Pokémon Pokemon Do-Over

[MarkL1987]

Episode 19: The Ghost Of Maiden's Peak

A figure stood on a high peak during a moonlit night. It was a stone figure of a young woman with a red flower in her hair. The same girl then appeared outside the statue, but in the form of a ghost.

"I've been waiting for you." Said the ghost. "Come back to me. Return to your beloved. I'm waiting for you." As the ghost said these words, it transformed into a round ghost and changed its voice, indicating that things weren't as they appeared to be.

Meanwhile, Ash and friends were on a ferry sailing from the resort of Porta vista to continue their Pokemon journey. Misty suddenly spotted a landmark.

"Hey! Look over there!" she cried Pikachu looked with her, as did everyone else.

"Great. That must be Maiden's Peak!" cried Ash. "That's where we get off. We'll be landing soon."

"It must be that time of year again." Said Lucy. "Summer's end." Brock let out a sigh.

"It wouldn't matter to me if I never saw land again, I just wasted another summer." He said.

"But we had a whole summer full of adventures." Said Lucy. "There was the whole being shipwrecked experience, our stay at Porta Vista, and much more."

"For kids like you, summer means playing on the beach, splashing around and having fun." Said Brock. "But for me, summer means bathing suits and beautiful girls to wear them! Now bikini season's over and I'll have to wait another year to meet a girl!"

"Over dramatic, much?" said Lucy.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket was slowly sailing along in the ocean.

"We're really tied to the end of our rope." Said Meowth.

"No room, and no room service." Said James.

"Stop whining." Said jessie. "We don't have a cent, and at least this beats swimming."

Later, the ferry made landfall.

"Maiden's peak welcomes the passengers arriving from Porta Vista!" cried the announcer. "We invite you all to attend our annual Summer's End festival, now in progress!"

"Cool! A festival!" cried Ash.

"It looks like fun." Said Misty. "Let's check it out!"

"I'll ride the Ferris wheel all alone." Said Brock.

"You don't have to go alone." Said Lucy. "I'll go on the ride with you." But just then, she, Brock, Pikachu and Eevee noticed someone off to their left.

"Who's that?" Brock asked. They saw the maiden standing still and looking towards the ocean.

"Whoa. What a knockout." Said Brock.

"Yeah, Eevee, I think we'll definitely have to go on the Ferris wheel with Brock so that he has some company." Said Lucy. Brock was getting knocked down by people getting off the ferry. Pikachu then noticed that the girl turned into a ghost again and disappeared with a smile.

"Hey, she's gone." Said Brock.

"Pikachu?" asked Pikachu, which meant 'What was that?'

"Eevee." Said Eevee, which meant 'I have no idea.'

"Cheer up, Brock!" cried Ash. "We're at a festival!"

"Ash is right! No need to be a party pooper." Said Lucy.

"Yeah! Let's have some fun." Said Misty.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket pulled themselves up onto the dock.

"There's a festival!" cried James. Jessie let out a chuckle.

"People spend a lot of money at these festivals, but they never pay attention, so they drop their change all over the place!" she exclaimed.

"Meowth want a cotton candy!" cried Meowth.

"Money is sweeter." Said James. He looked to his left and saw the same girl that brock had seen.

"Sweet!" he cried. Jessie gave James a light smack.

"Stop daydreaming!" she cried. "Stop daydreaming! That festival is waiting and I can smell money!" Meowth ran off with jessie.

"I can smell corn dogs." He said. James turned to look at the girl again, but she had disappeared. At the festival, a parade was going on and everyone in Ash's group was having a great time. Everyone except for one, that is.

"She was the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." Said Brock. Everyone looked to him and wondered what he meant when an elderly woman appeared.

"Hey, you!" she yelled. Brock turned instantly.

"Are you the…" he said. But instead of the girl he had seen, he instead saw the face of the elderly woman, which made Brock scream.

"You're not the beautiful…" he said.

"Who's not beautiful?" said the elderly woman. She got a magnifying glass and used it to get a closer look at Brock.

"Beware, not of an old beauty like me, but a beautiful young woman. Or you'll meet a cruel fate." She said.

"That girl on the rock! I have to meet her!" cried Brock.

"I must be the beautiful girl he's talking about." Said Misty. "But I'd never hurt Brock."

"I was talking about an elegant young woman, not some scrawny little blabbermouth like you!" cried the woman.

"Scrawny?!" cried Misty.

"Real scrawny." Said Ash. That remark was greeted by a whack from Lucy.

"I don't have to stand here and be insulted!" yelled Misty. "Let's get out of here!" Misty grabbed Brock and Ash and walked off angrily, with Lucy following behind.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket was looking around for dropped change.

"Nothing! There's no money anywhere at this festival!" cried Jessie.

"Not a quarter, nickel or dime." Sighed James. "Not even a penny."

"What kind of cheap festival is this?" asked Meowth. "We have to keep looking until we find something!" Sure enough, James found something.

"A penny!" he cried.

"Hold it right there!" yelled the elderly woman. James thought someone wanted the coin, but ended up seeing the old woman instead.

"I dropped this." Said James.

"I've been watching you." Said the woman. "You're up to no good! And there's no good in your future."

"Who? The police? The sheriff? The FBI?" said James.

"I see a young and beautiful woman who will lead you to a cruel fate." Said the elderly woman.

"I don't need a fortune teller to know that." Said James. "Some woman is always causing me trouble, it's a curse." He let out a sigh.

"Who do you mean?" asked Jessie. A familiar voice was soon heard.

"Good afternoon." Said Officer Jenny. "I'm with the local police department and I know exactly what you all are doing." Team Rocket let out a panic.

"I see you found some change that someone dropped." Said Jenny. "Whenever any amount of money's lost, even if it's just a penny, it must be reported to the authorities." James put the penny in her hand.

"Thank you for being an observant citizen." Said Jenny. "Now, if you'll just follow me, we'll file a report at the station."

"The station?" James asked worriedly. Jessie panicked because she knew jenny would pull up their files and arrest them upon realizing that they were Team Rocket members.

"We don't want to get in your way, so just go ahead and file it without us and keep the change, okay? Bye-bye." She said. She grabbed James and Meowth and quickly ran off.

Meanwhile, at the fabled Maiden's Peak…..

"Welcome! To celebrate the Summer's End Festival, we will now display the Shrine of the Maiden's greatest treasure! For two-thousand years, this painting has hung within the Shrine of the Maiden. Once each year, it is removed from the shrine and displayed to the public during this festival. As I unveil the painting, please gaze with reverence." Said an unknown voice. The painting was unveiled, and everyone in attendance was amazed.

"Who's that?" asked Jessie.

"She's cute." Said Meowth. James gasped.

"It's her!" he cried.

"But it can't be!" cried Brock. Both James and Brock were shocked that the girl in the painting was the same one that they had seen earlier.

"She's so incredibly beautiful." Brock remarked.

"Brock always does this around a girl, so what makes this one any different than all the other girls he's seen?" said Lucy.

"Eevee." Said Eevee, which meant 'There's literally no difference at all.'

"Exactly, Eevee." Said Lucy.

"She's the girl of my dreams, don't wake me up!" cried James. He and Brock tried to approach the painting for a closer look, only to be stopped by the announcer.

"Stay back! The woman in the painting perished over two thousand years ago!" he cried.

"Two thousand years?" Brock repeated.

"She was in love with a brave and handsome young man, but he left her and sailed away to fight in a war." Said the announcer.

"I'll wait for you forever!" cried the maiden. "Come back to me! Farewell!"

"And she did wait for a very long time, hoping to see his ship on the horizon." Said the announcer. "But her true love never returned to that place again. Still, she waited and waited, never moving from that spot. Until, finally, her body was turned into stone, just like the cliff upon which she stood. To this day, she waits for her love to return."

"Just tell me, where is this rock?" asked Brock.

"Maiden's Rock isn't far from this shrine." Said the announcer.

Later, the heroes and Team Rocket were looking at Maiden Rock.

"So that's Maiden Rock." Said brock. "It's the most beautiful rock I've ever seen!"

"I don't care if she's made of stone or not, I'm still in love with her!" cried James.

"If she was my girlfriend, I'd make sure she was never out of my sight!" cried Brock.

"No one would even steal from me! Not even team Rocket!" cried James. "I'll fight them to keep her safe!" Jessie held onto him to keep him from falling over the ledge.

"James, you're insane!" she cried. "Why would we steal a thing like that?!"

"We could steal that other thing!" cried Meowth.

"What thing?" said Jessie.

"Pokemon are valuable, but so are works of art." Said Meowth. "Let's swipe the painting!"

"If we grab that painting, we could make a bundle." Said Jessie.

"Jessie! Before you grab it, gab hold of me!" cried James. Jessie grabbed James, only to be pulled down into the water with him.

"Team Rocket is really slipping." Said Meowth.

Later that night…

"That statue isn't going anywhere, Brock." Said Lucy.

"No matter how long you wait, a rock is a rock, Brock." Said Ash.

"Yeah, let's go back to the festival." Said Misty. "This is boring."

"Why don't you all go back?" said Brock. "I want to stay here a little bit longer."

"You remember where we're staying tonight, right?" asked Lucy.

"The Pokemon Center near the port. I'll make it back by curfew." Said Brock. Ash picked up his backpack and looked at Brock strangely.

"Are you sure you want to hang around here still?" asked Lucy.

"Don't worry about me, Lucy." Said Brock. "I'll be okay."

"If you say so." Said Lucy. Dark clouds passed by the moon.

Later, the clock struck eleven, which was curfew time at Maiden's Peak.

"I'm getting worried, guys. Brock still isn't back yet." Said Misty.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Said Lucy. The gates over the Pokemon Center windows and doors began to close, as per curfew orders.

"Wait!" cried Ash. "Lucy, let's go out and look for him." However, they were stopped by Nurse Joy.

"Hold it! Don't you kids realize that it's your bedtime?" she asked.

"Yes, but….." Ash started.

"Staying up late is bad for your skin, makes you irritable and ruins your appetite. I won't allow it." Said Joy. "Now get to bed this instant!"

Meanwhile, at the Shrine of the Maiden, Meowth's alarm went off, telling him that it was heist time.

"Wake up you two! Time to steal the painting!" he cried.

"Our beauty sleep…." Murmured Jessie.

"Beautiful. I must meet you. I'm coming to you." Said James. The wind quickly picked up and clouds rolled over the moon. The doors to the shrine then blew open, and the Maiden's ghost appeared.

"What's that?" cried Meowth. The ghost spotted Meowth after he spotted it. He screamed in fright.

"Must be dreaming." He said. "Back to sleep, Meowth."

"My love, I'm waiting for you." Said the maiden. The ghost's voice woke up James.

"Who said that? Who are you?" said James. The ghost smiled at him.

"It's you! So it really was you!" he cried. The ghost nodded.

The next day, team Rocket and the heroes were looking for their missing group members at the shrine.

"Brock?" called Ash.

"Brock, where are you?" Misty called.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried, which meant 'Where are you, Brock?'

"This is no time to be playing hide and seek!" cried Lucy.

"James?!" cried Jessie. "James?! If you're not here, at least tell us!"

"That's right!" cried Meowth. Both parties soon met up.

"Oh." Said Jessie.

"You guys again!" cried Ash.

"Yuck!" cried Jessie.

"Double yuck!" cried Ash.

"I finally found you!" cried Jessie. "Oh wait. None of you are who I'm looking for."

"Are you looking for somebody too?" asked Lucy. Jessie cleared her throat.

"Prepare for trouble, and make it double." She said. "Doing this by myself's a real drag. To protect the world from devastation. To unite all peoples within our nation. To denounce the evils of truth and love….."

"To extend our reach to the stars above." Said James. Jessie suddenly stopped upon hearing James' muffled voice.

"Jessie?"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"He looks awful." Said Jessie.

"Worse than usual." Said Meowth. Brock soon came flying out of the shrine.

"Brock, what happened?" asked Ash. James grabbed a hold of Jessie's leg.

"What do you think you're doing?" asked Jessie. Right then and there, the elderly woman showed up.

"So, everything turned out just as I predicted." She said.

"Huh?" everyone asked.

"It's the old woman." Said Lucy.

"Obviously, these two have both seen the ghost of the Maiden." Said the elderly woman.

"Ghost of the Maiden?" they all asked.

"I love her. I love her. I love her." Said James with a big smile.

"Me too. Me too. Me too." Said Brock, who was smiling from ear to ear.

"They're possessed, Pikachu." Said Ash. Pikachu used a Thunder Shock attack on both Brock and James to get them out of their possessed state.

"Uh, who am I? I'm Brock." Said Brock.

"Brock's back!" cried Ash.

"Thank goodness." Said Lucy.

"I'm James from Team Rocket." Said James. He got up and started acting strange.

"He's back." Said Jessie.

"But not to normal." Said Lucy.

Inside the shrine…

"All men who pass this way fall under her spell." Said the elderly woman. "It's always the same story over and over, we find them here acting like zombies with the life sucked out of them, babbling like idiots. It's the work of that maiden's ghost! Still waiting for her young soldier to return! It's just as I warned you."

"Pretty bizarre, huh, Eevee?" said Lucy. She saw Eevee all curled up in fear. "Oh my." She comforted Eevee.

"It's all right, Eevee. I'm here. There's nothing to worry about." Said Lucy.

"So what? Who cares as long as I can be with her." Said Brock. Ash waved his hand in front of Brock.

"He isn't cured at all." Said Ash.

"GET A GRIP ON YOURSELF, BROCK!" yelled Lucy. "YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO BE WITH HER, EVER! JUST ACCEPT THAT ALREADY!"

"I'm scared! You have to do something!" cried James.

"There's only one thing we can do." Said the elderly woman. "We have stickers." She put one on James, and the other on Brock.

"These are anti-ghost stickers." She said. "You can all have one yourselves. However…"

"What's the catch?" asked Lucy. A cash register appeared out of nowhere.

"I can't just give these away for free." Said the elderly woman. Ash and Lucy fell over in disbelief.

Later, the heroes were placing stickers all over the shrine.

"I still can't believe that we had to pay for all of these." Lucy grumbled.

"Well, if it's the only thing that'll help." Said Ash.

"We'll stick stickers all over the place." Said Misty.

"This'll really work, right?" said James. Jessie placed a sticker on his mouth.

"Shut your mouth." She said.

Soon, night fell.

"Let's hope these stickers work." Said Lucy.

"Will she come?" asked Jessie.

"Oh, she'll come." Said Meowth.

"This better work." Said Ash.

"Let's hope." Said Misty. Outside, the wind picked up heavily, blowing away everything on the door and outside walls of the shrine and signalling the maiden's arrival.

"She's here!" cried the elderly woman. The door blew open, extinguishing the fire and sending the stickers on James and Brock flying.

"It's you!" cried Brock.

"I've been waiting for you." Said the maiden.

"Yes, and I've been waiting too." Said Brock.

"I'm scared! Really scared!" cried James.

"I wanted to meet you." Said the maiden.

"And I you." Said Brock. He and James started levitating towards the ghost.

"Brock!" cried Lucy.

"Why aren't the stickers working?" cried James.

"Maybe because…." Said Meowth.

"We got them…." Said Jessie.

"For free." Said Jessie and Meowth.

"Free? What do you mean free?" asked James.

"A two for one deal." Said Jessie. "We got one set free for every set they bought. It was a real bargain."

"You used freebies?" said James.

"Oops." Said Jessie.

"I can't believe you're letting that ghost get me just because you're both so cheap!" cried James.

"You don't want to go?" said Jessie.

"Of course I don't want to go!" cried James. "I don't want to go! I don't want to go!" He let go of the barrier and started floating away.

"Grab him!" cried Ash.

"Wait, Brock!" cried Misty.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Brock!'

"Hey! Let me go!" cried Brock.

"No, we want you here with us!" cried Lucy, who had grabbed a hold of Ash's waist.

"I don't want to go!" cried James.

"Hey, girl! You can't take him!" cried Jessie. "You haven't got a ghost of a chance!" Everyone then heard a sound, which was James rapidly climbing up the ledge. He spooked Misty upon reaching the top once he heard what Jessie had said.

"You really do care!" cried James.

"It's not cause of you." Said Jessie. "Girls like her disgust me. Always waiting around for her man as if her was her faithful pet. She can't stand the thought of losing him. She cries. But I'd say, "see ya later!" There are plenty more fish in the sea."

"I could sure go for some fish." Said Meowth.

"Yeah, great thinking, Jessie." Said Lucy. "But you're forgetting two important details about this girl. One, she's got psychic powers. Two, she's a ghost. That means no attack can hurt her!"

"I've been waiting! You cannot interfere!" cried the maiden. The ghost used her powers to call out evil spirits to frighten the entire group.

"What are those things?" asked Lucy.

"Not any Pokemon that I know of." Said Ash. He quickly got out his Pokedex.

"No Pokemon entry found."

"They're not Pokemon?" cried Lucy. The spirits continued to swirl all around everyone.

"Still searching." Ash pointed his Pokedex all around until it landed on the maiden.

"Pokemon entry found. Gastly, a Ghost Pokemon. It is usually invisible. It's specialty is hypnosis."

"Gastly?! You're really a Pokemon?!" cried Ash.

"And one that, besides Meowth, knows how to talk?" said Lucy.

"Excuse me!" cried Meowth.

"What? I consider that to be a good thing." Lucy said to Meowth.

"So you finally figured it out." Said Gastly as the maiden. "Sometimes I'm the ghost of the two thousand year old maiden.." (He turned into the elderly woman) "and sometimes I'm the mysterious old woman! But no matter the disguise, I'll always be….." Gastly revealed its true form.

"Gastly." Said the ghost type.

"Well, Gastly, time for a battle!" cried Ash. "Pikachu!"

"My hypnotic powers can work on other Pokemon too." Said Gastly.

"Pika." Said Pikachu, which meant 'Really? How?'

"Stop a rodent with a mousetrap!" cried Gastly. He turned into a mousetrap, which made Pikachu run away in fear.

"Mouse traps won't hurt Meowth!" Meowth cried.

"So, Meowth, you want to play games with me?" said Gastly. "Here's a cat toy that I think you'll enjoy!" He made a ball appear, which distracted Meowth since cats like playing with cat specific toys.

"Go, Ekans!" cried Jessie. Ekans charged.

"A snake's natural enemy is a mongoose!" cried Gastly. He transformed into a mongoose.

"Dinner time!" he cried. Ekans ran away in fear after coiling around Gastly.

"Your turn, James." Said Jessie.

"Uh, Koffing. Poison Gass attack!" said James. Koffing sprayed its gas. Gastly, however, stomped its foot on Koffing while wearing a gas mask.

"Smoking is prohibited!" he cried.

"My turn now." Said Ash. "Charmander, I choose you!" Charmander materialized from his Poke Ball.

"Char! Char!" cried Charmander.

"Well now, here's something for a fire type like you." Said Gastly. He turned into a fire extinguisher and started spraying, making Charmander run away in fear.

"Gastly has a counter for anything we throw at it. Including fire Pokemon!" cried Lucy. Gastly turned back into its original form.

"Who shall I defeat now?" he said.

"Squirtle, Bulbasaur, attack together!" cried Lucy. The two starters materialized.

"Attack together!" Lucy ordered. Squirtle and Bulbasaur charged at Gastly.

"What a bunch of nuisances." Said Gastly. "This should be easy." He made a giant Venusaur and Blastoise appear, freaking out Bulbasaur and Squirtle.

"Here are Bulbasaur and Squirtle's evolved forms." Said Gastly. "And just for fun, I'll combine them into one super Pokemon, Venustoise!" The two Pokemon fused together to make a mutant Pokemon.

"Try that on for size!" cried Gastly. After the fusing had finished, the Pokemon that had been sent into battle ran in terror.

"We can't win. It's too strong." Said Lucy. Misty stepped in holding something.

"Then how about this?" she said.

"What's that?" asked Gastly.

"It's a cross." Said Misty. "I also have garlic, a stake, and a hammer."

"What do I look like? A vampire?" asked Gastly. Bells started ringing in the distance.

"What's happening?" asked Ash. Gastly withered in pain from the bells.

"I may not be a vampire, but I hate sunlight." Said Gastly. "It's time for me to go until the next festival!" Gastly slowly started fading away.

"Don't forget the ghost of the Maiden. She and the old lady will return next year too!" he cried. He completely faded away right as the sun rose.

"Hey, look! The sun!" cried Meowth.

Later, the town's citizens and the heroes set boats with lanterns on them out to sea as part of a festival tradition.

"At the end of every summer, the visitors send out these tiny boats." Said Officer Jenny. "Each one has a candle to help light the way for any wandering spirits who can't find their way back home." On one of the boats, Gastly sat in the form of the maiden, but he then turned into the elderly woman.

"This summer is over, but your legend will continue to live on." Said Gastly. The real ghost of the maiden then appeared from her stone statue.

"Thank you, Gastly." Said the maiden.

"My pleasure." Said Gastly, who then turned back into his original form. "I enjoy keeping alive all the old legends that people have forgotten over the years. And if I do a good job of it, I make a few bucks as well." A cash register materialized.

"I'll see you again next festival." Said the maiden. "I'll be waiting until that day when my true love returns to me at last."

"Well, I am a ghost Pokemon." Said Gastly. "Perhaps one day, I'll meet the young man you love. And if I do, I'll remind him that his maiden still longs for him to return."

"Thank you, and goodbye." Said the maiden. She disappeared back into her statue.

Meanwhile, Brock looked at Maiden's Rock one final time.

"If only you were two thousand years younger." He sighed. "Maybe next year."

At the festival, the heroes and Team Rocket were celebrating the last day of the summer festival. Jessie and James were playing the drums and Meowth was playing the flute.

"I think I'm doing a bang-up job." Said James.

"Let's drum up some fun." Said Jessie.

"Do de do de do de do…" said Meowth. Nearby, Ash and Lucy were both looking at the entries for ghost types in their Pokedexes.

"A ghost Pokemon. Gastly." Said Ash.

"Pikachu." Said Pikachu, which meant 'Pretty spooky.'

"Eevee." Said Eevee, which meant 'Gastly frightened me.

"I know how you feel, Eevee." Said Lucy. "That Pokemon actually creeped me out a bit too. I'm not sure if I want to catch one for Professor Oak." Misty soon showed up wearing a beautiful outfit.

"Sorry I'm late." She said. Ash and Lucy were amazed at how gorgeous Misty looked. She was wearing a pink flower kimono with a big red bow and she had a fan in one hand.

"Come on, you guys. Let's dance." She said.

"Uh, sure." Said Ash. Misty extended her hand to Lucy.

"You want to dance?" she asked.

"Don't mind if I do." Said Lucy. "Eevee, you and Pikachu dance with us too!"

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Okay!' He grabbed Eevee's paw so that they could dance with each other. They all danced together towards the crowd. And with that, the summer festival ended. Fall's in the air now, which means Brock won't be able to get back to the beach until next year. Keep your chin up, Brock. A lot can happen in a year. But for now, new adventures await our heroes just over the horizon.

TO BE CONTINUED

Ash's Pokemon: Pikachu, Spearow, Pidgeotto, Butterfree, Clefairy, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Krabby

Lucy's Pokemon: Eevee, Beedrill, Bulbasaur, Clefairy, Squirtle, Staryu

 

[MarkL1987]

Episode 20: Goodbye Butterfree?

Once again, we find Ash and Lucy on their continuing quest to become Pokemon masters. With their friends Brock and Misty with them, along with their partners Pikachu and Eevee, their next adventure is just on the horizon.

"Wow! Look at those rocks!" cried Ash.

"Pi." Said Pikachu, which meant 'Whoa.' The waves crashed into the rocks below as the group looked down in worry.

"That's a long drop!" cried Ash.

"We fall from here and it's game over." Said Lucy. Brock checked the map.

"This ridge is supposed to lead us right to Saffron City." He said.

"And to the next challenge at the Saffron Gym!" cried Ash. Just then, he spotted something over yonder.

"What are those?" he asked.

"They look like Butterfree." Said Misty.

"It has to be that time of year again." Said Lucy. "And I don't mean Christmas."

"Right, Lucy." Said Brock. "The Butterfree are celebrating their season of love."

"Love?" said Misty.

"Yeah. The season of love is when Butterfree lay their eggs, the Butterfree find mates and then lay their eggs across the sea." Said Brock.

"Across the sea?" said Ash.

"That's right." Said Brock.

"How cute!" cried Lucy.

"If you don't let it cross the sea, it will never have babies." Said Brock. Ash quickly got out his Poke Ball containing Butterfree.

"Babies?!" he cried. The group soon found a hot air balloon available to rent and decided to take to the air to let Ash's Butterfree find a mate.

"I'm surprised that there was a hot air balloon for rent out here." Said Misty.

"We'll probably see lots of other balloons once we get into the air." Said Brock.

"Ready for takeoff, captain!" cried Lucy.

"Hold on, everyone!" cried Brock. He pulled a lever and the balloon started to lift off the ground and gain altitude. Other trainers were just starting to set up their own balloons.

"What a view!" cried Ash. As they looked at the view, Pikachu and Eevee spotted something.

"Eevee!" squealed Eevee, which meant 'Look! Look!' They turned and saw a whole kaleidoscope of Butterfree.

"Look, there they are!" cried Misty.

"Good eyes, you two." Said Lucy.

"Let's go!" cried Brock. He steered the ballon towards the flock of Butterfree.

"All the Butterfree are pairing into couples!" cried Misty.

"Okay Ash, it's time." Said Brock.

"Oh, right." Said Ash. He got Butterfree's Poke Ball out.

"Butterfree, go!" he cried. His Butterfree materialized and flew into the kaleidoscope of other Butterfree.

"There he goes!" cried Lucy.

"Go out there and find your mate!" cried Ash.

"Good luck, Butterfree!" cried Misty.

"I hope he finds the right one." Said Lucy. Butterfree flew all around but couldn't seem to find a mate.

"Huh?" said Ash.

"Maybe none of the Butterfree is its type." Said Brock.

What do you mean by its type, Brock?" said Misty. "They all look the same to me."

"Girl Pokemon do sometimes look different compared to boy Pokemon." Said Lucy.

"If you're talking about any other Pokemon, then yes, you'd be correct." Said Brock. "When it comes to Butterfree, however, some of them must fly better than others, or maybe they have different patterns, I guess." Everyone heard Poke Balls opening, indicating that nearby trainers were getting ready to release their Butterfree.

"Look at all the different balloons!" squealed Misty.

"And look! They're all Butterfree trainers!" cried Lucy. "They must come at this time every year to release their Butterfree."

"Pika." Said Pikachu, which meant 'That's a lot of Butterfree.

'Eevee." Eevee replied, which meant 'I've never seen that many Butterfree at once before.' The two Pokemon then spotted a young female Butterfree trainer.

"You just find yourself a nice mate, Butterfree. Go!" the trainer cried out. She tossed her Poke Ball and her Butterfree materialized. Brock was immediately entranced by the girl's looks. Pikachu and Eevee shook their heads.

"Pika." Sighed Pikachu, which meant 'Not this again.'

"So much for Brock waiting until next summer to find a girl." Said Lucy. Butterfree soon rejoined them, having had no luck finding anybody.

"Butterfree!" cried Ash. Brock quickly dashed over to Ash's Butterfree.

"Listen up, Butterfree, see THAT Butterfree that lovely young lady just released?" said Brock. He pointed out a special pink Butterfree.

"Right there! That's the one! Pick her!" yelled Brock. Butterfree looked at him in a perplexed way.

"Free?" it asked, which meant 'Why?'

"Don't you understand?" said Brock. "If two Butterfree fall in love, their trainers can meet, and they can fall in love too!" Lucy gave him a bonk on the head.

"Don't butt into Pokemon love affairs!" she snapped.

"But Lucy, if my Butterfree doesn't find a mate, it won't have babies." Said Ash.

"Go ahead then." Said Misty. Butterfree nodded and flew toward the swarm again.

"Go and get 'em, Butterfree." Said Lucy. "The perfect mate has to be out there for you somewhere." Butterfree looked around, and got smitten by a pink Butterfree, falling head over heels for it.

"Looks like Butterfree found someone it really likes!" cried Lucy.

"Yeah, love at first sight with that pink one." Said Brock. Butterfree started acting strange.

"Butterfree's acting kind of weird." Said Ash.

"It's doing a courtship dance." Said Lucy.

"Courtship dance?!" Ash repeated.

"It's Butterfree's way of saying 'I like you. I really want to be your Butterfree.' It's like a marriage proposal." Said Lucy.

"That's so romantic." Said Misty.

"If it's successful, the other Butterfree does a dance too." Said brock.

"It's doing something all right." Said Lucy. The pink Butterfree turned her head when Butterfree was trying to impress her. She flew upward with Ash's Butterfree close behind.

"What's going on?" said Ash. The pink Butterfree shocked everyone by slapping Ash's Butterfree with its wing, making him tear up. The pink Butterfree then flew away.

"Poor Butterfree got shot down." Said Lucy.

"What?! That's so mean!" cried Misty. "That's not fair at all!"

"Butterfree, where are you going?!" cried Ash. They spotted it flying down to the forest below.

"Butterfree!" cried Ash.

"Pikachu…" Pikachu sighed, which meant 'The poor guy.'

"Eevee…" Eevee replied, which meant 'You said it.' Brock landed the balloon and the foursome started searching for Butterfree.

"Butterfree! Hey, Butterfree!" cried Ash.

"Butterfree!" cried Misty.

"Pikachu!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Butterfree!'

"Butterfree, where are you?" said Lucy.

"Eevee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'Butterfree, please come out!' They kept calling Butterfree's name until they finally found him.

"It's Butterfree!" cried Ash.

"Finally, we found him!" cried Lucy. They all rushed over to Butterfree, who was hiding in a tree.

"Hey there, Butterfree, are you okay?" asked Lucy. Butterfree lowered its head in response.

"Why do you look so sad, buddy?" asked Ash.

"It was rejected by someone it loved." Brock answered. "That's a terrible shock. Believe me, I know the feeling."

"Only because girls reject you all the time, Brock." Lucy added. Brock glared at her. "What? It's true."

"Well, she's not wrong." Said Misty. Pikachu and Eevee went to speak with Butterfree.

"Pikachu." Said Pikachu, which meant 'Hey, tell Eevee and I what happened.'

"Free." Butterfree answered sadly, which meant 'She rejected me.'

"Eevee." Eevee squealed, which meant 'Bummer. At least you tried.'

"Free." Muttered Butterfree, which meant 'I'm not good enough for her.'

"Pika! Chu!" Pikachu cried, which meant 'Of course you are! You just have to try harder.' As Pikachu and Eevee continued to talk with Butterfree, Ash got his Pokedex out.

"Do you think Dexter might be able to tell us how my Butterfree can get that other Butterfree to be its mate?" he asked.

"Dexter's never been in love." Said Misty.

"That's because he's just a machine." Said Lucy. "Machines can't fall in love like people or Pokemon can."

"I just don't understand it, though." Said Ash. "My Butterfree's great. Why would any other Butterfree reject it? Butterfree, maybe you just have to show off your strength and let the others see how great you are. Show how powerful your Tackle is, or how you can use Stun Spore!"

"That's right, Butterfree! You've got to be assertive!" cried Misty. Butterfree looked up and over at Misty.

"Love is all about attacking your opponent first." She went on. "Get in a quick punch and surprise them, then, while they're still weak, take the lead and you'll beat 'em, hands down! Trust me, I know! That's the best way to win!" Brock and Lucy were both surprised by Misty's analogy.

"You mean it?" said Brock.

"Sure do. That's love!" replied Misty.

"Let's give it another try!" cried Ash.

"Hold it!" cried Brock.

"Huh?" said Ash.

"What's up, Brock?" asked Lucy.

"A new look might help." Said Brock. He tied a scarf around Butterfree's neck.

"Free." Said Butterfree, which meant 'Cool.'

"That scarf looks great on you, Butterfree." Said Lucy. Now that Butterfree had a new look, he took off into the sky once more with Ash and his friends close behind. Ash looked through a pair of binoculars.

"We have to find that pink Butterfree." He said. "Where did it go?"

"This is important to you, isn't it?" said Misty.

"I raised Butterfree all on my own, and I'll show them how good it is!" cried Ash.

"Looks like you're just as passionate about this as Butterfree is." Said Lucy.

"Maybe just a little bit." Said Ash. He then spotted the pink Butterfree.

"There it is!" he cried. "Now, Butterfree. This time, just have confidence in yourself. Go!"

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Go!' Butterfree flew towards the pink Butterfree.

"Butterfree! Show it your Whirlwind attack!" cried Ash. Butterfree used the attack, but the pink Butterfree wasn't impressed.

"Use your Tackle attack! That should do the trick!" cried Ash. Butterfree zoomed back and fourth using its tackle, but the pink Butterfree still wasn't impressed.

"Shot down again." Said Lucy.

"Pika…" Pikachu sighed, which meant 'Not again…'

"Eevee." Said Eevee, which meant 'Poor Butterfree.'

"I wish that pink Butterfree would give Ash's Butterfree a chance." Said Lucy."

"I think we all wish for that." Said Misty. A helicopter being piloted by Team Rocket suddenly flew in.

"What the what?!" cried Ash.

"Judging by the font on the front, I think I already know who's in there." Said Lucy.

"Prepare for trouble!" cried Jessie.

"Make it double!" cried James.

"Yep, I knew it." Sighed Lucy.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!" The trio lowered a Team Rocket colored Poke Ball from the bottom of the chopper. Jessie let out a laugh.

"Look at all the Butterfree." She said.

"All ours for the taking." Said James. The Poke Ball revealed itself to be a giant butterfly net that had been made specifically for the purpose of capturing the Butterfree.

"Let's do some "net-working"!" cried Meowth. He gave a laugh right after saying that.

"Look! They're stealing the Butterfree!" cried Misty.

"It's those twerps again." Muttered James. "No matter where we go, those kids are always in our way."

"But this time, they can't do a thing to stop us!" cried Jessie. Meowth gave a triumphant laugh.

"Hey, knock it off!" cried Ash.

"Stop, or you're going to disrupt their entire egg-laying season!" cried Brock.

"Can't you see these Butterfree are in love?!" cried Lucy.

"We're in love too, little girl." Said Jessie. "With all the pretty Pokemon!"

"Those Butterfree aren't free anymore." Said James. Ash growled.

"We have to stop them." He said. As the Butterfree were all captured into the net, Team Rocket simply laughed at the group.

"Leave those Butterfree alone!" yelled the quartet of heroes. Jessie gave another laugh.

"We're having quite a spree!" she cried.

"We're swiping all the Butterfree!" cried Meowth.

"There's never been a happier me." Said James.

"Can't we speed this thing up and catch them?" asked Lucy.

"I'm trying, but their chopper's a lot faster." Said Brock. Ash's Butterfree soon flew side by side with Team Rocket's chopper. James gave a triumphant laugh

"Nothing but net!" he cried. The chopper flew ahead and captured the pink Butterfree, leaving Ash's Butterfree behind. He promised the pink Butterfree that he would save her. He then started attacking Team Rocket's chopper.

"That's it, Butterfree! Use your Tackle attack!" cried Ash. Butterfree tackled the chopper, but without success.

"Ha. That little insect think it can stop us." Said Jessie.

"Butterfree looks wiped out, Ash." Said Lucy.

"Butterfree, Stun Spore, now!" cried Ash. Butterfree performed the attack but it got blown away by the chopper's rotor blades.

"That won't do any good, Ash." Said Lucy. "The rotor blades will just blow away any powder or spore that Butterfree tries to throw at it!" James laughed again.

"That was a stunning failure." He said. Ash grabbed a Poke Ball.

"I guess I'll just have to use Pidgeotto." He said.

"Wait a minute, Ash, you can't do that!" cried Lucy. "Just think how Butterfree would feel. It's trying its' hardest out there!"

"Lucy's right, Ash." Said Misty. "Just look at him!" Ash looked and saw that Butterfree was trying its heart out to stop Team Rocket and relented.

"All right." Said Ash.

"All right! What a catch!" cried Jessie.

"Now let's hit the sky way!" cried Meowth. The chopper left the same way it arrived.

"Our thanks to all of you who came to see Team Rocket's latest triumph!" Said Jessie. "We hope to see you again…"

"Next time we steal the show." Said James.

"They're making a break for it!" cried Lucy.

"Hey! Come back here!" cried Ash. Butterfree zoomed after Team Rocket.

"Butterfree! After it!" cried Ash.

"Here goes!" cried Brock. They followed Butterfree and the chopper to a rocky canyon area.

"I don't see Butterfree, or Team Rocket." Said Misty.

"But it was flying as fast as it could." Said Lucy.

"I bet it'll follow that pink Butterfree no matter where they take it!" cried Brock.

"No doubt about it." Said Lucy. They started calling out to Butterfree.

"Butterfree, where are you?!" cried Ash.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Butterfree!'

"Butterfree!" cried Lucy.

"Eevee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'Butterfree!'

"Please, Butterfree!" cried Misty.

"Hey, Butterfree!" cried Ash. After spending some time searching, the group finally found and heard Butterfree.

"There he is!" cried Lucy.

"Butterfree! What happened?" said Ash.

"Free! Free!" cried Butterfree, which meant 'They went that way!' It pointed the group in the direction Team Rocket had gone.

"Eevee!" squealed Eevee, which meant 'Nice work!'

"Is the pink Butterfree over there?" asked Misty. Butterfree nodded.

"Show us the way, Butterfree!" cried Ash. At a warehouse further on in the canyon, Team Rocket was counting all the Butterfree they had caught.

"Ninety-eight, Meowth. Ninety-nine, Meowth. One hundred, Meowth!" cried Meowth.

"A very nice catch." Said Jessie.

"Just between us, isn't it nice to have one of our schemes actually work for once?" said James.

"It feels great!" cried Meowth.

"We're at our best when we're at our worst." Said Jessie. "We finally got it back!"

"When the boss hears about this, I'll be top cat again." Said Meowth. Just then, the windows broke.

"Hey! Somebody's busting in!" cried Meowth.

"Who is it?!" cried Jessie. Ash and company burst in and started to copy Team Rocket's motto.

"Prepare for trouble!" cried Ash.

"And you can make that quadruple!" cried Lucy.

"To protect the world from devastation!" cried Brock.

"To unite all peoples within our nation!" cried Ash and Lucy.

"To defend the beauty of truth and love!" cried Misty.

"To extend our reach to the stars above!" cried Brock.

"Ash!"

"Lucy!"

"Misty!"

"And Brock too!"

"Together we blast off at the speed of light!" cried Ash.

"Surrender now, because we'll win the fight!" cried Lucy.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'That's right!' Team Rocket looked at the heroes with deadpan looks on their faces.

"This was just…." Said Jessie.

"Too good…" said James.

"To last." Said Meowth.

"You better believe it!" cried Ash.

"Like I said, we're defending the beauty of truth and love!" cried Misty.

"Let's do it!" cried Brock.

"We gotta stop them!" cried Meowth.

"Today's the one day…." Said Jessie.

"You won't win!" cried James.

"Butterfree, go!" cried Ash. Butterfree zoomed in on team Rocket and began attacking them.

"Staryu, give Butterfree some support!" cried Lucy. Her Staryu materialized out of its Poke Ball.

"Staryu, Tackle attack!" cried Lucy. Staryu's Tackle caused Team Rocket to run away as Butterfree attempted to break the net open. He was determined to rescue his beloved and show that he was the one for her. The pink Butterfree admired his bravery and determination. Finally, the net broke free, allowing all the Butterfree to escape.

"The Butterfree are getting away!" cried Meowth. "Do something!"

"Take this!" cried Jessie. She smacked Staryu into a wall with a sledgehammer.

"Hang in there, Staryu!" cried Lucy. Misty sprayed some water on it to rejuvenate it. Brock opened the warehouse door.

"Hurry up! Fly away!" he cried to the Butterfree flock. The Butterfree flew out to freedom as Team Rocket frantically tried to catch them.

"Are you all right, Butterfree?" asked Ash.

"He looks pretty winded." Said Lucy. The pink Butterfree flew up to Ash's Butterfree until James tried to catch her.

"I'll catch you!" he cried. Ash's Butterfree used its Tackle attack on James and knocked him back, making the pink Butterfree blush over the act of bravery. Team Rocket refused to give up, however, and returned to their chopper to try and capture the flock again.

"We won't let them get away!" cried Meowth. The chopper took off, with Ash and friends hot on their trail.

"Stop! Come back!" cried Brock.

"Wait!" cried Misty. Team Rocket's chopper raced after the Butterfree.

"We're going to get every one of them back!" cried Meowth. The heroes and the pink Butterfree took off in their hot air balloons in pursuit of Team Rocket.

"Hurry! Faster!" cried Misty.

"There they are over there!" cried Ash. Sure enough, Team Rocket was still in pursuit of the Butterfree flock.

"The flock of Butterfree!" cried Misty. Team Rocket activated their giant net a second time.

"No! They're going to do it again!" cried Ash.

"Not if we have a say in it!" cried Lucy.

"Pikachu!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Give me a lift!'

"Free!" cried Butterfree, which meant 'Right!' Butterfree flew towards the chopper with Pikachu on his back, much to the surprise of Team Rocket.

"What's that?" said Jessie. Butterfree and Pikachu flew closer to the chopper.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Look out!' Pikachu jumped at the chopper, landing on its windshield. He gave a smug look and started to charge up an electric attack, much to Team Rocket's horror!

"It's gonna zap us!" they cried. Pikachu charged and released his attack, causing the chopper to explode and send Pikachu flying until it was caught by Butterfree while Team Rocket fell into a deep crevice in the canyon.

"We were so close this time!" cried Meowth.

"Team Rocket's blasting off again!" cried Jessie.

"We did it!" cried Ash.

"A successful rescue mission!" cried Lucy.

"That'll teach 'em not to play around with Pokemon romance!" cried Misty. Pikachu and Butterfree triumphantly returned to the group.

"You did it, Pikachu! Great work!" said Ash.

"Pika….." said Pikachu, which meant "Oh, it was nothing.' The pink Butterfree approached Ash's Butterfree.

"Look!" cried Lucy. Everyone watched the pink Butterfree coo and sing around Ash's Butterfree.

"Free! Free! Free!" cried the pink Butterfree, which meant 'You saved me from those awful people!' It then started dancing.

"Look at this!" cried Ash.

"Now the pink Butterfree is doing the courtship dance for your Butterfree." Said Brock.

"All right! Good for you, Butterfree!" cried Lucy.

"Eevee." Said Eevee, which meant 'Yeah.' Ash's Butterfree happily joined the dance.

Later on, after the sun had gone down and the group was on land again…..

"I guess you have to leave now, don't you?" asked Ash.

"They have to cross the ocean so they can start their family." Said Brock.

"We'll miss you, Butterfree." Said Lucy.

"Well, Ah, it's time." Said Brock. Ash nodded.

"Listen, pink Butterfree, this Butterfree you're leaving with is very special." Said Ash. "It was one of the first Pokemon that I ever caught, so I want you to take good care of it for me."

"Free." Said the pink Butterfree, which meant 'I promise.'

"Your babies are going to be beautiful." Said Lucy. The pink Butterfree took to the air, but Ash's Butterfree looked sad.

"I'll just tell the other Pokemon that you're on a trip, and that you'll come back someday." Said Ash. Butterfree began to tear up, but as it started flying away with the pink Butterfree, it started to remember all the battles it had fought for Ash, including in the Cerulean gym against Misty. The pink Butterfree also remembered the lengths that Ash's Butterfree had gone to save it from team Rocket. They then stopped and started to make a joint decision together.

"What could they be deciding?" asked Misty.

"Whatever it is, It has to be something important." Said Brock. "Otherwise, they wouldn't still be just floating in the air while the other Butterfree are all flying away." The pink Butterfree and Ash's Butterfree watched the flock fly far off into the distance before flying back to Ash's group.

"Well, this is kind of interesting." Said Misty. "They're supposed to have gone already, but it looks like they want to remain together with us."

"Does that mean Butterfree's staying?!" cried Ash.

"I believe so." Said Brock. Ash was over the moon upon hearing this.

"I guess your Butterfree couldn't bear to be apart from you." Said Lucy. "That's why it decided to come back with the pink one."

"Well, old friend, it looks like we're sticking together." Said Ash. "Now, there's still the matter of the pink one." The pink Butterfree looked at Lucy and happily flapped its wing at her.

"Me? Are you sure about that?!" cried Lucy. The pink Butterfree nodded.

"Okay then!" cried Lucy. She grabbed a Poke Ball and tossed it at the pink Butterfree. It immediately got sucked inside, and then the ping sound was heard.

"Brock, do you think our Butterfree made the right choice to stay with Lucy and I?" Ash asked.

"If this is what they want, then I would say that yes, they certainly did." Said Brock. Ash and Lucy both smiled. Good friendships last forever, and it certainly looks like the friendship between Ash's Butterfree and Lucy's new pink Butterfree will be lasting for quite a long time.

TO BE CONTINUED

Ash's Pokemon: Pikachu, Spearow, Pidgeotto, Butterfree, Clefairy, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Krabby

Lucy's Pokemon: Eevee, Beedrill, Bulbasaur, Clefairy, Squirtle, Staryu, Butterfree (Pink)

 

[MarkL1987]

Episode 21: Abra and the Psychic Showdown

A woman was comfortable sitting in a chair and watching the quartet of Ash, Lucy, Brock and Misty.

"So, now. Time for us to play." Squeaked the doll's voice. Ash and company are proceeding with their Pokemon journey. As we find them passing through a dark and mysterious forest, it seems that danger lurks behind every shadow. It also seems that they've lost their way yet again.

"So THIS is the way to Saffron City, huh?" said Ash. "I knew we shouldn't have listened to Misty. Now we'll never get out of this forest."

"Speak for yourself, mister know it all." Lucy retorted. "Your own sense of direction is bad enough as it is! In fact, it's so bad that you wouldn't even be able to find yourself in a mirror!"

"Misty cracks mirrors!" Ash countered.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Guys!'

"I do NOT!" snapped Misty. "You're just being a big baby!"

"Eevee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'Guys!'

"That's enough, you three!" yelled Brock. "You don't want to be standing here and insulting each other like this."

"Yes, we do!" cried Ash, Misty and Lucy. As Pikachu and Eevee tried to stop the arguing, everyone heard and saw a little girl giggling and bouncing a ball.

"Guys, look!" cried Lucy. They all turned to look at the little girl.

"Uh, hello! Do you live around here?" said Ash. The little girl took her ball and ran off into the forest.

"Hey! Please don't run away!" cried Lucy. They started chasing the girl into the forest.

"Wait! We need directions! Wait up…." Said Ash. They kept running until Ash fell off a cliff.

"Bulbasaur!" he cried. Bulbasaur materialized and used its Vine Whip to catch Ash.

"Phew." Said Ash.

"Ash, are you okay?" asked Lucy.

"Yeah." Said Ash. Bulbasaur pulled Ash up the cliff and back to safety.

"I wonder where that little girl ran off to." Said Misty.

"Beats me. But look over there!" he cried. He pointed to the lights of Saffron City.

"Oh wow. It's beautiful!" cried Misty.

"Saffron City." Said Lucy.

"Sabrina's the leader of the Saffron gym." Brock said to Ash. "If you and Lucy defeat her, you both win a Marsh Badge."

"It won't be easy, though." Said Lucy. "The trainers here all specialize in psychic type Pokemon."

"Who cares? We'll beat them anyway!" cried Ash. "Look out Sabrina, because Lucy and I are coming for you!" The group soon reached the entrance to Saffron City.

"Now this is what I call a city!" cried Ash.

"Yeah." Said brock. As the group entered the city, firecrackers unexpectedly went off.

"What in the world?!" cried Lucy.

"This has to be some kind of ambush." Said Brock. Two hula girls gave Ash a lei and a kiss.

"Congratulations, winners!" they cried.

"Winners?!" cried Ash. "There's something really fish about this."

"Why should we win a prize just for walking into town?" Lucy asked.

"There's a simple explanation." Said hula girl number two.

"It just so happens that you're visitors number one million, one million and one, one million and two and one million and three to saffron City!" cried hula girl number one. Both of them started to hula dance.

"Oh, boy!" cried Ash. "Looks like our luck is starting to turn good!" The hula girls led the heroes to a building.

"Right this way to the grand prize room." Said Hula girl number one.

"Please, step lively." Said Hula girl number two. The second girl was wearing rubber gloves and quickly snatched both Pikachu and Eevee. The voice proved to belong to James.

"Thank you for your Pikachu and Eevee." Said James. Everyone turned in surprise.

"Hey! You can't take…." Said Lucy. Jessie and James put their hands over Ash and Lucy's faces.

"You won a trip through the warp tile!" cried Jessie. She and James shoved Ash and Lucy into Brock and Misty, making them land on the warp tile and disappear.

"That was easy!" cried James. Ash and company in landed in another room.

"What's going on here?" said Ash. "If this is the grand prize room, then where are all the prizes?"

"Can't that stupid brain of yours ever put two and two together?!" cried Lucy. "The only thing that we won is this trap!"

"There aren't any doors or windows in this room." Brock observed. Jessie's voice was soon heard.

"Bingo." She said. "The only way in or out of that room is through the warp tile. There's no way to escape."

"What are you talking about?" said Ash. A television screen came down showing Team Rocket in disguise.

"Good evening." Said Jessie and James. "You're watching the premiere "Prepare for Trouble, Make it Double" Show!" They quickly removed the disguises.

"It's Team Rocket!" cried Ash. "Ew! Gross! They both kissed me!" He ripped of the lei that had been strung around his neck. "Bleh! Bleh! Bleh! Bleh! Bleh! Bleh!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!" While Team Rocket was reciting their motto, Ash and his friends simply sat on the floor and drank tea.

"Hey! Don't just sit there and ignore us!" cried Jessie and James.

"Their show is pretty boring." Said Lucy.

"It'll get cancelled soon." Said Ash.

"We're boring? Afraid of being forgotten?" said James.

"Just you wait." Said Jessie. "We'll pull of something that they or anyone else won't soon forget, because we have something that will grab their attention." She and James stepped aside to show Pikachu and Eevee tied up and gagged, with Meowth guarding the two Pokemon.

"Because now its time for our special guests'….." said Jessie.

"Farewell performance!" cried Meowth.

"You better give Pikachu back right now!" cried Ash.

"Same goes for my Eevee!" cried Lucy. The television screen abruptly turned off.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" cried Ash.

"Turn that back on!" yelled Lucy.

Inside the control room that Team Rocket had set up…..

"James, something's wrong." Said Jessie.

"Turn it on!" cried Meowth.

"We can't! Nothing's working!" cried James.

"That's what happens when you work with amateurs!" said Meowth. He then noticed something.

"Hey, you guys!" he cried.

"Can't you see that we're a little busy right now?" said jessie.

"Yeah, but who's the kid?" said Meowth. Jessie and James turned around and saw the same little girl the heroes had seen earlier.

"How did you get into this room, little girl?" said Jessie. "You don't belong here."

"You can't just come barging in here whenever you please." Said James. The little girl smiled and started glowing, which made Team Rocket freeze in place.

"I can't move! I'm frozen!" cried James.

"So am I!" cried Jessie.

"You want me to turn down the air conditioning?" said Meowth. The little girl untied Pikachu and Eevee and disappeared with them.

"James, I can't move!" cried Jessie.

"Me neither!" cried James.

Back in the trap room…

"Team Rocket, give me back Pikachu!" yelled Ash.

"And Eevee too!" cried Lucy. They then heard some laughter and saw the same little girl holding Pikachu and Eevee.

"Pikachu!" cried Ash.

"Eevee!" cried Lucy.

"So, it's you again!" cried Ash. The girl allowed Pikachu and Eevee to run back to their trainers.

"Are you the one who saved Pikachu and Eevee?" asked Lucy. The little girl nodded her head yes.

"Thank you! We owe you one!" cried Ash. The girl glowed again, much to everyone's shock.

"We better watch out." Said Misty. "That's no ordinary little girl!"

"So, what is she then?" said Ash. The girl pointed to the heroes and they glowed as she did.

"Hey, what's going on?!" cried Ash. The girl laughed again, and the heroes reappeared outside.

"How did we end up outside again?" said Misty.

"I think that little girl did this." Said Lucy.

"She must've done something to get us out of there." Said Ash.

"We should be okay, as long as we don't have to win anymore prizes." Said Brock.

"The only prizes I want to win are the ones on game shows." Said Lucy. She looked around and noticed a building right in front of them.

"What's that?" said Ash. A man who was jogging came up to them.

"You've come to Saffron City and you don't even know Sabrina's gym?" he asked.

"So, that's Sabrina's gym." Said Ash.

"If you and your friend are trying to enter the Pokemon League, then this is one gym I suggest that you stay away from." Said the man.

"But why?" asked Lucy. The man jogged back into the city without answering the question.

"Where's he going?" said Ash.

"I don't know, but he sure was weird." Said Lucy. "Plus, without Marsh Badges, you and I can't compete in the Pokemon League."

"Right, Lucy. Let's go." Said Ash. The group entered the gym.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" asked Ash.

"The lights are on, but nobody's home." Said Lucy.

"There's definitely something creepy about this place." Said Misty.

"Hey, guys, look in there!" cried Brock. Everyone took a look through the window and saw people in white coats doing experiments meant to determine if somebody had psychic abilities or not. One person was demonstrating this by guessing what shape was on a card without seeing it and another person was bending spoons.

"What kind of place is this?" said Ash. An unidentified man wearing a white lab coat and mask approached them.

"What are you all doing here?" he asked.

"Lucy and I have come to ask for a Pokemon match so we can earn a Marsh Badge." Said Ash.

"You two wish to challenge the great Sabrina?" asked the man.

"Sure do." Said Lucy.

"Excuse me, but what are all those people doing in that room?" asked Misty.

"You know so little, yet you wish to challenge the great Sabrina." Said the man. He held out a spoon and tried to make it bend, but only barely succeeded in doing so.

"Is something wrong?" asked Ash.

"You look like you've got a headache." Said Lucy.

"Fools! It's telekinesis." Said the man. "You can't control a psychic type Pokemon completely without using telekinetic powers."

"That's what you think." Said Ash. "Telekinesis is okay, but I have my own method of bending spoons." He tried to bend the spoons using just his raw strength alone. He succeeded, but at the cost of embarrassing the man as well as the rest of his group.

"Muscle over mind!" said Ash.

"Embarrassing." Said Misty.

"Just pretend we never met him before." Said Brock.

"That's just lame." Said Lucy.

"Pika." Said Pikachu, which meant 'That's worse than lame. It's degrading.'

"Now, take us to Sabrina so we can start the match!" cried Ash.

"As you both wish." Said the man. He led them to the battlefield.

"Here we are." He said.

"This looks more like a temple than a Pokemon gym." Said Brock.

"Whatever it's like, I don't like it at all." Said Misty.

"Okay, now THIS is a little creepy." Said Lucy. The man bowed his head.

"Oh, great Sabrina!" he cried. "These strangers have come and two of them would like to challenge you. Though I don't know why you'd waste your time on this group of losers." He gave a laugh. The little girl from before appeared to the surprise of everyone.

"It's the little girl who brought back Pikachu and Eevee!" cried Lucy. The little girl looked at the heroes, but this time, her eyes were glowing red. The man started writhing in pain and glowed just as the girl had when she had saved Pikachu and Eevee.

"Forgive me great one! It's not my place to decide who you battle!" cried the man. He stopped glowing and ran out of the room in terror.

"I told you there was something strange about her!" cried Misty.

"Right, but who is she?" asked Brock.

"Are you really Sabrina?" said Lucy. The little girl started giggling.

"Sabrina! Me and my friend Ash demand official matches to compete for our Marsh Badges!" cried Lucy.

"I'd like to have a match with you two." Said the little girl. "I'll start with you, Lucy."

"That was easy." Said Lucy.

"But if you lose, you have to be friends and let me play with you." Said the little girl.

"Be your friends? Okay, you bet!" cried Ash.

"Be careful, you two." Said Misty. "Brock and I will watch from the sidelines."

"Hey, you gotta have a little more faith in us." Said Ash. "Even if she does have some sort of telekinetic powers, she's still just a little girl." The other got a look of shock.

"Just don't let your guard down, guys." Said Brock. The gate lifting Sabrina and the others lifted, and it was then revealed that the girl was just a doll, and the actual Sabrina was much older.

"Time for us to play." Said Sabrina. The doors closed behind the group as the match was about to start.

"So you're really Sabrina, the gym leader." Said Ash.

"Ash, Lucy, I hope you're both ready." Said Misty.

"Sabrina looks like a strong opponent." Said Brock. Sabrina levitated from her throne to the battlefield.

"How many Pokemon will we use, miss Sabrina?" asked Lucy.

"This will be a one on one battle." Said Sabrina. Her doll let go of the Poke Ball it was holding and it flew toward the battlefield.

"Come on out, Abra." Said Sabrina. Abra materialized. Lucy grabbed a Poke Ball and tossed it.

"Butterfree, I choose you!" she cried. Her brand new pink Butterfree materialized.

"Let the battle begin." Said Sabrina.

"Butterfree, use your Tackle attack!" cried Lucy. Butterfree flew in for a Tackle and struck Abra. Lucy expected a response from the psychic type, but was surprised to find that it was asleep.

"I don't get it." Said Lucy. "Why is there a sleeping Pokemon out on the field?" She took out Dexter in hopes of getting an answer.

"Abra, a psychic power Pokemon. It sleeps eighteen hours a day, but deploys telekinesis, even while sleeping."

"Telekinesis? That can make things completely unpredictable." Said Lucy. "Well, as long as it's asleep, we can get in as many attacks as necessary. Butterfree, use your Stun Spore!" Butterfree started spraying gold dust, but Abra vanished into thin air to avoid the move. It then reappeared behind Lucy.

"It teleported itself!" cried Misty. Abra continued to teleport all around, and no matter what Butterfree did, it couldn't land a hit.

"Don't give up, Butterfree!" cried Lucy. "Try your Whirlwind!" Butterfree flapped its wings in the hopes of getting Abra caught in the wind, but it teleported yet again. This time, to the top of the gym.

"This is no good. It'll just keep teleporting no matter what I do." Said Lucy. "Unless…." She started to think of something, and then it hit her.

"This has to be the answer." She said. "Butterfree, use your Psybeam all over the place!" Butterfree launched the beam out of her eyes, but Abra was still teleporting itself. Wherever it went, Butterfree changed the direction of its attack. But then Abra made the mistake of looking right into the beam and got hit hard onto the floor.

"Finally! Now, go for Sleep Powder!" cried Lucy. Butterfree sprayed sleep dust all over the now weakened Abra, which knocked it out.

"Yes! Great work, Butterfree!" cried Lucy. Her Butterfree flew happily around the arena in celebration. Sabrina recalled her Abra.

"That was an enjoyable battle, young lady." She said. "Your battling skills are some of the most impressive that I've seen out of anyone that's challenged me. I am pleased to award you a Marsh Badge as proof of your win here." Lucy gladly took the badge and held it up high.

"I got myself a Marsh Badge!" she cried, and struck a victory pose. She recalled her Butterfree and stepped aside so that Ash could have his battle.

"Your friend may have been lucky enough to defeat me, but that doesn't mean your fortunes will be the same." Said Sabrina. "Just like the last battle, this will be a one on one all out match." Her doll took another Poke Ball and levitated it into the air.

"I choose you, Kadabra." She said. A Pokemon larger than Abra and had a star on its forehead appeared.

"What's that?" said Ash. He got his Pokedex out.

"Kadabra, a Psychic Pokemon. The evolved form of Abra. It employs powerful telekinetic attacks."

"Be careful, Ash, Kadabra's really powerful!" cried Misty.

"Pikachu, Thunder Shock!" cried Ash. Pikachu unleashed the attack, but both Sabrina's eyes and Kadabra's eyes glowed red. Kadabra quickly disappeared via Teleport and then reappeared behind Pikachu.

"How did….." Ash started to say.

"Like both Misty and Dexter said, Kadabra's extremely powerful." Said Lucy. "It can emit alpha waves strong enough to induce headaches, make clocks run the opposite direction and even cause devices to break. The more danger Kadabra faces, the stronger the waves become."

"But that means….." said Ash.

"Yeah, you and Pikachu are gonna have a tough time trying to win this, buddy." Said Lucy.

"We'll figure out a way." Said Ash. "Besides, it's against the rules for a Pokemon to leave the stadium during battle, even by teleportation. Pikachu, fill this whole stadium with lightning! Hit it with your best shock!" Pikachu used a powerful attack to surround the stadium, which almost caused Kadabra to be trapped. Before the stadium even had a chance to be surrounded, however, Kadabra used its' psychic powers to control the attack, much to the surprise of Ash and his other friends.

"Now what?" said Ash.

"Confusion." Said Sabrina. Kadabra redirected the attack towards Pikachu.

"Whoa! Kadabra made Pikachu's lightning bolts look like a dragon!" cried Lucy. Despite Pikachu's fast running, the attack nailed him.

"Pikachu!" cried Ash.

"No!" cried Lucy.

"Psychic attack." Said Sabrina. Her eyes began to glow red. Kadabra's eyes also gave a red glow as it used telekinesis to force Pikachu to stand.

"That's right, Pikachu. Don't give up!" cried Ash. Pikachu then started doing something else under Kadabra's control.

"Look at this. Pikachu's dancing!" cried Ash.

"That's no dance! Kadabra's using its powers to control Pikachu's body." Said Misty.

"Huh?" said Ash. Kadabra then started slamming Pikachu up the ceiling.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried again. Kadabra brought the electric type down with another slam, then repeated the process over and over again.

"You better call off the match, Ash." Lucy suggested. "I don't think Pikachu can take too much more of this." Ash wanted to object, but he knew that Lucy was right. What good of a trainer would he be if he continued to let Pikachu get pounded repeatedly? He did the only sensible thing that he could do in this situation.

"That's it! STOP THE MATCH!" yelled Ash. He ran onto the battlefield and picked up his partner.

"Good call, Ash." said Lucy.

"Pikachu, are you all right?" asked Ash.

"Ka." Pikachu answered weakly, which meant 'Yeah.'

"I forfeit." Said Ash. Sabrina's doll spoke next.

"Be my friend." She said. "You promised I could play with you."

"Only if we lost." Lucy pointed out. "I won my battle earlier, so I shouldn't be subject to that promise."

"It doesn't matter." Said the doll. "Your friend there lost, and that means it's time to play." The doll's eyes glowed red as Ash, Misty, Brock, Lucy, Pikachu and Eevee were teleported away to what looked to be a small town neighborhood.

"Where are we now?" said Ash.

"It looks like we've been teleported again." Said Brock.

"Sabrina must've teleported us from the gym." Said Misty.

"But to where?" asked Lucy. "This place looks like a ghost town."

"Ghost town is right. This place is completely empty." Said Brock.

"I'll take a look around." Said Ash.

"We'll come with you, Ash." Said Misty.

"Since we don't know where we are, we should all stick together." Said Lucy.

"Eevee." Said Eevee, which meant 'Good idea.'

"I wonder if there's anybody here to tell us where we are." Said Ash.

"Unlikely. As Brock said before, this place is totally empty." Said Lucy. "But I suppose we can check the houses anyway." The group entered a house that was right near where they had landed.

"Is anybody home?" said Ash. "Please, can someone help us?"

"Apologies for the interruption, but what my friend said was, is anybody at home?" asked Lucy. Ash spotted a table that was set up with tea and cake.

"Somone HAS to be here if they have the table all set up like that." Said Lucy.

"That cake looks delicious!" cried Brock.

"Sabrina wanted to play with us, but I guess we're having lunch first." Said Ash. He rushed for the table before being stopped by Lucy.

"It's not nice to start eating before everyone's seated." She said. She noticed Brock picking up the cake.

"Hey!" she cried.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't resist." Said Brock. He bit down on the cake, but hurt himself. He then let out a scream.

"This cake is fake!" he cried.

"Fake?" said Misty.

"I wonder what's in here." Said Ash. He opened the door to the bathroom and saw someone in there.

"I'm very sorry!" said Ash. "I didn't think anybody was home." Lucy sighed.

"That's why you don't walk in on someone when they're in the bathroom." She said.

"Pika. Pikachu." Said Pikachu, which meant 'Ash, look again.' Upon second inspection, Ash saw that the person was actually a doll.

"Something's not right here." He said.

"What's not right?" asked Lucy.

"Lucy, look! That thing in front of me is a doll!" Ash cried Lucy took a look at the doll.

"I think I know what's going on here." She said. "All of us are trapped inside a doll house."

"This is a doll house?!" cried Ash.

"That's why there's dolls everywhere in here and why the whole town is empty." Said Lucy.

"That's also why the cake and tea and all the other food are made out of plastic!" added Brock.

"How can that be?" said Ash.

"I think Sabrina's responsible for all of this." Said Lucy. Just then, they all felt what looked like an earthquake. The roof of the house opened up and a giant Sabrina appeared.

"Now I can play with you all!" the doll giggled.

"She's pretty tall for a little girl." Said Ash.

"Correction, Ash. We're the ones who got smaller." Said Lucy. "We all got shrunk to doll size!" Sabrina's doll laughed as Sabrina herself reached down for the group.

"Should we run for our lives?" said Ash. Brock, Misty and Lucy all nodded. The four of them started running for it, just narrowly escaping Sabrina's reach.

"She's just as big and dangerous as that Tentacruel we encountered in Porta Vista!" cried Lucy.

"How can we get away from her?" said Ash.

"The houses, the streets, they're all her toys!" cried Misty.

"Then that means….." said Ash.

"We're trapped inside her toy box!" cried Lucy.

"She must have used telekinesis to shrink us." Said Brock.

"When she said she wanted to play with us, she really meant it!" cried Ash. They continued running as Sabrina and her doll watched them.

"A dead end!" cried Brock. Giant thumps were then heard from behind them.

"What's that?!" cried Ash. They turned and saw Sabrina's doll walking and bouncing its ball.

"She's coming this way!" cried Misty.

"Uh oh!" cried Brock.

"We're gonna have a ball!" cried Ash.

"This is like what happened to Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk when he first saw the giant!" cried Lucy. The doll stopped and her ball stopped bouncing.

"I wanna play catch!" the doll cried. Sabrina tossed the ball and it began rolling toward the group.

"We're gonna get squished!" cried Lucy. The doll laughed, but before the ball could reach the group, the jogging man from before appeared in front of them.

"Listen! Let your minds rely on mine!" he yelled.

"That means focus on him!" cried Lucy. The ball got closer, but before it could hit the group, the man teleported them away from the toy box.

"That was fun! Let's play again sometime!" cried the doll.

Meanwhile, the group reappeared in Saffron City.

"I think we're out of the toy box!" cried Lucy.

"Yep, this looks like a real place to me." Said Brock. "We made it!" They looked and saw the jogging man standing in front of them.

"He must've saved us." Said Lucy.

"Eevee." Said Eevee, which meant 'He did!'

"Thanks for the help." Said Ash.

"Yeah, we would've been squished for sure otherwise." Said Lucy.

"But why did you decide to rescue us?" asked Misty.

"Sabrina is a dangerous Pokemon trainer." Said the man. "I was able to help you this time, but that won't be the case next time. You'll be trapped in the toy box for all eternity!" Everyone was shocked to hear that.

"Give up your crazy idea of challenging Sabrina." He continued. "Leave Saffron City and never come back here!"

"I can't do that!" cried Ash. "I have to win Sabrina's Marsh Badge so I can get into the Pokemon League!"

"I already beat her and got my own Marsh Badge." Said Lucy. She showed it to the man.

"You were very fortunate to defeat Sabrina, young lady." He said. "But as for your friend, he will never be able to defeat Sabrina and her psychic Pokemon."

"Yes I will!" cried Ash. "I just need to make a quicker attack before her psychic powers can kick in." The man's eyes started glowing red and used his own power to make Ash dance around. Lucy covered her eyes in disgust.

"Ash, what do you think you're doing?!" she cried.

"It's not me, Lucy! My body's moving by itself!" cried Ash.

"If you can't beat me, then you stand no chance against Sabrina." Said the man. His eyes stopped glowing and Ash stopped dancing, allowing Lucy to take her hands off her eyes.

"What do you mean? Are you able to use telekinesis too?" said Ash. "Please, teach me how to use psychic powers!" The man pushed Ash back with his power by pointing his finger.

"You normally have to be born with telekinetic power. You can't just learn them." He said. He started walking away, but Ash got up.

"Please, wait!" he cried.

"Forget about it, Ash!" cried Brock.

"You haven't got a chance against telekinesis!" cried Misty.

"That sure won't stop him." Said Lucy.

"I may not have telekinesis, but I still have the guts to take on Sabrina again!" cried Ash. The stranger's eyes glowed again and Ash was lifted into the air and thrown back.

"Wise up, kid. Not even I have the power to defeat Sabrina." Said the man. "Guts don't count in this contest. I'm telling you this for your own good." Ash got up again.

"Ash, don't!" cried Misty.

"You better call it quits!" cried Brock.

"Chu." Said Pikachu, which meant 'Please.' The man stopped Ash in his tracks and forced him down to his knees. Ash forcefully crawled forward, however.

"He's really going through with this." Said Lucy.

"Ash, give it up!" cried Ash.

"Please! I need your help." Said Ash. "I have to defeat Sabrina for the Marsh Badge. You have to help me beat her. Please, show me how!" He finally collapsed at the man's feet.

"That's one determined kid." Said the man. He smiled and released Ash from his power.

"There may just be a way that you can beat her." The man said.

"How?" said Ash.

"Only one type of Pokemon can battle against psychic types." The man answered. "If you capture a ghost Pokemon from Lavender Town, you might have a chance." Lucy shuddered at the mere mention of Lavender Town.

"No! Not there! Anywhere but there!" cried Lucy.

"A ghost Pokemon from Lavender Town. Thank you." Said Ash. The man teleported away, and Ash collapsed onto the ground. Brock, Lucy and Misty rushed to his aid.

"Are you okay?" said Brock.

"You haven't got a chance against a Psychic Pokemon." Said Misty.

"Ha! Let's go! On to Lavender Town!" cried Ash. Lucy gulped.

"I was afraid he was going to say that!" she cried. Who is the mysterious bearded man? And what's the secret of Saffron City gym leader Sabrina? Will Ash be able to capture a Ghost Pokemon? Only the future can tell us the answers to those questions.

Meanwhile, Meowth was pulling a frozen Jessie and James by the ropes.

"Still can't move a muscle, huh?" he said.

"We're paralyzed." Said Jessie.

"Now I know how a statue feels!" cried James.

"Meowth! This is getting to be a real drag." Said Meowth.

"Maybe we should call the psychic hotline!" cried James.

TO BE CONTINUED

Ash's Current Party: Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Butterfree, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle

Lucy's Current Party: Eevee, Bulbasaur, Clefairy, Squirtle, Staryu, Butterfree (Pink)

Ash's Spare Pokemon At Oak's Lab: Spearow, Clefairy, Krabby

Lucy's Spare Pokemon At Oak's Lab: Beedrill

 

[MarkL1987]

Episode 22: The Tower Of Terror

After being overpowered by Sabrina's psychic Pokemon in Saffron City, Ash learned from a mysterious man how he might be able to defeat her. Now he and his friends are on their way to Lavender Town to try and capture one of the Ghost Pokemon that reside in the dreaded Pokemon Tower.

"The fog's coming in and that's not good." Said Ash.

"Just what we need, a thick soup to make the road to Lavender Town seem even creepier than the place itself." Said Lucy. "I told you I didn't want to go there, Ash, but as always, you just had to be stubborn."

"Well there's no turning back now." Said Ash. "Anyway, we better be super careful so that we don't get separated."

"Everybody, hold hands and stay together!" instructed Brock.

"Okay." Said Misty. She took Brock's hand and Ash took Lucy's.

"Hey Ash, where are you?" called Brock.

"Up here!" cried Ash.

"What do you mean "here"?" said Brock.

"He means he's up ahead." Said Lucy.

"Ah, there you are!" cried Brock. He raced ahead and grabbed what he thought was Ash's hand, but he grabbed Pikachu's tail by mistake. Pikachu was surprised by this and gave Brock an electric shock. As a result, Brock gave a loud scream and yell, which frightened almost everyone.

"Brock, please be more careful." Said Misty. "Don't you know how scared it makes me when you yell like that?"

"Well, you guys, you sure scared me!" cried Ash. He gave a spooky laugh. Misty screamed.

"Say what?!" she cried.

"Are you okay, Ash?" said Lucy. "You sound like a ghost."

"Well, Lucy, that's because I am a ghost!" cried Ash. He turned to look at her while wearing a skeleton mask. "Bleh!" Everyone else screamed and panicked, and Lucy's face turned pale.

"I think I'm gonna hurl!" she cried. Ash gave a normal laugh.

"Sorry guys, I was just testing you." He said, and removed the mask. "If we're going to catch a ghost Pokemon, we have to learn to deal with fear. That's the only way we're going to be great Pokemon trainers." The reaction he got from his friends for that trick wasn't quite what he expected, as his friends were very annoyed at him.

"YOU MUST BE CRAZY!" yelled Misty.

"ASH KETCHUM, DON'T YOU EVER SCARE US LIKE THAT AGAIN!" yelled Lucy.

"CHU!" yelled Pikachu, which meant 'EVER!' He gave Ash a loud shock, and Eevee just glared at him.

"We've got enough things to scare us without your boneheaded jokes!" cried Misty.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Not cool!'

"Eevee!" yelled Eevee, which meant 'Not cool at all!' Lucy was more furious with Ash than Pikachu and Eevee were, and she even bonked him on the head to prove it.

"That wasn't funny at all, Ash!" she cried. "You really scared us! I really wish you would think first and act later."

"I guess I'll just save the masks until next year's Halloween." Said Ash.

"I should hope so!" scolded Lucy. Soon, the group arrived in Lavender Town.

"There's Lavender Town. I'm glad we got here before it got dark." Said Ash.

"And in the distance is the famous Pokemon Tower." Said Lucy. "It's the home of all the ghost type Pokemon in this region. Although, I was hoping I'd never have to see this place again."

"How do you know about the tower, Lucy?" asked Misty.

"I've been there before, and it wasn't a good experience." Said Lucy. "There's a bit of a story behind this. I'll tell it to you guys on the way to the tower." As the group started walking toward the tower, Lucy began her story.

"It all happened on a Halloween night when I was seven." She said. "My dad brought me here for a little visit, and it started well at first. But then, we saw something, or someone, nearby. It looked like a woman in a white dress, and she seemed lost or something. We tried flagging her down, but she didn't answer. So we followed her for what seemed like forever, but it was really only an hour. Anyway, my dad and I stumbled upon the tower that you see in front of you, which my dad told me was called the Pokemon Tower. It was called that because the place was known to have ghost Pokemon living there. The door was open, so we walked right on in."

"What happened after that?" asked Ash.

"My dad let me explore the tower by myself." Said Lucy. "During the course of my exploring, I came across what appeared to be a room filled with child's play toys. I happily helped myself and started playing with all the blocks that were scattered about. While I played, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I thought it was weird, but when I turned around, nobody was there. So I went back to playing, all the while, thinking that what had tapped me was just something from my imagination. But a little while later, I felt that same tapping sound again. I turned around again, and this time, I found myself face to face with one of the ghost Pokemon. That was when I realized that it WASN'T my imagination at all. It was actually real. I screamed as loud as I could and ran all the way back down the stairs to the entrance where my dad was. 'What's wrong, honey?' he would ask me. 'Daddy, I saw a ghost!' I cried. My dad just laughed and told me that ghosts weren't real. But then out of nowhere, another one of them appeared where we were standing and tried to get me to laugh by making funny faces at me. Instead, I screamed even louder and we got out of there as fast as possible. Since then, I've been afraid of ghost type Pokemon. And that's why I didn't want to come here."

"You must've been scared." Said Ash.

"I was very scared, Ash." Said Lucy. "I hate ghost Pokemon, and I don't want to go anywhere near one." They soon heard some rustling around in the bushes.

"What's that?" said Ash. A Cubone soon appeared, but it was crying.

"Oh, you poor little thing." Said Lucy.

"I bet he's thinking about his mother." Said Brock.

"I do remember the Pokedex mentioning something about its mother being dead when we saw one a while ago." Said Ash. Lucy knelt down to Cubone's level.

"You miss your mom, don't you?" she asked. Cubone gave a sad nod.

"Such a small Pokemon like this shouldn't be out on its own." Said Brock. Lucy picked up the Cubone and hugged him tightly.

"I may not be your mother, Cubone, but if you'll let me, I promise that I'll take good care of you." She said. "What do you think?" Cubone stopped crying and smiled at Lucy.

"Looks like you just made a new friend, Lucy." Said Misty. Lucy got out a Poke Ball and tapped it on Cubone's head. The small little guy allowed himself to be sucked inside and caught.

"I think that's the sweetest thing I've ever seen." Said Brock. "I think you're a perfect match for Cubone."

"Thank you, Brock." Said Lucy. "I certainly think so myself." Cubone's ball teleported to Oak's lab due to her having six Pokemon on hand. The group then continued onwards to the tower, and by the time they arrived there, it had gotten dark despite the fact that it was obviously still the middle of the day. Lucy gulped nervously.

"Well, we've arrived." She said.

"Looks like it's always dark around here." Said Misty.

"This is the Pokemon Tower, where Ghost Pokemon hang out." Said Brock.

"I like what they've done with the place." Said Ash.

"It hasn't changed a bit since the last time I was here." Said Lucy.

"Okay, Ash, time for you to prove how great of a trainer you are!" cried Misty.

"Huh?" said Ash.

"We'll let you handle this one alone." Said Brock. Ash was speechless!

"Wait a minute! You promised you'd help me catch a ghost Pokemon when we got to Lavender Town!" he cried.

"I don't remember promising that!" cried Misty. She, Lucy and Brock all moved back.

"You know how to deal with fear, Ash!" cried Brock.

"Aren't you coming going to come in with me, Lucy?" asked Ash.

"No way!" cried Lucy. "I'm not going in there where all those ghost Pokemon are! I'm staying right here with Brock and Misty."

"Fine. Stay there if you want, but I'm not scared at all." Said Ash. "I'm not letting some stupid ghost Pokemon prevent me from being a great Pokemon trainer. Right, Pikachu?" Much to Ash's surprise, Pikachu curled up into a sleeping bad and fell asleep.

"Pi." Said Pikachu, which meant 'Good night.'

"Pikachu!" cried Ash. "On second thought, maybe Pikachu has the right idea. Let's do this in the morning." He got into his own sleeping bag, much to everyone's disbelief.

"Don't wake me up too early, okay?" he said. "Night, guys." Lucy wasn't having any of Ash's nonsense.

"Time to wake up!" she cried. She gave a loud bang on a gong, forcing Ash and Pikachu awake.

"That was kind of excessive, don't you think?" said Brock.

"Maybe I'll be braver tomorrow morning." Said Ash.

In the tower, Team Rocket was watching the group.

"There they are. I'm so glad they could make it!" cried Jessie.

"I'm no psychic, but I see success in our future." Said James.

"This time, Pikachu and Eevee are in the bag." Said Meowth.

"Let's get started." Said Jessie. James began running for the exit but fell through the old wooden floor.

"Hey!" cried Meowth.

"James, are you all right?" asked Jessie. She and Meowth looked down below them and saw James' face down on the floor below.

"The floor broke his fall." Said Meowth.

"These old places can be so dangerous." Said Jessie. The closet door behind her and Meowth opened, and when Meowth turned around, he spotted the face of a Gastly.

"What's that there?" he asked. The Gastly fully appeared, exited the closet, yawned and spooked Meowth, causing him to let out a scream.

"Meowth! Where are your manners?" said Jessie. "It's impolite to leave your mouth hanging open like that."

"Look behind you. Look behind you!" cried Meowth.

"What are you stammering?" said Jessie.

"Behind you! Look there! Right there!" cried Meowth.

"Behind me?" asked Jessie. She did look behind her, but the Gastly disappeared.

"There's nothing there." Said Jessie. "You must be seeing things."

"It was right there!" cried Meowth. The Gastly lowered itself onto Jessie's head and moved its mouth in sync with Jessie's voice.

"Don't tell me you're seeing things again." Said Jessie.

"Get away!" screamed Meowth. He mistakenly scratched Jessie instead of the Gastly, making her scream in pain.

"It slipped." Said Meowth.

"You numskull! You ruined my beautiful face!" cried Jessie. She hit Meowth with a mallet and knocked him around the room and then down to James below.

"It's only a scratch." Said Meowth. Jessie got out a mirror and sighed.

"A tragedy. My face. Perfection has been ruined." She said. The Gastly then appeared over Jessie's head again, making her scream and fall down to her teammates.

"You're right! This place is too dangerous!" cried James.

"Thanks for breaking my fall." Said Jessie. They soon fell through the old floor and into the basement, with their screams startling Ash and his friends.

"You guys heard that, right?" said Ash. Everyone nodded.

"It sounds really horrible in there." Said Misty.

"They must have some kind of torture chamber in there." Said Lucy.

"Tortue chamber?!" cried Ash.

In the basement, Team Rocket had landed and Jessie punched Meowth.

"This has got to be a nightmare." Said Jessie. Gastly soon appeared and frightened all of them to the point of fainting. The screams were heard by Ash and company.

"Those screams again!" cried Misty.

"I heard a different voice that time." Said Brock.

"Those voices are familiar. I feel like we've heard them before." Said Ash.

"Let's go inside and find out what they are." Said Brock.

"You two go in first, Ash." Said Lucy. She started pushing Ash and Misty, with Brock following.

"Pick on us, huh? Well, here goes nothing. I hope." He said. The friends carefully entered the Pokemon Tower.

"Hello there? Anybody home?" said Ash.

"It's kind of dark in here." Said Misty. The door closed on them.

"Now it's pitch black!" cried Misty. "Do something, quick!"

"Charmander, I choose you!" cried Ash. Charmander materialized out of the Poke Ball.

"Use Flamethrower to light up this whole area." Said Ash. Charmander obliged, but he got tired quickly.

"Maybe we should come back tomorrow when it's daylight." Said Misty.

"Have you ever heard of a ghost that comes out during the day?" said Ash.

"Look! I found a candle." Said brock.

"Charmander, light that candle for us." Said Ash. Charmander lit the candle, but accidentally burned Brock in the process.

"Light the candle, not me!" cried Brock. Ash and Misty followed Brock as he lit the way.

"Watch your step. There's a hole in the floor." Said Misty. Creepy laughter was then heard.

"Where are those voices coming from?" asked Misty.

Elsewhere in the tower, a Haunter and Gengar were watching a comedy on the television set when Gastly came in to join the fun.

"Might as well check this room first." Said Brock.

"Maybe we should just get out of here!" cried Misty. "No wonder Lucy didn't want to come into the tower with us."

"No way we can turn back now." Said Ash. "We have to go in!" The friends entered the room, which was revealed to be a dining room.

"Hey, Ghost Pokemon! If you're in there, say hello!" called Brock.

"I'm going to capture you!" cried Ash.

"Don't say that." Said Misty. "If they hear you, they'll know you're trying to capture them and they'll stay in their hiding spots. Lucy would say the same thing if she had come in the tower with us."

Outside the tower….

"I hope Ash is doing okay in there." Said Lucy.

"Eevee?" asked Eevee, which meant 'Are you sure you don't want to go in the tower?'

"I'm positive, Eevee." Said Lucy.

"Eevee." Squealed Eevee, which meant 'Let's explore the town on our own.'

"I don't think that's a good idea." Said Lucy. "I'm pretty sure Ash will be back soon, so we should probably wait for him."

Inside…..

"What's this?" asked Ash.

"It looks like….." said Brock. "This looks like some sort of fancy restaurant."

"It looks more like a party to me." Said Misty. "Or maybe it's some kind of reception."

"I don't think anyone would be wanting to have a wedding reception in a creepy place like this." Said Ash. He then noticed something hanging down from the ceiling.

"What's that string?" said Ash.

"It looks like there's something written on the card." Said Brock. "It says 'pull this.' Hmm, something seems fishy here."

"Not that old trick again." Said Misty.

"Well, why not?" said Ash. "If the sign says to do something, we should listen. Right, Pikachu?"

"Pika." Pikachu answered, which meant 'Right.'

"Wait! Don't pull that!" cried Misty. Ash pulled the string anyway, and out came confetti and streamers, along with a welcome sign.

"Are we…..?" said Ash.

"Being welcomed?" said Misty.

"If so, then by who?" wondered Brock. Misty then noticed the items on the dinner table starting to move.

"Look!" she cried. Everything at the table, including the chairs, started levitating into the air, scaring the three of them. Then, Brock was swept off his feet.

"Help me!" cried Brock.

"Bulbasaur, get brock down with your Vine Whip!" cried Ash. Bulbasaur materialized out of the thrown Poke Ball and wrapped his vines around brock, bringing him back to safety.

"Thanks, Bulbasaur." Said Ash. He recalled the grass type and the three of them jumped out the window onto solid ground outside.

"I can't believe we managed to escape." Said Brock.

"There's no way I'm going back into that tower!" cried Misty. "It's way too scary in there!"

"Me either!" cried Brock.

"Now do you guys see why I didn't want to come here?" said Lucy.

"But we can't catch a ghost Pokemon if we don't go back in." said Ash. "Right, Pikachu? Charmander?" Pikachu shook his head, and Charmander launched his Flamethrower at the group, making them duck.

"Charmander, knock that off!" cried Ash.

"I know those ghosts are scary, but that doesn't mean using your Flamethrower attack on us." Said Lucy.

"Pikachu, Charmander, you guys aren't cowards, are you?" said Ash. "How can I beat Sabrina's psychic Pokemon if we don't go back in? Do you want to lose again?" Pikachu reminded Ash of his frightening experience battling Kadabra.

"Listen, you guys, if we're going to beat psychic Pokemon, we have to learn to overcome our fear. Understand?" Pikachu and Charmander nodded.

"Then let's give it another try." Said Ash. "Pikachu, Charmander, you two with me?" Pikachu and Charmander gave a nod of determination.

"Great! Then let's do it!" cried Ash. "Although, we could use a bit more help. How about you, Lucy? You with me?" Lucy shook her head.

"Sorry Ash, but you're going this alone." She said.

"Misty and I don't want to go back in either." Said Brock.

"If you're going to do this, you'll have to do it by yourself." Said Misty. "We'll just wait right out here for you." Ash, Pikachu and Charmander entered the tower together.

"Hello, everybody! We're back!" cried Ash. "We'd love to meet you! Feel free to introduce ourselves whenever you want!" More sounds were heard, slightly frightening Ash and his Pokemon.

"What was that?" cried Ash. He got his Pokedex out for a more clear answer.

"Ghost Pokemon often appear in a vapor form. Their true identity is shrouded in mystery."

"I guess we'll just have to try and solve that mystery." Said Ash. He then heard Team Rocket's voices, but he was unaware that they were also in the tower.

"They're down there!" cried Ash. "Time for us to get 'em! Pikachu, let's hit them with your electric attack!" Pikachu sent a powerful shock through the hole, hitting Team Rocket.

"Not bad. But we need more power." Said Ash. "Charmander, Flamethrower now!" Charmander launched a Flamethrower and it hit Team Rocket, creating a fireball.

"Now's my chance!" cried Ash. "Poke Ball, go!" Ash tossed the Poke Ball, and it hit someone's face.

"Ouch!" cried Jessie.

"I wonder if I caught it." Said Ash.

"It's that stuck-up brat again!" cried Jessie. "I'll get him if it's the last thing I ever do! Someday I'll make him pay dearly for what he's done!"

"She's got fire in here eyes." Said James.

"And in her hair too." Said Meowth. After noticing her hair was on fire, Jessie started to panic and run around frantically, creating another fireball.

"That's the second fireball." Said Ash. Jessie put the fire out and collapsed.

"He's going to pay for this!" she cried.

"Ah, the fireball's gone." Said Ash. "We'll get it next time." A Haunter suddenly appeared. Pikachu turned and saw it. He quickly warned Ash.

"Pika!" he cried, which meant 'Ash, look! A ghost!'

"Huh?" said Ash. He turned to look, but the Haunter had disappeared.

"You must be seeing things, Pikachu." Said Ash. He turned and saw Haunter staring him and the others in the face. Haunter pulled a face, frightening both Ash and Pikachu.

"Is this one of those ghost Pokemon?" Ash wondered. He quickly got his Pokedex out.

"Haunter, a Gaseous Pokemon. No further information available."

"Is that all?" said Ash. "Well we're still going to beat it anyway. Go, Charmander!" before the fire type could launch an attack, the Haunter disappeared and then reappeared behind Ash, tapping him on the shoulder without his knowledge.

"Don't bother me now, Pikachu. Quit it!" cried Ash. Haunter tapped his shoulder again.

"Cut it out!" cried Ash. He quickly grabbed haunter's hand while thinking it was Pikachu, only to get a fright when he saw who it actually was.

"I'm not afraid of you." Said Ash. "You just surprised me a bit, that's all. Charmander, you're on!" The fire type rushed forward.

"Charmander, Leer attack!" cried Ash. Charmander stared Haunter down with its Leer. The stare down got more intense until Charmander's expression changed from a serious one to a funny one, making Haunter burst out in laughter.

"Charmander, you're not supposed to make it laugh!" cried Ash.

"Char?" said Charmander, which meant 'I'm not?' Haunter then licked Charmander on the face, causing the fire type to be paralyzed.

"This isn't working. Charmander, return!" cried Ash. He recalled the fire type to his ball. Haunter made another funny expression.

"Do you really think we're afraid of you?" said Ash. Another ghost Pokemon rose, spooking him.

"I better find out about this one." Said Ash. He grabbed his Pokedex and aimed it at the Pokemon.

"Gengar. No information available."

"Not again!" cried Ash. Haunter and Gengar then put on a comedy act to try and get Ash and Pikachu to laugh, but were unsuccessful.

"I don't get it. They're weird." Said Ash.

"Pika." Pikachu agreed, which meant 'Very weird.' The two ghost types tried again.

"Are you guys trying to be funny? Your routine isn't really working for us." Said Ash. Haunter and Gengar were shocked and disappointed by the comments.

"I hate to say it, but their humor leaves me cold." Said Ash.

"Chu." Said Pikachu, which meant 'Same here.'

"They look pretty sad." Said Ash. Haunter and Gengar started sinking into the floor.

"Hey wait! Don't go!" cried Ash. "Wait a second!" He and Pikachu started running after them, but couldn't catch them. Ash hit the floor face first, the chandelier that was hanging above dropped down and landed on top of Ash and Pikachu. The three ghost Pokemon appeared at the scene as Pikachu set off an electric shock that made the chandelier light up. The three ghost types applauded, as they thought it was a comedy act. They quickly realized, however, that both Ash and Pikachu were unconscious. Haunter got an idea and pulled Ash and Pikachu's spirits from their bodies. Ash and Pikachu quickly looked down and panicked.

"We're down there!" cried Ash.

"Pika! Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'And we're also up here!'

"What's going on?!" cried Ash.

"Pika." Pikachu answered, which meant 'I don't know.'

"Haunter." Said Haunter, which meant 'We're alike now.'

"You're saying that we're alike now?" said Ash.

"Pika." Said Pikachu, which meant 'Then that means…'

"Oh no! We've been completely separated from our bodies!" cried Ash.

"Haunter!" cried Haunter, which meant 'Exactly!'

"But I don't want to be a ghost yet!" cried Ash. Haunter took Ash's hand and pulled him upward. Gengar pushed Pikachu upward, and Gastly simply followed behind. They went through every floor of the tower until reaching the roof.

"Wherever you're taking us, we don't want to go!" cried Ash. The three ghost Pokemon took them through the roof so they could see the view of Lavender Town.

"What a view!" cried Ash.

"Pika." Said Pikachu, which meant 'It's a beaut.'

Hey, look down there!" cried Ash. "It's brock, Misty and Lucy!" Ash let out a chuckle. "Time to have some fun."

"Pika?" said Pikachu, which meant 'Fun?' The ghost Pokemon decided to show Ash and Pikachu how the three of them have fun.

Down on the ground…..

"Ash is taking a bit too long." Said Misty. "Maybe we should go in and see how he's doing."

"That's a good idea." Said Brock. Lucy refused to move.

"You're not getting me to go in that tower even if you offered me a hundred dollars." She said.

"So, you're really worried about me, huh?" said Ash in ghost form. Misty turned in surprise and looked at Ash, but couldn't see him due to his being a ghost.

"What's wrong, Misty?" said brock.

"I think I just heard a voice." Said Misty.

"Are you sure you're not hearing things, Misty?" said Lucy.

"Come for a ride with me, Misty." Said Ash. "You too, Lucy." He picked both of them up and lifted them up into the air. They screamed in horror as he took them for a ride.

"Misty!" Lucy!" cried Brock.

"Help! The ghost has got us!" cried Lucy. Ash gave a laugh.

"Okay, ride's over." He said. "Catch them, Brock." Ash dropped the two girls, but fortunately, Brock managed to catch both of them.

"Okay, what's going on?" said Lucy.

"Wait a second. That voice." Said Misty. She gasped. "I think something terrible's happened to Ash!"

"Well, let's go help them!" cried Lucy.

"But I thought you didn't want to set foot in the tower." Said brock.

"I know, but Ash is my friend. I have to save him." Said Lucy. She gave a very determined look in her eyes and on her face. As Lucy, Eevee, Misty and Brock rushed into the tower, Ash, Pikachu and the ghost trio flew over Lavender Town and had a grand time.

"Yeah! We're flying!" cried Ash. They flew into the forest surrounding the tower.

"Cool!" cried Ash. Haunter flew in front of the group and opened his mouth. Ash passed right through it, thinking that he was going to be eaten.

"You fooled me!" he cried. The group laughed at Haunter's antics, but soon went back inside the tower and entered the ghost trio's playroom.

"Look at all those toys!" cried Ash. "Wait, this is the room Lucy was talking about in her story earlier. It looks like fun, though."

"Pika." Said Pikachu, which meant 'Very fun.' Haunter pointed to the carousel.

"Haunt!" he cried, which meant 'That one's my favorite!' Gengar started balancing on a ball.

"Gengar!" he cried, which meant 'Watch this!' Gastly was swinging on a swing.

"Gastly." He said, which meant 'Back and forth. Back and forth.' Ash was taken by surprise.

"This whole time, you just wanted somebody to play with?" he said.

"Haunt." Haunter answered, which meant 'That's what we always want.'

"Was that all?" said Ash. "You just wanted to have fun, and not scare people?" he noticed Pikachu swinging on the swing with Gastly.

"I see how you must've been bored for a long time." Said Ash. "That's tough. Listen, I'm very sorry, but I can't stick around to play with you guys. There's still lots of opponents out there for me to battle, and I still have to earn a Marsh Badge from the Saffron gym. I have to fulfill my goal of being a Pokemon master. Sorry, but I have to go. I'll miss you all." The ghost trio were saddened by Ash's words and started crying.

Meanwhile, Eevee, Brock, Lucy and Misty dragged the apparent lifeless bodies of Ash and Pikachu out from under the chandelier.

"Ash! Pikachu!" cried Misty.

"Come on, wake up!" cried Brock.

"They're not moving!" cried Lucy. The three of them got teary eyes at the sight of their friends being gone permanently.

"Ash, Pikachu, can't you hear us?!" cried Lucy.

"Please, say something!" cried Brock. Above them, the ghost forms of Ash and Pikachu appeared, along with their new friends.

"Ash! Open your eyes please, Ash!" cried Misty.

"Please wake up, Ash!" cried Lucy. "If this is your idea of a joke, it's not funny!"

"I guess it's time to go back." Said Ash. He and Pikachu returned to their normal bodies and woke up.

"Hi, Misty." Said Ash.

"Ash, you're alive!" cried Misty.

"Pikachu!" cried Brock.

"Ash! Thank goodness!" cried Lucy. She gave her friend a big hug. "I thought we had lost you for sure!"

"Sorry to worry you all." Said Ash.

"No sweat. We're just glad to have you back." Said Brock. Misty and Lucy wiped the tears from their eyes, and then Lucy bonked Ash on the head.

"Don't you EVER worry me like that again! You hear me?!" she cried. Ash simply looked at the three ghost Pokemon floating above and laughed.

Soon, dawn came and it was time for the group to leave Lavender Town.

"So, Ash, were you able to get your hands on a ghost Pokemon?" asked Misty. Ash sadly shook his head.

"It's impossible to catch them." He said.

"Then how do you expect to beat the psychic Pokemon?" asked Lucy.

"I guess I'll have to use my sense of humor." Said Ash. Everyone was confused by what Ash had said, but soon, Pikachu spotted something behind them.

"Pika!" he cried, which meant 'Look!' They turned and saw Haunter following them. It tried to be funny, which frightened the gang, especially Lucy. Ash simply smiled.

"Good one, Haunter!" he cried. Well, it seems that Haunter had so much fun playing with Ash that it's decided to go with him on his Pokemon journey. Maybe their comedy act will end up knocking out Sabrina's Pokemon.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket was being forced to ride on the carousel with Gastly and Gengar watching and laughing as Team Rocket screamed.

"I can't take anymore!" cried Jessie.

"Let me off! I'm dizzy!" cried James.

"Stop the ride! I wanna get off!" cried Meowth.

"Looks like Team Rocket's throwing up again!" they screamed.

TO BE CONTINUED

Ash's Current Party: Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Haunter, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle

Lucy's Current Party: Eevee, Bulbasaur, Clefairy, Squirtle, Staryu, Butterfree (Pink)

Ash's Spare Pokemon At Oak's Lab: Spearow, Clefairy, Krabby, Butterfree

Lucy's Spare Pokemon At Oak's Lab: Beedrill, Cubone

 

[MarkL1987]

Episode 23: Haunter Vs. Kadabra

Last time around, Ash and his friends traveled to the Pokemon Tower in Lavender Town so that Ash could attempt to catch a ghost type Pokemon. He had a high flying adventure and even made some new friends. The ghost Pokemon hated to see Ash leave, so Haunter has decided to follow Ash to Saffron City. Now Ash is ready to face Sabrina again. Will he be able to defeat her, though? Let's find out.

"We made it, Pikachu!" cried Ash.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'We sure did!'

"Ready the bell, Ash, because it's time for round two for you at the Saffron gym." Said Lucy.

"I just KNOW we'll win this time!" said Ash confidently. "Right, Brock?"

"Brock?" said Lucy. They both turned and saw Brock and Misty standing away from him.

"Uh, if you say so." Said Brock.

"What's the matter?" said Ash.

"Eevee?" asked Eevee, which meant 'What's up?'

"It's because Ash has a Haunter now, isn't it?" said Lucy.

"I think I'm allergic to ghosts." Said Brock. "Kinda sorta feel dizzy." He gave a sheepish laugh.

"You're not scared of a little ghost, are you?" said Ash.

"I know that I'm definitely scared of them." Said Lucy.

"Who could ever be afraid of such a cute little thing?" said Misty. Haunter gave her a gentle nuzzle.

"See? It's cute." Said Misty.

"Cute. Right." Said Brock. Just then, Haunter licked Misty on her face.

"Uh oh!" cried Lucy. She and Ash gasped.

"It just crossed the cute line." Said a now paralyzed Misty.

"Haunter! Your Lick attack paralyzed Misty!" cried Ash.

"You better say sorry to her right now!" Brock scolded. Haunter started crying.

"Don't worry, Haunter. It's not really that big a deal." Said Ash. Haunter cheered right up.

"Haunter, in Saffron City is a trainer named Sabrina who uses psychic type Pokemon." Said Ash. "Ghost Pokemon are strong against psychic Pokemon. Will you help me defeat her?" Haunter agreed.

"Yes! That Marsh Badge is as good as mine!" cried Ash.

"Then let's push onward!" cried Lucy. The group soon arrived at the Saffron gym.

"Sabrina sure showed me up last time." Said Ash. "But now, the joke's on her! Wait, where is everyone? Brock? Misty? Lucy?" he turned and saw everyone standing back cheering him on.

"Give it your best shot, Ash!" cried Misty.

"Let us know how it turns out!" cried Brock.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Go get 'em, Ash!'

"Stop goofing around! Aren't you going to come in with me?" said Ash.

"Last time, she wanted to play with us and pretend that we were bowling pins." Said Lucy.

"And she almost got a strike, too." Said Brock.

"That won't happen again now that I have Haunter with me." Said Ash.

"Don't be too sure, Ash." Said brock. "What if Haunter's the one controlling you?" Ash just laughed.

"Haunter and I are pals." He said.

"No way Haunter's controlling my friend." Said Lucy. Haunter laughed at the very thought of controlling Ash.

"Haunter isn't worried at all." Said Misty.

"It's pretty confident." Said Brock.

"Pika! Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'That's saying something!'

"There's nothing to worry about." Said Ash. "With Haunter on my side, I'm guaranteed to win that badge. Now wish me luck!"

"Good luck." Said everyone.

"Charmander! Squirtle! Bulbasaur!" cried Ash. All three Pokemon materialized.

"Are you all ready to face Sabrina?" said Ash. The three starters and Haunter all agreed. Soon, everyone made their way inside.

"Sabrina, I've come back to your gym to demand a rematch!" cried Ash.

"Another battle?" cried Sabrina's doll. "Even after my Pikachu beat up your Kadabra during the last match? You don't have a chance!"

"This time, you won't have it so easy." Said Ash. Sabrina levitated from her throne.

"If you lose, you'll have to play with me again." Said the doll. The lights came on in the stadium.

"Unlike your battle with Sabrina, your friend was a more serious challenger." The doll continued. "Her Pokemon utilized the type matchups correctly, unlike you. Your Pikachu got pummeled, while your friend's Butterfree was quite strong." Sabrina landed.

"Go, Kadabra." She said calmly. Kadabra materialized.

"And I choose as my Pokemon, Haunter!" cried Ash.

"So you captured a ghost Pokemon, did you?" said Sabrina. Haunter was nowhere to be seen, making Ash let out a gasp.

"Haunter? Hey Haunter! Where did you go?" he cried.

"This is a BIG problem." Said Lucy. "Without a Pokemon, Ash can't battle."

"Will Haunter please report to the floor?!" Ash called via megaphone.

"Looks like the ghost Pokemon got spooked." Said Brock.

"Haunter! Get back here!" cried Ash.

"Enough stalling!" demanded Sabrina. "Send out your Pokemon at once, or you'll all go back to the toy box." Everyone went pale upon hearing that.

"Great! Back where we started." Brock muttered.

"Forget Haunter, just send out another one." Said Lucy.

"Right!" said Ash. "Pikachu, I choose….." But Pikachu was still traumatized by what happened last time and refused to battle.

"Charmander! Bulbasaur! Squirtle!" cried Ash. The three of them ran backwards to the wall and also refused to battle, as they were worried that what had happened to Pikachu would happen to them.

"You won't help me?" said Ash.

"Well, are you ready yet?" said Sabrina.

"Yeah, just a sec…" said Ash.

"The battle will begin now." Said Sabrina. Ash quickly froze and blurted out the first thing he thought of.

"I quit!" he cried.

"Are you out of your mind, Ash?! Why would you do that?!" cried Lucy.

"Quit?" said Sabrina.

"Run for it!" cried Ash. The doors opened as Brock, Misty and Lucy followed him.

"Wait for us!" cried Misty.

"Hurry!" cried Brock.

"It's fun to catch them!" cried the doll. The shutters on the gym's door started lowering.

"The exit!" cried Ash.

"Great, we're locked in!" said Lucy.

"We're trapped!" cried Brock. Sabrina's doll followed behind them and used her psychic powers on Brock, Misty and Lucy, making the three of them scream.

"Brock! Misty! Lucy! They're all dolls!" cried Ash.

"Now I'm going to turn you and your Pokemon into dolls too." Said Sabrina's doll. Before she could do so, however, the stranger appeared.

"Where'd you come from?" said Ash.

"Sometimes you have to retreat to win." He said to Ash. "Teleportation!" he cried to Sabrina's doll. He teleported Ash and his Pokemon, away from the gym.

"He's back." Said Sabrina. Ash and his Pokemon landed outside, with Ash ending up on top of the stranger.

"I'm glad you and Eevee are safe, Pikachu, but could you please get off my back?" said Ash.

"And could all of you please get off mine?" said the stranger. Ash and his Pokemon obliged, and soon, they were all relaxing.

"Sabrina's the meanest trainer I've ever met." Said Ash.

"She wasn't always this mischievous." Said the stranger.

"You mean you knew her before she changed?" said Ash.

"Well, I've heard stories about her." Said the stranger.

Flashback

A very young Sabrina was just starting to discover what she and her psychic powers were capable of. This included bending silverware with little effort and breaking a silverware holder. She was also testing her powers on a golf club to see what would happen. Her parents begged and pleaded for her to stop.

"Please stop, Sabrina! That's enough!" yelled her mom.

"That's not a toy!" cried her dad, and he took away the golf club. Instead of heeding her parents' warnings, she continued using her power on her entire family. She also used her powers to effectively destroy her home.

End Flashback

"Sabrina never wanted to make friends. She wanted to be left alone to develop her powers." Said the stranger. "Her parents tried to help, but Sabrina's psychic powers drove them away." He brought out a picture and showed it to Ash.

"The conflict caused Sabrina to be split into two girls." He went on. "The strong Pokemon trainer who is always causing trouble, and the lonely little girl who always desires to make friends. The doll that Sabrina always holds represents her true self, before her training. Before she rejected her own heart."

"Sabrina had this picture of her family in her room." Said Ash. "If you have the same picture, then that must mean…." The stranger was surprised.

"He must've figured it out by now." He thought. "The stories I just told him about Sabrina, it has to be obvious."

"That must mean you're a photographer!" cried Ash. The man fell over in disbelief.

"Don't you see?! Don't you get it!" he cried.

"Get what?" said Ash. The man sighed.

"Never mind." He said.

"Sabrina turned Brock, Misty and Lucy into dolls." Said Ash.

"There's nothing I can do about that." Said the stranger. "The only way you can rescue your friends is to defeat Sabrina. You did go to Lavender Town to catch a ghost Pokemon like I asked you to, didn't you?"

"Yes, but now Haunter's disappeared somewhere." Said Ash.

"Then you have to find Haunter first." Said the stranger. "Without Haunter, you'll never be able to defeat Sabrina and her psychic Pokemon."

Meanwhile, on a window cleaner's trolley, Jessie and James were preparing their latest plan.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Yes, yes, that's very dramatic. Let's just cut to the chase and snatch Pikachu and Eevee." Said Meowth.

"Leave that part to us." Said Jessie.

"By the way, what secret weapon have you guys got cooked up this time?" said Meowth.

"A deadly weapon that's been perfected over thousands of years." Said James. "Now we've learned to use its' awesome powers. With a flick of this fishing net, we'll round up Pikachu and Eevee."

"You mean THAT'S your secret weapon?" cried Meowth.

"It takes a genius to realize that a fishing net is the perfect weapon." Said James.

"Oh James, it's the greatest discovery since Edison invented the lightbulb." Said Jessie.

"Even grater than the chicken who invented the egg." They both cried.

"Any true genius knows, of course, that it was actually the egg that preceded the chicken." Said James.

"Of course, I knew that." Said Jessie. "I had, just, forgotten."

"Now you got my own brain scrambled!" cried Meowth. "Let's just cut the EGGS-planations and catch Pikachu and Eevee!" James twirled the net around and got ready to cast it down to the street below when Haunter came and frightened them, causing them to fall out of the trolley and hang on to the edge.

"Jessie, pull us up!" cried James.

"You're too heavy." Said Jessie. "I can't even pull myself up until you both let go of my legs!"

"But Jessie, you have to!" cried James.

"Be brave. If I let go, we're all goners." Said Jessie. "But if you let go, at least I'll survive."

"I'm the designated survivor, so both of you better hold on tight!" cried Meowth.

"I thought we finally got away from those terrible ghost Pokemon, but they followed us all the way here!" cried Jessie. Haunter floated down to Jessie and made silly expressions to try and make her laugh. Jessie tried to resist.

"Don't laugh, Jessie. Otherwise you're going to let go." Said James. Haunter kept trying to make Jessie laugh, forcing her to try harder to NOT laugh.

"Don't laugh. Don't smile." Said James. Jessie's hands began to slip.

"I won't crack! The members of Team Rocket have all been trained to resist silliness and be totally serious!" cried Jessie. On Haunter's final attempt, she finally cracked and laughed her head off, which made her let go of the edge and send her and her teammates plummeting to the street below.

"I don't see what's so funny." Said James.

"She's going to die laughing." Said Meowth. The trio crashed through the sidewalk, getting Ash's attention.

"What was that?" he cried. He rushed to see Team Rocket in the hole that they had created.

"That looks like a painful fall Team Rocket took." Said Ash.

"Pika." Said Pikachu, which meant 'Very painful.' Haunter soon appeared.

"Haunter! You stopped them from capturing Pikachu!" cried Ash. Haunter held up the fishing net that was in Jame's hands.

"Way to go! Now let's get back to Sabrina's gym." Said Ash. Haunter shook his head.

"Haunt." He said, which meant 'I don't battle.'

"Please, you can't let her make a fool out of me." Said Ash.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'I think I have an idea.' He explained the idea to haunter, who smiled and agreed.

"Pi! Pika! Chu!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'It's agreed. Haunter will fight by our side.'

"Thank you, Haunter!" cried Ash. "Just help us save our friends and you'll never have to help me out again!"

"Haunt." Said Haunter, which meant 'Then let's get this show on the road.'

"I just hope that Brock, Misty and Lucy are okay." Said Ash.

Back in Sabrina's toy box…..

"What do you think's going to happen to us?" said Lucy.

"I don't know. I've never been a doll before." Said Misty.

"I don't even like dolls!" cried Brock. "Are we going to stay like this forever?"

"That's up to Sabrina." Said a voice. They couldn't believe what they had just heard.

"That other doll just talked!" cried Lucy.

"It's nice to have company." Said the voice. "I'm Sabrina's mother."

"Her mother?!" cried brock.

"She turned you into a doll too?" said Misty.

"But why did she do that?" asked Lucy.

"I don't know." Said Sabrina's mom. "Please, don't think too badly of Sabrina. She's really a good daughter." Sabrina's doll was soon heard laughing. The roof lifted up and Sabrina peered inside.

"My new dolls are so cute!" cried Sabrina's doll. Brock, Misty and Lucy gasped. Even Eevee, who had also been turned into a doll, was scared.

"What game should I play first with my new Brock, Misty, Lucy and Eevee dolls?" said Sabrina's doll. "Maybe we can have tea." Brock was getting angry.

"Sabrina! Turn us back into humans right now!" he cried.

"I challenge you to a match!" cried Misty. "If I win, you have to change us back!"

"If I change you back, you'll just run away from me." Said Sabrina's doll. "You have to stay as dolls! We'll play together all the time and we'll be friends forever." Eevee hid behind Lucy.

"You're scaring my Eevee!" cried Lucy. "I know I battled you already, but I'll do it again if it means getting out of doll form!"

"Sabrina!" cried Ash. Lucy was delighted to hear Ash's voice.

"I knew he'd be back." Said Sabrina. Both trainers stepped into the battle arena.

"Have you returned for more humiliation?" said Sabrina. "Don't you realize by now that you'll never defeat me?"

"Brock, Misty and Lucy are my friends, and I can't leave them behind!" cried Ash. "Not even if you turn me and all my Pokemon into dolls!"

"ASH!" cried Brock, Lucy and Misty.

"If you want to be a doll, too, I'll be glad to play with you." Said Sabrina's doll. "It will be a one on one battle. Sabrina's Pokemon will be Kadabra." Kadabra materialized.

"For my Pokemon, I choose Haunter!" cried Ash.

"Haunter?" said Sabrina.

"Where is it?" said the doll. Ash realized that Haunter had disappeared again.

"Not again!" he cried.

"Why don't you forfeit?" said Sabrina.

"That way I can have new dolls to play with." Said Sabrina's doll.

"Haunter! You promised me that you'd battle!" cried Ash. "Please stop hiding, Haunter! Haunter!" Pikachu was disappointed that Haunter left again.

"This time you won't escape." Said Sabrina.

"My new dollies!" cried Sabrina's doll.

"DOLLIES?!" cried Brock, Misty and Lucy. Ash was about to concede defeat again when Pikachu ran onto the field.

"Pikachu! You don't stand a chance against Kadabra! He'll just beat you up again!" cried Ash.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'I don't care! Nobody turns my friends into dolls and gets away with it!'

"You don't want Sabrina to turn us not dolls? You want to fight for me?" said Ash.

"Pika!" Pikachu answered, which meant 'Righto!' Ash got teary eyed.

"Thank you, Pikachu. You're a real pal." He said. "Pikachu, Thunder Shock!" he cried.

"Kadabra, teleport." Said Sabrina. Kadabra disappeared quickly before the attack could land. Pikachu tried again and again, but without success.

"Kadabra, Psybeam." Said Sabrina. The Psybeam hit Pikachu and knocked it back.

"Try to hang on, Pikachu!" cried Ash. "Come back at Kadabra with a Thunderbolt!" Pikachu launched a powerful Thunderbolt, which nailed Kadabra.

"That's it!" cried Ash.

"Recover." Said Sabrina. As quick as Kadabra had gotten hit, it quickly healed itself and negated all the damage.

"It's impossible to win." Said Sabrina. Her doll laughed, and then Haunter appeared in front of Sabrina. The doll was livid.

"Two against one's not fair!" she cried. Sabrina's dad teleported in.

"Haunter is just playing around on its own." He said. "It's not battling against you, so it isn't against the rules." Haunter did all it could to make Sabrina crack a smile and laugh, including making all the funny faces it could possibly make. After a long pause, Sabrina smiled due to Haunter's jokes. Sabrina's dad gasped.

"She smiled!" he cried. Sabrina began to laugh, along with Haunter.

"Is Sabrina actually laughing?" said Ash.

"Ever since she started her telekinetic training as a little girl, I've never seen Sabrina laugh like this." Said Sabrina's dad. "I've never been so happy in my entire life!"

"But if you've known Sabrina since she was a little girl, then that means….."

"Oh, you finally figured it out." Said Sabrina's dad.

"You must've taken her baby pictures too!" cried Ash. Sabrina's dad fell over in disbelief.

"How dense can you possibly be?!" he cried. He quickly recomposed himself. "I'm glad you came back. Haunter has helped Sabrina rediscover the human part of her heart.

"But Haunter was supposed to beat the psychic Pokemon, not make friends with Sabrina!" cried Ash. "Me and my friends are all going to be dolls!"

"Look over there." Said Sabrina's dad. He pointed to Kadabra, who was rolling on the floor laughing.

"I don't get it. Kadabra looks like it's in pain." Said Ash.

"It's not in any pain." Said Sabrina's dad. "Kadabra and Sabrina are joined telepathically. Kadabra is rolling with laughter, just like Sabrina." Ash was in disbelief. While the comedy routine was going on, Sabrina's doll disappeared and she became whole again. Kadabra's Poke Ball fell and Brock, Misty, Lucy and Eevee were restored to their normal size.

"I'm so glad we don't have to be dolls anymore." Said Lucy.

"Brock! Misty! Lucy!" cried Ash.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'You're all back!' He happily aimed a Thunderbolt at Kadabra, and due to it being focused on Haunter's act, it was knocked out.

"Kadabra is no longer able to battle, and so I officially declare Pikachu the winner!" Said Sabrina's dad.

Later, the group was outside the gym, along with Sabrina.

"Ash, thank you for helping me break the little psychic spell I was under." Said Sabrina. "I also owe you and your friends an apology for using my powers on them.

"Just promise not to turn us into dolls again." Said Lucy. Sabrina chuckled.

"I promise." She said. "And now, Ash, as proof that you've defeated me here at the Saffron gym, I award you this Marsh Badge." Thanks a lot, Sabrina." Said Ash.

"And Ash, if you don't mind, can Haunter stay here with me?" said Sabrina.

"Not at all." Said Ash. "Haunter can definitely give you a good laugh once in a while.

"We certainly proved that, didn't we?" said Misty.

"Well, time to hit the road." Said Brock.

"Goodbye!" cried Ash.

"Thank you for everything!" cried Sabrina's dad.

"Have a good journey!" yelled Sabrina's mom.

"Take care of yourselves!" said Lucy.

"See you later!" cried Misty. The group started walking away from the gym.

"I finally got my Marsh Badge." Said Ash.

"And that Marsh Badge puts you one step closer to the Pokemon League." Said Brock.

"Do you really think I deserve this Marsh Badge, though?" said Ash.

"Sure. Making Sabrina laugh herself into defeat is a great strategy."

"Pika." Said Pikachu, which meant 'Sure is.'

"Be proud that you won that badge." Said Lucy. "Making Sabrina laugh like you did was the only way you were going to win."

"Keep that up and you'll be the funniest Pokemon trainer of all time." Said Brock.

Down in the hole Team Rocket had fallen into, cement started pouring down.

"Hello, up there! Anyone! We're trapped down here!" cried Jessie.

"Stop pouring cement!" cried James.

"Get me out of here, quick!" cried Meowth. Ash paused upon hearing Team Rocket's voices.

"What's wrong?" said Brock.

"I could've sworn I heard Team Rocket's voices." Said Ash.

"We have more important stuff to think of right now, like where we're going next." Said Lucy.

"Okay, so where's the next closest gym?" asked Ash.

"In Celadon City." Said Misty.

"Look out, Celadon City! Ash and Lucy are coming to town!" cried Ash.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Let's go!'

"Hey, wait up, Ash!" cried Misty.

"You're not going anywhere without me!" cried Lucy. They started running after Ash and Pikachu. Thanks to some help from Haunter, Ash was able to defeat Sabrina and earn a Marsh Badge. Will he and Lucy be able to earn another one in Celadon City? What adventures will our friends find along the way? I don't have the answers all set in stone just yet. But speaking of stone…..

"A little cement….." said Jessie.

"Will never stop Team Rocket." Said James.

"A LITTLE cement?!" cried Meowth. Team Rocket jumped out as more cement was poured into the hole.

"We're blasting off again!" they cried.

TO BE CONTINUED

Ash's Current Party: Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle

Lucy's Current Party: Eevee, Bulbasaur, Clefairy, Squirtle, Staryu, Butterfree (Pink)

Ash's Spare Pokemon At Oak's Lab: Spearow, Clefairy, Krabby, Butterfree

Lucy's Spare Pokemon At Oak's Lab: Beedrill, Cubone

 

[MarkL1987]

Episode 24: Primeape Goes Bananas

It was early in the morning, and back in Pallet Town, Professor Oak was up and about and enjoying a warm cup of tea.

"Nothing like a cup of tea to start the day." He said. His video phone then rang, which Krabby brought over to him.

"Thanks, Krabby." He said, and answered the call.

"Professor Oak! Good morning!" cried Ash. Lucy was standing beside Ash.

"Good morning, Ash." Said Oak. "I was just wondering when you and Lucy might be calling. Do you two have good news for me?"

"We sure do. Take a look at this!" cried Lucy. They both showed off their badges to the professor.

"We've already earned four badges." Said Lucy.

"Pretty impressive, huh?" said Ash. Oak took another sip of his tea.

"Only four badges?" he said. Ash fell over in disbelief at Oak's response.

"Ash? Lucy? Are you two still there?" he said. "I just found out this morning that the other Pallet trainers have already earned five badges each, including Gary. They've all passed through Celadon City too." Ash shot right back up.

"That Gary!" he yelled.

"Take it easy, Ash." Said Lucy. "Getting frustrated will just lead to more problems."

"You and Lucy better hurry up, Ash." Said Oak. "You two don't want to fall further behind everyone else. And Gary has already captured thirty Pokemon."

"Thirty Pokemon?!" Ash cried.

"Speaking of Pokemon, professor, did you get the Cubone that I caught?" asked Lucy.

"He sure did." Said Oak. "In fact, he's right beside Ash's Krabby." He moved slightly to show Cubone, who was more than happy to see Lucy.

"Hi there, little one." Said Lucy. "You being a good boy for the professor?"

"He's been doing very well." Said Oak. "He's been very happy ever since you became his trainer. He's also become good friends with Krabby and me. We especially enjoy tea time together, along with writing poetry. Here's a sample. Every day it's cake and tea, just like Pokemon and me. Like it?" Cubone clapped his hands.

"He seems to love it, Professor." Said Lucy.

"I'm afraid I don't know much about poetry, Professor." Said Ash.

"Writing poetry is a lot like Pokemon training." Said Oak. "I can't write a good poem without rhymes, and you and Lucy can't be good trainers without catching more Pokemon. So get out there and catch some more."

"You can count on us, Professor!" cried Lucy.

"Gotta go now, the tea's getting cold." Said Oak. The call ended and Ash just slumped his shoulders.

"Cheer up, Ash." Said Lucy. "We'll catch up to Gary sooner or later." The two friends made their way over to Brock and Misty, who were enjoying a snack break.

"You look kind of down, Ash." Said Misty.

"He's just upset." Said Lucy.

"Have a rice cake or a donut. That always cheers me up when I'm upset." Said Misty.

"Eevee!" squealed Eevee, which meant 'They're really tasty!'

"These donuts are great!" said Brock. "Jelly-filled are my favorite. Nothing beats a jelly-filled donut."

"I just heard that Gary has five badges already." Said Ash.

"I get it. You're upset because you're falling further behind." Said Misty.

"Pika pi." Said Pikachu, which meant 'It seems so.'

"Don't worry about Gary, Ash. We still have lots of time to catch up." Said Lucy.

"The next town we come to is Celadon City." Said Ash. "Isn't there supposed to be a gym there?"

"There sure is." Said brock. "All we have to do is follow this road. Celadon City is only a day's walk from here. Even less if we keep up a fast pace." Ash sighed. He really wanted to catch up to Gary so badly.

"There's no way I'm letting him win!" cried Ash.

"Remember Ash, unlike all the other wannabe trainers out there, we have to make it to the Pokemon League our own way." Said Lucy.

"Right." Said brock. "Remember, quality over quantity, especially if you have lots of different Pokemon. Then they'll help you catch others."

"Yeah, that's it. Catch lots of Pokemon!" cried Ash.

"He'll never learn." Said Misty.

"I didn't ask you, did I?" said Ash.

"No offense, Ash, but I'm afraid Misty's right on this one." Said Lucy. Pikachu then noticed something in the bushes, which ended up being a wild Mankey.

"It's a Pokemon!" cried Ash. He got out his Pokedex.

"Mankey, a Pig Monkey Pokemon of the fighting type. Known for its superior footwork, it packs a powerful punch." The Mankey hopped toward Brock and moved around him.

"Maybe it wants a donut." He said, and he gave it to the Mankey. He also gave a donut to Lucy.

"Pika." Said Pikachu, which meant 'It's good.'

"I think it likes it!" cried Ash.

"That donut is my own special recipe." Said Brock. "No artificial ingredients."

"No wonder they taste so good!" exclaimed Lucy. She had polished off her donut in no time.

"A fighting Pokemon. That'll really help me out in battle." Said Ash. He quickly grabbed a Poke Ball.

"Wait a second. You're not just going to throw a Poke Ball at it, are you?" said Misty.

"I think he is." Said Lucy.

"No way am I missing this chance." Said Ash. "Mankey, you're mine now!" He tossed the Poke Ball.

"This won't end well." Said Lucy. The Mankey thwarted Ash's capture attempt by tossing the donut it had been eating, which got caught by the Poke Ball.

"It's a donut!" cried Ash.

"A donut Pokemon?" said Misty. The Mankey dropped down from his position, and he was now in a foul mood.

"Looks like you got it pretty angry." Said Misty.

"It's more than angry." Said Lucy. "It's hopping mad."

"Now what are we supposed to do?" said Ash. Lucy got her own Pokedex out.

"Although Mankey is usually calm, it does have a bad temper. Once Mankey begins to Thrash, stopping it is impossible."

"What does it mean by Thrash?" said Ash.

"I think we're about to learn the hard way!" cried Lucy. Everyone saw Mankey charging towards them, so they started to panic and run away.

"Mankey's temper can be a real pain!" cried Lucy.

"I think you should've let it finish that donut, Ash!" cried Brock.

"Didn't your mom ever teach you about manners?" said Lucy.

"She never said anything about Mankeys!" cried Ash.

"I shouldn't have made them taste so good!" cried Brock.

"I have an idea!" cried Lucy. "Try to distract the Mankey by throwing a donut at it!"

"Lucy's right!" cried Ash. "Your homemade donuts are our only hope! Maybe more donuts will stop it!"

"It's worth a try!" cried Brock.

"Either that or we become Mankey's dinner." Said Lucy.

"Poke Ball! I mean donut, go!" cried Brock. The Mankey simply obliterated the donut like it was nothing.

"That didn't work!" cried Ash.

"Ah! I wasted a donut!" cried Brock.

"Back to running!" cried Lucy. Misty tripped before she could keep running.

"Misty!" cried Ash. The Mankey charged at her, but instead of attacking, it jumped off her head and attacked Ash's face, making him fall down and suffer from Mankey's Thrash attack.

"Are you okay, Ash?" said Lucy.

"Do I look like I'm okay?!" cried Ash. Once the dust had settled, Ash was left battered, bruised, and without his hat.

"I surrender." Said Ash.

"Now THAT was painful." Said Lucy. The Mankey climbed to the top of a nearby tree with Ash's hat in hand. Meanwhile, Team Rocket spotted the group from afar.

"Perfect." Said Jessie.

"Perfect." Said James.

"Purr-fect." Said Meowth.

"Now is the perfect time to capture Pikachu and Eevee." Said Jessie. "While those twerps are distracted, we'll make a sneak surprise attack. If we pull this off, the boss will put us on the board of directors!"

"Team Rocket will rule the world!" cried James.

"You really think so?" said Jessie.

"When you dream, you've got to dream big." Said James.

"You sure are dreaming." Said Meowth. Jessie gave him a ball of string to keep himself occupied.

"He's easy to satisfy." Said Jessie.

Meanwhile, Ash got up.

"You don't look so great." Said Lucy.

"That Mankey beat you up big time!" cried Brock.

"Are you okay?" asked Misty.

"Pika?" asked Pikachu, which meant 'Are you hurt?'

"Where'd my hat go?" said Ash. Misty and Lucy pointed to the Mankey in the tree wearing it.

"You little thief! Give me back my hat!" cried Ash. The Mankey then copied Ash, infuriating him even more.

"You can just buy another hat when we get to celadon City, Ash." Said Lucy.

"It's not the hat! It's the principle!" cried Ash.

"Hold it! You'll just get beat up again!" cried Misty.

"It's mine!" cried Ash.

"What's so great about that hat, anyway?" said Lucy.

"I can't replace that hat!" cried Ash. "I won it at the official Pokemon League Expo! Don't you know how tough it is to get one of those hats?"

"An official Expo hat?" said Brock. He, Misty and Lucy realized what Ash was talking about as the advertisement for the hat giveaway contest played.

"Hey, all you Pokémon League fans! Now, you have a chance to win one of a hundred limited edition Pokémon League official hats! It's wearable! It's washable! And it's official! Don't miss your chance to win the official hat of the official expo of the official Pokémon League!" cried the announcer.

"It's official." Said Brock.

"I didn't know it was an official Pokemon League hat." Said Lucy.

"I don't think any of did." Said Misty. "I know both Lucy and I entered that same contest."

"I had to send in about a million postcards just to win that hat!" cried Ash.

"One million?!" cried Lucy. "Well then no wonder Misty and I didn't win. We only sent in one each."

"Poor Ash. Losing an official hat is like losing your best friend." Said Brock. Ash started climbing the tree in an attempt to get his hat back.

"Almost got it." He said.

"If you're not careful, that Mankey's going to Thrash you again." Said Lucy. The Mankey knocked Ash back to the ground as Team Rocket approached.

"Well, hello there, chumps." Said Jessie.

"Team Rocket!" cried Misty.

"Not you three goofs again!" cried Lucy.

"What are you doing here?" said Brock.

"Aren't you happy to see us?" said Meowth. The Mankey approached and examined Team Rocket.

"Buzz off!" cried James. He kicked the Mankey, much to the shock of the group.

"I wish he hadn't done that." Said brock.

"Now what happened to Ash will happen to them." Said Lucy.

"Still trying to capture Pikachu and Eevee?" said Misty.

"We just want to borrow them, permanently." Said Jessie.

"Your situation is hopeless." Said James. "Hand over those Pokemon, or else." The Mankey got up and its eyes started glowing.

"Or else what?" said Misty.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"We're having a major hat crisis here." Said Ash. "Think you could steal Pikachu and Eevee some other time?"

"Now's the perfect time." Said Jessie. "You're obviously too tuckered out to protect those two little Pokemon."

"If you guys don't get out of here fast, you're gonna get as whipped as Ash did." Said Brock.

"By whom?" said Meowth.

"By Mankey." Said Lucy.

"What's a Mankey?" said Jessie.

"Must be that thing I kicked out of the way." Said James.

"I think we've got a bigger problem!" cried Lucy. She pointed to the Mankey. Its eyes started glowing, followed by its whole body.

"Oh no." said Lucy.

"It evolved!" cried Jessie and James.

"What's that?" said Misty. Lucy got out her Pokedex.

"Primeape. If you make eye contact with this evolved form of Mankey, it will chase you forever."

"That means we're all in BIG trouble." Said Lucy.

"This furball? That's ridiculous." Said Jessie. "Now let's capture Pikachu and Eevee. Go, Ekans!"

"And go, Koffing!" cried James. Ekans and Koffing materialized as Pikachu and Eevee got ready to fight.

"Come on!" cried Jessie. Before she could order an attack, Primeape attacked and kicked her as she screamed, sending her flying right past Ash's friends and into a boulder.

"That looked just as painful as what happened to Ash." Said Lucy. James and Meowth panicked.

"How dare you change my perfection!" cried Jessie. "Now you'll pay! Ekans, Koffing, never mind Pikachu and Eevee. Get that Primeape!" Ekans and Koffing changed their target.

"But we came for Pikachu and Eevee!" exclaimed Meowth.

"Team Rocket always outs duty before beauty." Said James. "Come on!" Team Rocket started fighting with Primeape.

"They're distracted! We can use this opening to escape!" cried Lucy.

"Lucy's right. Now's our chance!" cried Misty. The heroes escaped while Team Rocket was busy with Primeape. Ash spotted his hat.

"My hat!" he cried. Pikachu and Eevee stopped and saw it.

"Eevee." Squealed Eevee, which meant 'Ash's hat.' Pikachu headed right for Ash's hat, only for Primeape to spot him.

"Don't look him in the eye, Pikachu!" cried Misty. Pikachu tried to avoid looking Primeape directly in the eye, but ended up doing just that. The wild Primeape placed Ash's hat on its head.

"It's got my hat!" yelled Ash.

"And it never even sent in a single postcard." Said Lucy.

"Pikachu, Thunder Shock!" cried Ash. Pikachu launched the attack, but it only made Primeape's temper flare.

"That attack only made it madder!" cried Lucy.

"Wait a minute! I have a theory." Said Brock. "Primeape isn't trying to steal Ash's hat at all." Everyone looked at Brock in confusion.

"What do you mean?" asked Lucy.

"It's scared of us." Said Brock. "It was still a Mankey when Ash tried to capture it, and then James kicked it. I think it took Ash's hat so it could get a little attention, because it's lonely all by itself." Brock approached the Primeape.

"Be careful." Said Misty.

"Yeah, Mankey and Primeape can be very unpredictable." Said Lucy.

"Everything's going to be just fine." Said Brock. "Give me a smile, buddy." Primeape jumped onto brock and started pounding away at him.

"Hey! Quit it! That hurts! Knock it off! Stop!" he yelled. Primeape did stop, only for James to look it in the eye again, causing Primeape to send brock flying.

"I think brock needs a new theory." Said Misty.

"Guess so." Said Ash.

"And how." Said Lucy. Brock crashed to the ground, and Lucy got her Pokedex out again.

"Once Primeape begins its strongest attack, Thrash, it goes completely out of control."

"Out of control is right!" cried Lucy.

"I think we're in big trouble." Said Misty. Primeape charged toward the group.

"Run!" cried Ash. The heroes, and Primeape, ran right over Team Rocket.

"There….." said Jessie.

"They….." said James.

"Go!" cried Meowth.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting…." Said Jessie.

"Off….." said James.

"Once again!" cried Meowth. Team Rocket dashed off while the heroes kept running.

"If we split up, maybe we can lose it!" cried Ash.

"Okay!" cried Misty. Primeape, however, continued to follow the foursome.

"It doesn't look like Primeape's easy to lose!" cried Lucy. Brock soon ran up.

"I just hope none of them look Primeape in the eye." He said. Ash, Misty and Lucy kept running for their lives with Primeape closing in on them, blasting its way through multiple rocks.

"I don't know how much longer I can run!" cried Ash. Up ahead, team Rocket had dug a hole for the heroes to fall into.

"Nothing like digging a hole when you want to play dirty." Said James. Team Rocket looked up and saw Ash's group kicking dust as they ran towards them.

"At last, the moment of truth." Said Jessie. Ash and company came in fast and fell into the hole Team Rocket dug and landed on top of them. The combined weight of everybody caused Koffing to spew gas out of the hole.

"What's a hole doing in the road?" said Ash.

"No doubt that was meant for us." Said Lucy.

"Koffing, you nincompoop!" cried Jessie. The group then realized that team Rocket was in there with them.

"How did you get down here?!" cried Ash.

"Pikachu. Eevee." Said James.

"Why don't you both come for a ride on my head?" said Jessie.

"WHAT?!" cried Ash. "Pikachu, Thunder Shock!" The attack landed and shocked everyone.

"Not me!" cried Ash.

"Or us!" cried Lucy. Primeape looked down into the hole and hopped in. Ash quickly climbed out on one side, while Lucy, Misty and Brock came out on another side. Primeape then hopped in front of Ash, making him look the Pokemon directly in the eye. He then remembered what Professor Oak had said on the phone earlier.

"All right, no more games! I'm going to capture you, Primeape!" cried Ash.

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?" said Misty.

"Primeape's way too dangerous to capture, Ash!" cried Lucy.

"Just forget the hat!" cried Brock.

"It's not that! It's because I want to be a Pokemon master!" cried Ash. "A real master wouldn't let any Pokemon get away!"

"He's always trying to stand tough." Said Misty.

"At least let him try." Said Lucy.

"Squirtle, I choose you!" cried Ash. "Soak its head with Water Gun!" Squirtle materialized and launched Water Gun, which only made Primeape furious, frightening Misty and Lucy.

"Squirtle, return!" cried Ash. He recalled the water type and summoned a different Pokemon.

"Bulbasaur, I choose you!" cried Ash. Bulbasaur materialized.

"Bulbasaur, Razor Leaf now!" cried Ash. Bulbasaur summoned a swirling vortex of leaves, but Primeape swatted them all away, making both groups panic, except for Ash.

"Bulbasaur, return!" cried Ash. "Charmander, go!" Charmander materialized and immediately launched a Flamethrower attack, which Primeape dodged. He then struck the fire type.

"Charmander!" cried Ash.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'This doesn't look good!' Then suddenly, the flame on Charmander's tail started glowing and getting more intense.

"The flame on its tail. What's going on?" said Ash. He got out his Pokedex.

"Charmander's special attack, Rage. It gains more power the more it is attacked. It will continue to fight until its opponent falls."

"All right! I didn't know it had that kind of power." Said Ash. "Charmander, go!" The battle got more intense as Charmander took blow after blow, increasing in power. Charmander then bit Primeape's hand, but got shook off as it retaliated with Flamethrower. During the fight, Pikachu jumped in.

"Burn now, Charmander. Flamethrower attack!" cried Ash. Right before the attack landed, Pikachu jumped over Primeape's head and snatched Ash's hat before it could be incinerated.

"Hey! Pikachu!" cried Ash. Pikachu dashed out of the way as the Flamethrower hit, knocking Primeape down and out.

"Good work, Charmander! I'll take over now." Said Ash. "Poke Ball, go!" He threw the ball and it wobbled for a bit before pinging.

"Yes!" cried Ash. The ball started wobbling again, indicating that Primeape was still trying to escape. It stopped wobbling a moment later and pinged again, this time marking a successful capture.

"He got him!" cried Lucy. Ash laughed and held up the Poke Ball.

"Primeape is mine!" he cried.

"You did it!" cried Misty.

"Congratulations!" cried Brock. Pikachu gave Ash his hat.

"Thanks a lot, Pikachu." Said Ash.

"That was a gutsy move there, Pikachu." Said Lucy.

"Hey! Don't forget us!" cried Jessie. The group turned and saw Team Rocket weakly climb out of their hole.

"So. It's the whole gang." Said Ash.

"I think you mean the HOLE gang." Said Lucy. "Get it?"

"Good one, Lucy." Said Misty. She and Lucy high fived.

"It's your fault we ended up in here!" cried Jessie. "Where's Primeape?"

"Why don't you see for yourself?" said Ash. He snickered as he tossed Primeape's Poke Ball into the hole.

"This ought to be good." Said Lucy. Primeape materialized and pounded Team Rocket before uppercutting them into the air.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they cried.

"Primeape sure gave them a thrashing." Said Misty.

"You're telling me." Said Lucy.

"At least now, Primeape's doing the thrashing on our side." Said Ash. "Welcome to the team, Primeape." Primeape nailed Ash, giving him a black eye and knocking him down.

"Primeape's good at thrashing, but it's got a lot to learn about team spirit." Said Ash.

"A hat might help." Said Brock.

"Time to send in postcards." Said Lucy.

"I'll do whatever it takes to become a Pokemon master." Said Ash. "Charmander, Primeape, return!" The two Pokemon were absorbed back into their Poke Balls. Pikachu and Eevee then spotted something over yonder.

"Eevee!" squealed Eevee, which meant 'Hey guys, look!'

"What is it?" said Lucy. They saw a city in front of them.

"I can't believe it!" cried Lucy.

"There's Celadon City!" cried Brock.

"Talk about a fast arrival." Said Lucy.

"You know, if Primeape hadn't chased us, we wouldn't have gotten here as fast as we did." Said Misty. "Right, Brock?"

"Yeah, I guess it was lucky after all." Said Brock.

"Pika." Said Pikachu, which meant 'Very lucky indeed.'

"Way to go, Primeape!" said Ash. "Now that I caught a new Pokemon, it's time to earn a badge!"

"Same for me, even though I didn't catch anything." Said Lucy. By capturing Primeape, Ash has made more progress towards the Pokemon League. Of course, it takes more than just catching a new Pokemon to become a Pokemon master. But now, it's off to celadon City so that Ash and Lucy can try to win their next badge.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket had landed in a Primeape habitat.

"Meow!" cried Meowth. Team Rocket noticed all the Primeape surrounding them and looking them in the eyes.

"I wish we had some donuts!" they cried.

TO BE CONTINUED

Ash's Current Party: Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Primeape

Lucy's Current Party: Eevee, Bulbasaur, Clefairy, Squirtle, Staryu, Butterfree (Pink)

Ash's Spare Pokemon At Oak's Lab: Spearow, Clefairy, Krabby, Butterfree

Lucy's Spare Pokemon At Oak's Lab: Beedrill, Cubone

 

[MarkL1987]

Episode 25: Pokemon Scent-Sation!

Ash, Lucy, Brock and Misty have arrived in Celadon City, a great metropolis known for both tall buildings and good scents.

"This place is HUGE!" cried Lucy. "Just look at all these buildings!" Pikachu soon smelled something.

"Pika!" he cried, which meant 'Smell that!' Brock soon caught the scent, along with Misty and Lucy.

"Something smells heavenly." Said Brock.

"Perfume!" cried Misty.

"Hey, what's going on?" said Ash. Brock followed the scent.

"Brock, wait! Where are you going?!" cried Ash.

"He's making like the toucan from the Fruit Loops commercials and following his nose, that's what." Said Lucy.

"I think the smell is coming from that shop!" cried Misty. Even Eevee was starting to pick up the scent.

"What's gotten into all of you guys?" said Ash. Brock pressed his face against a window.

"Who are you making faces at, Brock?" said Ash.

"My nose tells me this is my kind of town." Said Brock.

"Don't push it, mister." Said Lucy. Ash looked through the window and saw that the shop was one that sold perfume.

"So then he says, 'maybe we can both go together.' He's such a great boyfriend." Said a female voice.

"I think we should stay here a while." Said Brock.

"Well, if you want to waste your time." Said Ash. "Misty, Lucy, Pikachu, Eevee, let's get going." He turned and saw that nobody was behind him.

"Lucy? Misty? Pikachu? Eevee?" said Ash. Brock tapped Ash's shoulder and pointed inside.

"This scent is one of our most popular. It's called Daffodil Dream." Said the employee. She sprayed it and Misty and Lucy both smelled it.

"It smells just like a garden." Said Misty. Eevee was entranced by the fragrance.

"It looks like your Pokemon likes it." Said the employee.

"She loves it." Said Lucy.

"We're having a fragrance sale." Said another employee, and she pointed out another bottle.

"How much does this one cost?" asked Misty.

"I'm curious myself because I was thinking of getting one." Said Lucy. Ash soon walked in.

"Misty, Lucy, don't buy those!" cried Ash. "Perfume's just a waste of money, and it stinks!"

"Ash, not now." Lucy grumbled angrily.

"Yeah, Ash, go away." Said Misty.

"How can you even say that about perfume, anyway?!" said Lucy. "That was extremely rude."

"She's right. I resent that remark." Said a more serious voice. It belonged to a woman dressed in traditional Japanese kimono.

"It's Erika, the manager!" cried an employee.

"Young man, are you accusing me of overcharging my customers for inferior perfume?" asked Erika.

"No, ma'am. I meant all perfumes are a ripoff because all they do is turn guys into zombies." Said Ash. "Like this!" He pulled Brock inside.

"Hi, what's your name?" he asked. Erika smiled at him before turning her anger on Ash.

"This is NOT going to end well for him." Said Lucy.

"P for pretty, E for elegant, R for radiant, F for fun, U for urbane, M for mysterious, E for energy and that spells…"

"Perfume!" cried Misty.

"Right!" said Brock.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'So there!'

"I don't need that smelly junk to give me energy! I'm full of it!" cried Ash. "I got tons more energy than I know what to do with!"

"Why don't you use some of that energy to keep your mouth shut?" said Lucy.

"If you object to our products so much, perhaps you should leave." Said Erika. "Since we all sell perfume here, you must find us offensive."

"You should be ashamed of yourself!" cried one girl.

"You insensitive little worm!" cried another.

"What'd I say?" said Ash.

"Very rude remarks about the perfume." Said Misty. Lucy furiously bonked him on the head.

"JERK!" she yelled. Erika's employee kicked Ash out of the store.

"Get out!" she cried. "And don't come back!"

"I don't want to come back!" cried Ash. "I'm on my way to the Celadon City gym!" He stormed off down the road.

"He's going to be in for a surprise when he gets there." Said Lucy. She was right, for when Ash arrived at the gym later on, he was met with a bad welcome.

"What do you mean I can't come in?!" he fumed. "I'm trying to become a Pokemon master!"

"I wouldn't let you in if you were the last Pokemon trainer on Earth." Said a gym employee.

"This gym doesn't allow anyone inside who says that perfume is a stinky ripoff." Said another employee.

"Why not?!" cried Ash.

"We manufacture that stinky perfume right here in this gym." A third employee said with a laugh.

"Uh oh." Said Ash.

"So you see, young man, you're the stinker." Said the first employee. She stamped a giant red X on Ash's face.

"You don't understand. I have to challenge your gym master for a badge. You just have to let me in!" Ash begged. The girls refused to budge and slammed the door in his face.

"Pretty please with a cherry on top?!" he cried. Unknown to him, Team Rocket was headed to the back window with a ladder.

"Looks like the coast is clear." Said Meowth.

"Once we break inside, we'll steal the secret formula for their perfume." Said Jessie. "Then I'll be as irresistible as Cleopatra!"

"I'll sell the formula and make myself zillions of bucks!" cried James. "That's enough for my own country! Or maybe even my own planet!"

"A nine lifetime's supply of cat grub!" cried Meowth.

The Team Rocket trio soon entered the gym unnoticed.

"That secret formula has to be around here somewhere." Said Jessie. "Now where could it be?" Jessie then spotted something shocking.

"What is it?" said James.

"Hey look!" cried Meowth. The trio had found a Gloom.

"What's a Gloom doing here?" asked Meowth.

"Taking a nap, I think." Said James. Gloom then opened its eyes, spooking Team Rocket.

"James, you've gone and woken it up!" cried Jessie.

"Go, Koffing! Poison Gass attack, now!" cried James. Koffing materialized and sprayed its poisonous fumes but the Gloom simply inhaled it.

"That Gloom sucked up all of Koffing's gas!" cried Jessie.

"I can't believe it!" cried James. Gloom looked at team Rocket with a worrying expression on its face and sent Koffing's stench right back at Team Rocket, which knocked out Koffing.

"It smells terrible." Said Jessie.

"It smells like old sneakers, mixed with some rotten eggs and dead fish, with just a hint of skunk fumes!" cried James.

"My nose feels like it's on fire!" cried Meowth.

"Meowth, you don't have a nose." Jessie replied.

"My nose! What happened?! The stink dissolved it off my face!" cried Meowth. He then realized something. "Oh yeah, I forgot. The cartoonist never gave me a nose!" He saw that his teammates were out like a light.

"Hey! Why are you sleeping!" he cried. Someone then came and knocked out Meowth with a hammer.

"That stopped them!" said the same gym employee from earlier. "Gym rules! No thieves allowed!" She stamped their faces with a giant X and tied them to a nearby tree.

"Hey! Get me down! Get me down from here right now!" cried Meowth. "You two clowns better get me out of this tree!"

"Don't tell me what to do, you little hairball. I know what I'm doing." Said Jessie. It wasn't long before Ash and Lucy showed up.

"Are you three hanging out again?" said Lucy.

"The pests." Said Jessie.

"Please, could you help us get out of this tree?" said James.

"Traitor!" cried Jessie. "How dare you collaborate with the enemies!"

"Who's side are you on?!" cried Meowth. Jessie then got an idea.

"Hey, kid. Bet they wouldn't let you in that gym today." She said.

"That's none of your business." Said Ash.

"They kicked you out." Said Meowth.

"Not me." Said Lucy. "I didn't get kicked out because I know how to keep my mouth shut about perfume, unlike some of us." Ash angrily glared at Lucy.

"Even though you're a pest, I'll make a deal with you." Jessie said to Ash. "Untie us and we'll show you how to get into that gym."

"Why should I trust you?" said Ash.

"Yeah, you better have a good reason for him to listen to you three nitwits." Said Lucy.

"Oh, but there's a very good reason." Jessie said to Lucy. "You and your friend here can't get into the Pokemon League without winning more badges, right?"

"Right." Said Lucy.

"Then listen to us this just this one time." Said Jessie.

"You goofs better know what you're doing." Said Ash.

Later, Ash, Lucy and Team Rocket were at a department store where Team Rocket had found the perfect disguise for Ash to wear. The getup consisted of a blonde wig, orange dress, pink bow and bright red Mary Jane dress shoes.

"Great wig!" cried James.

"Not even your own mother would recognize you in this outfit." Said Jessie.

"Think so?" said Ash. He then noticed Lucy giggling.

"What's so funny?" he asked. Lucy kept laughing.

"Sorry, Ash, but I've never pictured you in a dress before." She said. Eevee laughed at him too.

"Talk about dressing for success." Said Meowth. "This getup will get you into the gym easy!"

"Great! Then I'll show that gym leader who's boss around here!" cried Ash. Jessie shook her head.

"That voice doesn't sound very lady-like." She said.

"You'll give away your secret." Said James. "Try it." Ash quickly disguised his voice.

"I'll show those meanies!" he cried in a high pitched female voice.

"That's more like it." Said Jessie.

Later on at night, Ash and team Rocket entered the Celadon gym in disguise.

"Good evening." Said Ash in his disguised voice.

"We would like to enroll our daughter, Ashley, in your Pokemon training classes." Said Jessie.

"Nothing but the best for our little princess." Said James.

"That's right!" cried Meowth from inside James' shirt.

"Quiet down!" James whispered to him.

"Do you like perfume?" asked the receptionist.

"Oh, yes." Said Ash in his disguised voice.

"Well then I'm sure that you'll be accepted." Said the receptionist. "Your parents should apply at the desk." Once the three made it to the desk, Meowth popped out.

"Way to scam 'em, Goldilocks!" he whispered.

"Are you applying to the gym, little girl?" asked an employee.

"Uh, yeah." Said Ash before quickly remembering he was supposed to be in disguise. "I mean, yes, ma'am."

"We're so proud to have our little muffin in your gym." Said Jessie.

"Yes, we sure are." Said James.

"Ma'am, where is Erika the gym master?" asked Ash in disguise.

"Oh, you'll meet her soon." Said the employee.

"All right! Now I just got to beat Erika and I'll win another badge!" Ash thought in his normal voice.

"Buh-bye!" cried Jessie. "Hugs and kisses, Ashley! Mommy and daddy are leaving you to battle those cute little Pokemon!"

"Bye, sweetie!" said James.

"See you soon!" cried Jessie. The moment Team Rocket left Ash, they ripped off their disguises.

"While that clueless little twerp creates a distraction, we'll steal the secret perfume formula!"

"Let's go!" cried James.

"Just one question." Said Meowth. He pulled out a giant bomb. "What am I supposed to do with this Blaster Ball?"

"Stick it someplace where it'll make a nice, big kaboom!" said Jessie.

"They'll get a bang out of this!" Meowth laughed.

"Jessie, what's the Blaster Ball for?" asked James.

"Sweet revenge for stamping an X on the most beautiful face in the world." Said Jessie.

"Talk about delusion." Said James.

"What?!" cried Jessie.

"I mean, that'll teach those slobs." Said James. Jessie and James laughed as they went to find the perfume formula.

In another part of the gym, a trainer was helping an Exeggcute, Bellsprout and Oddish exercise.

"One, two, one, two, one two…." She instructed. Another trainer was helping a Gloom, Weepinbell and Vileplume.

"Remember, a pretty Pokemon is a strong Pokemon." She said.

Meanwhile, Erika was telling a story. The audience included brock, Misty, Lucy, Pikachu and Eevee.

"And so, Omanyte bid farewell, and promised to, one day, return to visit the friends who changed his life on that faraway beach. The end." Concluded Erika. Brock started to cry.

"That was a great story." He sobbed.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Awesome!'

"Eevee!" squealed Eevee, which meant 'Spectacular story!' Ash soon arrived.

"Uh oh. How did the others gets here?" he whispered.

"Trainer Erika!" cried a girl. "I'd like to introduce our newest student."

"Oh, welcome." Said Erika. Ash was in shock, as he had already encountered Erika earlier in the day.

"The store manager." He whispered.

"Nice to meet you." Said Erika.

"Thank you, ma'am." Said Ash, still in his disguised voice.

"Is that…..?" wondered Misty.

"You sure are a shy young lady, but don't worry, all the girls just want to make you feel at home here in the gym." Said Brock. "Let's all give her a warm welcome."

"Pikachu." Said Pikachu, which meant 'Hello there.'

"Oh great, Pikachu's here too." Thought Ash.

"May I ask a question?" said Misty.

"Of course you may, Misty." Said Erika.

"I was wondering why we can all sit with Gloom." Said Misty. "I always thought that because of its terrible smell, it was almost impossible to get anywhere near Gloom. How come this Gloom doesn't smell bad to me at all?"

"That's a very smart question, Misty." Said Erika. "Gloom doesn't smell bad all the time. Whenever Gloom is in danger, it lets out the bad smell. It's a natural defense mechanism. As long as Gloom doesn't feel threatened, it smells just fine. Just make sure Gloom feels safe and show that you want to be its friend."

"How do you know all of that?" said Misty.

"My guess would be her experience with Gloom." Said Lucy.

"That's right, Lucy." Said Erika. "I first met Gloom a long time ago."

Flashback

"When I was a little girl, I got lost one day and ran into a Grimer." Erika explained. "I had never been so scared. I couldn't even move." A wild Gloom started passing by the very young and very frightened Erika.

"Please! Can you help me? Please help me!" cried young Erika.

"That Gloom understood how I felt and decided to come to my rescue." Said Erika. Gloom sprayed a foul odor that made the wild Grimer back off. Erika then gave Gloom a hug.

"I love you!" cried young Erika.

End Flashback

"This is the same Gloom that rescued me from Grimer that day." Said Erika. "We've been friends ever since."

"It's because of her friendship with Gloom that Erika decided to become a grass Pokemon trainer." Said a gym employee.

"I wish Ash could've heard that story." Said Lucy.

"I heard it." Said Ash. Everyone was shocked and surprised to hear Ash's voice come from "Ashley". He quickly went back to his disguised voice.

"Please don't look at me like that. I'm a very shy little girl." He squeaked in the female voice.

"You look very familiar." Said Misty. "Haven't we met somewhere before?"

"Maybe you met my sister." Said Ash in the disguised voice.

"That's impossible. He doesn't have a sister." Lucy whispered to Misty. Pikachu walked right up to Ash and noticed the disguise he was wearing.

"Pika pi!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Ash, I know that's you!'

"Pikachu, knock it off." Ash said quietly. Pikachu unleashed an electrical attack on Ash, destroying part of the disguise and shocking everyone except for Lucy.

"And, his cover's blown." She said.

"It's Ash!" cried Brock and Misty.

"Yeah, it's me." Sighed Ash.

"You're that boy!" cried Erika.

"Erika, you wouldn't let me in so I wore this stupid dress as a disguise!" cried Ash. "I had to sneak in here so I could battle you for a badge. And now, I want to challenge you!"

"Just a second here." Said Brock. "Ash, how did you even get a hold of that disguise in the first place?"

"And you better tell us the truth!" exclaimed Misty.

"I already know how he got it, so I can tell you guys if you want." Said Lucy.

"No, Lucy. I want the answer coming out of his own mouth." Said Misty. Ash gave out a sigh before giving his answer.

"It was Team Rocket that helped me." He said. Pikachu shook his head.

"Pika." He said, which meant 'I can't believe you'd stoop to their level.'

"And where are those goofs now?" asked Brock.

"I don't know." Said Ash. "All I know is that I'm not leaving the Celadon Gym until I have a battle with Erika."

"That reminds me, I need to challenge you too, Erika." Said Lucy. "We both need to obtain a Rainbow Badge in order to get closer to qualifying for the Pokemon League."

"I'll be glad to accept your challenges." Said Erika. "It's my duty under League rules." She turned to Ash. "But first, you might want to get out of that dress."

"Yeah, I probably should." Said Ash.

"That's the smartest thing he's said all day." Said Brock.

"I guess I'm going first again, just like at the last gym." Said Lucy. "By the way, Ash, since that dress doesn't really suit your style, can I have it?"

"Sure." Said Ash. He ran off somewhere to change.

"Erika should consider herself fortunate that we're not reporting her for what she did to Ash." Brock whispered to Misty.

"Extremely fortunate." Misty whispered back.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket had found a safe. They opened it up and stole the contents that had been inside it. Jessie gave a laugh.

"At last, we found the perfume. Now we'll unlock its' secret formula." She said.

Over on the battlefield, the lights came on and Erika and Lucy took their places for their match.

"We'll each use three Pokemon." Said Erika.

"Fine by me." Said Lucy.

"Then it's time we got started." Said Erika. "Tangela, go!" A Pokemon completely covered in vines materialized out of the ball. Lucy got her Pokedex out.

"Tangela, the Vine Pokemon. Tangela's vines will snap off easily and painlessly if the target pulls on them, so it can escape quickly. They're commonly found in temperate grasslands."

"A grass type, of course." Said Lucy. "I may not have a fire type on me, but I do have something else. Butterfree, I choose you!" She tossed a Poke Ball and the pink Butterfree materialized.

"Free!" it cried, which meant 'Let's battle!'

"Butterfree, Tackle attack now!" cried Lucy. Butterfree flew forward for a Tackle.

"Tangela, Stun Spore now!" cried Erika. Tangela shook its body and tried to spray gold dust on Butterfree, but it moved out of the way.

"Now, use Poison Powder!" cried Lucy. Butterfree sprayed poison blobs all over Tangela, who couldn't dodge in time. Tangela's energy started to weaken.

"Tangela!" cried Erika.

"Nice job, Butterfree." Said Lucy.

"Tangela, try a Vine Whip." Said Erika. Tangela lashed out its vines, striking Butterfree in the face.

"Butterfree, shake it off!" cried Lucy. Butterfree nodded.

"Now, Confusion!" cried Lucy. Butterfree concentrated and launched the attack from its eyes. With Tangela being poisoned, it was too weak to dodge, and it fainted.

"Yes! You did great, Butterfree." Said Lucy. Erika recalled Tangela.

"Very impressive work there taking out Tangela." She said. "Now, let's see how Butterfree does against Weepinbell." She tossed another Poke Ball and Weepinbell materialized.

"Let's do this, Butterfree." Said Lucy. "Another Tackle attack!" Butterfree started zooming in on Weepinbell.

"Stun Spore, Weepinbell!" cried Erika. Weepinbell sprayed gold dust on Butterfree, paralyzing it.

"Oh no!" cried Lucy.

"Razor Leaf." Said Erika. Weepinbell shot a shower of leaves at Butterfree.

"Butterfree, try to hang on." Said Lucy. "Use Supersonic!" Butterfree tried to use the confusion causing move, but the paralysis kicked in and the Pokemon couldn't move. Lucy had no choice but to recall Butterfree.

"You did your best." She told it. She quickly grabbed another Poke Ball and tossed it.

"Squirtle, go!" cried Lucy. The water type starter materialized.

"A water type in a grass gym?" wondered Brock. "Why would Lucy do that?"

"There has to be a reason, or else she wouldn't bring it out." Said Misty.

"Vine Whip, Weepinbell." Said Erika. Weepinbell shot out dark green vines.

"Squirtle, use Withdraw!" cried Lucy. Squirtle quickly hid into its shell to defend itself from the attack before popping back out.

"Great defense, Squirtle." Said Lucy. "Now, use your Ice Beam!"

"Eevee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'When did it learn that?'

"A good trainer never reveals their secret, Eevee." Said Lucy. Squirtle fired the beam from its mouth and it completely encased Weepinbell in ice.

"That was awesome, Squirtle." Said Lucy. Erika quickly unfroze Weepinbell before recalling it.

"Your Pokemon handling is exceptional, Lucy." Said Erika. "But there's still one more of my Pokemon you have to get through in order to win that badge." She tossed a ball and Gloom came out.

"I had a hunch she'd save that for last." Said Lucy. "Let's do this, Squirtle." Squirtle gave a thumbs up.

"All right, then give Gloom a good old Body Slam!" cried Lucy. Squirtle ran towards Gloom to perform the move, but before it could attack, Gloom launched its foul smell, nullifying the attack. Squirtle freaked out and collapsed to the ground in a heap.

"Squirtle, no!" cried Lucy. She quickly recalled the water type.

"You still did a good job." She said.

"Squirtle didn't do too badly considering it had a type mismatch." Said Misty.

"Now they both have just one Pokemon left." Said Brock.

"That was quite the smell Gloom unleashed." She said. "But who to bring out next? Butterfree's probably still paralyzed from that earlier battle, so I can't bring it out again. I know who I could use, though." She grabbed another ball and tossed it.

"Clefairy, I choose you!" she cried. Clefairy materialized.

"Okay, Clefairy, use your Pound attack!" cried Lucy. Clefairy hopped over to Gloom and pounded it in the face.

"Gloom, don't take that lying down!" cried Erika. "Use Acid!" The Acid attack was at least powerful enough to send Clefairy rolling backwards.

"Hit it back with Double Slap!" cried Lucy. Clefairy got into angry mode and slapped Gloom hard.

"Petal Dance." Said Erika. Gloom shook up some flower petals and made them dance around Clefairy, striking the normal type.

"Hang in there, Clefairy." Said Lucy. "I think now is the time. Metronome!" Clefairy started wagging its fingers, with everyone curious to see what would happen. After its fingers stopped wagging, it unleashed a powerful Flamethrower out of its mouth, burning Gloom to a crisp.

"We did it, Clefairy! Awesome job!" cried Lucy. Clefairy hopped over to her trainer.

"I'm so proud of you." Said Lucy. "Your Metronome has really come in handy so far." Erika recalled Gloom to its Poke Ball.

"I'm very impressed with how you handled your Pokemon during that match." Said Erika. "Now, as leader of the Celadon gym, I present you with a Rainbow Badge.

"Thanks, Erika." Said Lucy. She held the badge up high.

"Look, Eevee, we won a Rainbow Badge!" she cried.

"Eevee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'Congratulations, Lucy!' Ash then walked back in, and thankfully, he was back in his regular attire.

"Did you win?" he asked Lucy.

"I sure did." Said Lucy, and she showed him the badge to prove it.

Later, after Erika's Pokemon had been healed, it was time for Ash to face her.

"Just like with my battle against Lucy, we'll also use three Pokemon each." Said Erika.

"Right. I'll use my own grass Pokemon against yours." Said Ash. "Bulbasaur, I choose you!" Bulbasaur materialized.

"This should be easy. Tangela, I choose you!" cried Erika. Tangela materialized out of its Poke Ball.

"What's that?" said Ash. He got out his Pokedex.

"Tangela, a Vine Pokemon. Its' body is wrapped in vines. The rest of its form is hidden beneath these vines."

"That doesn't tell me very much." Said Ash. "All right, we'll attack from a distance. Bulbasaur, use your Vine Whip!"

"Tangela, Constrict! Resist it from pulling you in!" cried Erika. Tangela spun around rapidly, preventing Bulbasaur from pulling it. Tangela was still able to pull Bulbasaur, though.

"That's a clever tactic." Said Lucy. "Instead of Tangela letting Bulbasaur pull it, Tangela's pulling Bulbasaur instead."

"Tangela, now's the time to hit it with your Stun Spore!" cried Erika. Upon being hit by the Stun Spore, Bulbasaur was unable to move.

"Bulbasaur, return!" cried Ash, quickly recalling the grass type.

"Poor Bulbasaur. Later I'll give you some Paralyze Heals to make your Pokemon better." Said Erika.

"Thanks, but I don't need your help." Said Ash.

"He probably gave that quick response due to not being allowed in earlier." Said Lucy. Misty nodded in agreement.

"For my next Pokemon, I choose Primeape." Said Ash. He started grabbing Primeape's ball before remembering what had happened to him on the way to Celadon City.

"Maybe I better not." He said. He reached for a different Poke Ball instead.

"Charmander, I choose you!" he cried. Charmander materialized.

"Charmander, Ember attack now!" cried Ash. Charmander swayed his tail around and shot fire embers at Tangela, burning it. Tangela tried running around to get rid of the flames, but all that did was make it collapse onto the ground in a defeated state. Erika recalled Tangela to her Poke Ball.

"Weepinbell, go!" cried Erika. Weepinbell materialized.

"Razor Leaf, now!" cried Erika. Weepinbell sent a swarm of leaves Charmander's way.

"Charmander, Flamethrower, full blast!" cried Ash. Charmander's attack burned all the leaves, shocking Erika.

"Now to finish it up. Skull Bash, now!" cried Ash. Charmander charged and nailed Weepinbell with the move, sending it flying and knocking it out.

"Weepinbell, return!" cried Erika. Weepinbell was absorbed back into the Poke Ball.

"Ash is doing well." Said Brock.

"He's up two to one, which means if he gets past Erika's last Pokemon, that badge is his." Said Lucy.

"He might actually win." Said one of the gym girls.

"He's a lot more impressive than he looks." Said another girl.

"Your battle skills are impressive, Ash." Said Erika. "But there's one thing you don't have. Empathy with your Pokemon. Your friend showed plenty of empathy when she battled me earlier, and now it's time for me to teach you that lesson. Gloom, go!" Gloom materialized.

"I hope Charmander's nose and Ash's nose are prepared for that awful stench Gloom has." Said Lucy. Sure enough, Gloom sprayed its powerful odor all over Charmander, causing the fire type to fall to the floor.

"Charmander, return!" cried Ash.

"That was what happened to my Squirtle earlier." Said Lucy. Ash quickly recalled Charmander. Erika gave a laugh.

"Your Pokemon could use some more training." She said.

"If Gloom beat Charmander, what could I use next?" Ash thought. "Lucy's Squirtle couldn't take that terrible smell, and Pikachu probably can't stand it either." He grabbed another Poke Ball and tossed it.

"Pidgeotto, I choose you!" he cried. Pidgeotto materialized. Gloom tried to spray the odor onto Pidgeotto, but Ash wasn't having any of it.

"Pidgeotto, Wing Attack!" cried Ash. Pidgeotto spread out its wings and struck Gloom hard before it could retaliate.

"Sleep Powder, Gloom!" cried Erika.

"Whirlwind!" Ash countered. Pidgeotto used the Whirlwind attack to blow away the sleep dust and make it vanish.

"Gust attack now!" cried Ash. Pidgeotto sent a powerful wind gust in Gloom's direction, blowing it away from the field and into a wall. Erika ran over to check on it and saw that it was knocked out.

"We did it, Pidgeotto!" cried Ash. Erika went over to Ash.

"You were actually much better than I thought." Said Erika. "You know Ash, maybe you're not such a bad Pokemon trainer after all." She was about to recall Gloom and hand him his Rainbow Badge when a voice was heard from overhead.

"Heartwarming, but what was that smell?" it asked.

"What's that?" cried Brock.

"The sound of a very familiar voice, that's what!" cried Lucy.

"Your Pokemon skills were stinking up this gym even worse than Gloom's smell." Said Jessie.

"It's Team Rocket!" cried Misty.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"And last, but not least, to blast this dump sky high!" cried Meowth. He pushed the detonator to set off the Blaster Ball, which was right below Jessie and James.

"Jessie!"

"James!" Team Rocket blasted off due to the explosion.

"Where did you put that Blast Ball?" said James.

"Where I thought you'd lose it." Said Meowth.

"At least we get this lovely parting gift. Their secret perfume formula!" cried Jessie.

"What?!" cried Ash.

"Secret perfume formula?!" cried Lucy.

"Team Rocket's blasting off again!" cried Jessie and James. The explosion from the blast ball, however, set the gym ablaze. Flames were sprouting around from everywhere.

"Quick, girls, we've got to rescue all the Pokemon! Fast!" said the gym's receptionist.

"And we have to get out of here ourselves!" cried Lucy. A trainer spotted an Oddish and Bellsprout that were frightened by the fire.

"Get into the Poke Balls and I'll carry you to safety." She said gently. The trainers gathered up all the Pokemon that they could find. Everybody did their part to try and save the gym from going up in smoke.

"I never should've listened to Team Rocket!" cried Ash.

"Don't just stand around, Ash." Said Misty. "We have to help put this fire out before the whole gym is burned to the ground!"

"Right!" cried Ash. "Squirtle! Water Gun!" His Squirtle materialized.

"Starmie, help us out now!" cried Misty.

"Staryu, we need you!" cried Lucy. Starmie and Staryu materialized. They, along with Squirtle, sprayed their Water Guns at the blaze.

"Geodude! Help us out by throwing dirt on the flames!" cried Brock. Geodude materialized and threw as much dirt as he could at the blaze.

"keep on spraying!" cried Lucy.

"We've almost got it!" cried Ash. Erika came running up to them in a hurry. She had a very worried expression on her face.

"Erika, what's wrong?" said Misty.

"I've looked all around the gym but I can't find Gloom anywhere!" she cried. "What if…..What if Gloom's still inside?!" Erika tried to run back in to get Gloom, but was stopped by Misty and Lucy.

"You can't go back in there, Erika!" cried Lucy. "That fire's too dangerous!"

"But Gloom maybe trapped inside!" cried Erika.

"I'll go in and find Gloom!" cried Ash. He rushed towards the burning gym.

"Don't Ash!" cried Misty.

"Ash, no!" cried Lucy. Ash charged inside the burning building to look for Gloom. It took a bit of searching, but he found the grass type hiding near a wall.

"Gloom!" cried Ash. The grass type was terrified.

"Don't worry, Gloom, I'll get you out of here!" cried Ash. As he started approaching the Pokemon, it began spraying its foul odor.

"I can't get any closer to that smell!" cried Ash. Some of the gym roof came down, scaring Gloom even more. Ash held his breath as he attempted to approach Gloom again.

"It'll be okay, Gloom." Said Ash. He found he couldn't hold his breath any longer, but then noticed something.

"There's no smell." He said. He then remembered what Erika had said earlier about showing Gloom that he wanted to be its friend.

"Come on, Gloom, Erika's waiting for you." Said Ash.

Outside, Erika, Brock, Misty and Lucy were worried for Ash's safety as well as the safety of the Pokemon.

"Pikachu." Said Pikachu, which meant 'Come on, Ash.'

"Eevee." Squealed Eevee, which meant 'Ash is brave, isn't he?'

"He's very brave, Eevee." Said Lucy. "But it's still dangerous for anyone to go back into a building that's on fire!"

"I think I see something!" cried Misty. What she saw was Ash coming out of the gym holding Gloom in his arms. Erika, brock, Misty and Lucy rushed over to him.

"Ash!" cried Brock.

"Thank heavens." Said Lucy.

"That was great, Ash!" cried Misty.

When the next morning came, the gym was still standing but it was badly damaged.

"You not only beat me in battle, but I'm also very grateful to you for saving my Gloom from that fire." Said Erika.

"Gloom!" Gloom cried, which meant 'Thank you, Ash!'

"You're very welcome, Gloom." Said Ash.

"And now, I can officially award you this Rainbow Badge as proof that you've beaten me." Said Erika.

"Thanks a lot, Erika." Said Ash. "Take a look, Pikachu. A Rainbow Badge!"

"Pi Pikachu!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Good going, Ash!'

"Congratulations, Ash." Said Brock.

"Thanks." Said Ash.

"Now we only need three more badges to get into the Pokemon League." Said Lucy. Misty cleared her throat at Erika.

"I believe you owe Ash something else, do you not?" she said.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Said Erika. "I need to apologize to you for that whole banning you from the gym thing. It's just that us girls have very strong opinions about perfume. We think it smells lovely."

"Maybe so, but what you didn't consider is that Ash is just a normal ten year old boy." Said Lucy. "Of course he's not going to like perfume. But you shouldn't have been rude to him about it either."

"I know, and I'm sorry." Said Erika.

"You're forgiven, and I accept your apology." Said Ash. "Speaking of perfume, Team Rocket got away with your secret formula." Erika laughed.

"No they didn't!" she cried. "The bottle they ended up stealing has only one of our perfume's secret ingredients. Essence of Gloom!" Team Rocket opened the bottle and were greeted with a bad smell.

"It stinks." Said Jessie weakly.

"Just like your plan." Said James.

"You said it!" cried Meowth. So, in the race for a Rainbow Badge, Ash and Lucy won by a nose. But most of all, Ash also learned that you can't judge a Pokemon by its smell.

TO BE CONTINUED

Ash's Current Party: Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Primeape

Lucy's Current Party: Eevee, Bulbasaur, Clefairy, Squirtle, Staryu, Butterfree (Pink)

Ash's Spare Pokemon At Oak's Lab: Spearow, Clefairy, Krabby, Butterfree

Lucy's Spare Pokemon At Oak's Lab: Beedrill, Cubone

 

[K_S]

Hi, Mark mind if I take a peak/revew?

chapter 1 review

Episode 1: Pokemon, I Choose You!

(Author's note: So, an idea came to me while at work today. I thought to myself, why not reboot the first few seasons of the anime, but with Ash having another friend to travel with. This is the result of that idea)

Late at night one evening in Pallet Town, young Ash Ketchum and his good friend Lucy Peters were at Ash's house watching a battle unfold on the television in Ash's room. Both of them were due to start their Pokemon journeys the next day, and so they had agreed that they would spend the night together at Ash's house.

"This battle between Nidorino and Gengar is certainly very thrilling." Said Ash. As he said that, Gengar used a Hypnosis attack on the Nidorino.

"Oh, that's not good for Nidorino." Said Lucy. Nidorino was quickly recalled and his trainer pulled out another Poke Ball.

"What's he going to send out now?" Ash wondered. The Nidorino trainer sent out the giant rock snake Pokemon Onix.

"Woah, that thing is huge." Lucy remarked.

"I can't wait until we start our journey tomorrow." Said Ash.

"It does help that we both turned ten just a couple of days ago." Said Lucy. Ten year olds are allowed to get a beginner Pokemon from Professor Oak, the town's local Pokemon expert.

"I hereby declare that we will both be Pokemon masters!" cried Ash.

"Pokemon masters! That's what we'll be!" declared Lucy. They then heard a stern voice behind them.

"Ash, Lucy, get to bed!" That voice belonged to Delia Ketchum, Ash's mother. "It's eleven o'clock, and both of you should be in bed sleeping!"

Poor Delia's gotta wrangle both of them. And they're hooped up on ambition and antsiness. Mimes raising a cup in toast to Delia. Better your battle than mine...

"But tomorrow, we both start our Pokemon journey." Said Ash.

"How can one sleep when they're excited about starting their training?" Lucy added.

"Well if you can't sleep, you should both get ready for tomorrow." Said Delia. She changed the channel on the television set. "Here, watch this instead." Instead of the battle, Professor Oak was now on the screen.

"Good evening, Pallet. Tomorrow is a big day for the newest class of Pokemon students." He said. "I'd like to introduce you to Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle." He pointed to each of the three different starters. "Which one will you choose?"

Hmm well, if we want to make a MANGA joke, maybe Lucy will get squirtle?

"Make sure you go to bed when this is done." said Delia. "And both of you remember to change into your pajamas, okay?"

I bet the programmers and the sponsors (AKA the trainers to be parents) paid Oak extra to make his speech in a monotone to help the kids sleep...

"Yes, Mom." Said Ash.

"You got it, Mrs. Ketchum." Said Lucy. Later that night, both Ash and Lucy were sound asleep and dreaming of picking each of the different starting Pokemon. The next morning, a Dodrio called to awaken the town. Ash and Lucy were still fast asleep, though. In Ash's dream, he was picking Charmander and throwing the fire type's ball to start a battle. In actuality, however, he ended up tossing his clock against the window, which caused the clock to break. The noise startled Lucy and woke her and Ash up at the same time. Ash quickly looked around and saw the shattered clock on the floor.

"Oh no! What time is it?" they cried. They both sprang out of bed and hurried out the door to make their way to Oak's lab.

"Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, any one of them will do. Just please, save one for me!" he cried.

"You know, maybe if we had just gone to bed when we should've last night, we wouldn't be in a rush right now." Said Lucy. Ash didn't care about that right now. All he cared about was whether they'd both still be able to get a Pokemon. Meanwhile, a crowd had gathered in front of the lab to see another trainer off on his own journey. The trainer had a car, as well as a bunch of cheerleaders with him. Ash and Lucy cut right through the cheerleaders without paying any attention to them.

And Heeeere's Gary... how can a ten-year-old drive BTW? I was hoping someone would ask that...

"Hey!" one of them cried.

"Sorry, but we're in a hurry." Said Lucy. They both bumped hard into the trainer, and he didn't look particularly happy with either of them.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" he cried. "Well, you must be Ash and Lucy. Better late than never, I guess. At least you get the chance to meet me."

"Gary?" Ash wondered.

"That's Mister Gary to you. Show some respect." Said Gary. "Well, Ash and Lucy, you both snooze and lose, and both of you are behind right from the start! For I've got a Pokemon and you don't."

Rent out a marching band for the kids' ego, it'll round out the look. I forgot what a creep he was. Though how he expects to catch anything in that car...

"You mean…..you already got your first Pokemon?" Ash asked.

"That's right, losers, and it's right inside this Poke Ball." Gary answered. He spun the ball around on his fingertip.

Poor critter's probably getting motion sickness for being treated like a basketball.

"Hey, who are you calling losers?" asked Lucy, but Gary ignored her.

"Let's go, Gary, yeah!" cried his cheerleaders.

"Thank you fans! Thank you for this great honor!" cried Gary as he addressed the crowd. "I promise you that I will become a Pokemon master and make the town of Pallet known all around the world!" He posed triumphantly as the spectators cheered again.

"Excuse me?" Lucy asked him.

"Yeah?" Gary replied.

"Well, Ash and I were just wondering if you could tell us what kind of Pokemon you got." Said Lucy.

"None of your beeswax!" yelled Gary. "If you two had shown up on time, then you'd have seen that I got the best Pokemon from Professor Oak. It helps to have a grandfather in the Pokemon business, doesn't it?" He and his cheerleaders got into the car.

"Thank you for coming out to see history in the making! Now I, Gary Oak, am off to learn the ways of the Pokemon trainer!" He and the cheerleaders took off, leaving an angry Ash and Lucy behind.

Maybe a marching band wouldn't be grandios enough for that boy's ego... but I'm failing to think of something that would work...

"Oh, that Gary makes my blood boil!" cried Ash.

"We'll show him a thing or two." Said Lucy.

Good luck catching up, boyos in a car, you're walking...

"So, you two decided to show up after all." Said another voice.

Awww(disappointed noise), no descriptor of the lab? ah well. I'm surprised it wasn't a "familiar" voice considering his lecture carooned them to bed last night.

"Oh, Professor Oak." Said Ash. "Where's our Pokemon?"

"Your Pokemon?" Oak repeated.

"Yes, we're ready." Said Lucy.

"You both look like you're ready for bed, not for Pokemon training." Said Oak. "I hope neither of you plan to train in your pajamas."

Snorts. Love the snark. Is one of the wearing a tasseled night cap? that'd be hilarious...

"Oh no, Professor." Said Lucy. "Ash and I got a bit mixed up this morning, and that's why we were late, but believe me, we're ready for a Pokemon."

"Very well. Both of you come with me." Said Oak. He led the two friends inside his laboratory.

"Both of us have thought about this a lot, but I finally decided that I'm taking…Squirtle!" Ash declared. When he opened the ball, however, it was empty.

"Already taken by somebody who was on time." Said Oak.

"I bet that stuck up Gary took it." Lucy whispered.

"You don't know that." Said Ash. "But that's no problem, because instead I'll choose…. Bulbasaur!" Upon opening Bulbasaur's ball, however, he also found it empty.

"That was also taken by a kid who wasn't late." Said Oak.

"This doesn't look good for either of us, Ash." Said Lucy.

"Now I really wish we hadn't overslept." Said Ash. "No matter, because my Pokemon will be… Charmander!" However, Charmander's ball was also empty.

The fact that Oak kinda let this play out, the man was subtly trolling and probably loving every second of it. "They'll never be late again," Oak tells himself, never knowing the horror that canon will descend into, since I bet they'll both be chronically late for everything for the rest of their journeys.

"The early bird gets the worm, or in this case, the Pokemon." Said Oak.

"Does that mean there are no Pokemon left for us, Professor?" asked Lucy.

Well, that's my theory jostled... hmm, how about giving them a weedle and caterpie? That'd be kinda funny...

"Now, don't panic quite yet." Said Oak. "I do still have two left, but…" Ash and Lucy's eyes lit up upon hearing that.

"Professor, we'll take them!" cried Ash. Two more Poke Ball emerged between the empty ones.

"I should warn you, there's a problem with one of them." Said Oak.

"We just have to have a Pokemon, professor." Said Lucy.

"Well then, here you are." Said Oak. He handed Ash a Poke Ball with a lightning bolt sticker, and Lucy a Poke Ball with a regular brown sticker. The Poke Balls both opened at the same time, and the one Ash was holding revealed an electric mouse, while the one Lucy had revealed a little brown fox.

"Pikachu." Said the mouse, which meant 'Hello.'

"Eevee!" squealed the little fox, which meant 'Pleased to meet you.'

"Those are Pikachu and Eevee." Said Oak.

"They're so cute, they're the best of all." Said Ash. Oak chuckled.

"You'll see." He said.

Cue Oak sliding on electric resistant everything.

"Hi, Pikachu." Said Ash. When he tried to pick Pikachu up, however, he got zapped with an electric shock. Eevee, meanwhile, gave Lucy a playful lick.

"Pikachu is also known as Electric Mouse. It's usually shy, but can sometimes have an electrifying personality." Said Oak.

"I see what you mean." Said Ash.

"Shocking, isn't it?" said Oak.

"Eevee really seems to like me already." Said Lucy. Oak handed both of them some devices and five Poke Balls each.

"Now, take these. Those are your Pokedexes and Poke Balls." He said.

"Thanks, Professor." Said Lucy.

"You're welcome, Lucy." Said Oak. Ash, however, got shocked when he tried to pick up his things.

"I can already tell that you two need some work." Said Lucy. Outside, Ash's mom Delia and Lucy's father Zack were standing with a small group of people and making noises in celebration of their kids leaving for their journey.

"Mom!" cried Ash

"Daddy!" cried Lucy.

"Oh, Ash, I'm so proud of you." Said Delia.

"That goes for you too, Lucy." Said Zack.

Ignore the smoke coming out from ash's ears and the super spiked hair per electrical dischar- well ash is an anime protagonist, that's not too noticeable isn't it?

"You two are finally fulfilling your dreams and heading off on your Pokemon journey. But, I'm going to miss you so much, Ash." Said Delia.

"I'm going to miss you too, pumpkin." Said Zack. He gave Lucy a huge goodbye hug.

"Dad, no! Not in front of all these people!" cried Lucy.

"Pikachu." Sighed Pikachu, which meant 'Dumb humans.'

"Eevee." Eevee squealed, which meant 'I know, right?' Delia and Zack handed their kids backpacks with essential supplies.

Ohh Eevee isn't a saint. Them tag teaming their trainers is going to be hilarious...

"We've packed fresh shoes, clothes, clean shirts and underwear, and your favorite snacks, and some hot chocolate in case you feel like drinking something hot, but be careful not to burn yourself." Said Delia. "There's also rubber gloves for doing your laundry, and a clothesline to hang it out to dry…"

"Mom, you're embarrassing us in front of all these people!" cried Ash. "We're big kids now, and Pokemon trainers can take care of themselves."

"I understand." Said Delia. She then noticed Pikachu and Eevee beside each other.

"Those two are your Pokemon?" asked Zack.

"Eevee's mine, and Pikachu belongs to Ash." Lucy clarified.

"Pi." Pikachu said, which meant 'I dislike Ash already.'

"Eevee!" Eevee barked at him, which meant 'Give the kid a chance, will ya?'

"With Pikachu at my side, I'll get all the Pokemon in the world!" Ash declared with confidence.

"Are you sure about that?" Lucy asked. Ash glared at her.

I mean, there's over a thousand now, right, might take decades.. but hey, leg day will be licked.

"I thought all Pokemon stayed inside their Poke Balls. How come these two don't?" Delia wondered.

Because they are mischievous rapscalions...

"Oh yeah." Said Ash. He and Lucy grabbed the Poke Balls for their starters.

"Pikachu, get in the ball now." Said Ash.

"Same for you, Eevee." Said Lucy. They tossed the Poke Balls down to their partners, but refused to go in.

"Okay, Eevee, so we've established that you don't want to go in your Poke Ball." Said Lucy. "No problem, you can stay on my shoulder." Eevee smiled at that, but Ash wasn't getting the hint and kept trying to get Pikachu to go inside his ball.

"Oh, you're playing catch. You're friends already." Said Delia.

"Pikachu and I are real pika pals, right?" Ash wondered.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried, which meant 'Wrong!'

"Oak did say that Pikachu's a little shy around new people." Said Lucy. "It'll probably take some time for it to warm up to you, Ash."

"You make a good point, Lucy, but still, it's a little weird." Said Delia.

"Pika." Said Pikachu, which meant 'If she wants weird, I'll show her weird.'

"Hit the dirt!" Lucy cried. She dove quickly to the ground as Pikachu zapped everybody.

"Those rubber gloves your mom packed for you will come in handy." Said Oak.

"Why?" asked Ash.

"Rubber blocks electricity." Oak answered.

"Great!" Ash cried. Everyone except Oak and Lucy were electrocuted from the attack.

"Don't forget to change your underwear…. every single day." Said Delia.

"Got it." Said Ash. Later, after Ash and Lucy had gotten out of their pajamas and dressed into their regular clothes, they were both walking along Route One together. Eevee and Lucy were very much happy to be together, but Ash was dragging Pikachu down the path with a rope.

"Pikachu, are you going to be like this the whole way?" Ash asked.

"Pika." Said Pikachu, which meant 'Yes, sir.'

wait until he starts plotting escape routes, then life will get even more exciting...

"It's because you don't like him, isn't it?" asked Lucy.

"Pika." Pikachu answered, which meant 'You got it.'

"Well I like you a lot." Said Ash. "And since you're the Pokemon I'm training, can't you just open your mouth and tell me what's wrong?" Pikachu opened his mouth very wide.

"That's not exactly what I meant." Said Ash. "Is your name all you can say?" Pikachu nodded his head.

"Then you're just like all Pokemon, and so you should act like one by getting inside your Poke Ball, just like it says in the Pokedex." Said Ash. He opened it up to demonstrate.

"While being trained, a Pokemon usually stays inside its Poke Ball." Said the Pokedex.

"There. You see?" said Ash.

cue pika giving the flattest look in existence....

"I think there's more than that." Said Lucy. Pikachu pressed a button and the Pokedex spoke again.

"However, there are many exceptions. Some Pokemon don't like being confined."

"Ok then." Said Ash. He untied the rope that was wrapped around Pikachu.

"That should make things better." He said. He took off the gloves too. "And I'll get rid of these." He put the gloves in his bag. "How's that?"

"Pika." Said Pikachu, which meant 'No way, Jose.'

"Still not good enough?" said Ash. Pikachu shook his head.

"I told you, it takes time for Pikachu to warm up to people when he meets them for the first time." Said Lucy.

SNorts pika was such a brat, wonder if eevees watching nomming on pokepuffs like popcorn, laughing it up.

"Well I hope he warms up to me soon." Said Ash. The two of them heard something in the bushes.

"What's that?" wondered Lucy. A bird Pokemon appeared in front of them.

"A Pidgey." Said Ash. He got his Pokedex out again.

"Pidgey is a flying Pokemon. Among all Pokemon of this type, it is the gentlest and easiest to capture. The perfect target for the beginning trainer to test their Pokemon's skills."

"This is our lucky day!" cried Ash. "Pikachu, go get it!" Pikachu refused and ran up a tree.

"Aren't you ever going to listen to me?" Ash asked. Pikachu shook his head.

"Face it, Ash, that Pikachu of yours does NOT like you." Said Lucy.

"I can see that!" Ash replied. "You know what, Pikachu, I don't need your help. I'm going to get that Pidgey all by myself!" He took one of his spare Poke Balls out of his bag.

"I pledged to get all the Pokemon in the world. Now, I'm going to take the next step in becoming the best trainer ever." Said Ash. "Enjoy your last moments of freedom, Pidgey, because you're mine!"

"Ash, wait!" cried Lucy, but Ash was already starting to throw the ball.

"Poke Ball, go!" he cried. The ball sucked the little Pidgey inside.

"I did it!" he cried.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that if I were you." Said Lucy.

"What do you mean?" asked Ash.

"Look." Said Lucy. The ball started to shake, and Pidgey busted out easily.

"I blew it." Said Ash. Pikachu just laughed at him.

"Hey, Pikachu, that's not very nice to laugh at Ash like that!" Lucy yelled.

"To capture a Pokemon, you usually have your own Pokemon battle against the other." Said the Pokedex.

"Now he tells me." Said Ash.

"Correction, Ash. I was trying to tell you that first." Said Lucy. "You'll never catch anything otherwise."

wonder if Lucy will get the pidgy since she's got a (seemingly) tame eevee in tow.

"But I have to do everything myself because Pikachu won't listen to me." Ash countered. "Wait, I have an idea." He started sneaking up on the Pidgey with his pajama shirt in his hand.

"This isn't going to work." Said Lucy. Ash paid no attention to her for the moment.

"Hi, little friend." He said gently. He tried to capture Pidgey with the pajama top, but failed.

"Told you." Said Lucy. Pidgey then created a gust of wind to free itself.

"What happened?" Ash wondered.

"Pidgey's Gust power creates tornadoes. It also has a Sand Attack." Said the Pokedex.

"Sand?" Ash repeated. Pidgey used its Sand Attack to blind Ash so it could escape.

"I guess it's not my lucky day." Said Ash.

"If you think that's bad, look behind you." Said Lucy. Ash turned and saw a creature crawling into his bag.

"Get out of there!" Ash yelled.

"A Forest Pokémon, Rattata - it likes cheese, nuts, fruits, and berries." Said the Pokedex.

"Yeah, but this isn't a forest. It's an open field." Said Lucy.

"It also likes to steal food from stupid travelers." The Pokedex continued.

"Does that mean that we're both stupid?" wondered Ash.

"No, I think it's just you." Said Lucy. Pikachu was laughing at Ash being called stupid.

This definitely feels real true to the anime, something I'm missing as I read through. On second read, it sunk in that there are very few setting descriptors. The dialogue is tidy, and the character actions work (though eevee does keep disappearing at intervals), but unless you've watched the series its a little confusing.

"You're in no position to say anything right now, mister!" Lucy yelled at Pikachu. A small group of Pidgey then popped up in the grass, and without thinking, Ash grabbed a rock and threw it at one of them.

"There! I got you this time!" he cried. Unfortunately, the Pokemon he hit wasn't a Pidgey.

"What is that?" asked Lucy. Ash got his Pokedex out again.

"Unlike Pidgey, Spearow has a terrible attitude. It is very wild and will sometimes attack other Pokemon and humans."

"This is what I was afraid of. Spearow are short tempered!" Lucy cried. The Spearow started attacking Ash, but soon changed target and attacked Pikachu instead.

"Hey, leave Ash's Pikachu alone! It didn't throw the rock!" cried Lucy.

"Wild Pokemon tend to be jealous of human trained Pokemon." Said the Pokedex. Spearow nearly knocked Pikachu out of the tree, but the electric mouse zapped it with a powerful Thunder Shock.

"You got it!" cried Ash. The Spearow recovered quickly, though, and called for its friends.

"Uh oh!" cried Ash.

"A Spearow cry can be heard from over a mile away, meaning that the friends it's calling for are going to come after us!" cried Lucy. Sure enough, a whole flock of Spearow started flying towards them.

"Uh, should we run?" asked Ash.

"No, we should gently soar into space." Said Lucy sarcastically. "Of course we should run! Go!" Soon, all of Ash, Lucy, Pikachu and Eevee were running as fast as they could to get away from the Spearow flock.

"Don't worry, Pikachu, no matter what, I'll save you." Said Ash. Pikachu ran a little ahead, however.

"Don't get ahead! I said I'd protect you!" Ash cried. The Spearows flew past Ash and Lucy and started attacking Pikachu and Eevee.

I kinda would of loved to hear the sheer snark from eevee and pika at this point.
Pika: "What do you mean jealous? They aren't getting this work out courtesy of our trainers' stupidity."
Eevee: "ours, yours is the one who started all this!"

"Leave them alone, Spearows!" Ash yelled.

"They're certainly being relentless." Said Lucy. They scooped up their Pokemon and reached a waterfall.

"I guess there's only one thing for us to do." Said Ash. They jumped into the river and were swept downstream. On the way, they passed plenty of water type Pokemon. A little further along, a girl with red hair was fishing. She saw her rod shake and started reeling it in.

"Hey, I got a bite! This could be a big one!" she cried. The girl pulled up Ash and Lucy onto the shore.

"Nah, it's just two kids." She said. "Oh, and their Pokemon. Oh, are you okay?"

"Yeah, we're okay." Said Lucy. The girl smiled at Lucy before turning to Ash. "Look what you've done to that thing! Is it breathing?"

"I think so." Said Ash.

"Well don't just sit there, it needs a doctor right away!" the girl cried. "Your friend here should get her Eevee checked out too. There's a medical center not too far from here. You have to get moving now!"

"You mean a hospital?" asked Lucy.

"Yes, for Pokemon." The red haired girl replied.

I get why Ash didn't know, but you'd think Lucy might know what a Pokémon Center is...

"Okay. Can you tell us, which way do we go?" asked Ash.

"That way." The girl replied and pointed up the path.

"Thanks." Said Lucy. "By the way, miss, what's your name?"

"Misty." The girl answered. "What are your names?"

"We're Ash and Lucy." Said Ash. The Spearow flock started catching up to the two of them.

"They're coming back! Run!" cried Ash. He got onto Misty's bike and put Pikachu in the basket.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Misty cried.

"We're borrowing this." Said Lucy.

"But that's my bike!" cried Misty.

"We'll give it back to you at the Pokemon Center in Viridian City!" Ash cried. He started pedalling hard, with Lucy running beside him. Misty folded her arms angrily.

"Oh, you two!" she cried. A little further on, rain started to fall.

"Just hang on, Pikachu, we're almost there!" cried Ash.

"Eevee! Just hold on a little more." Said Lucy. The Spearows soon caught up to them, which made Ash go up a ramp and crash land, sending Pikachu flying out of the basket.

"Pikachu!" cried Ash. He crawled over to Pikachu as the rain kept falling.

"Pikachu…..this can't happen." Said Ash.

"Eevee?" Eevee squealed, which meant 'Will Pikachu be all right?'

"I hope so, Eevee." Said Lucy. Ash heard the Spearows and got Pikachu's Poke Ball out.

"Pikachu, please get inside your Poke Ball." Said Ash. "I know you're afraid of being in there, but if you're inside, maybe I can save you. Please, Pikachu, please trust me." Ash turned his attention to the Spearow flock, and Lucy watched with interest.

"Spearows, do you know who I am? I am Ash Ketchum from the town of Pallet!" Ash cried. "I'm destined to be the world's number one Pokémon Master. I can't be defeated by the likes of you. I'm going to capture and defeat you all! Do you hear me?"

"Pikachu, please get inside Ash's Poke Ball. It's the only way." Said Lucy.

"Come and get me!" Ash cried. The Spearows began charging at Ash, when suddenly, Pikachu jumped over Ash's shoulder and into the air and gave the Spearows a powerful Thunder Shock. Most of them fell to the ground in defeat, but one of them got sucked into a Poke Ball that belonged to Ash. It shook a couple of times and pinged, indicating a successful capture. The storm ended, and then Ash and Pikachu opened their eyes.

"Well, we beat them." Said Ash.

"That was the most powerful Thunder Shock I've ever seen!" cried Lucy. "You were amazing, Pikachu."

"I even caught one of the Spearow." Said Ash.

"Great job on your part, Ash." Said Lucy. She then saw that the bike had been charred to a crisp.

"Uh, I don't think Misty is going to like this." She said.

"We'll worry about that later." Said Ash. Just then, a majestic flying Pokemon soared past them towards the rainbow that was in the sky.

"What's that?" Ash wondered.

"There is no data. There are still Pokemon yet to be identified." Said the Pokedex.

"Okay Ash, we need to get Pikachu and Eevee to the Pokemon Center." Said Lucy. "And that Spearow you caught is also going to be joining us from the looks of it." Ash, Lucy, Pikachu and Lucy saw Viridian City ahead of them and started walking together. This is just the beginning of the adventures of Ash and Pikachu, as well as Lucy and Eevee. Their journey is destined to be packed with non-stop action, millions of laughs, heart pounding perils, and endless excitement. Together they'll encounter fantastic friends, evil enemies, and meet creatures beyond their wildest dreams. And as their story unfolds, we'll unlock the magic and mystery of a most wondrous place: the incredible world of Pokemon.

You weren't kidding when you said this was going to be a recap. I have to admit Lucy's addition as an OC drop-in has added some flavor and minor event changes, but this feels like a loving revisit to the OG series with a bit of OC spice.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[MarkL1987]

Thanks for sharing.

No problem. Still got a bunch more episodes to go, though, as I'm planning to cover at least to the end of Johto