AUTHOR'S NOTE: Greetings, readers! Here is chapter 98 of the continuing adventures of Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu as they continue their journey through the Johto region. Several characters make special appearances in this chapter: First of all, you may recall the three punks who were tormenting a baby Lapras in the Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands episode: "The Lost Lapras." They only had minor roles in that episode, but they have more of a role to play in this chapter. After suffering from Ash's Pikachu's Thundershock in that episode, they decide to plot revenge against the heroes in this story. Second, Naomi from the Marine Pokémon Laboratory appears in this chapter. You may recall her appearance in the Pokémon: Master Quest episode: "Lapras of Luxury." Finally, you may recall Santos, one of the Week Siblings. He gets to help out as Naomi's assistant for the day. I hope you enjoy.

TEASER: On their way to New Bark Town, Tristan and Hillary arrive at the Marine Pokémon Institute, but Hillary's Lapras is abused by three Trainers, who are now seeking revenge after their defeat in the Orange Islands!

Chapter 98: A TRIO OF PUNKS

(Music Cue: Opening Title 1999-2001 (as heard at the beginning of "Takin' it On the Chinchou"))

After their fun side trip to Alto Mare, our heroes decide to pick up where they left off and continue their journey to New Bark Town so Tristan can register for the Johto League Silver Conference. But today, their next adventure takes them to the Marine Pokémon Laboratory.

"Check out that cool building up ahead!" said Tristan as he and Hillary sailed on her Lapras.

They had just enjoyed their time in Alto Mare, and were ready to continue to their next destination.

Hillary looked at the map on her Poké Gear. "That looks like a laboratory. Maybe we can stop there and see what's inside. Should we?"

"I'm in," agreed Tristan. "I could use a little rest."

"All right, then it's full speed ahead!" commanded Hillary.

Her Lapras excitedly picked up speed as Tristan, Hillary, Pikachu, and Togepi held on.

(Music Cue: Pikachu Appears! (full version))

"I wonder what this place is," said Tristan as he, Hillary, Pikachu, and Togepi dismounted off of Lapras.

"According to this, this is the Marine Pokémon Laboratory," answered Hillary as she looked up the location on her Poké Gear.

Presently, they saw a woman with pink hair approaching them. She was wearing a lab coat. "Oh wow! I didn't expect another Lapras to be here. I thought this one was left behind, so I came out here to investigate."

"Oh, that Lapras is actually mine," replied Hillary. "Who are you?"

"My name's Naomi," answered the woman. "I'm the director of the Marine Pokémon Laboratory."

"I'm Hillary, and this is my brother, Tristan," said Hillary.

"Hi there," added Tristan.

Pikachu and Togepi greeted Naomi warmly.

"So what do you do here?" asked Tristan.

"I study marine biology here at the lab," answered Naomi. "A herd of Lapras had come here just about a day or two ago, and come at the exact same time every year. Ash and his friends recently helped me complete my thesis on Lapras migration patterns, and thanks to him, I was able to figure out that the Lapras travel by the Orange Islands as part of the Lapras migration route."

"Wow, the Orange Islands," said Hillary as she reminisced. "That was a blast, wasn't it, Tristan?"

"Yeah, we got a chance to travel by sea and see all the islands," added Tristan. Then he thought about his own Lapras, whom he missed very much.

"I have someone helping me in the lab today," said Naomi. "Would you like to meet him?"

"We'd love to," replied Hillary. "Lapras, why don't you play here for a while?"

Lapras nodded and went for a swim to freshen up.

"Come on, I'll take you to meet my guest." And Naomi led Tristan, Hillary, Pikachu, and Togepi into her laboratory just as three characters came into view.

(Music Cue: We Won't Give Up on Pikachu (full version as heard in "Mantine Overboard!"))

The first one had a spiky head of green hair, the second had brown hair and a tropical red vest, and the third was wearing an indigo vest, plus he had a bandanna on his head. They saw Hillary's Lapras swimming happily in the water.

"I don't know about you, but I've spotted a winner for the Silver Conference," said the first punk.

"I don't know," put in the second punk nervously. "This one looks pretty strong. And it reminds me of the last time we encountered a Lapras because we wanted something strong for the Orange League. Do you think it'll give us problems?"

"Of course not," replied the third punk. "That Lapras looks mellow now, but once we get through with it, it'll be rough and tough enough for us to mow down the competition for the Johto League."

And the three punks snickered and decided to stalk toward Hillary's Lapras.

Of course, Lapras was unaware of its plight, and kept on swimming and practicing away without a care.

Meanwhile, Naomi led Tristan and Hillary to where a boy was waiting for them. "Santos, I have some new friends I'd like you to meet."

The boy turned to see them. "Oh, you must be the visitors. Monica told me all about you."

Tristan, Hillary, Pikachu, and Togepi were confused.

"How did you know we were coming?" wondered Hillary.

"Monica told me that you met five of the seven Week Siblings already," explained the boy. "And now, I'm the sixth. Santos is the name. Santos of Saturday."

Hillary smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Santos. I'm Hillary, and this is Tristan."

"Hi," added Tristan.

Pikachu and Togepi greeted Santos warmly.

"Some people think I'm the spookiest of the seven siblings because I usually give out Spell Tags to travelling Trainers," explained Santos. "But we all know I'm not spooky at all. I just came to the lab because I'd heard that a school of Lapras had come from the Orange Islands, and I volunteered to come to the lab and help Naomi out with her Lapras research."

"That's great, Santos," replied Tristan. "Hillary and I journeyed through the Orange Islands before so I could compete in the Orange League. And I won the whole thing after the Indigo League was cancelled."

"Plus, Tristan and I each have a Lapras," added Hillary. "However, Tristan's Lapras is at Professor Oak's laboratory in Pallet Town for now. Professor Oak must really enjoy cooling things down with the ice packs it makes. I'm sure that Blastoise is back up to speed by now."

"I'm sure it is, too," agreed Tristan.

"Those are some great stories," smiled Naomi. "You two must've been to a lot of places on your journey."

"Yeah, and now I've got eight badges, and we're finally on our way to the Silver Conference," replied Tristan. "I can't wait to get started battling there. I want to see how far I've come."

Suddenly, they heard a loud cry coming from outside.

"Lapras!" gasped Hillary. And she ran out of the room as fast as she could.

"Wait up, Hillary, I'm coming with you!" called Tristan as he, Pikachu, Santos, and Naomi all followed her.

Outside, the three punks had gotten on Lapras' back, and were abusing it.

"Come on, you big lug, get us to the Johto League!" barked the first punk.

"Yeah, you'd better do what we say," put in the second punk.

"Or else," finished the third punk.

No sooner did they threaten Lapras than they hit it with a wooden stick, causing it to squeal in pain even louder.

Hillary and Tristan, followed by Naomi and Santos rushed onto the scene.

(Music Cue: Johto Rival theme (as heard in "The Grass Route"))

"Hey, look there!" exclaimed Tristan. "Those three must be the ones who attacked your Lapras, sis!"

"Hey, you three!" shouted Hillary. "Leave my Lapras alone!"

"Yeah, what'd it ever do to you?" added Naomi.

The three punks were startled, but soon regained their composure.

"We wanna use that Lapras for the Johto League Silver Conference," explained the first punk.

"So we decided to hitch a ride on it," put in the second punk.

"The only problem is that it doesn't wanna listen to us," finished the third punk.

"That's because it's mine," retorted Hillary. "Now leave it alone before I really lose my temper!"

"You heard what she said, now get going!" added Naomi.

"Oh yeah?" said the first punk. "We'll show you how we'll go! Go, Hitmonchan!"

"Go, Spearow!" yelled the second punk.

"Go, Beedrill!" added the third punk as he and the other two threw their Poké Balls.

A Hitmonchan, a Spearow, and a Beedrill emerged from the white lights that shot out of them.

"All right, if that's how you want it, then I choose Squirtle!" shouted Hillary as she threw a Poké Ball.

Squirtle emerged from the white light that shot out of it.

"Let's do it, Pikachu," said Tristan.

Pikachu nodded and stood alongside Squirtle.

"How can Tristan and Hillary beat them only two on three?" asked Santos nervously.

"I don't know, Santos, but if I know them, they won't let those odds stop them," replied Naomi.

"Hitmonchan, Mega Punch!" yelled the first punk.

"Spearow, Peck attack!" ordered the second punk.

"Beedrill, Twineedle!" put in the third punk.

All three Pokémon charged in for the attack, and rushed toward Pikachu and Squirtle.

"Dodge, Pikachu!" commanded Tristan.

"You, too, Squirtle!" added Hillary.

Both Pikachu and Squirtle jumped into the air, evading all three Pokémon, who crashed into the sand in a heap.

"What's the matter with you guys?" barked the first punk. "Can't you land on your feet?"

"Yeah, you're the ones who are supposed to be strong around here!" added the second punk.

"Now stop being weaklings, and let's show those kids how it's done!" put in the third punk.

But all three Pokémon lay on the ground, moaning after their failed attacks.

"All right, Pikachu, give them a Thunderbolt," instructed Tristan.

Pikachu unleashed a powerful yellow bolt of electricity from its cheeks and body at the three Pokémon, scoring a direct hit on them and knocking them out.

"Squirtle, let's send them packing with Water Gun!" ordered Hillary.

Squirtle unleashed a powerful blast of water from its mouth at the three Pokémon, sending them careening into the three punks, causing them all to fly out over the ocean far away.

DING!

"Yeah!" cheered Hillary as she and Tristan gave each other a high-five.

"We did it again, sis," added Tristan.

"You two make a great team," commended Santos. "I can see why Monica really likes siblings who get along together like you."

"Well, we have our arguments," replied Tristan.

"We do not," argued Hillary.

"See what I mean?" said Tristan.

"Well, I'm sorry you two had to go through that," said Naomi.

"That's okay," replied Tristan. "We were just about to head out anyway."

"That's right," agreed Hillary. "We need to get to Silver Town so Tristan can start training for the Silver Conference." She turned toward Lapras. "Lapras, are you ready to go?"

But poor Lapras turned away from Hillary, still trembling with fright.

"I guess not," whispered Hillary.

"What's the matter?" asked Santos.

"Lapras must still be feeling scared after the way the three punks were treating it," replied Hillary.

"Now it's gonna act just as shy as when we first found it in Union Cave," said Tristan sadly.

"Yeah? Well, I won't let that happen," said Hillary defiantly. "Hey, guys, could Lapras and I just go out to sea alone for a little while? I think spending quality time with it will help calm it down."

"Sure, sis, it's okay with me," agreed Tristan. "Playing with Lapras will really help build trust between the two of you. Just be careful out there, all right?"

"You bet," replied Hillary.

"If Tristan says it's okay, than I do, too," said Naomi.

"Me, too," added Santos.

(Music Cue: Surf (The Sea (M40B 1997-1998)))

A few minutes later, Hillary and Togepi were riding on Lapras, and were having a blast.

Lapras was feeling so happy that it soon forgot about its ordeal with the three punks.

Presently, a big wave was seen up ahead.

"Hey, Lapras, let's go for it!" said Hillary excitedly.

Lapras squealed with delight and picked up speed to catch up to the big wave. When it was at the top of the wave, it made a huge leap into the air, making Hillary and Togepi feel like they were actual surfers hanging ten.

Then they dropped back into the water with a tremendous splash and sped along the surface as they swam along with the waves.

"Isn't this great, Lapras?" smiled Hillary later that afternoon. "You, me, and the open sea. I think I should make a poem out of that."

Lapras nodded with delight.

"You know, Lapras," said Hillary, "this reminds me of the time when we traveled by sea through the Whirl Islands. We saw many places, and they were all exciting. We even had a chance to go swimming at Whirl Camp." She paused to listen to the calm sea and take in the warm sunshine. "Lapras, I'm glad to have a friend like you, one of the best swimmers around. Your speed and power are also really good. Even Tristan would say that to his Lapras. But you don't have to take my word for it. You have to believe it yourself." And she gently stroked her Lapras.

Lapras felt calmer with each gentle stroke.

"And you know what?" continued Hillary, "I have a feeling that you're gonna do something amazing before the day is through."

Lapras seemed a little puzzled.

"I know it's confusing," said Hillary. "But I wouldn't worry. It'll happen before you know it."

Lapras felt better after that.

"Well, what do you say we head back?" suggested Hillary. "I'm sure Tristan's wondering where we are by now."

And Lapras turned around and started heading for shore miles away.

But just then, a huge submarine surfaced right in front of them.

"Oh, what's this?!" gasped Hillary in alarm.

"You didn't really think that we'd let you blast us away that easily, did you?" said a voice.

(Music Cue: Desperate Situation 1997-1998 (as heard in "The Bug Stops Here"))

Hillary looked up, and sure enough, the three punks emerged from the submarine's open hatch at the top.

"We came to get some payback for what you did to us back at the lab," said the first punk.

"And there's no way you can stop us this time," put in the second punk.

"Because we're out at sea, and there's no way you'll be able to defeat us," finished the third punk.

"Look, I don't know what it is you want, but whatever it is, I won't let you succeed in taking it!" retorted Hillary. "Right, Lapras?"

But Lapras shuddered in fear when it saw the three punks.

When the three punks saw this, they laughed profusely.

"Ha!" laughed the first punk. "What a coward! It won't even see us!"

"You said it," agreed the second punk. "This'll be a cinch for us!"

"Who needs that little weakling?" taunted the third punk.

At last, Hillary lost patience. "Stop laughing at my Lapras!" she barked. She turned to Lapras. "Don't listen to them, Lapras. What they're saying isn't true at all. Let's show them how strong we are, and prove just how wrong they can be."

Lapras thought about the words Hillary just said to it. At last, it nodded, full of determination.

"All right, let's do it!" said Hillary as she stood up on Lapras' back. "You wanna battle? Bring it on!"

The three punks took out their Poké Balls again.

(Music Cue: Raid! (full version as heard in "Extreme Pokémon"))

"Go, Hitmonchan!" shouted the first punk.

"Go, Spearow!" put in the second punk.

"Go, Beedrill!" added the third punk.

All three Pokémon emerged from the white lights that shot out of their Poké Balls.

"Hitmonchan, Mega Punch now!" ordered the first punk.

Hitmonchan flew towards Lapras and proceeded to punch it using one of its red fists.

"Lapras, swim away!" commanded Hillary.

Quickly, Lapras turned around and swam away from Hitmonchan, who missed its target and landed in the water.

Unfortunately for Hitmonchan, it struggled to stay afloat after flying into the water.

"What's the matter with you? Can't you swim?!" barked the first punk.

"Lapras, Water Gun attack!" ordered Hillary.

Lapras quickly turned around and shot a powerful blast of water from its mouth at Hitmonchan, scoring a direct hit on it, and sending it flying into the first punk's face.

"How dare you!" fumed the second punk. "Spearow, Fury Attack!"

Spearow flew at Lapras and Hillary, but Lapras quickly fired another Water Gun at Spearow, sending it flying into the submarine.

"Beedrill, Poison Sting!" ordered the third punk.

Beedrill flew at Lapras and Hillary and proceeded to attack them with its sharp stinger.

"Lapras, Ice Beam!" shouted Hillary.

Lapras fired an ice-cold beam of energy at Beedrill, scoring a direct hit on it and sending it flying into the submarine.

"She can't beat us if we attack her together, right, guys?" said the first punk.

"Yeah!" agreed the second and third punks together.

And together, all three of them, along with their Pokémon, flew in for an all-out attack against Hillary and Lapras.

But Lapras fired a much more powerful stream of water from its mouth at them, and scored a drenching direct hit on them.

The punks and their Pokémon were all sent crashing into the submarine, which burst into pieces from Lapras' attack, and were all sent blasting off into the air, screaming as they went.

DING!

Hillary and Togepi were left surprised at Lapras' show of strength.

"Lapras, that was a Hydro Pump attack you just used, wasn't it?" said Hillary.

Lapras was a little surprised itself.

"That was so awesome!" smiled Hillary as she embraced it. "You really showed them. I've never been more proud of you."

Lapras nudged her in response, causing her to fall into the water.

(Music Cue: Route 26 (full version))

Seconds later, Hillary came up to the surface. "Hey, Lapras, did you mean to do that?" she asked playfully.

Lapras gave a good laugh because now Hillary was all wet, too.

Even Togepi laughed along as it saw the wet Hillary.

Hillary climbed back on Lapras' back. "Come on, let's head back. Just wait till Tristan and the others hear about this!"

And Lapras turned around and quickly headed back to the beach.

Later that evening, Tristan, Naomi, and Santos heard about Hillary and Lapras' adventures.

"Wow! Your Lapras learned Hydro Pump?" said Tristan. "That's great, sis!"

"Yeah," agreed Hillary. "Lapras was a little scared after we encountered the three punks again, but a little pep talk helped it get right back into it."

"Sounds like you two had a fun time together," said Naomi.

"Have you decided what you want to do yet on your journey, Hillary?" asked Santos curiously.

"Um, I haven't decided yet," answered Hillary. "The reason why I joined Tristan on his journey was so I could learn what I want to do. I know the answer will come soon enough, but for now, I'm just having a fun time traveling with my brother."

"You know, Hillary, that's an honest no-nonsense answer I'd expect from any Trainer," smiled Naomi. "I'm sure your dream will come to you soon enough."

"Yeah, I hope so," agreed Hillary.

"On your way to the Silver Conference, maybe you should stop by Mount Silver," suggested Naomi at sunset.

"Mount Silver?" repeated Hillary. "Where's that?"

"It's not very far from Silver Town," answered Naomi. "All you have to do to get to Mount Silver is go east of New Bark Town past Tohjo Falls, go north on Route 26, then go west to Mount Silver."

"Got it," replied Hillary. "Hey, Tristan, wanna check out Mount Silver really quick before we head to the Johto League?"

"I don't see why not," answered Tristan. "After all, there's still less than three months left to go before the Silver Conference starts, right?"

"Great!" smiled Hillary. "Then let's see if we can stop by New Bark Town and see Grandma and Grandpa first."

"Okay!" agreed Tristan. And he, Pikachu, Hillary, and Togepi started to leave.

"Bye, guys!" called Naomi. "Be careful on your journey!"

"Take good care!" added Santos. "Be sure to tell Monica I said hi!"

"We will! Bye now!" replied Tristan and Hillary as they waved goodbye.

Pikachu and Togepi waved as they left.

Not only did a fun-filled afternoon out at sea boost Hillary's Lapras' morale, but in battling and defeating the trio of punks, it learns Hydro Pump in the process. Now our heroes turn once again to the road to New Bark Town, where Tristan plans to register for the Johto League Silver Conference!

► TO BE CONTINUED