On the field, the electricity erupting from Pikachu was brighter than ever before, filling the entire air with electricity.
Suicune could only watch helplessly as the electricity around Pikachu grew stronger, unable to do anything about it.
It could only try its best to mobilize its own energy, hoping to return to normal as quickly as possible.
If it could recover, it could use Protect to defend against Pikachu's attack, giving it a chance to turn the tide of battle.
But if it couldn't use Protect and was hit directly by the opponent's attack… even it would be in grave danger.
"Pika pika pika!!!" Pikachu let out a shout that shook the entire field, its body shooting out like an arrow.
Golden electricity around it condensed into a thick pillar of electricity, enveloping its small body. A deep trench appeared in the ground as Pikachu struck!
"BOOM—!!!"
A high-voltage Thunder Shock struck Suicune squarely in the side, golden lightning instantly engulfing its massive body.
The deafening explosion reverberated through the heavens and earth. Violent electric energy raged wildly within Suicune, the golden lightning dyeing its entire body a vibrant gold!
The black smoke from the explosion filled the entire area, making it almost impossible for Misty and the others to see anything but the flickering lightning within the mist.
Everyone's hands clenched involuntarily; they knew this attack was crucial, determining victory in this battle.
A moment later, Suicune's howl faded, and the mist dissipated.
They saw Suicune's massive body convulsing violently from the Thunder Shock, its pale blue aura completely vanished, its pale blue fur scorched black by the current, and its limbs, unable to support its weight any longer, crashing heavily to the ground.
Pikachu stood not far from Suicune, its limbs gripping the ground tightly, panting heavily as it watched its opponent.
Seeing Suicune finally collapse, its tense body relaxed, and for a moment, it even felt a sense of weakness in its limbs.
This battle, fought right after Suicune regained its level, was a victory for Pikachu!
It was another battle against a Champion-level Pokémon, another type matchup, but this was a completely different outcome from its battle against Togekiss.
Although Suicune didn't have a trainer to guide it, its strength far surpassed Togekiss's.
While both were Champion-level Pokémon, Legendary Pokémon have a natural advantage at the same level.
Moreover, Suicune's stats were already outstanding among Champion-level Pokémon.
Therefore, in general, Suicune could be considered equal to, or even stronger than, Togekiss under Cynthia's guidance!
Ash's body relaxed abruptly, his tense expression easing as he laughed and shouted to Pikachu, "We beat it, Pikachu!!"
"Pikachu!!" Pikachu turned around, stood on its hind legs, and gave Ash a "V" sign.
Mewtwo canceled the barrier, and Misty and the others rushed onto the field. Before Pikachu could fall, Serena picked it up, while Misty and Brock supported the exhausted Ash.
He hadn't used two powers in battle for a long time.
The combination of Partner Form and Aura Fusion did indeed grant Pikachu terrifyingly strong abilities to fight opponents of higher levels, but the drain on his stamina was also enormous.
If it were just Pikachu's own stamina, a single high-voltage Thunder Shock would probably deplete it completely, perhaps even costing it two lives.
Pikachu has been able to hold on until now because its stamina is combined with Ash's, but Ash's stamina consumption is several times that of Pikachu.
If Ash's stamina is 1000 points and Pikachu's is 10 points, and a single Thunder Shock attack requires 50 points of stamina, then Pikachu only needs to consume 1 point of stamina, while Ash needs to consume... 200 points.
This is just an example.
The Thunder Shock attack itself doesn't require that much stamina, but all the moves Pikachu uses are consuming Ash's stamina exponentially, which is why someone with god-like power is so exhausted.
"Are you alright, Ash?" Misty asked with concern.
"I'm fine, just a little tired. Let's go check on Suicune." Ash shook his head, walked away from Misty and Brock's arms, shook his head to clear his tired mind, and then walked step by step to Suicune.
"Pikachu~" Pikachu murmured weakly in Serena's arms.
"Don't worry, Suicune's alright. Although our Thunder Shocks are powerful, Suicune is no pushover. This level of attack might incapacitate it, but it's far from fatal," Ash reassured Pikachu, then bent down and placed his hand on Suicune's body.
As the power of Viridian within him surged, Suicune's injuries slowly healed. Within five seconds, Suicune abruptly opened its eyes, its previously dim body emitting a faint blue glow, which quickly faded again.
Under Ash's Viridian power, Suicune regained consciousness, but instinctively thought it was still in battle and began to gather its internal power.
However, it quickly sensed the healing power within it. It was precisely because of that power that it was able to regain consciousness, which meant the battle was over, and it had lost.
Thinking this, Suicune's gaze towards Ash became complicated.
To be honest, before meeting Ash, and even after meeting him, it had never imagined it would lose.
While Ho-Oh is incredibly powerful, it probably miscalculated this time.
Why would it send someone who looks like a teenager who has just come of age to test it?
If it were a trainer in their twenties or thirties, there might be a chance of passing the test, but at Ash's age, it's practically impossible for them to reach Champion level.
But Ash gave it a huge surprise right from the start—it didn't just possess a Champion-level Pokémon, it possessed a Legendary-level one!
If that Legendary-level Pokémon were to battle, it would probably be defeated in less than a round.
That's undeniable.
Forget about legendary Pokémon; only the existence of a Legendary-level Pokémon can truly be called divine.
Therefore, if Ash used that Pokémon, passing the test would be incredibly easy.
However, Suicune was quite certain that the legendary Pokémon wasn't something this boy had single-handedly raised. Raising a legendary Pokémon at such a young age was something even a god couldn't achieve.
Regardless, it was still part of the boy's fighting force, yet he didn't choose to use that Pokémon, but instead used a Pikachu.
He had observed Pikachu throughout his journey through the human world, seeing at least a thousand, if not three thousand, but he had never seen such a powerful Pikachu!
In terms of level, this Pikachu was stronger than any Pikachu he had ever seen. While it still didn't reach his current level, calling it the King of Pikachu wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Then, this Pikachu inexplicably increased its power, jumping from the Elite Four level to Champion level, and even Champion Intermediate level!
Putting aside the absurdity of this method of instantly advancing through a major stage followed by a minor one, the sheer magnitude of such a forced level increase is theoretically incomparable to a Pokémon that has genuinely reached that level step by step.
However, this Pikachu's stats not only match its level, but its stats even surpass its level!
A Pikachu forcibly boosted from a beginner Elite Four level to Champion level actually defeated it in a head-on confrontation! If they hadn't been in the middle of a battle, it would have been completely stunned and questioning its existence.
It's always been it battling Pokémon of a higher level; when has it ever been the other way around?
And this isn't just a simple level jump; it's bridging an unparalleled chasm between earth and heaven!
No wonder this boy was chosen by Ho-Oh.
With such potential, such ability, such strength—if even someone like this couldn't become Ho-Oh's envoy, the one to challenge Ho-Oh, then no one else in the world could possibly hold that position.
"Whoa~" Young man, you have successfully passed the first trial of the Three Legendary Beasts. Please keep this proof of your success.
As Suicune's cry faded, a blue light shot out from its body.
Ash instinctively caught the light and found it to be a scale almost the size of his palm.
Was this one of the proofs Suicune had mentioned of successfully passing the Three Legendary Beasts trial?
Holding it in his hand felt like holding a water balloon. It was clearly a hard scale, yet it gave him this feeling.
Things coming from Suicune were indeed extraordinary.
"Whoa~" When you have collected all the tokens of the Three Legendary Beasts, place them together with the rainbow feather. Eventually, you will be guided to the location of Ho-Oh.
"I understand. The remaining two of the Three Legendary Beasts are Entei and Raikou, right? When will they arrive?" Ash nodded, putting the scale back into his backpack as he asked curiously.
"Woo-hoo~ Woo-hoo~" Those two will come to you at some point, maybe tomorrow, maybe a few months from now, but within six months they will appear before you. The other three legendary beast tokens offer significant benefits to Pokémon of the same type, especially before reaching Champion level.
"Wow, that's amazing! Thanks, Suicune!" Ash exclaimed, his eyes wide with surprise.
Items dropped by legendary Pokémon generally have various uses, but Ash hadn't expected the item Suicune gave him to have such an effect.
After all, theoretically, this thing is only used to find Ho-Oh's location and as a token to challenge it. If it had any other special uses, it would be a bit too powerful.
But it really does have a special use!
Blastoise is missing a legendary Pokémon item. Of the starter Pokémon, Venusaur has Xerneas's Life Branch, Charizard has Ho-Oh's Rainbow Feather, but Blastoise has nothing.
Even though Suicune's token was of a lower caliber than the other two, whose tokens were those of legendary Pokémon, Suicune's was...
But it was still better than nothing. From now on, Torkoal would also have a legendary Pokémon item.
"What? What did Suicune say, Ash? Was that blue thing the so-called token?" Misty blinked her bright eyes and asked curiously.
Suicune used Pokémon language, not telepathy, so only Ash, who could understand Pokémon language, could understand what Suicune was saying.
Hearing this, Ash roughly recounted Suicune's words.
After learning about the effects of the scales Suicune had given them, Misty and the others showed expressions of surprise.
Even something that fell from the fingertips of a legendary Pokémon was several times more powerful than some commercially available items.
Ten minutes later, thanks to Ash's healing, Suicune's injuries had largely healed.
The remaining damage would be fully recovered through its own regeneration. Suicune then bid farewell to Ash and the others.
It would continue its journey through the human world to observe its conditions and report back to Ho-Oh.
If Ash could defeat Ho-Oh, he would possess not only Ho-Oh as a legendary Pokémon, but also command of Ho-Oh and its three strongest legendary beasts.
However, that would be after defeating Ho-Oh. Right now, even if Suicune was defeated, it couldn't follow Ash.
Misty watched Suicune's departing figure, a hint of reluctance in her beautiful eyes.
For her, a lover of Water-type Pokémon, Suicune was an absolute icon.
Not only was it a Water-type, but it also possessed an exceptionally beautiful and dazzling appearance.
What trainer aspiring to become a Water-type Pokémon Master wouldn't want to capture a Suicune?
Unfortunately, this Suicune cannot become a human's Pokémon.
There isn't just one Suicune in the world, but this is the strongest and original one, a direct subordinate of Ho-Oh.
It will become the Pokémon of the person who captures Ho-Oh, depending on Ho-Oh's allegiance.
If it were another Suicune, defeating it would allow you to capture it directly.
Of course, Misty doesn't have the strength to defeat Suicune right now.
But this doesn't stop Misty from setting a goal: to capture a Suicune on her journey.
If it's a Champion-level Suicune, she might be able to defeat it with some effort. She needs to work hard for the upcoming Johto trip!
After seeing Suicune off, Ash and the others continued towards New Bark Town.
Ten minutes later, they finally arrived at their destination, the starting point of their Johto trip—New Bark Town!
"Silver Conference, here I come!!"