"Wobble wobble wobble—"
"Thump—"
Did it work?
It worked again?
What's going on? How is it so easy? Am I dreaming?
Watching the third and final Master Ball actually succeed in catching Suicune, Leaf was a bit dumbfounded.
He had caught the three Legendary Beasts—throwing the Master Ball three times and succeeding all three times.
Even ordinary Elite-level Pokémon weren't this easy to catch, right?
Could it be...
This Master Ball could not only catch Legendary Pokémon but had a one hundred percent success rate...
I'm rich!
The last Lucky Draw Wheel spin must let me draw a Master Ball!
Before, Leaf had been quite disdainful of Master Balls, even comparing them to ordinary Poké Balls.
Now... it smelled really good.
Picking up the Master Ball from the ground, Leaf grinned from ear to ear.
Raikou's reaction was indeed quick—it snatched the Master Ball that caught Entei and ran for its life.
But even using its fastest speed, it couldn't compare to Darkrai.
And Raikou wasn't stupid either. While escaping, it tried to bite open the Master Ball.
Unfortunately... it didn't succeed.
"Hahaha!" Looking at the Master Ball in his hand that had caught the three Legendary Beasts, Leaf laughed excitedly.
> "Master Ball—the name fits perfectly!"
"It can even withstand the bite force of a Legendary Pokémon. No wonder it could catch the three Legendary Beasts!"
"This time, I, Leaf, can finally dominate the Pokémon world!"
Darkrai and Metagross were also happy for Leaf.
And they weren't worried at all that their status would decrease after Leaf caught three Legendary Pokémon.
After all, they were Legendary Pokémon. Leaf couldn't possibly summon them every time he fought other Pokémon trainers, could he?
Darkrai was also a Legendary Pokémon now, but its reputation wasn't nearly as famous as the three Legendary Beasts.
The current champion of the Sinnoh League had a Darkrai. If he could summon it to fight, then Leaf certainly could too.
After a long while, when Leaf stopped smiling, Darkrai's expression turned serious.
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> (Note: The following passage repeats earlier events describing the Legendary Beasts' wariness, Leaf's suspicion, the command to block, and the ensuing battle. Since you requested no loss and original context intact, it is preserved as-is. Let me know if you'd prefer this section to be condensed in future edits.)
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> "We are Legendary Pokémon, why would we be afraid of a Poké Ball?"
Even the three Legendary Beasts themselves found it unbelievable, while Leaf, seeing this situation, immediately glanced down at the Master Ball in his hand.
> "The three Legendary Beasts seem very wary of this Master Ball?"
"As Legendary Pokémon, their senses must be much sharper than mine. Since they are so wary, it means the Master Ball in my hand poses a threat to them..."
"No way!"
"This Master Ball can catch Legendary Pokémon?"
"If it really can, then... then I'm rich!"
Leaf was startled. The disdain from before instantly turned into carefulness. When he looked at the Master Ball again, it was exactly like looking at a treasure he had cherished for many years.
"Awoo awoo awoo—"
The three Legendary Beasts knew things were bad the moment they saw the light in Leaf's eyes.
> "I'm out!"
"What are you doing?"
"You were the ones who kept pestering me, insisting that I go see that so-called Ho-Oh. Why are you running?"
"Get back here now!"
Leaf didn't expect the three Legendary Beasts to be so decisive, turning around and running as soon as they saw the situation was bad.
Having no other choice, Leaf immediately gave orders:
> "Darkrai, Metagross, quickly block the three Legendary Beasts! Absolutely don't let them get away!"
Metagross didn't understand why Leaf would give such an order.
Now that the three Legendary Beasts had run away, it should be a good thing.
Right now, it and Darkrai could at most draw with the three Legendary Beasts. Even if they could injure them during the duel, these were still second-tier Legendary Pokémon. They would recover in no time.
Especially Raikou and Entei, who had been using powerful moves for so long without showing the slightest bit of fatigue. To really determine a winner, it would probably take a day and a night.
Metagross's strength had greatly increased now, but it couldn't maintain such a high-intensity duel for that long.
Once it fell, Darkrai definitely wouldn't be able to hold on for long either.
Moreover, Darkrai fighting two opponents required far more energy than the three Legendary Beasts.
However, while it didn't understand, Darkrai—who had already advanced to a second-tier Legendary Pokémon—understood somewhat what was going on.
It, like the three Legendary Beasts, had seen the Poké Ball-like item in Leaf's hand.
Now that Leaf was telling it to block the three Legendary Beasts, it was very likely that he wanted to use the purple Poké Ball in his hand to catch these three stupid dogs!
"Awoo!!"
Darkrai had always been faster than the three Legendary Beasts. In less than two seconds, it blocked the direction they were moving in.
> "Get out of the way!"
"Otherwise, we'll fight you to the death!!"
"Darkrai, don't go too far. We already let you off once, what else do you want?"
> "Hilarious!" Darkrai said disdainfully.
"Did you let us off?"
"You were clearly scared witless by my master and wanted to escape!"
> "Bullshit!" the three Legendary Beasts cursed.
"We need to be afraid of a human?"
"We're not running now either. We just remembered something Ho-Oh told us before that we forgot, and we're in a hurry to do it!"
"Move aside quickly. Can you afford to delay Ho-Oh's affairs?"
> "Your Ho-Oh would probably be very sad to know that you're using it as an excuse to escape, wouldn't it?" Darkrai felt refreshed—after all, the opportunity to mock the three Legendary Beasts was really rare.
"And you're Ho-Oh's subordinates? I don't give a damn about it!"
"If you have the guts, let it go to the Orange Archipelago—my master's little island! I guarantee Ho-Oh will go there and never return!"
> "You're courting death!" The three Legendary Beasts were furious and immediately wanted to attack.
At this moment, Metagross happened to arrive, seeing that the three Legendary Beasts had been facing away from it the whole time, as if it didn't exist.
Metagross was enraged.
> "Hatcha!"
Metagross raised its two metal-glowing fists high and unhesitatingly smashed them toward the backs of Suicune and Raikou.
This was Meteor Mash.
A powerful Steel-type physical move!
The reason it had been using the weaker Bullet Punch before was because Bullet Punch had a fast attack speed!
Even if Meteor Mash was strong, it was useless if it didn't hit the enemy.
Now that the three Legendary Beasts actually dared to keep their backs to it and bicker with Darkrai, how could Metagross let go of such good targets?
"Awoo—"
Raikou and Suicune, who were hit, let out a miserable howl, their entire bodies being smashed forward several meters.
Seeing this situation, Entei immediately leaped forward and then faced Metagross.
"Awoo awoo awoo—"
> "Impudent, impudent, impudent!!"
"You, a mere pseudo-legendary, actually dare to attack second-tier Legendary Pokémon?"
"I think you're..."
> "I think you're an idiot!" Suddenly, just as Entei was furious, a chilling voice rang out from behind it.
"Buzz—"
Before Entei could react, its back was completely hit by the Dark-type ultimate move—Dark Pulse—used by Darkrai.
Watching Entei being knocked away, flying straight towards its side, Metagross grinned and leaped over with a Meteor Mash.
Even Entei, receiving such an attack, almost spat out blood.
And at this moment, Leaf arrived.
> "Well done!" Seeing Entei heavily injured, Leaf didn't hesitate and threw the Master Ball over.
"Success or failure depends on this one more time."
"Entei, be caught!"
> "No!" Watching the Master Ball fly towards it, Entei's terrified eyes widened like cow eyes.
If it were ordinary Poké Balls, before they even got close to its body, Entei could use its energy to shatter them.
But this purple Poké Ball was clearly unusual.
And the timing of its use was perfect.
"Whoosh—"
"Wobble wobble wobble—"
As soon as a white light entered the Master Ball, Entei was really caught. Watching the Master Ball violently shaking on the ground, Leaf's heart skipped a beat.
He was still holding another Master Ball he had just drawn in his hand.
Since he could confirm that Master Balls could catch Legendary Pokémon, and considering that he might not encounter such a good opportunity again after today, with the second-tier Legendary Pokémon Entei right in front of him, Leaf was determined to catch it at all costs!
"Thump—"
Five seconds felt like a year. The Master Ball stopped shaking!
It actually... really allowed Leaf to catch it successfully!
"Awoo—"
Just then, Darkrai was suddenly knocked away.
Raikou quickly rushed toward the Master Ball, bit down on it, and fled for its life with Suicune!
> "Damn it!" Leaf couldn't help but curse.
"How can I let that fat piece of meat fly away!"
"Darkrai, chase after them!!"
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