Again the trio set of into the sky, Just 20 minutes past Joe changing his mind. They had packed up, kitted up and gotten ready for the trials that certainly lay ahead of them. They had said their thanks and goodbyes to Malcolm and Cheyenne for turning up to help in the fight. They didn't stay for too long as they needed to get back to Cerulean to make sure their home was safe. Before they had left they had wished them luck and given them a couple of items that may be helpful in the future. A pack of lemonade cans and a couple of plant herb. Apparently they were very effective for reviving Pokémon but they didn't taste very nice. Gordon couldn't stay to help, either. He had to get back to Pewter city to take care of the gym. Before he left he too had something for them. He gave them a small brown sewed bag full of multiple kinds of berries. From what Joe could see they mainly consisted of Sitrus and Lum berries. Finally Joe's uncle said his goodbyes.
"Good luck." he told them, patting his Nephew's shoulder. "Are you all packed?" He asked Joe specifically.
"Yeas, uncle." Joe laughed. "Don't worry. We'll be fine." His uncle smiled. He reached into his pocket.
"Almost forgot. Before you go I have something that should come in very useful." He pulled out his arm and in his hand he held a strange, arm brace like, blue device with leather straps that was about the half the length of his arm. Joe took it and looked it over. "It's a very unique tool. I created it myself during my time in Team Rocket." His uncle explained. Before He could continue Joe pushed in a small square button on the side and the device suddenly snapped open. Joe jumped back as a large, metal, shield expanded suddenly out from the device's sides and sat solidly at its centre. It was the same shield as before, the one his uncle had been carrying when he stopped Archer from killing him. Looking down at it now he could see more detail on it. Originally he had assumed the shield was square but it was in fact a diamond, the edges poking out bellow, above, away and towards his arm. It seemed like it would be rather painful to put it on while it was open. On the centre of the shield was a symbol, shaped like a crossed sword slashing through the centre. "My old shield." His uncle continued. "It's saved my life many times. It will protect you from not just bullets but also Pokémon attacks. It simulates the move Protect. Its solar powered but be careful as the power runs out quick. Just push the button on the side to open and close it." Joe clicked the button again and quickly the shield folded away back into the thin, blue metal device. He strapped it onto his right wrist and smiled at his uncle.
"Thank you." he smiled.
"Just remember to be careful." his uncle reminded him. "Your team will help you out. Trust in them and you can win."
The trio took off into the sky above, leaving Pallet town behind them. Rocky and Winter had kept the flying types Tom had lent them so they could travel faster. Tom had let them keep them for their journey and Rocky was only too delighted to have an Aerodactyl on his side. Winter however seemed a little less impressed about her Pidgeotto, but she was persistent on teaching it one water move. Joe decided that he should take on the remaining gym leaders first before he went to meet Team Rocket for the last time. First he stopped by the gym at Viridian. The gym leader of that town was supposed to be the toughest of all of them, leaving him as the eighth gym leader. Joe felt that if he took him on first he would give his Pokémon a lot more experience. However when they got there the doors were locked shut and a sign was hanging on the window. It read 'Leader travelling. Come back in Four days.'
"He's out." Joe muttered, holding the sign by his thumb and forefinger. "By the time he gets back I imagine it'll be over." he sighed. Looks like we'll have to move onto the next one." he told his friends. They took off again, this time heading east towards Saffron City and the sixth gym leader. Originally they had had to go under or around the city in the underground tunnels as the city was under lockdown from police who were trying deal with the high rate of criminals hiding in its underworld. Now that that mission had been a moderate success they were starting to let visitors and passers bye in again. This meant Joe and his friends could safely land in the city without being stopped or even shot down by the police. As the trio flew over the city walls they began to descend, making their way to the ground and landing comfortably on the solid concrete path. Joe jumped of Ralph's back, unhooked the flying gear and slid it off, leaving Ralph free to move properly without harnesses swinging around under him. They had landed next the city's Pokémon centre, on the right side of the city, close to the centre. They took down note of its location so they could find it again when they needed to. Only a few streets away from their was the Gym. This one was going to be a real challenge, Joe could feel it his bones. He was prepared for it.
"If you want to go take the gym..." Winter told him, causing his attention to fix onto her. Me and Rocky will go and train up our own Pokémon. We need to make sure our flying type can fight of any grunts in our way." She explained. Rocky nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. We'll go train our Pokémon around the city. I believe there are a couple of criminal dens we could deal with to pass the time. Shouldn't be too tough. Chopper can take care of them easily." he laughed, rubbing his Machop's bold head. Chopper folded his arms and grinned. Joe shrugged.
"Alright." he said. "That's fine. Just be careful. Some of these groups are pretty vile." he warned. "Rocky laughed.
"Ha, not a problem." He laughed. Within seconds he had gone, taking his Pokémon down the street and around the corner. Winter sighed.
"I'd better get after him." She explained to Joe. "Make sure he doesn't destroy anything. Make sure to go easy when fighting the gym leader. I hear she's tough... Very tough." Joe just looked at her.
"Thanks, Winter." He said, almost sarcastically. She shrugged.
"I'm just concerned." she told him. "After you and your uncle talked you seemed much stressed out. I just wanted to know you were ok."
"I'm fine." Joe told her. "I can take the gym leader fine, don't worry." Winter smiled at him.
"Well, if your sure." She turned to go. "I'll come back in an hour or two. I imagine you'll be done by then." And with that she followed after Rocky, beginning to release her Pokémon to fight. Joe looked at Ralph. His friend seemed a little rattled, maybe by his previous fight or maybe by the heavy amount of pressure now placed upon their shoulders. Maybe he was still worried for his friend. Joe smiled at him and stroked his ear.
"Are you ready to take on another gym?" Joe asked. Ralph nodded, suddenly eager, a small purring noise escaping from his mouth. Joe chuckled. "Alright then. Let's go do this."
Again the two of them found themselves stepping through the large sliding glass doors to the gym. Calmly they stepped inside. The room within seemed similar to the previous gyms except the walls where a lighter shade of yellow. The pitch was by far the blandest looking of all of them. In fact it was no different to a normal battle pitch. On the other side of the room stood a young woman, sitting upon a golden metal throne with her arms crossed. She gad extremely long yet elegant black hair and she was wearing a skin-tight red bodysuit with black boots and gloves. She had a simple malice expression upon her face of intellectual wrath. As Joe and Ralph walked in she did not stand up, she didn't even blink. She simply sat there, arms resting on the chairs arm rests. She sat up, looking straight at the two of them.
"So" she boomed. "A Challenger Approaches." She waived a hand. "Welcome to my gym. Please step forwards. I am Sabrina, the gym leader here. How may I serve you?" She seemed to be mocking him slightly. Joe decided to play along.
"Well I find I'm quite nice on a silver platter with a side order of fries and garlic sauce." He joked. "I am Joe, your challenger." He laughed, bowing. "I have come here to take on your gym challenge in order to become stronger." Sabrina gave a small smile.
"Yes, I know why your here." She explained. "I foresaw your arrival." at first Joe seemed surprised by her comment but then he remembered who she was.
"Oh, of course, your psychic, I forget." He realised. "So you know I'm meant to fight Team Rocket soon." He asked. She nodded.
"Yes. I saw that, too." She explained. "Though it may surprise you to know that back when Team Rocket started I used to be one of their elites." She told him, unemotionally. Now Joe really was surprised.
"Wait, you, a gym leader, used to be in Team Rocket?" Joe repeated aloud. Sabrina smiled.
"Don't panic" She gave a small chuckling smile. "I do not sympathise for them. I have nothing to do with them anymore. These new rockets are only half the men I worked with. Though by what you are telling me, their new leader has a power greater than any they have ever owned before." Again Joe was surprised.
"I didn't say..." he started. Then he remembered. 'Psychic. Can read minds' he reminded himself.
'Well technically I can hear minds' a voice explained in his head. Immediately he looked over at Sabrina who was chuckling. "Very well, Joe Glende of Pallet Town." She announced, standing up. "And Ralph the Crobat." She added. "I accept your challenge. But I add a clause to our duel. You must beat me at my full power." There was a short silence. "You came here seeking to raise your Pokémon's power, skill and experience, and you shall do so. But in order to do that you must first beat me at my toughest. No exceptions." Joe thought the offer over for a few seconds. "Your answer is yes, by the way." Sabrina told him. Joe and Ralph both smiled.
"All right." Joe agreed. "I accept. Me and you. 4 Vs 4. Here. Till each Pokémon can no longer fight." Sabrina smiled and cracked her knuckles.
"Very well." she announced. "Let our battle commence."
Joe and Erika stood opposite each other across a plastic ocean that was the gym arena. Joe had already planned out whom to use first. Erika however seemed to be able to tell what his choice would be. She readied a poke-ball and released it.
"Go Slowbro." she called as the ball opened and released a tall pink, sloth looking Pokémon with a dopy face and fat belly standing where the ball had landed. Apart from small, fat arms and legs, tiny eyes, a large mouth and curly ears there was nothing else that seemed to make it unique... Except for the huge shell like creature hanging of its tail. According to the pokedex the creature on its tail was a Shellder but Joe wasn't too certain about that. As far as he was aware Shellder didn't have a long, horn shaped shell. He suddenly realised that Sabrina was laughing. He kept forgetting she could read his mind. Now it was Joe's turn to send out a Pokémon.
"Go Pitt." he called as he sent of a red poke-ball and Pitt, the powerful Venusaur emerged, lashing vine whips to intimidate. And battle immediately began. At first it seemed no one was doing anything. Joe waited for Sabrina's attack but it did not come. Finally he decided to make the first move. "Ok, Pitt, use Razor Leaf!" He instructed. Pitt's plant shook and a flurry of crescent shaped leaves flew forth, slicing though the air. Slowbro however just stood where it was, watching stupidly as the leaves shot forwards. Suddenly It jumped upwards, standing on the tip of its shell swallowed tail and disappeared inside its large toothed maw. The razor leaf bounced harmlessly of the shells sides, leaving Slowbro completely unharmed. Pitt seemed annoyed that his attack hadn't worked. Slowbro popped back out of its shell and began to gather water. Pitt Gathered light in his plant head. The two Pokémon leaned forwards and fired two separate beams. One made of rapid torrent water, the other of bright green photosynthetic light. The two attacks met at the centre and combated for power. Slowly Pitts attack seemed to be pushing Slowbro back, getting closer to hitting its target. Suddenly Slowbro gasped for breath, letting its attack and allowing itself to be hit by Pitt's Solarbeam. It was flung backwards by the astounding force and landed painfully on its side. Slowly it pushed itself up, anger on its face. Pitt didn't seem to care. He readied another Solarbeam when suddenly a small flash came from Slowbro's right eye and Pitt found himself unable to perform the attack. No matter how hard he tried he could not fire a Solarbeam. The light at the tip died away as his attack failed. "What's the problem?" Joe asked. Pitt looked back at him, unsure.
"Disable." Sabrina Explained. Joe glanced up at her from the other side of the room. "Disable stops a Pokémon using the last move it made. In this case your Pitt's Solarbeam. Sorry for the inconvenience." she seemed to be mocking it slightly. Joe rethought his plan.
"Alright." he muttered, thinking up what to do. "Can't use Solarbeam, so..." he stopped, looking back up at the battle field. "Pitt, use Leech Seed." he called. Pitt fired a small cluster of fat, sticky seeds in Slowbro's direction. The seeds scattered and landed all over Slowbro's body, taking root and digging into its skin. Slowbro tried pulling them off but they were buried in fast. Small buds began to push their way through the shell. It gave Pitt an angry look and readied an attack. It fired a circular waiving field of pink energy in Pitts direction and it passed straight through him, causing him tense up and flinch. Its Psychic was very powerful. Pitt flinched painfully. He found his legs knocking and he was struggling to hold himself up. His head ached and his eyes felt heavy.
"Pitt, hold on." Joe encouraged. "You can still do this. Use tackle!" Pitt nodded, glancing back at his trainer and began to slowly run forwards, moving about as fast as a lorry down a village lane. He rushed forwards, aiming to ram into Slowbro with its full body. Slowbro tensed for the attack and took it full force in the chest. It fell backwards, landing on its side and falling several feet back. It pushed itself back up and lowered its head. It suddenly dashed forwards, head lowered to ram. It struck Pitt in the head and he was pushed backwards by the force Slowbro had created. Slowbro went in to Headbutt him again but Pitt met it in the middle, using his own head to push it back. The two pushed against each, trying to push the other back. Slowly but steadily Slowbro was being pushed backwards. Finally Pitt overwhelmed it, slapping it away with a vine and causing it to jump back out of the way.
"Hydro Pump!" Sabrina instructed. Slowbro gathered water inside its mouth and readied to fire it out in a torrent.
"Quick, protect!" Joe instructed. Pitt nodded and lowered its back. Slowbro released, firing a large torrent of heavy rapid water at Pitts face. At the last second he created the colourless light field around himself, blocking the attack and causing the water to bounce completely of it and drip up down and over the field. As the protect faded away the water droplets fell to the ground and made a tiny splash on the plastic floor. Pitt roared menacingly, straightening his back and stretching his neck out, cracking his neck. He glared down at Slowbro, taunting it to try attacking again. Slowbro backed up slightly. Pitt suddenly leaned back on its hind legs, standing up straight and leaving his fat belly exposed. Then he dropped back onto the ground. When his heavy front legs hit the floor it cracked and shook under his weight, sending shockwaves out through the plastic flooring and causing the entire building to move about. The earthquake he made hit Slowbro about, causing it to wobble and slip up, landing on its back, painfully. Sabrina found herself struggling to stand up as the shockwave reached her. Even Joe was being knocked about by the earthquake Pitt had made. The only one there who didn't seem affected by the attack was Ralph. He was lucky that he was flying above the ground and therefore the ground shaking couldn't hurt him. In fact he found it quite funny watching the others shake about like they did. Sabrina leaned against her throne to steady herself. When the earthquake died away Slowbro could be seen lying in pain on the floor, still conscious but only just. Joe found himself laughing.
"Damn, Pitt. Nice going." He smiled at the large plant carrying lizard. Pitt smiled back, glad for the appraisal from his trainer. Sabrina seemed less happy. A frown of anger had subtle faded onto her face. She raised a hand out, still steadying herself with the other hand on her chair.
"Slowbro get up!" She snapped. Slowbro's lazy ears twitched at her command. Get up! She screamed in her mind. Slowbro suddenly shot up onto its feet again in a blur of pink motion. Good. She told it psychically, calming down again. "Now use Amnesia!" She commanded verbally now. "Slowbro nodded slightly and held its hands to its forehead, seemingly desperate to remember something… or forget something. A few seconds later its arms fell back to its side and it stood looking dumbly forwards at Pitt. "Now continue with Psychic!" Sabrina instructed again. Slowbro closed its eyes and opened its mind, sending the wave of pink psychic energy directly at Pitt.
"Pitt, try your Solarbeam again." Joe instructed. Pitt looked unsure but tried anyway. Still nothing was happening. He just couldn't get the light to gather in his flower. "Alright." Joe thought again. He'd have to act quickly if he wanted Pitt to survive the attack. "Try Razor Leaf!" He told him. Pitt did so, firing seven crescent spinning leaves at Slowbro. The leaves passed straight through Psychic, doing nothing to it. A couple of the leaves even dissolved in the psychic energy. The few that made it through continued onwards and landed their hits on Slowbro's stomach. It flinched as it took damage but it seemed to resist it better than the previous time. The Psychic still hit Pitt and he took it full force. He was left standing hurt and slightly stunned and confused, again only just standing up on his four legs. Slowbro had the upper hand now. It was about to fire a Hydro pump again when suddenly its body began to spasm up. The seeds sticking to its hide beginning to sprout and suck the energy from its body, sending it back to Pitt. As Slowbro lost health Pitt regained it. He felt his strength beginning to come back to him again. He stood up properly, supported by his powerful front and hind legs. He lowered his head and charged, heading straight for Slowbro. While Slowbro was distracted trying to get the seeds off of it Pitt rushed in and tackled it to the ground, crushing it under his giant mass. When he stepped back Slowbro lay flattened of the floor, an unconscious pile. A cheer came from Joe's side of the field. Again Pitt had prevailed for him and his team. Sabrina glared at him, withdrawing her Pokémon and readying the next pokéball. Damn boy crushed Slowbro like that. If he keeps his venusaur out, he may win easily. She thought. Slowbro was a dumb fool. A voice whispered back in her head. It had the sinister whisper of a creeper, a figure who'd lure children into dark alleys with the promise of sweets. Let me fight. I'll make him fear. I'll thrash all his Pokémon. Sabrina sighed in agreement, pulling out a great ball from her belt and readying it.
"Go, Alakazam!" She called. She threw the ball and released a tall, yellow, psychic Pokémon holding two metal spoons in both of its lanky long hands. It looked like the final evolution of abra; a Pokémon Joe had met before. It certainly had the same yellow skin and brown torso abra had, even if it had longer limbs and stood taller on its feet. As well as this it had a long bushy yellow moustache spreading out from under its nose and a long, gaunt face and slit shaped eyes, giving it the look of a stereotypical Japanese scientist. It stood still, eyes closed for a few seconds before snapping them open and stretching its arms out.
"ALAKAZAM!" It roared. The entire room fell silent at its call. Joe stopped cheering. Ralph stopped flapping. Pitt stopped breathing. Everyone's eyes were fixed on Alakazam. It glared at Pitt and the spoons in its hands bent back, causing him to shiver.
"Alakazam!" Sabrina called, feeling a lot more confident. "Use Calm mind!" Alakazam raised its spoons to its head and cleared its mind, small waves of psychic energy flashing out around it as they emptied its head, leaving it space to make new, more powerful psychic moves. "Now use Future Sight!" Sabrina continued. A small flash came from in front of Alakazam, then nothing more.
"Is that it?" Joe asked, feeling a little too cocky for his own good. "Alright then. Pitt, use Razor Leaf!" he began to command. Again Pitt fired the razor sharp leaves out from its flower, aimed at Alakazam. Alakazam however didn't even blink. It just watched as the attack came flying towards it. Suddenly it raised its hands and the leaves disintegrated one by one till there was nothing but tiny particles of plant mater flying towards it. It then proceeded to flex its arms again, trying to intimidate it. Pitt back up, seeing now just how strong his opponent was going to be. "It's ok." Joe tried to comfort him. "It's just showing off. You can beat it. I trust in you." Pitt smiled, thankfully at his trainer. He then proceeded to plod along, heading towards Alakazam so his attacks would reach it quicker. He felt disable wearing away now and light had begun to gather again inside his plant stem. He leaned forwards and readied to fire. When he did so he felt the relief of release as the beam shot from his mouth and heading dead towards Alakazam's chest… But it didn't go the way he had planned. When the light died away Alakazam was still standing where it had been, unhurt by the attack whatsoever. In front of it was the recognisable colourless shield for protect, blocking any attack from hitting it. Pitt snarled. That was dirty trick only he was allowed to use. He bellowed and charged in, going in to tackle Alakazam down like he had done to Slowbro. As he was reaching his opponent he suddenly found himself not moving forwards. Instead he was moving upwards. He looked down to find himself being lifted up from the floor somehow and floating several feet above the ground. Alakazam had its flat hand raised up to his level. Somehow it was able to psychically lift his weight up into the air. Then Alakazam dropped its hand down and Pitt fell out of the air. He landed with a heavy thud on his stomach against the hard, plastic floor. He tried to get back up onto his feet but the impact had winded him completely. He groaned, slumped to the floor and fell asleep. Joe sighed and punched his arm in annoyance. He didn't blame Pitt for being knocked out so easily. If anything he blamed himself for getting cocky and misjudging Alakazam's power.
"One down each, trainer." Sabrina called out to him. She raised her hands up and flat. "Now who has the advantage?" Joe didn't respond. Quickly he withdrew Pitt, thanking him for his work and readying his next Pokémon.
"Ok, Nami. You're up." He threw the pokéball and out popped the sleek blue vaporeon. Nami giggled, happy for a chance to fight again. Alakazam rolled its eyes. Oh boy. It thought. Another giggly water type. Why must I always fight them? It readied its arms out to attack. Not this time, old friend. Sabrina told it, using her psychic link to talk to her Pokémon privately. I need you for later on. Come back for now. Alakazam sighed. Alright. It agreed, both slightly glad and slightly annoyed. With one swift movement Sabrina withdrew her strongest Pokémon and put its pokéball back onto her belt. Joe seemed confused by her choice in action.
"Why did you withdraw Alakazam?" He asked. Sabrina waved a finger, defiantly.
"I've decided I'm saving him for later" She said, simply. "At least now you can see the rest of my team quicker." She added, readying her next pokéball. This one was the normal red colour. She hurled it up into the air and cried. "Go Mr. Mime!" As the ball snapped open a strange, white and red Pokémon with long lanky arms and legs with five fingered hands and curled shoes. The tips of its fingers were flat and red. It had red cheeks and red spots on specific parts of its torso, mainly its shoulders, thighs and central chest. Its face was pink and kindly with two long blue –for lack of a better word- spikes on the side of its head, probably acting as ears. It stood dead still, holding its hands up before it, supposedly miming a wall being in front of it. In fact it was acting like a wall was in front of it, trying to pear around it and edging along slightly only to find more wall further down. Nami took one look at it and began to giggle again. She thought its miming was quite comical. Mr. Mime didn't seem too happy about that. "Mr. Mime, use barrier!" Sabrina instructed. Mr. Mine didn't even need to begin making the move. It simply kept pretending a wall was in front of it. Quickly a translucent pink wall of energy formed in front of it, protecting it from taking too much damage.
"Ok, Nami. Prepare to use your attacks when I tell you." Joe instructed. Earlier he had spent a little time teach her a couple of new moves. He hoped these moves would improve Nami's chances of winning her battles. He waited for an opportunity to make a critical hit before instructing Nami. Sabrina seemed aware of his tactic however as she neither made a move after. This left them both at a stalemate. One of them was going to have to make a move soon otherwise the battle would never happen. Finally Sabrina decided to act.
"Double Slap!" She commanded. Mr. Mime ran up oddly moving on its two long legs and headed, arms raised out towards Nami.
"Now, use Ice beam!" Joe instructed. Nami readied cold air inside her mouth and released a long, thin, sharp beam of pure ice at Mr. Mime's right leg, freezing its foot solid. It struggled to break free, eventually reverting to simply hitting the ice of. "Again, this time the other leg!" Joe continued. Nami did so; freezing up Mr. Mime's left leg now and leaving it rooted to the ground, unable to move itself forwards.
"Use Magical Leaf!" Sabrina shouted, getting excited by the battle. Mr. Mime reached its hands into a pair of invisible pockets and threw a cluster of purple glowing leaves which hovered above its head, sharp edges pointed towards name. It then flung its hand out and the leaves shot forwards, aimed at Nami's body.
"Look out!" Joe exclaimed in surprise, unaware her Pokémon would know a grass type move. Nami rolled aside in an attempt to avoid the attack only to find the leaves followed her. She tried freezing the leaves out of the air with her Ice Beam but to no avail. They just kept coming at her. "Acid Armour!" Joe called, desperately. He knew what was happening. If Nami couldn't dodge the move then she could stand up to it. Immediately her body began to create a light purple liquid from the pours of her wet skin. As it spread over her body it dried up and solidified, leaving her skin tougher to bruise or hurt. Just as the acid began to crack and break of the Magical Leaf hit her square in the side. She winced and fell back slightly but she was still standing. The attack had done only half of what it would have done otherwise. Sabrina smiled and gave a small clap.
"Quick thinking." She complemented. Joe gave a small, fake bow. Sabrina snorted. "Though it may not be enough to save you." She turned back to her Pokémon. "Mr. Mime, use Substitute!" Mr. Mime began to flex its hands and suddenly a life size toy replica of itself had appeared in front of it. Nami looked at it, confused as to what to do about it.
"Don't worry, Nami." Joe comforted her. "Just use Surf and wash it away." Nami did so, creating a rising wave of water out of nowhere and sending it crashing over the entire battlefield. The wave battered the substitute about, causing it to dissolve back into nothing, leaving the real Mr. Mime who had been hiding right behind it open and vulnerable. Immediately after noticing he was visible again he comically covered up his lower body, miming how a human would react if the shower curtain had just been pulled open. Nami glared directly at him, readying her next attack to strike it straight in the chest. Quickly Mr. Mime released a psychic to protect itself. Nami stopped her attack and rolled aside, narrowly avoiding being struck by the psychic energy. She got back up and dashed in, a blur of blue and white. She combined Quick attack and Tail Whip together, first dashing past Mr. Mime in a second and tapping it over and over with her finned tail. She then rushed forwards and ran straight into his back, knocking him forward onto his flat face. As Mr. Mime tried to get back up Nami jumped up and landed on its back, keeping it down. The two of them struggled against each other as Mr. Mime tried to push Nami off it and roll onto its front while Nami kicked and bit at it.
"Psychic again!" Sabrina instructed. Mr. Mime finally managed to push Nami of and as it did so it released a blast of psychic energy right into her face. Nami stumbled back, dazed and blinded by the attack it had just taken head on. "Now use Magical Leaf while it's hurt!" Sabrina continued, clenching her fists in excitement. The miming Pokémon threw another load of lock-on leaves into the air that immediately headed straight for Nami, hitting her in the side and sending her tumbling over. She shook her head wildly, trying to snap herself out of her daze and get back into the fight. She stood back up and readied a hydro pump. As she did so however she saw Mr. Mime's eyes glisten for a split second. She saw it then take in a huge gulp, its cheeks inflating out as they filled with water. Somehow it was copying Nami's moves.
"Mimic." Joe muttered to himself. "Smart." He turned back to his Pokémon. "Nami, you need to hit it before it can hit you. If you push its attack back you may be able to hit it." Nami didn't find this advice too helpful. How was she meant to push its attack back? She released the hydro pump. A split second after she did Mr. Mime did the same, sending its torrent of water sailing out in a huge beam, aiming to collide with Nami. The two pumps met centre on and caused water to spray out all around as the two currents collided and split over, around and under each other. This left a huge soaking wall of water in between the two attacks. It rose up like a great wave and instantly shattered, flooding the entire battle field. In seconds Mr. Mime was swept up in the torrent, being washed away from the battle field and left to dry out on the side. Nami however didn't even flinch as the water struck her, rolled over her and passed her by without doing any damage whatsoever. Sabrina cursed and Joe stared. "Maybe not so smart after all." He added. Nami nodded, self-congratulating herself and turning back to walk top her trainers side. Sabrina withdrew her Pokémon. Two down already. It wasn't looking too good for her. Please let me take care of them. Alakazam begged inside her head. I'll finish them in seconds. No. Sabrina snapped back at it. I still have another Pokémon to use. You mean Kadabra. Yes I mean Kadabra. She readied her next pokéball and released her young, female Kadabra onto the battle field. Kadabra stopped her feet in an attempt to seem intimidating. Nami readied again to continue the fight.
"Kadabra, ok." Joe thought to himself. "Nami, we're going to have to be carefully about this one. Start off with Quick Attack and follow up with Ice Beam" Nami nodded and readied to attack. She shot forwards in a blur of motion. Just as she was about to hit Kadabra disappeared into this air. Nami only just landed her hit, striking through its chest and causing it to flinch slightly as it vanished and reappeared behind her. Quickly Nami spun around, readying an Ice Beam and firing it at Kadabra's legs, freezing them to the ground. Unfortunately Kadabra had already fired an attack, sending a pink beam of psychic energy spinning towards Nami. It struck her in the face and caused a little damage. Nami shook it off and got ready to attack again. Suddenly her vision split and began to wobble, drunkenly. She stumbled about on her four pawed feet, trying to get her balance.
"Alright. You confused her. Nice going, Kadabra." Sabrina congratulated her Pokémon. Kadabra grunted and readied another attack, this time readying a punch and aiming it at the ice trapping its legs. It readied the attack and released, causing the ice to shatter into thousands of melting pieces. The air around the punch turned dark brow, the colour widely associated with fighting types. Kadabra pulled back its arm and raised the other arm into the air. The spoon in its grip began to flex and bend, causing the metal to creek yet the spoon did not snap, in fact it hardly looked damaged by the action. Nami shook her head, trying to regain concentration but the world was still moving and she was only just able to stand up. "Focus Punch now!" Sabrina roared. Kadabra rushed in, half running, half levitating as it pulled back its fist which had begun to glow the same dark brown.
"Nami, look out! Use Ice Beam. Freeze it!" Joe called desperately. His voice crackled, vibrated and distorted in Nami's ears. She just about understood what he was saying and she fired a blind ice beam out of her mouth. The attack completely missed Kadabra who was now only feet away from her and instead hit Ralph in the wing, causing it to solidify and him to drop out of the air. As Joe tried to break the ice of he took his attention away from the battle. At the last second Nami realised what was going on around her but by then it was already too late. Kadabra had released its attack, striking her in the side of the face and causing her skin to ripple and quake away from the impact. Her body quickly followed suit, her head recoiling away and her legs giving way, causing her to go sailing backwards. She skidded across the floor to the side of the pitch where she laid, a battered KO'd pile. Joe finished cracking the ice off of Ralph's wing when he heard his Pokémon's pain filled cry. He looked up to see Nami sliding across the pitch unconscious, a focus punch striking her on the cheek. Kadabra blew on its brown fist which quickly turned back to yellow and it gave a victorious cackle. "Damn." Joe muttered, amazed by the power it had created in its small hand. See, I keep telling you. Kadabra gets too much fun out of that move. You should never have taught her it. Alakazam whispered inside Sabrina's head. She sighed. I guess you're right. But at least she isn't killing Pokémon with it. She nearly did. I think you should be a little farer on them now. Restrain her from using that move. The boy needs to have his Pokémon alive in order to fight Team Rocket after all. Alright, Alright. I'll do so.
"Kadabra." Sabrina called out. Kadabra obediently turned to face her, a sadistic smile in its eyes. "No using Focus Punch. It's too powerful. You're hurting his Pokémon too much." Kadabra looked deflated. It enjoyed using that move. But she couldn't disobey her trainer. If she did, she's have Alakazam to deal with. The old man was too grumpy for his own good. Kadabra nodded obediently, still looking sad about it. She slowly turned back around and waited patiently for Joe's next Pokémon. The trainer had withdrawn Nami, quickly making sure she wasn't too badly hurt. She had taken Kadabra's attack head on and it looked like it had done some really damage.
"You did well, Nami. You'll get 'em next time." He comforted her as he gave her a quick Sitrus berry and withdrew her back into her red pokéball. He then returned to his side of the field and readied his next Pokémon. Then he thought for a second. His eyes turned to Ralph. Ralph was quick and could do a lot of damage. He may be the best idea for taking out Kadabra and Alakazam before they do any more real damage. "Ralph, do you want up next?" He asked. Ralph considered the offer for a second then nodded. Before he could head out into the battlefield however Joe passed his a Lum berry. "Use it if Kadabra confuses you. That seems to be its tactic. Watch out for that." Ralph nodded understanding and took up position. "Now, Ralph, use Wing attack!" Joe commanded. Ralph shot forwards, wings outstretched.
"Psybeam." Sabrina instructed, raising a hand to Ralph. Kadabra raised its spoon and the pink beam shot out of the tip. Ralph rolled around the beam, narrowly avoiding touching it. He flew past Kadabra, hitting it in the side with his wing tip and knocking it aside. Kadabra winced in pain and readied up to make another move. As Ralph came back around to attack Kadabra disappeared into a vortex and reappeared behind him, creating a thin purple wall in front of it by waving its spoon holding hand about in front of it. The wall glistened like coloured glass in the roof lights.
"Ralph, use Air Cutter!" Joe instructed, a strategy forming in his head. Ralph pulled back his wings and released the heavy cutting gust of wind. The wing battered the reflect and passed through, cutting at Kadabra but more weekly after passing the barrier. Kadabra growled in annoyance.
"Kinesis!" Sabrina instructed. Kadabra threw its metal spoon up into the air where it hovered for several seconds. As it did so it began to move around wildly, the head bending back and forth from psychic energy. Ralph found himself watching it as he came in to attack again. He aimed for Kadabra with another Wing attack but his attack missed as his attention was drawn away by the floating spoon. Kadabra took full advantage and fired a Psybeam into his back, taking him by surprise and causing a lot of damage. Ralph's eyes rolled in their sockets, the psychic energy stunning him and sending him somersaulting in a full circle in the air. When he finally regained the ability to fly he saw another Psybeam heading straight for him. Quickly he dropped out of the air, just avoiding being hit and swooped in again, aiming to bite Kadabra. He landed his attack, smashing straight through the reflect and bringing his sharp fangs down into Kadabra's arm. It yelled in pain and punched at its head, trying to hit him of but Ralph would not budge. Finally he pulled back, releasing his grip and giving a huge flap of his wings, pushing him back out of distance of being hit. Joe laughed at his performance.
"Nice poison fang, Ralph." He called to his friend. "Now you just need to… LOOK OUT!" he cried suddenly. Ralph turned to see a Focus punch sailing up into the air towards him. Somehow the move worked airborne as well. Ralph fluttered aside quickly, narrowly avoiding the attack, only to be hit by a Psybeam seconds after as Kadabra stopped in mid air where he had been and fired the attack out of its now returned spoon.
"What are you doing?" Sabrina commanded, surprise, annoyance, anger and disgruntlement mixing in her voice. "I ordered you not to use Focus Punch!" Kadabra ignored her calls. She was too eager to bring down this overgrown annoying bat before it could bite her again. She levitated after Ralph who flew an entire track around the pitch before turning around in mid air and firing a small dot of ghostly light out from his mouth and sending it floating around in the air. The dot rotated around Kadabra's head, causing it to spin around following its direction, getting faster and faster after the dot moved. Suddenly the dot faded away in an instant and left Kadabra floating in mid air, its head spinning in confusion. Ralph smiled to himself and let out an ear piercing screech which took Kadabra by surprise, lowering its guard and causing it a little damage in its confused state.
"Good set up. Now finish it with Steel Wing!" Joe instructed. Ralph straightened its wings which began to glisten silver in the light. He flew forwards and lashed out with his wings, hitting the stunned Kadabra ain the chest and knocking it out of the air. As his attack landed however Kadabra released its attack. A bright brown punch struck Ralph in the side just as his wing tip hit Kadabra in the stomach and the two Pokémon were sent flying backwards out of the air. Both Pokémon dropped to the ground, Ralph floating gentle as his wings caught the air and slowed him. Kadabra however did so less gracefully. It struck the ground head first, hitting its cranium on the hard polished floor and knocking itself out instantly. Ralph landed on his small feet and lent on his front wings, looking at the unconscious Pokémon before him. A proud smile appeared on his face. "Alright Ralph." Joe cheered. Sabrina seemed to smile too.
"There is no denying your Pokémon are powerful. Especially your Crobat friend there. I have never seen a Pokémon stand up so well to Focus Punch." She complemented. Joe smiled to her.
"You know for an Ex-Team Rocket Elite you're quite nice to your opponents." He complemented in return. Sabrina found herself laughing quietly because of this.
"Is that so?" She asked. Joe nodded. "Well then I'd better change that quick, hadn't I. Alakazam, out you come again." She didn't even need to reach for the ball this time. It simply flung open and her strongest Pokémon appeared in a beam of red light. Hello again. A new voice whispered inside Joe's head. He glanced surprised at the powerful psychic Pokémon before him.
"Miss, your Pokémon is talking to me!" He told her. Sabrina smiled, not alarmed.
"Oh don't mind him. He has a tendency to do that. Just be careful about what you think. He can ready our mind and predict your moves." She explained. Joe seemed a little surprised by how much she was telling him. Why would she give him advice like that? Surely she'd want to keep that a secret in order to have the advantage.
"Well anyway. Back to the battle." Joe coughed and returned his attention to Ralph. Alakazam was smiling at Ralph. No hard feeling? He asked the purple bat, almost mocking his chances. Ralph growled at him. He didn't find being mocked to be impressive or even threatening. "Use Screech to lower its defence." Joe strategized. Ralph created another high pitch screech from his mouth and Alakazam covered its ears in pain. He took full advantage of its distraction and flew in to use a full on body slam. As he was about to make his attack however Alakazam suddenly retaliated, evading Ralph's attack and grabbing him by the outstretched wing. It then proceeded to swing him around and around, making his slowly dizzier. Finally he released, sending Ralph flying away in a spinning ball through the air. He managed to catch himself in time before he could hit the floor but his head shook wildly. He felt the nausea of confusion coming on. Then he remembered his Lum berry which he had hid under hit tongue. It lapped it out and bit down on it, the juices inside instantly getting to work. He could feel the confusion fading away again. His vision returned to one single image and his ears stopped ringing. As he began to hear properly again he realised that Sabrina was explaining something to Joe.
"If your Pokémon makes a hit, mine will return it with double the damage. That's how counter works." She told the young trainer challenging her. She then raised a hand up to Ralph. "Psychic!" She instructed. Alakazam raised its spoons up at him and sent a large blob of psychic energy up at Ralph. Before he could even react Ralph was sent flying backwards as the attack struck him and stunned him completely. He landed painfully on his stomach, desperately keeping himself standing with his long wings. Alakazam hovered before him, readying another attack. Nice try. It complemented him. You were actually a worthy opponent to fight. It was cut off suddenly by a sudden burst of red light and fire blasted by its face. It jumped back in surprise, exclaiming and glanced to where the attack had come from. Standing at the edge of the ring was a young, arrogant looking charmeleon, smoke drifting from its nostrils and fire burning at the tip of its tail. What the… Alakazam exclaimed. You can't have two Pokémon against one. That's against the rules! It turned to Sabrina, shouting the words into her mind. Sabrina waved a hand. Let it be. I want to see how this goes. She told it simply. Cinders waddled up to Ralph's side and gave him a hand up. The battered crobat looked gratefully at the younger charmeleon and pointed around the arena, seemingly coming up with a plan. He seemed to be indicating a tag team style combination. After a few seconds Cinders nodded in understanding and tapped his knuckles together.
"Cinders, what are you doing? Get back here at once!" Joe snapped. Sabrina stopped him immediately.
"No." She said, simply. "Let him fight. I want to see how this turns out." Cinders rushed forwards, his claw glowing white with energy. He brought it up hard on Alakazam's chin, who was still quite stunned by what was going on, sending him spinning backwards. Ralph followed up with an Air Cutter, lashing up the air around it and cutting at it. Alakazam began to get angry. Its eyes glowed blue-pink and the air around it began to ripple with psychic energy. It fired a huge psychic out from its body which hit both Pokémon simultaneously. They flinched in pain but seemed to withstand most of the damage. Ralph shot in for a wing attack but found himself knocked backwards as his head struck Alakazam's protect. Cinders ran in and tried to use metal claw but Alakazam countered it, punching him in the stomach and sending him rolling past, winded. Alakazam then proceeded to hold its spoons to its head and small psychic waves began to emanate out around it as its mind cleared up. It could here Sabrina's commands echoing in its mind. Their psychic link meant she did not need to tell him what to do aloud and could instead tell him without the opponent hearing. It was their major game changer. Recover. He heard her instruct. He held his spoons to his chest and his health shot back up to full. His strength returned to its fullest and he readied to fight again. Ralph came back for another attack but found himself plummeting out of the air after another Psychic hit him. Cinders breathed a plume of fire onto it but when the heat died away he saw that Alakazam was unharmed, a protect shield blocking it and keeping it safe. Joe was beginning to become worried by his Pokémon not landing a hit.
"Attack together." He told them. Ralph used Wing attack, Cinders used Slash and both Pokémon moved in for the KO. Alakazam released a huge burst of psychic energy out around it and the two Pokémon went sailing back. Ralph was out for the count. He had taken too much damage. Cinders however got back up. He wasn't giving up so easily. His claw glowed white and he came in to slash again. He brought his claw down on Alakazam, hurting it slightly. As his attack hit the light grew along his arm, spreading to his shoulder. He made another slash with is other arm. The light too spread up that arm. Alakazam tried to counter him but he released a heavy plume of fire out of his maw and engulfed it in the fire. As it did so the fire began to engulf Cinders, too, the same way it had done when he evolved for the first time. It grew around his till he was nothing but a burning ball of fire. All eyes watched him in amazement. Suddenly the huge sphere burst, releasing a gigantic wave of fire out over the pitch. At the centre of the burning pillar was a large, winged fire dragon, two small eyes sitting on its head, a long thick tail perturbing from its spine end and a two huge wings unfolding out from its back. The charizard finished its attack and roared magnificently, unfolding its wings and stretching them out. Alakazam stared up at the new Pokémon, completely stunned. It said nothing witty, intimidating or even clever. It said nothing at all. Cinders looked down at him, no longer intimidated and he chuckled. He poked the charred, burned psychic pokémon in the chest and it fell over, stiffly, landing unconscious on its tailless back. Cinders folded his arms and buffed a small flame from his mouth, standing calmly and unsurprised between the carnage and stunned expressions.
"Oh… My… Goodness!" Joe exclaimed, finally processing what he was seeing. "Cinders, you beautiful monster, you!" He cried, rushing up and hugging the large lizard around his fat waist. Cinders hugged him back, smiling cheekily at Ralph who smiled weakly back. Sabrina stared at the three opponents now hugging and congratulating each other. She withdrew Alakazam quickly and chuckled.
"If I admit I foresaw my defeat would you believe me?" She asked. Joe looked back at her, a huge grin on his face. "Though I must admit I didn't see that coming." She added.
"Don't worry about it." Joe told her kindly. "You were a tough opponent. I nearly didn't win. I can see why Team Rocket would have wanted you on their side." Sabrina smiled gratefully.
"I do believe it is time for me to reward your winning." She told him, pulling out a small glistening gym badge from her pocket. "This is yours now. The Marsh Badge, as a symbol that you beat me at my best." She handed the small circular golden badge to Joe who took it gently and added it to the other five he already had.
"Thank you." He complemented. Sabrina laughed and put a shoulder on his hand.
"No. Thank you." She said simply and calmly. Joe seemed unsure about what she was thanking him for. "You have shown me that you can defeat the new team rocket you do have the power. You're just not ready yet. Defeat Blaine on Cinnabar Island and then you'll be ready." She paused. "But first take this with you." She handed Joe two small TM discs. One was pink tinted; the other was a more sky blue in colour. "The TM's for Psychic and Aerial Ace." She explained. "Use them on two of your pokémon and they'll prove to be incredibly helpful in the future."
"Thank you." Joe said finally after taking the gifts.
"Good luck, trainer." Sabrina called after him as he took for the door, bringing his unconscious and conscious pokémon with him.
The second he walked out he was suddenly dragged along by a thin girls hand who rushed past him and suddenly dragged him along. He barely had a second to think before he found himself running, being dragged along by the figure that had his hand.
"What…?" he asked confused. Two green eyes looked into his blue ones through a set of long waving orange hair.
"Run!" Winter instructed simply, fearful anxiety in her voice. Joe tried to get her grip of him but she held on tight. Ralph and Cinders were struggling to keep up.
"Why are we running?" Joe asked, nearly tripping over his feet. "Where's Rocky?"
"No time to explain." Winter snapped back, turning a corner and dragging him with her. Ralph and Cinders followed, nearly running past them as they shot down an alleyway. "Rocky's up ahead. All you need to know is that our gang hunt went really bad, really quick. There were more of them then we were expecting."
"How many more?" Joe asked, now actually beginning to understand her fear and why they were running. Suddenly Winter skidded to a halt. Before them stood Rocky, his four pokémon surrounding him and protecting him. Before him were at least a dozen thuggish looking men with heavy leather jackets and knuckled gloves. There were running footsteps behind them and Joe turned to see another dozen closing in behind them. Now they were trapped and Ralph was not strong enough to fly all of them out.
"That many." Winter replied. The gangsters closed in around them, revealing a selection of blunt weaponry.
"How did the gym battle go, by the way?" Rocky asked. Joe glared at him.
"This is hardly the time for that." Joe told him, almost sarcastically. One of the gangsters raised a hand toward the three of them.
"Nab 'em!" He shouted. Joe sighed.
"Here we go again!"