Pokémon Pokemon Do-Over

[MarkL1987]

Episode 96: Stage Fight

As they continue to explore the Orange Islands, our heroes are about to discover something very unusual. It's a floating theater, where the actors, the dancers and the singers are all Pokemon.

"Come one! Come all! To The Pokemon Showboat!" cried a clown. A Chansey and Mr. Mime cheerfully cried out to try and encourage people to see the show.

"Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!" the clown cried. Lucy shivered in fear at the mere sight of the clown.

"I hate clowns." She muttered.

"I think clowns are kind of cute." Said Misty. Togepi trilled in excitement of seeing one.

"Even Togepi agrees with me." Misty added.

"Clowns are very nice." Said Ash.

"You just don't understand, Ash." Said Lucy. "Not everybody likes clowns, and I can't stand them. Maybe if I tell you why, you'll get a better understanding."

"Pika Pi?" asked Pikachu, which meant 'Is there going to be a flashback?'

"Vee." Eevee answered, which meant 'I think so.'

Flashback

Young five-year-olds Ash and Lucy were at a circus together with Delia and Zack.

"Look at all the cool props!" cried young Ash. "And the Pokemon that are taking part look awesome too!"

"Shh! The show's about to start." Said Delia.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the annual Pokemon Circus Show!" cried the ringmaster. "For our first trick, we're going to fire a clown out of a cannon!"

"Is that even safe?" asked Lucy.

"I personally don't think so, but who am I to judge?" said Delia. A Growlithe used Flamethrower to light the fuse that was attached to the back of the cannon. Once the fuse went off, the clown flew through the ring and landed safely right in front of the row where Ash and Lucy were sitting. He bowed to the crowd.

"That was neat!" cried Ash. Then, the clown gave a weird smile directly toward Lucy that creeped her out.

"Ah!" she cried.

"What's wrong, dear?" asked Zack.

"Daddy, that clown looked at me strangely!" she cried.

"Oh, honey, that's part of his act." Said Zack.

"I thought it was pretty cool." Said Ash. The next act was trying to walk on the tightrope. A different clown was used for that one, but halfway through, he suddenly lost his balance and fell to the ground. The moment he made loud impact with the floor, Lucy got even more scared.

"He's hurt!" she cried. "Daddy, I want to go home!"

"But the show only just started, dear." Said Delia.

"There's probably going to be more clowns." Said Ash.

"Don't you ever mention anything to me about clowns again, Ash Ketchum!" cried Lucy. "I hate clowns! I hate them!"

End Flashback

"And that's why I don't like clowns." Lucy explained.

"I still think they're pretty cool." Said Ash. Lucy scowled at him.

"Don't you DARE go down that route with me, Ash!" she yelled.

"I've heard about these showboats before, but I've never actually been on one." Said Tracey.

"This sounds like a lot of fun, doesn't it, Pikachu?" said Ash.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried, which meant 'You bet!'

"Why don't we check it out, guys?" suggested Misty.

"Just as long as that clown stays far away from me." Said Lucy.

"Okay! Let's go!" cried Ash. A spotlight shone down on a Hitmonchan, and it was heard breathing heavily like a human would. Then, it started talking like a human.

"I can't walk away!" cried Hitmonchan. "I've got to stand right here and fight! Or I'd…..I'd never forgive myself!" A Clefable was seen in tears outside the ring that Hitmonchan was standing in, and it soon spoke too.

"No matter what happens, I'll be right here." said the Clefable. In the other corner, a Machoke was wearing blue boxing gloves.

"You better get ready to lose, because I'm going to be the champion." Bragged the Machoke. The bell rang and the Pokemon charged forward with Machoke throwing a right while Hitmonchan threw a left.

"Pulse Counter Punch!" cried Hitmonchan. The attacks connected, but Machoke ended up being the one to go down.

"I lost!" cried Machoke. Once he went down, an Abra came in and started to count.

"One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Six! Seven! Eight! Nine! Ten! Hitmonchan is the winner!" cried Abra.

"Hoorah!" cried Hitmonchan. Clefable climbed into the ring and rushed toward Hitmonchan.

"Hitmonchan!" cried Clefable.

"Victory!" cried Hitmonchan.

"Congratulations, darling!" cried Clefable.

"I owe it all to you, my love." Said Hitmonchan. The whole thing was revealed to be part of a show on the Pokemon Show Boat, which included a narrator.

"And so, Hitmonchan defeated his rival, Machoke." Said the narrator.

"Way to go, Hitmonchan!" cried Ash.

"Great acting." Said Tracey.

"I love Clefable." Said Misty. Something was eyeing the group from behind the curtain, which made Togepi get distracted.

"Looks like Meowth isn't the only Pokemon who can talk after all." Said Ash.

"Speaking as a Pokemon watcher, I've never seen anything like this." Said Tracey.

"Yeah." Said Lucy. She then noticed that Togepi had disappeared. "Uh oh. Togepi? Ash, did you see where Togepi went?" Ash and friends saw Togepi heading to the backstage area.

"There's Togepi!" cried Ash. "I guess it wanted a backstage peek."

"Togepi!" cried Misty.

"Hey, wait up!" cried Ash.

"I don't think going backstage uninvited during a live performance is a good idea." Said Lucy. Togepi soon found her way into the backstage area.

"Now, with Machoke finally defeated, Clefable hoped that Hitmonchan would give up fighting forever and promise to never go away again." Said the narrator. Togepi rushed toward the stage, but Lucy scooped her up.

"Togepi! You can't just run out on stage like that!" she cried. Ash noticed something off to his right.

"Hey, what are they doing?" he asked. The group looked over and saw three people standing in front of microphones.

"But that was one promise Hitmonchan could never make." Said the narrator.

"Clefable, I cannot stay." Said Hitmonchan. "I was blessed with this talent, and I must test how far it can take me."

"I understand, Hitmonchan." Said Clefable. "But I'll wait for you, and I know that you'll return as the world champion.

"I hope so." Said Hitmonchan.

"I love you very much, Clefable." Said Hitmonchan's voice actor.

"And I love you too, Hitmonchan." Replied Clefable's voice actor.

"These actors were talking for the Pokemon the whole time." Said Tracey.

"That's the magic of theater." Added Lucy.

"They sure fooled me." Said Ash.

"Quiet!" cried a voice. The group turned and saw someone behind them.

"Please, keep your voices down backstage." She whispered.

"Oh, I'm sorry, miss." Said Tracey. The girl spotted Ash's Pikachu and Lucy's Eevee.

"Excuse me, but are these Pokemon yours?" she asked.

"They sure are." Said Ash. "Pikachu's mine, and Eevee belongs to Lucy."

"It must be nice to be so close." Said the girl.

"Pika Pi?" asked Pikachu, which meant 'So close?'

"Eevee." Added Eevee, which meant 'I have no idea what she means.' The group soon heard the audience erupt in grand applause as the Pokemon actors took the stage for the curtain call to take a bow.

"We hope you enjoyed tonight's presentation!" cried Hitmonchan.

"We thank you for coming and we hope you enjoyed the show!" cried Clefable. The Pokemon cast started breaking into a line dance routine to close out the show.

"Okay, Kay, let's have Raichu join the finale." Said one of the voice actors.

"Oh, okay." Replied Kay. "Raichu, you're on!" A Raichu nervously and sadly stepped out from behind some crates.

"Hey! It's time to go on and dance with the others." Said Kay. Raichu disagreed with her, however.

"What's the matter, Raichu?" asked Kay. "Is something wrong?" Raichu let off electricity from its tail as if it were scared.

"Please go out. You'll have fun on the stage." Kay encouraged. But Raichu still wouldn't go on.

"Oh, Raichu." Sighed Kay.

"It's no use." Said one voice actor.

"It's quite sad." Said another.

"Seems like those two are having a problem." Said Lucy. Pikachu and Eevee curiously ran up to Raichu, who was looking sad.

"Pika Pi Chu Pikachu?" asked Pikachu, which meant 'What's wrong, Raichu?'

"Eevee Vee?" added Eevee, which meant 'Don't you want to go on stage and dance with the others?'

"Rai…" sighed Raichu, which meant 'No.'

Later, the boat left the dock, and the group had decided to hitch a ride.

"Are you sure you don't mind having us aboard?" asked Lucy.

"It's no trouble at all." Said one of the performers. "We have a performance scheduled in the next port, and there's plenty of room, so we're happy to give all of you a ride."

"Thank you very much, sir." Said Ash, Misty, Tracey, and Lucy.

"I just wish there was something we could do to pay you back for the ride." Said Ash.

"Maybe there's something you CAN do." Said the performer. He looked intently at both Ash and Lucy. "You and your friend both have a great relationship with your Pikachu and Eevee there, don't you?"

"Yeah." Said Ash.

'Eevee." Chirped Eevee, which meant 'We sure do.'

"I was wondering if you could give Kay some pointers." Said the performer. "Do you have a minute, Kay?"

"Sure, Roger." Answered Kay. "What is it?"

"I think it might be a good idea if we had Ash and his friends here, if they want to, give you some advice on getting along with electric type Pokemon." Said Roger.

"That'll be really easy." Said Ash. "Right, Pikachu?"

"Pika." Answered Pikachu, which meant 'Sure thing.'

"Are you sure you're up to it?" asked Roger.

"Absolutely positive." Answered Ash.

"There he goes again, making promises he can't keep." Said Misty.

"Maybe he actually will this time." Said Lucy. But the group didn't realize that Team Rocket was following them from behind.

"That showboat is packed with performing Pokemon, and all we have to do is get on board and snatch them!" cried Jessie.

"Our dream of a Team Rocket dinner theater can come true!" cried James.

"I'll be the star!" cried Meowth.

"Left, kick. Right, kick. Left, kick. Right, kick." Said James and Meowth. Jessie smacked both of them with a paper fan.

"I'm not finished!" she cried. "This could be the big break that we've all been waiting for! If we bring those Pokemon back to the boss, imagine how happy he'll be!"

"And I bet he'll forget all our debts and give us huge raises!" cried James.

"And we'll finally have money!" cried Jessie.

"I think we ought to work on our choreography." Said Meowth.

"Hurry! We've got to grab those Pokemon!" cried Jessie.

"The show must go off!" cried James.

"Yeah!" cried Meowth.

Meanwhile, back on the showboat…..

"Try to relax, Kay." Said Ash.

"Okay." Said Kay.

"To get along with a Pokemon, the first and most important thing you have to keep in mind is that Pokemon's personality." Said Ash.

"Like humans, every Pokemon has a unique personality." Added Lucy. "You see, every Pokemon is different from every other Pokemon based on their personalities, just like people are all different."

"Wow. Ash and Lucy sound like they really know what they're talking about." Said Tracey.

"That's because they're repeating what Brock told them." Said Misty.

"And the real secret to getting along with electric Pokemon is…." Said Ash. He paused and looked at Pikachu and Lucy. "What was it again?"

"Looks like Ash is losing it." Said Tracey.

"He can't lose it because he never had it." Said Misty.

"Give him a chance at least, Misty." Said Lucy.

"Let's see how you and your Raichu perform together, and then we can figure out from there what your problem could be." Said Ash.

"Okay." Said Kay. "Come on, Raichu, let's do our poem." Raichu just turned away.

"Let's just try." Said Kay. She stepped forward to recite the poem. "It is an ancient Mariner. And he stoppeth one of three. By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, now wherefore stopp'st thou me? The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, and I am next of kin. The guests are met, the feast is set, may'st hear the merry din." But Raichu didn't do anything.

"Raichu, aren't you going to move your mouth along with me?" asked Kay. Raichu accidentally let out some electricity.

"Ohh!" cried Kay. Raichu then moved away from her.

"But Raichu." Said Kay.

"I think Raichu might have stage fright." Said Lucy. Ash then approached Raichu.

"Come on, Raichu." He said. "I know you can do whatever Kay asks you to do."

"It's not that hard." Said Lucy. "Just believe in yourself." Ash tried to comfort Raichu and put his hand on Raichu, but Raichu accidentally electrocuted Ash.

"Pika Pi!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Ash!'

"Raichu, stop that!" cried Kay. Raichu stopped its attack and knocked down Ash.

"Rai…." Said Raichu, which meant 'Whoops.'

"Oh dear." Sighed Lucy.

"Ash! Are you okay?" cried Kay.

"After being with Pikachu, nothing shocks me anymore." Said Ash.

"That was an awful thing to do, Raichu!" Kay scolded.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'That wasn't very nice!'

"This is going to be harder than we thought." Said Lucy.

Later that night, Kay was standing on the deck of the boat looking out over the seaport side with tears in her eyes.

"Kay seems really upset." Said Misty.

"I guess Raichu not listening or doing what she says is really getting to her." Replied Ash.

"Sadly, it seems like Raichu doesn't want to talk to anyone about it, so we can't hear it straight from the Ponyta's mouth." Said Lucy. Ash went to talk to Kay.

"Hi, Kay." He said. "Do you think that maybe your Raichu's a little afraid of you?"

"That's not the problem." Said Kay. "You see, I'm the one who's really afraid. And it's all my fault that Raichu's acting this way."

"What do you mean, Kay?" asked Lucy. "Why is it your fault?"

"Tell us about it." Said Ash.

"I'll never forget how happy I was the day I first met Raichu." Said Kay.

Flashback

"Oh, you're so cute!" cried Kay. She knelt down to Raichu's level.

"Let me give you a hug!" she cried. Raichu rushed in for a hug.

"Raichu!" cried Kay. Raichu accidentally let loose some electricity from its tail, which frightened Kay to the point of tossing Raichu back and into a crate.

End Flashback

"Ever since then, I've always been afraid of being shocked by Raichu like on the day we first met." Said Kay. "And that makes Raichu nervous because it can tell how afraid I am."

"Do you still want to be Raichu's trainer?" asked Ash.

"Of course I do!" cried Kay. "I'd do anything for my Raichu!"

"Just like how I'd do anything for my Eevee and all my other Pokemon." Added Lucy.

"Then it'll all work out." Said Ash. "Sooner or later, Raichu will see how you feel."

"Pika." Said Pikachu, which meant 'Absolutely.'

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'You can bet on that!' From a distance, Misty, Roger, and Tracey were watching and listening in to what Ash and Lucy had to say.

"Sometimes, those two know just the right thing to say." Said Misty.

"I guess it's easy to say the right thing as long as you say it from your heart." Added Tracey.

"Yes. The heart always tells the truth." Said Roger.

Meanwhile, behind the showboat, team Rocket locked on to the unsuspecting paddle wheeler.

"Target locked!" cried Jessie. "Speed?"

"Steady!" cried Meowth.

"Torpedo, ready!" cried James.

"Fire!" cried Jessie. The submarine fired a Magikarp torpedo and hit the boat near the port end of the stern. Everyone on board felt it while Raichu hid in fear.

"What's happening?" cried Lucy.

"Pika Pi?" asked Pikachu, which meant 'What's going on?' Ash, Lucy, and Kay raced up to another deck.

"Sounds like something exploded!" cried Ash.

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'Look there!' The group looked and saw Raichu hiding in the crates.

"There's Raichu!" cried Kay.

"How about an encore?" said James.

"Bravo!" cried Jessie. Team Rocket fired another torpedo, which hit and destroyed part of the area where the paddle wheel was resting and Raichu was sent flying on impact.

"Raichu!" cried Kay. She managed to catch Raichu as she slammed into a wall with Raichu in her arms. The group looked in shock as Raichu let out more fearful electricity.

"It's okay, Raichu. I'm not afraid anymore." Said Kay. The electricity stopped as soon as Raichu heard Kay.

"Raichu. Are you all right now?" asked Kay. Raichu confirmed and nodded.

"I'm so glad!" cried Kay. The group rushed over.

"Are you two okay?" asked Ash.

"We're fine now." Answered Kay.

"It looks that way." Said Lucy.

"But what caused that explosion?" asked Kay. Team Rocket's laughter was soon heard.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"Make it double!"

"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!"

"Team Rocket!" cried Ash and Lucy/

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'Not these creeps again!' Team Rocket removed their costumes as they landed.

"Nice entrance!" cried Jessie.

"It was stellar!" cried James.

"Yeah!" cried Meowth.

"We figured it was you three who rocked the boat!" cried Ash.

"What do you want this time you dumb stinky heads?!" cried Lucy.

"Hey, watch who you're calling dumb!" cried Meowth.

"Never mind her, Meowth." Said Jessie. "Now that Team Rocket's on board, we're the stars of this little showboat."

"And don't try to upstage us, or you'll be in for a little surprise." Said James.

"Stick to our script, or this show will BOMB!" laughed Meowth.

"You wouldn't dare!" cried Ash.

"Oh, we would." Replied Jessie.

"Are you three INSANE?!" cried Lucy. "That dynamite will kill all of us, INCLUDING YOU!"

"If you think that scares us, think again!" cried Ash.

"Lucy, Ash, just do as they say!" cried Roger. The group turned to Roger in surprise.

"This showboat is everything to us." Said Roger. "It's both our livelihood and our home. We can't afford to put it in jeopardy."

"We'll do what you want." Said Lucy.

"Good girl." Said Jessie.

"A wise decision." Added James. Team Rocket took the group to the stage.

"Now we'll simply help ourselves to all of your Pokemon." Said Jessie. Eevee snarled angrily.

"Take what you want, but please, don't take the Pokemon." Begged Roger.

"If you steal their Pokemon, they won't be able to put on anymore shows!" cried Misty.

"Well isn't that just too bad." Said Jessie. He and James laughed as they walked away.

Meanwhile, backstage, Meowth was sizing up the performing Pokemon.

"All right, listen up!" he cried. "From now on, I'm your new master, and whatever I say goes! Understand?" Raichu was looking glum and started crying.

"Knock it off!" cried Meowth. Raichu shocked Meowth out of fear by using Thunderbolt.

"We've got to do something!" cried Ash.

"But these ropes are tied so tight!" cried Tracey.

"Let's try it, Roger." Said a performer.

"Len's right." Said another performer. "It's our showboat, and we have to defend it!"

"Okay, Anne. Are you ready?" said Roger.

"Yeah!" cried Len, Anne, and Kay. As one, all four of them stood up and walked away. Backstage, Hitmonchan started at Meowth with intensity.

"Hey! Don't look at me like that!" cried Meowth.

"Can't we be friends even though we're stealing form you?" said James. Hitmonchan soon saw Roger, and nodded at Roger as he nodded back at Hitmonchan like he knew what to do. Hitmonchan then extended a glove.

"Oh, you're offering your glove in friendship?" asked James. Hitmonchan clobbered James.

"Hey! How dare you strike my friend!" cried Jessie.

"That was a cheap shot!" cried Meowth.

"I should think so!" cried James.

"Leave now, or there will be more of the same in store for you!" cried Hitmonchan. Team Rocket was puzzled upon hearing Hitmonchan talk. The other Pokemon soon stood and talked as well.

"Right." Said Jynx.

"You'll have to fight me, too!" cried Machoke.

"Count me in!" cried Oddish.

"You'll never win!" cried Clefable.

"Not against all of us!" cried Mr. Mime. Jessie and James were shocked, while Meowth was in tears of joy.

"These Pokemon can talk!" cried Jessie.

"I thought Meowth was the only one who could do that!" cried James.

"I know what you went through." Meowth cried through his tears. "I remember how hard it was for me to learn how to talk human talk."

"This is no time to stroll down memory lane!" cried Jessie.

"Friends, let's show these pirates that they can't invade our vessel!" cried Roger.

"Make them walk the plank!" cried Mr. Mime.

"Uh oh!" cried Meowth.

"What do we do now?!" cried Jessie.

"We'll have to improvise!" cried James.

As for the rest of the group….

"Let's try to wiggle free." Whispered Misty. Togepi managed to get loose.

'Nice going, Togepi." Said Lucy quietly.

"Fire Punch!" cried Hitmonchan. The attack landed and set James' head on fire.

"All right, you asked for it!" cried James. "Victreebell, go!" Victreebell materialized, but tried to gobble James up.

"I know we want to be bad, but this is pathetic." Said Jessie. "Weezing, Smokescreen, now!" Weezing materialized and spread its attack.

"See? I knew a little Smokescreen would take care of them." Said Jessie.

"It's taking care of me, too." Said Meowth. The smoke started heading Team Rocket's way, as well as towards the group and the actors, but Ash, Misty, Tracey, Lucy, Pikachu, and Eevee got free in time.

"All right, we've got to work fast!" cried Ash. "Misty, Lucy, you two make sure that the actors are okay!"

"Right!" cried the girls.

"Tracey and I will take care of Team Rocket." Said Ash. "Let's go!"

"Right!" cried Tracey. Right at that moment, everyone else got free.

"Weezing, return!" cried James. Weezing was recalled.

"The show's over!" cried Ash.

"Pikachu!" cried jessie.

"And the twerp, too!" cried James.

"This show isn't over yet! It's just beginning!" cried Jessie.

"Okay, Pikachu, let's start off with a Thunderbolt attack!" cried Ash. The attack landed.

"Marill, Water Gun!" cried Tracey. Marill materialized and launched its own attack, which sent Team Rocket slamming into the wall. Kay then spotted Raichu all alone and frightened.

"Raichu! Are you all right?" cried Kay. When she touched Raichu, it let out fearful electricity, but Kay refused to let go.

"It's okay, Raichu." Said Kay. "It's okay, now. I'm not scared." Raichu stopped when it heard those words and both trainer and Pokemon embraced.

"Well, it looks like their problems are behind them now." Said Len.

"Sure does." Said Anne.

"Seems everybody's happy." Said Ash.

"Not quite everyone." Said Tracey, he pointed to Team Rocket.

"He's right!" cried Jessie. "We're fighting mad!"

"And we're also soaking wet!" cried James.

"And a wet Meowth is a very unpleasant Meowth!" cried Meowth.

"You never learn your lesson, do you?" said Ash. "Should we teach them, Kay?" Kay nodded. Team Rocket got quiet upon hearing those remarks, as if they knew they were about to get a dose of trouble.

"Pikachu, Thunder, now!" cried Ash. The attack landed, with even more impact and power than before.

"It's even more shocking when you're soaking!" cried Meowth.

"Raichu! Show them your Mega Punch, now!" cried Kay. The attack landed and Team Rocket went flying right through the ceiling and off into the distance.

"We're blasting off again!" they cried.

"We did it, Raichu!" cried Kay.

"That was a great performance!" cried Len.

"You and Raichu stole the show!" cried Ash. Misty and Lucy had seen everything.

"What a hit!" cried Misty.

"I'll say! A SMASH HIT!" cried Lucy.

"And they saw stars!" cried Tracey. The Pkemon applauded and took a bow.

The next day, the group arrived at the showboat's next port of call.

"Come one! Come all! To the Pokemon Showboat!" cried the same clown from before. Chansey and Mr. Mime cheerfully encouraged people just like before.

"Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!" cried the clown. As people were lining up, the group got in contact with Professor Oak.

"A Pokemon Showboat, eh?" said Oak.

"That's right. They put on shows to make it look like all the Pokemon are talking." Said Ash.

"I'll have to go see it for myself sometime." Said Oak.

"We'll talk to you again soon, Professor." Said Lucy.

"All right, have fun!" cried Oak. The call came to an end.

"I'll have to try and talk my dad into seeing one of these." Said Lucy. Kay suddenly came rushing in.

"Ash! Lucy!" she cried.

"What's wrong, Kay?" asked Ash.

"How come you're not at the show?" asked Lucy.

"It's terrible!" cried Kay. "Something's happened to Roger and he can't go on!" The group gasped in shock.

"What do you mean can't go on?!" cried Lucy.

"I'll show you! Come on!" cried Kay. She quickly led the group back aboard the ship so she could point out the issue while the audience got into their seats. Roger was sitting in a chair coughing like crazy.

"Roger says that Weezing's Smokescreen damaged his throat." Kay explained.

"That's awful!" cried Lucy.

"But the show's supposed to start now." Said Ash.

"He's right. There's a whole audience out there waiting for some action!" cried Lucy. Roger shook his head.

"I can't possibly perform in this condition." He said in a raspy voice.

"So you're going to cancel the show?" asked Misty.

"I have no choice." Said Roger. He let out more coughs.

"No way! We can't let this happen!" cried Lucy. Eevee agreed with her trainer.

"What else can we do?" asked Len.

"We'll need to have someone take Roger's place." Answered Anne. Raichu approached Kay.

"Yes? What is it, Raichu?" Kay asked. Raichu pushed Kay a couple of steps forward, almost like saying that she should substitute for Roger.

"I think Raichu wants you to take Roger's place, Kay." Said Lucy.

"Me?! Take Roger's place?!" cried Kay. "Is that what you want, Raichu?" Raichu confirmed.

"Raichu and I would like to fill in for you, Roger." Said Kay. "I have all the lines memorized and I know we can do it if you let us try." Roger nodded his head to signal that he would allow it.

"If you give us the chance, Pikachu and I would like to help out too!" cried Ash.

"Should we help them out too, Eevee?" asked Lucy. Eevee happily nodded.

"Eevee and I can help also." Said Lucy.

Later, the show was on as the spotlight shone down on Raichu.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we welcome you to the Pokemon Show Boat!" cried Raichu. The audience applauded as Pikachu and Eevee came onto the stage.

"Now just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show, everybody!" cried Pikachu.

"And remember, no flash photography or video recording, pretty please?" cried Eevee.

Backstage, the gang was in position waiting to go on while Ash and Lucy read their scripts.

"It's kind of hard to match the lip flaps, isn't it?" asked Ash.

"I have to agree with Ash." Said Lucy.

"You're both doing just fine." Said Kay.

"And now, we proudly present, our all-star Pokemon chorus line!" cried Raichu. The lights came on and the confetti came down, courtesy of Misty and Tracey. The music for Pokemon World started playing, and the Pokemon provided the lyrics. During the opening act, Pikachu, Drowzee, Dragonite, Clefairy and Chansey were seen rocking out to the music. Likewise, Eevee, Ivysaur, Poliwhirl, Arcanine and Little Pikachu were also dancing to the tune. Well once again, Ash and his friends helped to save the day. But just like the showboat, our heroes' Pokemon journey will continue. And just like they say in theater business, the show must go on.

TO BE CONTINUED

Ash's Current Party: Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charizard, Wartortle, Dragonite, Lapras

Egg: Eevee (shiny)

Lucy's Current Party: Eevee, Ivysaur, Pikachu, Poliwhirl, Arcanine, Dewgong

Egg: Togepi (Joint ownership with Misty)

Ash's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Spearow, Clefairy, Onix, Butterfree, Primeape, Muk, Scyther, Diglett, Voltorb, Rapidash, Kangaskhan, Tauros, Rhyhorn, Nidorino, Dratini (two), Gyrados, Exeggutor, Kabuto, Kabutops, Ivysaur, Venusaur, Growlithe, Arbok, Weezing, Meowth, Magmar, Blastoise, Squirtle, Kingler, Aerodactyl, Machoke, Dodrio, Mr. Mime, Bulbasaurtwo, Charmandertwo, Squirtletwo, Venusaurtwo, Charizardtwo, Blastoisetwo, Vulpixtwo, Ninetalestwo, Hitmonleetwo, Hitmonchan, Gengar, Moltres, Fearow, Hypno, Chansey, Jolteon, Vileplume (Orange Island variant), Drowzee, Pink Nidoking

In Rotation: Scyther, Rapidash

Lucy's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Beedrill, Cubone, Hitmonlee, Staryu, Dugtrio, Voltorb, Ponyta (shiny), Kangaskhan, Chansey, Tauros, Dragonair, Clefairy, Exeggcute, Jigglypuff, Kabuto, Aerodactyl, Machoke, Tangela, Gloom, Sandslash, Alakazam, Butterfree (Pink), Slowpoke, Wartortle, Crystal Onix, Pink Rhyhorn

In Rotation: Aerodactyl, Jigglypuff, Staryu, Dragonair

 

[MarkL1987]

Episode 97: Goodbye Psyduck

Our heroes are still exploring the Orange Islands, and they also still have that all important GS Ball with them. But today, they've decided to stop for a little rest and relaxation.

Ash was polishing the GS Ball while Little Pikachu was practicing his electric attacks with Ash's Pikachu. However, due to the fact that Little Pikachu was much smaller, he accidentally shocked himself. Lucy, who was watching the whole thing while riding on Dewgong just laughed.

"Oh, Little Pikachu, you never cease to amaze me sometimes." She chuckled.

Meanwhile, Psyduck slid off of Lapras's back, while sleeping, into the water until he rolled over and sank. Once Pikachu, Togepi and Eevee all realized that Psyduck was gone, they sounded the alarm and got the gang's attention.

"What's going on?" asked Tracey.

"Sounds like an emergency." Answered Lucy.

"What's the matter, guys?" asked Ash.

"Seems like somebody's missing, doesn't it?" asked Tracey.

"You're right, Tracey." Replied Ash.

"More like someone." Lucy corrected. "Or, more accurately, some-mon!"

"Oh no, my Psyduck is gone!" cried Misty.

"We need to form a search and rescue!" cried Lucy.

"Wartortle, Lapras, I choose you!" cried Ash. The two Pokemon materialized.

"Staryu, Goldeen, I need you!" cried Misty. Staryu and Goldeen both materialized.

"Marill, go!" cried Tracey. Marill materialized.

"Poliwhirl, Dewgong, front and center!" cried Lucy. Poliwhirl and Dewgong materialized.

"All of you, dive underwater and try to find Psyduck!" ordered Lucy. The Pokemon all nodded and dove under the water.

Meanwhile, a young girl was fishing on the water with a Tentacruel nearby.

"It's awfully quiet today." She said. Something soon came up to the surface near the girl's Tentacruel, which was Misty's Psyduck.

Meanwhile, the water patrol came back to the surface empty handed.

"No sign of Psyduck?" asked Misty. The Pokemon all shook their heads and started feeling upset.

"Don't feel bad, guys. You all did the best you could." Said Ash. He got out Lapras' Poke Ball. "Lapras, take a rest!" Lapras was recalled.

"Dewgong, you have a rest yourself!" cried Lucy. Dewgong was recalled.

"Getting rid of Psyduck can't be THIS easy, anyway." Said Lucy.

"WHAT?!" cried Misty. "Psyduck may be annoying at times, but I still love him very much! We can't stop looking until we find him!"

"This is certainly a change, Misty." Said Lucy. "Since when did you start worrying about Psyduck's well-being? Especially since you call it a dumb duck most of the time?"

"Wha…..I'm not worried." Said Misty. "It's, uh…"

"It's love." Finished Tracey.

"LOVE?!" cried Misty and Lucy.

"I think you hide your feelings." Added Tracey. "I think Psyduck is your favorite Pokemon."

"No way!" cried Misty.

"Okay, Misty, let's put this puzzle together piece by piece." Said Lucy. "You say that Psyduck's not your favorite, yet you're concerned about looking for it. Oh, and let's not forget the numerous times that you've called it a dumb duck. Call it a hunch, or maybe me going crazy, but I think the only reason you keep Psyduck around is because of the psychic power it gets every time it gets a headache. Don't you think?" Before Misty could answer, they heard another voice.

"Excuse me." It called. The group looked as the girl from before showed up.

"You wouldn't happen to be looking for this, would you?" she asked. Her Tentacruel swam in with Psyduck in one of its tentacles, which shocked the group.

"Psyduck!" cried Misty.

"Look at its tail!" cried Lucy. The group noticed that Psyduck's tail was glowing a bright pink.

Later, she brought Psyduck to shore, and the group got acquainted with her.

"Thanks a lot for finding Psyduck for me." Said Misty. "These are my friends, Ash, Tracey and Lucy."

"My name's Marina." Said the girl. She knelt down to look at Psyduck's tail before turning her attention to Misty.

"I'm not entirely sure about this, but from the way its tail is glowing, I'd say that your Psyduck is getting ready to evolve." Said Marina.

"Evolve?" said Ash.

"A Pokemon trainer told me." Replied Marina. "She said that sometimes, before they evolve, a Psyduck's tail starts to glow pink, just like this is."

"Is that actually true, Marina?" asked Lucy.

"According to what the other trainer told me, yes." Marina answered.

"So, are you ready to evolve, Psyduck?" asked Misty.

"Duck?" wondered Psyduck, which meant 'Evolve?'

"That means Psyduck would evolve into a Golduck, right?" asked Ash.

"Correct." Confirmed Lucy. She got out her Pokedex.

"Golduck, the Duck Pokemon. The evolved form of Psyduck. Golduck is very adept at using its webbed hands and feet, making it the fastest swimming Pokemon of all."

"The Pokedex is right about Golduck being able to swim fast, clocking in at 318 miles per hour." Added Lucy. "That's faster than a speedboat!"

"Golduck sounds like a really cool Pokemon, huh, Misty?" asked Ash.

"Golduck is one of my very favorite Pokemon!" cried Misty and Marina.

"You sound like you know a lot about water Pokemon, Marina." Added Misty.

"That's because I'm a trainer just like you and your friends, and I specialize in training water Pokemon." Replied Marina.

"Really? Me too!" cried Misty.

"No way! Why didn't you say so?" cried Marina. "I just love the way water Pokemon can float and swim and dive and surf and squirt!"

"I know! I know!" cried Misty. "Don't you love the cute way they waddle around?" Lucy, Ash and Tracey were left baffled.

"I guess they like talking about water Pokemon so much." Said Ash.

"From my observations, I'd say that's true." Added Tracey.

"Pika." Added Pikachu, which meant 'Very.'

"Here, have a look at these." Said Marina. She showed Misty a tackle box filled with lures.

"I never buy Pokemon lures, I always make them myself." Said Marina.

"I make all my own lures too." Replied Misty. She showed a lure that looked like herself. "This is my most beautiful one ever!"

"It really does look just like Misty." Said Ash. "Right down to the hair!"

"Ash, we've both seen that lure before." Said Lucy. "Naturally, we should know what it looks like."

"Maybe someday, I'll capture one of the legendary Pokemon." Said Marina.

"I'd love the chance to catch one of the dragon types that lives in the ocean!" cried Misty.

"You think we could do it?" asked Marina.

"I sure hope so!" cried Misty.

"But there's one thing I don't quite understand." Said Marina.

"What's that?" asked Misty.

"How come your Psyduck doesn't know how to swim?" asked Marina. Misty stammered and tried to think of an answer that would be satisfactory.

"I was wondering about that myself." Said Ash.

"Likewise." Added Lucy.

"Let's watch and see how she gets out of this one." Said Tracey.

"Yeah, let's." chuckled Lucy.

"It sure is a rare Psyduck, but if you really want it, you might be able to talk me into trading for your Tentacruel." Said Misty. Marina looked at Misty strangely.

"What do you say?" Misty asked.

"I don't think so." Answered Marina. "But I do have another idea. Why don't we have a Pokemon battle to see which one of us is the better trainer?"

"Okay, Marina!" cried Misty.

Meanwhile, under the waves, Team Rocket's submarine raised its' periscope.

"No sign of those kids yet?" asked James.

"Well I know I wouldn't have lost them!" cried Meowth. "Why don't you let me steer for a change?!" Jessie gave Meowth the evil eye and smacked him with her hair.

"Backseat driver." She muttered.

"If we can't find Pikachu or Eevee, then maybe we can find someplace to have lunch." Added James.

"Or at least a place that has an ice pack." Groaned Meowth.

"Will you be quiet?!" cried Jessie. "I'm sick of your complaining! I told you I'd find those brats and I will!" She soon spotted the group.

"Bingo!" she cried. "Twerps at twelve o'clock!"

Meanwhile, the group was preparing for the battle.

"How about a three on three match?" said Marina.

"Okay!" cried Misty.

"Wow, an all water Pokemon battle" said Lucy.

"I've got to make sketches of this!" cried Tracey.

"You haven't battled in a while, Misty." Said Ash. "Are you sure you remember how?"

"Just you watch and see!" cried Misty.

"I'll be their referee." Said Lucy. "Misty, former leader of the Cerulean City gym, going against Marina in a three on three Pokemon battle! Select your Pokemon and let the battle begin!"

"I want to win this match, so I better start off with something really cool!" cried Marina. "I choose you, Tentacruel!" Tentacruel took to the water.

"And I'm going to start with a Pokemon that's as good as gold!" cried Misty. "Goldeen, go!" Goldeen materialized.

"Your Goldeen is such a sweetie!" cried Marina.

"Thank you!" cried Misty.

"But just being cute along doesn't mean it's going to win this battle!" cried Marina. "Tentacruel, Wrap attack!" Tentacruel extended its tentacles toward Goldeen.

"Goldeen, use your Agility!" cried Misty. Goldeen dodged the oncoming tentacles.

"Horn Attack, now!" cried Misty. Goldeen charged.

"Wow, Misty really seems to know how to handle her Pokemon." Said Tracey.

"I'm going to win this!" cried Misty. Goldeen's horn glowed and it lept in for an attack.

"Don't bet on it, Misty!" cried Marina. "Tentacruel, use Poison Sting!" Tentacruel closed in for an attack.

"Look out!" cried Tracey. The attack landed.

"Goldeen, no!" cried Misty.

"Perfect!" cried Marina. Goldeen dropped into the water knocked out.

"Goldeen is unable to battle. Tentacruel wins!" cried Lucy.

"I think I probably forgot to mention that my real specialty is water Pokemon that have some characteristics of other types of Pokemon too." Said Marina.

"I get it." Said Tracey. "Tentacruel is a water type and a poison type with the abilities of both types!"

"So it has an advantage in battle." Said Ash.

"Precisely, Ash." Said Lucy. "You might want to remember that once we get to the Orange League."

"Goldeen, are you okay?" said Misty. "You did your best." Goldeen was recalled and Misty got another Poke Ball.

"Now I choose you, Staryu!" she cried. Staryu materialized.

"I just love Staryu!" cried Marina.

"I think Staryu is one of my favorite Pokemon of all." Said Misty.

"And yours really sparkles, Misty!" cried Marina.

"Do you really think so?" asked Misty. "I wanted to keep Staryu looking good, so I polished it the other day!"

"You did a really great job!" cried Marina.

"I'm so glad you like it!" cried Misty.

"Are you two just going to stand there and talk all day?!" cried Ash.

"He's right. We have to proceed with the match." Said Lucy. "The next round is Staryu against Tentacruel. Let the battle begin!"

"Staryu, Swift attack, now!" cried Misty. The attack launched and when it landed, Tentacruel was knocked out cold.

"Tentacruel is out of the battle, Staryu wins!" cried Lucy. "Both trainers now have one win each!"

"Your Tentacruel's really strong, marina, but it's too tired to fight off Staryu's Swift attack!" cried Misty.

"Nice work, Tentacruel, but you better take a rest." Said Marina. Tentacruel swam off the battlefield.

"Now I think I'll use one of my strongest Pokemon!" cried Marina. A Psyduck materialized from the Poke Ball, which surprised the group.

"A Psyduck!" cried Misty.

"Wow, that sure doesn't look anything like yours, Misty." Said Ash.

"Yeah, I forgot how tough a Psyduck can be." Said Tracey.

"The next round is Psyduck against Staryu." Said Lucy. "Begin!"

"I don't know how you used that rubbery Psyduck of yours, Misty, but now I'll show you how powerful a Psyduck can be if you train it the right way!" cried Marina.

"Staryu, Water Gun!" cried Misty. The attack zoomed toward Psyduck, but Marina was ready.

"Psyduck, Confusion!" she ordered. Psyduck used its Confusion attack to deflect the water upward and back toward Staryu, which knocked it out and into the water.

"Staryu!" cried Misty. Staryu surfaced, but it had fainted.

"Staryu is unable to battle. Psyduck wins!" cried Lucy. Misty got out Staryu's Poke Ball.

"I think you better come back and take a rest." She said. Staryu was recalled.

"I guess Staryu isn't shining so brightly now, is it?" said Marina. "Hey! Why don't we let our Psyduck battle each other?"

"Our Psyduck?" asked Misty.

"A battle might be enough to make your Psyduck evolve, Misty." Said Tracey.

"Tracey's right!" cried Ash.

"And Psyduck would become a Golduck." Said Misty. "Yeah! Go, Psyduck!" But when she threw the Poke Ball, nothing came out of it, which left everyone confused.

"I guess that one was empty." Misty said sheepishly. The group fell over in disbelief, and Misty sweat dropped.

"Even great trainers make mistakes." She said. "Hey, Ash! Throw me Psyduck's Poke Ball, will ya?!"

"Always bossing me around." Ash muttered. He looked through Misty's backpack.

"Which one is it?" he asked.

"If you can't tell, just throw me my backpack and I'll find it myself!" cried Misty.

"Okay." Said Ash. "Here!" He threw the backpack at Misty. She reached, only to miss, and the backpack fell in the water.

"Ash!" cried Misty.

"Sorry, Misty!" cried Ash. Misty reached into the water.

"I hope I can find it." She said. She grabbed the backpack but saw that something had its' head inside, which shocked her and the rest of the group.

"Is that….?" Said Marina.

"No way!" cried Ash.

"Pika?" cried Pikachu, which meant 'What is?'

"Toge?" cried Togepi, which meant 'That thing?'

"Is it possible?" asked Lucy. Misty pulled the backpack off and revealed that a Golduck was inside.

"It's a Golduck!" cried Misty and Marina.

"That's weird. It evolved faster than I thought." Said Lucy.

"Wow! Cutie!" cried Misty and Marina. Golduck started to pose for the group, and Misty lunged toward it with open arms.

"You're here!" she cried. "And I can't believe you're mine!" She gave Golduck a huge hug.

"What a great Golduck!" cried Marina. "I've never seen a Golduck as great as that one!"

"Everybody used to yell and say all kinds of bad things about Psyduck, but nobody's going to say bad things now! Right, Golduck?" Golduck proudly gave a thumbs up.

"The one who said most of those things was Misty." Said Ash.

"I told you, it's love." Said Tracey. Ash looked in confusion.

"Obviously, Psyduck wanted to evolve for Misty because it loved her back." Tracey explained.

"I just know we're going to make a great team, Golducky!" squealed Misty.

"I've never seen Misty get this excited over a Pokemon evolution before." Remarked Lucy.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket kept watching from the distance.

"There's a Pokemon that I've never seen before." Said Jessie.

"Great!" cried Meowth. "We can grab Pikachu, Eevee, and that one too!"

"Yeah!" cried Jessie and James. The submarine traveled forward as the next battle was about to start.

"Okay, Marina, let's battle and see who's stronger. Your Psyduck or my Golduck." Said Misty.

"The next round of this battle pits Psyduck against Golduck." Said Lucy. "Begin!"

"This should be interesting." Said Marina. "Go, Psyduck! Confusion!" Using Confusion, Psyduck commanded a tidal wave to rise and rush towards Misty and Golduck.

"Go, Golduck! Ride that wave!" cried Misty. Golduck jumped, and while using Confusion, it rode the wave away and back towards Psyduck and Marina.

"Golduck listens to me!" cried Misty. Golduck stopped just in front of Marina and Psyduck and turned the wave into a whirlpool.

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'Uh oh!'

"Whirlpool!" cried Lucy.

"Golduck, get out of there, fast!" cried Misty. But Golduck couldn't seem to leave the whirlpool or control it for that matter.

"Did you do that, Psyduck?" asked Marina. Psyduck shook its' head to confirm that it didn't. The whirlpool suddenly dissipated and Golduck fell into the water. Right after that, Team Rocket's submarine surfaced, which shocked the group.

"What's that?" asked Marina.

"Bad news is what it is." Answered Lucy.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Oh no!'

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'This is bad!'

"Run for it!" cried Ash. The group fled as the sub ran aground.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt attack, now!" cried Ash. Pikachu launched the attack, but nothing happened.

"Pika?!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'What the what?!'

"What's wrong?" cried Ash. Meowth gave a laugh.

"Save your energy, squeaky!" he yelled. "When we overhauled the sub, we made the whole thing shock proof! Let's get 'em!" The sub created a tidal wave, and when it hit, it washed the group back to shore as the sub launched a net, which aught something. Meowth popped out in celebration, and Jessie and James came out soon after.

"You know, maybe it's easier for us to steal Pokemon if we don't recite the motto first." Said Jessie.

"Maybe so." Added James.

"Hoist the net up and let's see our catch!" cried Meowth. The net hoisted up and revealed Tentacruel and Psyduck inside it, which confused Team Rocket.

"Who's them?" wondered Meowth.

"Where are Pikachu, Eevee and that surf duck?" asked James.

Meanwhile, the group was up in some trees.

"Are you okay, Pikachu?" asked Ash.

"Pika." Answered Pikachu, which meant 'I'm good.'

"Is everybody all right?" asked Lucy. "Eevee, are you okay?"

"Vee!" cried Eevee happily, which meant 'Couldn't be better!'

"Tentacruel! Psyduck!" cried Marina.

"Golduck? Can you hear me?" asked Misty. Golduck popped up in the tree.

"Oh, Golduck, I'm so glad you're safe." Said Misty.

"Marina, Team Rocket has your Psyduck and your Tentacruel!" cried Tracey. The group looked and saw the two Pokemon trapped in Team Rocket's net and quickly got out of the tree to save them.

"Don't worry, we'll get them back for you!" cried Misty.

"Thanks for the offer, but I can get my Pokemon back myself!" cried Marina. "Go, Starmie!" Starmie materialized and entered the water.

"Go help them, Golduck!" cried Misty. Golduck agreed and dove into the water. It quickly passed marina's Starmie and gained more admiration from Misty.

"I just love Golduck!" cried Misty.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket was arguing among themselves over what had gone wrong.

"Why did we go through all this trouble just to end up with a Tentacruel and Psyduck?!" cried James.

"Don't yell at me; this attack wasn't MY idea!" cried Jessie.

"Then whose idea was it?!" cried Meowth.

"Knowing you, Meowth, it was probably yours!" cried Jessie. They then saw Golduck hop up in front of them. He winked, and gave them a thumbs up.

"It's that new, blue Pokemon!" cried Team Rocket.

"All right, team, full speed ahead!" cried Meowth. Team Rocket got back into the sub and sped forward, but Golduck used Confusion to lift the submarine up with just its finger, and then it threw the submarine far out to the left right where the group was.

"OH NO!" they all cried. Fortunately, everyone got out of the way just in the nick of time as the sub landed. When the sand and dust cleared, a battered Team Rocket crawled out.

"Hey! That's MY Tentacruel and MY Psyduck!" cried Marina.

"Just hold it there." Said James.

"Who are you and what do you want?" cried Marina.

"THAT, Marina, is Team Rocket." Answered Lucy.

"Team Rocket?" repeated Marina. "You know them?"

"Sadly, yes." Lucy replied. "These three stinkweeds are always up to no good. They've been following us for quite some time now trying to steal Pikachu and Eevee."

"What we want is for you to prepare for trouble." Said Jessie.

"And while you're at it, make it double." Said James.

"Give Marina back her Pokemon!" cried Ash.

"Those Pokemon aren't even yours, you big dummies!" cried 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!"

"You better give those Pokemon back right now!" cried Lucy.

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'Right now!' Jessie scoffed.

"Just take 'em." She said.

"I hope you don't think we actually want to keep common Pokemon like these." Added James.

"You mean I can have them back?" asked Marina.

"Yes, and the faster you take them, the better." Said Jessie.

"Wait a second!" cried Meowth. He hopped onto Jessie and James' shoulders. "To get these Pokemon back, you have to give us Pikachu and Eevee." The group was confused.

"Meowth, that's a brilliant idea!" cried Jessie.

"You do have a brain after all!" cried James. Meowth laughed wickedly.

"There's no way I'm letting you have Pikachu!" cried Ash.

"Stay away from Eevee!" cried Lucy. Pikachu started to stream sparks, but Ash stopped him.

"Hold it, Pikachu." He said. "If you attack Team Rocket, Tentacruel and Psyduck will get shocked too." Meowth laughed again.

"It looks like you have no choice." Said James.

"You're getting a great bargain." Said Jessie. "Two Pokemon for you, two Pokemon for us."

"Tentacruel, Psyduck, try to break out of that net!" cried Marina. But the two Pokemon were too weak to break loose.

"What's wrong with you two?" asked Marina.

"They both must be tired from those last battles." Said Misty. "Now they're too weak to get out!"

"Then I'll just have to get them out myself!" cried Marina. She rushed forward.

"Marina!" cried the group.

"Those guys are dangerous, Marina!" cried Lucy.

"We can't let you do that!" cried Jessie. "Arbok, go!" Arbok materialized and blocked Marina's rescue attempt.

"Be careful, Marina!" cried Lucy. "Arbok's long fangs are laced with dangerous venom!"

"Can't you see that we're negotiating?" said James.

"Not until you give me back my Pokemon!" cried Marina.

"Arbok, take care of her!" cried Jessie. Arbok lunged forward, but a Water Gun struck Arbok before it reached Marina and sent it into a tree, which shocked the group.

"Look!" cried the group. They saw Golduck coming in.

"There it is!" cried James.

"Now's our chance! We can't let it get away!" cried Meowth.

"Arbok, Poison Sting attack!" cried Jessie. Arbok attacked, but Golduck used Disable to create a forcefield and protect itself. It then fired off a Psychic attack and sent Arbok blasting off, which forced Team Rocket to retreat.

"Talke about power!" cried Lucy. "That was Disable and Psychic combined into one attack!" Golduck then charged up and fired its most powerful attack, Hyper Beam, which destroyed the sub and sent Team Rocket into the air.

"I guess we should've ducked!" cried Meowth.

"Yes!" cried Jessie.

"Now the three of us are both sore and soaring!" cried James.

"We're blasting off again!" cried Team Rocket.

"That was quite the Hyper Beam!" cried Lucy. "I'm amazed by that."

"As am I." said marina. She then let out a gasp. "But what happened to my Tentacruel and Psyduck?!" The group looked and saw the submarine engulfed in flames.

"Tentacruel! Psyduck!" cried Marina. Soon, through the flames, the group saw Golduck lifting Tentacruel and Psyduck over its head and using its psychic power to protect the two of them, which surprised the group. Golduck approached Marina and knelt down to put Tentacruel and Psyduck down.

"I'm so glad you're back!" cried Marina. Misty rushed over.

"Oh, Golduck!" she cried. "You saved the Pokemon! It was totally amazing!" Golduck gave a thumbs u and a wink as a thank you.

"Thanks, Misty." Said Marina. "And thank you too, Golduck."

"No problem." Said Misty.

"That last attack Golduck used was really super awesome!" cried Ash.

"I told you, it was a Hyper Beam." Said Lucy.

"It's a good thing Psyduck evolved, or it wouldn't have been able to use it." Said Tracey.

"And to think that Golduck did it all for me!" cried Misty. "Golduck, you're the best!"

"That looks like love to me." Said Tracey. Misty continued to hug Golduck.

Later, Misty and Marina got back into position for the last round of their match.

"Oh great, they're going to battle again." Said Ash.

"It's time to finish our Pokemon match, Marina!" cried Misty.

"Now we'll get to see which one of us is the better water Pokemon trainer!" cried Marina.

"The final round of this battle pits Golduck against Starmie." Said Lucy. "Begin!"

"All right, Golduck, let's win this!" cried Misty. "Fury Swipes attack, now!" Golduck charged forward.

"Okay, Starmie, Tackle attack!" cried Marina. Starmie charged and the two Pokemon collided.

"What a match!" cried Tracey.

"Starmie, Bubble attack, now!" cried Marina. Starmie sent a barrage of bubbles toward Golduck, which landed and battered Golduck badly.

"Golduck, no!" cried Misty.

"Marina sure isn't going to be easy to beat." Said Tracey.

"All right, Golduck, we have to take our best shot to win this!" cried Misty. "Use your Hyper Beam attack!" Golduck recovered in mid-air.

"I knew THAT one was coming!" cried Marina. "Starmie, Light Screen!" Starmie made a shield for itself to stop Golduck's Hyper Beam attack, but when it fired, the attack proved to be too powerful for the Light Screen to hold back. Due to that, the Light Screen shattered, and the attack hit Starmie, which sent it right to Marina's feet.

"Starmie!" cried Marina.

"Starmie is unable to battle. Golduck wins!" cried Lucy. "This match goes to Misty!"

"Yay! You did it, Golduck!" cried Misty. Golduck started giving a victory pose.

"That was a great match, and you did a great job." Marina complimented. "You're an excellent water Pokemon trainer, Misty!"

"Thanks, Marina." Said Misty. "But I was really lucky when Psyduck evolved when it did. If it wasn't for Golduck, I think maybe you would've won instead." The rest of the group applauded.

"Not bad, Misty." Said Ash.

"That was an awesome match!" cried Tracey.

"Yeah, that was amazing!" cried Lucy.

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

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'Fantastic!'

"Okay, Golduck, why don't you take a rest in your Poke Ball?" said Misty. But suddenly, out of the Poke Ball burst Psyduck, much to the surprise and shock of everyone.

"It's Psyduck!" cried Marina. Misty rushed to the two Pokemon in shock and confusion.

"But that's not possible!" she cried. "My Psyduck's a Golduck now!" Golduck soon heard some laughter and looked behind it to see some girls walking by. It rushed over to them and flexed its muscles, which shocked Misty, Marina and the rest of the group.

"That Psyduck isn't yours. It just likes to show off for girls!" cried Marina.

"Marina's right. That was a wild Golduck." Said Lucy. "Gee, I thought for a second that Psyduck really evolved."

"As did we." Said Ash and Tracey. Misty was crushed by the revelation.

"It's just a Pokemon version of Brock." She sighed.

Later, the group was sitting by the rocks when the all-important question was asked.

"So, where were you this whole time, Psyduck?" asked Lucy.

"Psy?" said Psyduck, which meant 'Where?'

"Pi, Pika Chu." Said Pikachu, which meant 'Where. That's the question.'

"Psy. Psyduck." Answered Psyduck, which meant 'I was asleep.'

"Psyduck says it was resting in its Poke Ball." Said Lucy.

"Psy." Said Psyduck, which meant 'Right.' Some of the group sighed, but Misty realized something.

"But maybe I'll get a Golduck anyway!" she cried. "You said that Psyduck's glowing tail meant it was going to evolve!" Marina sweat dropped and gave a sheepish laugh, which made Misty angry.

"That wild Golduck sure had you fooled, huh, Misty?" said Tracey. Misty angrily looked at Tracey but sighed.

"You should still be happy, Misty." Said Marina. "This proves that you really ARE a great water Pokemon trainer."

"You're just saying that." Said Misty.

"I'm being serious!" cried Marina. "You used a wild, wild Pokemon in a battle without even capturing it!"

"Yet you still won the match anyway." Added Lucy. "You should be proud of yourself."

"Yeah?" said Misty.

"Yeah!" cried Marina.

"That was pretty impressive, Misty." Said Tracey.

"But I guess that means your last battle didn't count." Said Lucy. Misty was puzzled.

"How can it possibly count if that Golduck wasn't even yours?" Lucy added. Misty was shocked about that revelation.

"Maybe I was wrong about the whole love thing after all." Said Tracey.

"Very wrong." Added Lucy.

"Now I have a Psyduck sized headache!" cried Misty. Suddenly, Golduck came charging back up to Misty and winked at her before pointing to her bag.

"What does Golduck want?" wondered Misty.

"I think he's trying to say that he had so much fun battling with you that he wants to do it again sometime, but this time as one your own Pokemon." Said Marina. Misty's frustration quickly turned back to Joy.

"You really want to come with me, Golduck?!" she cried. Golduck gave a nod.

"I finally got Golduck!" cried Misty. She and Golduck struck a victory pose together.

"There she goes using my pose again." Sighed Ash.

"Oh get over it, Ash." Said Lucy.

Later that evening, the group departed from Kinnow Island and waved goodbye to Marina.

"Bye, Marina! I had a lot of fun battling you!" cried Misty. "If I ever come back here, I want to have another match with you!" Misty got her Golduck after all, but she also proved that she's got the skills that could make her a Pokemon master. Watch out, Ash and Lucy! You both have some competition!

TO BE CONTINUED

Ash's Current Party: Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charizard, Wartortle, Dragonite, Lapras

Egg: Eevee (shiny)

Lucy's Current Party: Eevee, Ivysaur, Pikachu, Poliwhirl, Arcanine, Dewgong

Egg: Togepi (Joint ownership with Misty)

Ash's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Spearow, Clefairy, Onix, Butterfree, Primeape, Muk, Scyther, Diglett, Voltorb, Rapidash, Kangaskhan, Tauros, Rhyhorn, Nidorino, Dratini (two), Gyrados, Exeggutor, Kabuto, Kabutops, Ivysaur, Venusaur, Growlithe, Arbok, Weezing, Meowth, Magmar, Blastoise, Squirtle, Kingler, Aerodactyl, Machoke, Dodrio, Mr. Mime, Bulbasaurtwo, Charmandertwo, Squirtletwo, Venusaurtwo, Charizardtwo, Blastoisetwo, Vulpixtwo, Ninetalestwo, Hitmonleetwo, Hitmonchan, Gengar, Moltres, Fearow, Hypno, Chansey, Jolteon, Vileplume (Orange Island variant), Drowzee, Pink Nidoking

In Rotation: Scyther, Rapidash

Lucy's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Beedrill, Cubone, Hitmonlee, Staryu, Dugtrio, Voltorb, Ponyta (shiny), Kangaskhan, Chansey, Tauros, Dragonair, Clefairy, Exeggcute, Jigglypuff, Kabuto, Aerodactyl, Machoke, Tangela, Gloom, Sandslash, Alakazam, Butterfree (Pink), Slowpoke, Wartortle, Crystal Onix, Pink Rhyhorn

In Rotation: Aerodactyl, Jigglypuff, Staryu, Dragonair

Tracey's Pokemon: Venonat, Marill

Misty's Pokemon: Oddish, Goldeen, Staryu, Vaporeon, Omanyte, Psyduck, Golduck, Togepi (joint ownership with Lucy), Horsea (at Cerulean gym), Starmie (at Cerulean gym)

 

[MarkL1987]

Episode 98: The Joy Of Pokemon

Today, our heroes are sailing serenely through the Orange Islands. But the quiet calm is about to be cracked.

Ash was polishing the GS Ball, while Lucy and Misty were teaching Togepi how to wave.

"Wave hi, Togepi." Said Misty.

"You do it like this." Said Lucy. She waved her hand out in front of the ocean and giggled, as did Misty. Ash soon spotted something.

"Hey, what's that?" he asked. The group looked in the direction that Ash was facing.

"What's what?" asked Tracey.

"What does it look like?" asked Lucy.

"It looks like a motorboat." Said Tracy. "No, wait! It's…" Lucy was baffled by what she saw, which was Nurse Joy paddling a kayak towards the direction of the group. She sped towards them with Chansey behind her holding a megaphone.

"WHAT ON EARTH WAS THAT?!" cried Lucy.

"I don't know WHAT it was, but it most definitely was NOT a motorboat." Answered Misty.

"Tracey, did you see what it was?" asked Ash. Tracey nodded.

"I sure did." He answered. "Someone was rowing that boat! And it looked like Nurse Joy!" The group was baffled.

"I don't think a Nurse Joy would be strong enough to row THAT fast." Replied Misty.

"You sure it wasn't someone who merely LOOKED like a Nurse Joy?" asked Lucy.

"Guys, I'm a Pokemon Watcher." Said Tracey. "I know what I saw and I definitely saw a Nurse Joy!"

"Whoever it was sure was in a big hurry to get to wherever they were going." Said Lucy. "Dewgong, Lapras, full speed ahead!" Dewgong and Lapras agreed. The group soon made landfall on an island and found Nurse Joy's kayak. Tracey examined the footprints.

"Just as I suspected. Two sets of footprints." He said. "One set belongs to a Chansey, the other set belongs to a woman. She's wearing a sneaker, and I'd say she's about a size seven or so." He got up and started following the footprints. "They left the boat here and headed in this direction."

"Let's follow that trail!" cried Lucy.

"Eevee?" pondered Eevee, which meant 'What trail?'

"The trail that we're about to blaze, Eevee." Answered Lucy.

"Hey, Tracey! We better stick together." Said Ash. He got out Lapras' Poke Ball. "Lapras needs to take a rest anyway. Return." Lapras was recalled.

"Dewgong, you should rest too. Return." Said Lucy. Dewgong was recalled to her Poke Ball. The group then ran to catch up with Tracey.

"Follow him, Eevee!" cried Lucy.

"Hey, Tracey, wait up!" cried Ash. Tracey soon came to a stop.

"Uh oh." Said Tracey.

"Didn't you find them, Tracey?" asked Ash.

"I followed the footprints out to here, but then they just stop." Answered Tracey.

"I guess it's easier to follow somebody's footprints in sand then on stone." Said Misty.

"Unless they step in a paint bucket." Said Ash.

"Pika." Said Pikachu, which meant 'I guess.'

"I'm still not sure I believe the person in that boat was really Nurse Joy." Said Misty. As she spoke, the group was unaware that they were being watched from underwater.

"Now that you mention it, she did seem a bit more muscular than most of the Nurse Joys that I've seen." Said Tracey.

"More muscular?" asked Ash.

"Bigger." Explained Tracey. "I'd say that her arms are a good two centimeters larger in circumference, and her shoulders are about a centimeter and a half wider than the average Nurse Joy." Something then spotted the group from under water and burst forth from it, which shocked the group. What was even more shocking was that the something was a giant Magikarp.

"Holy mackerel!" cried Lucy. "Everyone duck for cover!" The group got out of the way as the Magikarp made landfall.

"That was a close one." Said Ash.

"Pika." Said Pikachu, which meant 'I'll say.'

"That Magikarp looks like it's the size of a car!" cried Lucy.

"It's humongous!" cried Misty.

"Bigger than humongous, Misty." Said Lucy. "It's GARGANTUAN!" The giant Magikarp started flopping around as the group cautiously approached.

"I've never seen a Magikarp this big before." Said Ash.

"Me neither!" cried Misty.

"As a certain video game plumber would say, Mama Mia!" cried Lucy.

"Regardless of size, the only attack Magikarp can do is Splash, so we're safe." Said Ash.

"This thing is totally unbelievable!" cried Tracey. "Even a really big Magikarp shouldn't be longer than a meter or so." He got out his special viewer to record the height and length of the giant Magikarp.

"This one's over three meters, which is over ten feet long." He said.

"TEN FEET?!" cried Lucy. "That's eight times bigger than a regular Magikarp!"

"That's giant!" cried Ash.

"It's going to run out of air if it doesn't get back in the water." Said Misty.

"You're right, Misty." Said Lucy. "We should help it in."

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'Then let's get to it!' Magikarp kept flopping around.

"We're not going to be able to get near it if it keeps flopping around like this!" cried Ash.

"What are we going to do?" asked Tracey.

"You better move away from him." Said a voice. The group turned around and saw Nurse Joy and her Chansey from earlier.

"It's not safe to get too close when it's in this condition." Said Joy. "It's upset because it's running low on calcium."

"I knew I was right!" cried Tracey. "It WAS you who sped past us after all!" The rest of the group rushed over to meet Nurse Joy.

"Hello, Nurse Joy." Said Ash.

"Hi." Said Lucy.

"You look a little, I don't know, buffer compared to most Nurse Joys." Said Misty. Joy chuckled and tended to the Magikarp, which surprised everyone as she lifted the Magikarp back upright.

"Well, now, how are you feeling today, Magikarp?" asked Joy.

"Look at how she's handling that Magikarp!" cried Misty.

"But it was going hog wild just a second ago!" cried Ash.

"She's good. Really good." Said Lucy.

"I think we've got what you need right here." said Joy. "Chansey, calcium tablets please." Chansey brought over a bottle of calcium tablets, which Joy poured into the Magikarp's mouth.

"Thank you. That should make things better." Said Joy. She then lifted the Magikarp over her head, which shocked the group.

"All right." Said Joy. She then threw the Magikarp back in the water with a huge splash.

"That's amazing!" cried Tracey. The Magikarp resurfaced so it could thank Joy and express its' feelings.

"And I feel the same way about you." Said Joy. The Magikarp blushed as Joy blew it a kiss before diving back down.

"Goodbye, now!" cried Joy.

"Nurse Joy must run a Pokemon Center somewhere on this island." Said Misty.

"She probably goes to a gym near it if she's THAT strong." Lucy remarked.

"Maybe, but I don't think she does." Said Tracey. He headed over to Nurse Joy.

"You and Chansey whizzed by us in a kayak earlier." Said Tracey. "Do you travel from island to island and treat Pokemon?"

"We sure do." Said Joy. "Lots of the Orange Islands are way too small to have their own Pokemon Centers, so my Chansey and I visit the smallest islands. And we both do whatever we can to help as many of the sick and injured Pokemon as we can find."

"I KNEW that was it!" cried Tracey. He started to draw. "I want to make a quick sketch. I'll call this one Nurse Joy, the Pokemon's Florence Nightengale."

"That's sweet. Thank you." Said Joy.

"Nurse Joy, my name's Tracey, and I'm a Pokemon Watcher." Said Tracey.

"My name is Lucy, and this is Eevee." Said Lucy. "I'm trying to become a Pokemon Master."

"Vee Eevee." Said Eevee, which meant 'Pleased to meet you.'

"My name's Misty. I'm trying to learn everything I can about water Pokemon." Said Misty.

"And I'm Ash. I'm also training to be a Pokemon Master." Said Ash. Soon, both his and Lucy's stomachs growled.

"Not again!" cried Misty.

"Sounds to me like your friends both have a healthy appetite." Said Joy. "I have a clinic on this island, so why don't you be my guests for lunch."

"You mean for free?" cried Lucy. She and Ash high fived and celebrated.

"I think those two mean thank you." Said Tracey.

"Nurse Joy, Eevee's hungry too." Said Lucy. "Granted, her appetite isn't as big as mine and Ash's, but she still needs her fill so she can stay healthy."

"I'll see what I can do." Said Joy.

Later, the group was at Nurse Joy's clinic enjoying lunch.

"Hey, guys, after we eat, how about we help Nurse Joy check up on the Pokemon." Tracey suggested.

"Good idea, Tracey." Said Misty.

"Yeah, I'd love to see how she takes care of the Pokemon." Said Ash.

After lunch, the group watched Nurse Joy give Lapras and Dewgong a checkup.

"Everything seems to be okay with these two." Said Joy. "Chansey, some vitamins please." Chansey brought out a bottle of vitamins, and Joy took a few of them and tossed some into Lapras and Dewgong's mouths.

"What nice Pokemon you both have." She said.

"There's nothing wrong with them, is there?" asked Lucy.

"They're both a little tired from all the traveling that you've been doing, but if you let them rest in their Poke Balls today, they should be fine." Said Joy.

"Well that's good news." Said Ash.

"How's my Eevee doing, Nurse Joy?" asked Lucy.

"It's just fine and healthy." Answered Joy.

"Nurse Joy, I'd like to thank you for helping us out by helping you with the Pokemon." Said Tracey.

"So would I." said Ash.

"And me too." Said Misty.

"It would be a privilege and an honor." Said Lucy.

"That's so nice." Said Joy. "Why don't we get started, then?"

"Great!" the group all cried. Soon, they were all near the seashore.

"Okay, everyone, just follow me!" cried Joy. "A nice, even pace." The group was soon pedaling kayaks, but Joy was WAY ahead of them.

"A nice, even pace, huh?" said Ash.

"She's going far more than nice and even!" cried Lucy.

"Our pace is even, but it's only about a tenth as fast as hers is!" cried Misty.

"Speed it up, or we'll never catch her!" cried Tracey.

"Stay right behind me!" cried Joy.

"We're a mile behind!" cried Ash and Lucy.

"I can't even see her!" cried Misty.

"We must be lost." Said Lucy. "There's only one thing to do in a situation like this."

"HELP!" the group cried. On another island, Nurse Joy was tending to a Kingler's claw while the residents were waiting in line to get their Pokemon treated. All the while, the group followed Joy from island to island and helped her out. They only stopped when they saw Joy's kayak completely empty.

"There's Joy's kayak." Said Ash.

"But no Nurse Joy anywhere to be seen." Said Lucy.

"I wonder where she could be." Said Tracey.

"And Chansey's gone too." Said Ash.

"How could they just disappear?" asked Misty.

"Hey, wait! What if something awful happened to her?" asked Tracey. "What if a Gyrados overturned her boat and they're down below us right now?"

"What if a Gyrados comes and decides to turn over OUR boats?" replied Lucy. They soon heard a bubbling noise and saw a round, pink object surface.

"Maybe you're right, Tracey." Said Ash. "That looks like Chansey." The group approached.

"It's kind of weird that it isn't moving." Said Ash.

"I don't think that's Chansey, Ash." Said Lucy. "While this has the same color as Chansey, it's smaller and more round."

"It also has a microphone." Said Misty. "That means only one thing."

"JIGGLYPUFF!" they cried.

"Let's leg it!" cried Lucy. The group paddled as fast as they could away from Jigglypuff.

"Faster!" cried Lucy. Jigglypuff got angry and inflated itself.

Later, the group stopped, as they were exhausted from the paddling.

"It almost sang." Said Tracey. Chansey soon surfaced, followed by Nurse Joy, and the group noticed.

"Nurse Joy!" cried Tracey.

"We thought that maybe you and Chansey got attacked by a Gyrados or something." Said Lucy.

"Oh, I'm sorry. We should've told you that we were going down to treat a sick Cloyster." Said Joy.

"Cool." Said Ash.

"The current must've carried us away from our kayak." Said Joy. "Chansey, if you would, please get the kayak." Chansey went to get the kayak.

"When the Pokemon are underwater, how do you treat them down there?" asked Ash.

"Would you like to come down and see how?" asked Joy.

"Yeah!" cried Ash, Lucy and Tracey.

Later, the three of them dove underwater so they could see how Joy treated a sick Pokemon as she examined a Shellder. While they were down there, a Dewgong watched from behind.

"Wow. This is impressive." Thought Tracey. "Nurse Joy sure is dedicated to helping Pokemon." Ash soon ran out of air and went to the surface when the Dewgong playfully grabbed him and started swimming around with him. Thankfully, Tracey, Lucy and Joy spotted this.

"Oh no!" thought Joy.

Back at Joy's clinic, Ash was warming up after his little adventure.

"Pika Pi?" asked Pikachu, which meant 'Are you okay now, Ash?'

"We thought you were a goner." Said Lucy.

"That was a close call down there, Ash." Said Joy.

"I'll say." Said Lucy.

"It was my fault." Joy added. "I should've prepared you for it. That Dewgong was only playing with you. It loves swimming with humans, and I apologize for not warning you first. I hope you can forgive me."

"Sure." Said Ash.

"One person taking care of so many Pokemon is hard enough, but you even have to paddle from island to island." Said Misty.

"That's right. Your job sure isn't easy." Said Ash.

"Your cousins and sisters and sister-in-laws make it look so easy." Said Lucy.

"Wouldn't it be easier to work in a Pokemon Center like the other Nurse Joys?" asked Tracey.

"I guess it might." Said Joy. "When I was a little girl, I found a Magikarp that was hurt, so I brought it home and took care of it. After it healed up, I let it go back into the ocean. Several years after that, I was out in the ocean on a boat with my cousins and sisters and sister-in-laws. I fell in the water unexpectedly, which got the attention of the other Joys. But then, I resurfaced on the back of a giant Magikarp. The Magikarp that ended up saving me was the very same one that I helped. That's when I decided to dedicate my life to Pokemon. Especially Pokemon who don't have trainers to love and care for them."

"Talk about returning the favor." Said Lucy.

"Was the Magikarp we saw today the same one that you found?" asked Misty.

"That's right, and we've been good friends ever since that day." Said Joy. The group was amazed by her story.

"That's a great story, Nurse Joy." Said Lucy.

"You know what?" said Tracey. "That proves people and Pokemon can be friends their whole lives."

"You're so right." Said Joy.

Later on, outside the clinic…..

"Nurse Joy, you're not going back out again, are you?" asked Tracey.

"I've got to make one more stop before I finish my rounds today." Joy answered.

"Sorry, Nurse Joy." Said Ash. "I guess we must've thrown you off your schedule."

"Oh, it happens all the time." Said Joy. "When you're dealing with Pokemon, you have to expect the unexpected."

"But at this time of year, you know what these kinds of winds can mean!" cried Tracey. "You've been in the Orange Islands long enough to know that when it blows like this, a hurricane is on its' way!"

"A hurricane?!" cried Misty.

"That's the worst kind of storm possible!" cried Lucy. "Wind, rain, rough water, and possible floods!"

"Lucy's right! It's just too risky to go out there again!" cried Tracey.

"I know how dangerous it can get." Said Joy. "But there's a group of baby Seel out there who aren't doing too well, and they're counting on me to help them. I'll be back in a little while." Joy and Chansey walked away.

"Nure Joy, please!" cried Tracey.

"Just wait until the storm passes!" cried Lucy. But Joy and Chansey were already paddling out to sea, which left the group worried.

"There she goes." Said Ash.

"Maybe she'll be okay." Said Misty. Tracey then grabbed his kayak oar. He was ready to go after Nurse Joy and Chansey.

"Tracey, don't you get any ideas about chasing after Nurse Joy!" cried Ash.

"It's too dangerous!" cried Misty.

"Look at that sky." Said Tracey. The group looked up at the clouds.

"And look at that sea." Said Tracey. The group watched the waters get rougher.

"If I let Nurse Joy go out there alone, I'd never forgive myself!" cried Tracey. He walked towards a kayak.

"There he goes." Said Misty.

"He can't go alone." Said Ash. "Come on, we're going too!"

"I just knew he was going to say that." Replied Lucy.

Later, out at sea, Nurse Joy and Chansey were seen right in the thick of the hurricane when she suddenly heard some familiar voices.

"AHOY!" cried Ash and Lucy. Nurse Joy looked back and saw the group.

"Hey! Nurse Joy!" cried Tracey. Joy was in shock.

"What are you all doing?!" she cried. A big wave soon came in behind the group, which sent them all flying and they landed in the rough waters.

"Are you all okay?!" cried Joy.

"Yeah!" cried Ash.

"I think so!" cried Misty.

"I'm fine, but just a little wet." Said Lucy.

"Let out all your water Pokemon, quickly!" cried Joy. "There's a little island nearby! Have them all follow me and I'll paddle there!"

"Okay! I choose you, Wartortle!" cried Ash. Wartortle materialized.

"Go, Marill!" cried Tracey. Marill materialized.

"Poliwhirl, I choose you!" cried Lucy. Poliwhirl materialized.

"Staryu, Golduck, go!" cried Misty. Staryu and Golduck both materialized, and soon after, Psyduck materialized himself.

"Thanks, Wartortle." Said Ash.

"Marill, I'm counting on you." Said Tracey.

"Poliwhirl, I'm going to be relying on you." Said Lucy. Psyduck, however, was struggling in the water, which caused Misty to shrug.

"Why did you even bother coming out if you don't even know how to swim?" she cried. (Author me quickly stepping in: Misty's Psyduck's inability to swim is part of what makes it a dumb duck lol. Now, back to the episode.)

"I think Golduck's going to have to give Psyduck some swimming lessons." Said Lucy.

"You're right, but a hurricane isn't the best time to be doing that!" cried Misty. Soon, the hurricane passed and the group was on the island that Nurse Joy had mentioned.

"I guess we caused more trouble after the storm." Said Ash.

"Yeah, and instead of us saving Nurse Joy, she was the one that helped save us." Said Misty.

"I apologize, Nurse Joy." Said Tracey.

"That's all right. You were only trying to help me." Said Joy. "Why don't we all take a rest, and then we can visit those baby Seel." The group agreed. However, out in the water near the island, a periscope spotted the group. The periscope belonged to Team Rocket's submarine.

"There's our Pikachu and Eevee." Chuckled Jessie. "Maybe we should launch a direct assault and grab them."

"Ain't that Chansey?!" cried Meowth.

"Yes, that's Chansey!" cried Jessie. "We'll grab that one too!"

"Well whatever plan we use this time, I know we're going to win!" cried Meowth.

"You seem awfully confident today." Said James.

"No way we can lose!" cried Meowth. "Not with the secret weapon I've cooked up this time, Jimmy." Meowth pressed a button on his controller, which launched a Magikarp shaped projectile to the surface and toward the group, which got their attention.

"What is that?!" cried Tracey.

"I don't think I want to find out!" cried Lucy.

"Let's get out of here!" cried Ash. Suddenly, however, the head of the projectile released a net that trapped the group.

"Oh no! Are you all okay?" asked Tracey.

"Yeah, but we're totally trapped, and I bet I already know who trapped us." Said Ash.

"I know too, bestie." Said Lucy. "Although, I thought they wouldn't be appearing in this episode." The Magikarp sub soon surfaced as Team Rocket laughed in triumph.

"Magikarp?!" cried Joy.

"That's not a real Magikarp!" cried Misty.

"It's Team Rocket's submarine!" cried Lucy.

"Who's Team Rocket?" wondered Joy.

"A bunch of stinky heads who are always up to no good and always trying to steal Pokemon." Answered Lucy.

"Prepare for trouble, ahoy!" cried Jessie.

"Make it double, Joy!" cried James.

'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!" Lucy yawned in boredom.

"Boring….." she sighed.

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

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"

"Meowth, that's right! Well, looks like we got ourselves a net gain of three Pokemon!"

"Lucky us!" cried Jessie and James.

"Why can't you just go away and leave us alone?!" cried Ash.

"Scram! Get lost! Vamoose!" cried Lucy.

"As long as you have Eevee and those two Pikachu….." said Jessie.

"We three, to you two, will stick like glue!" cried James.

"Precisely!" cried Meowth.

"You better not try and take Little Pikachu!" cried Lucy. "And you had definitely better stay away from Eevee!"

"What am I going to do?" thought Joy. "The sick baby Seel are waiting for me. I have to get out of here somehow. If I don't, who knows what will happen? Those poor Seel. Please. Please let something happen to save them." Suddenly, from the ocean, a giant figure swam upwards toward Team Rocket's submarine and hit it, which got both Team Rocket's attention and the group's attention.

"What was that impact?" cried Jessie.

"Did we hit something?" asked James.

"No way! We weren't moving!" cried Meowth. The giant Magikarp suddenly jumped up from the water and towards Team Rocket.

"What's that?!" cried James.

"A mammoth Magikarp!" cried Meowth. The group was in disbelief.

"Magikarp!" cried Joy.

"How did it know to come here?" asked Tracey.

"Let's get rid of it!" cried Jessie.

We'll rip this water type weakling!" cried James. The giant Magikarp rammed into the sub over and over again until Meowth remembered something.

"Hey! What am I worried about?" he said. "No way our metal Magikarp can lose this match!" Magikarp tackled again, but it looked badly battered.

"It's no good." Said Ash.

"That Magikarp's not strong enough to beat Team Rocket!" cried Lucy. The fish Pokemon repeatedly used Tackle on the submarine, but hit hits head hard and crashed into the water. It desperately tried to go back up.

"Karp, Magikarp!" it cried, which meant 'Let those guys go right now!' Joy got scared and teary eyed.

"Magikarp!" she cried. Magikarp refused to give up, until it started glowing.

"What's happening?!" cried Jessie.

"Looks like Magikarp is starting to evolve!" cried Lucy. "Oh, but wait a second. Wouldn't that mean the Pokemon it evolves into will be TWICE AS BIG AS IT SHOULD BE?!" A bright, blinding and shining light changed form to reveal a serpentine Pokemon, which frightened Team Rocket.

"It's Gyrados!" they cried.

"It evolved right in front of us!" cried Tracey. Gyrados whacked Team Rocket with its tail and sent them and their sub flying.

"Our timing was way off!" cried Meowth.

"We got involved when they evolved." Said James.

"And now we're blasting off again!" cried Team Rocket.

"There they go." Said Ash.

"Goodbye, good luck, and GOOD RIDDANCE!" cried Lucy.

"Good job, Gyrados!" cried Tracey. The Pokemon turned, but the group worried when Gyrados looked at them.

"It doesn't look very friendly." Said Ash.

"I think we were a lot safer with Team Rocket." Said Misty.

"Last time we dealt with a Gyrados, or rather, five of them, was when we escaped the St. Anne after it sunk, but got caught in a Gyrados group Dragon Rage." Said Lucy.

"Dragon Rage?!" cried Tracey. Gyrados charged, and the group screamed as it braced for a possible attack.

"Oh no! We're on its' lunch menu!" cried Misty.

"It's going to eat us!" cried Lucy. But they fell in disbelief when the Gyrados nuzzled Nurse Joy.

"What do you know?" said Lucy. "Even after evolving, it still remembers and loves Nurse Joy." Gyrados removed the net that was covering the group.

"It didn't attack us after all." Said Ash.

"It may have evolved into Gyrados, but it still has Magikarp's personality." Remarked Misty. Joy started stroking Gyrados.

"Thank you." She said. "Thank you, my old friend."

Later, at another island, Nurse Joy gave one of the baby Seel some medicine.

"That wasn't so bad. You'll be fine now." She said. All the Seel thanked Nurse Joy while the group looked on.

Later, Joy was spending some time with Gyrados.

"Looks like the calcium tablets and that tussle with Team Rocket were just what you needed." She said.

"Nurse Joy and Gyrados really do get along together, don't they?" said Ash.

"They're just picture perfect." Said Misty.

"You could say that again." Said Lucy. She looked over at Tracey sketching something on his pad.

"Speaking of pictures…" she said.

"Well, if we all just treated our Pokemon and each other with the same kind of love and care and respect we deserve, the world would be picture perfect." Said Tracey.

"I almost forgot!" cried Joy. "Ash, you and Lucy mentioned before that you both wanted to become Pokemon masters, didn't you?"

"You bet we do." Said Ash.

"Then the two of you should make a stop on Navel Island." Joy suggested. "There's an orange League gym there where the two of you might be able to win a badge."

"Navel island." Said Ash. "Okay, then that's where we'll go!"

"Look out, orange league, because here we come!" cried Lucy.

"Pi Pikachu!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'And we'll be ready!'

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'Absolutely!'

Later, the group was out at sea heading for Navel Island, as per Joy's suggestion. And so, as our heroes head toward Navel Island, another exciting adventure has come to a close. But one thing's for sure, a new one is bound to begin.

TO BE CONTINUED

Ash's Current Party: Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charizard, Wartortle, Dragonite, Lapras

Egg: Eevee (shiny)

Lucy's Current Party: Eevee, Ivysaur, Pikachu, Poliwhirl, Arcanine, Dewgong

Egg: Togepi (Joint ownership with Misty)

Ash's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Spearow, Clefairy, Onix, Butterfree, Primeape, Muk, Scyther, Diglett, Voltorb, Rapidash, Kangaskhan, Tauros, Rhyhorn, Nidorino, Dratini (two), Gyrados, Exeggutor, Kabuto, Kabutops, Ivysaur, Venusaur, Growlithe, Arbok, Weezing, Meowth, Magmar, Blastoise, Squirtle, Kingler, Aerodactyl, Machoke, Dodrio, Mr. Mime, Bulbasaurtwo, Charmandertwo, Squirtletwo, Venusaurtwo, Charizardtwo, Blastoisetwo, Vulpixtwo, Ninetalestwo, Hitmonleetwo, Hitmonchan, Gengar, Moltres, Fearow, Hypno, Chansey, Jolteon, Vileplume (Orange Island variant), Drowzee, Pink Nidoking

In Rotation: Scyther, Rapidash

Lucy's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Beedrill, Cubone, Hitmonlee, Staryu, Dugtrio, Voltorb, Ponyta (shiny), Kangaskhan, Chansey, Tauros, Dragonair, Clefairy, Exeggcute, Jigglypuff, Kabuto, Aerodactyl, Machoke, Tangela, Gloom, Sandslash, Alakazam, Butterfree (Pink), Slowpoke, Wartortle, Crystal Onix, Pink Rhyhorn

In Rotation: Aerodactyl, Jigglypuff, Staryu, Dragonair

Tracey's Pokemon: Venonat, Marill

Misty's Pokemon: Oddish, Goldeen, Staryu, Vaporeon, Omanyte, Psyduck, Golduck, Togepi (joint ownership with Lucy), Horsea (at Cerulean gym), Starmie (at Cerulean gym)

 

[MarkL1987]

Episode 99: Navel Maneuvers

Today, our heroes are traveling with a new purpose. They're headed for Navel Island, where Ash and Lucy hope to win their second Orange League badges.

"Everyone, look!" cried Lucy. "There's an island ahead with a huge mountain!"

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'Big, big mountain!'

"There it is!" cried Tracey. "Navel Island!"

"Look at that mountain!" cried Ash. The mountain that loomed ahead was the biggest that the gang had seen so far through their Orange Islands trek.

"We're almost there!" cried Lucy.

"I wonder what kind of badge they have at the gym there." Said Misty.

"I think it's called the Sea Ruby Badge because it's made out of a seashell with a ruby on it." Replied Tracey.

"The Sea Ruby Badge." Said Ash.

"Guys, let's hurry up and get to that island so Ash and I can get those badges!" cried Lucy.

"Pika/Vee!" cried both Pikachu and Eevee, which meant 'Full speed ahead!' The group soon made landfall and found a small village.

"This place sure is quiet." Said Misty.

"A little too quiet." Added Lucy.

"Seems like it's deserted." Said Tracey.

"And I don't see any gym around here either." Said Ash. Lucy soon spotted something.

"Look over to the left!" she cried. The group looked and saw a sailboat speeding past. Aboard the boat was a man in a Hawaiian tee shirt with a boombox playing tropical music. The group was surprised as the man came to the shore to greet them.

"Hi. I bet you guys are looking for a gym battle." He said.

"Uh, yeah." Said Ash.

"Me too." Said Lucy.

"Well, you and your friend here came to the right place." Said the man. "It's nice to meet you all. I'm Danny."

"Hi, I'm Ash." Said Ash.

"My name's Tracey." Said Tracey.

"Pika Pi Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Nice to meet you! I'm Pikachu!"

"Vee! Eevee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'Eevee's my name!'

"Name's Lucy, and it looks like Eevee already introduced herself." Said Lucy.

"Oh! My name's Misty." Said Misty.

"Misty, eh? That beautiful name suits you." Said Danny. Tracey, Ash and Lucy were shocked.

"You mean her?!" the three of them cried.

"Pi?" said Pikachu, which meant 'Huh?'

"My pleasure, Misty." Said Danny.

"Nice to meet you." Said Misty.

"I've seen lots of beautiful things on these islands, but none as beautiful as you." Said Danny.

"Beautiful as me?" blushed Misty.

"Oh boy. He's a ladies' man, just like Brock." Replied Lucy. Unknown to the group, Team Rocket was spying on them.

"There they are." Laughed Jessie. "Now I know we've suffered several significant setbacks, but just remember that old saying: Two twerps and their Pikachu and Eevee are soon parted."

"Well it can't be soon enough, Jessie." Said James.

"We going to win this time?" said Meowth.

"Yeah!" cried Team Rocket. The group was soon following Danny.

"Looks like you've got everything you need in that backpack." Said Misty.

"Well, you can't be totally prepared for all the surprises life has in store, but I always try to plan where I'm going and know what I'll need before I do something." Said Danny.

"That's such a mature way of looking at things." Said Misty. "Too bad certain other types of trainers aren't smart enough to think ahead."

"She specifically means you, Ash." Said Lucy.

"Ha! Some trainers don't have to plan because they're good enough to come out on top in any situation!" cried Ash.

"Some trainers also prefer to only travel with trainers who actually know what they're doing." Snarked Misty.

"Oh yeah?" replied Ash.

"Yeah!" cried Lucy.

"Need I remind you, Misty, that Ash managed to beat you three times already?" added Lucy. Danny laughed.

"Sounds to me like you're all pretty close to one another." He said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" said Misty.

"How does that saying go? You always hurt the one you love?" replied Danny. He laughed and walked ahead.

"Oh, you've got it all wrong." Said Misty. "I'd never get involved with a little kid like him. And Lucy is only a friend of mine. I only like the mature, intellectual type."

"She better watch who she callas a kid!" cried Ash. "And who is this guy, anyway?"

"I guess he's another trainer, and he must be here to win a badge just like you and Lucy are." Answered Tracey.

"Oh yeah? Well we'll just see who's going to be the first to win a badge!" cried Ash. The group soon arrived at the gym.

"This must be the place." Said Lucy.

"Let's go inside." Said Ash. The doors opened and the group was surprised to find a path leading up towards the mountain and a cable car lift next to it.

"Hey, look!" cried Lucy. "I guess you have to take that little cable car to get up to where the gym is." Pikachu and Eevee then noticed something.

"Pikachu/Vee!" they cried, which meant 'Guys, look there!' The group saw a sign next to the path.

"Maybe that sign has instructions." Said Misty.

"Let's see." Said Tracey. "It says Welcome, Pokemon Trainers."

"What kind of welcome is that?" said Ash.

"Does it say to take the cable car up to the mountain?" asked Lucy.

"No." answered Tracey. "It says that all Navel gym challengers must climb to the top." Ash and Lucy were shocked.

"Climb to the top?!" they both cried.

"Wait, there's more." Tracey went on. "Trainers must reach the top on their own. Pokemon are not allowed to provide help. Any trainer using a Pokemon will be disqualified." Ash and Lucy gasped in disbelief.

"That's a bit harsh." Said Lucy.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Harsh is right!'

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'Yeah!'

"Do we have to climb up to the top too?" asked Misty.

"It says that those accompanying the challengers should ride in the cable car." Answered Tracey.

"Me and Lucy have to climb that ourselves?" cried Ash. "Without ANY help from our Pokemon?"

"We can do it, Ash." Said Lucy. "We just have to give it our best shot."

"You're right, Lucy." Replied Ash. "Yes! We can do it if we try!"

"That's the spirit, Ash!" cried Lucy.

"Pikachu!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Let's do it!'

"You see, Ash, my dad and I used to go rock climbing and mountain climbing together quite often when I was little." Said Lucy. "Although, none of the mountains we tackled were as big as that one, and none of them had any snow on top, either. But still, climbing up this thing should be a cinch for me. I know I can do it, and you can do it too, Ash." Soon, Ash, Lucy and Danny were all climbing the mountain. Ash was having a bit of a hard time because of the fact that he had a small fear of heights.

"Whatever you do, Ash, don't look down." Said Lucy.

"Is everything okay, Ash?" asked Danny.

"Yeah, everything's just great." Ash replied. A few feet later, Danny and Lucy were continuing to climb with ease, but Ash was still struggling.

"I just hope he doesn't look down." Said Lucy.

"Hey Lucy, Ash, see you guys at the top!" cried Tracey. Lucy quickly broke the fourth wall to address the audience.

"Never attempt this kind of activity for yourself if you have a fear of heights." She said before turning her focus back to the mountain.

"Hi!" cried Danny.

"Oh hi, Danny!" cried Misty.

"I'll be at the top in just a little while!" cried Danny.

"Please be extra careful, Danny!" cried Misty. Ash scowled with jealousy.

"What's she so worried about HIM for?!" he cried.

"Never mind that right now, Ash." Said Lucy. "Focus on trying to get to the top." Suddenly, some of the rock that Ash had been resting his foot on gave way, which caused him to fall.

"Pika Pi!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Ash!'

"Hang on, Ash!" cried Danny.

"Oh no! Ash!" cried Lucy. Tracey and Misty witnessed what happened from the cable car. Thankfully, Ash managed to catch himself in the nick of time. He quickly reached for a Poke Ball.

"Bulbasaur, use your Vine….." However, Lucy and Danny cut him off before he could summon for Bulbasaur.

"No, Ash, don't do it!" they cried. Ash stopped before he could make the potential mistake.

"They're right." He thought. "If I use a Pokemon, I'll be disqualified." He put Bulbasaur's Poke Ball away and started climbing again.

Later, the group was near the top of the mountain.

"The air is clean, the view is great, there's nothing like the mountains." Said Danny.

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'You said it!'

"Danny, Lucy, thanks for helping me." Said Ash. "I would've been disqualified otherwise."

"You're welcome, Ash." Said Lucy. Danny gave a nod, and then suddenly, two suction cups came down from the sky and grabbed Pikachu and Eevee by their backs and started reeling them in.

"Hey!" cried Lucy.

"Pikachu!" cried Ash.

"Eevee!" cried Lucy. "Where did those suction cups even come from?!"

"What's going on?" cried Danny. Familiar evil laughs were heard. Team Rocket's balloon soon came into view, where they were cooking fish as they began reciting their motto.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"Make it double!"

"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!" Ash and Lucy were annoyed.

"Them again?!" they cried.

"Let go of our Pokemon!" cried Lucy. Meowth tried to pull Pikachu and Eevee into their balloon, but Danny simply took the suction cups off of the two of them and the cups reeled right back into Team Rocket, knocking them back while Pikachu and Eevee jumped into Ash and Lucy's arms.

"Pikachu!" cried Ash.

"Eevee!" cried Lucy.

"Pika Pi!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Ash!'

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'Lucy!'

"Thanks a lot, Danny." Said Lucy.

"No problem, guys." Said Danny.

"Hey, twerps! You're not getting off that easy!" cried Jessie.

"That's right! And you didn't even let us finish our motto!" cried James.

"Only because you three are boring, lame and forgettable!" cried Lucy.

"For the last time, NOBODY IS FORGETTING US!" screeched Jessie.

"And we're not boring or lame, either!" cried James.

"I'll show you, wise guys!" cried Meowth. He tossed the suction cup reels back down, but Danny held up a rock. The suction cups hit the rock and went flying into Team Rocket, which caused them to blast off.

"We're blasting off again!" they cried.

"We don't need troublemakers like them on Navel Island. I hope we don't see them again." Said Danny. "Ready to finish our climb, guys?" Lucy and Ash were in shock, but quickly regained their composure.

"Uh, yeah. Sure." Said Ash.

"I suppose, but good grief!" cried Lucy. "That was probably the easiest way of getting rid of those three smelly idiots ever!" Danny headed to the wall of the mountain to continue climbing, while Team Rocket zoomed to the top of the mountain.

"I'm freezing!" cried Jessie.

"Let go! You're choking me!" cried Meowth.

"You're the only fur I have!" cried Jessie. She saw the mountain. "Look there!"

"Oh no! We're going to crash!" cried Meowth. A geyser suddenly went off.

"What's that?" asked James.

"It's a geyser!" cried Jessie. Another one soon went off.

"That looks warm." Said Jessie and James.

"That thing couldn't hit us, could it?" said Meowth. The geyser did indeed hit Team Rocket, which blasted them off further into the clouds.

Meanwhile, Ash and Lucy neared the top as snow began to fell. However, Pikachu collapsed from exhaustion.

"Pikachu!" cried Ash.

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'Pika, are you all right, buddy?!'

"He looks both exhausted and cold." Replied Lucy.

"Lucy's right! You must be freezing!" cried Ash. He took his jacket off.

"Here. This might help." He said. He wrapped his jacket around Pikachu.

"Is that better, Pikachu?" he asked. Pikachu nodded.

"Pika Pi." He answered, which meant 'Ash.'

"Don't worry about me." Said Ash. "I'll just hold you real close, and that way, we'll both be warm. No mountain's going to beat us! Right, guys?"

"Pika." Said Pikachu, which meant 'And how.'

"Not by a long shot." Said Lucy. She and Ash headed to the top of the mountain.

Meanwhile, Misty, Togepi and Tracey were at the top and wrapped in blankets waiting for Ash and Lucy.

"Hey! Misty! Tracey!" cried Ash.

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'You guys!'

"They did it!" cried Tracey.

"Hey, you guys! We told you we'd make it!" cried Ash.

"Well done, Ash." Said Lucy.

"Great job, Ash!" cried Tracey.

"You're here!" cried Misty. She ran past Ash, who fell over in disbelief.

"Are you okay, Danny?" asked Misty. "You must be cold. Want to share my blanket?"

"Thanks, but I enjoy the brisk weather." Answered Danny.

"What about me?" said Ash. Danny laughed.

"That was quite the test, you two." He said. "Congratulations. You both passed."

"We passed?" said Ash.

"You mean climbing this mountain was some sort of test?" replied Lucy.

"I knew it!" cried Misty.

"We figured it out when we got to the top and nobody else was here." said Tracey.

"What are you talking about?" asked Ash.

"What do you know, Misty?" replied Lucy. "What surprise?"

"Well, it should be perfectly obvious, Lucy." Replied Misty. "Danny's not here to win a badge. He's actually the gm leader. THAT's the surprise."

"Climbing that mountain was just a test to weed out the wimps." Said Tracey. "And you two proved that you're definitely not wimps." Ash and Lucy were shocked by the revelation.

"It's true." Confirmed Danny. "I'm the Navel Island gym leader, and I'm also a member of the Orange Crew. I hope you two are ready for our big match." Ash and Lucy were still in shock, however.

"Here are the rules, you two, so listen carefully." Said Danny. "Matches here are decided in three rounds. If either of you or both of you can win two out of three, you'll both get a Sea Ruby Badge. Understand?" Ash and Lucy nodded.

"First, we'll see who can freeze hot water the fastest." Said Danny. The group looked as the geysers went up.

"Wow! A Geyser!" cried Misty.

"That means they're going to have to start off with ice attacks!" cried Tracey.

"I choose you, Nidoqueen!" cried Danny. Nidoqueen materialized. Lucy got her Pokedex out.

"Nidoqueen, the Drill Pokemon. The evolved form of Nidorina. This Pokemon is better skilled at defense than at offense. With scales like armor, it will shield its children from any kind of attack."

"Ice type attacks, huh?" said Ash. "Okay. Lapras, I choose you!" Lapras materialized.

"Ice moves." Said Lucy. "In that case, I choose Dewgong!" Dewgong materialized.

"Ice Beam attack!" cried Danny, Ash and Lucy. All three Pokemon fired the attack, but it was evident that even though Dewgong was quick, it wasn't quite fast enough to outdo Nidoqueen. The same went for Lapras.

"Hang in there, Lapras." Said Ash.

"Don't give up, Dewgong!" cried Lucy. "You can do it!"

"Nidoqueen, full power now!" cried Danny. Nidoqueen unleashed the full power of its Ice Beam and froze the geyser solid.

"No way!" cried Tracey and Misty.

"Pika/Vee!" cried Pikachu and Eevee, which meant 'Amazing!'

Looks like I win the first round." Said Danny. Lapras and Dewgong finally froze their geysers.

Later, the three of them got set for the second round.

"In the second round, we'll compete by sculpting that ice." Said Danny. "The first one to completely carve out this ice sled while using only three Pokemon wins. So then, do you two know which three Pokemon you'll both use?"

"I know exactly which ones I'm using!" cried Ash. "Pikachu."

"Pika!" cried Pikachu.

"Bulbasaur." Ash continued.

"Bulba!" cried Bulbasaur.

"And finally, Dragonite!" Ash concluded. The group was shocked by Ash's choice for his third Pokemon.

"Dragonite?!" cried Lucy, Misty and Tracey.

"That's right!" cried Ash. "Dragonite's got some awesome fire attacks, which I'm going to need in order to carve that ice."

"But you've never used Dragonite in a gym match before." Said Misty.

"Well Lucy, how about you?" said Danny. Have you decided on your team of three?"

"I have." Answered Lucy. She held out three Poke Balls.

"Ivysaur, Poliwhirl, Arcanine, I choose you!" she cried. All three Pokemon materialized.

"I'll be using Machoke, Scyther and Nidoqueen." Said Danny. His Pokemon quickly got to work carving the ice into a sled, as did Lucy's. But for Ash's team, Dragonite wasn't quite sure what to do and simply watched Pikachu and Bulbasaur do all the work.

"Hey, Come on, Dragonite! You have to contribute too!" cried Ash.

"Dragonite better do something or else Ash is going to get iced out!" cried Tracey.

"If he loses this round, the match will be over for both him AND Lucy." Said Misty. Ash tried to encourage Dragonite.

"It's really simple, Dragonite." Said Ash. "All you have to do is use your Flamethrower attack. So use your Flamethrower!" Dragonite did so, although the attack almost hit Ash instead. Dragonite then fired off multiple Flamethrowers, most of which hit the ice, which shaped it into a sled and shocked everyone.

"All right! We did it!" cried Ash.

"How he did it, I'll never know." Said Lucy.

"I don't know how you pulled that off either, Ash, but I do know that you just won the second round for yourself and for Lucy." Said Danny.

"Yes! Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Dragonite, thank you all so much!" cried Ash.

"Way to go, Ash!" cried Lucy. "Okay team, let's finish up our sled! Ivysaur, use Razor Leaf! Poliwhirl, use Water Gun! And Arcanine, use Flamethrower!" All three sleds were soon finished, and soon, the gym leader and both challengers faced a starting line and path that led down the mountain for the third and final round.

"Well, it's all downhill from here." said Misty.

"Yeah." Said Tracey. "This isn't going to be easy." Ash, Lucy and Danny boarded their sleds. Danny had chosen Geodude, Electrode and Scyther to ride in his sled with him. Ash had chosen Pikachu, Wartortle and Bulbasaur, and finally, Lucy had chosen Eevee, Little Pikachu and Ivysaur as her riders.

"Eevee, Ivysaur, Little Pikachu, are you three ready to go?" asked Lucy. Her Pokemon confirmed.

"We just have to wait for the green light." Said Lucy. The start light soon turned green.

"Go!" cried Danny. Right then and there, the three trainers raced down the mountain at a tremendous rate.

"Let's take the cable car and meet them at the finish." Said Tracey.

"Right." Said Misty. They headed to the cable car so they could get to the finish line and greet the winner.

"Right! Now left! Hold it there!" cried Danny. "Stay on course, everyone! You're doing great!"

"Left! Right! Hold steady!" cried Lucy.

"A little to the left! I mean the right!" cried Ash. Bulbasaur couldn't seem to get it, however.

"Not that much! We're going too fast!" cried Ash. Suddenly, Ash and his team began to spin out.

"Bulbasaur! Do something, quick!" cried Ash. From above, Team Rocket watched the race.

"I don't like that guy's attitude. It's too positive." Said Jessie. "Is the trap ready?"

"Ready!" cried James and Meowth.

Back on the ground…

"Too bad, guys!" cried Danny. "You two are way too far behind to catch up to me now!"

"Don't count me or Ash out yet!" cried Lucy. "Need I remind you that only one of us has to win in order for both of us to get badges?"

"I didn't forget, but try to keep up!" cried Danny. Right as he sped up, he fell down into Team Rocket's trap. Ash and Lucy noticed what was wrong and decided to stop.

"We have to stop!" cried Ash.

"Danny!" cried Lucy.

"Danny, are you okay?" asked Ash.

"I think so." Danny answered. "Are you guys all right?" Danny's Pokemon confirmed.

"That's what counts." Said Danny. "But that was no accident. Somebody dug this hole."

"Oh, it was a trap all right, and Lucy and I know exactly who set it up!" cried Ash.

"Who's that?" asked Danny.

"It's Team Rocket." Said Lucy. "They must've wanted to get even with you after what you did to them earlier."

"Is that your final answer?" called Jessie. The group turned and saw that the three snowmen that stood behind them were actually Team Rocket.

"If so, you are correct!" Jessie cried.

"You're getting good, kids." Said Meowth.

"To be fair, they've known us for quite a while." Added James.

"Ash, Lucy, you know these three?" asked Danny. "Are they friends of yours?" Ash and Lucy stumbled in disbelief.

"No way!" they both cried.

"We're in the middle of a match, so get lost!" yelled Lucy.

"Oh, I get it. You want to cave in." said Jessie.

"Cave in?" repeated Lucy.

"You got it!" cried James.

"Here's your cave in!" cried Meowth. "Ha!" At the press of a button, all three trainers fell into a deep crevice.

"Wow, your friends must be pretty smart and pretty skilled to set up a trap like this one, guys." Said Danny.

"They're not smart, they're not skilled, and they're definitely not friends." Replied Ash.

"They're lame, they're idiotic and they smell!" cried Lucy. "They're the dumbest criminals on the face of the entire planet!" Some mechanical arms suddenly came in and grabbed Eevee and both Pikachu from behind.

"Pikachu!" cried Ash.

"Eevee! Little Pikachu!" cried Lucy. "You three better give those Pokemon back right now!" The three of them soon saw Team Rocket flying over them.

"Thanks for these Pokemon!" cried James.

"Stay cool!" cried Meowth. Team Rocket flew away.

"Hey! Come back!" cried Ash.

"Bring Eevee and our Pikachu back right now!" cried Lucy.

Inside Team Rocket's ballon, Eevee and both Pikachu were in glass cases.

"And now, let's bring our little Poke-prizes back to the boss!" cried Jessie.

"Yes, sir!" cried James and Meowth. On the ground, Bulbasaur and Ivysaur used their Vine Whip to pull their respective trainers, as well as Danny, out of the hole. The two Pikachu tried using their electric attacks to break out of the case they were in, but were unsuccessful.

"Try as hard as you like, you two. You can't shock us." Said Jessie.

"Yeah! Go ahead, turn up the juice!" cried Meowth. "Give it all you got, because you're only helping us."

"That's right. We'll just save on our electric bill." Said James. The case that contained both Pikachu was connected to a coffee pot and toaster, and their volts were giving them power.

"Bon Appetit." Said Jessie and James.

"We like to be energy efficient." Added Meowth. A snowball suddenly hit Meowth in the face, and then one hit Jessie. A barrage of snowballs followed which bombarded Team Rocket.

"What's going on?" said James.

"Prepare for…" said Jessie in a muffled voice.

"We already did the motto!" cried Meowth. "Let's get 'em!" The source of the snowballs turned out to be Danny, Ash, and Lucy. Their plans was to fill up the balloon with snowballs and weigh it down significantly. However, Team Rocket retaliated by tossing the snowballs back. Danny's Scyther rolled Electrode onto a plank of wood.

"Great idea!" cried Lucy. "We'll send them a catapult Electrode!"

"Ash, Lucy, are you two ready?" asked Danny.

"Ready!" cried Ash. "One, two!"

"Let's let 'em have it!" cried Lucy. At that moment, Ash, Wartortle, Bulbasaur, and Danny's Geodude jumped onto the other side of the plank and catapulted it right into Team Rocket's balloon, knocking the cases of Eevee and both Pikachu loose and out of the balloon.

"Pikachu!" cried Ash.

"Eevee! Little Pikachu!" cried Lucy.

"This calls for a Pokemon battle!" cried Jessie.

"I choose you!" cried James. However, Victreebell materialized out of the Poke Ball and munched on James, which made Lucy snicker.

"Oops! Wrong Pokemon." cried James in a muffled voice.

"Train that thing!" cried Meowth. Electrode then landed in the basket.

"Electrode! Explosion!" cried Danny. Electrode blew up in Team Rocket's balloon, sending them into the air.

"We're blasting off again, again!" they cried.

"We did it, everybody!" cried Ash.

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'All right!'

"Nice work up there, Electrode." Said Lucy.

Later, the trainers and their Pokemon were back in their sleds and ready to continue the race.

"We've still got half of this race to go." Said Danny. "Are you two ready to finish it?"

"Yeah, we're ready when you are." Said Ash.

"We'll start the second the sun comes out from behind that cloud." Said Danny.

"And remember, only one of me or Ash has to cross the line first in order for us to get the badge." Said Lucy.

Once the sun peeked out….

"Go!" cried Danny, Lucy and Ash. The race was soon on again.

At the finish line, Misty and Tracey waited as the racers reached rougher terrain, as evidenced by the snow giving way to dirt.

"Nobody told me that sledding would be this rocky!" cried Ash.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'No kidding!' Ash's sled lept on over a rock like a ramp, as did Lucy's sled.

"Go right! Good job, Scyther!" cried Danny.

"Bulbasaur, we're heading right for that rock!" cried Ash. "We're going to hit it!" Bulbasaur managed to avoid the rock in time, but they wound up sledding through some bushes.

"Good! We're almost at the finish line!" cried Danny. "Just a few more seconds!"

"Not if I have a say in that!" cried Lucy. She was right behind Danny and closing in on him, and Misty and Tracey saw the racers coming.

"Look! Here they come!" cried Misty.

"Who is it?" said Tracey.

"I think it's Danny!" cried Misty.

"You're right, Misty!" cried Tracey. "Looks like Danny's in the lead, but Lucy's closing in on him from behind!"

"Looks like I'm the winner." Said Danny.

"Hang on!" cried Ash. Danny and Lucy looked up and saw Ash's sled flying in. Once it landed, it broke up, which gave him more momentum.

"He's not bad!" chuckled Danny. He, Lucy and Ash traded the lead until Ash's sled turned into a small slab. While that gave him more momentum, Misty and Tracey stood at the finish line with worried looks.

"Here comes Ash!" they cried. Danny, Lucy, Misty and Tracey couldn't believe their eyes when they saw Ash slide all the way to the finish line and into the water, which created a rainbow on impact.

"He won!" cried Tracey.

"Not just for himself, but also for Lucy!" cried Misty.

"He beat me." Said Danny.

"That sure was a rough ride." Said Ash.

"No kidding." Added Lucy. Danny approached with Lucy behind him.

"Ash, you and Lucy were great." Said Danny. "You both chose your Pokemon well and you won it for your fellow challenger two out of three. Now I'd like to give you and your fellow challenger something you really deserve, Ash. The Sea Ruby Badge." He handed the badges to Ash and Lucy.

"It's all yours, you two." Said Danny. Ash and Lucy were originally in disbelief, but the looks on their faces turned to happiness and excitement.

"We did it!" they cried. "We both earned a Sea Ruby Badge!"

"Pi Pikachu!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'That makes badge number two!'

"Thanks, guys." Said Ash.

"We couldn't have done it without you." Said Lucy.

"That was great!" cried Tracey.

"Yeah, but…" said Misty.

"But?" asked Tracey.

"But what, Misty?" said Lucy.

"But Danny lost!" cried Misty. Tracey groaned and Ash and Lucy stumbled in disbelief.

"Gee, you'd think that Danny was her boyfriend or something." Said Lucy.

"Just who's side are you on, Misty?" cried Ash.

"Between you and me, Ash, I think she has a crush on that guy." Said Lucy.

Later, the group was waving goodbye to Danny.

"Bye! Good luck on the rest of your journey!" cried Danny.

"I hope we meet again, Danny!" cried Misty.

"Vee." Sighed Eevee, which meant 'Oh brother.' And so, with courage, skill, and a little bit of luck, Ash and Lucy have earned their second Orange League badges. Nobody knows what's next for our heroes, but there's a new adventure just beyond the horizon.

TO BE CONTINUED

Ash's Current Party: Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charizard, Wartortle, Dragonite, Lapras

Egg: Eevee (shiny)

Lucy's Current Party: Eevee, Ivysaur, Pikachu, Poliwhirl, Arcanine, Dewgong

Egg: Togepi (Joint ownership with Misty)

Ash's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Spearow, Clefairy, Onix, Butterfree, Primeape, Muk, Scyther, Diglett, Voltorb, Rapidash, Kangaskhan, Tauros, Rhyhorn, Nidorino, Dratini (two), Gyrados, Exeggutor, Kabuto, Kabutops, Ivysaur, Venusaur, Growlithe, Arbok, Weezing, Meowth, Magmar, Blastoise, Squirtle, Kingler, Aerodactyl, Machoke, Dodrio, Mr. Mime, Bulbasaurtwo, Charmandertwo, Squirtletwo, Venusaurtwo, Charizardtwo, Blastoisetwo, Vulpixtwo, Ninetalestwo, Hitmonleetwo, Hitmonchan, Gengar, Moltres, Fearow, Hypno, Chansey, Jolteon, Vileplume (Orange Island variant), Drowzee, Pink Nidoking

In Rotation: Scyther, Rapidash

Lucy's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Beedrill, Cubone, Hitmonlee, Staryu, Dugtrio, Voltorb, Ponyta (shiny), Kangaskhan, Chansey, Tauros, Dragonair, Clefairy, Exeggcute, Jigglypuff, Kabuto, Aerodactyl, Machoke, Tangela, Gloom, Sandslash, Alakazam, Butterfree (Pink), Slowpoke, Wartortle, Crystal Onix, Pink Rhyhorn

In Rotation: Aerodactyl, Jigglypuff, Staryu, Dragonair

Tracey's Pokemon: Venonat, Marill

Misty's Pokemon: Oddish, Goldeen, Staryu, Vaporeon, Omanyte, Psyduck, Golduck, Togepi (joint ownership with Lucy), Horsea (at Cerulean gym), Starmie (at Cerulean gym)

 

[MarkL1987]

Episode 100: Snack Attack

After earning the Sea Ruby Badge on Navel Island, Ash and Lucy are one step closer to participating in the Pokemon League. And today, we find our friends in search of a new island adventure.

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

"Hey, look." Said Ash.

"Looks like a small group of islands coming up." Said Lucy.

"Oh yeah! We're coming up on what they call the Seven Grapefruit Islands." Said Tracey.

"Grapefruit Islands?" said Misty.

"Yeah, all the islands are supposed to be covered with grapefruit groves." Said Tracey. "Come to think of it, the grapefruits should be getting ripe right about now."

"Why don't we stop and check 'em out?" suggested Ash.

"A marvelous idea, Ash!" cried Lucy. "Let's go grapefruit picking!"

"Lapras, full speed ahead to the Grapefruit Islands!" cried Ash.

"Forward to the islands, Dewgong!" cried Lucy.

"Jiggly!" cried Jigglypuff, which meant 'Wait up for me!' The group soon made landfall. Misty chuckled.

"Look at the size of all these grapefruits!" cried Ash.

"They're humungous!" cried Lucy. She picked a grapefruit.

"Those all look delicious!" cried Misty.

"Toki, Toki, Toki….." said Togepi, which meant 'Very yummy.'

"Boy, do I love grapefruit." Said Lucy. "My dad has a grapefruit tree growing like this in our garden back home." She was about to bite into the one she had picked, but before she could, the group heard a voice.

"Stop! Stop thieves!" cried the voice. A young woman with dark green hear and a pink outfit came charging at the group with a stick.

"Did she say thieves?" cried Misty.

"That's terrible!" cried Tracey.

"Well I hope she catches them." Said Ash. The young woman came charging even closer to the group.

"I caught you red-handed!" she cried.

"I think she's referring to us!" cried Lucy. The group was in shock as the girl attacked Ash and Lucy with her stick, but they blocked it with their backpacks.

"So, you thought you could get away with it?" she cried. "You thought you could just sneak in here and steal all our grapefruit?! After we worked so hard to grow it?!"

"Vee?!" cried Eevee, which meant 'What?!'

"So we were trespassing?" cried Lucy.

"We didn't come here to steal anything!" cried Misty.

"We're not grapefruit thieves!" cried Tracey. "Honest!"

"No lie!" cried Ash.

"Please, this is all just a big misunderstanding!" cried Lucy. After all the confusion and misunderstanding had been cleared up, the group got to know the girl better.

"I'm sorry I acted that way, but lately, somebody's been coming to our groves and stealing our grapefruit." She said.

"Apology accepted." Said Lucy.

"I thought they grew by themselves." Said Ash.

"Toki!" cried Togepi, which meant 'Me too!'

"Yeah, we didn't know the grapefruit belonged to somebody." Said Misty. "We should've asked first before we started picking any."

"It was our fault." Said Tracey. "We're sorry if we caused you any trouble."

"Oh, that's very nice of you." Said the girl. "We worked so hard on the grapefruit, we can't stand the thought of losing a single one to thieves."

"I've never seen grapefruit that big before." Said Misty.

"Me neither." Replied Lucy.

"Pika…." Said Pikachu, which meant 'Let's see….'

"Vee…." Added Eevee, which meant 'It looks heavy.'

"How do you get them to grow like this?" asked Lucy. Eevee squealed as she tried to pick up the big grapefruit that Lucy had picked earlier.

"It takes a lot of work, and more than a little bit of love." The girl answered. "Every winter, we wrap the grapefruit trees with straw to protect them from the cold. We spray them with insect repellant and weed them. But all that hard work pays off when the weather warms up, and the trees are covered with beautiful white grapefruit blossoms. That's when we gather the Butterfree from neighboring islands to pollinate the trees on all seven of the grapefruit islands so they can produce fruit. Then after watering and caring for every single tree, slowly but surely, they start to bear fruit."

"Pika Pi." Said Pikachu, which meant 'And they're pretty.'

"They're almost like my children, so I care about all of them." Said the girl.

"I can see why after so much work." Said Tracey. Someone shouted for the girl that the group had been talking with.

"Ruby!" The group gasped as one of Ruby's staff came running up to the group.

"Ruby, the thieves just struck again!" cried the staff member.

"If we hurry, we might catch them!" cried Ruby.

"I bet it's Team Rocket!" cried Lucy.

"Guys, let's go help her!" cried Ash.

"Yeah!" cried Tracey and Misty.

"Count me in!" cried Lucy. Sure enough, the trees were stripped bare. The group was in shock.

"Whoa!" cried Ash.

"They even tore off the branches!" cried Ruby.

"This is disgusting!" cried Lucy.

"Who'd do such an awful thing?" cried Misty.

"Hurry! Over here!" shouted a worker. The group rushed over to him.

"Over here! Bring help!" the worker cried.

"Where are they?" asked Ruby.

"Not they, Ruby! It!" cried the worker. The worked pointed and the group was both shocked and surprised to see a Snorlax munching away at the grapefruits while they were still on the branches.

"S-s-s-s-s-s Snorlax?" cried Lucy. She got out her Pokedex.

"Snorlax, the Sleeping Pokemon. Snorlax isn't satisfied until it eats at least nine hundred pounds of food per day. Once it is full, it then goes right back to sleep." Tracey sweat dropped.

"Snorlax eats more than any other Pokemon!" he cried.

"I'd hate to be a grapefruit on this island." Said Misty.

"What'll we do?!" cried Ash.

"Stop that Snorlax immediately!" cried Ruby.

"Right! Let's go, guys!" cried the workers. They tried to get the heavy Snorlax to move, but it promptly knocked them to the side with its left arm.

"That didn't work out very well." Said Misty.

"I guess Snorlax hates being interrupted during its lunch time." Said Lucy.

"I can't imagine how that Snorlax got here." said Ruby.

"Who cares how it got here?" said Ash. "If we don't do something, all the grapefruit will be gone!"

"We'll have to hurry then." Said Ruby. "Come on, guys. If we work fast enough, maybe we can pick all the grapefruit before Snorlax gets to it!" The workers agreed and got to work.

"I just hope we can pick quick enough." Said Ruby. She rushed to join the workers."

"Maybe our Pokemon can help." Said Ash.

"Good idea." Said Tracey.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Let's get picking!' Ruby and the workers soon got to picking.

"Bulbasaur, I choose you!" cried Ash. Bulbasaur materialized.

"Bulbasaur, Vine Whip, now!" cried Ash. Bulbasaur used its attack to cut the grapefruit off the branches.

"Ivysaur, let's go!" cried Lucy. Ivysaur materialized.

"Use your Vine Whip and Cut attacks to pick the grapefruit!" Lucy ordered. Ivysaur obeyed and used the two attacks.

"Staryu, we're going to need your help too!" cried Misty. Staryu materialized and used a spinning Tackle attack to cut the fruit down. Over time, the grapefruits piled up until the group had finally finished.

"All our Pokemon did a really great job!" cried Ash.

"At least Snorlax won't get its paws on these." Said Misty.

"Yeah." Agreed Ash.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Added Lucy. A rumbling was suddenly felt. They soon saw Snorlax running right toward them and the grapefruit, but Ash and Lucy got in the way.

"You already got all the fruit you're going to get, Snorlax!" cried Lucy. However, Snorlax's momentum pushed both her and Ash out of the way and the giant Pokemon started eating again.

"Does anyone have any other ideas?" said Ash.

"I've got one." Said Tracey. "Let's weaken Snorlax in a battle and then try to capture him in a Poke Ball."

"Good idea, Tracey." Said Lucy.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Let's try it!'

"Okay! Bulbasaur, Vine Whip attack, now!" cried Ash.

"Bulbasaur! Bulba! Bulbasaur!" cried Bulbasaur. The attack landed, but Snorlax wasn't fazed.

"Snorlax didn't even feel anything from that Vine Whip attack." Said Lucy.

"Bulbasaur's the one who's whipped." Sighed Misty.

"Bulbasaur, Razor Leaf attack!" cried Ash.

"Bulba! Saur!" cried Bulbasaur. The attack launched, but it sliced the grapefruit instead of hitting the Snorlax.

"Bulbasaur sure would be handy to have around the kitchen." Said Lucy. Ash gave a frustrating groan.

"Lax!" cried Snorlax, which meant 'Back!' Snorlax then flattened Bulbasaur with a Boby Slam, while Pikachu and Eevee got out of the way.

"Oh no! A full Snorlax Body Slam!" cried Tracey.

"No! Bulbasaur!" cried Ash. Snorlax got up to reveal that Bulbasaur was not only knocked out, but it was almost flat as a pancake.

"That's got to hurt." Said Lucy.

"Bulbasaur, are you okay?" cried Ash.

"Bulba." Sighed Bulbasaur weakly, which meant 'I'm flat.'

"It's not fair for Snorlax to throw its weight around like that!" cried Misty.

"Snorlax weighs about one thousand and fourteen pounds." Said Lucy. "No wonder it flattened Ash's Bulbasaur the way it did."

"Toge Piiii!" cried Togepi. Snorlax went back to eating until it stopped.

"Hey! I think Snorlax has finally had enough!" cried Ash.

"That means it's going to go to sleep any second now!" cried Misty.

"That's great. Now we'll have some time to plan." Said Tracey. The group nodded in agreement as Snorlax got up and walked away, but they were shocked when they saw it start to eat again.

"Pika?" wondered Pikachu, which meant 'Doesn't that big guy EVER stop eating?'

"Eevee." Answered Eevee, which meant 'Not until he's fully satisfied, Pika.' Over time, the island the group was on started to get more barren as Snorlax ate more and more until it FINALLY got enough to eat.

"Those were the last two grapefruit left on this whole island!" groaned Ash.

"It's a good thing this is an island." Said Misty. "At least, now, Snorlax won't be able to gobble up any more grapefruit."

"As long as Snorlax can't get to the other islands, your grapefruit groves should be safe." Said Tracey.

"That's something to be grateful for." Said Ruby.

"Uh guys, I think we have another problem." Said Lucy. "Look!" The group looked and saw Snorlax get up and flap its arms.

"Do you think Snorlax is getting ready to fly over to another island?" wondered Ash.

"Not unless it has a ticket on a jumbo jet." Answered Misty.

"Snorlax may not be able to fly, but I've heard that it can swim." Said Lucy. Sure enough, Snorlax dove into the water and swam over to the next island to the shock of the group.

"What did I just say?!" cried Lucy.

"I didn't know Snorlax could swim!" cried Misty.

"It's doing the blubberfly." Said Ash. Lucy bonked Ash on the head with her mallet.

"That was a terrible joke." She said.

"Of course! I should've figured it was a good swimmer!" cried Tracey. "That solves the mystery of how Snorlax got to the island in the first place."

"We better figure out a way to keep it from getting to the second place." Said Misty.

"Quickly! We have to catch up with Snorlax and stop it before it makes landfall!" cried Lucy. Soon, the group got into the water and followed Snorlax. Ruby followed behind in a boat.

"I'll go to our headquarters and warn the other islands to start picking grapefruit right away!" cried Ruby.

"Okay!" cried Ash.

Meanwhile, on the next island, Team Rocket was picking and stealing grapefruits.

"Ooh!" cried James.

"It's raining Vitamin C!" cried Meowth. "And we could sure use some of that these days."

"Luckily, we found an excellent source of free nutrition." Said James.

"Thin skin." Said Jessie.

"Just like you have, Jess." Said James. Jessie angrily shoved the grapefruit she was holding into James' mouth.

"I think I'll take a tangy little taste." Said Meowth. He unsuccessfully tried to slice the skin on the fruit.

"The skin on this thing's as tight as a drum!" he cried. Eventually, he hurt himself.

"My paw! My paw! I think I broke my paw!" he cried.

"Maybe this type of grapefruit isn't grown for its' fruit." Said James.

"Well, if you don't eat the fruit, what do you eat?" asked Meowth.

"I seem to recall the servants giving me candied grapefruit peels as a child." Answered James.

"Servants? That must've been the life." Said Jessie.

"You mean we have to turn these peels into candy?" wondered Meowth.

"No, we're going to turn them into cash when we sell them." Answered Jessie.

"Hey! That's a great idea!" cried Meowth. "Let's do some grapefruit grabbing!" Team Rocket soon headed for their sub with armloads of grapefruit, but they stopped when they saw Snorlax swimming their way. It made a giant wave that wiped out both Team Rocket and their sub when it made landfall.

"Uh oh." Said Meowth. Snorlax began eating the grapefruit.

"It's a Snorlax!" cried Meowth.

"And it's stealing what we stole!" cried James. Misty's voice was soon heard.

"Hey!" she cried. Team Rocket spotted the group heading toward the island.

"What are you three doing over there on that island?!" cried Lucy.

"Well, if you think you're here to steal grapefruit, think again because we're here to stop you!" cried Misty.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'And how!'

"We'll see about that, you little twerps!" cried Jessie.

"Hey! Instead of grabbing grapefruit, we can swipe Pikachu, Eevee and Snorlax!" cried Meowth.

"Stopping both Snorlax and team Rocket won't be easy." Said Ash.

At the Seven Grapefruit Island staff headquarters, Ruby was answering a call from the second island.

"I can't believe Snorlax got to the second island already!" she cried.

"Oh, it got there all right!" cried a worker. "As soon as it landed, it started eating!"

"We've got to do something." Said Ruby. "We've got to stop Snorlax before it gets to the other islands."

On the second island…

"I know, Ruby, but how are we going to stop it?" the worker asked. Snorlax was still eating away as the group showed up.

"There it is!" cried Ash. He grabbed a Poke Ball. "I'm going to catch you now, Snorlax! Wartortle, I choose you!" Wartortle materialized.

"Wartortle, use your Skull Bash!" cried Ash. Wartortle charged forward, but Snorlax got angry when he felt and noticed it, which resulted in Wartortle being hit by a Body Slam attack.

"Wartortle!" cried Ash. He rushed over to Wartortle.

"Snorlax is really asking for it now!" cried Lucy. "Eevee, get at Snorlax with a Take Down attack!" Eevee ran forward and jumped upward, only to bounce off of Snorlax's huge stomach. Snorlax was about to use Body Slam again, but Eevee quickly ran back to Lucy.

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'That Snorlax is scaring me!'

"I'm getting a little tired of this Snorlax!" cried Misty. She got out a Poke Ball herself. "Staryu, Tackle attack, now!" Staryu materialized and went on the attack, but Snorlax used its' head to knock Staryu away.

"That was Snorlax's Headbutt." Remarked Tracey.

"Return, Staryu!" cried Misty. Staryu was recalled.

"I'll just try another one." Said Misty. She threw another Poke Ball.

"I choose you!" she cried. From the Poke Ball, Goldeen materialized and it simply wiggled around when it hit the ground. Misty sweat dropped.

"My mistake. Sorry about that." She said. She gave a sheepish chuckle. Ash, Lucy and Tracey fell over in disbelief. Snorlax suddenly picked up Goldeen and tried to eat it, which horrified the group.

"Hey, Snorlax! Goldeen's not on the menu!" screamed Misty. Luckily, Goldeen was recalled just in the nick of time.

"I know!" cried Lucy. "Togepi can stop Snorlax! Okay, Togepi, use your Metronome attack! You can do it, Togepi!" However, nothing happened.

"Nice try, Lucy, but Togepi doesn't know any attacks yet." Said Ash.

"Togepi is just a baby, Lucy." Said Tracey.

"And Snorlax might eat anything." Said Misty. Team Rocket suddenly showed up and chuckled.

"You and your wimpy Pokemon gave it your best shot, and you blew it!" cried Meowth. Now Team Rocket will take over from here!"

"Arbok, Poison Sting!" cried Jessie. Arbok materialized and charged forward, but Snorlax flattened it with a Body Slam while Team Rocket got out of the way.

"Arbok looks like a snake skin belt." Said Meowth.

"Big enough to fit Snorlax!" cried James.

"Lickitung, it's Wrap time!" cried Jessie. Lickitung materialized and lashed its tongue out, but Snorlax simply used it as a napkin.

"That's my Lickitung, not a napkin!" cried Jessie.

"I choose you, Victreebell!" cried James. Victreebell materialized with a deafening shriek, but then it tried to swallow James' body.

"No, stop! Not me!" cried James. He freed himself from Victreebell's body.

"Snorlax! Not me!" he ordered. Victreebell went into battle, but just like the others, it got flattened by Snorlax's Body Slam.

"My Victreebell looks all rung out!" cried James.

"Now for the perfect Pokemon!" cried Misty. She tossed the Poke Ball and Psyduck materialized.

"How is Psyduck the perfect Pokemon?" said Lucy.

"If Psyduck uses a Psychic attack, it'll be perfect against Snorlax." Misty explained. Psyduck approached Snorlax, but instead of attacking, it swallowed a whole grapefruit instead. This resulted in Psyduck choking and running around in a panic until it tripped and the grapefruit came out of his throat.

"I guess I should've known you'd choke." Sighed Misty.

"Okay, Pikachu, I guess it's up to use to stop Snorlax." Said Ash.

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

"Pikachu, use your Thunderbolt attack, now!" cried Ash. The attack landed, but Snorlax shook it off and returned to eating, much to Pikachu's dismay.

"Snorlax must be shock proof!" cried Ash.

"Time for me to take another crack at this." Said Lucy. She grabbed a Poke Ball. "Dewgong, Aurora Beam attack!" Dewgong materialized, but before it could launch the attack, Snorlax flattened the sea lion Pokemon like a pancake with a Body Slam attack.

"Oh no! Dewgong!" cried Lucy. She went to check on her Pokemon.

"Are you all right, Dewgong?" she asked. Dewgong weakly nodded.

Back at island headquarters, Ruby saw that Snorlax had eaten more grapefruit as a board of all seven islands showed that the second island had lit up even more.

"Ruby! Snorlax has already eaten over half the grapefruit on the island!" cried a worker.

"Just keep picking! We've got to save as many grapefruit as we can!" cried Ruby.

"Roger!" cried the worker.

"Ruby! They need you over at the processing plant as fast as you can get there!" cried another worker.

"I'll be right there! Tell everyone on the other islands to start picking!" cried Ruby.

"Right!" cried the worker.

Meanwhile, the group was at a loss of what to do about Snorlax.

"It's just no good." Said Tracey.

"None of our Pokemon are any good against Snorlax." Said Ash.

"Yeah. Snorlax is just too strong for us." Said Lucy.

"What's going to happen now?" asked Misty.

"Showtime." Said James. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and twerps of all ages."

"Okay, this is completely disturbing." Said Lucy. Misty agreed.

"Keep your eyes on the pendulum." Said James.

"Snorlax Snor?" wondered Snorlax, which meant 'What is this?'

"Yes. Now just relax." Said James. "Your eyes are getting heavy. You're getting sleepy, very sleepy. On the count of three, you'll fall completely asleep. One. Two. Three. He snapped his fingers, but instead of Snorlax falling asleep, James ended up falling asleep instead.

"Hey! You ain't supposed to be sleeping!" cried Meowth.

"But putting Snorlax to sleep isn't a bad idea!" cried Lucy.

"But how do we do it?" asked Misty.

"A massage might make it relax and fall asleep." Suggested Tracey.

"Tracey's idea just might work." Said Lucy.

"Let's try it!" cried Ash. The group tried massaging Snorlax's legs.

"Let the tensions flow away." Said Ash.

"Just relax, Snorlax." Said Misty. However, nothing happened.

"Snorlax doesn't look too sleepy." Said Lucy.

"There must be SOME WAY to get it to doze off!" cried Ash.

"I've got a great idea!" cried Misty. "Listen, Snorlax, picture a beautiful, wide open pasture, bathed in the glow of a restful red sunset." Snorlax picture it as Misty described it.

"All of your cute little Snorlax friends are there with you." She said. "I wonder how many Snorlax there could be. Why don't we count them together? One Snorlax. Two Snorlax. Three Snorlax. Four Snorlax. Five Snorlax. Six Snorlax." The vision faded back to reality as Misty reached ninety-seven.

"Ninety-seven Snorlax. Ninety-eight Snorlax." She yawned. She had fallen asleep while she counted.

"Ninety-nine Snorlax. One hundred Snorlax." She yawned.

"Hey, Misty! This is no time to take a nap!" cried Lucy. Misty quickly woke up with a fright.

"I'm awake!" she cried. Psyduck laughed at what happened.

"What are you laughing at?!" cried Misty. "If you hadn't messed things up, we wouldn't have this problem!"

"Psy." Sighed Psyduck.

"Snory!" cried Jessie. The group saw Jessie dressed up as a mother Snorlax.

"It's time to go beddy-bye, Snory-kins!" cried Jessie.

"What's she doing?" asked Lucy.

"I think she's trying to look like Snorlax's mother." Answered Ash.

"Snorlax's mother?!" cried Misty.

"Okay, that's both horrifying and disturbing at the same time." Replied Lucy.

"Vee." Agreed Eevee, which meant 'Not to mention creepy and cringe.' Jessie brought out a bed for Snorlax.

"Sleepy. Sleepy. Sleepy. Sleepy. Sleepy." She said. "Time to take a happy little nappy now. Hurry up so you can have nice dreamy-weamies."

"Lullaby, and good night." Sand James and Meowth. "Go to sleep little Snorlax. Go to bed, rest your head, la, la, la, la, la, la, la…" Lucy cringed at the awful singing and Snorlax covered its ears in annoyance. It got up and gave Team Rocket a good, swift Mega Kick attack.

"Team Rocket's blasting off again!" Team Rocket cried. Lucy simply shook her head.

"What a bunch of idiots." She said.

"There's no way Team Rocket was going to sing Snorlax to sleep THAT way!" cried Ash.

"Hey! Sing to sleep!" cried Misty. Ash, Lucy and Tracey got the same idea.

"Yeah!" the three of them cried.

"All we have to do is find Jigglypuff and get it to sleep!" cried Tracey.

"That's it!" cried Ash.

"Misty, you're a genius!" cried Lucy. As the group searched for Jigglypuff, Snorlax continued to eat all the grapefruits on the island. Meanwhile, Ruby returned to the island headquarters and found something shocking.

"Who's responsible for this?!" she cried. The group soon showed up.

"Ruby!" cried Ash.

"We've thought of a great idea!" cried Misty.

"I'm so glad you got here!" exclaimed Ruby. "Take a look." The group looked and saw that the workers' faces had been scribbled on, thus revealing Jigglypuff's handiwork.

"They called me to the processing plant, and when I came back, I found them like this!" cried Ruby.

"Look at those marks on their faces!" cried Ash.

"Only Jigglypuff could've done this!" cried Misty.

"How long did it take you to get to the processing plant and back?" asked Lucy.

"Maybe half an hour or so." Answered Ruby.

"Then Jigglypuff can't be too far from here." said Tracey. The board soon showed that Snorlax was heading to island number three.

"Oh no! Snorlax is already heading over to the third grapefruit island!" cried Ruby. Snorlax was seen swimming toward it.

"Come on, guys! We have to set the stage for Jigglypuff!" cried Ash.

"Yeah!" cried Tracey, Misty and Lucy. Ruby was left confused.

Later, the stage was all set up.

"Sign, great!" cried Tracey.

"Multicolored felt-tipped markers, ready!" cried Misty.

"Now all we need is the star!" cried Ash.

"Yep!" cried Misty.

"I'll say it again, Misty, this was a genius idea!" cried Lucy.

"Jigglypuff just loves to hear itself sing." Added Tracey.

"And now that we made a special place for it to give a performance….." said Misty.

"I think it'll show up any minute now and give us a song!" cried Ash. "And when Snorlax goes to sleep, I'll be ready to catch it!" Snorlax was soon seen and heard coming.

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'Here it comes!'

"Eevee's right! Here comes Snorlax!" cried Lucy.

"And Jigglypuff still isn't here to put it to sleep." Said Misty.

"If it eats all the grapefruit in the warehouse, we'll be ruined!" cried Ruby.

"Yeah! We gotta get Jigglypuff on stage!" cried Ash. "Jigglypuff! Come on, guys!"

"Jigglypuff! Jigglypuff! Jigglypuff! Jigglypuff!" the group chanted.

"I never thought I'd see the day where we're actually WANTING Jigglypuff to appear." Said Lucy. Jigglypuff soon came out from behind a tree and saw the stage and happily jumped over to it.

"There she is!" cried Lucy.

"We did it! There's Jigglypuff!" cried Misty.

"Let's hear it!" cried Ash.

"Hit it, Jiggly!" cried Tracey. Jigglypuff began singing.

"Jigglypuff, Jiggly-eee-puff….." sang Jigglypuff. Tracey yawned.

"It works." He said.

"I'm sleepy." Sighed Misty.

"Now's your chance, Ash!" cried Lucy. "Hurry!" She let out a yawn and drifted off to sleep. Ash shook his head and ran toward Snorlax as it started to stagger from Jigglypuff's singing.

"Looks like Snorlax is getting drowsy, now's my chance!" cried Ash. "Okay, Pikachu, Thunder, now!" The attack landed and Snorlax fell back, splitting a tree in half as it came down.

"Nice work, Pikachu!" cried Ash. "Poke Ball, go!" The Poke Ball hit, wobbled and pinged to indicate that Snorlax had been captured.

"Yeah! I did it!" cried Ash. "I…." he got drowsy. "caught Snorlax." Ash fell asleep right after he caught Snorlax, followed by Pikachu.

Meanwhile, Jigglypuff noticed that most of the group had fallen asleep. This made Jigglypuff upset and she grabbed the multi-colored markers and went to work on the sleeping members of the audience.

Later, as the sun was going down…

"Thank you." Said Ruby. "If it weren't for all of you, we wouldn't have a single grapefruit left."

"I think Ash is the one who should be thanking you." Said Lucy.

"She's right." Said Ash. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have caught a Snorlax."

"We're just happy that we could help you save all that grapefruit." Said Misty. Ruby handed a bag over to Misty.

"I have something for you." Said Ruby. "They're our candied grapefruit peels. They're delicious."

"Thanks, Ruby." Said Misty.

"Why not let Pikachu and Eevee try a piece." Suggested Lucy.

"Okay." Said Misty. She knelt down and handed a piece to the two Pokemon.

"Try some, guys." She said. Pikachu and Eevee both took a piece and tried them.

"How do you two like it?" asked Misty.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Love it!'

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'It's delicious!' A worker soon ran up to Ruby.

"You won't believe this, Ruby!" he cried. "There are new trees growing wherever Snorlax went!" Ruby gasped and soon the group saw the grapefruit tree saplings.

"This is amazing! I've never seen anything like this before!" cried Ruby.

"Maybe Snorlax has some sort of special ability that helps the trees grow back again." Said Tracey.

"Whatever it is, I guess it proves that something good can come out of something bad." Said Misty.

"I think you're right, Misty." Said Ruby. "Next year, we may have more fruit than ever!"

"I hope so, Ruby." Said Ash. Soon, the group bid Ruby and her workers farewell and sailed into the sunset. And so, as the sun slowly sets like a giant, glowing grapefruit, our heroes sail on to their next Orange Island adventure.

TO BE CONTINUED

Ash's Current Party: Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charizard, Wartortle, Snorlax, Lapras

Egg: Eevee (shiny)

Lucy's Current Party: Eevee, Ivysaur, Pikachu, Poliwhirl, Arcanine, Dewgong

Egg: Togepi (Joint ownership with Misty)

Ash's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Spearow, Clefairy, Onix, Butterfree, Primeape, Muk, Scyther, Diglett, Voltorb, Rapidash, Kangaskhan, Tauros, Rhyhorn, Nidorino, Dratini (two), Gyrados, Exeggutor, Kabuto, Kabutops, Ivysaur, Venusaur, Growlithe, Arbok, Weezing, Meowth, Magmar, Blastoise, Squirtle, Kingler, Aerodactyl, Machoke, Dodrio, Mr. Mime, Bulbasaurtwo, Charmandertwo, Squirtletwo, Venusaurtwo, Charizardtwo, Blastoisetwo, Vulpixtwo, Ninetalestwo, Hitmonleetwo, Hitmonchan, Gengar, Moltres, Fearow, Hypno, Chansey, Jolteon, Vileplume (Orange Island variant), Drowzee, Pink Nidoking, Dragonite

In Rotation: Scyther, Rapidash

Lucy's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Beedrill, Cubone, Hitmonlee, Staryu, Dugtrio, Voltorb, Ponyta (shiny), Kangaskhan, Chansey, Tauros, Dragonair, Clefairy, Exeggcute, Jigglypuff, Kabuto, Aerodactyl, Machoke, Tangela, Gloom, Sandslash, Alakazam, Butterfree (Pink), Slowpoke, Wartortle, Crystal Onix, Pink Rhyhorn

In Rotation: Aerodactyl, Jigglypuff, Staryu, Dragonair

Tracey's Pokemon: Venonat, Marill

Misty's Pokemon: Oddish, Goldeen, Staryu, Vaporeon, Omanyte, Psyduck, Golduck, Togepi (joint ownership with Lucy), Horsea (at Cerulean gym), Starmie (at Cerulean gym)

 

[MarkL1987]

Episode 101: A Shipful Of Shivers

Today, as our friends continue on their adventure, we find Ash and Lucy admiring the Orange League badges that they've won so far.

"A Coral Eye Badge and a Sea Ruby Badge." Said Ash.

"You got to admit, the way they make the badges here are pretty creative." Said Lucy.

"I think it's really cool how all the gym badges around here are made out of seashells." Said Misty.

"Yeah, it's kind of like a trademark of the gyms in the Orange Island League." Said Tracey.

"Hey, I wonder how many more badges Lucy and I need to qualify for the Orange League." Said Ash.

"I was just wondering the exact same thing." Said Lucy. "Funny how the minds of two best friends think alike sometimes."

"You're both halfway there." Said Tracey. "You both need four badges to get into the Orange Island League competition."

"That's great!" cried Ash. "We should be able to get two more badges easy!" Lucy just rolled her eyes.

"There you go being cocky again." She said.

"I don't know, guys." Said Tracey.

"I wouldn't be surprised if the next gym leaders are tougher than the last ones." Said Misty.

"Don't worry about that, you guys." Said Ash. "I'm a much tougher trainer than I used to be." Lucy soon spotted an island.

"What island is that?" asked Ash.

"Oh, that's Moro Island." answered Tracey.

"Let's head there before it gets dark and find a Pokemon Center where we can stay tonight." Said Ash.

"Good call, Ash!" cried Lucy. "Amazing what you can do when you actually use your head for once."

"What's THAT supposed to mean?!" cried Ash.

"I'm not telling you." Replied Lucy. There was definitely a hint of some sass in her answer.

That night, the group was at the Moro Island Pokemon Center and talking with Professor Oak.

"How are you, Professor?" asked Ash.

"Ash! I'm fine." Answered Oak. "And I see that you're all looking well."

"Yeah, we're doing great." Said Lucy.

"Where are you all calling from?" asked Oak.

"We're on Moro Island." Answered Misty.

"Ah. Well then, you've timed your arrival perfectly!" cried Oak.

"We did?" said Ash.

"Why do you say that?" asked Lucy.

"Vee." Said Eevee, which meant 'I'm genuinely curious about this.'

"You mean you haven't seen the news?" said Oak. He held up a newspaper, and the group was curious as to what it said.

"Treasure found." Read Tracey. "Divers have recovered what they claim is an Orange Island championship trophy dating back three hundred years from a sunken ship off the coast of Moro Island!"

"The Orange League?! Three hundred years ago?!" cried Ash.

"A three century old Orange League trophy?!" cried Lucy. "That means the Orange League is even older than we thought it was. Probably even older than the Indigo League."

"And they even have the Winner's Trophy to prove it!" cried Misty.

"Of course, there are still lots of studies to be done, but they're certain it's the real thing." Replied Oak.

"Wow!" cried Ash.

"Double wow!" cried Lucy.

"You can see it if you like." Said Oak. "They have the trophy on display at the Moro Island Museum of Art." Said Oak.

"All right! Cool!" cried Misty.

"I still can't believe that the Orange League has been around for three hundred years!" cried Ash. "Can you, Lucy?"

"No, Ash, I can't believe that either." Answered Lucy.

"I'd love to get a look at that three hundred year old Pokemon League trophy!" cried Ash.

"So would I!" exclaimed Lucy.

"Let's go see it first thing tomorrow morning!" cried Tracey.

"Yeah!" cried Ash.

"Okay!" cried Misty.

"Sure!" cried Lucy.

Later that night at the museum, a rope dropped down from a skylight, which indicated the start of a heist. The thieves involved were, unsurprisingly, Team Rocket. The three landed safely inside the museum and shushed each other, as they didn't want to be caught. James, however, got surprised when he came face to face with a totem pole. The three of them soon started looking for what they had come for.

"Maybe we can find out from this museum guidebook where they're keeping that trophy." Said Meowth.

"I can't wait to get my hands on that trophy!" cried Jessie.

"And once we have it, we'll all become big celebrities!" cried James. "Maybe I'll even get my own television series! Wouldn't that be excit….." Before he could finish, Meowth whacked his teammate with a mallet.

"Oh yeah?!" he cried. "Don't you think if we go on TV with that trophy, they'll know that we're the ones who stole in in the first place?!"

"Possibly." Said James weakly.

"When we get our paws on this trophy, we bring it to the boss as a present." Said Meowth. "Then, maybe he'll forget about our little mess ups, and if we're lucky, he might even think about giving us a nice, juicy bonus."

"A bonus?" said James.

"A bonus!" cried Jessie.

"A bonus! A bonus! We're going to get a bonus!" cried Jessie and James. They soon found the trophy.

"It's bonus time." Chuckled Jessie.

"That's the trophy, all right." Said Meowth.

"What are we waiting for?" replied James.

"Hold it." Said Meowth.

"Hold what?" asked James.

"These museums put secret security junk around stuff like this." Answered Meowth.

"Then, what do we do?" asked Jessie.

"Just leave it to me!" Replied Meowth. He put on some goggles, and it was shown that the trophy was surrounded by a field of security lasers. He then looked up.

"I know how we can get it." He said.

Later, James was being lowered so he could grab the trophy.

"Slowly. Slowly. Please don't drop me." He said with a hint of worry.

"Don't worry about that!" cried Meowth. "Just make sure that if you do fall, you don't fall on top of the trophy and break it!" Jessie and Meowth almost lost their grip.

"All right, I'm calmer now." Said James. "Hold it there." He lifted the glass case.

"I think we've got our trophy!" he cried. Team Rocket then left the museum the same way they came in and made a mad dash for their sub.

"Success at last!" chuckled Jessie.

"I say we have an all-night eat-a-thon to celebrate!" cried Meowth.

"Good idea! Let's party hardy!" cried James. However, he tripped and landed face first.

"Hey! If you bust that trophy, you can kiss our bonus goodbye!" yelled Meowth. James rolled over from where he had left his imprint in the dirt.

"The trophy's fine!" cried James. Jessie and Meowth dragged James back to the sub.

"Come on!" cried Jessie.

The next day, the group saw a large crowd of people at the museum, along with some police presence.

"Well, that must be the museum." Said Misty.

"Yeah, but….." said Ash.

"Why is everybody outside?" wondered Tracey.

"And why are the police here?" wondered Lucy. The group went to speak to Officer Jenny.

"Excuse me. Is something wrong?" asked Misty.

"The old Orange League trophy that's supposed to be on display here was stolen." Jenny answered. The group was shocked.

"What?!" cried Lucy.

"The trophy's gone?!" cried Tracey.

"It seems several people broke in last night and took it." Said Jenny. "The only clues we have right now are a couple of footprints and this imprint of someone carrying the trophy."

"Who'd do such a terrible thing?!" cried Misty. The group soon split up.

"I really wanted to see that old championship trophy from the Orange Island League." Said Ash.

"Yeah, and I wanted to make some sketches." Said Tracey.

"It would've been nice to take some pictures too." Added Lucy. Ash soon tripped over something.

"Hey, what's that?" said Ash.

"It looks like a leg." Answered Misty.

"A leg that belongs to someone we all know very well!" cried Lucy. "The black boots and white clothing are a clear giveaway!"

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

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'Excellent deduction, Lucy!' team Rocket soon woke up.

"I haven't celebrated like that since I lost my trust fund!" cried James.

"We ate so much and stayed up so late, I didn't think we'd come to our senses for days." Added Jessie.

"Yeah, but there's nothing like waking up after a good night's heist." Put in Meowth. That remark made it obvious to the group that Team Rocket was responsible for the theft. Lucy was the most furious.

"DID MEOWTH JUST SAY A HEIST?!" she roared. Team Rocket turned and saw that their cover had been blown.

"Just as I thought." Said Lucy. "That imprint definitely belongs to the clumsiest of these three idiots-James!"

"We don't know anything about any championship trophies!" cried Meowth.

"And if we did, a stolen one certainly wouldn't be in this package!" cried James.

"Oh, they'll never think we took it now!" cried Jessie.

"It's a little too late for that!" exclaimed Lucy.

"We should've known right from the start that you three were the ones who stole that trophy!" cried Misty.

"So you better give it back right now!" cried Tracey.

"If you don't, you'll all be in big trouble!" cried Lucy.

"And you twerps had better prepare for trouble!" cried Jessie.

"I suggest you make it double!" cried James.

"You take care of the motto, I'll take care of the trophy!" cried Meowth. Jessie and James followed Meowth.

"Hey! Come back here!" cried Ash, Misty, Tracey and Lucy. Team Rocket resumed their motto.

"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. That's right! What are you wasting time with the motto for?! Take this!" Meowth handed the trophy to James.

"Now let's scram!" cried Meowth.

"Okay!" cried Jessie and James. The two of them were about to escape, but Ash, Misty, Tracey and Lucy blocked their way.

"You three aren't going anywhere except to jail once Officer Jenny finds out about what you've done!" cried Lucy.

"Ha! We'll see about that!" cried Jessie. "It'll take a lot more than a group of twerps like yourselves to bring us down! As soon as we take the trophy to the boss, he'll give us a big bonus!" Team Rocket made their way to the dock where they spotted a Seadra boat.

"Look, there's a boat we can swipe!" cried Meowth. Team Rocket boarded the boat.

"Okay, team, let's step on it!" cried Meowth.

"Huh?!" cried Jessie and James. They soon realized what kind of boat they were in.

"This is a pedal boat, Meowth?!" they cried.

"That's why I said to step on it!" cried Meowth. Jessie and James shrugged as the group showed up too late.

"They're getting away!" cried Misty.

"I choose you, Lapras!" cried Ash. Lapras materialized.

"Dewgong, let's take to the sea!" cried Lucy. Dewgong materialized.

"Lapras!" cried Ash.

"Dewgong!" cried Lucy.

"Follow that boat!" ordered Ash and Lucy.

"We can't pedal this thing fast enough!" cried James. "They'll catch us any second now!"

"We won't go any faster with you flapping your gums!" cried Meowth. Team Rocket soon felt something pulling the boat.

"The current's pulling us out!" cried James.

"What's happening?!" cried Jessie. Some fog quickly rolled in.

"Perfect!" cried Meowth. "Those kids will never spot us in this soup!"

As for the group.

"It sure got foggy fast!" cried Tracey.

"It's getting as thick as peanut butter!" cried Lucy.

"It's getting hard to see anything!" cried Misty.

"Where'd they go?" wondered Ash.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket came across an old, tattered ship.

"A ship?" said Jessie.

"It looks abandoned." Replied James.

"Let's see." Said Meowth. Team Rocket soon boarded the derelict vessel.

"Nobody here but Team Rocket!" laughed Meowth.

"This is the perfect place to hide out!" cried Jessie.

"It's about time we had good luck!" cried James.

"Yeah! The chances of finding a ship like this must be about a billion to one!" cried Meowth.

"That's right, Meowth." Replied James. "The only other kinds of ships that you find floating around like this are those haunted ships that…" Team Rocket's faces got a spooked look on them.

"Did I say…." Said James.

"Haunted?" added Jessie.

"Yeah." Replied Meowth. Team Rocket then looked at each other and shuddered in fear as they looked around.

"Now we've done it!" cried Jessie.

"We've managed to hitch a ride on the S.S. Spook Ship!" cried James.

"Lucky us." Said Meowth. A ghost appeared behind Team Rocket. They were unaware of this at first, but when they sensed something behind them, they had a look and found the ghost, which made them get a serious fright.

"A ghost!" they cried.

Meanwhile, the group was still looking for Team Rocket through the fog.

"We're never going to find them now!" cried Tracey.

"Maybe it's best if we just head back to the island." Said Misty.

"I guess." Said Ash.

"No. We're not giving up on looking until we find both Team Rocket and that trophy." Said Lucy. Tracey then spotted something off the starboard side.

"Hey! Look!" he cried. They looked and saw what Tracey saw.

"What is it?" asked Ash.

"It looks like a really old boat." Said Misty.

"And one that's falling apart, too." Added Lucy.

"I wonder if it's haunted." Said Tracey. Lucy and Misty got pale looks on their faces.

"You mean with ghosts?" said Ash.

"Yeah." Answered Tracey.

"I hate ghosts." Said Misty.

"So do I." said Lucy. "We had a run-in with some ghosts in Lavender Town a while ago, and that's all I'll say on that subject." Misty then spotted something.

"Look! Over there!" she cried.

"That boat!" cried Ash.

"Team Rocket must've boarded it!" cried Lucy.

"So, what do we do now?" asked Misty.

"We'll just have to board that ship." Answered Ash. Lucy and Misty got shocked and spooked looks on their faces.

"We have to get that trophy back!" cried Tracey.

"I was afraid of that." Said Misty.

"Me too." Added Lucy. The group soon boarded the ship.

"This must be the ship they raised that has the Orange Island trophy on it!" cried Ash. Eevee and Little Pikachu trembled in fear.

"What's wrong, guys?" asked Lucy.

"Pika!" cried Little Pikachu, which meant 'The ship's creepy!'

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'I hate haunted ships!'

"Let's just find Team Rocket and get that trophy!" cried Tracey.

"And let's be quick about it before Eevee and Little Pikachu get even more frightened." Said Lucy. Unaware to our hero group, however, the ghost from earlier appeared again. But when Lucy and Misty turned around, it vanished before they could see it.

"What's the matter, guys?" said Ash. "You both look like you've seen a ghost."

"Don't you feel like we're being watched?" asked Misty.

"I do have kind of a weird feeling." Answered Ash. The ghost then appeared high up near the mast.

"I've got this weird feeling…..that somebody's watching me…." Said Lucy.

"Eevee?!" cried Eevee in a spooked voice, which meant 'Lucy, who is it?!' But when Lucy and Misty turned, the mast came crashing down. The impact caused Misty to flip over and drop Togepi, who went rolling away.

"Togepi!" cried Ash.

"Pi, Pi, Pi!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Togepi!' Pikachu and Eevee dashed in to save Togepit, but they couldn't grab her in time as Togepi fell down the hole in the deck that Team Rocket had made.

"Togepi!" cried Misty and Lucy.

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'Togepi!' The group headed down the hole and deeper towards the lower part of the ship to look for Togepi. They all called out to the infant Pokemon.

"Pi, Pi, Pi!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Togepi!'

"This is no time to be playing hide and seek, Togepi!" cried Lucy. "Especially in a creaky old tub like this!" Ash soon approached a door, which opened by itself.

"Nothing in here." he said.

"Togepi!" cried Lucy and Misty.

Togepi was seen exploring and entered another room on the ship.

Back to Team Rocket…

"It's like a maze down here!" cried James.

"But if we can get up on deck, we can get off this thing!" cried Meowth.

"Let's see, we fell through the deck and then slid to the right….." said Jessie.

"So how do we get back up?" wondered Meowth. Jessie stuttered as she tried to think of an answer when something tapped her on the shoulder, although she thought it was either James or Meowth.

"Quit it! I'm thinking!" cried Jessie. The "something tapped her on her back again, and she hit James with a mallet under the impression that it was him.

"Why do you keep tapping my shoulder?!" cried Jessie.

"It wasn't me, Jess!" cried James. "I've got my hands full carrying this trophy!"

"Yeah. And I can't reach that high." Said Meowth.

"Then that means it was….." said Jessie. She turned and spotted a ghost, which gave both her and her teammates a serious fright.

"A ghost! Let's get out of here!" cried Meowth. Another ghost came down in front of them, which caused them to run away.

"They're in stereo!" cried Meowth. The second ghost reached out and grabbed the trophy.

"Help! It's got me by the throat!" cried James. Jessie and Meowth grabbed Jame's front leg and pulled.

"Hang on to it, James!" cried Jessie. "Let go of it, ghost!" The first ghost came over to Jessie and Meowth and licked them both, which paralyzed them and allowed the second ghost to take the trophy and also allowed both of them to escape.

"That's, our trophy!" cried Meowth.

Meanwhile, Togepi was still looking around in the room that it had entered and that was when the two ghosts showed up with the trophy. But Togepi wasn't frightened at all. Rather, she was enjoying the whole thing.

"This creepy old abandoned ship reminds me of the Pokemon Tower on Halloween night." Said Lucy. Tracey called out Marill.

"Marill, help us find Togepi." Instructed Tracey. Using its sensitive ears, Marill started listening in for any sounds of Togepi. At last, it heard something and followed the sound as the group followed Marill.

"Let's go!" cried Tracey. The group followed Marill to another doorway.

"Come on!" cried Tracey. The group entered and saw a large, spiky shadow on the wall, which frightened Misty, Lucy, Eevee and Little Pikachu.

"A ghost!" cried Misty.

"Eep." Cried Lucy. She was shaking with fear, but so was Eevee.

"Eevee!" cried Eevee, which meant I don't like this!' She and Little Pikachu were both trembling with fear, as was their trainer.

"I'm not looking. I'm not looking. I'm not looking. I'm not looking. I'm not looking. I'm not looking." Said Lucy. A familiar sound was soon heard, which calmed both Misty and Lucy. It turned out that Togepi was the source of the shadow.

"That's no ghost! It was just Togepi's shadow the whole time!" cried Tracey.

"It did look scary." Added Ash.

"It was certainly scary enough to spook me." Said Lucy.

"It was just Togepi, Lucy." Said Misty.

"Oh yeah, I knew that." Said Lucy sheepishly. She and Misty rushed up to their pride and joy.

"Togepi!" cried Misty.

"Thank goodness you're safe!" cried Lucy. Both of the ghosts then popped back in and shocked the girls as they floated around Togepi.

"Look!" cried Lucy.

"Togepi found two real live ghosts!" cried Ash.

"You better leave Togepi alone!" cried Misty. She immediately reached for a Poke Ball.

"Go, Staryu!" she cried. Staryu materialized and used a spinning Tackle on the ghosts, only to reveal that they were just ghost type Pokemon. Specifically, a Gastly and its evolved form, Haunter, which surprised the group.

"It's Gastly and Haunter!" cried Tracey. Lucy got out her Pokedex and pointed it at each of the ghost Pokemon.

"Gastly, the Gas Pokemon. Some researchers believe that this Pokemon is a multidimensional being. Haunter, the Gas Pokemon. After evolving from Gastly, Haunter can learn the Dream Eater and Psychic attacks." Haunter then approached Togepi, with Misty and Lucy both worried that the ghost Pokemon was either going to attack Togepi or scare it.

"Go, Ivysaur! Vine Whip now!" cried Lucy. Ivysaur materialized, but before the vines hit, Ivysaur stopped in the middle of the attack because the ghost types weren't scaring Togepi, but rather, they were playing with the little baby Pokemon.

"They're not trying to scare Togepi." Said Misty.

"What do you think they're doing?" asked Ash. Haunter was seen playing with Togepi.

"Isn't it obvious, Ash?" said Lucy. "Gastly and Haunter are playing with Togepi."

"I think you and Misty are both right, Lucy." Said Ash.

"But I wonder what Gastly and Haunter are doing on a ship like this." Said Misty.

"Maybe they just like spooky places." Said Tracey.

"I was just going to suggest that." Said Lucy. They soon spotted the trophy.

"Hey, look! There it is!" cried Ash.

"The trophy!" cried Misty.

"Great! Let's take it back to the museum!" cried Lucy. However, Gastly and Haunter stood in front of the trophy.

"That trophy belongs in the museum, and we're taking it back right now!" cried Lucy.

"Oh yeah?! That's what you think, twerpette!" cried Meowth.

"That's right! We put a lot of work into stealing that thing!" cried James.

"You're not getting that trophy without a fight!" cried Jessie.

"Victreebell, go!" cried James. Victreebell materialized and then started chasing Meowth, which made Lucy and Eevee laugh.

"Wait! Not me! Them!" cried Meowth.

"Go, Arbok!" cried Jessie. Arbok materialized and Meowth forced Victreebell into the fray.

"Arbok, Tackle attack!" cried Jessie. Arbok attacked, but it phased right through Haunter.

"Try it again, Arbok!" ordered Jessie. Arbok tried again, but the same result happened.

"Normal type attacks don't work on ghost Pokemon, you idiots!" cried Lucy. Victreebell tried a Razor Leaf attack, but Gastly phased right through it and knocked out Victreebell.

"That's Gastly's Night Shade attack!" cried Tracey. "I've got to sketch this!" The group saw Haunter charge up another attack and launch it at Arbok.

"What's that?!" cried Ash.

"It must be Haunter's Confuse Ray!" cried Tracey. Under the effect of the attack, Arbok turned on Team Rocket.

"I guess things kind of backfired on Team Rocket!" cried Lucy. Gastly and Haunter then approached Meowth.

"Wait until I get those….." he said. Meowth then noticed the ghost types surrounding him. He tried to run away, but Haunter caught Meowth and used him to speak to the group.

"Greetings. We are Gastly and Haunter." Said Haunter through Meowth.

"Hey! What's Meowth talking about?" asked Misty.

"Haunter must be controlling Meowth somehow so it can talk to us." Said Tracey.

"Just like the Tentacool invasion at Porta Vista." Added Lucy.

"For centuries, we have guarded the Orange Island League championship trophy you see there." Said Haunter through Meowth.

"Did you say centuries?" asked Misty.

"That's right." Answered Haunter through Meowth. Gastly used it powers to create a scenario from the past.

"What's going on?" cried Ash.

"I think we're seeing a vision from the past!" cried Lucy.

"The young lady is correct." Said Haunter through Meowth. The group looked down and saw that they were still on the ship, except it looked brand new.

"Our master was the captain of this ship." Said Haunter through Meowth. "The ship carried goods from one island to another, and it was always welcomed in every port. The captain loved Pokemon, and especially prized us. But one night, we got caught in a terrible storm. And our ship sunk to the bottom of the sea. From that day forward, we have guarded our master's treasure. This Pokemon trophy that he won in the Orange Island League. Then, a few days ago, humans came and took our master's prized possession." As the divers took the trophy, they unknowingly knocked over Gastly and Haunter's Poke Balls, but they escape and materialized on their own.

"That was when we took control of this ship, raised it, and went in search of our captain's treasure." Said Haunter through Meowth. The group watched as the ship was raised from the ocean.

"Wow! A real sunken ship!" cried Misty.

"Cool!" cried Lucy.

"And Haunter and Gastly raised it themselves!" cried Tracey. "That's awesome!"

"Now the trophy is back where it belongs." Said Haunter through Meowth.

"I guess the captain must've been a pretty good Pokemon trainer to win that." Said Ash.

"See for yourself." Said Haunter through Meowth. The scene then changed to the stadium where the captain won the trophy.

"It's a Pokemon stadium!" cried Ash.

"This must be a stadium from the old Orange Island league!" cried Tracey.

"I can't believe it!" cried Misty.

"This is totally amazing!" cried Lucy. The group soon saw the captain, flanked by Gastly and Haunter.

"It looks like they're ready for a Pokemon match!" cried Lucy.

"Gastly, go!" cried the captain. Gastly charged toward its opponent, a Beedrill, who tried hitting Gastly unsuccessfully with its Twin Needle attack.

"Gastly, Lick attack, now!" cried the captain. The attack landed and paralyzed Beedrill.

"Gastly, Night Shade, now!" cried the captain. The attack landed and knocked out Beedrill, which amazed the group, especially Ash and Lucy.

"Yes. The captain was a fine Pokemon trainer." Said Haunter through Meowth. "And we were proud to help him win the championship."

"I hereby issue a challenge to all worthy trainers!" cried the captain. "Who dares oppose me next?!" He pointed at Lucy. "Will it be you?" he pointed at Ash. "Or, perhaps you?"

"Yes! I'll battle you, captain!" cried Ash.

"Count me in too!" cried Lucy. But as the two of them charged forward, the image faded and the group found themselves back in the captain's cabin.

"We hope you will understand why we can never allow anyone to take this trophy from here." said Haunter through Meowth.

"Sure. Just because the captain isn't around anymore doesn't mean the trophy shouldn't still be his." Said Ash.

"Yeah." Said Tracey.

"I agree." Replied Lucy.

"I think it's really great that both of you are still so loyal and faithful to him after three centuries." Said Misty.

"The memory of our master will remain alive in us forever." Said Haunter through Meowth. "Now the time has come for you to leave this place."

"We understand." Said Ash.

"Consider it done." Said Lucy.

"Goodbye, Togepi." Said Haunter through Meowth. The two ghost types left Meowth, which snapped him back to normal.

"Hey! What is this, nap time?!" cried Meowth. Jessie and James woke up and saw that all three Team Rocket members were lunging for the trophy with Arbok and Victreebell behind them.

"Where's our trophy?!" cried Team Rocket.

"It's not yours!" cried Ash. "Pikachu!" Pikachu jumped off Ash's hat and zapped Team Rocket good, which set Gastly up to use Psychic on them.

"Uh oh!" cried Team Rocket.

"Bye-bye!" cried Lucy. Haunter used its own Psychic attack to send them through the roof of the cabin and into the night sky.

"We're blasting off again!" cried Team Rocket.

Later, the group was on Lapras and Dewgong and watched in amazement as the ship levitated into the sky and sailed away.

"I guess they must be taking the ship to a place where nobody can find it." Said Tracey.

"I sure hope so." Said Misty.

"But what about that trophy?" asked Ash.

"I'm sure they're keeping it safely locked up somewhere in there." Said Lucy. Then, to the surprise of everyone, Gastly and Haunter floated down to Ash and Tracey.

"What's this?!" cried Tracey.

"I think they want to come with us." Said Lucy.

"Well then, welcome to our little group." Said Ash. He took Haunter, while Tracey took Gastly. The ship then continued to sail away by itself.

"That Orange Leage trophy was pretty cool." Said Misty. "Don't you think so, Ash? Lucy?"

"Yeah! I'll just have to win one for myself!" cried Ash.

"Or maybe I'LL win it!" cried Lucy.

"Either way, one of us is sure to win it." Said Ash. "Right, Pikachu?"

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Right on!' With a new sense of wonder, our friends watch the haunted ship as it slowly drifts into the night.

TO BE CONTINUED

Ash's Current Party: Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charizard, Wartortle, Snorlax, Lapras

Egg: Eevee (shiny)

Lucy's Current Party: Eevee, Ivysaur, Pikachu, Poliwhirl, Arcanine, Dewgong

Egg: Togepi (Joint ownership with Misty)

Ash's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Spearow, Clefairy, Onix, Butterfree, Primeape, Muk, Scyther, Diglett, Voltorb, Rapidash, Kangaskhan, Tauros, Rhyhorn, Nidorino, Dratini (two), Gyrados, Exeggutor, Kabuto, Kabutops, Ivysaur, Venusaur, Growlithe, Arbok, Weezing, Meowth, Magmar, Blastoise, Squirtle, Kingler, Aerodactyl, Machoke, Dodrio, Mr. Mime, Bulbasaurtwo, Charmandertwo, Squirtletwo, Venusaurtwo, Charizardtwo, Blastoisetwo, Vulpixtwo, Ninetalestwo, Hitmonleetwo, Hitmonchan, Gengar, Moltres, Fearow, Hypno, Chansey, Jolteon, Vileplume (Orange Island variant), Drowzee, Pink Nidoking, Dragonite, Haunter

In Rotation: Scyther, Rapidash

Lucy's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Beedrill, Cubone, Hitmonlee, Staryu, Dugtrio, Voltorb, Ponyta (shiny), Kangaskhan, Chansey, Tauros, Dragonair, Clefairy, Exeggcute, Jigglypuff, Kabuto, Aerodactyl, Machoke, Tangela, Gloom, Sandslash, Alakazam, Butterfree (Pink), Slowpoke, Wartortle, Crystal Onix, Pink Rhyhorn

In Rotation: Aerodactyl, Jigglypuff, Staryu, Dragonair

Tracey's Pokemon: Venonat, Marill, Gastly

Misty's Pokemon: Oddish, Goldeen, Staryu, Vaporeon, Omanyte, Psyduck, Golduck, Togepi (joint ownership with Lucy), Horsea (at Cerulean gym), Starmie (at Cerulean gym)

 

[MarkL1987]

Episode 102: Meowth Rules!

Our heroes are continuing their journey through the Orange Islands, and as usual, our villains are in hot pursuit. But right now, their pursuit doesn't look so hot.

Team Rocket was repairing their Magikarp submarine.

"Nothing ever seems to work out for us, does it, Jessie?" said James. "Or maybe I wasn't meant to be happy."

"Only spoiled little brats like you can afford to waste time thinking that way." Snapped Jessie. "Haven't you ever heard of positive thinking? Try looking on the bright side for a change."

"Ah, I am so happy." Said Meowth.

"Huh?" asked Jessie and James. They looked down and saw Meowth crying tears of joy.

"I'm gonna be having free clams for dinner!" he cried happily. "I'm the happiest Meowth in the whole world!"

"I'm all for positive thinking, but Meowth seems to be stretching the concept a little too far." Said Jessie. James jumped down to Meowth.

"Well I'm very happy for you." He said. He then picked up Meowth by the legs and held him upside down and shook him.

"Now why don't you learn how to use Pay Day and make us happy with some money?" he cried.

"I'd love to make money, Jimmy, but I put so much energy into learning how to talk that I simply can't use Pay Day." Replied Meowth.

"Oh, well." Sighed James. He then dropped Meowth.

"Did I just hear the sound of a coin?" asked Jessie.

"I heard it too!" cried Meowth. "And it was coming from him!" James panicked as Jessie grabbed his leg and swung him around.

"So, you're holding out on us, are you?!" cried Jessie. "Cough it up! NOW!"

"No, stop! Let go!" cried James. "Please! Don't!" The source of the sound was soon found, but it wasn't a coin.

"This ain't a coin." Said Meowth. "It's some sort of bottle cap."

"I couldn't live without my most very extra special favorite limited edition vintage bottle cap!" cried James.

"I guess he likes it." Said jessie. She soon spotted something.

"Look out there!" she cried. James and Meowth soon spotted the hero group.

"It's them!" cried Meowth.

"Pikachu, Eevee and the twerps." Replied James.

"Let's go get 'em!" cried Meowth.

"Yeah!" cried Jessie and James.

Ash and friends were riding on Lapras and Dewgong in the dead of night.

"See any place we can stay for the night, Trace?" asked Ash.

"No islands, just a bunch of rocks." Replied Tracey.

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'Look there!'

"What is it, Eevee?" asked Lucy.

"Don't look now, but I think we've got company!" cried Misty.

"What kind of company?" asked Lucy. The group saw a mysterious light underneath the waters.

"What's that?" asked Ash.

"Some kind of weird light." Answered Tracey.

"And it's headed this way." Said Misty. The object or creature that was creating the light burst to the surface, thus revealing Team Rocket.

"Hey, look!" cried Lucy.

"Prepare for nighttime trouble!" cried Jessie.

"Make it after dark double!" cried James.

'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, light, light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"Team Rocket!" cried Ash.

"This time, I'm afraid you're sunk!" cried Jessie. However, Team Rocket realized that their ship was sinking.

"We're sinking!" they cried.

"I almost hate to do this, but…..I choose you, Wartortle!" cried Ash. Wartortle materialized.

"Wartortle, Water Gun attack!" cried Ash. The attack hit the sub and sent Jessie and James flying into the air.

"We're blasting off again!" they cried. Meowth came out of hiding.

"That was a close one!" He cried.

"Wartortle." Said Wartortle, which meant 'Not quite.' Meowth turned in panic and saw Wartortle looking angrily at him.

"Hey, pal. Any chance we can work something out here?" cried Meowth. But Wartortle blasted Meowth off with another Water Gun attack, which sent the cat Pokemon flying past the moon and over his teammates, who had landed in the ocean.

"I'm blasting of too!" cried Meowth.

"There goes Meowth." Said Jessie.

"Meowth's certainly flying high." Said James. On another island stood a golden Meowth statue. A bunch of villagers were standing before the statue.

"Hear me! Tonight is the night we've long awaited!" cried a villager. "The night we finally see the ancient prophecy fulfilled! Our ancestors foretold of the night of a full white moon, when the great Meowth of Bounty will bestow great wealth upon us! That night has come! And now we await the great Meowth's arrival!" The villagers were in awe, and then right on cue, Meowth landed on the beach of the island with a great thud, which left a hole where he had landed.

"I should be getting frequent flyer miles for this." Said Meowth. A light soon came on over Meowth, which indicated that the villagers had heard him land and found him. They proceeded to place him on a platform and they then carried him away.

"Hey! "What are you….?" Cried Meowth. The villagers placed Meowth in front of a bounty of fruit. He looked around and saw the giant gold Meowth statue behind him.

"That's a major Meowth!" he thought. He looked to the villagers and saw them bowing.

"What are they doing?" he wondered. The leader of the ceremony and the village elder soon approached.

"You honor us with your presence." Said the ceremonial leader. "Words cannot express our gratitude. Please, partake in our humble offering."

"I'm a little short on cash, but I can pay you for the food on Tuesday." Said Meowth. The villagers were shocked at Meowth's ability to speak.

"Could it be?!" cried the ceremonial leader.

"Maybe I should've kept my mouth shut." Said Meowth.

"The prophecy doesn't mention talking." Said the ceremonial leader. "Are you sure this is the Meowth Of Bounty?"

"There's no doubt about it!" cried the village elder. "The Meowth of Bounty is a special creature, so it must have special powers."

"I bet they're trying to figure out how to get rid of me." Said Meowth tearfully.

"You're right. Let the bounty ceremony begin!" cried the ceremonial leader.

"We mustn't hurry." Said the village elder. "If we start the ceremony too early, we may put the Meowth of Bounty in bad spirits."

"I'm in trouble and I don't even have Jessie and James to blame." Said a teary-eyed Meowth.

"First, let's gain Meowth's favor, and then we can begin the ceremony." Said the village elder. Meowth was still teary-eyed.

"I really did it this time." He said. "I'm a goner for sure." He then got an idea.

"Maybe I can still sneak away." He said.

"We must bow down before the great Meowth of Bounty!" cried the ceremonial leader. Meowth tried to sneak away before he realized what the leader had said about him.

"Did somebody call me great?" he said. The villagers were then seen bowing.

"Hail Meowth of Bounty. Hail Meowth of Bounty. Hail Meowth of Bounty." They chanted.

"They must have me mixed up with some other Meowth." Said Meowth. He gave a smile. "If I don't let the cat out of the bag, I could have a good thing going here."

The next day, Meowth was feasting away, but with a displeased look on his face. This caused the ceremonial leader to come running.

"Are you in any way displeased, great Meowth?" he asked.

"How come I ain't got any meatballs up here?!" cried Meowth.

"Forgive me." Said the ceremonial leader. "Bring some meatballs!"

"I only need a hundred!" cried Meowth. His request was granted.

"Well, this ought to do for a start!" he cried.

Later, Meowth was full.

"Ah! Whisker looking good!" he cried. He clapped his paws twice, and the ceremonial leader came running.

"Do you wish something, oh Meowth of Bounty?" he asked.

"I could go for some entertainment." Replied Meowth.

"Your wish is my command!" cried the ceremonial leader. "Bring on the dancers!" Some dancers soon appeared before Meowth and two appeared on both sides of him.

"We welcome you, oh, great Meowth of Bounty." Said the dancers. They gave Meowth a kiss.

"Are you entertained, oh Meowth of Bounty?" said the ceremonial leader.

"Oh, yeah." Answered Meowth.

Later, Meowth was strumming a guitar on a cliff.

"Landing here was such a blessing! Now all day long, I'm reminiscing!" he sang. "But still, I wish I could share my happiness with somebody." Meowth then remembered what had happened to Jessie and James the previous night.

"I wonder what my old friends Jessie and James are doing right now." He said. And then suddenly, he spotted the group approaching the island on Lapras and Dewgong. He froze in horror and realization.

"It's them! The twerps!" Meowth cried. "If they find me, they'll wreck everything!" He pictured a fantasy where the heroes had blown his cover.

"That's no Meowth of Bounty!" cried Ash.

"That's Meowth of Team Rocket!" cried Lucy.

"Yeah, and it's a no good Pokemon thief!" cried Misty.

"The only thing that Meowth will bring you is bad luck!" cried Tracey.

"That's right!" cried Lucy. "That Meowth is a liar, a cheat, and a thief! He's also a stinky head!"

"You work for Team Rocket?" cried a villager.

"You have deceived us!" cried the village elder.

"You're a fraud!" cried a second villager.

"My happiness will be shattered!" cried Meowth. The village lookout spotted the group arriving.

"Huh? Brother!" cried the lookout.

"What is it?" asked the ceremonial leader.

"A group of people, a Pikachu and an Eevee are landing on the island!" cried the lookout.

"What?!" cried the ceremonial leader.

"Hey!" cried Meowth. He rushed up to the villagers.

"Yes, great Meowth of Bounty?" asked the ceremonial leader.

"Those kids and their Pikachu and Eevee are very dangerous!" Answered Meowth. "We have to draw them off the island right away!"

"Well, we…." Said the ceremonial leader. The village elder stepped in.

"For the good of the bounty ceremony, we must do whatever the great Meowth of Bounty tells us to do." He said.

"As you say." Said the ceremonial leader. "Bring on the Meowth of Bounty guard!"

"The Meowth of Bounty guard?!" cried Meowth. The guard ended up being the statue, which rolled forward on its wheels to protect a rather shocked Meowth.

"I can't believe it! How's that thing moving?!" he cried. Inside the statue, a bunch of villagers were rowing it like it was a long ship.

Meanwhile, the group was on the island.

"Maybe we can find some rare Pokemon here." said Ash. It was his good fortune that right as he said that, a Shellder jumped out of the water and landed beside him.

"Well, I say that was certainly lucky." Said Lucy.

"Pikachu, use your Thunderbolt!" cried Ash. One blast of electricity from Pikachu knocked Shellder out and upside down.

"Poke Ball, go!" cried Ash. The ball hit Shellder, sucked it inside, wobbled and then pinged to indicate Shellder's capture.

"Nice catch, Ash!" cried Lucy.

"Thanks, Lucy." Ash complimented. The group soon heard the statue coming toward them.

"What's that sound?" asked Misty.

"I don't know, but it sounds like it's getting louder." Answered Lucy. The group soon saw the statue approaching.

"Look!" cried Tracey.

"A Meowth?" wondered Ash.

"It can't be." Said Lucy. "Meowths aren't made of gold."

"It's over twenty feet tall!" cried Tracey. "It is indeed made of gold! That's too big to be a real Meowth!" The statue stopped in front of the group and attacked them with its right paw.

"INCOMING!" cried Lucy. The group managed to get out of the way.

"That was close!" cried Ash. "Pikachu, use your Thunderbolt attack!" The attack landed, but it was ineffective.

"Pikachu's Thunderbolt isn't working!" cried Misty.

"It's made of something that blocks electricity!" cried Lucy. The statue's eyes began glowing and it meowed.

"Run for it!" cried Ash.

"Let's get out of here!" cried Lucy. The group retreated as the statue rolled after them. They escaped by jumping into the ocean.

"I guess we're not wanted." Sighed Ash.

"Gee, Ash, what do you suppose your first clue about that was?" replied Lucy.

"That island isn't going to get many tourists if they keep that mechanical Meowth around." Said Misty.

"We better find someplace that's a little friendlier." Said Tracey.

"Good idea." Agreed Lucy.

"Vee." Said Eevee, which meant 'Agreed.'

Back at the site where the statue stood…..

"We have removed the group of people, and their Pikachu and Eevee from the island." Said the ceremonial leader.

"it's a good thing you did." Said Meowth.

"But while they were leaving, these two washed up on shore." Said the ceremonial leader. The statue brought fourth Jessie and James, and Meowth was both shocked and horrified by their arrival. Jessie and James were also shocked by seeing Meowth.

"What do you think you're doing up there, Meowth?!" cried Jessie. "Make them put us down!"

"Hurry up, Meowth!" cried James. The villagers were confused.

"Does the great Meowth know these people?" asked the ceremonial leader.

"I've never seen them before in any of my nine lives!" Meowth declared. Jessie and James were shocked and hurt to hear that.

"You're great, all right!" cried Jessie. "A great big liar!"

"It looks like Meowth's on the road to happiness, Jessie." Said James. "But we're heading for the off ramp."

"These two will only bring unhappiness and very bad stuff to this island!" cried Meowth. "Get rid of them, now!" Jessie and James were shocked.

"We must do what the great Meowth of Bounty commands us to." Said the village elder.

"As you say. Throw them both into the sea!" cried the ceremonial leader.

"Meowth, change your mind, please!" begged Jessie and James. Meowth, however, simply sat on his throne and looked away.

"I had to do it." He thought. "I had to get rid of my friends so we could stay here and be happy." The Meowth statue soon tossed Jessie and James into the sea.

"You all must be crazy!" cried Jessie.

"What are you listening to that miserable Meowth for?!" cried James.

"Silence!" yelled the ceremonial leader. "Don't you realize that the great Meowth is the one who is destined to bring us wealth and happiness?" Jessie and James were baffled.

"No way!" they cried. They secretly snuck back onto the island in a bush disguise and watched Meowth laughing as his dancers surrounded him.

"There's the traitor." Grunted Jessie. "Laughing it up."

"Maybe that's because Meowth has finally found true happiness." Replied James. Jessie was surprised and did see that Meowth was happy.

"Have another, great one." Said a dancer.

But then….

"Excuse us, oh great one." Said the ceremonial leader. "The time has come to perform the bounty ceremony."

"Bounty ceremony?" questioned Meowth.

"Yes." Answered the village elder. "According to the prophecy, the Meowth of Bounty will use Pay Day to bring a bounty of coins that will bring about a great age of wealth and happiness for all our people!"

"Did you say Pay Day?" asked Meowth.

"Yes. Now let the ceremony begin!" cried the ceremonial leader. Meowth gulped. He didn't want the villagers to know that he couldn't use Pay Day.

"You start without me and I'll catch up later, all right?" he said. But the Meowth statue blocked Meowth's escape path and picked him up.

"Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!" cried Meowth.

"Oh, great Meowth of Bounty, please perform Pay Day!" exclaimed the ceremonial leader. The Meowth statue shook Meowth like a yo-yo, but no money fell from him.

"Shake those coins out!" cried the ceremonial leader. But once again, no coins came out.

"It's no good!" cried Meowth. "You can shake me as much as you want, but I just can't use Pay Day!" The ceremonial leader was shocked by the revelation.

"Can't use Pay Day?!" her cried. "Are you serious?!" The statue stopped.

"Yes. Dead serious." Answered Meowth. The villagers were equally shocked by the revelation as the ceremonial leader grabbed the village elder.

"You told me that the Meowth of Bounty used Pay Day!" cried the ceremonial leader.

"There's no need for alarm, young one." Said the village elder.

"The old geezer's right." Said Meowth. "Take it easy, kid."

"The only problem is that the Great Meowth of Bounty hasn't USED Pay Day for a very long time." Stated the village elder.

"That may be slightly over optimistic of you." Said Meowth.

"All the great one really needs is some battling experience and I'm sure it will then remember how to use Pay Day once again." Said the village elder.

"No dice." Said Meowth. "You see, I used up all my smarts learning how to talk."

"All you need is some experience, you!" insisted the elder.

"Don't be so sure." Said Meowth.

"This must be part of the great Meowth of Bounty's plan to test our trust." Said the village elder.

"Then we shall have a battle!" cried the ceremonial leader.

"Do we really have to?" asked Meowth nervously.

"Come! Bare the Meowth of Bounty to the stadium!" cried the ceremonial leader. The statue took Meowth to the stadium as Jessie and James watched from a distance.

"What? No! Hold it, big guy!" cried Meowth. "Not the stadium! We'll never get a parking space! Wait! STOP!"

"Meowth won't learn Pay Day no matter how much experience it gets because you can't teach an old cat type new tricks." Stated James.

"What Meowth WILL learn is a lesson." Said Jessie. Meowth was soon at the stadium.

"Wow! I got a lot of people to disappoint." Said Meowth. Jessie and James entered the stadium disguised as local villagers.

"Oh, great Meowth of Bounty, please gain your experience quickly so that you may learn to use Pay Day!" cried the ceremonial leader.

"The only thing I want to use right now is the exit." Grunted Meowth. A Nidoking soon charged into the arena, which made Meowth run away in fright, thought the Nidoking poked Meowth's backside with its horn. Jessie and James watched on in the crowd.

"Meowth." Sighed Jessie and James. Meowth finally ran out of energy and collapsed.

"Thanks a lot, but I think that's enough battling experience for today." He said.

"All right!" cried the ceremonial leader. "Now let's see if Meowth has produced any coins yet." Some of the villagers leapt from the grandstands into the battlefield and started looking around on the ground for coins, but they didn't find any.

"The great Meowth of Bounty must still need more experience." Said the village elder.

"Then more experience he shall have." Said the ceremonial leader. An Onix soon entered the arena.

"Not an Onix!" cried Meowth. He wearily tried to escape.

"This experience is going to kill me." Groaned Meowth. Onix closed in and headbutted Meowth into the air, which shocked Jessie and James.

"Meowth!" cried James. Onix then whacked Meowth to the ground with its tail, which caused Jessie and James to look away and wince. Onix then wrapped up Meowth with a Bind attack.

"Somebody help me." Said Meowth weakly.

"No matter what, Meowth is still our friend." Said James.

"You're right, James." Said Jessie. She stood up. "Let's go help.

"Yeah!" cried James.

"Oh great Meowth of Bounty, gain experience quickly so that you may use Pay Day!" cried the village elder.

"It's no use." Said Meowth. He then got teary-eyed.

"I should've known I wasn't meant to be happy. I don't deserve to be." He cried. A coin suddenly flew into the arena and hit Onix in the head, which caused it to drop Meowth. The ceremonial leader, the village elder, and Meowth were all surprised. More coins soon flew into the arena.

"It worked!" cried the elder.

"It's true!" cried the ceremonial leader. "The great Meowth of Bounty has finally used Pay Day!" The villagers soon ran onto the battlefield and began to scoop up all the coins.

"Did I really learn how to use Pay Day?" wondered Meowth. Unknown to both him and the villagers, Jessie was the one tossing the coins into the arena.

"I never would've imagined that I'd be down to my last nickel and spending it on Meowth." Said Jessie. "Come on, James. You must have something." James got something out of his back pocket.

"I don't have any money, but maybe this will help Meowth." He said. James had pulled out some bottlecaps.

"Ready. Set. Throw!" cried Jessie and James. The villagers were overjoyed and happy, and jessie started to leave.

"Well, let's go." She said.

"Aren't we going to get Meowth?" wondered James.

"I think our old friend will be a lot happier as a big hero here than as a loser with us." Answered Jessie.

"Ah! You're right." Said James. He and Jessie left.

Later, Meowth was on his throne, and at the bottom of it was a giant bowl.

"Oh, great Meowth of Bounty, we can't thank you enough for what you've done." Said the ceremonial leader.

"You have produced these coins, great one, and so fulfilled the ancient prophecy!" cried the elder. He poured the coins into the bowl, but Meowth was still confused.

"I just don't understand how I possibly could've made all that money all by myself." He said.

"Our people are eternally grateful to you." Said the village elder.

"We would be most honored if you could stay here and rule us, oh great Meowth of Bounty." Said the ceremonial leader.

"I guess I just don't know my own strength." Said Meowth. He soon spotted one of James' bottlecaps among the coins and headed down to the bowl to get a closer look.

"Hey! This is…." Started Meowth. "This is James' favorite bottlecap." Meowth got teary-eyed again. "They did this to help me."

"Is something troubling you, Meowth of Bounty?" asked the ceremonial leader.

"I miss my two friends." Answered Meowth. He ran away tearfully, much to the surprise of the ceremonial leader.

"Huh? Where are you going, oh great Meowth?" he wondered.

Jessie and James were walking toward their sub by themselves.

"Well, Jess, it's going to be a lot harder pedaling that submarine with just the two of us now." Sighed James.

"Look on the bright side." Said Jessie. "It'll be good for our figures."

"Hey!" cried Meowth. Jessie and James turned when they heard Meowth's voice calling to them and saw him on the cliffs.

"Jessie! James! Wait for me!" cried Meowth. Jessie and James nodded and ran off while Meowth tried to catch them with James' bottlecap in his paw, but he ran out of breath.

"Jessie! James!" cried Meowth. "I only wish they were here so I could tell them how sorry I am for what I did to them and beg them to forgive me." Jessie and James were behind a rock, listening to their friend as he talked. The villagers and their statue approached the cliffs.

"Please, great one, don't leave!" cried the villagers. Within moments, the village elder and ceremonial leader approached Meowth.

"Please, oh great one, we need you to stay and rule us!" cried the village elder.

"The happiness of all our people depends on the great Meowth of Bounty." Said the ceremonial leader.

"I don't bring anybody happiness." Said Meowth. The ceremonial leader and village elder were confused.

"Please make your meaning clear, oh great one." Said the village elder.

"You think I'm supposed to be this great big cat, but I'm just a great big rat." Sighed Meowth. "There's only two people in the world who ever cared about me." Jessie and James were surprised at what they heard.

"We messed up a lot and we used to fight with each other a lot too, but no matter how bad things got, we always had each other." Said Meowth. "I thought I was happy here without them, but now I know that having them was my REAL happiness!" Jessie and James smiled at what Meowth said.

"Great one, our people need you here." said the village elder. Jessie soon stepped out.

"I'm a friend who needs you too." She said.

"Make it double. We both need you." Said James. Meowth was overjoyed by who he saw, while the ceremonial leader and the village elder were surprised and shocked.

"You two!" cried the ceremonial leader.

"You protect us both from desperation."

"You unite us all in jubilation."

"You help us chase away our loneliness."

"You're a mess, but we love you nevertheless."

"Jessie."

"James."

"Team Rocket's friendship never ends!"

"So let's set sail on our ship of friends!" The Magikarp sub soon surfaced.

"Aren't you mad at me?" asked Meowth.

"Of course we're mad at you, but you're still our friend." Answered Jessie.

"You think you can ever forgive me?" said Meowth.

"I suppose we have to forgive you." Said Jessie. "Otherwise, you'd never pay us back for all the coins and bottlecaps we threw."

"Thank you!" cried Meowth.

"Hey. Let's go, pal." Said James.

"My friends!" cried Meowth. He leapt toward the sub and his friends.

"Never forget the things that really make you happy!" cried Meowth. The now reunited Team Rocket jumped into the sub.

"Please, let go!" cried the village elder and the ceremonial leader. The sub submerged into the depths as the two villagers called for Meowth not to leave.

Meanwhile, the hero group was sailing on the sea on Lapras and Dewgong.

"I still can't figure out why that giant Meowth thing chased us off that island." Said Ash.

"Maybe that island was just for cat Pokemon, and when it spotted Pikachu and Eevee, it had to chase us." Replied Misty.

"Or maybe it was guarding an ancient civilization." Said Tracey.

"Yeah, like THAT could happen." Said Lucy. And so, unaware of the misadventure they missed, our heroes sail serenely on.

Elsewhere, as the sun started to set, Team Rocket was fishing.

"I wish there was SOME way to make Meowth learn how to use Pay Day." Sighed James.

"Maybe making Meowth battle more Pokemon to get more experience IS the way." Said Jessie. Meowth couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"If there's a chance that Meowth might learn Pay Day, anything is worth a try." Said James. Meowth screamed in panic.

"I choose you, Arbok!" cried Jessie.

"I choose you, Weezing!" cried James.

"You're supposed to be my friends!" cried Meowth.

TO BE CONTINUED

Ash's Current Party: Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charizard, Wartortle, Snorlax, Lapras

Egg: Eevee (shiny)

Lucy's Current Party: Eevee, Ivysaur, Pikachu, Poliwhirl, Arcanine, Dewgong

Egg: Togepi (Joint ownership with Misty)

Ash's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Spearow, Clefairy, Onix, Butterfree, Primeape, Muk, Scyther, Diglett, Voltorb, Rapidash, Kangaskhan, Tauros, Rhyhorn, Nidorino, Dratini (two), Gyrados, Exeggutor, Kabuto, Kabutops, Ivysaur, Venusaur, Growlithe, Arbok, Weezing, Meowth, Magmar, Blastoise, Squirtle, Kingler, Aerodactyl, Machoke, Dodrio, Mr. Mime, Bulbasaurtwo, Charmandertwo, Squirtletwo, Venusaurtwo, Charizardtwo, Blastoisetwo, Vulpixtwo, Ninetalestwo, Hitmonleetwo, Hitmonchan, Gengar, Moltres, Fearow, Hypno, Chansey, Jolteon, Vileplume (Orange Island variant), Drowzee, Pink Nidoking, Dragonite, Haunter, Shellder

In Rotation: Scyther, Rapidash

Lucy's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Beedrill, Cubone, Hitmonlee, Staryu, Dugtrio, Voltorb, Ponyta (shiny), Kangaskhan, Chansey, Tauros, Dragonair, Clefairy, Exeggcute, Jigglypuff, Kabuto, Aerodactyl, Machoke, Tangela, Gloom, Sandslash, Alakazam, Butterfree (Pink), Slowpoke, Wartortle, Crystal Onix, Pink Rhyhorn

In Rotation: Aerodactyl, Jigglypuff, Staryu, Dragonair

Tracey's Pokemon: Venonat, Marill, Gastly

Misty's Pokemon: Oddish, Goldeen, Staryu, Vaporeon, Omanyte, Psyduck, Golduck, Togepi (joint ownership with Lucy), Horsea (at Cerulean gym), Starmie (at Cerulean gym)

 

[MarkL1987]

Episode 103: Tracey Gets Bugged

Our group's next stop on their adventure is Murcott Island. It may look peaceful, but…. well, you'll see.

"Thanks for the ride, Lapras." Said Ash.

"Good sailing, Dewgong." Said Lucy. The two water types were recalled.

"Okay, Venonat and Marill, go!" cried Tracey. Venonat and Marill both materialized.

"You seem really pumped, Tracey." Said Ash.

"As pumped as me and Ash before a battle." Added Lucy. "Any specific reason?" Tracey nodded.

"I've been waiting to visit this specific island for a long time." He answered. "I can't believe we're finally here!" A buzzing sound was soon heard, and Misty ducked in fright when she spotted a Beedrill nearby, which made Ash, Tracey and Lucy notice.

"What's the matter?" asked Tracey.

"That was a Beedrill." Replied Misty. "And a big one, too!"

"Cool!" cried Ash. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" One quick electric attack later, Beedrill was sent to the ground and immediately caught.

"Yes! No Beedrill gets away from Ash Ketchum!" cried Ash.

"Great, now just make sure I don't have to go near it." Said Misty.

"Oh dear, I have a feeling that Misty's fear of bug types is going to kick in." said Lucy.

"Vee." Said Eevee, which meant 'Agreed.'

"That was one of the reasons I'm so happy to finally be here, Misty." Said Tracey.

"What?" said Misty.

"You're here because of that Beedrill that Ash just caught?" asked Lucy.

"Not just the Beedrill, Lucy." Replied Tracey. "Murcott Island is famous for having tons of bug type Pokemon."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?!" cried Ash. He started running toward the forest. "Let's go and catch 'em!" Lucy quickly turned to the audience.

"This reminds me of when Ash and I first set foot in the Viridian Forest at the beginning of our journey." She said. She then turned around and started chasing after Ash. But as she and Tracey rushed in, they noticed that Misty wasn't joining them.

"Aren't you coming, Misty?" asked Tracey.

"Yeah, Mist." Replied Lucy.

"Oh, you guys go on ahead." Said Misty. "I'll just stay here and work on my tan."

"You must be kidding me!" cried Tracey.

"But Misty, if you stay here the whole time, you won't be able to catch any bug Pokemon." Added Lucy.

"Oh well, I guess you can't have everything." Sighed Misty.

"Misty's afraid of bug Pokemon." Ash whispered to Tracey.

"A strong case of Entomophobia." Lucy added in a whisper.

"Oh, I get it! When it comes to bugs, Misty's a chicken!" cried Tracey.

"I don't think you should've said that." Said Lucy. Sure enough, Misty stepped on Tracey's foot.

"Who are you calling a chicken?!" she cried.

"Did I say chicken?" said Tracey sheepishly. Ash and Lucy just sighed.

"Oh, Tracey." Said Lucy. Eevee and Pikachu just shook their heads.

"I meant it's a good thing we have you here CHECKING for bug types." Tracey commented. The whole group was soon in the forest, with Venonat and Marill leading the way. The two Pokemon soon detected something.

"Did they find something?" asked Ash.

"Yeah, it seems like it." Answered Tracey.

"What kind of something?" Misty asked nervously.

"I'll take a look." Answered Tracey. He got out his binoculars and spotted a whole bunch of Caterpie.

"Wow! A Caterpie swarm!" he cried.

"Hey! I haven't caught a Caterpie in a long time!" cried Ash. But before he could get one, Misty grabbed his backpack and pulled him away.

"Yeah, and you're not going to catch one right now." She said.

"Don't be such a party pooper, Misty." Said Lucy.

"Just one little Caterpie?" Ash begged. "Please?"

"No!" Misty answered firmly.

"I think Misty would rather get out of here as soon as possible." Said Lucy to Eevee.

"Vee." Agreed Eevee, which meant 'I think the same thing.'

"Pika?" asked Little Pikachu, which meant 'Any chance we can break this phobia of hers?'

"Unlikely." Answered Lucy. "Aside from peppers and carrots, she hates bugs the most." Venonat and Marill soon started to panic.

"Misty, there's something behind those bushes!" cried Tracey.

"As long as it's not a Caterpie, who cares?!" cried Misty. A Pinsir soon revealed itself.

"A Pinsir is even worse than a Caterpie!" cried Misty. Pinsir tried to use its Slash attack on Misty, which frightened her more. But Lucy stepped in front of Misty and blocked the Pinsir's way.

"You better not hurt my friend!" she cried. She reached for a Poke Ball.

"Arcanine, I choose you!" cried Lucy. Arcanine materialized.

"Fire Spin attack!" Lucy ordered. Arcanine attacked, and Pinsir was engulfed in a circle of flames. Arcanine gave a happy bark.

"Good work, boy." Said Lucy. "Poke Ball, go!" The Poke Ball she threw hit the now weak Pinsir and sucked it inside. A few wobbles later, Pinsir had been caught. Misty felt a little more relieved.

"Lucy, you kind of saved me there by catching that Pinsir." She said.

"Well I wasn't going to just stand there and let a good friend like you get attacked unnecessarily." Lucy pointed out. Just then, an Orange Island variant Butterfree and a Venomoth showed up.

"Not more bugs!" cried Misty.

"Oh dear, we've already forgotten that Butterfree is actually friendly." Said Lucy.

"Nonetheless, I'm still catching them!" cried Ash. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt both of them!" Pikachu let loose another powerful Thunderbolt, which zapped both Butterfree and Venomoth and sent them to the ground. Ash promptly threw Poke Balls at them, and they were caught.

Later, the group was walking through the forest again.

"Venonat and Marill are good to have around." Said Ash.

"I'll say." Said Lucy. "If they hadn't detected that Pinsir, which I caught, Misty would've been in a lot of trouble."

"Hold up! She wouldn't let me get a Caterpie, but you're allowed to catch a Pinsir?!" cried Ash. "That's not fair!" Lucy simply stuck her tongue out at him and blew a raspberry.

"Venonat's radar eyes and Marill's super sensitive hearing make them a great team." Said Tracey. Misty sweat dropped.

"At least they're not bug types." She said.

"Correction, Misty." Said Lucy. "Venonat is a bug type, but it's also a poison type."

"But you see, Venonat and Marill are more like partners than anything." Tracey explained. "We're all a team." Venonat and Marill soon detected something else.

"What's up, guys?" asked Tracey.

"I hope it's not buggy." Replied Misty.

"I just hope it's something smaller than that Pinsir." Added Lucy.

"Pikachu." Said Pikachu, which meant 'Me too.'

"Eevee." Added Eevee, which meant 'Me three.'

"Whatever it is, it's over in that direction." Said Tracey. Venonat and Marill headed after it.

"Let's see." Said Tracey.

"Yeah!" cried Ash. He and Lucy ran after Tracey.

"Wait for me!" cried Misty nervously. The group soon came across a Scyther that was injured.

"Eevee? Vee? Ee?" asked Eevee, which meant 'What the? Is that a Scyther?'

"Be careful, Eevee." Said Lucy. "Scyther can be dangerous if you approach them the wrong way." She got out her Pokedex.

"Scyther, the Mantis Pokemon. Its claws are sharp as swords and is a powerful flyer. This Pokemon is rarely seen by humans and almost never captured."

"Ash, consider yourself lucky that you caught a Scyther earlier on our journey." Said Lucy. The group soon approached the downed Scyther.

"What's the matter, buddy?" asked Tracey. "Are you okay?"

"That Scyther looks like it's in really rough shape." Commented Lucy. Scyther looked up at the group, which made them back up a bit.

"It doesn't look so happy to see us." Said Misty.

"That's probably because it's injured." Replied Lucy.

"I have something that'll make you feel a lot better." Said Tracey. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a potion, but the Scyther jumped up and assumed a battle position, which surprised the group.

"Whoa!" cried Tracey.

"That Scyther sure looks like it still has some fight left in him." Said Lucy.

"We only want to help you, Scyther." Said Ash. Scyther prepared for battle.

"Okay, now hold still." Said Ash. He got out a Poke Ball.

"What are you going to do, Ash?" asked Tracey.

"If I catch it, we can take it to a Pokemon Center." Ash explained.

"You already caught a Scyther before." Said Lucy. She got out one of her own Poke Balls.

"I'll handle catching this one." She said. "But I like the other part of your idea, Ash. Capturing it would allow us to take it to the Pokemon Center."

"Then it can have a rest and heal up." Said Tracey.

"Just like when we first met Charmander." Said Lucy.

"Huh? What do you mean when you first met Charmander?" asked Tracey.

"Long story, Tracey." Said Misty.

"Poke Ball, go!" cried Lucy. Scyther knocked the Poke Ball away, but it staggered as it did so.

"Scyther's still fighting." Said Ash.

"It's almost like it doesn't want us to help it." Said Misty. Tracey looked at Scyther intensely.

"I think it's going to fight us!" cried Misty.

"If that's the case, then we should all keep our guard up." Said Lucy. "Scyther can cut down a tree in one strike."

"If it wants a fight, we'll give it one!" cried Ash. "Pikachu!"

"Eevee!" cried Lucy.

"Go!" cried Ash and Lucy. The two Pokemon charged toward Scyther, but Tracey stopped them.

"Guys, wait!" he cried.

"What for?" asked Ash.

"Can't you see that it's too weak to fight?" asked Tracey.

"If it has enough strength to knock a Poke Ball back to me, it probably has enough strength to fight us." Said Lucy.

"What are we going to do? Just leave it here all by itself?" asked Ash.

"I have an idea." Said Tracey. "Venonat, come on." Venonat got in front of Scyther, but was intimidated by it.

"Don't back down, Venonat!" cried Tracey. "Sleep Powder!" Venonat released the attack. Scyther tried to fly away, but it was too weak to do so. The powder soon took effect.

"Hey, it worked!" cried Ash.

"Excellent strategy!" cried Lucy.

"Yeah!" cried Tracey. He got out a Poke Ball and threw it at Scyther.

"Quick! Let's get it to a Pokemon Center!" cried Tracey.

"Right!" cried Lucy. Tracey caught the Poke Ball and the rest of the group followed him as he rushed his newly caught Scyther to a Pokemon Center.

"Hurry!" cried Ash.

Meanwhile, overhead, Team Rocket's balloon was flying over the forest.

"See anything?" asked Jessie.

"Not yet." Answered James.

"Me neither." Said Meowth. He then spotted a Beedrill.

"Except for a…." he added. The Beedrill pierced right through the balloon, which made Team Rocket lose altitude and return down to earth the hard way. The three of them soon emerged from the balloon.

"Well, that was certainly a gigantic let down." Said Jessie. The three of them soon spotted a Caterpie and Weedle near them, followed by a Venomoth that was flying by. They then spotted a Paras and a Metapod in a nearby tree.

"Where are we?" asked Jessie.

"It's certainly buggy." Replied James.

"Yeah." Added Meowth. A swarm of Scyther soon surrounded them, and their leader sported a scar on its forehead. The lead Scyther attacked a terrified Team Rocket.

Meanwhile, Ash and company were at the nearby Pokemon center. Scyther was laying on the treatment table being bandaged up by Nurse Joy. It was staring at Tracey.

"I was so weak, but it just wouldn't give up without a fight." Said Ash.

"It's almost like it's mad at us or something." Said Lucy.

"Yeah. Just look at how it's staring at Tracey." Said Misty. The treatment light soon went out, which indicated that Nurse Joy was finished, and both Joy and Chansey rolled Scyther out on a stretcher.

"Nurse Joy, how's Scyther doing?" asked Lucy.

"Scyther is still very weak." Answered Joy. "It's going to take a few days for it to get its strength back."

"How do you feel, Scyther?" asked Tracey. Scyther's answer made Tracey back up.

"You've got to relax or you won't heal properly, Scyther." Said Joy. But Scyther remained soundly defiant.

"Chansey, would you please take Scyther to recovery?" asked Joy. Chansey agreed and rolled Scyther down the hall.

"I guess the old warrior finally lost a battle for leadership of its swarm." Said Joy.

"Battle for leadership?" asked Ash.

"How do you know that my Scyther used to be the leader of its whole swarm?" asked Tracey.

"Well, an older Scyther only could've gotten these kinds of injuries by battling another Scyther." Explained Joy.

"To stay leader!" exclaimed Misty.

"I guess that other Scyther must've been stronger." Said Lucy.

"Usually, it's a younger, faster Scyther that challenges the leader." Said Joy. "Sometimes speed and power can overcome even the most experienced Pokemon."

"How come Scyther was all alone when we found it?" asked Lucy.

"Once a leader is defeated by another Scyther, it can't stay with the swarm." Said Joy. "Unless it wins a new leadership battle, it has to live all by itself."

Later, the group was in the lobby talking with Professor Oak.

"You should be very proud of your capture, Tracey." Said Oak. "Same for you on your successful capture, Lucy."

"Thank you, Professor." Said Lucy.

"You're welcome." Replied Oak.

"But it wasn't like a real capture, Professor." Said Tracey.

"What do you mean, Tracey?" asked Ash. "Of course it was real."

"Yeah, but it was injured." Replied Tracey.

"You don't sound so happy, Tracey." Said Oak.

"Maybe because Scyther doesn't seem to be very happy." Replied Tracey.

"I bet it's because Scyther's sense of pride has been injured too." Said Oak. The group was puzzled.

"What do you mean?" asked Tracey.

"Eevee?" asked Eevee, which meant 'Pride?'

"If Scyther was already defeated by another Scyther first, and then captured by you, it must be feeling very low." Explained Oak.

"So what am I supposed to do now?" asked Tracey.

"You always have to keep in mind that every single Pokemon has its unique feelings and personalities." Oak answered. "You have to try to help Scyther regain confidence in its strength and in itself."

"Right." Said Tracey.

"Don't worry, Professor. I'll do whatever I can to help Tracey help out his new Scyther." Said Lucy.

"Good to know, Lucy." Said Oak.

Meanwhile, team Rocket had escaped the forest, but they hadn't gotten away completely unscathed.

"That was a close one!" cried Jessie.

"Scyther missed us by a…" said James. He and Meowth then noticed something that made them laugh. Jessie was both shocked and confused.

"What's wrong? What's so funny?" she asked.

"Uh, Jess, we have some bad news…." Laughed Meowth.

"I'm afraid your hair….." said James.

"What about my hair?" said Jessie.

"It's not quite there." Meowth pointed out. Jessie felt the back of her hair and realized that it had been cut off. She got out a mirror and screamed.

"My hair!" she yelled. She got up with a furious expression on her face.

"I'm going to get that Scyther!" she cried.

"Wait a second!" cried Meowth. He ran after Jessie and jumped onto her back.

"You fraidy cat! Get your paws off me!" yelled Jessie.

"Why catch just one Scyther when we can swipe the whole swarm?" suggested Meowth.

"You think we can do it?" said Jessie.

"Of course." Answered Meowth. He got off of Jessie's back. "If we had a swarm of Scyther on our side, we'd be simply unstoppable."

"That way, we can get revenge on Jessie's haircut AND score points with the boss at the same time!" added James.

"Let's go catch them all!" cried Jessie. "Especially THAT one!"

"Hold it, Jessie!" cried James. Jessie ran toward the forest, but James and Meowth leapt and stopped her.

"We have to plan this." Said Meowth.

"If you're not careful, you could end up with a crewcut!" cried James.

"That's my nightmare!" cried Jessie.

Meanwhile, Tracey was talking with Scyther in the recovery room.

"I think I know how you must be feeling, Scyther." Said Tracey. "And I can only imagine how down you probably are about me capturing you without a real battle. But as a trainer, I couldn't just leave you there hurt and all by yourself. I just wish I knew how to make you happy." Scyther didn't respond, but Ash got an idea.

"Hey, I know!" he cried.

"What, Ash?" said Tracey.

"What is it?" added Lucy.

"There's no reason why Scyther couldn't just go back and challenge the new leader of the swarm to another battle as soon as it gets better." Ash answered.

"You mean like a rematch?" said Tracey.

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

"A Scyther's a natural born warrior, and it's happiest when it's battling." Ash pointed out.

"You're right." Said Tracey.

"Well, I guess Ash had to be right about something sometime." Said Misty.

"Hey!" cried Ash.

"Really, Misty?!" cried Lucy.

"What do you think, Scyther?" said Tracey. "When you're better, you can go and battle again. Maybe I can even help you train, if you want me to." Scyther didn't answer. Out in the forest, Team Rocket stumbled upon the Scyther swarm by a pond.

"Look! They're taking a bath!' cried James.

"Good, then we'll get a clean shot at them." Replied Jessie. Meowth pulled out a bazooka.

"The blaster's ready." He said. Jessie took said bazooka.

"Let's have it." She said.

"They won't look so sharp when we're through with them." Said James.

"Hey! Here's some goo for all of you!" cried Jessie. She fired the bazooka, and the rocket released some sticky goo onto the Scyther swarm.

"That'll teach you not to get snippy with me!" she cried. Meowth fired a net launcher and trapped the swarm.

"Got 'em!" cried Team Rocket. The Scyther swarm called for help, and Tracey's own Scyther heard it.

"What is it? What's the matter, Scyther?" asked Tracey. Nurse Joy soon removed Scyther's bandages.

"It still has a ways to go, but Scyther's healing very nicely." She said.

"You'll be up and around in no time." Said Lucy.

"Eevee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'And how!' Scyther then started to flap its wings, to the shock of Nurse Joy and the group.

"Scyther, wait! You're still too weak to move around!" cried Joy. But Scyther didn't listen and started flying over the bed.

"Scyther, don't!" cried Tracey.

"Wait, stop!" cried Lucy. Scyther smashed through the window and headed for the forest.

"Scyther, come back!" cried Tracey.

"Don't go!" cried Lucy. Scyther soon lost flying strength and fell down to the ground.

"Scyther!" cried Tracey. He climbed out of the window and rushed over to his Pokemon. Scyther weakly got up onto one knee.

"Scyther, you have to rest now!" cried Tracey.

"You're not strong enough to battle!" cried Lucy. Scyther pushed Tracey aside and took off.

"Scyther, no!" cried Tracey.

"I bet it's going to challenge the new leader to a rematch!" cried Ash.

"But that's dangerous." Said Misty. "Scyther's not strong enough."

"Its' body may be weak, but its' heart is super strong." Said Tracey.

"Come on! I don't want to miss this!" cried Ash.

"Yeah." Replied Tracey.

"What are we waiting for, guys?!" cried Lucy. "We have a fight to catch!"

"We've got to go, Nurse Joy." Said Misty. Joy let out a sigh.

"All right, but just remember to be careful out there!" she cried.

"We'll try!" cried Lucy.

Meanwhile, the Scyther swarm was trapped in a tree, and Jessie laughed as wickedly as a witch and poked the swarm with a tree branch.

"So, you thought you could get away with cutting my hair, did you?" she cried. "Well, now I've cut you all down to size!" Jessie's behavior scared James and Meowth.

"She's scary!" cried James.

"Things get messy when you mess with Jessie!" cried Meowth.

"I've been robbed of my crowning glory, my resplendent hair!" cried Jessie.

"Resplendent?" repeated James.

"She must mean big." Said Meowth.

"Ever since I was a child, it was my only companion." Sighed Jessie. "And now it's been destroyed." Jessie's cries of sorrow turned into laughs of madness, which frightened the Scyther swarm.

"Now it's payback time!" she cried. The Scyther swarm struggled to get free, when suddenly, the net that was holding them got cut, which puzzled Jessie and shocked both James and Meowth as Tracey's Scyther appeared to defend its old swarm.

"Well, who's this?" asked Jessie.

"Looks like we missed one." Answered Meowth.

"One Scyther isn't going to scare us, is it?" said James. Scyther, however, did manage to make Team Rocket panic a bit as a familiar voice was heard.

"It's them!" cried Ash.

"Stop!" cried Lucy.

"Huh? The twerps?!" cried Jessie. The group was surprised to see Jessie's haircut.

"What are the four of you looking at?" asked Jessie. The group was trying their best to hold in their laughter.

"Hey, Jessie. Where'd you get that new do?" asked Misty. Eevee and Lucy were both laughing hysterically.

"There's definitely something different about your hair today, Jessie!" cried Lucy. She kept laughing.

"How DARE you?!" cried Jessie. "You insult my hair, prepare for trouble!"

"It used to be there, but now it's stubble." Said James. Jessie threw a Poke Ball.

"To protect my head from humiliation!" she cried as Arbok materialized. James then threw a Poke Ball.

"Too bad her hair went on vacation!" he cried as Weezing materialized. Jessie threw another Poke Ball.

"My gorgeous hair was my one true love!" she cried as Lickitung materialized. James tossed another Poke Ball.

"They went together like a hand in a glove!" he cried as Victreebell materialized and munched on him.

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Now my hair's short, but it won't be for long!" cried Jessie.

"And it won't stop our Jessie from doing what's wrong!" cried James.

"Hairy!" cried Meowth.

"How do they come up with that stuff?" Ash wondered.

"It's called adlibbing and improvising." Said Lucy.

"I just love that new hairstyle of yours a lot, Jessie!" cried Misty.

"So do I!" cried Lucy. "Who cut it? A barber or a butcher?" She and Eevee continued laughing. Little Pikachu finally noticed Jessie's new do and started laughing himself. Jessie was still furious, however.

"Very funny!" she cried. "One of them did it, and now they're all going to pay for it!" she cried.

"So what are you going to do to those Scyther now?" asked Tracey. James chuckled.

"They're going to be Team Rocket's new cutting edge fighting force." He replied.

"Maybe their first mission should be to capture your little Pikachu and Eevee!" cried Meowth.

"That's what you think!" cried Ash.

"That'll never happen, you big dumb, fat, smelly stinky heads!" cried Lucy. "Have you even considered that maybe your boss wouldn't be interested in those two Pokemon?"

"Just shut your yap and let's settle this!" cried Jessie.

"I couldn't agree more!" cried Ash. "Pikachu, go!"

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

"Weezing, Smokescreen attack!" cried James. Weezing managed to blind the group, but Scyther got in front of them and spun around, which blew the smoke away and surprised Team Rocket!

"Nice move!" cried Meowth.

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

"Swords Dance, Scyther's special attack. Scyther spins furiously to focus its energy and increase its attack power." Scyther soon stopped spinning.

"Scyther's great!" cried James.

"Who's side are you on?!" cried Jessie. "Besides, its' energy boost was a bust." Scyther was shown to still be weak.

"It's still weak." Said Tracey.

"Looks like you're out of shape, buggy." Said Meowth.

"This one's over the hill." Said James.

"Now try the two-step and step out of our way." Said Jessie. Team Rocket laughed, but Scyther refused to give in.

"Scyther Scy!" cried Scyther, which meant 'I may not be their leader anymore, but I still won't let you take 'em!'

"Ha! Yeah, you're really scaring me!" cried Meowth.

"What's it saying?" asked James.

"It's saying that it may not be their leader anymore, but it won't let us take them." Meowth answered. "Like that thing could stop us!"

"Sounds like these Scyther had a little scrape." Said James.

"How noble." Replied Jessie. "You've come back to defend the swarm that sent you away."

"Ooh! How inspiring!" cried James. As Team Rocket spoke, the lead Scyther realized what Tracey's Scyther was doing.

"Scyther didn't come back here to defeat the new leader!" cried Tracey.

"It came back here so it could rescue its friends." Said Ash.

"Eevee." Said Eevee, which meant 'Golly.'

"What a touching story." Said Jessie.

"But I don't think you'll be able to touch us." Said James.

"I say we find out!" cried Meowth.

"We have to stop them!" cried Lucy.

"No, Lucy." Said Tracey. "Let Scyther handle this one by himself."

"All right, Arbok, Weezing, Lickitung, Victreebell, let's exterminate this little pest!" cried Jessie. All four Pokemon ganged up on Scyther. Pikachu and Eevee tried to jump in, but Scyther blocked them, as if it was telling both of them to stay back and let it fight on its own.

"The big bad bug just told Pikachu and Eevee that it doesn't need any help because it can beat us by itself!" laughed Meowth.

"Ha." Said Jessie.

"Ha! Awesome!" cried James. Jessie and Meowth looked at James weird as all five Pokemon stared each other down.

"You can do it." Said Tracey.

"Okay, Pikachu, let's help Scyther out!" cried Ash.

"Us too, Eevee!" cried Lucy. "We need to help out our new friend!"

"You can't do that, guys." Tracey pointed out. "Scyther has to fight this battle all by himself."

"But why?" asked Ash.

"Because Scyther's got something to prove to itself by itself." Answered Tracey. Scyther nodded.

"All right, Scyther, let's go!" cried Tracey. Scyther stood and prepped for battle as all four Team Rocket Pokemon charged, with Meowth leading the way.

"Come on! This one's gonna be a pushover!" he cried. Scyther easily knocked Meowth back and put him out of the battle.

"Good work, Scyther! Keep it up!" cried Tracey. Lickitung and Victreebell attacked together from different sides.

"Look out, Scyther! They're double teaming you!" cried Tracey. Scyther jumped and went airborne while Lickitung went headfirst into Victreebell's mouth.

"Scyther, Arbok's coming at you from below!" cried Tracey. Arbok jumped up to meet Scyther in the sky.

"Try Double Team!" cried Tracey. Scyther made copies of itself, which confused Arbok as it attacked the wrong two Scyther and fell to the ground hard.

"It worked!" cried Ash.

"Great job!" cried Misty. Scyther landed, but it was weaker than before.

"You can beat 'em, Scyther!" cried Ash.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Get up!'

"Don't give up!" cried Lucy. Victreebell reared back for an attack.

"Scyther, it's going to use Razor Leaf!" cried Tracey. Scyther charged and easily sliced the Razor Leaf attack apart, which caused Victreebell to panic.

"Yes!" cried Tracey.

"That was great, Tracey." Said Ash.

"But how did you know it was going to use Razor Leaf?" asked Lucy.

"I could tell by the way Victreebell was moving." Answered Tracey.

"Arbok, Poison Sting attack, now!" cried Jessie. Arbok launched the attack twice, but Scyther evaded both times even though it was clearly worn out.

"Scyther!" cried Tracey. Arbok charged straight for and launched another attack at Scyther, but the lead Scyther defended it, which surprised Arbok and the group.

"The lead Scyther just jumped in to save your Scyther, Tracey!" cried Lucy.

"Yeah! It blocked Arbok's attack!" cried Tracey.

"I didn't think we'd see that." Said Lucy.

"Go, all of you!" cried Jessie. "Attack them together!" All four Pokemon charged, but both Scyther stood ready and the lead Scyther allowed Tracey's Scyther to jump into the fray from its' shoulders.

"Slash attack!" cried Tracey. With three slashes, all four Pokemon went down.

"All right!" cried Tracey.

"Sweet!" cried Lucy. Meowth was shocked.

"Do something!" he cried. Jessie was still holding the bazooka from before and aimed it at Scyther.

"I still get one last shot at stopping you!" she cried.

"That's not fair!" cried Ash. "Thunderbolt, Pikachu!" The attack landed and shocked Team Rocket right to the bone. Scyther then cut off all of Team Rocket's hair, which left Jessie and James with mohawks and Meowth with a bald spot between his eyes as the three of them retreated. Lucy quickly got out a camera from her backpack and aimed it at Team Rocket.

"Smile, stinky heads!" she cried. She took a picture of the trio's new haircuts.

"That was certainly a close shave!" cried Jessie.

"Scyther's a real cut up!" cried James.

"We all got a scalp treatment!" cried Meowth.

"Team Rocket's dashing off again!" cried Team Rocket. The group ran up to congratulate Scyther.

"You did it, Scyther!" cried Tracey.

"You beat them all!" cried Ash.

"Singlehandedly, too!" cried Lucy.

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'Nice going!'

Later that evening, the Scyther that had been caught by Team Rocket were cleaning themselves off. The leader of the swarm soon approached Scyther, and the two made peace with each other.

"A show of respect from one warrior to another, and a more formal passing of the torch from one leader to another." Said Lucy. The now former leader took a look at her and pointed at her with its blade.

"Me?!" cried Lucy. "You want to battle against me?!"

"I don't think that Scyther wants to battle you, Lucy." Said Ash. "I think it wants to join up with you for our journey." The Scyther nodded.

"Okay then!" cried Lucy. "Poke Ball, go!" She threw the ball at the Scyther, and it went inside. The ball then flew back to her.

"Now I have a Scyther for myself." She said. The rest of the swarm then left.

"Winning that battle did more for Scyther than any Pokemon Center could." Said Ash.

"Yeah. I think Scyther probably feels stronger now than it ever did." Said Tracey. Scyther turned and nodded at Tracey, and Tracey nodded back.

"We both feel stronger." Said Tracey. He got out his Scyther's Poke Ball.

"Scyther, return!" he cried. Scyther was recalled.

"Let me do this right." Said Tracey. "Ahem. I caught Scyther!"

"Uh, Tracey, let me show you how it's really done." Said Ash.

"Oh, okay." Said Tracey.

"Observe the way I stand." Said Ash. "My feet are set wide apart, stretch your arm out." Tracey did so.

"Like this?" he said.

"No, not like that!" cried Ash.

"Oh brother, another Ash." Sighed Misty.

"One of those is enough, thank you." Added Lucy. Tracey's patience and perseverance finally paid off. He has a new Pokemon, and a new friend. Scyther has a new friend too, and a new reason to believe in itself. We can find those same things ourselves, but only if we look.

TO BE CONTINUED

Ash's Current Party: Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charizard, Wartortle, Snorlax, Lapras

Egg: Eevee (shiny)

Lucy's Current Party: Eevee, Ivysaur, Pikachu, Poliwhirl, Arcanine, Dewgong

Egg: Togepi (Joint ownership with Misty)

Ash's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Spearow, Clefairy, Onix, Butterfree, Primeape, Muk, Scyther, Diglett, Voltorb, Rapidash, Kangaskhan, Tauros, Rhyhorn, Nidorino, Dratini (two), Gyrados, Exeggutor, Kabuto, Kabutops, Ivysaur, Venusaur, Growlithe, Arbok, Weezing, Meowth, Magmar, Blastoise, Squirtle, Kingler, Aerodactyl, Machoke, Dodrio, Mr. Mime, Bulbasaurtwo, Charmandertwo, Squirtletwo, Venusaurtwo, Charizardtwo, Blastoisetwo, Vulpixtwo, Ninetalestwo, Hitmonleetwo, Hitmonchan, Gengar, Moltres, Fearow, Hypno, Chansey, Jolteon, Vileplume (Orange Island variant), Drowzee, Pink Nidoking, Dragonite, Haunter, Shellder, Butterfree (Orange island variant), Beedrill, Venomoth

In Rotation: Scyther, Rapidash

Lucy's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Beedrill, Cubone, Hitmonlee, Staryu, Dugtrio, Voltorb, Ponyta (shiny), Kangaskhan, Chansey, Tauros, Dragonair, Clefairy, Exeggcute, Jigglypuff, Kabuto, Aerodactyl, Machoke, Tangela, Gloom, Sandslash, Alakazam, Butterfree (Pink), Slowpoke, Wartortle, Crystal Onix, Pink Rhyhorn, Scyther, Pinsir

In Rotation: Aerodactyl, Jigglypuff, Staryu, Dragonair

Tracey's Pokemon: Venonat, Marill, Gastly, Scyther

Misty's Pokemon: Oddish, Goldeen, Staryu, Vaporeon, Omanyte, Psyduck, Golduck, Togepi (joint ownership with Lucy), Horsea (at Cerulean gym), Starmie (at Cerulean gym)

 

[MarkL1987]

Episode 104: A Way Off Day Off

Once again, our heroes are heading for high adventure on the high seas. And as always, they're in high spirits. Or, are they?

"I feel bored out of my mind all of a sudden." Said Lucy.

"So do I." replied Ash.

"The last time I felt this bored was during that rainy day you and I spent together at my house when we were seven." Said Lucy.

"Oh yeah, you and I were quite bored that day, weren't we?" asked Ash.

"We sure were." Answered Lucy.

"Well I think we should get our minds off this boredom by doing something." Suggested Misty.

"Yeah." Agreed Tracey. Ash's stomach started growling.

"Can we start by eating something?" he asked. Misty partially face palmed in disbelief, as did Lucy.

"How can you work up an appetite just sitting there all day?" asked Lucy.

"Oh, that's easy." Answered Ash. "I just sat here thinking about eating all day." Lucy, Misty and Tracey simply sighed as Pikachu and Eevee spotted something.

"Pikachu!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Land ho!'

"Land? Where?" asked Lucy.

"You see something, guys?" asked Ash.

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'Look up yonder!' The group looked and saw what Pikachu and Eevee had spotted.

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'There it is right there!' cried Eevee.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'It's an island!'

"Hey look, an island!" cried Ash. "Maybe we can get something to eat there."

"Good idea." Said Tracey."

"At least it'll give us something to do." Said Misty.

"Yeah!" cried Ash. "Okay, Lapras, let's head for that island!"

"Same for you, Dewgong!" instructed Lucy. Lapras and Dewgong sped on ahead as Jigglypuff surfaced from the sea and laughed. The group made landfall, and Pikachu, Eevee, Togepi and Little Pikachu went off to explore.

"Make sure you don't go too far and get lost, okay, guys?!" cried Ash.

"That goes for you especially, Togepi." Said Lucy.

"Toge." Said Togepi, which meant 'Sure.'

"It's beautiful." Said Misty.

"And it looks like we have it all to ourselves." Said Tracey.

"Goldeen! Staryu! Vaporeon! Oddish! Why don't you all have some fun?!" cried Misty.

"You too, Poliwhirl!" cried Lucy. The five Pokemon all materialized and Goldeen dove into the water, along with Poliwhirl while Oddish buried itself underground.

"That's right." Said Misty.

"Lapras! You can go with them if you want!" cried Ash.

"Same to you, Dewgong!" cried Lucy. Soon, something fell on their heads.

"What was that?" asked Ash. "Must be a meteor."

"It looks like it's some kind of fruit." Replied Tracey.

"Something must've dropped it on the two of you." Added Misty.

"Look!" cried Lucy. They looked up and saw a Farfetch'd fly away.

"Hey, that looks like….." said Ash. Lucy got out her Pokedex.

"Farfetch'd, the Wild Duck Pokemon. This extremely rare Pokemon can always be found holding a leek or green onion, which it uses to build its nest."

"It WAS a Farfetch'd!" cried Ash.

"Radical!" cried Lucy. "I'm going to catch one!" A whole flock of Farfetch'd soon appeared.

"Wow! A whole flock of them!" cried Ash.

"Awesome!" cried Misty.

"Cool! I gotta get a sketch of this!" cried Tracey. As he went to work on his sketching, Ash and Lucy got some Poke Balls ready.

"Nidoking, I choose you!" cried Ash.

"Kangaskhan, go!" cried Lucy. The two Pokemon materialized.

"Mega Punch!" cried Ash and Lucy, The attacks connected, and two of the Farfetch'd were sent spiraling downward until they landed on the ground.

"Poke Ball, go!" cried Ash. Lucy, however, had a slight surprise for Ash.

"Great Ball, go!" she cried. Her Great Ball and Ash's Poke Ball sucked the Farfetch'd inside, and a few wobbles later, they were caught.

"We just caught a Farfetch'd!" they cried, and high fived each other. The Farfetch'd were sent to Oak's lab immediately.

"I already know about the Nidoking from that pink island we visited, but where on earth did you get that Kangaskhan of yours, Lucy?" wondered Tracey.

"The Safari Zone in Fuchsia City." Answered Lucy.

"It's quite strong." Remarked Tracey.

"Question number two." Said Ash. "Where did you get that specific Poke Ball that you used to capture your Farfetch'd?"

"What do you mean?" asked Lucy.

"I saw that it had a light blue color on the top half instead of the bright red color that regular Poke Balls have." answered Ash.

"I actually noticed that too." Replied Misty.

"Oh, that was a Great Ball." Answered Lucy. "I found it lying around in the forest back on Murcott Island, so I helped myself. This way, if either of them get lost or misplaced, or if we drop them by accident, we'll be able to tell which of the Farfetch'd belongs to its respective trainer."

"That's a really clever idea, Lucy." Said Misty. "If only a certain someone else would think that way." Ash simply gave her an angry growl. Pikachu, Eevee, Togepi and Little Pikachu soon returned with some spotted fruit.

"Hey! Looks like it's time for lunch!" cried Ash.

"Where'd you find those, guys?" asked Lucy. Pikachu and Eevee pointed to a forest full of trees, and soon, the group got picking.

"These look sweet." Said Ash, Misty and Lucy. The three of them took a bite out of the fruit, but the weird expressions on their faces after biting into it told the story.

"They're so sour!" cried Misty.

"That's because they're not quite ripe." Said Lucy.

"Lucy's right." Said Tracey. "You just have to know which ones to pick." He held up some fruit that he had picked. "Here, these ones should be ripe."

"Let Ash taste them." Said Misty.

"Okay." Said Ash. He took one of the fruits from Tracey's pile.

"These do look a little darker." Ash observed. He took a bite, and it tasted more sweet than sour.

"Great!" he cried.

"There are so many kinds of fruit growing on this island that even Ash isn't going to go hungry." Remarked Tracey.

"The Farfetch'd must fly here so they can eat it." Said Lucy.

"Hey, I have an idea!" cried Ash. "Since the food's free, why don't we spend the day here and give ourselves and the Pokemon a little vacation?"

"Great idea!" exclaimed Tracey.

"Yeah!" cried Misty.

"Sounds great to me!" cried Lucy.

"Okay, then. Come on out, guys!" cried Ash. Bulbasaur, Wartortle, Charizard and Snorlax materialized.

"Venonat, Marill, Scyther, Gastly, come on out!" cried Tracey. All four of his Pokemon materialized. Lucy shuddered at the sight of Gastly, but nonetheless, she reached for her Poke Balls.

"Arcanine, Ivysaur, Scyther, join in!" she cried. Ivysaur, Arcanine and her own Scyther materialized.

"Okay, Psyduck, it's your turn!" cried Misty. However, Psyduck was already out, which caused Misty to stumble in disbelief.

"You have to wait until I say so!" she cried. The group's Pokemon stared at Scyther, and even Pikachu, Eevee, Togepi and Little Pikachu looked concerned.

"Scyther!" cried Tracey's Scyther, which meant 'Oh yeah!' Scyther slashed at the air twice.

"Scyther!" cried Tracey's Scyther, which meant 'My scythes cut sharp!'

"Scy!" cried Lucy's Scyther, which meant 'Mine are sharper!'

"Wartortle!" cried Wartortle, which meant 'Those blades look sharp!'

"There's no reason to be scared." Said Ash. "These Scyther are the newest Pokemon that Tracey and Lucy just caught."

"Bulbasaur Saur." Said Bulbasaur, which meant 'He looks kind of dangerous, though.'

"Wartortle." Said Wartortle, which meant 'Yeah.'

"Yeah, you haven't met yet." Said Tracey. "Hey Scyther, say hello to everyone, will ya?"

"That goes double for you, Scyther." Lucy ordered her own Scyther.

"Scyther!" cried Both Scyther, which meant 'Hello to all!' The other Pokemon backed up.

"Those Scyther aren't going to make any friends if they scare everybody just by saying hello." Said Misty.

"Toki! Toki! Toki!" cried Togepi, which meant 'Hello! Hello! Hello!' Togepi hopped out of Misty's arms and went over to Scyther.

"Togepi, wait!" cried Lucy.

"Togepi." Said Togepi, which meant 'I don't think you're scary at all.'

"Scyther?" said the two Scyther, which meant 'Really?'

"Wartortle." Replied Wartortle, which meant 'Oh okay.' The other Pokemon soon approached the two Scyther.

"Wartortle." Said Wartortle, which meant 'I'm Wartortle.'

"Bulbasaur." Said Bulbasaur, which meant 'I'm Bulbasaur.'

"Psy." Said Psyduck, which meant 'I'm Psyduck.'

"Scyther." Said the two Scyther, which meant 'We're Scyther.'

"Look at that." Said Misty. "Togepi's too young to be scared of anything."

"Now the others aren't scared of Scyther either." Said Tracey.

"Both of the Scyther are going to fit in just fine." Said Ash.

"Pika, Pika." Said Pikachu, which meant 'I agree.'

"Hey Charizard, come on over and say hello!" cried Ash. But Charizard just sat there and huffed angrily.

"Roar!" cried Charizard, which meant 'No!'

"Now what kind of attitude is that?" cried Ash. "I asked you to say hello. It wouldn't kill you to be polite for once!" Charizard just ignored Ash.

"I thought we fixed this problem with Charizard." Said Lucy.

"Yeah, I could've sworn we did too." Said Misty.

"I'm sick of your attitude, Charizard!" cried Ash. "You really burn me up!" Charizard used Flamethrower on Ash, but a stray fireball headed right for Lucy's Scyther, along with the others. Tracey's Scyther cut right through it, however.

"Scyther!" cried Tracey's Scyther, which meant 'Hi-ya!' His action got Charizard's attention.

"Scyther Scy." Said Tracey's Scyther, which meant 'You better watch where you're firing your mouth at.'

"Grrrroooooaaarrrr!" roared Charizard, which meant 'You're not the boss of me!'

"Scyther?" asked Tracey's Scyther, which meant 'Oh? So you're standing up to me now?' The two of them stared each other down.

"Grrrroooooaaarrrr!" yelled Charizard, which meant 'You got in my way, gramps!'

"Scyther!" cried Tracey's Scyther, which meant 'You young ones never learn!' Ash and Lucy stepped in to try and stop them from fighting each other.

"Hey, you two! No fighting allowed!" cried Lucy.

"She's right!" cried Ash. "This is supposed to be a day off!" The two Pokemon simply looked away from each other.

"This could get tricky." Said Tracey.

"It already is." Said Misty.

"Pika." Said Pikachu, which meant 'I can see that.'

Meanwhile, Team Rocket and their Pokemon were on another part of the island and soaking up some rays.

"This is delightful." Said Jessie.

"Yeah. Too bad fur don't tan." Said Meowth.

"It's been a long time coming, but we're finally having our day in the sun." said James.

"We needed this vacation because failing is hard work too." Said Meowth.

"I wish you wouldn't use the word work." Said Jessie. "Today, we're not even going to think about stealing any other Pokemon."

"What a relief." Replied James. Soon, Marill, Togepi and Eevee were seen near the submarine. When Team Rocket spotted Togepi, they were shocked.

"Is that….?!" cried Jessie.

"Togepi?!" cried James and Meowth.

"You know what that means, don't you?" said Jessie.

"The twerps." Replied James. They watched from a distance.

"Pikachu, Eevee, Scyther, Charizard, Venonat, Snorlax, Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, Wartortle, Arcanine, Dewgong, Psyduck, Oddish, Goldeen, Vaporeon, Marill, Poliwhirl, Gastly, Togepi, Little Pikachu." Said Jessie.

"It's a Pokemon-sterally!" cried Meowth.

"This is an opportunity we can't pass up." Said Jessie.

"Jessie, I thought we were going to forget all about Pokemon for a change." Said James.

"We can forget about Pokemon once the boss forgets about our debts!" cried Jessie.

"If we can grab those Pokemon and bring 'em back to the boss, we'll finally be free and clear!" cried Meowth.

"I'm all for that!" cried James.

"Then we can take a REAL vacation!" cried Jessie.

Meanwhile, Ash, Misty, Tracey and Lucy were carrying fruit.

"We have more than enough!" cried Ash.

"Pikachu!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'You said it!' The group soon heard Scyther and Snorlax.

"Snor lax!" cried Snorlax, which meant 'I want to eat!'

"Scyyyy!" cried Lucy's Scyther, which meant 'Stop!'

"Snorlax!" cried Snorlax, which meant 'But I'm hungry!'

"Scyther!" cried Tracey's Scyther, which meant 'It's not time yet!'

"Lax!" cried Snorlax, which meant 'But it's delicious!'

"Scyther!" cried Lucy's Scyther, which meant 'Can't you wait?' The rest of the gang showed up.

"What's up, Scyther?" asked Tracey.

"Scy." Said Tracey's Scyther, which meant 'The big guy's hungry.'

"Snor." Said Snorlax, which meant 'I don't want to wait.'

"Snorlax is hungry." Said Misty.

"I know how you feel, Snorlax, but it won't take us long to get everything ready." Said Ash.

"So just be patient, okay?" added Lucy.

"Snorlax." Groaned Snorlax, which meant 'Hungry…' The food rattled, and out popped Jigglypuff.

"How did Jigglypuff get here?" asked Misty.

"It must've followed us here." answered Lucy. Jigglypuff began to sing.

"Jigglypuff, Jiggly-yyy-puff….." it sang. The whole group, including all the Pokemon, fell asleep. Jigglypuff stopped singing and got angry.

"PUFF!" it cried, which meant 'How rude!' In retaliation, Jigglypuff scribbled all over everyone's faces and disappeared. Afterwards, the group woke up.

"Come on, let's eat!" cried Ash.

"Hey, where did Jigglypuff go?" asked Tracey.

"Let's just be happy it's gone." Said Misty. Everyone that had been in range of the song had Jigglypuff markings on them.

"Maybe we'd all be better off if we just let Snorlax sleep a little longer, Ash." Said Lucy.

"I think you're right." Said Ash.

"Vee." Said Eevee, which meant 'Good idea.' The rest of the Pokemon were soon enjoying the fruit while Tracey made fruit sandwiches. Lucy got starry-eyed.

"I love fruit sandwiches!" she cried. "My dad made them exactly like this for my school lunches when I was younger!"

"Let's go bring these over to Ash, Misty and the others." Said Tracey.

Meanwhile…

"This is just what we needed!" cried Ash.

"We haven't been together like this in a long time." Said Misty. Tracey and Lucy soon arrived with full plate of fruit sandwiches.

"Okay, everybody! Come and get a nice, juicy fruit sandwich fresh off the tree!" cried Lucy.

"Fruit, huh?" said Ash. "That sounds really cool, Lucy." Tracey put the plate on the table.

"Cool AND refreshing." He said.

"Well it sure looks good." Said Ash.

"Fruit?" groaned Misty. "Don't you have any bologna or Swiss cheese or peanut butter?"

"Bologna and cheese don't grow on trees." Replied Lucy.

"She's right." Said Tracey. "As for the peanut butter, Ash ate it all last week."

"I'll eat yours if you don't want them, Misty." Said Ash.

"Oh, no." said Misty. "It's just that I've never had a fruit sandwich before."

"I have." Said Lucy. "They're really good." Everyone at the table soon got a look of concern.

"What's wrong with you guys?" asked Misty.

"There's something really big standing right behind you." Said Lucy.

"She's right, Misty." Said Ash. "Look behind you." Misty did so and saw that Snorlax was up and awake. Snorlax then proceeded to eat all the sandwiches.

"Hey, wait!" cried Tracey.

"Snorlax, stop!" cried Ash.

"No!" cried Misty.

"Oh, great!" groaned Lucy.

'Our whole dinner gone in one bite." Sighed Tracey. The group was soon cleaning the dishes in the river while Snorlax slept.

"Snorlax did all the eating. Now we have to do all the work." Grunted Ash.

"Snorlax sure isn't shy about eating when it wants to eat and sleeping when it wants to sleep, is it?" said Tracey.

"Tracey, did you notice that Snorlax didn't eat as much as it usually does?" asked Misty.

"I think that's probably because it doesn't use as much energy when it's in its' Poke Ball." Tracey answered.

"Or maybe it's because now it's in the hands of a talented trainer." Said Ash.

"Oh really? I haven't seen you train that heavy tub of lard even once." Replied Lucy. Ash was startled because Lucy was right.

"Well, I, uh…" he stammered. Soon, some of the Pokemon came by as Togepi played with Marill's tail.

"Those two really hit it off!" cried Misty.

"Marill's letting Togepi use its' tail like a toy. That's really nice." Said Tracey.

"And so cute!" added Lucy.

"I wish they were nice." Said Ash. He was referring to Tracey's Scyther, who was seen training, and Charizard, who was lazing around but then he taunted Scyther.

"Rrroar." Charizard grunted, which meant 'Showoff.'

"I just hope that Scyther will cut it out and Charizard will keep its cool." Said Ash.

"That, would take a miracle." Said Lucy. The group let out a collective sigh.

Later that night, everyone was sound asleep, sans for one person. Pikachu woke up to find that Ash was missing. Eevee and Lucy did so after.

"Ash?" she called.

"Pika Pik?" said Pikachu, which meant 'Ash?'

"I wonder what Ash could be up to right now, Eevee." Said Lucy. Well, it turned out that ash was sitting on the shore looking at the GS Ball.

"I wonder what it's for." He said. He pulled out a regular Poke Ball. "There's got to be something different about it besides the color. I wonder if there's anything inside it." Pikachu, Eevee and Lucy soon showed up.

"Pika Pi!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Ash!'

"Ash! You there?" called Lucy. Ash turned around and saw them.

"Hey there, Pikachu, Lucy. Come on over and have a seat." He said. Lucy went to sit beside her best friend.

"Been looking at the GS Ball, huh?" she said. "Like you, I was wondering about what could be in that thing plenty of times you were out polishing it."

"Yeah." Replied Ash. He looked up at the night sky. "You can see the stars clearer than you can back home, huh?"

"That's why I love visiting tropical islands." Lucy answered. "When I was younger and part of the Eevee Scouts, we always had chats by the fire whenever the stars were out."

"Eevee." Said Eevee, which meant 'The stars are beautiful, aren't they, Pika?'

"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu answered happily, which meant 'They sure are.'

"The Orange Islands sure are different." Said Ash.

"So are the gym leaders." Added Lucy. They pulled out the two badges they had earned so far in the islands and reflected on the types of battles they had participated in at the gyms.

"I wonder what our next Orange Island gym battle will be like." Said Ash. "But no matter what it's like, we're going to do our best to win it! Won't we, Pikachu?"

"Pika. Pi Pikachu!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'And how! We'll win it hands down!'

"You can't do any better than that." Said Ash.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Absolutely.'

"That's the positive attitude I like to hear from my best friend." Said Lucy.

At the campsite, everyone else was sound asleep until Tracey bolted up both half asleep and half awake.

"Whoa, look! There's Moltres!" he cried. "Hey, that's Articuno! And that's Zapdos!" Misty overheard him and woke up.

"What are you talking about?" she asked drowsily. But Tracey was still in his half asleep/half-awake zone.

"Oh boy!" he cried. "I better make a sketch of these before they…" Suddenly, a blizzard of Sleep Powder came sprinkling through the air and sent Tracey back to sleep.

"Dreamy." Said Misty. The powder soon sent Togepi, Misty, Marill and the rest of the Pokemon to sleep, with two exceptions. Charizard and Scyther were far away from the sleep powder, and they both woke up once they sensed that something was wrong.

"Rroooaaarr?" said Charizard, which meant 'What's that?'

"Scy?" asked Tracey's Scyther, which meant 'Where's it coming from?' It turned out that the Sleep Powder was coming from James' Victreebell.

"Your Victreebell's Sleep Powder really works." Said Meowth.

"We're a knockout combination, aren't we, Vicy, old pal?" asked James. Victreebell bit James' head.

"Hey! Let me go! Enough already!" cried James. "Unbound me! Cease! Desist! Stop already!" Jessie and Meowth looked on in embarrassing fashion.

"We better start without him." Said Meowth.

"Right." Said Jessie. She soon prepared a bazooka while Meowth stood ready at a winch next to Jessie.

"Things are about to get sticky!" cried Jessie. She fired and suction cups came down on the sleeping Pokemon.

"Perfect! Our plan is working!" cried Jessie.

"Now all we do is reel them in!" cried Meowth. He and Jessie started reeling in the Pokemon, but they found that Snorlax was difficult to move.

"These are heavier than I thought they'd be!" cried Jessie.

"That Snorlax has got to cut out the snacks!" cried Meowth. The rope suddenly got cut, thanks to Scyther's sharp blades, and then Charizard showed up to help out. Jessie and Meowth sweat dropped.

"It's Scyther and Charizard!" cried Jessie.

"How come those two are awake?!" cried Meowth.

"I think it needs a touch more training." Said James.

"You referring to Victreebell or Charizard?" asked Jessie.

"He probably means both." Replied Meowth. Scyther and Charizard soon called out in the hopes of getting someone's attention. They did, which was Ash and Lucy's attention.

"Hey, Ash, what's going on back there?" asked Lucy.

"Let's go see." Answered Ash. Everyone else at the campsite then woke up.

"What's happening?" asked Misty.

"I don't know. Something's up." Answered Tracey. Wartortle, Ivysaur and Bulbasaur noticed the suction cups on their shell and bulbs respectively. The other Pokemon noticed their suction cups just as Ash, Lucy, Pikachu and Eevee came running up.

"Misty! Tracey! What's going on?!" cried Ash.

"And what's with the suction cups on all the Pokemon?" asked Lucy.

"We just woke up." Answered Tracey.

"We didn't hear a thing." Replied Misty. Jessie's laughter was soon heard as a zipline was connected to a nearby tree.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"Make it double!"

"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!" Right as they said their names, they ziplined smack dab into a tree.

"That's gotta hurt." Remarked Lucy.

"Team Rocket, blast off at the lead of spite, tonight."

"Surrender now, or prepare to surrender now, surrender now."

"Meowth! Say the motto right!" he proceeded to use his Scratch attack on Jessie and James.

"Those three just don't know when to quit." Said Lucy.

"Vee." Said Eevee, which meant 'And how.'

"All right, you three stinky heads, what are you up to this time?" asked Lucy.

"We didn't mean to wake 'em all, but now we're going to take 'em all!" cried Meowth.

"Well said, Meowth." Said Jessie and James.

"You three aren't taking anything!" cried Ash.

"We could be you three in our sleep!" cried Misty.

"I have dreams every night about all the different ways we can beat you bozos and make you suffer!" cried Lucy.

"Arbok!" cried Jessie.

"I choose you, Weezing!" cried James. Arbok and Weezing both materialized.

"Let's show 'em, Pikachu!" cried Ash. Pikachu jumped onto the battlefield as Weezing launched a Smokescreen, but Tracey's Scyther blew it away with Swords Dance, which gave Lucy the opening that she needed.

"Kangaskhan, I choose you!" she cried. Kangaskhan materialized.

"Eevee, Tackle attack and turn it into Take Down! Kangaskhan, use your Dizzy Punch!" cried Lucy. The combined attacks sent Weezing flying into Arbok, and Tracey went to check on his Scyther.

"Are you all right, Scyther?" he asked.

"Now we'll show you!" cried Ash. "Bulbasaur, use your Vine Whip attack!" Bulbasaur did so, which sent Arbok and Weezing reeling.

"All right!" cried Ash. "Wartortle, use your Water Gun attack!" Wartortle's attack landed, and Arbok and Weezing were sent right into Team Rocket.

"Little Pikachu, use your Thunder Shock, now!" cried Lucy. The attack landed and shocked Team Rocket.

"Now how about a team Tackle?!" cried Ash. The Pokemon and Scyther stood ready, but Charizard stepped in.

"Okay, Charizard, if you want to battle, then use your Flamethrower!" cried Ash. Charizard did so, which gave Scyther an opening.

"Okay, Scyther, give them your Skull Bash attack!" cried Tracey. Scyther charged forward and sent Team Rocket flying into the air.

"We're blasting off again!" they cried.

"Bye-bye, now!" cried Misty, Lucy and Tracey.

"You all did a great job!" praised Ash. The Pokemon agreed, but Scyther and Charizard were soon staring at each other intensely.

"Hey! Come on, you two!" cried Lucy. "We should be celebrating, not fighting!" But the two of them just stared at each other and walked away in opposite directions, which left the group puzzled.

"I almost thought those two were going to fight each other." Said Ash.

"They're just flexing their muscles." Replied Misty.

"They're too tough to say it, but it looks like they respect each other." Said Tracey.

"I hope so, because I'd hate to have to referee that match." Said Ash.

"You know what they say." Added Lucy. "Respect is earned, not given."

The next day, the group departed the island.

"Okay, Lapras! Let's go!" Cried Ash.

"You too, Dewgong!" cried Lucy. "All in all, I think that was a well earned day off." And so, our heroes head for adventure once more. Their spirits are now refreshed, higher, and more hopeful than ever before!

Meanwhile, Team Rocket was sitting on a rock in the middle of the ocean.

"We shouldn't have tried to snag that Snorlax." Sighed Meowth.

"What can we do now?" wondered Jessie. "We're stuck out here in the middle of nowhere and we can't do anything about it!"

"Hey, I know! Let's enjoy it." Suggested James.

"No work! Yeah!" cried Meowth. Team Rocket laughed with joy at the idea, but the laughter quickly turned into sighs of defeat. A wild Farfetch'd suddenly appeared.

"A Farfetch'd!" cried Team Rocket.

"I'm sure the boss would forget our debts if we gave him one of those!" cried Jessie.

"Maybe there's more than one!" cried Meowth. Right then and there, more Farfetch'd began to pop out, which frightened Team Rocket.

"There sure are!" cried Jessie.

"Maybe they just want to play." Said Meowth.

"That's a little too farfetched." Replied James. The entire flock, save for the two that had already been captured by Ash and Lucy, started hitting Team Rocket with their leeks, which forced them to jump into the air.

"HELP!" they cried.

TO BE CONTINUED

Ash's Current Party: Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charizard, Wartortle, Snorlax, Lapras

Egg: Eevee (shiny)

Lucy's Current Party: Eevee, Ivysaur, Pikachu, Poliwhirl, Arcanine, Dewgong

Egg: Togepi (Joint ownership with Misty)

Ash's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Spearow, Clefairy, Onix, Butterfree, Primeape, Muk, Scyther, Diglett, Voltorb, Rapidash, Kangaskhan, Tauros, Rhyhorn, Nidorino, Dratini (two), Gyrados, Exeggutor, Kabuto, Kabutops, Ivysaur, Venusaur, Growlithe, Arbok, Weezing, Meowth, Magmar, Blastoise, Squirtle, Kingler, Aerodactyl, Machoke, Dodrio, Mr. Mime, Bulbasaurtwo, Charmandertwo, Squirtletwo, Venusaurtwo, Charizardtwo, Blastoisetwo, Vulpixtwo, Ninetalestwo, Hitmonleetwo, Hitmonchan, Gengar, Moltres, Fearow, Hypno, Chansey, Jolteon, Vileplume (Orange Island variant), Drowzee, Pink Nidoking, Dragonite, Haunter, Shellder, Butterfree (Orange island variant), Beedrill, Venomoth, Farfetch'd

In Rotation: Scyther, Rapidash

Lucy's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Beedrill, Cubone, Hitmonlee, Staryu, Dugtrio, Voltorb, Ponyta (shiny), Kangaskhan, Chansey, Tauros, Dragonair, Clefairy, Exeggcute, Jigglypuff, Kabuto, Aerodactyl, Machoke, Tangela, Gloom, Sandslash, Alakazam, Butterfree (Pink), Slowpoke, Wartortle, Crystal Onix, Pink Rhyhorn, Scyther, Pinsir, Farfetch'd

In Rotation: Aerodactyl, Jigglypuff, Staryu, Dragonair

Tracey's Pokemon: Venonat, Marill, Gastly, Scyther

Misty's Pokemon: Oddish, Goldeen, Staryu, Vaporeon, Omanyte, Psyduck, Golduck, Togepi (joint ownership with Lucy), Horsea (at Cerulean gym), Starmie (at Cerulean gym)

 

[MarkL1987]

Episode 105: The Mandarin Island Miss Match

"Okay, Bulbasaur!" cried Ash. "Razor Leaf, now!" Bulbasaur launched the attack, which hit the Pokemon his opponent was using, which was a Butterfree. The flying type was knocked out.

"We won again!" cried Ash. Lucy, on the other hand…..

"Take Down now, Eevee!" cried Lucy. Eevee charged and gave her opponent's Meowth a hard knockback.

"Fury Swipes!" cried Lucy's opponent, a girl named Patty. Meowth got out its claws and attempted to swipe at Eevee.

"Dodge, and use Swift!" cried Lucy. Eevee jumped up and attacked Meowth with bright rainbow stars, knocking it out.

"Well done, Eevee!" cried Lucy. She knelt down and gave Eevee a high five on her paw. Today, our heroes are on the beautiful southern part of Mandarin Island. But Ash and Lucy aren't taking any time out to enjoy the balmy breezes today.

"Great job, Bulbasaur." Said Ash.

"Bulba." Replied Bulbasaur, which meant 'Thanks, Ash.'

"You were great, Eevee!" praised Lucy.

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'Thank you, Lucy!'

"I can't believe how many battles those two have had since we got here." said Tracey.

"I can't believe they won them all." Replied Misty.

"Practice makes perfect, Misty." Said Lucy. "And both Ash and I need all the practice we can get if we're going to win the Orange League."

"Nobody can beat us!" cried Ash. "On Mandarin Island, we're unstoppable!"

Ash and Lucy are feeling quite confident, and they have every right to be after three straight victories for both of them.

"I guess we're just too powerful for the other trainers!" Lucy cried with confidence.

"Tracey, it happened again." Said Misty.

"What did?" asked Tracey.

"Sometimes their brains go out to lunch." Replied Misty.

"Guys, we're unstoppable AND invincible, aren't we?!" cried Ash. Bulbasaur, Pikachu and Eevee agreed.

"Doesn't he know that those two words basically mean the same thing?" said Lucy. Eevee shook her head.

"Vee." She answered, which meant 'I don't think so.'

"We're also one other thing." Said Ash.

"What's that?" asked Lucy.

"Hungry." Ash answered weakly. The group stumbled in disbelief. Soon, they were at a restaurant getting a bite to eat.

"Okay, what am I in the mood for today?" asked Lucy. "Hawaiian shrimp? A sandwich? Maybe a burger and fries? Lots of decisions." She turned to her Eevee.

"Are you hungry too, Eevee?" she asked.

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'I sure am!' Lucy fed Eevee some Pokemon food that she had been carrying in her bag.

"Here, Togepi." Said Misty. She gave Togepi a bite of some food while Ash and Lucy both chowed down.

"Take it easy, guys." Said Misty. "What are you both in such a hurry for?"

"We have to eat fast in case we have to beat someone else." Ash answered.

"Oh boy." Replied Misty.

"Hey, three wins in a row is nothing compared to all the wins Ash and I racked up after winning the cascade Badge back home." Added Lucy.

"Hey, guys. I've solved the mystery." Said Tracey.

"What mystery?" asked Misty.

"They mystery of why everybody we meet here wants to battle." Answered Tracey. "The answer's right here in this flyer."

"What does it say?" asked Ash. Tracey started reading the flyer.

"Attention trainers, Pokemon lecture and battle demonstration by the one and only Prima Lorelai." He said.

"So Prima's here, huh?" said Ash.

"Hold up a second." Added Lucy. "Tracey, did you just say Prima Lorelai?! As in Elite Four member Prima Lorelai!?" Misty was amazed and wide-eyed.

"Prima is really here?!" she cried. Tracey sat down.

"I hear she has a house on the island and trains here during the off season." He said. "Once a week, she shows off her different battling techniques."

"Hey, I'd like to see that." Said Ash.

"If Prima's having a lecture and demonstration, then I want to be there for it." Said Lucy.

"I never dreamed I'd get the chance to meet prima in person!" cried Misty.

"It seems like you're a big Prima fan, Misty." Said Lucy. "And it seems like you're an admirer too."

"Who wouldn't be?!" cried Misty. "She's one of the very best trainers ever, and she uses water type Pokemon too! Prima's my hero!"

"I'm a hero, am I?" The group turned to the voice and were shocked to see Prima standing before them.

"P-P-P-P-Prima!" cried Misty.

"It…..It…..It really is you!" cried Tracey.

"It's such an honor just to see you!" cried Misty.

"I'm Tracey, and this is Misty." Said Tracey.

"I could really use some pointers on training my water type Pokemon!" cried Misty.

"Maybe I could sketch you and your Pokemon!" cried Tracey.

"You're my hero!" cried Misty. Prima simply walked past them and greeted Togepi.

"Hello there, cutie." Said Prima. "Nice to meet you."

"Toge, Toge Piiii!" cried Togepi, which meant 'Nice to meet you too.'

"I don't think Prima knows we're alive." Said Ash.

"My name's Lucy, Prima." Said Lucy.

"I know all about you, Lucy." Replied prima. "You recently competed in the Indigo League tournament and won the whole thing. Congratulations on your victory."

"Thank you." Complimented Lucy.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket was spying on the group.

"It's them." Said Meowth. "And they're talking to some woman who looks like she's only talking to Togepi."

"I wonder who that could be." Said James.

"Let's see." Said Jessie. She and James had a look and spotted Prima.

"Hey!" cried James.

"What?" replied Jessie.

"I've seen her before, but I don't know where." Said James.

Meanwhile, Prima was looking out over the sea.

"Uh, Miss Prima? Is everything okay?" asked Tracey.

"The sun feels like an old friend." Replied Prima.

"It does?" said Tracey.

"Oh, I'm so excited!" cried Misty. "We saw the flyer about your lecture. I just can't wait to hear your talk."

"I can't wait either." Said Lucy. "The more knowledge I gain from people like you, the greater a trainer I'll become." Said Lucy.

"Shh." Said Prima. She put a hand to her ear. "Just listen. The wind is speaking." The group was confused.

"What's she talking about?" wondered Lucy.

"The wind can wait! I want a Pokemon battle with you right now, prima!" cried Ash.

"Be polite for once!" cried Misty.

"You can't just up and challenge Prima to a match that way!" cried Lucy. "You have to ask her nicely. Watch." She cleared her throat. "Oh, miss Prima, would I be able to have a battle with you please? Pretty please?"

"I've got to battle while I'm still on my winning streak!" cried Ash. "Mandarin Island must be my lucky island because I've yet to lose a single match here!"

"Ash, you're forgetting that I've also won all of my own battles that I've had here." said Lucy. "I get that you're excited and you want to go for a fourth straight win, and believe me, I want to do the same thing. But you have to realize that Prima is an Elite Four member just like Bruno is, which means she's one of the very best."

"Well, the only way that we're going to prove we're the best is if we beat one of the best." Replied Ash.

"The ocean is beautiful, isn't it?" said Prima.

"Forget about the ocean, will ya?!" cried Ash. "Let's have a battle!"

"This must be one of the most beautiful places in the world." Replied Prima.

"Who cares? Let's battle!" cried Ash.

"Feel the salt air on your face." Sighed Prima.

"Come on! Let's go!" Ash insisted.

"The sea and the sky, one reflecting the other." Said Prima.

"Okay, I understand now." Replied Ash. "You're afraid to battle with me, or even Lucy, because you know you're going to lose to either of us if you do." Misty sweat dropped.

"You must be kidding." She said.

"Don't put me in the hot seat with you, Ash." Said Lucy.

"I think he just did." Said Misty. Ash ignored the two girls and spotted someone.

"Hey! Are you a Pokemon trainer?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm a trainer." Said the other trainer. He looked slightly older than both Ash and Lucy.

"You want to have a Pokemon battle?" asked Ash. He revealed his badges.

"Two Orange League badges, huh?" the boy replied. "Okay, I'll battle you."

"Oh great, now he's found somebody else." Sighed Misty.

"That's my best friend. Always eager to battle." Said Lucy.

"We might as well watch." Said Misty.

"Aren't you guys going to come too?" Tracey asked to Bulbasaur, Pikachu and Eevee. The three of them were still busy with their food and declined.

"Still eating, huh?" said Tracey. "Sorry, guys." He ran off to watch the battle. Prima stood on the terrace and watched from there.

"Okay, let's do it!" cried Ash. "I'll even let you set the rules."

"You want to use two Pokemon each?" the boy asked.

"Okay." Answered Ash. "Wartortle, I choose you!" Wartortle materialized.

"Persian, go!" cried the trainer. Persian materialized and straightened out its tail.

"Ash, that Persian has its' tail out straight!" cried Lucy. "That means it's been in a lot of battles!"

"That doesn't scare me!" cried Ash.

"That Wartortle isn't going to last too long." Said the boy. "I better let you go first."

"I'll go first, and your Persian won't last!" cried Ash. "Wartortle, Water Gun attack, now!" The attack fired, but Persian jumped out of the way, which shocked some of the spectators that had gathered.

"It's fast!" cried Tracey.

"Mmm-hmm." Agreed Lucy.

"Persian, Thunderbolt attack!" cried the trainer. The attack landed and Wartortle felt it.

"Wartortle, Withdraw!" cried Ash. Wartortle got into its shell.

"I can't believe that Persian can use electric attacks!" cried Lucy.

"Wartortle, are you okay?" asked Ash. Wartortle popped out of its shell.

"All right! I knew I could count on you, Wartortle!" cried Ash. "Use your Skull Bash, now!" Wartortle dashed forward and nailed Persian, thus knocking it out.

"Persian, return!" cried the trainer. Persian was recalled.

"Not bad, for a kid." Said the boy. He got out another Poke Ball. "But playtime's over now! Go, Tauros!" The bull Pokemon materialized.

"Tauros, Tackle attack!" cried the trainer. The attack landed and Wartortle was knocked out.

"That has got to hurt." Said Lucy.

"Wartortle, return!" cried Ash. Wartortle was recalled.

"Ash, be careful!" cried Tracey.

"That's a really powerful Tauros!" cried Lucy.

"If this guy wants power, then I'll give him power!" cried Ash. "Charizard, I choose you!" Charizard materialized.

"What's Ash thinking?!" cried Lucy.

"Ash, no!" cried Misty. "You can't handle Charizard consistently yet!"

"Don't do it, Ash!" cried Lucy.

"Don't worry, guys." Said Ash. "I think I have enough experience as a trainer to handle anything now. Right, Charizard?" Charizard turned and used his Flamethrower on Ash.

"I guess not." Sighed Ash.

"Ouch." Said Lucy.

"Now you really look like ash." Added Misty. The other trainer just scoffed.

"Looks like your little plan just backfired." He said.

"Charizard, Flamethrower, now!" cried Ash. But Charizard simply let out a puff of smoke.

"Why won't you listen to me?!" cried Ash. Prima watched as Ash berated Charizard.

"I've been in plenty of matches! I'm a great trainer!" cried Ash. "Come on, Charizard! Get out there and battle!"

"Sorry about that, junior, but this match is mine." Said the boy. "Tauros, Take Down attack, now!" Tauros charged forward and nailed Charizard, but Charizard retaliated with a Flamethrower and knocked Tauros out.

"Oh no! He beat me!" the boy cried.

"Roast beef, anyone?" said Lucy.

"I prefer mine well done." Replied Tracey.

"You did it!" cried Ash. He happily ran up to Charizard. "You did it, Char…." But before he had a chance to hug Charizard, the fire type flew upward and knocked Ash back.

"Hey, come back here!" he cried. The other trainer recalled his Tauros.

"Nice work." He said. "But never send a Pokemon into battle if you don't know how to handle it." Charizard flew in with a Flamethrower and scared the other trainer off.

"This looks bad!" cried Tracey. "Charizard's just getting warmed up!" Charizard fired another Flamethrower at the group.

"Yikes!" cried Lucy. Misty, Tracey and Lucy all ducked.

"This is dangerous, Ash!" cried Tracey.

"That thing's out of control!" cried Misty.

"I'm starting to wish that Charizard had never evolved in the first place." Added Lucy.

"Charizard, return, now!" cried Ash. Charizard refused to do so and fired another Flamethrower at Ash.

"We're going to need some help!" cried Lucy.

"Here comes Prima!" cried Tracey. The group looked on as prima got out a Poke Ball.

"Go, Slowbro!" she cried. Slowbro materialized, which confused the group.

"A Slowbro?" wondered Ash.

"How can a Slowbro beat a Charizard?" asked Tracey.

"I think we're about to find out!" answered Lucy. As Charizard prepared to launch another Flamethrower, Prima made her move.

"Disable!" she cried. The move froze Charizard in place, which amazed the group.

"All right, now bring Charizard down." Prima ordered. Slowbro brought Charizard back down to earth.

"That's a really strong Disable attack." Said Tracey.

"Prima sure knew just what to do!" cried Misty.

"Ash, use your Poke Ball." Prima instructed.

"Okay." Said Ash. "Charizard, return!" Charizard was successfully recalled, as was Slowbro.

"Charizard needs more training." Said Prima.

"Maybe it does." Agreed Ash. "But I thought for sure that I'd be able to handle Charizard by now."

"A trainer is only as good as his Pokemon." Said Prima.

"You don't have to tell me! I know that!" cried Ash. Lucy shook her head at him.

"No, I don't think you do." She replied.

"Of course I do!" cried Ash. "I finished as the runner up at the Indigo League for a reason!"

"It's too bad." Said Prima. "You just don't understand." A bell was soon heard.

"That must mean it's time for you go get to your lecture, prima." Said Lucy.

"Yes it does." She said. "Well, I've got to be going." She started to walk away, but then she stopped and turned back.

"If you're not too busy, why don't you come to my demonstration this afternoon." She offered.

"You really mean it?!" cried Lucy.

"This is like a dream come true! Yay!" cried Misty. She jumped with joy.

"I'd like it if you and your friends came along too, Ash." Added Prima.

"Okay." Said Ash.

"Anywhere Ash goes, I go." Said Lucy. "He is my best friend, after all. Maybe both of us can gather some useful insight."

Later, at the mandarin island stadium, a battle was about to begin.

"Welcome Pokemon fans to Mandarin Island Stadium!" cried the announcer. "Now it's my pleasure to introduce you to the Orange Islands' best, the one and only Prima Lorelai! Her Pokemon battle demonstration is about to begin! Future Pokemon masters, watch closely, and you may learn something." As the announcer talked, Team Rocket watched while disguised as food vendors.

"I knew she looked familiar." Said James. "I must've seen her in the newspaper or on television."

"And, of course, the best trainer's Pokemon are in tip top fighting shape." Said Meowth.

"There's an idea." Said Jessie. "Why don't we try and take hers?"

"I wish." Said Meowth. The bell soon rang to start the demonstration.

"All right, let's begin!" cried Prima. Her Slowbro was then seen battling a Machamp, followed by her Dewgong battling a Marowak, and then her Cloyster battled and froze an Alakazam as the crowd went wild.

"Awesome! That's three straight wins for Prima!" cried Tracey.

"Prima's totally cool!" cried Misty. Ash and Lucy were both understandably worried.

"She's pretty good." Said Ash.

"Not just pretty good, Ash." Said Lucy. "She's really good."

Later, Lucy and Prima were battling each other as part of the demonstration.

"Dewgong, go!" cried Prima. Dewgong materialized.

"Arcanine, I choose you!" cried Lucy. Arcanine materialized.

"Flamethrower attack, Arcanine!" cried Lucy.

"Dewgong, Headbutt!" cried Prima. Dewgong powered its way through the flames and nailed Arcanine.

"Fire Spin attack, now!" ordered Lucy.

"Aurora Beam!" cried Prima. The attack powered through the fire and hit Arcanine, which knocked it out.

"Whoa, a wipeout." Said Lucy. She recalled Arcanine while Prima recalled Dewgong.

"Slowbro, I choose you!" cried Prima.

"Ivysaur, go!" cried Lucy. Slowbro and Ivysaur both materialized.

"Ivysaur, Razor Leaf attack!" cried Lucy.

"Ivysaur Ivy!" cried Ivysaur. The attack sent a barrage of leaves toward Slowbro.

"Psychic attack, Slowbro!" cried Prima. The attack stopped the leaves and sent them right back at Ivysaur.

"Ivysaur, go for the Vine Whip!" cried Lucy.

"Disable!" countered Prima. Slowbro's Disable attack managed to stop Ivysaur's attack before it could even begin.

"Don't give up, Ivysaur!" cried Lucy. "Stun Spore!" This time, the attack was launched successfully.

"This might work!" cried Misty.

"Dewgong can't do anything if it can't move." Said Tracey. But Prima showed that she wasn't to be underestimated.

"Blizzard!" cried Prima. The Blizzard attack blew away the Stun Spore before hitting and freezing Ivysaur and knocking it out.

"Ivysaur!" cried Lucy.

"Bummer." Said Ash.

"You battled well, Ivysaur. Thank you." Said Lucy. Ivysaur was recalled.

"Now I see why she's a member of the Elite Four." Said Lucy.

Later, after the battle demonstration had ended, the group was at Prima's house.

"That was a really awesome demonstration, Prima." Said Tracey.

"You took out most of your opponents with just one attack!" cried Misty.

"Then when I took to the field, you got a bit more serious." Said Lucy.

"I learned a lot about choosing Pokemon and attacks just by watching you." Said Tracey.

"And it was really super nice of you to invite us to your house." Added Misty.

"I'm glad you could come." Said prima. "It's nice to have company."

"Don't take this the wrong way, Prima, but you're a completely different person when you're battling." Said Lucy.

"Maybe so." Said Prima. "But we al behave in different ways when we're in different situations. Don't we, everyone?"

"I figured it out!" cried Ash.

"Figured what out, Ash?" asked Misty.

"Prima's trying to teach me using that, uh, what do they call that again?" asked Ash.

"Pika?" replied Pikachu, which meant 'Psychology?'

"Oh yeah!" cried Ash. "She's using reverse psychology on me!"

"You know, you sound smarter with your mouth shut." Said Misty.

"That's enough, Misty!" cried Lucy.

"Everyone has a personal style, their own particular way of battling." Said Prima.

"What's yours?" asked Tracey.

"I try to behave like water." Answered Prima.

"What do you mean, prima?" asked Ash.

"Isn't the answer obvious, Ash?" replied Lucy. "She goes with the flow, just like the always changing flow of the sea."

"Correct, Lucy." Said Prima. "When I'm not battling, I try to go with the flow. But the moment a battle starts, I become as unforgiving as ice. Then I melt right back and flow on."

"Which is why she uses water and ice types in battle." Said Lucy.

"A trainer can be successful with any number of styles, but the most important thing, the most important thing is knowing, really knowing, where your true strength lies." Said Prima.

"Good, because I'm strong. Real strong." Said Ash. "And so is Lucy."

"That's good, but in order to become Pokemon masters, you both need a different kind of strength." Replied Prima.

"What kind of strength is that?" asked Lucy.

"The strength that comes from inside." Answered Prima. "With that kind of strength, you and your friend can share your heart with your Pokemon."

"I can almost feel what you mean." Said Tracey. The group grew silent, but Ash's impatience broke the silence.

"Miss Prima, let's have a Pokemon battle, now!" cried Ash.

"You had your chance." Said Misty. "She beat your Charizard with her Slowbro."

"Charizard was technically acting on its own." Said Lucy.

"Lucy's right!" cried Ash. "That wasn't a real match! I want to have the chance to prove how good I really am!" Prima sighed.

"Okay. Let's battle." She said, and she walked down the porch steps.

"All right!" cried Ash.

'This should be a good one." Said Tracey.

"Yeah, fire against ice." Said Lucy. The two trainers and the rest of the group were soon at the battlefield. Ash and Prima were both getting ready to roll.

"We'll battle with just one Pokemon each." Said Prima.

"Fine." Replied Ash.

"It wouldn't be fair to go easy on you!" cried Prima.

"Don't worry." Said Ash. "I studied your style and I think I know exactly how I'm going to beat you! I choose Pikachu!" Pikachu took to the field.

"Then I'll choose…..!" cried Prima. A Cloyster materialized from the Poke Ball.

"Cloyster?" said Misty.

"I knew she'd use a water type!" cried Ash. "Are you ready, Pikachu?"

"Pika!" answered Pikachu, which meant 'Ready!'

"You better be careful, Ash." Said Tracey. "Prima knows what she's doing!"

"And so do I!" cried Ash.

"Are you sure about that?" smirked Lucy.

"Just watch me!" cried Ash.

"I'll let you have the first move, Ash!" cried Prima.

"Cloyster won't be able to beat this!" cried Ash. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt attack!" As Pikachu charged, however….

"Cloyster, Withdraw!" cried Prima. Pikachu launched the attack right at the same time Cloyster withdrew into its shell, thus protecting itself as the attack landed. It soon emerged unharmed.

"Look at that!" cried Misty. "Thunderbolt didn't weaken Cloyster at all!"

"You're right!" cried Tracey. "Cloyster's Withdraw is such a strong defense that electric attacks don't weaken it at all!"

"That's not surprising." Said Lucy. "A Cloyster's shell is strong enough to withstand a bomb going kaboom."

"All right. Pikachu, Agility!" cried Ash. Pikachu dashed forward.

"Cloyster, Reflect!" cried Prima. Pikachu ran right into the barrier and bounced back.

"Are you okay?" asked Ash. Pikachu got back up.

"That's the spirit!" cried Ash. "Pikachu, Thunder attack!" The attack landed and nearly blinded the group.

"That ought to do it!" cried Ash. Cloyster opened its eyes and started glowing red.

"What's that?" asked Ash.

"Cloyster's rage attack." Said Tracey. "It's dangerous. Whenever a Pokemon uses Rage, its' attack power goes way up!"

"Hurry, Pikachu! Quick Attack!" cried Ash. Pikachu dashed forward.

"Aurora Beam!" cried Prima. The attack fired, and Pikachu was able to dodge the first blast, but the second one nailed him, which shocked Ash.

"Cloyster, Take Down, now!" cried Prima. Cloyster charged and nailed Pikachu, which knocked him out.

"Pikachu, are you all right?!" cried Ash. He picked Pikachu up.

"You put up a great fight." Said Ash.

"Pika." Replied Pikachu, which meant 'Thank you.'

"The match is over." Said Tracey.

"It sure is." Added Misty.

"Along with Ash's winning streak." Replied Lucy. Cloyster was recalled and Prima approached Ash.

"I'm sorry I had to do that, Ash." She said. She took Pikachu.

"Are you all right, Pikachu?" she asked.

"Pika." Pikachu answered weakly, which meant 'I'm good.'

"You're very confident in your skills as a trainer, but you don't become a great Pokemon trainer simply by using your skills." Said Prima.

"But I already earned a lot of badges just like Lucy did, so I must be a really good trainer, right?" asked Ash.

"I think you're forgetting something very important, Ash." Answered Prima. "Didn't your Pokemon do the battling to earn those badges as well?"

"She has a point, Ash." Said Lucy.

"Those badges were gifts from your Pokemon because they show how much they care for you." Said Prima.

"They battle for me because they care about me." Said Ash. Prima gave Pikachu back.

"That's right." She said. "And remember that losing is a very important part of becoming a Pokemon master. Same goes for Lucy."

"But why's that?" asked Ash.

"You need to experience the pain of disappointment from defeat." Explained Prima. "It's easy to win, but when you lose, you have to rely on your real strengths, the people and the Pokemon you love and who love you back."

"People and Pokemon." Said Ash.

"Like us." Replied Lucy.

"I'll remember that." Said Ash.

"As will I." said Lucy.

"I know how much you two want to compete in the Orange League." Said Prima. "But if you want to get there, you have to become closer to your Pokemon than ever before."

"How do we do that?" asked Lucy.

"By battling side by side with your Pokemon." Answered Prima. "As time goes on, I think you'll learn almost as much about your Pokemon as you do about yourselves. And when you've conquered all the gyms in the league, both of you will be presented with an honorable trainer trophy for your accomplishments."

"An honorable trainer trophy for both of us?" said Ash.

"That's if either of you prove that you have the heart of a serious Pokemon trainer." Said Prima.

"We'll prove it!" cried Ash.

"And we'll remember what you said." Added Lucy. "Thank you, Prima. Thank you very much. See Ash, she wasn't trying to intentionally avoid battling you at all."

"Listen, guys, I'm sorry about how I've been behaving recently." Said Ash. "And Prima, I'm really sorry about what I said towards you earlier today. All this time, I thought you were just being a coward and not taking things seriously in Pokemon battling. But now, I realize that you were just trying to show me that there's a lot more to battling than just winning." Prima smiled.

"Thank you, Ash." She said. "That's all I wanted to hear." Just then, a set of familiar voices were heard.

"Bravo." Said James.

"Very inspiring." Added Jessie. The group looked up and saw Team Rocket up ahead in their balloon.

"So sorry to interrupt the pep rally." Said jessie.

"We'd love to hear the rest of your lecture." Added James.

"Is it available on CD?" asked Meowth.

"Tape only!" cried Prima. She gave a whisper to the group. "$18.95." The group fell over onto the ground in disbelief upon hearing the price of the lecture on tape while Team Rocket fell out of the balloon in disbelief.

"Prepare for trouble and defeat!"

"Make it double for Miss Elite!"

"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, right?"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Ash.

"I bet they're here to try and steal Prima's Pokemon!" cried Lucy.

"That was our original plan." Said James.

"But then we realized that we'd never stand a chance against someone like you, Prima." Replied Jessie.

"For once, a really smart idea form those three idiots." Said Lucy.

"So we decided to just grab Pikachu and Eevee while they're still pooped out from all the battling they've done today." Said Meowth.

"Let's go, Pikachu and Eevee!" cried Jessie and James.

"Guess again!" cried Lucy and Ash.

"I forgot; you two would rather battle." Said Jessie.

"Losing is very important, isn't it?" said James.

"Yeah, losing is so important that our whole career is based on that." Said Meowth.

"No wonder the three of you keep coming back for more." Said Lucy. "You're just gluttons for punishment."

"They're weird." Said Tracey.

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Tracey." Said Misty.

"Call us names if you want, but we're not leaving without Pikachu and Eevee!" cried James.

"That's what you think!" cried Lucy and Ash.

"Don't fight. There's really no need to argue." Said Prima. "Maybe I can cool them down. I choose Jynx!" She tossed a Poke ball, and Jynx materialized. (Quick Author's Note before we continue: The Jynx portrayed here has its' early 2000s recolored purple skin instead of its' original black color. Now, back to the episode.)

"Look James, it's a Jynx!" cried Jessie.

"You don't see one of those every day!" cried James.

"Ice Beam attack!" cried Prima. The attack landed and froze Team Rocket solid.

"Frozen! All right!" cried Ash.

"It's a triple Team Rocket icicle!" cried Lucy.

"I can't move my Meowth!" cried Meowth.

"I've got the cold shoulder, and everything else!" cried James.

"Jynx, use Blizzard and blow them away!" cried Prima. The attack sent Team Rocket upward. The ice surrounding their heads broke apart, and a trail of sparkling ice was left behind them as they went flying.

"Looks like…." Started James.

"Team Rocket's…." continued Meowth.

"Blasting off again!" cried Team Rocket.

"Great job!" cried Ash.

"That was the coolest!" cried Misty.

"Absolutely no pun intended." Added Lucy. The group watched as the ice came down and sparkled.

"Wow. Look at how it sparkles." Said Tracey.

"The ice is nice." Said prima.

Later that evening…

"The nearest gym is Trovita." Said Prima.

"Trovita?" said Ash.

"Go to the other side of the island and straight across the bay." Instructed Prima.

"Okay, Pikachu, ready for Trovita?" asked Ash.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Sure am!'

"Eevee, you think we'll conquer Trovita?" asked Lucy.

"Vee!" cried Eevee, which meant 'Oh yeah!'

"It's been a pleasure meeting you all." Said Prima. "I hope I've helped you all out a little."

"You have." Said Ash. "And if me or Lucy ever get into any trouble, we'll listen to the wind and think about all the things you taught us, Prima."

"And I'm going to try my best to go with the flow, just like you do, Prima." Said Misty.

"No matter what, I'm always going to remember that my Pokemon and I are partners and friends." Said Tracey.

"Pikachu, I just hope that you and I will get to become even better buddies." Said Ash.

"Pikachu." Said Pikachu, which meant 'I'm sure of it.'

"And Eevee, you and I will become even better friends than we already are, won't we?" said Lucy.

"Eevee!" answered Eevee, which meant 'You can count on that for sure!' The group soon departed.

"Goodbye! And good luck!" cried Prima. The group bid farewell to Prima. So, with new insights into the world of Pokemon, Ash and Lucy move closer to their dream. Another gym, and another adventure, is just around the bend.

TO BE CONTINUED

Ash's Current Party: Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charizard, Wartortle, Snorlax, Lapras

Egg: Eevee (shiny)

Lucy's Current Party: Eevee, Ivysaur, Pikachu, Poliwhirl, Arcanine, Dewgong

Egg: Togepi (Joint ownership with Misty)

Ash's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Spearow, Clefairy, Onix, Butterfree, Primeape, Muk, Scyther, Diglett, Voltorb, Rapidash, Kangaskhan, Tauros, Rhyhorn, Nidorino, Dratini (two), Gyrados, Exeggutor, Kabuto, Kabutops, Ivysaur, Venusaur, Growlithe, Arbok, Weezing, Meowth, Magmar, Blastoise, Squirtle, Kingler, Aerodactyl, Machoke, Dodrio, Mr. Mime, Bulbasaurtwo, Charmandertwo, Squirtletwo, Venusaurtwo, Charizardtwo, Blastoisetwo, Vulpixtwo, Ninetalestwo, Hitmonleetwo, Hitmonchan, Gengar, Moltres, Fearow, Hypno, Chansey, Jolteon, Vileplume (Orange Island variant), Drowzee, Pink Nidoking, Dragonite, Haunter, Shellder, Butterfree (Orange island variant), Beedrill, Venomoth, Farfetch'd

In Rotation: Scyther, Rapidash, Farfetch'd, Haunter, Dragonite, Nidoking

Lucy's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Beedrill, Cubone, Hitmonlee, Staryu, Dugtrio, Voltorb, Ponyta (shiny), Kangaskhan, Chansey, Tauros, Dragonair, Clefairy, Exeggcute, Jigglypuff, Kabuto, Aerodactyl, Machoke, Tangela, Gloom, Sandslash, Alakazam, Butterfree (Pink), Slowpoke, Wartortle, Crystal Onix, Pink Rhyhorn, Scyther, Pinsir, Farfetch'd

In Rotation: Aerodactyl, Jigglypuff, Staryu, Dragonair, Pinsir, Wartortle

Tracey's Pokemon: Venonat, Marill, Gastly, Scyther

Misty's Pokemon: Oddish, Goldeen, Staryu, Vaporeon, Omanyte, Psyduck, Golduck, Togepi (joint ownership with Lucy), Horsea (at Cerulean gym), Starmie (at Cerulean gym)