"Ash, if this is all the skill you have, you won't be able to rescue Erika from my hands."
Suicune stood on the ground. Its posture was cold and proud. Its detached eyes observed the gasping Pikachu.
This was the Legendary Pokémon symbol of the North Wind, Suicune.
In a different situation, Misty felt she would probably scream. She thought Suicune looked very impressive.
But now, she only felt hopelessness. How could they defeat such a powerful Suicune?
Even Ash's Pikachu was completely surpassed by Suicune.
Erika pressed her lips together. She still did not dare to raise her head. If she did, she would feel truly humiliated.
Actually, why was Damian behaving like this?
He was treating her like a princess captured by a dragon. It was far too embarrassing.
Caitlin followed her own rule to ignore things. She did not look at Erika even once.
"Damn it!!"
Ash grit his teeth tightly. He was reluctant to accept this. He really did not want to lose.
"You are still too weak right now, Ash. At this moment, you can't do anything." Damian let out a yawn.
"If you want to defeat me, you must become much stronger. You can't be like you are now. You are like a weak trainer on the street who loses immediately."
Damian tilted his head slightly. He looked at Ash, whose expression was very negative.
In reality, Ash was not perfect. He felt sad because he lost a battle. He also got angry because of his opponent's taunts.
But Damian believed that these feelings would become the nourishment for Ash to grow stronger.
After all...
The strongest trainers in other regions were all growing rapidly. Kanto was the strongest region. How could its local trainers lose to people from other regions?
Damian felt that Red and Ash were living too comfortably. So, he decided to add some excitement to their lives.
The previous events had likely left a lasting impression on Red. This time, it was Ash's turn.
As for Green... he had not seen him yet. He did not know where their short-term champion was currently showing off.
"It looks like this is your limit for now. Well then, goodbye."
Damian gave Ash one last look. He held Erika, turned around, and prepared to leave.
Suicune did not move. It just calmly observed Ash's group and Pikachu. It wanted to prevent them from chasing Damian.
"Stop! The battle isn't over yet!"
Ash was reluctant to give up. He immediately threw his second Poké Ball.
"Charizard! Use Flamethrower!"
The Poké Ball opened. A Charizard with a powerful aura spread its wings. Raging flames burned in its mouth and sprayed toward Suicune.
Even if the opponent had a type advantage, it didn't matter. Ash believed in his Charizard.
"Hydro Pump." Damian looked back.
Suicune opened its mouth. It fired a massive blast of water to strike back directly.
It was a Water-type Hydro Pump.
There was a massive explosion.
The Hydro Pump and Flamethrower struck each other with force. It was the classic battle of water versus fire. It was blue versus red.
However, the result was not a surprise to Damian. Suicune's Hydro Pump pushed powerfully against the Flamethrower. It moved forward wildly. Finally, it slammed heavily into Charizard's body.
There was another loud noise.
With a loud explosion, Ash's Charizard let out a cry of pain. It crashed straight down. It hit the ground with a heavy thud.
This...
Watching this scene, Brock was completely shocked.
Water has an advantage over fire. However, seeing one move completely overwhelm another like this was extremely rare.
This was enough to show how powerful this Suicune was. Brock knew that Ash's strength was actually already very great.
Even the Cinnabar Gym Leader, Blaine, had admitted something. He said he would not be Ash's match even if he went all out.
But now, Damian was defeating Ash with Suicune easily. He treated Ash like a random trainer on the road.
"Charizard!" Ash shouted in shock. He quickly ran toward Charizard.
"The gap is still quite large. I hope that next time we meet, you'll have made some progress?"
Damian shook his head. He could see that Ash's level was quite good, but it was not enough yet.
"I must rescue Erika!"
Ash checked on Charizard. He let out a sigh of relief. He looked at Damian with frustration. This Suicune was truly too strong.
But he would not give up. Never giving up in a battle was his personal rule.
"Pointless." Damian glanced at Ash.
"Squirtle!"
Ash ignored him and threw his third Pokémon.
A healthy Squirtle appeared in front of Ash. Ash had high battle perception. He realized that they needed to touch Suicune to defeat it.
Damian raised an eyebrow. He looked at the Squirtle in front of Ash. Ash had incredible talent. Why didn't he let Squirtle evolve?
Oh, Ash respected the wishes of the Pokémon. If Squirtle did not want to evolve, he would support that choice.
But to be honest, evolution could greatly increase a Pokémon's power. It was true that Ash could train a Squirtle to be excellent.
However, how could a Squirtle compare to a Blastoise in terms of strategy?
A Blastoise could Mega Evolve or Gigantamax. It could handle many types of opponents. It had high tactical value. But a Squirtle was different.
Damian felt it was a pity to see this Squirtle. He thought that Ash's team might change in this world. In the end, Ash still used a Squirtle.
He just didn't know what Ash's other main Pokémon were.
"Squirtle, Fake Out!"
Ash immediately gave the order to Squirtle.
"Huh?" Damian was stunned for a moment.
Suicune's expression changed instantly. The small Squirtle rushed over at high speed. It arrived right in front of Suicune.
Squirtle jumped up. It slapped Suicune directly in the face.
A slapping sound echoed.
It was the Normal-type move, Fake Out. This was an Egg Move that this Squirtle had inherited.
Suicune let out a cry.
Suicune's expression turned icy in an instant. It let out an angry growl at Squirtle. The beast began to hiss with rage.
Its eyes were as cold as an iceberg. It stared fixedly at the turtle in front of it.
That little turtle actually dared to slap its face.
Squirtle was startled by Suicune's fierce and cold gaze. It swallowed its spit. It felt a thick wave of hostility coming toward it.
"Great! Squirtle! Keep going with Double-Edge!"
Ash saw that Fake Out had worked. He immediately ordered another attack to take the chance.
Squirtle gave two low cries. A faint white light glowed around its body. It slammed its head into Suicune's chest.
It was the Normal-type move, Double-Edge.
Suicune was knocked back a step. At this moment, it also regained its ability to move.
Actually, it had already recovered by the time Squirtle charged over.
"You're free to do as you like." Damian did not give a command. He let Suicune act on its own.
Suicune stepped forward. Its cold gaze had a lot of pressure. It made Squirtle feel uneasy.
Ice energy gathered in front of Suicune's mouth. An Ice Beam shot out directly.
"Squirtle! Use Rapid Spin to dodge!"
Squirtle immediately pulled its limbs and head into its shell. It spun at high speed. It tried to jump into the air to avoid the Ice Beam.
But the Ice Beam was too fast. It hit the spinning Squirtle directly. The rotation stopped suddenly.
The ice made a cracking sound.
The Ice Beam continued to freeze it. Suicune controlled the move. Most of Squirtle's body was frozen. The ice even spread to the ground.
"Squirtle!" Ash was shocked.
Squirtle cried out in confusion.
Squirtle poked its head out. It found that its whole body was frozen. It quickly began to struggle in a panic.
But in the next second, a shadow covered Squirtle. Squirtle looked up. It saw the expressionless Suicune leaning in close.
Squirtle swallowed hard again. It suddenly felt that things were going poorly.
Then something happened.
The slaps landed one after another.
Ash's trio watched with their mouths open. Suicune had a blank face. It skillfully lifted its paw. With a steady rhythm, it used a series of slaps on Squirtle.
The slaps landed with loud sounds. Squirtle's face was almost swollen from the hitting.
"Is that... Double Slap?"
Misty stared blankly at the scene. She asked the question hesitantly.
Double Slap was also a move. It was Normal-type.
"But can Suicune use Double Slap? Also, it doesn't look quite right."
Brock's mouth twitched. That was not the move Double Slap. When a Pokémon uses that move, its palms are supposed to glow with white light.
But Suicune was clearly not using a move.
"What do you mean 'Double Slap'? It's just hitting Squirtle in the face!! Squirtle!"
Ash finally reacted. He stomped his feet in anger. His voice was urgent.
That Suicune was terrible. Its desire for revenge was way too strong.
His Squirtle only hit it once with Fake Out. Suicune actually froze him just to slap his face.
Misty remained silent.
Brock remained silent.
Ash quickly took out his Poké Ball. He recalled the turtle, who was already dizzy from the slapping. He felt very bad for his Pokémon.
At that moment, inside Ash's shadow, a pair of hollow orange eyes looked at Suicune with horror.
Suicune was very scary.
"Let's go."
Damian thought the situation was very funny. He led Erika and Caitlin away from the training field.
Ash wanted to stop them. However, Suicune stood in the way. He could only watch as the three of them left.
Ash suddenly felt that Damian was right. Right now, he could not do anything.
"We didn't manage to wait until Officer Jenny and the others arrived..." Misty said. She felt very helpless.
"Damian is very strong. I'm afraid even if Officer Jenny and her team came, they wouldn't be able to do anything to him." Brock sighed.
Ash grit his teeth. He looked in the direction where Damian had disappeared. He had to get stronger. He needed to be much stronger.
Damian, next time, I will definitely defeat you.
"Which region should I go to next?"
On the way back to Erika's courtyard, Damian thought about the next region he wanted to visit.
-------------------------
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