Suicune is getting slapped again.
Watching Suicune already puffing at Weavile, fur bristling, Damian's expression is odd.
For some reason, every time he uses Suicune in battle, the chance Suicune gets slapped by Fake Out is astonishingly high.
He can understand it, after all Annihilape has Ghost typing, and Fake Out can't hit it.
But… it's just ridiculous.
"Brick Break."
Suicune is hit by Fake Out and can't counter immediately.
Annihilape swings a paw at the incoming flames and splits the flame in two with a powerful Brick Break, flames scorching from both sides of Annihilape.
The heat of the flames fans out, making Annihilape's gray-white fur whip around, more menacing and wild.
"That power…"
Seeing this, Karen's eyes shimmer faintly, Will is also shocked.
This is such a strong Brick Break?!
Houndoom is Karen's ace Pokémon, especially with a very strong special attack.
But this single Brick Break managed to split Houndoom's Flamethrower.
"Lord Damian is strong!"
Carr clenches his fist and cheers; as expected, the young master of Damian!
Splitting the Flamethrower, Annihilape doesn't even look at Weavile and charges straight at Houndoom.
"Extreme Speed."
Suicune, escaping the fear from Fake Out, bursts forward with a white glow behind it, slamming into Weavile.
Boom!
Extreme Speed is so fast it hits Weavile in the chest; Weavile cries out in pain and is knocked back.
But Suicune's Extreme Speed doesn't stop; it passes Weavile, turns around, and charges back toward Weavile again.
Still Extreme Speed!
"Upper Hand!"
"Fire Blast!"
Karen reacts quickly.
Weavile's claws glow white, a Fighting-type move that counters First Strike!
Weavile's Upper Hand darts toward Suicune, but Suicune doesn't get hit by Upper Hand because it wasn't aiming at Weavile.
Suicune, in Extreme Speed form, darts past Weavile!
Karen's pupils flare.
Boom!
Suicune returns to Weavile's back, slamming into it again with a heavier Extreme Speed.
Weavile cries out; this time the Extreme Speed is heavier, and its whole body is knocked through the air.
"Air Slash."
Suicune leaps high, unleashing Air Slash that slices through the sky, straight for Weavile.
A loud explosion erupts.
Still Extreme Speed!
"Upper Hand!"
"Fire Blast!"
Karen reacts quickly.
Weavile's claws glow white, a Fighting-type move that counters First Strike!
Weavile's Upper Hand darts toward Suicune, but Suicune doesn't get hit by Upper Hand because it wasn't aiming at Weavile.
Suicune, in Extreme Speed form, darts past Weavile!
Karen's pupils flare.
Boom!
Suicune returns to Weavile's back, slamming into it again with a heavier Extreme Speed.
Weavile cries out; this time the Extreme Speed is heavier, and its whole body is knocked through the air.
"Air Slash."
Suicune leaps high, unleashing Air Slash that slices through the sky, straight for Weavile.
A loud explosion erupts.
The Flying-type Air Slash explodes on Weavile, thick smoke filling the air.
Yet Suicune is thoughtful, raising a breeze to disperse the smoke and slowly steps in front of the severely damaged Weavile.
Weavile is in agony, two Extreme Speeds and one Air Slash have left it in bad shape.
Suicune stares at Weavile expressionlessly, a cold gaze that makes Weavile uneasy—what is this water dog planning to do?
Meanwhile, Annihilape charges toward Houndoom, Houndoom retreats while breathing fire.
A large blaze lights the air, but Annihilape's Phantom Force disappears and then reappears behind Houndoom.
Despite Karen's reminders, Houndoom was prepared, yet Annihilape's speed remains too fast.
It grabs Houndoom by the tail!
Houndoom, held by the tail, cannot escape and is dealt a near-full melee by Annihilape.
After this exchange, Houndoom nearly collapses and spins to the ground.
"That's enough, Kid. I concede."
Seeing Annihilape still want to move, Karen decisively surrenders.
"Not continuing the battle? You can switch Pokémon; there's no rush right now."
Damian smiles and gently reminds Karen.
"There's no point, Kid. You're incredibly strong."
Karen shakes her head, looking at Damian with a deep, appreciative gaze and sighing.
Since completing the Masked Man's trials, she hasn't met an opponent she can't beat.
Today, not only did she lose, but she lost decisively.
That shows Damian's strength is far greater than hers.
"You're flattering me," Damian replies humbly.
"As per the agreement, I'll join Team Rocket as an Admin, so…"
Karen's smile is truly charming as she glances toward Damian, then toward Suicune and Weavile.
"Kid, could Suicune spare my Weavile? If you keep going, Weavile's face will swell up!"
Damian freezes, glancing toward Suicune.
Seeing this vengeful water dog, who knows when it started slapping Weavile with a rhythm again?
Slap! Slap! Slap! It's still not using any moves, just slapping.
Seeing this vivid scene, even Caitlin stares, wondering where she might have seen this before.
Miki and Zuki's expressions are creepy; they're worried about what Suicune, Ho-Oh's agent, might do next.
"Alright, water dog, if you keep going, Weavile will be knocked out."
Damian exhales, trying to reason with Suicune.
Slip!
Suicune delivers a final slap to Weavile, narrows its eyes, and returns to Damian with a pompous huff.
What a little brat—slapping me? I wonder who this Suicune's backing is—Damian and Ho-Oh?
"…"
Karen's eyes twitch; she recalls Weavile's Poké Ball.
"Welcome to Team Rocket, Beautiful."
Damian steps forward, offering his hand with a smile.
"Nice to have you aboard."
Karen smiles warmly, taking Damian's hand.
Team Rocket should be a lot of fun.
Plus with Team Rocket's resources, her mission will gain a lot of momentum, so she's fairly satisfied.
Come to think of it, without any outside help, she might have joined Team Rocket long ago.
"By the way, Kid, I have a friend who can join us too."
Karen, playing with the gold badge, glances at Carr's pale face.
She remembers clearly that Damian told her that this top-tier Admin status is above executives.
Meaning she'll be Carr's superior, though she won't forget Will.
"Of course," Damian looks at Will; he almost forgot about this little nobody.
Will, a Psychic-type Elite Four-level trainer, was the first among the Johto Elite Four.
"Will's strength is pretty good; Elite Four level, and specializes in Psychic." Karen says a couple of kind words about Will.
"Very welcome."
Damian pulls out another silver Team Rocket badge and hands it to Will.
Damian's mood is good; both Karen and Will are valuable.
Although Damian knows they currently lack loyalty to Team Rocket, that can be trained over time.
After a quick chat, Damian glances at Carr.
"Carr, where is Lugia?"
"From the subordinate's report, they saw two Lugia off the southern coast of Ogi Isle," Carr answers.
"In that case, we'll wait a bit longer."
Damian nods.
He also has a hazy memory: in anime plots, Lugia and its offspring dwell around Ogi Isle's sea area.
"It's still early; let's rest for now, okay?"
Damian looks to Caitlin and the three women.
"Sure." Caitlin has no objections, and Miki and the others agree as well.
"Tsk~ I'm really envious of you, Kid. You get to travel with three super beautiful women. You're quite the ladies' man!"
Karen put one hand on her slender waist and clicked her tongue in admiration.
"A man with talent can be quite the ladies' man." Damian isn't embarrassed.
"Not bad."
Karen nods in approval.
"By the way, on the way here, I heard a sailor tell a funny thing, Kid—you want to hear it?"
"Sure."
"Whirl Islands used to be a single island, but after a war, Lugia—the guardian deity—angered, dropped lightning and split it into four pieces."
Karen continues smoothly.
Damian takes a sip of juice; this is something he knows.
"Then someone went into the Whirl Islands' grand waterfall to earn Lugian forgiveness, and ended up going mad."
Karen pretends to be mysterious.
"Why? Supposedly, at the edge of the waterfall, they saw a demonlike giant Pokémon, and the fear drove them to insanity."
Karen's fingers move gracefully; she's intrigued.
"Demon-like Pokémon? Kid, you're curious, aren't you? If the Whirl Islands' caves weren't so twisting, I'd go explore them too."
Karen smiles.
Whirl Islands' depths are still mysterious; the legend says Lugia disappeared at the waterfall's end, but finding that waterfall is no easy task.
"Sounds interesting; I wonder if the story's true."
Damian ponders. If true, what powerful Pokémon might be hidden deep in that waterfall?
But isn't Lugia supposed to dwell there? What about Lugia?
~~~
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