The action heats up here in Chapter 5! Read on to see what happens! Disclaimer: I’m a Pokémon fanatic who just likes writing stories about the characters in the anime. Please don’t sue me for anything. I’m a college student, and not exactly the best person to ask for money. ^_^;; Author’s Warning: This fanfic is rated PG because it includes the following: a half-dressed female character, a display of public drunkenness (a first for me!), plenty of gun shots, one word of profanity (yep, a first too!), and a bleeding Pokémon. Parental guidance is suggested. Don’t say I didn’t warn you young children out there! Back Episode Reminder: http://www.acmecity.com/games/mythical/292/flib.html - If you haven’t read Episodes 1 - 37 yet, I suggest you do so before moving on. Coming Soon: “Adventures Series: Parting Ways” - Episodes 1 - 8 in one package, all revised since their first release in October and November of 1999. This is the quickest way to catch up on older episodes. Stay tuned for details on how to request your own copy! *** Monday, August 22nd, Downtown Indigo Plateau - “The Lion’s Roar” Restaurant & Bar Narrator: Many parties are abundant in the vicinity of downtown Indigo Plateau. At one restaurant and bar in particular, the parties have been going on since the sun went down. Camera switches to the front door of “The Lion’s Roar.” Suddenly, the door opens outward, and a familiar figure steps out. It’s Samantha, and she doesn’t seem to be looking too good... both physically and mentally. Her auburn hair is ruffled and out of place. She’s partially undressed, as the only piece of clothing she has on above her waist is her white bra. The rest of it had been lost inside somewhere. Luckily, her knee-length violet skirt is still completely intact. It’s easy to see that she’s been drinking, as she begins to speak incoherently. Narrator: Ooh, boy, looks like someone’s had a little too much for one night. She’d better get to her hotel room before some lecherous fool comes after her... As if on cue (happens a little too often, doesn’t it?), a guy who could be easily mistaken for an older version of Gary Oak, comes out, seemingly interested in getting Samantha for himself. Luckily for our heroine, someone stops the guy in his tracks... his wife. Of course, she happens to have one of those chubby wives who also walk around in nightdresses and curlers in the hair. Did I mention that their faces don’t look that cute, either? Wife: I knew I’d find you out here! Admiring other women again, are you? Husband: (trying to hide his true intentions) No dear, nothing like that! Wife: (pulls a rolling pin out of nowhere and hits him on the head with it) Liar! You’re coming home right now! She drags her half-drunken husband away, probably to their house so she can remind him who his wife is. Anyway, back to Samantha. She’s managed to somehow, in her drunken state, wander over to a very empty alley. Of course, that doesn’t mean that she’s sober enough to notice the trio that she’s about to bump into. Although it’s hard for her to see, she seemingly sees everything go dark as the sound of a gunshot rings through the air. ************************************************************************ Adventures Series, Episode 38: “Misty’s Going for Gold,” Chapter Five: “Let’s Get Back Pikachu!” Story Written by Freedom Fighter, Pre-read by Matt Lenz ************************************************************************ Just scant seconds before that, Officer Jenny of Fuschia City is leaning on her motorbike, a block away from Samantha, eating a jelly donut and drinking a cup of coffee. She ended up scoring the night shift for the downtown sector this very night. Luckily or unluckily, however you want to put it, this night’s about to get a lot more exciting... Fuschia Jenny: (taking a sip of her coffee) I’m amazed at how peaceful this night has been. It’s already ten thirty, and absolutely nothing has happened... guess I shouldn’t complain though. That’s when Jenny hears the ill-fated gunshot near “The Lion’s Roar.” Not taking time to think twice, Jenny gulps down the rest of her coffee, throws her donut in a nearby garbage bin, starts her motorcycle, and takes off, heading towards the incident. Thirty seconds later she pulls it to a stop, and quickly analyzes the situation. Fuschia Jenny: (in thought) 2 Team Rocket members... a girl lying on the street partially undressed... handgun next to her, with that smell of gunpowder still fresh... Pikachu that might be stolen in the hands of one of the Rockets... Jumping off her motorcycle just a mere second after stopping it, she pulls out her gun and immediately points it at the Team Rocket members. Jessie, James, and Persian, begin to panic when they spot Jenny. Jessie was about to beat the living daylights out of Samantha because she ran into them. James had Pikachu contained under glass, and Persian was just watching Jessie at the time. Of course, Jenny was processing the situation much more differently than what actually occurred. Fuschia Jenny: (pointing the gun at Team Rocket) Freeze! Put your hands where I can see them! Jessie, James, and Persian, in a split second, make the biggest mistake of the entire careers... well, other than attempting to tackle Jenny. They ran. Jessie: Come on! We’ve got to get out of here before Jenny pumps us full of lead! James: (screaming) Aah! I don’t want to die! Persian: I second that! Fuschia Jenny: (pointing her gun at the fleeing Rockets) I said freeze! (very loudly, as she pulls the trigger) What part of that don’t you understand? She begins to fire several shots at Team Rocket, who manage to avoid getting hit by all of them. The trio quickly disappears from sight, as Jenny quickly ponders whether or not to pursue them. She immediately thinks twice when she sees Samantha lying flat on her face on the floor. Quickly running back to her motorcycle, she radios in the situation to her fellow colleagues. Fuschia Jenny: This is the Officer Jenny of Fuschia City. I’m at the corner of 10th and A Street! I’ve got two Rockets and a Persian on the loose, heading north on 10th, towards the city border. They have kidnapped a Pikachu and may have tried to get rid of an innocent bystander by shooting at her. They are considered to be armed and dangerous! Pursue with extreme caution! I also need an ambulance for a female in her early twenties. She may have been shot by the fleeing suspects. Back with the trio, who are still running away. Persian: You had to go and drop that gun, didn’t you Jessie? Jessie: It wasn’t my fault! If that stupid girl would’ve watched where she was going, we wouldn’t be in the mess that we are right now. James: You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was trying to seduce you. Jessie: Preposterous! What kind of sick mind would ever think of such a thing? Persian: I hate to interrupt this lovely conversation, (shouts) but look ahead! Sure enough, the trio stops dead in their tracks as three Officer Jennys, one of them with an Arcanine, stand in their way, guns poised and ready to fire on the spot. All 3 Jennys: Stop! In the name of the law! The Team Rocket trio panics again, and takes off running... in different directions. One Jenny pursues Jessie, who turns towards Indigo University, while another goes after James (who’s still carrying Pikachu) and Persian, who are heading out towards the airport. The third one doesn’t move, staying in position in the event that Team Rocket would come back and attempt to leave the city again. Let’s see how Jessie’s doing first... Jessie dives behind a building, narrowly missing a gunshot from the Officer Jenny pursuing her. Not stopping to take a breath, she runs towards the back of the building and into an alley. Jenny, this one from Celadon City, cautiously follows Jessie, with her gun drawn. Coming upon the alley that Jessie went into, she stands silently against the wall, on the corner before the intersection. With one swift motion, she sidesteps into the alley, and points the gun down it, expecting to get a clear shot of the back of Jessie’s hand. Not spotting her, she resumes being cautious and slowly creeps down the alley. As she approaches another corner, she sees two piles of crates stacked to her right, blocking passage into that side alley. On the other side of those very crates, Jessie stands in wait, ready to get the drop on Jenny. Finally, Jenny reaches the spot where Jessie wants her to be, and she pushes each of the stacks, one after the other, over. Jenny sees the crates coming way too late, and is completely buried under them. All of the crates were empty, though, and Jenny easily digs herself out. Spotting Jessie turning a corner further down, she attempts a shot. She misses. Celadon Jenny: (slamming her fist down on one of the crates) Damn it! At the other end of town, James and Persian are being pursued by the Officer Jenny of Pewter City. The duo consistently has to duck and dodge gunshots from Jenny, who seems to be very careless with the trigger, despite the presence of other people around. James: (dodging another bullet, this one close to his head) Doesn’t she care about all of these innocent people that she can accidentally kill? Persian: (dodging one that whizzes by his right ear) Obviously, she’s not the smartest of the Jennys. The duo then spots a fire escape ladder in between two apartment buildings. They run over to it, but realize one problem... the ladder is too high to reach. James: How do we get that thing down here? Persian: (unsheathing his claws) Leave that to me! Persian jumps on top of a nearby closed trash dumpster, repels off of the opposite wall, and grabs on to the bottom rung of the ladder, pulling it and himself down. The ladder stops falling about six inches from the ground. Persian is a little shaken, but is otherwise okay. James doesn’t care, as he grabs the ladder with one hand, and climbs the ladder, while holding Pikachu’s glass container in the other. Persian quickly follows up. As they reach the top, they quickly pull the ladder back up, as Jenny arrives on the scene. Pewter Jenny: (points the gun at James) Drop the Pikachu! James: Sure... if you can hit me with that gun of yours! Pewter Jenny: (smiling) Suit yourself! Jenny opens fire on James, as he runs up the stairs to catch up with Persian, who is already halfway to the roof. Persian: (yelling from above) You had to go and agitate her, you dumb cluck! James: Well excuse me! I didn’t think she’d actually shoot me from there! Jenny stops firing at James, and decides to run inside and head them off. Busting down the front door, she runs to the stairs and heads all the way up to the roof. By the time she gets there, though, James and Persian have disappeared. And they still have Pikachu in their possession. Back at where this whole night all started... A large crowd, including most of the rest of our heroes, had gathered at the scene of the crime, as the ambulance carrying Samantha departs. The Fuschia City Jenny has just finished talking to some of the other Jennys on the radio, and is about to address the crowd with a bullhorn when Ash comes up to her. Ash: Excuse me, Officer Jenny? Fuschia Jenny: Yes? Ash: Have you seen my Pikachu? Fuschia Jenny: We don’t have time to look for missing Pokémon right now, young man. We’re in pursuit of two criminals who could be anywhere in the city by now. (realizes what Ash just said) Wait a second! Did you say a Pikachu? Ash: Yes. Fuschia Jenny: One of the kidnappers had a Pikachu in his possession! Misty: (running up behind Ash) What did they look like? Fuschia Jenny: I didn’t get a good look at them, but the one with the Pikachu had blue hair. Oh, and there was a Persian with them. Ash: I knew it! It’s Team Rocket! They’ve been after my Pikachu for two years now! I’ve got to go find him before they hurt him! Fuschia Jenny: You’re not going anywhere! No one is allowed to roam around the city for the remainder of the night. (turns on the bullhorn and begins to speak into it) We are instating a mandatory curfew. Any unauthorized personal caught on the streets tonight after eleven fifteen are subject to arrest, no questions asked! All shops, restaurants, and bars must close up for the night right now! We’ve got two members of Team Rocket on the run, and they are armed and dangerous! For your own safety, please return to your homes or hotel rooms! Ash: But Officer Jenny... Misty: (pulling Ash away from the scene) Ash, now isn’t the time! We’ll try looking for Pikachu tomorrow! Ash: Tomorrow might be too late! I’ve got to search for Pikachu now! Brock: Trust me, Ash. Even I wouldn’t risk my neck to get a date with Officer Jenny right now. They’ll be patrolling all night, and even all day tomorrow if they have to. You have nothing to worry about. Ash: I hope you’re right, Brock. I hope you’re right. The following morning, it was announced that the tournament would go on as scheduled. Jessie, James, and Persian had not been caught yet, but for some reason the Jennys knew that they were still in the city. Ash, Misty, and Brock decided to conduct their own search, but their luck was just as good as it was for the Officer Jennys. Other than the increase of security, things went on as normal, and the other eight competitors who would advance to the second round were decided. Among them were Richie, who actually had to struggle his way to victory after Chuchino caught a cold, and Marina, who’s water hybrids were simply dazzling against a trainer who relied on techniques taught in Pewter City. Believe it or not, the person who probably had the worst day was Samantha. Although the doctors discovered that the bullet did not hit any part of her body, or that she had not been sexually harassed at all, despite the Fuschia City Jenny’s original interpretation of the scene, she was subject to a much worse fate. Illegal intoxication. Even though she was of legal age, she had drunk much more than legally allowed, and although her intake was not deadly, she was arrested upon release from the hospital. Her Pokémon license was suspended for thirty days. She faces a possible sentence of fifteen days in prison. She was fined five thousand dollars, as well as disqualified from competing any more in this tournament. To boot, her parents were called, and they had to come up and take her home within twenty-four hours. Everyone had mixed feelings for Samantha. She was a good trainer, but a few wondered why she had let herself do what she did, since it had almost got her killed. She didn’t speak to anyone after hearing the news and she did her best to avoid them. Out of all the ways that she envisioned of dropping out of the tournament, this was the most unlikely one. She almost wished that the bullet had hit her. She now sits in front of the the police station with her face in her hands, waiting for her parents to come get her. Sigh, all in all a dismal day for everyone. Anyway, let’s put it all behind us and move on to round two... Wednesday, August 24th, Misty and Giselle’s room The morning of the second round had arrived. Misty had actually spent the night alone, since Duplica had gone home after that ‘plane crash’ incident from a couple days ago, and Giselle slept over at Joe’s hotel room. Just to note, Joe had a roommate, a friend of his that he had met over his travels. Misty, fully dressed and ready for her match that day, prepares to head to Indigo University to meet Ash and Brock for breakfast, when Giselle comes in. Misty: Hello there. Where have you been? Giselle: I slept over with Joe. (looks at Misty’s surprised face) We didn’t do anything, for your information. Misty: (picking up her satchel and heading out the door, grinning sarcastically) Sure you didn’t! She closes the door on her way out. Minutes later, she arrives at the Indigo University Cafeteria, and finds Ash and Brock already eating. Misty: You guys were supposed to wait for me! Ash: Sorry about that, but one of the Jennys said they spotted Persian this morning! Brock: We’ve got to follow up on the lead before it gets cold! Misty: (smiling at Ash as she puts her satchel down next to him) I guess I’d better hurry up and eat then. About half an hour later, around ten in the morning, our trio arrives at the place where Samantha was found. They begin to search for their missing companion. Ash: Pikachu! Where are you? Misty: Oh come on! Ash: What? Misty: It’s been hours since Jenny saw Persian. Pikachu could be... Pikachu: (faintly, from about a block away) Pika pi! Misty facefaults. Ash: (running towards the noise) Pikachu! Misty and Brock: (following Ash) Wait up Ash! The trio runs towards Pikachu’s voice. Ash, leading the way, is forced to stop when a smoke bomb is dropped right in front of him. Misty and Brock catch up, and have to do likewise, as an all too familiar melody begins to play. Jessie: Prepare for trouble! James: And make it double! Jessie: To protect the world from devastation! James: To unite all peoples within our nation! Jessie: To denounce the evils of truth and love! James: To extend our reach to the stars above! As the smoke clears, the two human Rockets appear. Jessie has a pistol in her left hand, while James is holding the glass container with Pikachu in it in both hands. Jessie: (aiming the gun at Ash) Jessie! James: James... (sees Jessie pointing the gun) Aaaahhhhh! Don’t shoot them right now! Jessie: (twirling the gun around her finger) Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light! James: (breathing heavily after Jessie’s crazy shenanigans) Surrender... now... or pre-... prepare to fight! Persian: (jumping down right in front of the duo) Perrrrr-sian, that’s right! Hey! I think I’m getting the hang of this! Ash: It’s Team Rocket! Brock: How did you get another gun? Misty: That’s right. Didn’t Officer Jenny... Misty and Brock: (realizing the danger of the situation, they begin to scream with fear) Aaaaaahhhh! Jessie’s got a gun! Misty and Brock both pale at the sight of Jessie’s weapon and both push Ash forward, towards the Rockets. Ash: (a little confused) Huh? What was that for? Jessie: Ah yes, a volunteer! (points the gun at Ash) I’m so happy that you want to die first, brat! (sees Ash is no longer in front of her) Hey! Ash is jumping up, trying to knock the container out of James’ hands, which are higher than Ash can reach, of course. Jessie, angry, pulls Ash back to where he was a second ago and points the gun at him yet again. This time, Ash realizes what he’s up against, and he gulps in fear. Ash: (trying not to show any fear) You’re not going to get away this! Jessie: Ha ha ha ha ha! (prepares to pull the trigger) Not likely. Say goodbye! Just as Jessie pulls the trigger, James grabs her arm and aims the bullet elsewhere. The bullet zips right past Misty’s pigtail, making her duck for cover, and smashes into a nearby wall. The bullet however does succeed in getting a few strands of hair from her sideways pigtail. James: (exclaiming) We weren’t going to shoot them in town, remember? Jessie: (veins bulging) Why did you hit me? I could’ve killed the brat right then and there! Persian: Well, believe it or not, we’ll have the Jennys on our tail in a sec, unless we high tail it out of here right now! Jessie: (points the gun at Pikachu) If you brats try to follow us, we’ll kill Pikachu on the spot! Persian: Yeah, so for Pikachu’s sake, stay put! James: It’s time to go! I’m starting to hear a police motorcycle! The trio takes off, heading out of town. Ash takes off almost immediately after them. Misty rubs her pigtail where the bullet nearly hit. She’s tries her best to take it one breath at a time, but then she sees Ash already leaving. Misty: Ash! Ash: (turning around long enough to yell back) I’m going to get Pikachu back! There’s no way Jessie and James are getting away! Brock: (beginning to follow) Wait for me! Misty: (stops Brock) Brock, wait! I’ll follow Ash! Brock: But... Misty: You wait for an Officer Jenny to show up. Tell them to bring a bulletproof vest! (to herself) I have a feeling that Ash is going to need one. Misty takes off after Ash before Brock can say another word to her. Brock: (silently) Be careful, you two. ************************************************************************ Adventures Series Trivia Question # 5: Somewhere on one of the islands of the Miners’ Archipelago, Ash mistakes his rescuer for Misty. What is the rescuer’s name (first and last name required)? ************************************************************************ Adventures Series Trivia Question # 2: Which of Misty’s sisters did Misty pick to battle when she came to get a Cascade Badge? Answer: Violet. Just to note, Misty didn’t actually pick Violet to fight, Violet wanted to fight on her own. That was a mistake on my part. Sorry about that. ************************************************************************ A Ponyta comes galloping over a hill. Her rider, Ash, is in search of Team Rocket, who has stolen his Pikachu. So far, though, the search has come up empty. Ash: I can’t believe this! How could they have gotten away so quickly? (pulls on Ponyta’s reins to make her stop) Pikachu! Pikachu! Ash gets off of Ponyta and begins to search some nearby bushes for his best friend. A little further back, and just outside the city, Misty is walking alone, trying to catch up with Ash. She’s already tired from the hike, though. Misty: (wiping the sweat off of her forehead) Man, if we weren’t looking for Pikachu right now, I’d wallop Ash for making me follow him! Misty then hears a squawk nearby. She looks ahead, and sees a wild Doduo. Misty: A Doduo! I could use a bird type Pokémon... (to herself) after Giselle somehow snuck that Farfetch’d out from under my nose. Misty then remembers Ash and shakes her head. Some things are more important than her personal Pokémon collection. About twenty meters away, hiding in a bush, Jessie, squatting, aims the pistol right at Misty’s head. Jessie: (smiling) Why didn’t I think of this before? With the redhead dead, the other two are sure to come running! (getting serious) Say nighty-night! Thirty meters behind Jessie, James comes out of hiding himself. Seeing her about to shoot Misty, James screams at the top of his lungs. James: (seemingly in slow motion) Jessie! No! Misty hears James’ scream as Jessie pulls the trigger. Misty sees Jessie’s pistol way too late and begins to see her life flash right before her eyes. All of a sudden, something gets in Misty’s way, taking the bullet for her. It’s the Doduo that she was just admiring. Misty: Wha? Jessie: How dare that twin headed freak take the bullet for her! Does that stupid bird know her or something? James: (kneeling down next to Jessie) Jessie! Jessie: (seething with hate) James, don’t ever do something like that again... (points the pistol at James) or you’ll be the first one dead! James: (gasps in surprise) Jessie! I can’t believe that you’d actually kill me! Jessie: James, we’re members of Team Rocket! We’re supposed to follow everything our boss says, or we face the consequences! Understand? James, tired of seeing his teammate this way, smacks Jessie across the face. James then reels back, expecting Jessie to retaliate. Instead, she just continues to squat in front of her partner, with her left hand slowly rubbing the red mark that James’ hand left. James also notices a lonely tear trickling down her cheek. James: Jess, you’ve got to listen to me! We don’t have to go through with this! Jessie: (slowly and a little more calmer than earlier) Yes we do. The boss will kill us if we don’t kill them. James: He doesn’t have to know about this. We can run away. You, me, and Persian. We can run away. I don’t mind when it comes to stealing Pokémon or satisfying our fashion fetish. But I just can’t bring myself to killing a person. Even if it’s those brats who ruined our career. (slowly) I could never, ever sink that low. Jessie: (the pistol begins to slip out of her other hand) James... James: It’s not right to kill a person. No matter what the boss says. Ash and Ponyta, who had heard the gunshot, had finally arrived at the scene. He looked over at a Doduo, whom Misty was trying to take care of. There was still some blood dripping from the bird’s neck, so he was still lying on the ground, trying to rest. Ash then glanced over at James, who seemed to be consoling Jessie for reasons unknown to him. Ash: (burning with anger) What’s up with you two? Why are you trying to kill us? Jessie: (stops crying, and glares at Ash) Because for the last two years you brats have been interfering with our plans! We haven’t accomplished one single mission ever since our first encounter! The only way to regain our status is to get rid of the ones who lowered it in the first place... you! Ash: (managing to keep his anger in check) I can’t believe you would stoop that low. James: (with a calm voice, as he jumps in between them) That’s enough. Ash: Huh? James: (turning to Jessie) It’s time we left. It’s obvious that we’re no longer welcome here. (to Ash and Misty) Until we meet again, twerps! As Jessie and James start to walk off, Misty walks up beside Ash, her hands a little bloody from taking care of the injured Doduo. Ash: (without turning to look at her) How’s the Doduo? Misty: He’s okay right now, but we still have to get him to a Pokémon Center before he bleeds to death! Ash: Right. Ash begins to walk towards Doduo when he notices Misty is just standing there, looking at him. Ash: What’s wrong now? Misty: (yelling at Ash) Isn’t it obvious, peabrain? Ash: Huh? (begins to look around, then he starts panicking) Pikachu! Meanwhile, Jessie and James had already accelerated to full speed, and they still have possession of Pikachu. Persian runs out from a nearby bush. Persian: Why took ya guys so long? Did you kill ‘em? Jessie and James just continue to run without answering their feline friend. Persian poses the question again, much harder. Persian: Did you kill them? After noticing that Jessie wasn’t going to respond at all, James decided to jump in. James: No. Persian: Why not? James: It’s personal. Persian: What’s that supposed to mean? Jessie: Will you two shut up! We should be lucky that we still got Pikachu! Ash: (from out of nowhere) Not so fast, Team Rocket! Ash, riding on Ponyta, sprints past, and then stops right in front of the trio, blocking their path. Ash: I’m not as dumb as I look, you know! I want Pikachu back! Jessie: Finders keepers, losers weepers! James: We may have decided not to kill you, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t hurt you! Persian: Just try and get your little battery back! Ash: (getting off of Ponyta) If it’s a battle you want... Twisting his hat around, Ash draws a Pokéball from his belt. Ash: Pidgeotto, I choose you! Pidgeotto: Pidgeo! Ash: Pidgeotto, quick attack! Pidgeotto dives right at the glass container. James, in fright, accidentally throws it up in the air. Spotting the falling cage, Ash runs over and catches it. Uncovering it, he and Pikachu quickly reunite with a hug. Pikachu: Cha! Ash: I’m glad to see you again too! Jessie: Not so fast, twerp! James: Get ready for a power trip! Ash: Pidgeotto, whirlwind! Pidgeotto whirlwinds Team Rocket up, up, and away, into the sky. Jessie, James, and Persian: (simultaneously) Looks like Team Rocket’s blasting off again! After making sure that Team Rocket was gone, Ash, with Pidgeotto perched on his left shoulder while he’s carrying a tired and hungry Pikachu in his arms, heads back to Misty. Ponyta follows right behind him. There, he sees that Brock and a plethora of Officer Jenny around, asking Misty some questions. She called out Starmie to wash her hands of Doduo’s blood first, though. They started asking her questions after she recalled the star-shaped Pokémon. They finish just as Misty and Brock notice Ash. Misty: Ash! Brock: You’re okay! Ash: Yep. I got Pikachu back... but he’s tired and hungry. I think he needs to get to a Pokémon Center soon. By the way, where’s the Doduo? The Fuschia City Jenny stops her work and approaches Ash. Fuschia Jenny: An ambulance came and took Doduo to a Pokémon Center, and I can give you a lift back myself. Ash: Sure. Brock: Hold on a sec, Ash. Misty needs to go back first. Misty: Why? Brock: (looking at his watch) Because it’s already a quarter after twelve. Isn’t your match in forty-five minutes? Misty: That’s right! I need to make sure my Pokémon are ready. (looking at her clothes) Besides, I should probably change, too. (runs up to Ash) Please Ash, let me go back first. I’ll make sure Pikachu gets taken care of. Ash: (smiles, then hands Pikachu to her) Thanks. Me and Brock will follow soon with Ponyta. Misty gets onto Jenny’s motorcycle, using one hand to hold on to her, and the other to hold on to Pikachu. Jenny quickly starts it up, and then takes off heading towards the city. After Jenny and Misty disappear from sight, Ash looks at Brock and nods. Ash: Ready Brock? Brock: Ready. Ash: (pulling out Pidgeotto’s Pokéball) Pidgeotto, return! After recalling Pidgeotto, Ash hops on Ponyta. Brock stands there for a second, a little afraid of getting burned. Brock: Ash, are you sure I won’t get burned? Ash: There’s nothing to worry about. (patting Ponyta on the head) Remember what Lara Laramie said about Ponyta? A Ponyta won’t burn her rider if she trusts him or her. Brock nods and slowly inches his way over to Ponyta. He then climbs up and joins Ash on Ponyta’s back. Brock, expecting to get burned, is relieved when he doesn’t feel anything. Ash: (patting Ponyta on the head again) That’s good, Ponyta. Brock won’t hurt you. You won’t have to worry about anything. (stops patting) Now, let’s get back to the city. With that, Ash, Brock, and Ponyta head back towards the Indigo Plateau. Roughly forty-five minutes later, after dropping off Pikachu at the Pokémon Center and going to her room to change her clothes, Misty approaches the green podium at Indigo Stadium. She waves happily to the crowd as her podium rises to its correct height. She then gets her first look at her opponent. He was a short boy, with black hair. He is wearing a brown shirt and matching pants. He didn’t seem like the talkative type... kind of mysterious, just like the old Sabrina. Announcer: It’s time for the trainers to choose their Pokémon! Boy: I guess introductions are in order. (bows) Cody Hirshan. Misty: Hi. I’m Misty Waterflower. Nice to meet you. Cody: You too. (pulls out a Pokéball) But I guess it’s time to get started. (throws it) Muk, go! Misty: If you say so. (throws a Pokéball) Misty calls Starmie! Flag Official: (raising the two flags) Let the battle begin! Cody: Muk, poison gas! Muk releases the gas, and the poison immediately begins to take effect on Starmie. Misty: Starmie! Use your hydro pump! Starmie’s hydro pump attack hits Muk hard. The poisonous puddle stays up, though. Cody: Muk, pound! Using all of his strength, Muk charges at Starmie and punches her hard... right in the ruby! Starmie begins to reel over before finally fainting. Misty: Starmie! Flag Official: (raising the red flag) Starmie is out! Muk wins! Misty recalls Starmie and throws out Vaporeon’s Pokéball. Vaporeon rejoices in glee as she stares at her opponent. The official gives the signal, and the match starts again. Cody: Muk, sludge! Muk fires a ball of sludge, which Vaporeon dodges easily. Misty: Vaporeon, aurora beam! The aurora beam turns Muk into an icicle. Cody looks a little concerned now, but otherwise is showing absolutely no emotion. Misty: Vaporeon, tackle! Vaporeon tackles Muk, breaking him out of his ice prison. Muk faints right after being released though, as being frozen took away much of his energy. The tackle only finished the battle up. Cody: Return, Muk! (throwing another Pokéball) Porygon, go! Porygon takes the place of the fallen Muk on the field. Porygon and Vaporeon begin battling upon the rising of the flags. Misty: Vaporeon, quick attack! Vaporeon strikes first, hitting Porygon right in the beak. Cody: Porygon, conversion! Porygon glows blue for a couple of seconds. Afterwards, Porygon returns to normal. Misty: (to herself) Conversion, hmmm. (taking out her blue Pokédex) Better look that up real quick. Pokédex: Conversion, a move in which a Pokémon temporarily converts itself to the same type of its opponent. This is extremely effective if a disadvantage Pokémon wants to even the score. Misty: Okay, no problem. (to Vaporeon) Vaporeon, sand attack! Vaporeon gets right in front of Porygon and kicks sand into his face. Porygon winces, as he struggles to get the sand out of his eyes. Cody: Porygon, tri attack! Three beams, one red, one blue, and one yellow, are fired straight from Porygon’s beak. Usually, the three are fired in such a way that they form a triangle, but because Porygon was partially blinded, the beams went out in three different directions. None of them made contact with Vaporeon. Misty: Vaporeon, another quick attack! Vaporeon strikes Porygon quickly, and knocks him out before he can react. The crowd expresses their joy for Misty. Vaporeon was once again dominating the competition. It was pretty clear that the remaining trainers would have to stop Vaporeon if they wanted to defeat her. Cody still has a chance, though, as he recalls Porygon and calls out his third and final Pokémon, Beedrill. Misty winces back in fear. She knew that Cody was trying to break her concentration by using a Pokémon of the type she hated the most. She was wondering how Cody found out about her fear, though. Misty tried to focus back on the match, while Cody silently began planning his attack. The flags were raised again, and the two Pokémon began to fight. Misty: Vaporeon, aurora beam! Misty was hoping that Vaporeon could freeze Beedrill easily, and walk out of this match without any problems. No such luck, as Beedrill takes the hit and keeps on charging at Vaporeon. Cody: Beedrill, pin missile! Beedrill fires a stinger at Vaporeon, hitting her right in the face. Vaporeon goes down for a second, just to make sure that the stinger wasn’t stuck in her face and poisoning her. Satisfied after not finding it, she gets back up, and resumes her fighting stance. Misty: Vaporeon, let’s try the hydro pump! Cody: Beedrill, agility! Vaporeon fires the hydro pump straight at Beedrill, but the bee Pokémon dodges the blast. Misty tells Vaporeon to keep firing, but Beedrill dodges each onslaught of water successfully. Finally, Beedrill is where Cody wants him to be. Cody: Beedrill, fury attack! Beedrill begins to attack Vaporeon furiously, scoring several hits in front, and from behind as well. Vaporeon is obviously fighting the temptation to lay down and give up. Misty watches the attack from her podium, as she starts to worry. Finally, Beedrill stops, and Misty quickly thinks of the best strategy to use to buy herself a couple of seconds. Misty: Vaporeon, haze! Fog begins to develop around Vaporeon as she takes a time-out to get on defense. Cody, already aware of Misty’s strategy to buy time, decides to use it to his advantage. Cody: Beedrill, focus energy! Beedrill began focusing all of his remaining energy into one. Vaporeon was slowly trying to gather enough energy herself to use for one final attack on Beedrill. The crowd watches as it seems that both Pokémon reach the full attack potential simultaneously. Misty: Vaporeon, hydro pump! Cody: Beedrill, twin needle! Both Pokémon release their attacks. The hydro pump hits Beedrill right in the face. At the other end, Vaporeon is stung hard by the two very large stingers. Both attacks are critical hits, and as a result both Pokémon go down. The flag official checks on both Pokémon, and then presents his ruling to the crowd. Flag Official: Vaporeon and Beedrill have both been subdued. Both trainers have lost another Pokémon. In addition, since Beedrill is Cody’s last Pokémon, Misty Waterflower, the green trainer, is the winner of this match! The crowd cheers as the battle comes to an end. Both podiums lower to the ground, with the trainers calling back their Pokémon before reaching the ground. Cody: (to himself) I was hoping that Beedrill would’ve stayed up to fight her third Pokémon. It would’ve been interesting to see what he had up his sleeve next. I guess I underestimated that Vaporeon of hers, just like everyone else. (sighs) Looks like it’s back to the drawing board. With that, Cody departs the field, giving one last wave to his fans, who were sad that he lost, but were happy that he made it this far. Who knows, with a performance like this, he might earn one of those at-large bids for Pokémon League membership. As for Misty, she exits the stadium almost immediately after reaching the ground, giving her thanks to the crowd as well. Once off the field, she wipes the sweat from her head and sighs deeply (which produces one of those mushroom shaped clouds). She begins to walk to the locker room to get her stuff, when she hears an all too familiar voice. Giselle: Well, well, looks like you made it in time after all. Giselle comes out of the dark part of the hall, where she was waiting for Misty to finish her match. Misty: Oh... hi, Giselle. Giselle: (walking up to Misty) I see that you’re relying on that Vaporeon of yours to get you to the championship. Misty: So? Is there anything wrong with that? Giselle: Don’t you get it? You’ve been using that Vaporeon of yours so much that I’ve studied all of her techniques! There’s no way you’re getting past me tomorrow! Misty: (with surprise) Tomorrow? Giselle: Yep. If you remember the bracket setup that we received at the beginning of the week... (takes out the paper in question and begins to point at a certain part of it) then you can plainly see that if both of us managed to get this far, then we would’ve faced each other in the quarterfinals. Misty: So I see. Giselle: (smirking) If only you would’ve been here an hour earlier, you could’ve watched my match and gotten a final look at my winning techniques. Now it looks like that I have the advantage in the rematch tomorrow. Misty: (putting her hands on her hips) You think you’ve got me beat, huh? Well let me tell you something, Giselle Gravelpot! Mark my words, tomorrow’s rematch will be nothing like last week’s little preliminary. Tomorrow, I’m only using my best Pokémon! I am going to clean your clock! Giselle: (gasps) Really? I guess that would be necessary, since that might be the only conceivable way that you can win that match tomorrow, and still be playing by the rules. Misty begins to get really angry. She tries to regain her composure, as she knows that she’s doing what Giselle wants her to do. Giselle: (yawning as she begins to walk away) When you get back to the room tonight, don’t slam the door on your way in. I’ll be asleep already, dreaming of my victory tomorrow. Giselle begins laughing wildly, which Misty notes that Giselle’s laughs sound similar to the shrieks of screaming banshee. Misty, with a look of determination on her face, stands silently in the hall as her rival continues on, to rest up before tomorrow’s big match. To be continued... The flow of comments has increased a little since the season started, but I have a feeling that not all of you are expressing your thoughts of this mini-series. Please tell me what you think... I do my best to read and respond to every single comment that comes my way. Also, if you don’t like something about this fanfic, feel free to throw any suggestions or constructive criticisms my way. My e-mail address is jgg121@yahoo.com. Also, remember that this chapter is the last of the easy trivia questions. Things get harder starting with the next one, and trust me, the prize is worth it if you get it. Keep the trivia answers coming as quickly as possible, since only the first three correct ones earn points towards the big prize! Copyright Date: 9/9/00 Would Team Rocket dare try to kill our heroes again? The answer may have to wait, as Richie and Marina battle in one quarterfinal match. In another, it’s the rematch between Misty and Giselle. Giselle already has her battle plan system, but what trick does Misty have up her sleeve? Look out for Episode 39, “A Farfetch’d Pokémon Battle.”