It's been awhile, has it not? After all this time playing SSBB and doing school work at the same time, I finally got a chance to resume my duties as an author. Anyway, after being blasted away by Paul's Torterra in the last few chapters, the Team Rocket trio find themselves wandering around in a completely different region from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, or Sinnoh a few days before the end of the month. The trio contacts their boss, Giovanni, through a videophone booth for information on their new location. After traveling in the new region for some time, they encounter someone who is heading off to Kanto to meet Giovanni. This person somewhat willingly accepts the Team Rocket trio to join him on the flight to Kanto. As for Ash and Anabel, they help Floatzel relearn Water Pulse within a week. Also, Ash's friends are now in Celadon City, doing various activities to kill time on waiting for Ash. And Aya gets held up in Blackthorn City on her way to Pallet Town.
"Oy, vey," Meowth groaned tiresomely. "Where 'da heck are we?" Meowth and his two human companions have been walking endlessly in what seems to be a desert. "Man, 'dis place is hotta' 'dan a Groudon!"
"Quit your complaining, Meowth," Jessie responded angrily. "It was bad enough that the rude twerp's Torterra blasted us here a week ago, but I don't need to hear you rubbing it in all the time. And this region's humidity is ruining my trademark long hair…" Jessie immediately tended to her long crimson hair drooping lifelessly from the back of her head.
"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet appeared out of nowhere and annoyed Jessie to no end as per usual. Without uttering a single word, she swiftly recalled her Patient Pokemon back into its Pokeball.
"Oh, I don't think there's civilization anywhere near here," James moaned despondently while looking at the ground as he walked along with his teammates. "Not even my rich folks would set up a cottage home here in the middle of scenic nowhere." James then looked up and saw something in a short distance ahead of his teammates and him. "Are my eyes deceiving me? Is this another cruel mirage of this region?"
"What?" Jessie and Meowth asked in confusion and James pointed ahead. Jessie and Meowth also saw something ahead.
"What is it?" Jessie questioned in curiosity.
"Ah, so I'm not seeing things," James sighed in relief. As the trio walked closer to the object James pointed out, the object turned out to be a videophone booth.
"Hey, a phone booth," Meowth said excitedly. "Wat are 'da chances findin' 'dis ding in 'da middle of nowhere? Let's call 'da Boss so 'dat he can get us outta here!"
"Slow down there, Meowth," Jessie said calmly and gesturing him to stop. "First, we got to figure out what region are we at right now. I'm not sure if even the Boss knows this place."
"True, and besides…," James added in. "What are the chances the Boss is willing to help us out this time around? We have not been exactly on his good side lately…"
"We haven't been on his good side for some years already," Jessie retorted quickly. "We've been lying and begging him not to kick us off Team Rocket for who-knows-how-long. We pretty much have nothing left to lose now. So, let's make the call already, for crying out loud!" Using whatever change they had left, Team Rocket inserted the necessary amount of coins into the coin slot and dialed the number of the leader of Team Rocket. After a few moments from dialing the number, the receiver picked up and was shown on screen. From the screen of the trio's videophone was a stone-faced man with short brown hair wearing a bright orange business suit sitting at his desk with a Persian on his lap.
"What is it you three troublesome buffoons want this time?" the man asked impatiently.
"Master Giovanni," Jessie answered nervously, but maintained a kind tone of voice. "We bring you great tidings from… from… uh, I don't know what region is this."
"Fools, how dare you waste more of my time as it is," Giovanni responded austerely, which caused the trio to quake in fear. "I am busy running a powerful organization and have absolutely no time to waste on your useless hellos."
"W-Wait, sir," James stuttered fearfully. "C-Can you at least tell us what region are we? This place seems to be an endless desert." The trio saw Giovanni close his eyes and stroke his Persian's ears casually. Persian was enjoying the strokes nevertheless.
"You idiots," Giovanni scolded immediately after reopening his eyes. "How did you three end up in the Orre region?"
"Orre region!?" the trio repeated in their clueless demeanors.
"So we're not in Kansas anymore?" James asked foolishly. Jessie then immediately whacked her light-blue-haired partner with a paper fan.
"What do you think we've been talking about for the past few minutes?" Jessie yelled out impatiently. While she continued hitting James with her paper fan for making such stupid move, Meowth took over the videophone.
"One of 'da twoips' Torterra blasted us here a week ago, your Bossliness," Meowth said dutifully. "Is 'dere any chance for you to come get us outta here?"
"Hmmmm, sadly no," Giovanni answered calmly while still stroking his Persian's ears. "How you return to the Kanto region is up to you. Personally, I don't know much about the Orre region so I can't be of any help to you, not that I was planning to help you three. However, I will say this: I'm expecting an associate from the Orre region sometime by the end of the month. If you're lucky enough to run into my associate before he leaves the Orre region, he may take you alongside himself to Team Rocket Headquarters. Now then, this conversation is over!" Giovanni immediately severed the connection and the trio was once again alone to fend for themselves.
"Uh, Meowth, did the Boss say who was his visitor?" Jessie asked while holding a beaten-up James up the shirt. Meowth shook his head side to side and raised his arms up. The Team Rocket trio then looked down in disgust before moving on.
Jessie, James, and Meowth continued walking in the desert plains that are of the Orre region. With the discovery of the videophone booth in the middle of nowhere, the trio had revitalized hope of finding a nearby town and actually turned out successful for once. They came upon a town of decrepit old buildings and many shady characters roaming around in and out of those buildings.
"What is this place?" James asked his fellow teammates, who were also in awe of the peculiar town before them.
"This is Pyrite Town," a strange voice said out of nowhere. Team Rocket looked for where the voice came from and found a young teen with short, messy green hair and wearing a black outfit like most Rogues would wear. He looked rather amused by Team Rocket's incompetence as shown by his shifty-looking face.
"What are you so smug about, kid?" Jessie asked angrily from seeing the Rogue's smug face.
"First off, the name is Cail," the green-haired Rogue answered coolly. "And second, I'm the self-appointed gatekeeper of Pyrite Town. I don't just let anyone into Pyrite Town for free."
"Wat is Pyrite Town, anyway?" Meowth asked inquisitively. Cail was slightly flabbergasted at the sight of a Pokemon talking in the English language, much less a Meowth.
"Whoa, a talking Meowth!?" Cail yelled in astonishment and took a few steps back. "It's even standing on its two hind legs!"
"Hey, it took a lot of woik to pull 'dis off, so don't go dissin' it, got it?" Meowth ranted impatiently.
"Heh, you guys are not from around here, are you?" Cail asked smugly. The three Team Rocket members then got into formation for their motto as a way to introduce themselves to the young Rogue.
"Listen, is that a Rogue I hear?"
"His voice irritates me loud and clear."
"Floating on the wind."
"Past the stars."
"In your ear!"
"Bringing chaos in a breakneck pace."
"Dashing hope, putting fear in its pathetic place."
"How annoying," Cail thought monotonously as Team Rocket continued to recite the motto, up to the part with roses by any other names is just as sweet and everything being worse when their work was complete. "Dynamic Punch!" Cail immediately sent out his Granbull to power up the called-out Dynamic Punch.
"Dynamic Punch," Jessie repeated eagerly from hearing Cail's battle command in substitute of her own name in the motto. A short pause followed from Jessie's predicted expression of confusion.
"Uh, Dynamic Punch isn't your name, is it?" James asked confusedly.
"I tink it's 'dat Granbull's name," Meowth shouted in panic and pointed at Cail's Granbull that was charging in wrathfully to slam Team Rocket with its Dynamic Punch. Granbull slammed its fist into the ground right in front of Team Rocket and created a large, devastating explosion that sent the team flying into the air once again.
"Just great," Jessie whined angrily as she flew in the air along with her two Team Rocket teammates. "That Rogue twerp dared to interrupt our motto."
"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet came out of nowhere for the umpteenth time and placed its flat blue hand on its forehead.
"That's something you don't see every episode," James remarked sadly to Jessie's complaint of their motto getting interrupted. "Do you think he would have preferred Cassidy and Biff's motto?" James' official Team-Rocket-styled cell phone, which he surprisingly kept since the trio's recent demotion, started to ring out the "Double Trouble" ring tone. "Hello?"
"THE NAME IS BUTCH, YOU NUT," Butch yelled out angrily over the phone before hanging up abruptly.
"Strange, how do you think he found out?" James asked his airborne teammates, perplexed by Butch's sudden call. "Do you think he's watching us right now? Usually, Professor Mamba is the one who calls a Rocket member over the phone for mispronouncing his name." James' cell phone began ringing "Double Trouble" again. "Hello?"
"IT'S SAMBA… DOY… I MEAN NAMBA, NOT MAMBA," Namba shouted angrily from the other side of the phone before hanging up.
"How did both of them find out?" James asked with a shocked look on his face.
"Mime Mime Mime?" Mime Jr. joined James and asked the same question in its Pokemon tongue.
"Hey, kids," Meowth said groggily to no one in particular, confusing his human teammates. "If you see 'dat chainsmokin'-soundin' punk and hotheaded scientist who called us just now, tell 'dem to retoin to Team Rocket Headquoitas' for Apple Sauce Day in 'da cafeteria."
"This is no time for think about Apple Sauce Day, Meowth," Jessie shouted in an annoyed tone of voice at Meowth.
"But do you guys know what it's time to think about now?" James asked unenthusiastically.
"We're blasting off again," the trio bellowed into the sky before disappearing again.
"Wobuff!" The last sound made by Team Rocket was Wobbuffet's cry echoing.
"Heh, that'll shut them up," Cail remarked disdainfully about the troublesome trio. He then looked down to his Granbull that was sitting and staring at the sky where Team Rocket disappeared as well. "Good job, Granbull."
"Graaaahh…" Granbull growled affectionately from the complement before being recalled into its Pokeball.
"Well, time to get back guarding this entrance like I've always done for years," Cail sighed after taking a big breath. "There has been nothing exciting taking place since that spikey auburn-haired kid took down Cipher a year ago. Come to think of it, there was that seventeen-year old in that snazzy blue trench coat who took down Cipher six years ago before its revival a year ago. To think, I've actually battle against these two heroes of Orre and lost. Ah, well… Back to work for me."
"Where are those two scientists?" a tall man with long, stringy blue hair and a somewhat wide forehead questioned impatiently, easily startling his soldiers. This man wore a blue uniform with steel coverings on his torso and sides. He also wore dark, rectangular shades to conceal his eyes from others. "I've told them personally to meet up here with the rest of us." The blue-haired man and his other soldiers were waiting around by a large, normal-looking, hovercraft.
"Master Ardos, please calm down," one of the man soldiers said humbly. All the soldiers wore matching grey uniforms including grey helmets with black eyewear and blue neckerchiefs. "They'll be here before take off."
"Harrumph, fine," Ardos responded with his anger slowly subsiding. "But just remember this, my Cipher Peons. This meeting has to go off unhitched for the new plan to work."
"What's the plan again?" One of Ardos' Cipher Peons whispered to the other soldier next to him.
"I don't know," the other Peon whispered back hastily, hoping that Ardos wouldn't catch him or the other Cipher Peon in conversation. "Unless the plan is going on schedule as Master Ardos wants it to be, he won't be telling us Jack Squat."
"Hey, what's that in the sky," another Peon spoke out and pointed up. Ardos and the rest of the soldiers looked up to see the Team Rocket trio freefalling and screaming towards them. "Look out!" Team Rocket crashed in front of the hovercraft with a large thud. A crater three times their widths combined was left behind in their wake.
"Watch it, you pedestrians," Ardos snapped furiously. "Cut it any closer and you would have made the biggest mistake of your pathetic, insignificant lives." Ardos was pointing out on how Team Rocket almost landed upon the hovercraft and nearly destroyed it on impact.
"We're sorry, we're sorry, WE'RE SORRY," Jessie, James, and Meowth pleaded for their lives without looking up to who they were apologizing to. When the three Team Rocket members did look up, they saw Ardos staring at them with daggers through his dark eyewear.
"Wow, who's 'dis fashionista' joka'?" Meowth asked in his wise guy tone after looking at Ardos' blue uniform. Ardos gritted his teeth and snarled quietly. He clenched both of his fists and was about to bring out one of his Pokemon to deal with the three interlopers.
"Shut it, Meowth," Jessie whispered harshly and slammed her hand on top of the talking Scratch Cat Pokemon's head to stop it from making more jokes.
"I don't think you'd want to mess with this guy," James said fearfully from seeing Ardos' unpleasant disposition.
"Whoa, a talking Meowth," some of the Cipher Peons murmured from hearing Meowth speak English. Ardos was becoming annoyed by his men's murmuring.
"Silence," Ardos yelled austerely and raised an arm up. His Peons were then silent, but were still trembling from the command. "That's enough out of all of you. Now then… Who are you three?" The Team Rocket trio then huddled up to decide the next course of action. After ten seconds have passed, the trio broke off.
"Prepare for trouble from above the skies!"
"From beyond the stars, a nasty surprise!"
"An evil as old as the galaxy…"
"… Sent here to fulfill our destiny."
"Plus there's me!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"And James!"
"Meowth! Those are 'da names!"
"Anywhere there's peace in the universe…"
"… Team Rocket …"
"… Will be there…"
"… To make everything worse!"
"Wobbuffet!"
"Mime Mime!"
"Ah, this motto sure brings back bittersweet memories of the time we use to recite this to the twerps in Hoenn and the Battle Frontier," Jessie sighed softly.
"I'll say," James agreed happily.
"I'm sure we made a mark using 'dis motto wit' these lugs," Meowth said excitedly.
"Uh, who's Team Rocket?" one Cipher Peon from the back asked with complete clueless in his voice. The trio fell onto the ground in humiliation from this demeaning outburst. All the Peons were clueless about Team Rocket except for Ardos, who merely smirked at the sight of Team Rocket's recent performance.
"So you're part of Team Rocket of the Kanto region, huh?" Ardos asked, his cold voice seeping into the three Team Rocket member's bodies and caused them to slightly shiver.
"T-That is correct, s-sir," Jessie stuttered nervously.
"Well what a coincidence," Ardos remarked coldly. "I was about to meet up with Giovanni in his headquarters to discuss our latest plans of world conquest, but I didn't expect him to send his troops here to escort us to Kanto." The trio was confused by this sudden statement.
"Huddle," Meowth announced and the three got into a circle.
"So that guy is the Boss's associate?" James asked in astonishment.
"And that they're working together for world domination?" Jessie added in as part of the three's newly discovered revelation.
"I guess 'dat would explain 'da Boss giving all of his troopers ordas' on stealing as many powerful Pokeymon," Meowth explained from all of the facts put together. "Though 'da Boss did not say why he wanted us 'ta bring different Pokeymon instead of just 'da main twoip's Pikachu."
"I guess that's where this guy comes in," Jessie referred to Ardos. "Quick, I have an idea!" The trio immediately went to face Ardos. "Uh, excuse us, sir. But, since we told you who we are, can you be a dear and tell us who you guys are and why you are going to meet with our Boss."
"Very well," Ardos responded laconically. "I am Ardos, the new Grand Master of Team Cipher, the once-proud criminal organization that nearly controlled Orre and almost brought the world to its knees. Our former Grand Master, Greevil, could have seized the world if not for that impudent child stopping our Shadow Pokemon plans."
"Shadow Pokemon?" Jessie, James, and Meowth repeated in confusion.
"I'll tell you three more about Cipher's past along the way," Ardos said calmly. "After all, that's one of the many things I'm here to discuss with your boss. He contacted me after hearing of Team Cipher's many accomplishments of transforming Pokemon into the ultimate fighting machines."
"Master Ardos, the two scientists are here at last," a tall Cipher Peon said to Ardos with two scientists catching their breaths behind him.
"We're truly sorry, Master Ardos," one of the scientists said breathlessly.
"Please, mercy," the other scientist also said while catching his breaths.
"Humph, what took you nincompoops so long?" Ardos asked harshly.
"Well… you see…," the first Cipher scientist droned while recollecting his thoughts.
"Forget it," Ardos interrupted impatiently. "I don't want to know. You're both lucky I'm in a merciful mood right now. But just remember that I'm not as kind as former Grand Master Greevil."
"Yes, sir," both Cipher scientists responded immediately and saluted Ardos.
"Wow, 'dis boss seems nicer 'dan our Boss," Meowth commented nonchalantly. "I wonda' if he's got an open Top Cat position…" All of the Cipher Peons and the two scientists began boarding the hovercraft. "Hey, wat's goin' on?"
"You three said you wanted a ride back to Kanto, right?" Ardos asked coolly. "Better get a move on."
"Yes, sir," Jessie, James, and Meowth said at once and ran inside the Cipher hovercraft. Once all was present in the hovercraft, flight to Team Rocket Headquarters in Kanto took off immediately. Team Rocket, Ardos, and his Cipher minions gathered in the meeting room where Ardos had the stand first.
"Heh heh heh…," Ardos chuckled wickedly to his team. "Once this meeting with Team Rocket Boss Giovanni goes successful, Team Cipher shall once again rise from the ashes of defeat once more and wreak havoc upon the world with the strongest Shadow Pokemon the world's ever seen. Long live Cipher!"
"Long live Cipher," all members of Cipher roared and cheered for Ardos' inspirational speech.
"Do you think we should join in, Jessie?" James asked, sounding scared from hearing parts of Cipher's plans.
"Yeah, 'dese guys sound like complete nutcases, 'dinkin' 'dat 'dey can get woild domination thru us," Meowth added in.
"I know," Jessie responded sadly. "But right now, we're in foreign territory. One wrong move and they'll toss us overboard. We might as well play along until we get back to Kanto safely. Let's worry about staying alive with Team Cipher first." The three members of Team Rocket nodded in agreement and started to cheer for Ardos as well to keep them at peace. Ardos merely smirked at Team Rocket's halfhearted cheering.
"Heh, fools," Ardos thought sinisterly as he continued observing Team Rocket. "You have no idea what I plan to do once I have all that I need from you. Heh heh heh…"
"Floatzel, Water Pulse," Ash called out. He's back in his dried and cleaned Sinnoh attire and trained Floatzel to relearn Water Pulse.
"Floooaaaa…" Floatzel started forming a ball of water in its paws.
"Sceptile, Snorlax, get ready," Ash commanded. Both Pokemon grunted and prepared for the oncoming and hopefully perfected Water Pulse from Floatzel.
"Flooooaaaa!" Floatzel threw the large water ball towards Sceptile and Snorlax. The water ball was sliding along the grass surface in an incredible rate. Snorlax quickly got in front; the Sleeping Pokemon was ready to take the Water Pulse head on.
"Boy, Floatzel's relearning of Water Pulse has gone really well since last week," Anabel commented to Pikachu and Espeon. The three were sitting at Anabel's porch, watching Ash training his Floatzel to perfectly relearn Water Pulse. The time is still pretty early in the afternoon. "I don't even have to get off this porch now since Floatzel has been able to produce a Water Pulse. The problem is…" She, Pikachu, and Espeon were expecting the same result from Floatzel's Water Pulse as before. Before the Water Pulse was even inches close to Snorlax, the ball of water exploded and merely splashed water on Snorlax, Sceptile, and Ash.
"Floa Floa Floa!" Floatzel became angry that its Water Pulse failed to hit the desired target.
"Sorry, Floatzel, but you know it must be done," Ash said softly. "Sceptile, use Bullet Seed!"
"Sceptiiiile!" Sceptile sprayed yellow-glowing seeds from its mouth in a rapid-fire pace at Floatzel. Floatzel managed to dodge the Grass-type attack.
"Floatzel, please understand that this is for your own good," Ash said gently. "Snorlax, use Hyper Beam! And Sceptile, you use SolarBeam!" These two sudden commands for powerful attacks surprised everyone, but Sceptile and Snorlax obeyed them nonetheless. The two beam attacks were quickly charged and fired immediately towards Floatzel.
"Floa? Floa! Floooaaaa…" Floatzel had to think fast to avoid more punishment, so it created another Water Pulse in its paws.
"Floatzel, I hope you know what you're doing," Ash thought quietly as he watched the SolarBeam and Hyper Beam attacks becoming closer to Floatzel.
"Flooooaaaa!" Without looking or even thinking, Floatzel threw the Water Pulse to meet Hyper Beam and SolarBeam head on. This time around, the Water Pulse didn't disappear after a few seconds and collided with the two beam attacks. This sudden change in Water Pulse caught everyone's attention, including Ash's. The Water Pulse somehow managed to push back the SolarBeam and Hyper Beam attacks back and grew bigger at the same time. Once the Water Pulse got threw the attacks and was in complete contact with Sceptile and Snorlax, it unleashed a series of powerful waves to further knock back the two Pokemon right to the ground.
"Floa?" Floatzel was slightly confused on how and why its Water Pulse worked this time around.
"Floatzel, you did it," Ash said excitedly and ran over to the Sea Weasel Pokemon. "I'm sorry to have pushed you, but that was the only it would have worked."
"Floa Floa!" Floatzel then crossed its arms and smiled lightly. It was happy that it successfully relearned Water Pulse in place of Ice Beam.
"Snorlax Snor!" Snorlax congratulated Floatzel on a job well done.
"Sceptile…" Sceptile gave Floatzel a curtly nod, acknowledging its strength. Floatzel nodded back as well, returning the favor to the Forest Pokemon.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu called out to its Trainer with Anabel and Espeon following behind.
"Hey, Pikachu," Ash said in his friendly manner and picked Pikachu up. "How do you think Floatzel did today?"
"Pikachu gives that performance a thumbs-up," Anabel answered kindly for Pikachu. "… And so do I." Anabel then gave Ash a small congratulatory kiss on the cheek, causing Ash to blush and fall on his back in embarrassment. Floatzel, Sceptile, and Snorlax were also slightly red in the face from watching their Trainer's little "experience" and turned away as to stifle any rising laughter on Ash's expense.
"… Uh… uhh… kissing… nice…," Ash stuttered while still dazed from the kiss. He was still not truly used to having a girl just kiss him at anytime after almost two full months. Only when he actually knew the kiss coming was the time Ash stood his ground.
"Pika Pikapi…" Pikachu sighed from seeing its Trainer embarrassing himself once again.
"That's okay, Pikachu," Anabel said contentedly. "He's just being the silly, strong, and kindhearted man who I love so much." Ash awoke from his daze after hearing Anabel's statement, but was still lying on the ground.
"Whoa, Anabel," Ash responded, sounding surprised. "You sure have become more expressive lately. It's almost like you have lots of things to talk about now. You sure you're still your quiet, cute self?" Ash immediately thought about what he just said and covered his mouth without hesitating and began blushing wildly. "Did I just call her 'cute,' just now?"
"Yes, you just did," Anabel answered quietly while blushing, clasping her hands to her chest, and smiling from the complement. "So, do you really think I'm… cute?" Ash had nothing left to say. He never really prepared to start a relationship with a girl at a young age and Anabel is the first girl to ever have a strong romantic relationship with. He doesn't know what else to say that would not mess everything up. He can complement other Pokemon Trainers for their skills in battle, but he has not really complemented girls and their looks.
"Well…, I… uh… sure?" Ash responded weakly in an almost inaudible voice. Pikachu could sense the stress its Trainer is feeling right now, so it motioned the other Pokemon to follow it to the other side of the grass field to ease Ash's burden. "I, uh, also think you're a powerful Pokemon Trainer. One of the most powerful I've actually faced in battle. Yeah… Um…"
While Ash was trying to think up more complements for Anabel, the lavender-haired girl rolled up her light-violet-shaded, puffy sleeves on both arms, sat down near Ash, and laid his head on her lap. She placed her right arm around the bottom of Ash's head and placed her hand on the back of his head to make him more comfortable. Ash was able to feel the smoothness and softness of her skin under his chin. It was a nice sensation for Ash nevertheless. Anabel then proceeded to take Ash's Sinnoh hat off and started to stroke his messy raven-black hair with her free left hand.
"You can stop now, Ash," Anabel said humorously and smiled. Ash looked up to see Anabel's beaming, pale face smile upon him to which he gave his trademark grin. Anabel giggled from seeing Ash grin like he usually does and continued stroking his hair. "I do enjoy seeing all of your efforts in training with your Pokemon. I couldn't be any happier, even if I tried."
"Thanks, Anabel," Ash replied genteelly. "You're awesome in what you do yourself. You actually understand the feelings of a Pokemon better than I could ever dream to do. You were even able to calm Beedrill, a Pokemon my friends and I would run away immediately and battle if not given any other choice." Anabel smiled and gave Ash's head a soft hug.
"Great idea to visit Celadon City for a shopping spree, May," Dawn said cheerfully, holding several bags of clothes. "Now I have even more beautiful dresses to wear for the next Pokemon Contest."
"Thanks, Dawn, but you do know that you don't have to wear a dress in the Kanto contests," May said kindly, who was also holding onto bags full of clothing.
"No need to worry," Dawn responded confidently. "I'm still going to give everyone quite the show with my Pokemon."
"That's the spirit, Dawn," Zoey said happily. She joined May and Dawn shopping in the Celadon City Department Store as well. "You don't have to worry about being the only Coordinator wearing a dress in Kanto. That is, as long as you still remember me."
"Uh, girls?" Brock asked sheepishly while trailing behind the three female Coordinators with mountains of bags in his arms. "Why am I holding onto all of your stuff? Can you remind me what happened to the other guys?"
"Sure," Zoey said abruptly. "Nando went to challenge Erika in the Celadon City Gym for a Rainbow Badge. Misty already finished all of her shopping and is resting by the large water fountain in Celadon Park. Kenny and Max went to the outskirts of Celadon City to look for some wild Pokemon. The only boys left were you, Gary, and Drew. However, Gary and Drew somehow disappeared into thin air when we were about to ask you boys for some assistance in shopping."
"But I only needed to shop for some medical supplies and food," Brock answered calmly.
"Sorry, Brock," May said apologetically. "But you know we can't carry all of these ourselves."
"No need to worry, though," Dawn said optimistically. "I think we're almost about done with shopping for clothes. But I think there's also time to get some Seals for our Ball Capsules."
"And that's when I'm going to worry the most," Brock mused quietly. "I even thought I had a chance at the Celadon City Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny. Misty and Max are gone and I lent Croagunk for Max to try out against the wild Pokemon outside Celadon City. Arrrghh…"
"Hmm, I wonder if Ash is going to like my new dresses," Dawn thought aloud. "Some of the skirts are actually longer and hopefully decent enough for that boy."
"He might," May answered briefly, apparently has heard Dawn's "thoughts." "But I believe he'll like my wardrobe more."
"Is that a challenge, May?" Dawn asked in a "bring it on" tone of voice.
"Oh, you are soon going to be no challenge to me once I get Drew off my back," May argued back in the same tone of voice.
"Girls, settle down," Zoey said calmly. "Tearing each other's heads off now is not going to do much. Especially because I'll be winning that naïve boy's heart in the end."
"You wish," May and Dawn shouted together.
"How does Ash do it?" Brock pondered exasperatedly from watching the three girls argue over his young friend and still carrying all of the girls' purchases. "I'm so jealous. Aside from that situation, I wonder how Gary and Drew are doing since they snuck away and left me with all of the girls' grunt work."
"Heh, good call getting away from the girls before they captured us to be their shopping slaves, Drew," Gary said casually to Drew. Both of them were wandering aimlessly in the roads of Celadon City as of now.
"Don't mention it," Drew responded confidently. "I've already been through enough sales on swimwear with May back in Johto." Drew and Gary then both shuddered from Drew's statement on swimwear sales with May. "I don't know why I brought that up." Drew turned to Gary, who was staring into space with his mouth open and his face slightly red. "Gary, you better not be thinking what I think you are thinking if you know what's good for you."
"My bad, but you were the one who brought it up in the first place," Gary responded nonchalantly and shrugged his arms.
"Just let it go," Drew said in an annoyed tone. "Hey, want to see how Nando's Gym Battle is going?" Gary nodded affirmatively and both young men walked to the Celadon City Gym. They made it inside in a matter of minutes. Gary and Drew quickly made it to the battlefield with Nando and Erika on opposite sides and took their seats in the sidelines.
"Vibrava is unable to battle," the referee declared and raised her arm on Erika's side. "The winner is Gloom."
"Vibrava, return," Nando recalled his fallen Vibrava back into its Pokeball. "Thank you for trying your best." The Bard then turned his attention to Erika and her Gloom.
"Looks like we're both down two Pokemon, Nando," Erika sent blissfully. "I wasn't about to let you win so easily anyway."
"You may have beaten Gardevoir and Vibrava, but I still have one more Pokemon to defeat you, dear Erika," Nando responded melodiously. "Ninetales, make your mark!" Nando sent out his newly evolved Ninetales to battle Erika's Gloom.
"Niiiiinetales!" Ninetales stretched its body in preparation for battle.
"I did not know Nando had a Ninetales," Drew commented in an astounded tone.
"He used a Vulpix back at the Sinnoh Grand Festival and League Championship," Gary explained calmly. "Let's see how much his Ninetales has grown since then…"
"So you're using a Ninetales, huh?" Erika questioned curiously. "It's a pretty good match-up against my Gloom, but we'll see how it'll do in this final round."
"Indeed," Nando responded softly.
"Let the final match begin," the referee announced and raised both her arms up.
"Ninetales, Calm Mind if you please."
"Niiiiiine…" Ninetales closed its red eyes and its body began to give off a mysterious blue light.
"Gloom, use Acid!"
"Gloom!" Gloom sprayed Acid from the top of its flowerlike head onto the meditating Ninetales, but the attack looked like it had very little effect on the Fox Pokemon.
"What a foolish move a Gym Leader could make," Drew remarked quietly. "She should have realized that using a Special Attack on a Pokemon using Calm Mind would barely to a thing. Calm Mind strengthens the user's own Special Attacks and Defense. Heh, Nando's got it in the bag."
"Flamethrower, if you please."
"Niiiiiiine!" Ninetales unleashed a full stream of fire from its mouth that traveled in an incredible rate towards Gloom.
"Gloom, dodge it!"
"Gloom!" Glooms managed to jump out of the way to avoid the Flamethrower, but its left leg was caught in the fire stream and was badly burned. When Gloom landed on its feet, it winced and reeled back onto its right leg to avoid placing its burned left leg in more pain.
"Now use Hidden Power, Ninetales!"
"Ninetales!" Ninetales' body was circled by several white-glowing energy spheres before sending them to attack the opponent. The white spheres then circled Gloom, who was still incapacitated from its burned leg. The speed of the spheres started to increase until the Hidden Power looked like a white-glowing ring about to trap Gloom.
"Gloom?" Gloom was confused about when the Hidden Power will attack it since Ninetales is fully manipulating the attack under Nando's guidance.
"Do it," Nando announced calmly.
"Nine!" Ninetales reared its head up, causing the Hidden Power ring to immediately close up around Gloom. As soon as the ring made contact, a big and loud explosion erupted from Gloom as it was sent flying in the air. The remnants of the Hidden Power turned into sparkles of white that glittered everywhere in the Grass-type battlefield. Everyone stared on how effective Ninetales' Hidden Power was.
"Whoa, raw power and pure beauty used in one move?" Drew remarked in a thunderstruck tone. "Nando truly deserves to be both a Trainer and a Coordinator."
"Way to go, Nando," Gary cheered excitedly.
"Awesome move, Nando," Erika said tenderly. "However, the battle's still not over yet. Gloom, use Giga Drain!"
"Gloom Gloom! Gloooooom!" A spring green energy tendril erupted from the top of Gloom's head and immediately ensnared Ninetales. Red energy emanated from the Fox Pokemon's body as it was being drained of some of its energy by Gloom's attack. However, the Giga Drain wasn't very effective due to Grass-type attacks not causing much damage against Fire-type Pokemon like Ninetales.
"Ninetales, if you please, use Calm Mind."
"Niiiiiine…" Ninetales calmed itself and used Calm Mind to concentrate its powers.
"Quick, Gloom! Use Stun Spore!"
"Gloom!" Gloom released a mist of orange powder from the top of its flowerlike head. The orange powder cloud slowly descended towards Ninetales.
"Dear Ninetales, use Overheat."
"Niiiiiiine… Nine!" Before the Stun Spore reached Ninetales, the Fire-type quickly retaliated with Overheat. Ninetales' body turned into a fiery red color and shot a concentrated beam of intense heat from its mouth. The Overheat ripped through the Stun Spore mist and blasted Gloom right in the face, making it unable to continue battling.
"Oh, my little Gloom," Erika cried out sadly.
"Gloom is unable to continue," the referee declared and raised her arm on Nando's side. "Ninetales wins it. The winner of this Gym Battle is Nando!"
"Great job, Nando," Gary yelled from the sidelines.
"Was there any doubt on him winning?" Drew asked sarcastically.
"Gloom, return," Erika recalled her defeated Gloom into its Pokeball. "Next time, we'll be even stronger, my friend." After Erika placed Gloom's Pokeball away, she saw Nando and Ninetales walking to her. "Thank you for such a great battle, Nando. You too, Ninetales!"
"The pleasure was all mine, Erika," Nando responded harmoniously.
"Anyway, you've earned this," Erika said cheerfully as she took out the Rainbow Badge from a small case and gave it to Nando. "The Rainbow Badge is now yours!"
"Thank you very much, Miss Erika," Nando said politely and admired the beauty of the Rainbow Badge. When he looked up to face Erika, he noticed that Erika dozed off. "Erika?"
"Oh, uh, don't mind our Gym Leader," the referee said while waving her hands around nervously. "She often dozes off after a great battle."
"Actually, she's been known to have doze off a lot lately, causing people to label her as the only narcoleptic Gym Leader ever," Gary explained humorously.
"I don't think you're helping the situation," Drew said coolly. "You know, you shouldn't mock a Gym Leader when she's sleeping."
"No one asked you," Gary responded heatedly. "And you're one to talk, Drew."
"You got to chill out," Drew said in an irritated tone. "For one thing, it's just annoying. And two, it's not good for your health."
"Heh, try telling that to Paul," Gary retorted jokingly. Both boys then started laughing at the thought of Paul being chill.
"Ahem, if you two are done arguing, it is now time for our leaving the Celadon Gym to meet the others in the Pokemon Center," Nando called out respectfully as he was leaving with his Ninetales.
"We're coming, we're coming," Gary and Drew said in unified annoyed tones as they ran to catch up with Nando. Fortunately for them, Nando was waiting for them outside the Celadon City Gym entrance after recalling his Ninetales back into its Pokeball. Once Gary and Drew made it outside, the three guys were on their way to the Celadon City Pokemon Center.
"Nando, it's still pretty early," Gary said in a relaxed tone of voice. "We could still check out some more Celadon sites before heading into the Pokemon Center"
"And besides, we all agreed to rendezvous at 6:00 PM in the Pokemon Center," Drew added in.
"Okay then," Nando replied gently. "Where do you gentlemen want to visit?"
"Uh, we don't know," Gary and Drew answered in unison.
"Then how about we visit Celadon Park next?" Nando suggested tunefully to some of his previous harp strums.
"Sure," Drew answered affirmatively.
"That sounds good," Gary responded tersely. "I think I also saw Misty by that large water fountain in Celadon Park."
"So it is agreed that we will be heading off to Celadon Park then," Nando concluded softly. Gary, Drew, and Nando then traveled to Celadon Park, which was not too far and the traveling did not take up a lot of time. As soon as they saw the water fountain from a reasonable distance, they found Misty with all of her Pokemon except her Gyarados out of their Pokeballs as Gyarados and city water fountains do not mix. They also saw Max and Kenny going to Celadon Park from the other side with dispirited facial expressions and body gestures. It was obvious that both young Trainers had no luck in finding the wild Pokemon they wanted to battle and capture in the outskirts of Celadon City.
"Looks like the gang's almost here," Drew remarked lightheartedly. "Now all who's missing are Brock and the other girls."
"You know, I'm starting to feel bad for leaving Brock under the control of May, Dawn, and Zoey," Gary said in a regretful tone. "Who knows how many bags Brock the fashion slave is carrying for them as of now."
"You should really be thankful that you're not the girls' fashion slave, Gary," Drew replied composedly.
"Gary, Drew, shall we join Misty, Max, and Kenny?" Nando asked melodiously and played a few soft sounds from his golden Mew harp. Both Gary and Drew nodded readily and the three of them went off to meet up with Misty, Kenny, and Max.
"Aya, I haven't seen you in quite a while," a young woman with pale blue hair wearing a female navy blue Dragon Tamer, complete with a black cape, said warmly. "Has Koga been giving you a lot of orders lately?"
"You have no idea, Clair," Aya answered unenthusiastically. "How goes the Blackthorn City Gym?"
"Same old, same old," Clair replied as though she had done this yesterday. "I've met some strong Trainers. Some not-so-good Trainers as well. I'm just doing my duties as the Blackthorn City Gym Leader. Anyway, what brings you by Blackthorn City?"
"Koga's got me as a messenger," Aya explained shortly. "I'm delivering an Elite Four Challenge invitation to a young Pokemon Trainer who has been recognized by the Pokemon League Committee and the individual Elite Four of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh."
"Impressive," Clair said calmly. "So, do you mind telling me who's the lucky Trainer?"
"Well…, I don't want news to get out before the message reaches its destination," Aya reasoned back, unsure about the situation.
"Aya, you have my word as the Gym Leader of Blackthorn City and as a clan member of blessed Dragon users," Clair replied solemnly. "So you're welcome to tell me anything."
"If I must…," Aya said softly and shrugged her arms. "The Trainer is Ash Ketchum. That's all you need to know." A warm smile then formed on Clair's face.
"Well, well," Clair responded in an astounded tone. "So Ash is now eligible to compete in the Elite Four Challenge. But which regional Elite Four will he be facing?"
"You're probably not going to believe me, but Koga told me that he'll take on all four," Aya said with a feeling of regret of telling Clair about this. A look of shock appeared on Clair's face.
"All four regions!?" Clair asked outrageously. "Ash can't handle all eighteen elite Trainers, including the four Champions, all at once! Wait… There are four Champions now, right?"
"Well… No," Aya said with a hesitant feeling in her stomach. "There is still no Champion for the Kanto region. I've already had enough problems thinking about the format of the battles as it is. And to top it off, Bruno is a member of both the Kanto and Johto Elite Four. This gives him two chances to battle Ash. And as for Lance…"
"Ash will have to face him twice, right?" Clair asked in an unimpressed tone of voice. "After all, I know that Lance is a member of the Kanto Elite Four and is the Johto Champion as well. What were you guys thinking of putting Ash through all that stress? I heard he came extremely close in the Sinnoh League Conference, so why not just have him just face the Sinnoh Elite Four and Champion Cynthia?"
"I wish I could tell you more, Clair, but to tell the truth, I still don't know all the details of how Ash's Elite Four Challenge is going to be," Aya said in an indecisive tone of voice. "You'll just have to find out for yourself once the event takes place." Clair grudgingly nodded at this choice, but gave a friendly smile to Aya to show her appreciation for all of the information about the latest current events. "I'll see you around, Clair!" And with that, Aya darted off with the true speed of a ninja into the distance without looking back. All Clair was able to make out from Aya's disappearing act was a pink blur fading into the background.
"I guess I'll see you around as well, Aya," Clair mused quietly as she continued looking off into the distance where Aya dashed off into. "I just hope Ash is ready for such a big event. Oh, what am I saying? He's a powerful Trainer in his own right. I know he'll do just fine. Who knows? He might achieve his goal sooner than he thinks…"
The main point of this chapter was for Orre's introduction into the story, but I decided to add how the others were doing at the same time. For some reason, I just did not feel like droning on about the Orre region and all its Shadow Pokemon glory. Anyway, you all will learn more on what I have on plan with Cipher and Team Rocket. And as for the Elite Four Challenges, Ash and Anabel's heartwarming relationship, Ash's friends waiting patiently together, the girls who revealed hidden feelings for Ash last chapter, the unveiling of Ash's own Battle Facility and full acceptance into the Frontier Brains, Paul…, I can handle all these events. Can you? Anyway, review, reread, play in traffic, talk to a llama, Peanut Butter Jelly. I'm going back to play Brawl. Ciao!