After her encounter with Candy, Summer met Erika, the Celadon City Gym Leader, at the Celadon City Department Store. Erika invited her for a Gym battle, and after a hard fought match, Summer came out victorious and Flower evolved into an Ivysaur. Afterwards, Erika asked her to give Koga, the Fuchsia City Gym Leader, some mushrooms. Now, Summer is traveling to Cycling Road to get to Fuchsia City, hoping not to waste too much time. Will this trip be as smooth as she hopes?
Chapter 33 Showdown at Biker Town
After I finished the things I needed to do at the Pokémon Center, I headed towards the western edge of Celadon City. I saw earlier on my Pokégear that the quickest way to Fuchsia City was through the Cycling Road. Since I already had a bike, I should be there before nightfall.
When Lightning and I arrived at the entrance to Route 16, I saw a tall girl about the age of 13 arguing with a bush. She had long brown hair, a white t-shirt and a pink skirt.
As I got closer, the man in the bush looked really familiar.
"Don't you know you can't cross here if you don't have a bike?" the police officer lectured from the comfort of his shrub. His siren light was still flashing red.
"Please!" the girl pleaded. "I need to catch a Doduo to start my road mail service, and they're only on Cycling Road!"
He put up his right hand. "Even so, I'm afraid you cannot pass."
"Umm…" I interrupted. "I have a bike. I can help you get a Doduo?"
The girl excitedly turned to me. "Really? You'll help me out?"
I nodded. "Sure."
"That's fine and all, but how are YOU going to be there to catch it?" the officer growled at the girl.
"I have Flying-type Pokémon, so I can fly over the route," she suggested.
The officer carefully looked at her, trying to see if she was lying. "Very well. But as long as you're with the girl on the bike. Be safe and have fun!" He then popped back into his bush.
"What a weird officer," the girl mused.
"You should've seen him near Pallet Town," I said. "He made a kid cry for walking into the grass without a Pokémon."
"He needed to learn!" the man yelled from within his bush.
"Anyway, why don't we go on Cycling Road?" the girl asked. "My name's Cassie, by the way."
"I'm Summer, and this is my friend, Lightning." Lightning waved to her.
"It's nice to meet you two. Why don't you get your bike ready?"
I nodded and set up my bike. When I finished, I saw Cassie was flying on her Pidgeotto. I got on my bike, and I rode it onto the road with Cassie following me. The Cycling Road was a wide pathway with grass, three paved roads, and two long ponds. Despite the slightly steep incline, I was able to easily control my bike.
"So where should we go, Cassie?" I asked.
Cassie scanned the area. "That thick grassy patch looks good."
We went to that spot and started searching for signs of a Doduo. After an hour, we had no luck. We then decided to try another patch of grass, but when we made it out, a group of five burly men stood on the road. They wore black leather jackets and dark blue jeans, which complemented their large black motorcycles.
The leader, who had riding goggles over his forehead, shouted at us in a rough voice, "What's a bunch a girlies doing on our turf?!"
"You don't own this patch or anything else here!" Cassie retorted.
"Says who?! We are the Sludge Bombers, and we don't acknowledge 'public' areas."
"Look," I said, trying to diffuse the situation. "We're just here to find a Doduo. We'll leave when we do."
"What a coincidence! I'm trying to catch one as well…" the leader said smugly. "Why don't we have a multi battle? You two against me and my second-in-command."
Oh, great. I made everything worse…
"We'll take you two on, right Summer?" Cassie asked enthusiastically.
I relented. "Okay, ready Lightning?"
"Of course I am!" she shouted and jumped off my shoulder.
"Pidgeotto and I are ready as well!" Cassie added. Pidgeotto flew up and joined Lightning.
The second-in-command joined his leader's side. Instead of goggles, he wore thick black gloves that complemented his Ultra Ball. "Go, Muk!"
The leader then threw his Ultra Ball. "Go Arbok!"
The two Poison types landed on the road. They roared and hissed at us, but we were unfazed.
"Guess we got some tough lasses," the leader noted. His underling just nodded in agreement. "Just for that, we'll let you two go first."
"Let's try to take one at a time," Cassie suggested.
"Okay, and let's take turns for defense and offense," I added.
"All right! Pidgeotto, use Wing Attack on Arbok!" Cassie commanded.
Pidgeotto nodded and charged at the Cobra Pokémon with his glowing white wings.
The leader laughed. "Arbok, Bite that bird!" He then nodded to his partner.
"Muk, use Sludge on Pidgeotto!" the second-in-command shouted. Muk nodded and shot the poisonous sludge at the Bird Pokémon.
"Lightning, intercept the Sludge with Iron Tail!" I shouted, pointing at the Poison attack.
Lightning jumped up and, with her silver tail, diverted the attack back at Muk. The Sludge Pokémon was surprised and was hit, causing a small explosion. Pidgeotto then dodged Arbok's fangs and hit him in the chest. Arbok reeled back in pain but hissed defiantly.
"These lasses sure are tough," the leader mused with a smile. "But let's show them why we're the Sludge Bombers!"
Surprisingly, his partner sighed at the foreshadowing.
"I think I have an idea," I whispered to Cassie. "Use Gust when I give you the signal."
"You got it, Summer!" she whispered back.
"You two, double Sludge Bomb!" the leader shouted.
"Now Cassie!" I shouted.
"I get it!" she realized. "Pidgeotto, grab those Sludge Bombs with Gust!"
He nodded and flapped his wings vigorously. The oncoming balls of sludge were sucked into the vortex and kept spinning in circles.
While the gang was stunned by the sight, I pointed to the tornado. "Lightning, use Thunderbolt on the Sludge Bombs!"
She nodded and released a powerful electric bolt into the Gust. The Sludge Bombs absorbed the electricity, and slowly had a yellow outline.
"Pidgeotto, send that Gust towards Arbok and Muk!" Cassie shouted.
Pidgeotto nodded and flapped more wind onto the tornado. This made the Gust move towards the Poison types, who were unable to move out of its way. The two were hit by the three moves, causing an explosion with black smoke. I covered my eyes, and when the smoke dissipated, I saw Arbok and Muk lying on the ground.
"OH NOOOOO!" the leader shouted, putting his hands in between his gaping mouth. The second-in-command just shook his head and returned his Muk.
Cassie and I happily gave each other a high five. Suddenly, two brown heads popped out of the grass.
"It's a Doduo!" Cassie gasped.
The leader recomposed himself and charged at the Twin Bird Pokémon. "No! I need that Doduo!"
Doduo squawked with fright and dashed away from him.
"Oh no you don't!" Cassie yelled, chasing after the leader. "I need that Doduo too!"
The three then ran all over the road, each trying to achieve their goal of being or not being caught.
"Oh boss…" the second-in-command groaned, covering his eyes at the embarrassing scene. The rest of the gang and Pidgeotto continued watching, rooting for their respective leaders.
I looked at the second-in-command. "Does this happen often?"
He looked at me with an exasperated expression. "Whenever he wants a Pokémon."
"Why does he want a Doduo so badly?"
"Well...he said he wanted to mail something to his...his friend that's a girl…" He coughed, then continued, "The only access to her house is by road, since she lives in a secluded area by Fuchsia City."
"I see...wait...did you say mail and road in the same sentence?"
"Ummm, yeah?" he asked, confused.
"Let me handle this." I turned to the three, who were starting to get exhausted. I took a deep breath. "STOP RUNNING!"
The three immediately stopped and almost fell down the hill. Cassie and the leader angrily stared at each other while Lightning tended to the tired Doduo.
I interrupted their stare down. "You two want the Doduo for the same reason. Why don't we hear what they are."
Everyone became silent. The two didn't know who would go first until Cassie cleared her throat.
"Well..." she slowly said. "I wanted to start a road mail service from Celadon to Fuchsia City."
The leader was surprised. "Wow, that's quite ambitious. I wanted the Doduo send some letters to a friend of mine who cannot be reached by road mail."
The two then realized their similar goals and laughed. "I guess we have the same reasons for the Doduo," Cassie said after wiping away tears of laughter.
"You got that right," the leader said after recovering from his bout of laughter. "I only need the Doduo once a week, so go ahead and catch it. I don't mind paying you for your services."
Cassie bowed, then walked towards the exhausted Doduo. He was about to run away again until he saw Cassie hand him a Sitrus Berry.
"Sorry for making you run around like that Doduo," she apologized. "Can you help me with my dream of delivering mail?"
Doduo cautiously scanned the girl and realized she was telling the truth. He happily nodded and ate the Berry.
"Great! Now we can discuss the schedule and location," the leader excitedly said. Cassie nodded and began to talk amongst themselves.
The second-in-command looked at me. "Thanks for resolving this."
"I was happy I could help," I said with a smile.
After they were finished, the leader and the second-in-command hopped back in their bikes. "See ya around Cassie!" the leader shouted, then led his gang into the sunset.
"I'm glad everything worked out," I told Cassie, who petted her new companion.
She nodded. "Me too. Who knew bikers were so friendly? Anyway, thanks for your help, Summer. Is there anything I can do to repay you?"
"Well…" I took out some envelopes. "I've been meaning to send these letters to my parents. They're in Littleroot Town in the Hoenn Region."
"I can send those for you! I was planning a trip to Hoenn once I caught the Doduo. The wide fields and forests will make an excellent training ground for him. I'll give you a call after I deliver those letters."
"Great, thanks Cassie!" I handed her the letters and gave her my Pokégear number.
"All right, have a safe trip to Fuchsia City, Summer!"
"Thanks. Good luck with your road mail service!"
We waved goodbye, and I got on my bike. I continued down the hill until I saw another gate. Once I passed through it, I found myself in the mystical gardens and houses of Fuchsia City.
A speedboat slowly stopped on a beach in the middle of the ocean. Two Team Rocket Grunts jumped off and stared at their new surroundings.
"So we finally made it," Ariana triumphantly said as she walked onto white sand. The shadows of three large caves covered her face as the sun started to set.
"This is it?!" a man with a snooty voice scoffed as he joined her. He was tall and lanky, his purple hair peering out from under his hat. "I thought it'll be fancier, and closer to a city."
"You know the Birds like quiet areas, like these islands!" she hissed at her unapproving partner. "Honestly, Petrel, your standards of living don't equal that of the Legendaries."
Petrel shrugged, "Hey, who's the one who had to invest in expensive makeup and disguises?"
Ariana groaned and facepalmed. "Whatever, we need to fulfill our objective."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Petrel whined. "Let me get ready…"
As he went back into the boat, Ariana stared evilly at the opening of the middle cave. "We'll get you, Articuno, even if that Gym Leader gets in our way!"
Pokémon: Blaze (Combusken, male): Brave Nature, moves: Quick Attack, Double Kick, Flamethrower, Focus Energy
Errol (Noctowl, male): Rash Nature, moves: Foresight, Confusion, Hypnosis, Peck
Swirls (Poliwhirl, female): Relaxed Nature, moves: Water Pulse, Hypnosis, Water Gun, Doubleslap
Lightning (Pikachu, female): Adamant Nature, moves: Thunderbolt, Quick Attack, Iron Tail, Sweet Kiss
Flower (Ivysaur, female): Gentle Nature, moves: Sludge Bomb, Leech Seed, Razor Leaf, Sleep Powder
Rocky (Onix, male): Lonely Nature, moves: Rock Throw, Slam, Dragonbreath, Iron Tail
Questions for the Chapter:
Will Team Rocket succeed with their mission?
How will Summer fare against Koga?