Chapter Forty-Seven: Chosen
Ash grinned back, his eyes sparkling like they always did when he was challenged.
"You're on!" he said. He looked at Pikachu and said, "You ready, buddy?"
Pikachu grinned back. ("Always,") he said.
("This is going to be so cool,") Pancham said to Misdreavus, who nodded, but kept her eyes on Suicune as if she didn't entirely trust him.
Suicune and Pikachu took up positions a short distance away from the camp, while Serena and the other Pokémon stood some way off to the side to watch. While Serena had, of course, seen legendary Pokémon before, she was still nervous for this particular fight. Even though Pikachu had the Type advantage, would he be able to capitalize on it?
"Ready?" Suicune asked, eagerly staring down Pikachu.
Serena was surprised that he wanted to fight so badly. His demeanor wasn't that different from Absol's, yet Absol had been quite vocal about his dislike for fighting. Even now, he was the only one of the spectators who looked apprehensive, rather than interested.
("Of course I'm ready,") Pikachu said.
"Then let's battle. You may have the first move," Suicune said.
("You're going to regret that,") Pikachu said.
"All right, Pikachu, start with a Thunderbolt!" Ash yelled, and Pikachu immediately leapt up, firing off a ridiculously powerful Thunderbolt that showed he clearly wasn't going to be holding back.
Suicune, however, leapt to the side and returned fire with what seemed to be an Aurora Beam.
"Dodge it, Pikachu, and then use Quick Attack!"
Pikachu zipped from side to side so fast he seemed to be teleporting as he dashed forwards, but Suicune just smirked and forcefully threw up his head, summoning a massive wave as he did so to intercept Pikachu.
"Jump over it!"
Pikachu launched himself into the air, just before the wave crashed, and as he flew, Ash yelled, "Iron Tail!"
Suicune didn't seem fazed by Pikachu avoiding his Surf, and he jumped up to meet Pikachu's Iron Tail, his fangs glowing white and clamping down hard on Pikachu's tail, before forcefully slinging him away and firing another Aurora Beam at him.
"Electro Ball, quick!"
Pikachu, who was flying away from Suicune head-first after being thrown, flicked his tail to turn himself around, and in the same motion he created and fired an Electro Ball, faster than Serena had ever seen him do it.
The two attacks met in mid-air and exploded, but Ash didn't look worried and instead just yelled, "Quick Attack, let's go!"
Suicune leapt back from the cloud of dust to give himself more time to react, and it was right on time, too, because Pikachu burst from the dust and barely missed Suicune, who sent another massive Surf after Pikachu.
"Cut the wave! Iron Tail!"
Pikachu turned around, dug his paws into the dirt to kill his momentum, and then launched himself at the incoming wave with a glowing tail, forcefully swinging it down and bifurcating it.
Suicune seemed surprised for a moment, and that was all that Ash and Pikachu needed. "Thunderbolt!"
From the short range, Suicune wasn't fast enough to dodge — but he was fast enough to create a shimmering wall in front of himself, which caught Pikachu's Thunderbolt and reflected it back at him with double the force.
Pikachu shouted out in pain when his own attack hit him, but Ash yelled, "Try to absorb it! Electro Ball!"
Pikachu strained against his own reflected power, but through sheer willpower he seemed to be able to guide the electricity into an Electro Ball instead, which he fired at Suicune with a shout and a furious flick of his tail.
Once again, Suicune called up his shimmering Mirror Coat…but the spinning Electro Ball, amplified by the Thunderbolt, shattered it and slammed into Suicune with tremendous force, once again whipping up a cloud of dust.
Pikachu landed on all fours, panting heavily and looking quite battered, but clearly still willing to fight.
"Be ready to dodge," Ash said, and Pikachu gave a single nod, keeping his eyes firmly on the dust cloud, which was already thinning.
Suicune was still standing, but like Pikachu he looked distinctly worse for wear. He grinned at his opponents.
"Very good," he said. "I don't wish to sustain any further injuries, nor inflict more upon you, so I humbly surrender. You have sufficiently impressed me, Ash from Pallet Town, Pikachu. With your permission, I will join your team for the time being."
Pikachu relaxed his battle pose and grinned. ("Good fight,") he said.
Suicune inclined his head. "Likewise."
"So…does that mean I need to catch you, or will you just follow us?" Ash asked.
"In the past, I have allowed the Chosen I worked with to catch me, and I will simply ask to be released when it is time for me to move on," Suicune said.
"And you'll fight for me even in regular battles?" Ash asked. "Like Gym battles or the Indigo League?"
Suicune nodded. "I will fight as any of your Pokémon will fight. While my main purpose is to aid you in the events to come…I love battling, and will gladly face challenges with less dramatic stakes."
Ash grinned. "I'm sure you'll fit right in, then. And I bet the others would love to train with you, too," he said, looking at the rest of his team. Indeed, all of them looked eager.
Then he frowned. "I've got six Pokémon with me here, though. I intended to make some switches when we got to Fuchsia…let's see…"
He walked over to this other Pokémon and spoke to them for a moment.
While he was doing that, Pancham walked over to Suicune and said, ("Your fighting style is awesome!")
"Thank you. My cousins usually tell me it's not flashy enough," Suicune replied with a small smile.
"Your cousins?" Serena repeated.
"Entei and Raikou."
"You're not the only one of your kind though, are you?" Serena asked.
Suicune shook his head. "I'm not. But I seldom see others of my species. I also only know one Entei and one Raikou, though I know there are others. We call each other cousins in reference to the old legend, but really, we're just…us."
"Are all of you involved in…whatever's going on right now?" Serena asked.
"No. Most 'legendary' Pokémon just mind their own business. I run into some from time to time, and we have a certain respect for each other because of our innate power, but I am one of the few who has regularly aided humans. That is also why I learned to communicate in this way."
"Now that you mention it, the Zapdos we ran into didn't speak telepathically…"
"Most of us simply have no reason to. In truth, I only began doing this originally because I was bored."
Serena blinked. "But…what about that 'Chosen' stuff you mentioned then?"
"Some humans are Chosen. I do not know how, or why. But Pokémon — all Pokémon, not just those who are 'legendary' — can sense it. These humans tend to have an easier time understanding us, and they have…a certain nobility to them. An inner kindness that makes us turn to them in times of turmoil. Since conflicts involving 'legendary' Pokémon tend to be rather large in scale and Chosen humans tend to have a strong drive to help any Pokémon they meet…they are often linked together. Whether it has anything to do with destiny, or even whether destiny exists at all, I cannot say. I suspect the only one who really knows is Arceus himself."
"I've met him, actually," Ash, who had finished his conversation with his team, said.
Suicune looked up in surprise. "You have?"
Ash nodded. "Yeah. He kind of…wanted to destroy the world after being betrayed and nearly killed, but we went back to the past and settled it with some help," Ash said.
"I suspect other Chosen were involved with an event like that as well," Suicune said.
Ash nodded. "Probably. There was a girl named Sheena who was close with Dialga and Palkia, anyway."
Serena smiled and shook her head in amusement. "You've really seen everything, haven't you?" she asked.
Ash grinned at her. "I've barely even begun to see all the things I want to see," he said. "Especially together with you."
Serena felt herself blushing. She still wasn't used to Ash casually saying things like that, but she loved it every time he did.
Ash, of course, didn't even seem to notice he said something quite romantic, because he'd already turned to Suicune again and said, "Anyway, Suicune…I'll 'catch' you now. Noctowl will be going back to Professor Oak for now, and once we get to Fuchsia City I'll make some more changes to the team. But for now…"
He retrieved a Poké Ball from his pocket and held it out, and Suicune nudged the button with his nose. He was drawn into the ball, which wiggled a couple of times before flashing and lying still, and Ash quickly let him back out.
"Welcome to the team," he said with a grin.
"Happy to fight alongside a Chosen once again," Suicune said.
Ash yawned and stretched out. "Well, the 'fighting alongside me' is going to have to wait until tomorrow, because right now, I'm going to bed. Normally I recall everyone but Pikachu, but you're free to do whatever you want, really," he said.
"I'll stay in the ball as well. Pikachu landed a powerful hit and I've found that not having a physical body aids my recovery."
Pikachu shook his head. ("Another mad teammate,") he said.
("Have you ever considered that maybe you are the mad one?") Charizard asked innocently.
Pikachu gave him an annoyed look. ("You're dead in morning practice,") he said.
("Don't get cocky just because you fought Suicune. I fought Entei, remember?") Charizard said.
Pikachu scoffed. ("Yeah, an illusion of Entei. And you nearly got killed by it. Great work.")
("You had a Type advantage here and fought to a draw.")
("Well, you–")
"Okay, guys, I get it, you two get the first round tomorrow," Ash interrupted. "But right now, I really want to go to bed, so just…cool it for now."
He grimaced at Serena, who giggled. Approaching disaster or not, some things clearly never changed…
Sorry it took me so long. Again, I've been busy, and I'm writing a lot of stories at once, both oneshots and longfics. This one is my main priority, though, so expect the next chapter at least within a week this time. See you then!