The dying Celebi fell unconscious again. Like a wilting plant, its body was shriveled and dark. It looked like it was at its end.
The group gathered around it. Ash and Sammy were frantic. Seeing its state, Ash's first instinct was to get water for it, but when he turned, he saw the lake behind him had completely changed.
Affected by the battle and explosion, the forest beside the lake was nearly destroyed. That wasn't the worst of it. The dark energy had seeped into the water, and the entire lake was stained as if by ink. The water was no longer clear, but dark and turbid, looking ominous.
"This..."
Ash gritted his teeth. His usually slow brain seemed to spark. He quickly turned to Natsui.
"Natsui! I heard Suicune has the power to purify water! Please, make it do something!"
He didn't speak to Suicune directly because he knew Natsui's Pokémon were extremely loyal. Gardevoir, Gengar, and Jolteon might listen to Erika, but a Pokémon like the Red Gyarados wouldn't obey anyone but Natsui.
He wasn't sure about this Suicune's personality, so he could only ask Natsui for help.
Hearing this, Erika and the others weren't surprised, just looked at Natsui with anticipation. But Sammy, Towa, Miku, and White were clearly shocked.
They looked at Natsui, then at the Suicune beside him, a sense of awe filling their minds.
Could... could it be... this Suicune belongs to this man?
But how is that possible?
Suicune, like the other Legendary Beasts, was sacred and noble in the eyes of Johto's people. They never imagined it could be captured by a trainer like an ordinary Pokémon.
Although they didn't want to believe it, the next scene forced them to accept the fact.
Natsui turned to Suicune and nodded. "Go on. It's up to you."
In truth, Natsui had released Suicune precisely because he knew this would happen. Even if Ash hadn't asked, he intended to purify the lake.
Suicune raised its head and roared at the sky, a sound part deer, part leopard. Its body was covered in a blue-green glow, looking peaceful and warm.
With a light leap, Suicune jumped onto the lake. Amazingly, it didn't sink. As if weightless, it stood on the water's surface.
With a few more leaps, Suicune moved to the center of the lake. Every time its hooves touched the dark, murky water, a blue-green light would pulse outwards, as if detergent had been added. The water it touched instantly returned to its original clarity.
The group on the shore watched silently. Suicune, like an elegant dancer, circled the lake once. The dark energy in the water was completely purged.
When Suicune returned and stood beside Natsui, Towa and the others couldn't help but stare at him again.
So this is Suicune's power...
They hesitated, wanting to say something, but didn't dare. In their minds, Natsui had just ascended to a whole new level.
Ash was the first to snap out of it. He quickly placed Celebi in the water, hoping to rehydrate its shriveled body.
Unfortunately, his hopes were dashed. Celebi just floated there as if it were dead, showing no reaction at all.
"Celebi..."
No matter how Ash called out, Celebi remained motionless. Its chest was no longer rising and falling.
Everyone knew what this meant. Erika sighed softly, and Misty turned away to wipe her tears. Towa, Miku, and White bowed their heads in silence.
Ash and Sammy were overcome with self-blame.
"If only... if only I could have saved you sooner..."
"No... it's my fault. If I had protected you better, you wouldn't have been caught..."
Even the wild Pokémon of the forest seemed to sense what happened. They emerged from the trees, crying out mournfully for Celebi.
Everything seemed to be in mourning for the guardian of the forest.
Only Natsui looked up at the sky, as if expecting something.
He alone knew that it wouldn't, and shouldn't, end here.
Sure enough, in the next second, the sky above them flashed with a blinding light. A vast blue-green glow spread over the forest, just as Natsui's group had seen when they first entered.
And the forest's voice, which Towa remembered so clearly, echoed through the trees.
"This is... the sound of time travel?"
The group looked up, confused, wondering what was happening. Could another Pokémon besides Celebi travel through time?
The light grew brighter, forcing them to shield their eyes.
As they adjusted, before they could figure it out, dozens of Pokémon flew down from the sky.
And every single one of them was a Celebi!
Before Ash and the others could react, the Celebi were upon them. A few flew out from the group, used their psychic power to lift the dead Celebi, and carried it high into the air. The others circled it, as if performing a mystical ritual.
The blue-green light shone again, brighter than before.
Natsui and the others squinted against the painful light, looking up. The Celebi that had been dead, as if revitalized, slowly regained its color, and finally... it opened its eyes!
In just that short time, it was back to its energetic self.
"It's incredible..." Erika said in awe. "They have the power to bring a Pokémon back from the dead..."
"Yeah..." Sammy said. "And I never knew Celebi had companions..."
Natsui also watched the scene, but he disagreed with Erika's conclusion.
This probably wasn't resurrection, which involved a much deeper power. He guessed it was a time-reversal. Since Celebi could travel through time, the other Celebi could rewind this one's time, bringing it back to a point before it died.
After reviving their companion, it nodded to them. The other Celebi then returned to the sky and, just as they had come, vanished back to their own times.
Watching this, Natsui suddenly thought that perhaps they weren't its companions, but rather... Celebi itself from different points in time.
Of course, that was just his guess. Who really knew the truth?
Wasn't this kind of magical unknown what scientists spent their lives chasing?
Click.
He took out his phone and saved the scene to his album. But perhaps because the light was too bright, the photo was overexposed and extremely blurry, showing only a few dozen dark specks.
If you didn't look closely, you couldn't tell they were Celebi.
But it was enough. As long as he knew. When he was old, this photo would remind him of this magical day, a story to tell his children, so he wouldn't forget.
The revived Celebi seemed very happy.
It looped and danced in the air, chirping joyfully. It swooped low over the battlefield wreckage, heading towards Natsui and the others. Suddenly, from the jumbled mess of wood, a pair of strong hands shot out and grabbed its body.
"What!?"
This turn of events not only startled Celebi, but shocked Ash and the others as well.
When they saw who the hands belonged to, they realized Vicious had survived, crawling out from the ruins.
This was completely unexpected. Ash and the others had assumed Vicious was buried and killed in the monster's collapse, but he had survived!
Vicious gave them a savage grin. Without a word, the jetpack on his back ignited, and he flew off into the distance, holding Celebi tight.
"Oh no!"
Only then did Ash and the others react. Ash immediately started running after him, but how could his two legs compete with technology?
Seeing Vicious get further and further away, Ash was frantic. Just as he was about to give up in frustration, a figure flashed past him. Natsui was already on his Dragonite, giving chase.
"I'll handle this! Wait for me to come back!"
With those words, Natsui spurred Dragonite, and the two were already far away, flying above the forest.
In fact, the moment Celebi was revived, while everyone else was celebrating, Natsui's nerves had grown even tighter.
He couldn't relax until the very end. Things weren't truly over, and an accident could happen at any time.
Sure enough, Vicious had seized that fleeting opportunity and grabbed Celebi again.
The moment it happened, Natsui had recalled Suicune, sent out Dragonite, and mounted it.
The sequence was smooth and lightning-fast. He was gone before he even had time to say a word to Erika.
To an outsider, it looked like a quick reaction. Only he knew how long he had been waiting for this exact moment.
Ash ran a few steps, but quickly lost sight of Vicious and Natsui.
Hearing Natsui's words, although Natsui had taken charge, Ash's personality wouldn't let him just stand by.
He didn't stop running. He called out over his shoulder, "The rest is up to me and Natsui! You guys wait here for us!"
"Wait!" Sammy shouted, running to catch up. "I'm going too!"
Ash looked at Sammy and nodded. Although their personalities were different, they were the same age and shared a deep love for Pokémon. He already considered him a friend.
He wouldn't refuse his help.
Ash reached for his Charizard's Poké Ball, intending for them both to ride it, but his hand hit his pouch. He suddenly remembered: after the Silver Conference, he had sent Charizard back to the Charicific Valley. It wasn't with him!
And without Charizard, just running through the forest, they would never catch up.
But Ash was a person of great determination. Even if he had to run, he wouldn't give up. His hand moved to another Poké Ball, and he threw it into the sky.
"Noctowl, follow them!"
Noctowl only needed one glance to understand the situation. It nodded at Ash, then flapped its wings, chasing after Dragonite. Ash looked up at its departing figure, then plunged into the forest with Sammy, disappearing from view.
Back at the lake, only Erika, Misty, Brock, Towa, Miku, and White remained.
Erika shook her head. It had all happened so fast, she barely had time to react before Natsui was gone.
But she wasn't worried about his safety. With so many powerful Pokémon, his opponents should be the ones who were worried.
"Well, since they've gone after him, we can only trust them. Let's set up camp here for now."
Miku nodded. "After all this, everyone must be tired. I'll make us some lunch."
Misty and the others agreed. At this point, they couldn't help, so they could only wait here for Natsui and Ash to return.
Only White looked at the wreckage of his airship in the lake and sighed helplessly.
It was fine when we got here... I can't believe the loss was this great. What a disaster...
...
High above the forest, the jetpack carried Vicious toward the edge.
He gripped Celebi tightly. Although it struggled, his glove was clearly specialized, emitting a faint dark energy that kept Celebi from breaking free or attacking.
But after flying for a short while, he heard a sound behind him. He looked back and saw Natsui on his Dragonite, relentlessly pursuing him.
Damn it, this guy is so annoying...
He gritted his teeth and increased the power. The jetpack flared, and his speed surged.
But if he thought he could shake Dragonite, he was being naive.
Dragonite might be slow on land, but its flying speed was extremely fast. Even with Vicious's sudden boost, it couldn't be shaken off.
Most importantly, the jetpack had limited fuel. After a short flight, the energy ran out, and Vicious was forced to descend.
The moment he landed, an orange figure flashed, and Dragonite landed opposite him.
Dismounting, Natsui said with a smile, "I think you're out of tricks. Stop struggling and just let Celebi go."
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