace.
Marina and Prince watched until it was well out of sight, allowing the snow to fall on them without notice. Another sigh escaped her, but it was enveloped with a smile. She held the Crystal Bell close and turned to Prince, who returned the stare with a sense of optimism. Though it was uncertain whether Prince could hear Suicune's telepathy as well, he at least understood the gist of what Suicune had said.
"Eifi, eif eif," the fox chirped with pride.
She giggled, scratched behind his ear affectionately, and reached for his Poké Ball. "Yup, you were fantastic, Prince! As always," she held out the sphere, "Thank you so much. You deserve some rest now. Return."
Without a single utterance of disagreement, Prince was recalled back into his ball. Marina snuggled the Poké Ball on her cheek for a second, but pulled away at its acute metal chill. Giggling again, this time at her nervous silliness, she put away the sphere back onto her belt.
It wasn't long before the sound of fast-paced footsteps shuffled in her direction. The four men rushed over to her, Eusine in the lead and reaching her first. He gripped her shoulders in his uncontrollable enthusiasm, but soon let go of her in order to make his usual dramatic hand gestures.
"That was awesome! Too awesome, even!" he exclaimed. "I've never seen a battle that great! That was truly inspiring to see. Suicune was tough, but you were even more incredible, Mariana! Oh, but Suicune was beautiful in battle, more beautiful than anything I've ever witnessed!"
She resisted laughing. "It's Marina," she corrected with a grin.
"It was incredible," Morty agreed. "That was a fantastic battle, and you handled it well."
"Not really. I was freaked out during the entire thing. At one point I just wanted to throw the Poké Ball and get it over with already."
"When there is courage, there is always fear," one of the monks said, "But you chose courage over those fears."
Marina kept her little smile. "Yeah. I guess I did, didn't I?"
"I might be mistaken, but was Suicune talking to you?" Morty asked suddenly. "I didn't hear anyone except you speaking, but you seemed to be having a conversation with it."
"Oh…That's because it was," she replied, though with a bit of hesitation. "It was the voice I heard earlier. Suicune was calling me." She once again left the men speechless in surprise, and felt a pang of nervousness at this.
"Telepathy…" Morty murmured.
"That's unbelievable…! What did Suicune say?" Eusine asked, desperate for answers.
"It wanted to challenge me. But I didn't want to use all my Pokémon and Poké Balls; it didn't feel fair. So I decided to use one of each, and once I threw the Poké Ball, the challenge would end. Suicune agreed, and…well, you saw what happened."
"And what did it say afterward?"
"It must've been impressed. Suicune bowed before you not once, but twice," a monk mused, hiding his hands in the sleeves of his robe.
Marina's smile grew meek. "Yeah, but…Suicune basically said that, though I'm kind and pure-hearted, I'm also weak," she looked down at the Crystal Bell, "Then it told me to put the Crystal Bell on the Tin Tower's altar, and to return when I get stronger."
Morty, Eusine, and the monks fell silent for a few passing moments.
But Eusine was the first to reply. He marched past Marina, his little white cape flittering about as he walked. "Then what are we waiting for? Let us fulfill Suicune's request!"
They watched him go, but eventually began to follow him down the peaceful, snow-covered passage. Marina craned her head upwards at the ancient pagoda as they approached it. A hint of humbleness stirred in her heart and, for the first time in a long while, Marina felt incredibly small. The trees, Suicune, the sacred Tin Tower, and even the four distinguished men escorting her stood tall with a sense of purpose.
She, however, was not.
Once inside, she was taken around the impressive supporting pillar in the center of the room and into the back, where an intricate altar indeed rested, just as Suicune had said. Below the table lavished with various offerings was a cushion of red velvet. Two magnificently ancient statues of a bird sat on either side, the relics dyed a deep shade of gold.
The monks stood beside each statue, bowing once. "We will let you do the honors of placing the Crystal Bell on the altar, as Suicune desired."
Marina glanced at her little bell, rubbing her fingers over the blue and opal-colored surface. From the corner of her eye, she saw Morty and Eusine watching from behind her. She found the high level of formality rather awkward, and she would've preferred to keep the Crystal Bell as a remembrance of that day, but she conformed to the atmosphere and Suicune's wishes. She stepped up to the altar. After a pause, she placed the bell at the center of the table and knelt on the cushion.
The sages put their hands together in some sort of silent prayer, but she failed to notice as she looked up at the altar blankly. Regardless, she instinctively interlaced her fingers with a trace of a frown.
So even Suicune thinks that I'm naïve, and that I'm weak because of it. She lowered her head, staring down at her lap. It must really be true now, if it weren't before. First Chris, then Silver, now Suicune…
Then, one of the holy men spoke the obvious. "You look troubled."
Marina stood. "My Pokémon are strong, but not me. I'm just naïve. I can be really stupid too, so I don't notice things I should. And I'm a bit of a coward. All that does is make me weak, and I don't know how to fix it. I've always been this way."
This invited another short bout of silence.
"It's not bad to be that way, Marina," Morty chose to respond. "But knowing how and when to honestly use them takes strength in itself. You have plenty of time to learn and grow; keep in mind that you're still very young."
After a pause, Marina closed her eyes and nodded. She looked over her shoulder at the robed elders. "What do I do now?"
They seemed uncertain but lenient. "Whatever you wish."
"You are free to leave, if that is what you mean."
"Oh…um… Alright. I've got to leave for Mahogany Town, so I guess I'll do that." It felt incredibly strange for her to say such a normal statement, especially after battling with a legendary Pokémon that acknowledged her directly for her potential. Marina felt the straps of her backpack, as if checking to see if it were still there. She briefly curtsied and turned, walking over to Morty and Eusine.
"Do you want this kept a secret too, I assume?" asked the Ecruteak Gym Leader.
Marina looked away for a little while in thought, but made eye contact again with a hint of confidence. "I think so. But if you really have to tell someone, I won't mind," she laughed a little, "I just don't want people flocking over to me just because I battled Suicune."
Morty nodded, grinning briefly. "Sure."
"That's aside the point," Eusine butted in.
"Huh?" She gave him a curious stare.
"I'm going to study the legends more, but I understand that you too have a great interest in the Legendary Beasts such as Suicune." From out of nowhere, the swanky man pulled out a rather sleek PokéGear. "How about the two of us team up? If I find out something new or if you see a legendary Pokémon, then we can call each other and exchange information."
"Really?" Marina grabbed her PokéGear. "Okay. Though I can't really guarantee that I'll see another legendary Pokémon."
"Oh, at this rate, it'll happen sooner or later," Eusine brushed off the statement as he held out his phone to hers to exchange numbers. "But you must promise me one thing."
"What?"
"Never, and I mean never, tell anyone that you've joined forces with me."
The PokéGears beeped that the process was complete, and Marina let hers dangle limply around her neck. She tilted her head, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"
Eusine rushed to maintain his typical melodramatic fashion. "Well, some people will get rather biased if they find out you're teamed up with the great Suicune Hunter! Of course it must be kept secret!"
"Don't you mean," Morty cut in, "that you scare off people with your overwhelming eccentricity?"
"Wh-What? No!" he snapped. "That's a lie. You take that back, Morty!"
Marina laughed and interrupted, "I'll keep the promise, don't worry!" She walked past them and made her way for the exit, waving. "Bye!"
Though they both bid their own farewells, Marina could hear Eusine continue the argument from afar as she left and braved the chilly winter air. She took a moment to adjust to the temperature and proceeded to walk across the path toward the woods; she decided to traverse this thin strip of forest and slip back into Ecruteak City unnoticed, rather than going through the entrance and be bombarded with questions from its curious citizens. As she hoped, she came out onto the street without anyone nearby to cast a questioning glance. She sighed, satisfied and beginning to find that silence could be soothing instead of boring.
Marina checked her PokéGear to see which direction she ought to go. Again, it felt unusual to do such a normal thing, but normalcy once again had taken monopoly over the present.
A rush of northern wind brushed against the back of her neck, pulling her azure pigtails into her face. Marina shivered, quickly looking over her shoulder. The Tin Tower stood sturdily in all its antique brilliance; and for the first time, she noticed that, on each floor, the tower was decorated with four golden bells that hung silently in the wind. She smiled again.
We'll battle again someday, Suicune. Someday, hopefully, when I get stronger…whenever that'll be.
At that encouraging thought, Marina turned and headed eastward.
If this chapter has any mistakes or it seems a little rushed, I apologize. I wanted to get the chapter out today early so I can complete homework that I've been procrastinating on. lol
I hope the battle was good enough. I also slipped in a reference from the Pokémon Special/Adventures manga; Crystal also used a Heavy Ball in her attempt to capture Suicune.
Onto Chapter 60, when we witness a distinguished Trainer take on a furious sea Pokémon…