Pokemon: Skybound

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After lunch, Ash and his friends boarded Maren's newly repaired speedboat, reluctantly departing from Shamouti Island.

However, while Ash had left, his mother, Delia, unsurprisingly decided to stay behind.

With her son constantly travelling, Delia often felt a sense of loneliness. She planned to wait until Professor Oak finished his research here before returning to Pallet Town with him.

Kai wasn't one to jump to conclusions, but the circumstances certainly made it hard not to speculate about the nature of their relationship.

Still…

He wasn't in the mood to dwell on gossip. He had his own matters to deal with.

After packing their belongings, Kai and Sabrina didn't leave immediately. Instead, they left their bags in the room and headed toward the shrine on the other side of the island.

After all, there was still a rare Pokémon waiting for Sabrina to capture.

Walking through the dense forest, Kai glanced around. Many of the trees bore signs of frost damage from Zapdos's earlier attacks, their branches drooping and weakened.

Fortunately, while some looked withered, they weren't completely dead there was still plenty of life in the forest.

The surroundings were eerily quiet, and without any other people around, Kai and Sabrina finally had a moment alone.

Kai had considered saying something, but as he observed Sabrina's usually calm demeanour, he found himself hesitating.

Shouldn't she be asking him about last night?

Logically, after something like that, she should at least want some kind of explanation… right?

And yet, she seemed completely unaffected.

She was the one who had technically been at a disadvantage, so why did she look like she didn't care at all?

Kai couldn't figure it out, but in the end, he chose to keep his thoughts to himself.

Forget it…

Sabrina's personality was impossible to read. She must have her own thoughts on the matter. If she wanted to talk about it, she'd bring it up herself.

After crossing the forest and climbing over a rocky ledge, they arrived at the shrine, where they were once again greeted by the talking Slowking.

The regal Pokémon stood with its hands behind its back, gazing out at the ocean like a wise sage.

Hearing footsteps, it turned to them.

"Ah… it's you two again."

It seemed somewhat surprised to see them return.

"The world-ending crisis has been averted. The Guardian of the Sea has departed, and this year's festival is over. You have no reason to return to this shrine."

"You're wrong about that," Kai replied, shaking his head with a smirk. "We do have a reason for being here."

He stepped back, gesturing toward Sabrina.

This was her battle, not his. The stage belonged to her.

Slowking still hadn't realized what was about to happen. Seeing Sabrina step forward, it tilted its head in confusion.

It wasn't until she pulled out a Poké Ball that Slowking sighed.

"This is troublesome," it muttered. "I don't wish to fight, nor do I want to leave this island. Can't you just pretend you didn't see me and leave?"

If it were Kai, he might have respected Slowking's wishes and given up on catching it.

But unfortunately for Slowking, it wasn't dealing with someone as considerate as Kai it was facing Sabrina, the cold and ruthless Gym Leader of Saffron City, notorious for using her psychic abilities to toy with weaker opponents.

Sabrina's expression remained indifferent. Ignoring Slowking's protests, she released her Pokémon.

There was no way she was letting this talking Pokémon slip away.

A flash of blue light and Kadabra appeared on the shrine's platform.

Slowking opened its mouth, about to argue further, but Sabrina didn't give it the chance. Using telepathy, she commanded Kadabra to attack immediately.

Kadabra raised its spoon, sending a powerful Psychic blast hurtling toward Slowking.

Fortunately, despite its sluggish appearance, Slowking was far from defenceless. Unlike its unevolved form, it was highly intelligent and had already anticipated this move.

Raising a hand, it unleashed its own Psychic energy to counter the attack.

Boom!

The two psychic forces collided in midair, negating each other. For a moment, the battle remained at a stalemate.

Kai, unfazed, found a nearby flat rock and took a seat, watching the battle unfold with interest. He even released a few of his own Pokémon to observe alongside him.

From a type perspective, both Pokémon possessed Psychic abilities. However, unlike Kadabra, which was a pure psychic type, Slowking also had a secondary Water typing, giving it some advantages in battle.

That said, Kadabra wasn't necessarily at a disadvantage. With Sabrina's expert command, it had better technique, sharper tactics, and a second pair of eyes helping it exploit Slowking's weaknesses.

As the battle raged on, Kai turned to Gardevoir with a smile. "Looks like you're not the only one improving. Sabrina's Kadabra has grown stronger too. Remember when we challenged the Saffron Gym? It feels like that was just yesterday."

Gardevoir nodded slightly. As a fellow Psychic-type, she could clearly sense the clash of immense power between the two Pokémon.

A stray Water Gun attack shot past Kai, pulling his attention back to the fight.

Slowking's strength was undeniable it had likely lived for a very long time, and its attacks packed considerable power.

However, despite its intelligence, it clearly wasn't used to fighting.

After just a short exchange, it was already breathing heavily.

What's more, its sharp mind worked against it in battle it was too distracted, constantly glancing at Kai's Pokémon, especially Haunter, who was floating nearby with a mischievous grin.

On the other hand, Sabrina cast a quick glance toward Kai.

The fact that her Kadabra hadn't won yet was starting to get to her.

After all, no man or woman wanted to look weak in front of someone they liked.

Even a stoic psychic like her wasn't immune to such emotions.

With that thought, she telepathically instructed Kadabra to stop.

Then, she walked directly up to Slowking herself.

Slowking blinked, confused. Did she finally give up?

But the next moment, she calmly raised her hand and a terrifying surge of Psychic energy erupted from her, enveloping Slowking completely.

The wise Pokémon barely had time to react before the overwhelming force slammed into it.

Despite its high intelligence, it had never encountered a human with this level of psychic power.

And unlike Kadabra, Sabrina's raw strength was in an entirely different league.

Even Kai was stunned.

She actually stepped in and fought herself?

Was she getting impatient watching Kadabra struggle? Or did she just believe that personally capturing her Pokémon would make them more obedient?

Scratching his head, Kai couldn't help but feel a little bewildered.

Meanwhile, Slowking staggered back to its feet, only for a second and third psychic blast to hit it in quick succession.

Its body trembled from the pain, but its heart was even heavier with resignation.

Freedom… was no longer an option.

Having already exhausted itself in the battle against Kadabra, Slowking realized it could no longer continue.

Seeing its defeat, Sabrina wasted no time.

She pulled out a Poké Ball and tossed it.

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