The Lost World of Gothitelle
Ash, Misty, Iris, and Dent are continuing their journey. Dent checks the map, and he sees that the Skyarrow Bridge is up ahead, and if they cross it, they will be in Castelia City, where Ash will be competing for his third Unova Gym Badge. Ash becomes excited and they run to get closer to the bridge. Once they are there, the group spots a Poké Mart. Ash decides he wants to pay a visit to Professor Juniper. Just then, a woman walks towards the Poké Mart.
Ash, not looking where he is going, almost runs into her. He apologizes and allows the woman to go ahead of him into the Poké Mart. Iris walks up and tells Ash that he's still a little kid. Ash goes inside and contacts Professor Juniper via the PC. Ash tells Juniper that he caught a Sewaddle, which makes her proud. She asks Ash if he wants to swap Sewaddle with Pidove and Ash says yes. Soon enough, Ash has his Pidove again. Then, Ash spots the woman he almost ran into earlier staring at some paintings.
Ash asks what they are and the woman merely calls them "Water Taxis" with no details and walks off. The group is confused. Misty shrugs and is surprised that Ash actually rotated his team. When the group walks outside, an eerie fog rolls in. Just then, an Officer Jenny rides by on her motorcycle. Dent asks if she could clear the fog. Officer Jenny sends out her Swanna, and Ash scans it with his Pokédex. Misty is awed by Swanna's beauty and is stunned that it was the evolved form of Ducklett.
Jenny commands Swanna to use Defog, but to no avail. Suddenly, a van drives by, and Jenny chases it as no vehicles should be driven in the fog. Ash, despite the risks, decides to cross the Skyarrow Bridge anyway. Misty, Iris, and Dent have no choice but to follow him. Once they get on the bridge, Iris tells her Axew to stay in her hair. Suddenly, a Psybeam hits the ground under the group. They look up to see where it came from, and it came from a Gothitelle!
Gothitelle does not want the group to cross. Ash calls on Snivy and she uses Leaf Blade, but Gothitelle blocks with Protect. It then uses another Psybeam attack, but Snivy counters with Leaf Storm. Suddenly, the ground below the group collapses! The group wake up to find that they are just at the spot where Officer Jenny and her Swanna first appeared. Just then, they see a little girl appear to invite them to ride in a little boat called the "Water Taxi" and go across the river that way.
So Ash, Misty, Iris, and Dent walk on. The little girl, whose name is Sally, gives snacks to the group. Then she introduces them to her Pokémon, a Gothitelle! Dent soon becomes suspicious. Meanwhile, an old woman asks the captain if he's heard that the "Water Taxi" is going to close soon, and he says yes. This makes Sally and Gothitelle really sad. Suddenly, they reach land after a seemingly short journey. However, Misty soon realizes that they've returned back where they began!
The group starts to get worried. Cilan then claims he has an idea of what's going on. He claims that it has something to do with Gothitelle and that they should go investigate. Ash and Iris agree. So they walk over to Sally and Gothitelle, who are stocking up on more snacks for their next and final voyage. Ash asks Sally if Gothitelle is her Pokémon, and Sally says no and they she has just befriended it. Then the captain calls Sally to ask her something.
Then, the same fog rolls in from earlier and Gothitelle starts walking away. So the group follows it. They follow Gothitelle to the same spot on the Skyarrow Bridge. Gothitelle looks hostile and blasts a Psybeam attack. Cilan finally has the answer: this is the same Gothitelle that's accidentally thrown itself, along with Ash, Misty, Iris, and Dent into a little dream world! Ash demands that Gothitelle return them, but it refuses. Misty suggests that Ash battle it. So Ash sends out Snivy again.
Gothitelle is angered and uses Psybeam once more, which Snivy dodges easily, though it breaks many parts of the bridge. Ash calls for Leaf Blade followed by a Vine Whip, but Gothitelle uses Double Team, confusing Snivy, as well as letting her get hit by a Psybeam cast by the real Gothitelle. Ash orders another Leaf Blade, though Gothitelle uses Psybeam again, hitting Snivy once more. Snivy looks badly hurt. Ash asks Snivy if she can go on, which Snivy nods determinedly.
Ash tells his Snivy to use Leaf Storm, which Gothitelle avoids by using Protect. Then, suddenly, Gothitelle uses Psychic to raise all the broken parts of the bridge. It was about to send it at Snivy when suddenly, the woman from earlier turns up! The woman reveals that she is an older version of Sally and that the younger one was merely an illusion made by Gothitelle. Sally tells Gothitelle that they used to be old friends, and they go through a number of flashbacks.
Gothitelle was saddened when Sally went to train to be a doctor, and it escaped from the factory. After the recounts, they wipe each others' tears off their faces. Gothitelle faces the fact that it can't go back into the past, no matter how many memories it can recount. Gothitelle decides to send Ash, Misty, Iris, and Dent back to their world. Later, the group is saying goodbye to Sally. Sally suddenly notices Gothitelle on top of the bridge, which they say a tender goodbye.
Sally ask if she can visit Gothitelle again, which Gothitelle nods to as well as waving goodbye and vanishing. Officer Jenny turns up and says how strange it was for the fog to go away so quickly. The group look at each other and laugh. The group say goodbye to Sally and continue on their journey. They cross the Skyarrow Bridge and look at the Castelia City skyline, and Ash says he is ready to get his third Unova Badge.
A Venipede Stampede
Ash, Misty, Iris, and Dent are admiring the scenery of Castelia City as Ash is pumped up with the Castelia Gym battle. They then bump into Burgh and he explains something is not right...until Pikachu hears weird sounds coming from the sewers. They go down to investigate when they find a Venipede stuck in a pipe. Misty is surprisingly no longer scared of bug types but hangs onto Ash anyhow. Ash pulls it out and the scared Venipede immediately Screeches to harm everyone.
But then it stops because of injury it has on its head. Ash then notices the injury and explains that he wants to help the Venipede, but it attacks Ash instead. Ash holds the confused creature and tells it he still wants to help with its injury. Venipede finally seems convinced as Ash falls to the floor not feeling so well. Ash wakes up when Dent feeds him some antidote and Venipede is bandaged by Iris and Burgh with the help of Misty, who is still a little afraid.
Iris then feeds Venipede an Oran Berry which it happily sucks the juices from. They then notice a huge swarm of Venipede marching through the sewers. The Venipede use Screech to harm everyone to which they then assault them with Sludge Bombs that Ash and his friends narrowly avoid. The swarm of Venipede start chasing after them as the bandaged Venipede decides to stay behind in the sewers. When everyone gets out, they realize the Venipede are invading the city.
Officer Jenny appears and explains that the Venipede came out from the sewers. They suddenly hear an explosion coming from downtown to which they immediately run to. They see a group of Trainers attacking the Venipede with their Fire-type Pokémon. One of the Trainers is Trip, who is using his Lampent to take on the Venipede. Ash tries to tell the Trainers to stop attacking the Venipede, but the Mayor of Castelia City comes and tells Ash that the Venipede need to get cleared out.
Battling them is the only way. Misty disagrees with this, as it actually hurts the Venipede. But, Burgh suggests that they somehow get all the Venipede into the central part of the city so that they can find out why the Venipede are in the city. Ash, Misty, Dent, and Iris all insist on this idea and Burgh says that they could find the Venipede leader and have it follow them. The Mayor agrees to this idea, and Burgh has Dent and Iris stay at the Pokémon Center to go get Nurse Joy and her Audino.
Burgh, Ash, and Misty head off to find the Venipede leader as Trip ponders about the Venipede's leader. Back at Professor Juniper's lab, the data from the EXA Satellite is received, as one of Juniper's assistants asks why they need it to diagnose the Venipede's actions. Professor Juniper hypothesizes that since Venipede usually nest underground, a reaction within the ground has caused the Venipede to move into Castelia City.
Back in Castelia, Burgh, Ash, and Misty run through the streets as Ash asks how they'll find the leader of the Venipede. Burgh replies that since wild Pokémon stand side by side in times of danger, they will find a lot of Venipede crowded around one Venipede that's the leader. He also says that the leader will be at a certain place where they can monitor their way with the swarm. Misty spots a larger Venipede on top of a building, which has a bunch of other Venipede around it.
And it makes itself the leader, and it jumps down onto the street to challenge them. Burgh advises the leader that lingering in the city will place them in danger, and says to follow him. The leader responds with a Sludge Bomb which Burgh dodges. Suddenly, Trip appears on the scene and tells his Lampent to attack the Venipede leader with Flamethrower. Ash tells Trip to stop, but Trip says that if the leader were to be defeated, the swarm would fall apart.
Trip has his Lampent use Shadow Ball on the leader, but Ash jumps in the way and takes the hit instead. Then, the Venipede that was stuck in the sewer pipe from before appears and crawls towards Ash. Ash tells Trip that the Venipede can be gentle Pokémon if they don't attack them. Burgh supports Ash's statement by saying that their hearts have yet to reach them. Dent and Iris then returns along with Nurse Joy and her Audino.
Trip recalls his Lampent and agrees to stay out of their way in their plan and walks off. Burgh tells Nurse Joy's Audino to use Heal Pulse on the Venipede, and Burgh pulls out a Bug Flute. He plays it, and all the Venipede start to follow him. Ash and friends are awed by this and Burgh tells them to go round up the remaining separated Venipede. Ash runs towards an alley and calls out Pidove and has her use Gust to get the individual Venipede with the others.
Iris heads towards some Venipede on the roof of a building and tells Axew to use Dragon Rage. Axew fails at Dragon Rage yet again, but it scares the Venipede into joining the herd. Dent has Pansage help with Bullet Seed as well. Misty has her Togekiss help out with Aura Sphere. However, one of the Venipede uses Sludge Bomb on Ash's Pidove! However, Trip has his Tranquill save Ash's Pidove from the attack as he decides to help the Venipede as well.
Through these series of events, Ash's Pidove starts to evolve! Ash's newly evolved Tranquill works with Trip's Tranquill to get the last of the Venipede reunited with the has now fallen on Castelia City, as all the Venipede have gathered in the central plaza. The Mayor of Castelia City thanks Burgh, Ash, Misty, Iris, and Dent for their help. Trip starts to walk off saying that his Gym challenge probably won't come any time soon, and that he's headed to the next city for his Badge.
Battling for the Love of Bug Types!
Ash, Misty, Iris, and Dent arrive at the Castelia City Gym so he can battle Burgh, the Castelia City Gym Leader. When they get inside, they are amazed at how it is similar to a greenhouse. They find Burgh feeding a Sewaddle as he mentions how the trees were transferred from Pinwheel Forest to provide a natural environment for his Bug types. Burgh opens up the battlefield, coming up from the under ground. The referee announces that the battle will be three-on-three.
Burgh summons Dwebble as his first, while Ash goes with Tepig. Misty had helped Ash train the night before as Iris and Dent agree that Tepig is a solid choice. Just then, Iris realizes that Burgh's Dwebble looks different from Cilan's Dwebble. Tepig attacks first with Tackle, but Dwebble dodges it. Tepig tries again, but Dwebble uses Dig to avoid it and strike Tepig. When Dwebble follows up with a fast X-Scissor, Burgh reveals that Dwebble's rock shell is actually lighter than average, giving Dwebble more speed.
Dwebble uses Protect to nullify Tepig's Ember before launching X-Scissor, which Tepig responds with Tackle. Ash decides to order a Flame Charge all-in, but another Protect stops it. With Tepig close, Dwebble uses Rock Wrecker to take out Tepig, part of Burgh's strategy. For his second Pokémon, Ash sends out Sewaddle. Sewaddle fires Razor Leaf, but Protect once against stalls it. Dwebble charges with X-Scissor, but Sewaddle fires String Shot at the ceiling to dodge.
Protect stops Sewaddle's Bug Bite counterattack before firing Rock Wrecker. Sewaddle once again uses String Shot to dodge and retaliate with Razor Leaf, but Protect once again stops it. When Dwebble fires another Rock Wrecker, Sewaddle uses String Shot to wrap and stop it. Sewaddle's Tackle hits before Dwebble can use X-Scissor, which separates Dwebble from its shell. Sewaddle keeps Dwebble from its shell with rapid Razor Leaf/Tackle pressure, knocking it out.
For his second, Burgh sends out Whirlipede. Misty, Iris, and Dent note that Tranquill and Tepig would be effective here, but Tepig is down and Tranquill isn't in Ash's party. Ash keeps Sewaddle in, having it dodge a Poison Sting attack with String Shot. Sewaddle fires String Shot on Whirlipede, but Whirlipede simply spins in place to break it. A Steamroller attack hits Sewaddle hard, and a follow-up attack couldn't be stopped by Sewaddle's Razor Leaf.
Sewaddle tries to retaliate with Bug Bite, but Whirlipede's Iron Defense easily repulses it. Whirlipede lands another Steamroller before trying a knockout shot SolarBeam. Sewaddle surprisingly takes it and glows with light, evolving into Swadloon. Swadloon fires String Shot onto Whirlipede, but it once again shreds it. Swadloon tries to dodge a Steamroller with String Shot, but Whirlipede runs into the string, cutting it. Whirlipede prepares to attack again, but an Energy Ball attack stops that.
One Tackle attack is enough to take Whirlipede out of the match. Meanwhile, at the harbor, Team Rocket tries to get a hold of Giovanni, but they are unable to uncover their next assignment. Matori leaves them to decide their own mission, so they decide to once again pursue Ash's Pikachu, with new drive and a new motto, bringing back their classic uniforms. A Yamask appears and checks out their computer. Jessie wants to catch it, sending out Woobat.
James stops them and decides to feed it. It eats happily and afterwards, James asks it to join him, holding a Poké Ball. It goes in, allowing James to capture the Yamask. Back at the Gym, Burgh sends out his final Pokémon Leavanny, the guardian of the Gym. Swadloon fires Energy Ball, but Leavanny uses Protect to stop it before using String Shot to cover Swadloon. Ash has Swadloon fires Razor Leaf on itself, breaking the strings but inflicting residual damage on itself.
Swadloon is unable to dodge a powerful Leaf Storm and a follow-up Hyper Beam, finally taking it out of the match. Ash recalls it and contemplates his final Pokémon. Oshawott comes out and volunteers, but Pikachu steps forward, which Ash picks, crushing Oshawott. Pikachu fires Thunderbolt, but Leavanny simply ducks to avoid it. Leavanny uses Protect to stop Pikachu's Iron Tail before retaliating with Leaf Storm, but Thunderbolt cancels it. Leavanny uses String Shot to wrap and impair Pikachu.
When Pikachu tries to dodge another Leaf Storm with Quick Attack, it is unable to move quickly and gets hit, since the strings have frozen Pikachu's tail and prevent it from balancing. Pikachu tries to break it by biting it, but the strings are resilient. Pikachu gets knocked around by another Leaf Storm, and the strings impair Pikachu's Thunderbolt accuracy as well. A Hyper Beam attack once again knocks Pikachu about the stadium.
When Burgh orders another Leaf Storm, Ash decides to have Pikachu dive into it while spinning. The attack weakens the strings enough for Pikachu to shake off. Burgh tries to slow Pikachu again with more String Shot, but with Pikachu's balance in order, it easily uses Quick Attack to dodge and even a Thunderbolt to cancel one. Pikachu lands powerful hits with Iron Tail and Electro Ball, taking down Leavanny and winning the match for Ash.
Burgh presents him the Insect Badge which Ash displays with pride before putting it into his Badge case. Misty congratulates Ash with her traditional hug and kiss, both of which Ash happily returned. With the victory; Ash, Misty, Iris, and Dent leave the Gym.
AK1028: Again, I am so VERY sorry for the delay and probably the lack in quality in this chapter. I am being rushed to catch up so a lot of the chapters will be like this til I do finally catch up to the anime here in the states. I feel embarrassed that I'm not giving this one hundred percent of my time and I do hope that all of you readers out there will forgive me. Please read and review! And always think outside of the box!