"Suicune is so pitiful! To be whipped by Mega Sceptile like that..."
Dawn watched with overflowing compassion as the once-graceful legend of the North Wind was subjected to a relentless Dragon Tail barrage. Mega Sceptile, sensing the creature's stubborn will, was showing no mercy, ensuring the legend was well-tenderized before the capture attempt.
"There's no other way, Dawn," Ash replied, though he too felt a twinge of sympathy. "Suicune's stamina is monstrous. Even after taking a Frenzy Plant to the face, it's still glaring at Sceptile like it wants to settle the score in another life."
"Chaa~" Sceptile smirked, the twig in its mouth bobbing as it delivered one final, particularly vigorous slap with its tail.
It was in this moment of distraction that Dawn finally noticed her own predicament. The blizzard had passed, the blue Aura shield was fading, but she was still firmly wedged between Ash's strong thighs, and his hand was—at that very moment—moving along her exposed leg.
"AH!"
A sudden surge of strength sent Dawn pushing Ash away with a startled cry. She hugged her chest, her face a mask of suspicion and bright pink embarrassment. "You... when did you... what were you doing?!"
"Cough! Cough!" Ash immediately snapped into a mask of professional concern. "Don't be ridiculous. Did you forget the Blizzard? You fainted from the cold, and I was using my Aura to keep your body temperature from dropping. It's medical necessity!"
Dawn squinted at him, protecting her chest with both hands. She vaguely remembered the biting cold and being pulled into his arms, but the "medical" sensation on her thigh felt... specific. "That's not right! Then how do you explain your hand just now?"
"Checking for circulation!" Ash lied with a straight face, his twenty years of accumulated excuses fueling a performance worthy of an Oscar. "I checked your face, your hands—all normal. Your legs were the last part left to verify. It's basic first aid, Dawn. Truly."
"Hmph... I'm remembering this!" Dawn pouted, realizing she couldn't win a logic battle against his relentless "reasoning." She turned her head away, her neck still flushed a deep jade-red.
The Persistence of the Ultra Ball
Seeing that the teasing had reached its limit, Ash turned back to the battlefield. Suicune was barely conscious, slumped against the vines. Ash opened his system shop. A Master Ball cost 10,000 Gold Coins—a "forcible capture" that was technically flawless but financially ruinous.
Instead, he pulled out a stack of Ultra Balls (50 coins each).
"Go!"
Thwack. The ball hit Suicune's head. One shake... two... Pop! Suicune burst out, gasping for air.
Thwack. Another one. One shake... Pop!
Thwack. "Ash, how are you so patient?" Dawn asked, watching the floor of the cave slowly fill with discarded black-and-gold spheres. "There are Ultra Balls everywhere!"
"It's a game of numbers," Ash muttered. He remembered the grueling days of catching legendary clouds in the Sinnoh of his past life. This was nothing.
Finally, on the twenty-first throw, Suicune looked at Ash with a weary, complex expression. It sensed the Aura of Ho-Oh within him—a mark of the Rainbow Hero. If this is the human the Great Phoenix chose, Suicune thought, perhaps he's just... uniquely persistent. It stopped resisting. The ball clicked once, twice, and remained still.
The Tears of a Young Nurse
"Excellent! Suicune is officially on the team!" Ash hoisted the ball, signaling to Sceptile (who had reverted to its normal form) and Pikachu.
"Pika!" The mouse struck a victory pose, while Sceptile calmly resumed chewing its twig.
"Congratulations, Ash!" Dawn high-fived him, the previous "medical checkup" momentarily forgotten in the excitement of witnessing a legendary capture.
However, as they began to leave the grotto, a pink Drifloon floated into view, carrying a very young Nurse Joy (Mai). She looked at the two trainers, then at the scarred battlefield and the pile of discarded Ultra Balls by the pool.
Mai's face crumbled. She had come to visit her "secret friend"—the beautiful spirit of the lake she had bonded with in the silence of the forest.
"Ash... was that her friend?" Dawn whispered, her heart sinking.
"Let's go back to the Center first," Ash said, rubbing his temple. He knew this part of the "script" was going to be messy.
As they walked away, the sound of a young girl's sobbing echoed through the stone halls of the cave. Her "North Wind" had been caught by a boy with a blue light and a very thick skin.