Who's That Pokémon?: This Pokémon has eight different evolutionary forms!
The answer: It's Eevee!
The Red Flames of Rivalry: Part 2
Later on, Ash and his friends arrived at the training area. Raynard and Ellie left to do their own training in other sections of the area, and the rest of them let out all their Pokémon.
"Okay, everyone, let's pick up where we left off yesterday!," Ash said. The trainers and their Pokémon then started utilizing the area's accomodations once again, training as best as they could, all the while, Leo, Megan, and their Bulbasaur and Eevee looked on.
Little did they know, was that as they trained, they were being spied on from not too far by Team Rocket, who as usual, greedily had one thing on their minds.
"Ooh, look at all those powerful Pokémon!," Jessie said. "These must be some really strong trainers the twerp's befriended."
"Well, this tournament is reserved for only the best of the best!," James told her. "And with the best trainers…"
"Come the best Pokémon! All ours to pluck like feathers from a golden goose!," Meowth finished. "So let's grab our tweezers and start plucking!"
"Team Rocket's rocking!," they all said together.
Back in the training area, the trainers had wrapped up their independent training regimens and moved to one of the battlefield sections, and Ash and Alan were preparing to start the first of the groups arranged battles, with Erald refereeing, and everyone else watching. Ash and Alan met in the middle of the battlefield and shook hands.
"So you ready, Ketchum?," Alan asked with a confident grin.
"When you are, Kenworth," Ash responded with an just as confident grin. The two then headed to the opposite ends of the field Ash to the left, Alan to the right.
Once they were situated in their ends, Erald said, "Okay, now here are the rules. Both sides may choose one Pokémon to participate and since this is a practice battle, I'll decide who wins and loses. Now choose your Pokémon!"
"Haunter, let's go!," Alan said as he tossed his Poké Ball and let out his Haunter.
"Haun-ter!," the Gas Pokémon called out. Everyone observed this from the sidelines.
"Hmm, Alan's starting with a Ghost and Poison type," Leo noted.
"How's Ash gonna battle this one?," April asked, curiously. "The Pokémon he has don't have any kind of type advantage against it."
"There's more to battles than just type advantage, April," Flynn responded, while looking on at the battle. Ash thought for a while, and decided on his Pokémon.
"Buizel, I choose you!," Ash said as he tossed his Poké Ball and let out his Buizel.
"Bui Bui!," the Sea Weasel Pokémon cried out.
"Hmm, a Water type," Kensi noted. "This should be interesting."
"Go get 'em guys!," cheered Megan. Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Shinx, and Eevee all cheered as well.
"The battle will be Buizel vs. Haunter! Begin!," Erald said.
"Haunter, use Shadow Ball!," Alan ordered. Haunter then formed a ball of dark energy and launched it at Buizel.
"Buizel, counter that with Sonic Boom!," Ash commanded. Using it's tail, Buizel then unleashed a sonic wave. Both attacked collided and exploded in mid-air. "Now, Water Pulse!"
Buziel the formed a ball of water in it's hands and threw it at the ground turning it into a wave of water which hit Haunter, knocking it back.
"Haunter!" Alan cried out.
"Wow, Ash is off to a good start," Megan said.
"But let's see how long he can keep up," Flynn added.
"Now Buizel, Aqua Jet!," Ash cried. Buizel rose into the air as it's body became surrounded by water and dove towards Haunter.
"Haunter, dodge it!," Alan yelled. Haunter moved asside, and dodged the Aqua Jet. "Now grab it with your tongue and use Lick!"
Haunter then caught Buizel and licked it with its tongue, causing Buziel to become dizzy and confused.
"Oh-no, Buizel!," Ash cried.
"I think Haunter's Lick attack made Buziel confused," Leo pointed out.
"What's Ash gonna do now?," April wondered.
"Now, Haunter, Dark Pulse!," Alan coached. Haunter then extended its floating hands and unleashed beams of black and purple energy circles at Buizel.
"Buizel, dodge it!," Ash commanded. But Buizel was too confused to hear Ash's order.
"Buizel's too confused to dodge!," Kensi said from the sidelines. The attack hit Buizel head on and knocked it back.
"Buizel, are you okay?," Ash said in concern for his Pokémon. In response, Buizel quickly jumped to it's feet, now back to normal. Ash chuckled with glee as he said, "All right!"
"Well, looks like the impact of the Dark Pulse snapped Buizel out of it's confusion," Flynn said with a grin. "But it's still anyone's battle."
"Haunter, give it another Lick!," Alan said. Haunter flew in, tongue at the ready for another attack.
"Not this time! Buziel, intercept with Ice Punch!," Ash called with confidence. Buizel's right fist glowed light blue and a span of light blue energy formed around it, as it flew in and punched Haunter's tongue, effectively countering its Lick attack and freezing its tongue, much to Haunter's discomfort.
"Whoa!," Alan exclaimed, taken aback by the attack.
"Now use Aqua Jet and Ice Punch together!"
Buizel flew in with another Aqua Jet, but then used Ice Punch, causing the water around Buizel to turn to ice, thus using the combo move, Ice Aqua Jet, which was effectively a missle of ice. Buizel, encased in the ice missle, flew at and struck Haunter directly, knocking it to the ground.
"Haunter, are you okay?," Alan asked his Pokémon. Haunter slowly rose and gave a thumbs up. Erald then blew his whistle.
"And that's it! The winners of this battle are Ash and Buizel!," he said.
"Alright, we did it, Buizel!," Ash praised his Pokémon. Those on the sidelines applauded for them.
"Buizel!," Buizel said with a victorious smile.
"Alright, Ash!," April cheered.
"Way to go!," Leo added in, also cheering.
"Not bad, Ketchum, not bad at all," Flynn quipped, slightly impressed.
"Pika Pika!," Pikachu cheered for his trainer. Shinx, Eevee, and Bulbasaur cheered as well. Meanwhile, Alan tended to his Haunter.
"You did great Haunter, now take five," Alan said as he returned Haunter to it's Poké Ball.
"Buizel, great job, now return," Ash said as he recalled Buizel to his Poké Ball. The two trainers then walked up to each other, once again meeting in the middle of the battlefield.
"Good match, you really kicked our butts with that last combo move out there," Alan complimented.
"Yeah, well, you did pretty good out there yourself," Ash returned. The two then shook hands respectfully and headed to the sidelines.
"Okay, April, Flynn, you're up," Erald told the two trainers. April and Flynn then got up, walked to the middle of the battlefield and shook hands.
"Can't wait to see what you got, Black," April remarked.
"Likewise, Landors," Flynn said with a small grin. The two then walked to their sides of the battlefield, April to the left and Flynn to the right.
Once they were situated in their ends, Erald said, "Okay, same rules as the last battle. Choose your Pokémon!"
"Mandibuzz, come on down!," April yelled as she tossed her Poké Ball, letting out her Bone Vulture Pokémon.
"So April's going with Mandibuzz," Kensi said.
"That's a Dark and Flying type Pokémon," Leo pointed out.
"And Flynn's Pokémon are all Dark types, so look to me this'll be an even draw," added Ash.
"Pika Pikachu!," said Pikachu in agreement.
"Well, don't count my brother out just yet," Megan said determined.
"Eevee," added Eevee with excitement.
"Absol, front and center!," Flynn called as he tossed his Poké Ball, letting out his Disaster Pokémon.
"Well, like you said, looks like it'll be even," Alan exclaimed.
"Shinx Shinx Shinx," Shinx chimed in.
"Let's just wait and see," Kensi responded.
"The battle will be Mandibuzz vs. Absol! Begin!," said Erald.
"Mandibuzz, start off with Dark Pulse!," April called out. Mandibuzz shot a beam of black and purple circles out of its mouth at Absol.
"Absol, use Night Slash!," Flynn commanded. Absol's scythe horn glowed purple, and he lept forward and slashed the Dark Pulse with it, resulting in an explosion.
"Now, Quick Attack!"
Absol then charged at Mandibuzz at rapid speed, zipping side to side for a few moment before colliding with Mandibuzz, knocking her back, but she quickly recovered.
"Mandibuzz, give them a Gust attack!," April ordered. Mandibuzz rapidly flapped its wings causing Absol to be buffeted by a strong gust of wind.
"Now Steel Wing!"
Mandibuzz's wings glowed and became like steel as she flew in towards Absol, hitting him and knocking him down.
"Absol, are you okay?!," Flynn said in concern. Absol responded by leaping to his feet.
"Wow, they are evenly matched," Megan noted while watching the battle.
"Well, they're both good trainers with just as good Pokémon," Ash added.
"Mandibuzz, Steel Wing, again!," April commanded as Mandibuzz flew in towards Absol with steel-like wings again.
"Absol, Double Team!," Flynn ordered. A bunch of illusion copies of the Disaster Pokemon suddenly appeared in a circle, and Mandibuzz flew right through one. "Now, Razor Wind!"
Absol's scythe horn glowed white and he swung his head sending out a white blade of energy at Mandibuzz, hitting her squarely, and knocking her back once more.
"Okay, Absol, Night Slash!," Flynn commanded.
"Mandibuzz, counter that with Steel Wing!," April quickly called out. Both Pokémon launched their attacks and collided in the middle of the field, resulting an explosion, that knocked them both back. At that moment, Erald blew his whistle.
"Battle over! This match is a draw!," he said. Those on the sidelines applauded.
"Wow, they're both good," Leo said in amazement.
"Bulbasaur!," Bulbasaur said in agreement, also amazed.
"You were right, Ash. It was a draw," Megan said in admirance at Ash's prediction.
"Eh, call it a lucky guess," Ash said sheepishly.
"Good job, Absol," Flynn said, patting his Pokémon on the head.
"Absol," Absol replied with a grin.
"Now take a good rest."
Flynn recalled Absol to his Poké Ball, as did April did with Mandibuzz.
"You did great, now rest easy," she said to the Poké Ball. She and Flynn then return to the middle of the battlefield, and shook hands again.
"Not too bad, April," he said with a small grin.
"Pretty good yourself, Flynn," she added a smile. The two then returned to the sidelines.
"Okay, now it's me and Kensi," Erald said. "Anyone wanna referee?"
"I can do it!," Alan volunteered.
"Okay, Alan, come on down," Erald said as he stepped into the middle of the battlefield. Kensi soon joined him, while Alan took his place as referee on the opposite side of the the field. The two trainers then shook hands.
"Alright, Kensi, let's see how good you really are," Erald said.
"And let's see if you can beat an old champion," Kensi responded. The two then headed to their respective ends of the field, Erald to the left, Kensi to the right.
Once they were situated in their ends, Ala said, "Okay, you guys know the rules. Now pick your partners!"
"Blastoise, let's hit it!," Erald said as he tossed his Poké Ball, letting his Shellfish Pokémon out onto the field.
"So he's going with Blastoise," Ash observed.
"Yeah, it's Erald's very first Pokémon, and his primary partner right from the beginning," Leo told everyone. "They've been through a lot together."
"If he's choosing a Water type, then there's only one Pokémon I can see Kensi going with," April said as Kensi took out her Poké Ball.
"Take the stage, Serperior!," Kensi exclaimed as she tossed her Poké Ball into the air, letting out her Regal Pokémon.
"A Serperior," Megan gasped in amazement.
"A powerhouse Grass Type against a powerhouse Water Type," Flynn remarked, analyzing the faceoff. "Kensi might have the type advantage, but this is bound to be an interesting match nonetheless."
"Pika!/Shinx!/Eev!/Bulba!," the Pokémon all said in agreement.
"The battle will be Blastoise vs. Serperior! Begin!," said Alan.
"Blastoise, Bubble Beam!," Erald called out. Blastoise opened it's mouth, and unleashed a stream of bubbles at Serperior.
"Serperior, counter that with Leaf Blade!," Kensi commanded. The leaf at the end of Serperior's tail glowed light green and it slashed through the Bubble Beam, cancelling out the attack.
"Okay, now Rapid Spin!," Erald called out. Blastoise pulled its head, arms, legs, and cannons into its shell and spun like a disc, coming straight towards Serperior.
"Stop it with Vine Whip!," Kensi called. Two green vines the same color as Serperior's collar came out from in between its collar and its neck, and grabbed Blastoise, stopping the Rapid Spin.
"Now, Leaf Storm!"
Serperior held out its arms, and multiple glowing green leaves started spinning around its body. Serperior then fires the leaves at the restrained Blastoise, hitting it directly.
"Wow, now that's some power," Ash exclaimed in amazement.
"Pika!", agreed Pikachu.
"That's my big sis for you," April responded in admiration of her sister's skill with her Serperior.
"Well don't count my cousin out just yet!," Leo said determined for his cousin to fight on.
"Blastoise, use Hydro Pump!," Erald commanded to his Pokémon, who was still being buffetted by the Leaf Storm. Blastoise then aimed his water cannons and blasted powerful jets of water at Serperior, knocking it back and forcing it to release its Vine Whip.
"See, told ya!," Leo said happily.
"Bulbasaur!," agreed Bulbasaur with confidence.
"Not bad, but it's still anyone's battle," Flynn pointed out.
"Rapid Spin!," called Erald. Blastoise then engaged in another Rapid Spin right at Serperior.
"Leaf Blade, let's go!," ordered Kensi. Serperior then flew in with another Leaf Blade attack. Both Pokémon collided with their attacks in mid-air, and stalemated for a while, before Serperior finally won out, and knocked Blastoise back, sending it sliding on its back. As it stood up, Alan then blew his whistle.
"And that's the end!," he declared. "The match goes to Kensi and Serperior!"
Those on the sidelines applauded for the two trainers.
"Way to go, Kens," April cheered for her sister.
"That was great, you two!," Ash added in.
"Yeah, you did good, Erald," Leo shouted to his cousin.
Kensi nodded and turned to her Serperior, as she said, "You've done great, Serperior."
"Serperior," Serperior replied with a grin.
"Now rest for now."
Kensi recalled Serperior to its Poké Ball, as Erald appoached his Blastoise.
"You did great out there, buddy," he said with a reassuring, placing a hand on Blastoise's shoulder.
"Blastoise," Blastoise replied with a small smile.
"Now take a good rest."
Erald returned Blastoise to its Poké Ball, and he and Kensi met and shook hands again in the middle of the field.
"You are as good as advertised," he remarked.
"And you're not so bad yourself," she said in response.
Shortly afterwards, the group stood together in the training area, recapping over their battles.
"That was great, guys," Ash said. "If you ask me, those battles helped us get to know each other and our Pokémon a little more."
"Well, that'll make the battles even better if and when we face off in the tournament," Erald noted.
"I agree. It's actually worthwhile to know your opponent a little," Flynn added. Just then, the group heard a pair of growling noises, and looked towards Leo and Megan. It turns out, their stomachs were growling.
"Wow, I could use something to eat," Leo said, as he held his growling stomach.
"Same here," said Megan as she did the same thing with her stomach. Ash, Alan, Pikachu and Shinx's stomachs also began growling as well.
"So can we," Ash and Alan chuckled sheepishly.
"Pika/Shinx," Pikachu and Shinx sheepishly agreed. Flynn only rolled his eyes at this.
"Well, how about we all stop talking about it and go get some lunch already?," he asked sardonically.
"Good idea," April said. "What sounds good to you guys?"
"I'm not sure," Ash replied, uncertain.
"Me neither, and I'm all about food, cooking and eating," Alan remarked. Just then Eevee caught a whiff of something good in the air, causing it to jump out of Megan's arms and run towards it.
"Eevee, where are you going?," Megan called out. Soon, Pikachu, Shinx, and Bulbasaur caught the scent of the same thing and followed after Eevee.
"Looks like they've all got the same scent on the nose," Kensi noted.
"Let's follow them," Ash said. He and the rest of the group followed the Pokémon out of the training ground and across the road where they stopped. As the trainers caught up to the four, they looked up and were amazed to see an entire buffet of gourmet food laid out as well as many bowls of Pokémon food also laid out. A man and woman, and three other short individuals were standing next to a nearby sign that said "Free Samples".
"Step right up hungry trainers, and sample some of our gorment dishes," the man said.
"Dishes for humans and Pokémon alike! Some of the best food you'll find on this isle!," said the woman.
"So don't be shy! Dig in, and have your Pokémon join in too!," said one of the short individuals who resembled a cat. Alan and Shinx each stepped up to the some of the human and Pokémon food respectively and sampled them. The two soon became enamored with the flavors of the food.
"Wow, this gourmet steak with grilled green onions and mashed potatoes is amazing!," Alan exclaimed.
"Shinx! Shinx!," Shinx exclaimed. The others soon became excited, except for Kensi for some reason.
"Hey, let me have some of that!," Ash said as he ran over to the tables.
"Pikachu!," the Mouse Pokemon agreed as he followed his trainer.
"Hey, save some for me!," Megan shouted as she ran over as well.
"And me too!," Leo added as he followed.
"Eevee!/Bulbasaur!," called Eevee and Bulbasaur as they followed after their caretakers. April and Erald ran over as well, while Flynn simply shrugged and followed slowly. Kensi, however, remained suspicious of the steak dish Alan had mentioned.
"That steak dish… where have I heard about that before?," she said to herself. Meanwhile, the others were at the tables, stuffing their faces as if there was no tomorrow while their Pokémon helped themselves to some of the Pokémon food below. The man and the woman then snuck off snickering, leaving the three short individuals behind.
"Man, this is some good food!," Ash exclaimed with his mouth full. "The best rice curry, with extra spice!"
"The best I've ever had!," Alan added, with his mouth full as well. Flynn saw this and swallowed his food.
"I must concur, this ham with pineapple honey glaze is great," he remarked. "But could you guys not talk with your mouths full?"
"Oh give 'em a rest, Flynn, besides, these shrimp noodles are great," April said as she slurped a bowl of noodles. "I feel like I've had these before."
This suddenly peaqued Kensi's curiousity as she said to herself, "For some reason, me too…"
"Well, check out the desserts," Erald said as he ate a piece of cake. "This Pecha Berry crème cake is out of this world!"
"Isn't that the truth?," Leo added also eating a piece of the cake.
"Well, it doesn't beat this Oran Berry pie!," Megan said, eating a piece of said pie.
"How about you guys, you liking the food?," Ash asked Pikachu, Shinx, Eevee and Bulbasaur.
"Pika!/Shinx!/Eev!/Bulba!," the Pokémon all said in agreement.
"Hey, there's plenty of food to go around. Let's have all of our Pokémon join us for lunch!," April suggested.
"Yeah, that's a great idea!," Ash said as all the trainers, sans Kensi, took out their Poké Balls. The three short individuals smirked wickedly at this. "Okay, everyone come on–"
"Hold it!," Kensi said, causing everyone to stop in their tracks, and the individuals to gawk in confusion. She then walked over to the table, sampled each of the dishes, then got into the individuals' faces. "So you say you cooked all of this food yourselves?"
"Um… yeah, of course," replied the cat-like individual sheepishly.
"Well, that's funny, because, I remember eating that same steak dish at the Tauros Herd Steakhouse here on the isle three years ago!"
Everyone gasped at this in shock.
"Wait, are you sure Kensi?," Ash asked, stunned at this.
"I'll never forget it, just like I also can't forget that extra spiced rice curry from the Macargo Flambé Café! Or the Combee Honey Hostel's pineapple honey glazed ham!"
Everyone gasped at how Kensi could remember the dishes so well. The cat-like individual then sheepishly chuckled while his fellow two individuals blushed in embarrassment.
"Maybe your taste buds are a little off," he sheepishly suggested.
"I highly doubt that!," Kensi remarked as she turned to her sister. "April, you know how you said you feel like you've eaten those shrimp noodles before?"
"Um, yeah? Why?," April stared at her curiously.
"Because those noodles are the Shrimp å la Grand Noodles from the Tangela Noodle Hut! We had some as a victory meal here three years ago when I made the tournament semi-finals!"
April then flashed back to three years prior when she and Kensi happily shared a jumbo-sized bowl of the same noodles at Tangela Noodle Hut and realized…
"Oh my goodness, you're right!"
"And the Pecha Berry Crème Cake and Oran Berry Pie are definitely from the Slurpuff Sweet Eatery!," Kensi said as she turned to the cat-like individual. "So you and your friends still wanna say you cooked all this food?!"
The individual continued to look sheepish, until his expression changed into a smirk and said, "Okay fine, you got us! We didn't cook any of it! Ya happy?!"
Everyone gasped as they heard this, and Alan, who was particularly angry, snarled, "So you just bought all this food from all those eateries and tried to pass it of as your own?!"
"Well, bought is a bit of strong word, kid…"
Just then a net suddenly flew in and snatched Pikachu, Shinx, Bulbasaur and Eevee away, and carried them back to the man and woman from before, who were standing on top of a wall, much to everyone's shock.
"Hey, those are our Pokémon!," Leo yelled.
"Who the heck are you guys!," Flynn shouted as well. The man, woman, and other three individuals all laughed and threw off their clothes with the former two revealing white-and-black uniforms with red "Rs" on them.
"Prepare for trouble, you twerps have been served!," said the woman.
"And make it double, you got what you deserved," added the man.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"So surrender now or prepare for to fight, fight, fight!"
"Meowth, that's right!," shouted Meowth as he joined Jessie and James in posing.
"Wobbuffet!," said Wobbuffet as it joined in as well.
"Mime Mime!," added as it posed on top of Wobbuffet. Ash knew immediately who these guys were.
"Team Rocket! So you followed me all the way here to the isle!," he exclaimed in anger and annoyance.
"Wait, Ash, you know these clowns?!," Flynn asked.
"They're a bunch of crooks who steal other people's Pokémon! And they've been after my Pikachu for a long time!"
"And we finally got it from you!," Jessie said.
"Along with three bonus prizes for the boss too!," James added.
"It's an extra special day for us, yahoo!," Meowth said as he and the rest of Team Rocket jumped behind the wall, and then rose up again in their trademarked Meowth-shaped balloon, with the four captive Pokémon being held in the net below them.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!," Ash commanded. Pikachu charged up and unleased a stream of electricity to try and break the net, but he only succeeded in shocking, Shinx, Eevee, and Bulbasaur. Team Rocket cackled at this.
"You didn't think we'd forget about Pikachu's Electric attacks did you?," Meowth sneered.
"Just shows how slow you twerps are!," Jessie snickered.
"Now let's show them how fast Team Rocket is!," James told Meowth.
"Right! Boosters, activate!," Meowth said as he took out a remote and pressed a button. Rocket boosters extended from each side of the balloon's basket and blasted them away from the group.
"Sayonara, twerps!," the crooked trio said. Ash and his friends ran after the balloon in hot pursuit.
"Get back here, you thieves!," they all yelled. Team Rocket simply cackled at the group as they ran after the balloon.
"Run, run, as fast as you can!," Jessie mocked.
"You can't catch us!," James added.
"Cause Team Rocket is da man!," Meowth finished.
"Wobba!," Wobbuffet agreed.
"Mime!," added Mime Jr. Pikachu, Shinx, Bulbasaur, and Eevee all called out from within the net.
"Don't worry, Pikachu, we're coming for you guys!," Ash called out. Just then, something flew rapidly above the group's heads. They looked up and saw that it was a Dustox coming in for a Wing Attack. The Dustox then slashed through the rope suspending the net below the balloon with the said attack, severing it much to Team Rocket's shock and dismay. It then swooped around and repeated the attack, popping a hole in the balloon, causing it to descend to the ground.
"Yipes! We're going down!," Meowth shrieked.
As this happened, the net containing Pikachu and the other Pokémon opened up and all four began to tumble towards the ground, when they were then caught on the back of a large flying Pokémon. The gang stopped and watched as the large Pokémon landed in front of them, revealing it to be a Salamence, while Team Rocket's balloon crashed right behind it. Pikachu, Shinx, Bulbasaur, and Eevee then jumped off Salamence's back and into the respective arms of Ash, Alan, Leo, and Megan who were all glad to see them safe. Ash then looked at the Salamence.
"Whoa, a Salamence!," Ash exclaimed as the Dustox from before joined it.
"And a Dustox," Kensi added in.
"But where'd they come from?," Erald asked. Just then they heard a pair of voices call out.
"Hey, you guys!/Everyone okay?!," the two voices called out, as the group turned to see Raynard and Ellie run up to them.
"Raynard, Ellie," Ash said. "Are these two yours?"
"Correct, we heard a commotion outside the training area," Raynard informed them.
"So we went to investigate and we saw you were in trouble," Ellie added in.
"Well, boy are we glad you were around," Megan quipped. "Thank you both so much for saving Eevee and the others."
"Nothing to it, young miss," Raynard said as he and Ellie each took out a Poké Ball. "Okay, Salamence, return."
"You too, Dustox," Ellie said as well, and the two Pokémon vanished inside their Poké Balls. The group then turned as Team Rocket, irritated about being foiled, emerged from the wreckage of their crashed balloon looking very peeved.
"Who do you two think you are?!," Jessie snarled at Raynard and Ellie.
"Do you have any idea who you're messing with?!" James growled in with vile.
"Yeah, it took us a long time to swipe all that food from all them places, and set up that buffet!," Meowth finished. The group then gasped at this.
"So you're not just Pokémon thieves, but culinary thieves too?!," Alan exclaimed in anger. "You people make me sick!"
"Shinx!," Shinx snarled, just as angry as its trainer.
"Well, prepare to get sent to the infirmary, twerp!," Jessie said as she drew three Poké Balls. "Seviper, Yanmega, Gourgeist, get them!"
She then tossed the Poké Balls, letting out her Fang Snake, Orge Darner, and Pumpkin Pokémon.
"Cacnea, Carnivine, Inkay, you too!," James said as he tossed his own three Poké Balls, letting out his Cactus, Bug Catcher, and Revolving Pokémon. However, the former two then doubled back and affectionately hugged James's neck and chomped down on his head respectively, causing him to exclaim, "Now's not the time for 'me' affection, now's the time for twerp destruction!"
"So it's a battle you want, huh?! Then let's give it to 'em, guys!," Ash challenged as he took out his own Poké Ball. "Pignite, I choose you!"
As Ash threw his Poké Ball and let out his Fire Pig Pokémon, the rest of the trainers, sans Raynard and Ellie took out Poké Balls themselves and tossed them.
"No one messes with my sister's Eevee! Let's take them down, Umbreon!," Flynn called as he let out his Moonlight Pokémon,
"Zebstrika, let's go!," April shouted as she let out her Thunderbolt Pokémon.
"Come on, Ninetales," Kensi called as she let out her Fox Pokémon.
"Quilladin, crush these creeps!," called Alan as he let out his Spiny Armor Pokémon.
"Golem, heads up and roll on out!," yelled Erald as he let out his Megaton Pokémon. It was a six-on-six showdown.
"Seviper, Poison Tail!," Jessie commanded. Seviper's tailblade glowed purple and it started to lash out at Umbreon.
"Umbreon, counter that with Iron Tail!," Flynn called. Umbreon's tail glowed silver and turned as hard as steel, and it flew up and clashed with Seviper's Poison Tail attack, pushing it back. The two clashed several more times before Umbreon knocked Seviper away.
"Cacnea, Needle Arm!," James ordered. Cacnea's arm glowed as it swung it around coming towards Pignite.
"Pignite, dodge and use Flame Charge!," Ash called. Pignite dodged and his body was engulfed in flames as he charged at Cacnea, hitting it right on the mark.
"Yanmega, use Ancient Power," Jessie ordered. Yanmega created a silver ball of energy and then launched it.
"Zebstrika, give 'em a Shock Wave," April ordered. Zebstrika's white stripes glowed yellow with electric power as it charged up an orb of electricity and fired a jagged beam of it from the orb at Yanmega's Ancient Power. Both attacks collided and exploded in mid-air. "Now Discharge!"
Zebstrika then charged up and unleashed a bolt of blue electricity at Yanmega, hitting it squarely.
"Carnivine, Bullet Seed!," James ordered. Carnivine opened it's mouth and fired multiple glowing yellow seeds at the group's Pokémon.
"Ninetales, Fire Spin, quick!," Kensi commanded. Ninetales release as stream of spinning red fire, which engulfed the Bullet Seed… and Carnivine along with it.
"Gourgeist, Shadow Ball right now!," Jessie ordered. Gourgeist formed a ball of dark energy and launched it and Quilladin.
"Quilladin, send it back at 'em with Wood Hammer," Quilladin's tail grew slightly and it used it's tail to hit the Shadow Ball right back at Gourgeist, hitting right on the mark. Gourgeist soon recovered, however.
"Inkay, use Psybeam, post haste!," James commanded. Inkay flipped upside down and fired a streaky blue beam with pink circles inside it from his mouth at Golem.
"Golem, dodge and Rock Throw!," Erald ordered. Golem dodged the Psybeam and threw itself at Inkay, knocking him back hard, but he soon recovered.
At that point, Ash and his friends still had all of their Pokémon still standing, while Team Rocket's Yanmega, Cacnea, and Carnivine were badly injured, Seviper was relatively unharmed and Gorgeist and Inkay were hurt but still able to battle.
"Give it up, Team Rocket!," Ash demanded.
"Please, we don't know the meaning of those word!," Jessie snapped. Seviper, Bite! Gourgeist, Shadow Ball!
"Inkay, Psybeam!," James added. Seviper flew in with it's fangs bared for a Bite attack, while Gourgeist and Inkay each charged another Shadow Ball and Psybeam attack respectively.
"Pignite, Fire Pledge!," Ash ordered.
"Golem, Roll Out on Seviper!," added Erald. Golem curled up into a ball and rapidly rolled out at Seviper, hitting and knocking it back. At the same time, Pignite slammed it's hand on the ground, causing pillars of fire to rush towards Gourgeist and Inkay. Upon reaching them, the pillars then formed into a ring and merged into one giant fire pillar which engulfed the two Pokémon. After this, Seviper crashed into the two of them, sending them crashing back into Yanmega, Cacnea, and Carnivine, and all six Pokemon to crash into Jessie, James, Meowth, Wobbuffet and Mime Jr., knocking them down.
"Okay, Pikachu, finish this with Thunderbolt!," Ash commanded.
"Shinx, you too with Discharge," Alan ordered as well. Pikachu and Shinx then unleashed both Electric attacks, shocking Team Rocket, their Pokémon, and their crashed balloon, causing an explosion that sent them flying into the air.
"Drat! Another failed Pikachu poaching!," Jessie exclaimed as she and her teammates and Pokémon flew through the air.
"Well, our first Isle blast off leaves more to be desired," James said attempting to lighten.
"Yeah, 'sides, we have a whole bunch of other chances to snag all the twerp Pokémon!," Meowth added in with some optimism.
"Well, until the next time…," James started to say.
"Team Rocket's blasting off again!," the trio all said in unision as they and their Pokémon disappeared into the sky with a twinkle. Ash, his friends, and their Pokémon celebrated their victory.
"All right! We did it!," Ash declared victorious.
"Pika Pika!," Pikachu cheered in agreement!
"Yay! Great job big brother!," Megan said as she hugged Flynn.
"Don't just give me credit, Meg, we all did it," Flynn replied to her.
"Indeed," Raynard said as he and Ellie approached the group. "That was some superb team battling you all did."
"Yeah, I got a feeling you'll all give Ray and me a run for our money in the tournament," Ellie added.
Erald simply grinned as he remarked, "Always nice to hear a compliment from a rival."
Unbeknownst to anyone, Seamus was nearby and had watched the entire battle. He simply snorted as he walked away and the others continued celebrating. However, Leo soon had a thought.
"Um, Ash, you really seemed to know those Team Rocket guys," he asked meekly. "And you said they've been after Pikachu for a long time now. How'd that happen?"
"Well, it's a long story…," Ash said with a slightly uneasy look.
Not long after, Ash and the group was walking back to near the training area where Team Rocket had set up the buffet, and Ash had essentially told them his and Pikachu's history with Team Rocket, going back to when they first encountered them at the start of their journey.
"So, those creeps have been after Pikachu since day one?," Alan asked.
"Yep. They've been following me from town to town, city to city, and region to region, trying to steal Pikachu, and any other Pokémon they can," Ash told them.
"Must be a real pain having to fight those crooks off almost every day," April speculated.
"You guys have no idea."
"Pika," agreed Pikachu.
"Well, I have a feeling we're gonna find out," Flynn remarked.
"What do you mean, Flynn?," Megan asked.
"Well, think about it. If they're persistant enough to follow Ash all the way here to keep going after Pikachu, they're obviously gonna keep trying to steal it."
"Not to mention all our Pokémon as well," Erald added.
"Right, so we'll definitely encounter them again," Kensi agreed.
"And when we do, we'll be ready for them," April said with confidence. "Right you, guys?"
"Right!," everyone said. As the group reached the tables they found Officer Jenny with a few men, whom Kensi recognized as the owners of the restaurants Team Rocket had stolen from.
"Officer Jenny, what brings you here?," she asked.
"Ms. Landors, all of you, these are some of the owners of the restaurants around the isle."
"Right, I remember Mr. Green of the Tauros Herd Steakhouse, Mr. Matsuyo of the Tangela Noodle Hut, Ms. Spicer of the Macargo Flambé Café, Mr. Gold of the Combee Honey Hostel, and Mrs. Sweet of the Slurpuff Sweet Eatery."
"Indeed, our food stores were raided earlier today," Mr. Matsuyo said.
"And some of each of our inventory was stolen," Ms. Spicer added. "As was some Pokémon food from the Pokémon Center."
"And then Officer Jenny found it all here at these tables, with some of it eaten," Mr. Green threw in. "Do you kids know anything about this?"
"Well, sort of," Ash said. He and the others then explained about Team Rocket and their using the stolen food in their plan to steal the trainer's Pokémon.
"And that's what happened," Erald finished.
"We had no idea this food was stolen until they admitted it," Megan added in.
"We'll be glad to compensate for what we ate," Leo suggested.
The five owners conferred with each other for a few moments, before they turned back around and Mr. Gold said, "No need for that. In fact, we've decided to let you guys finish off the rest of this food."
The entire group was shocked as Alan exclaimed with a watering mouth, "Seriously?! You're letting us have all this?"
"Yes. Consider it on the house, as a gift for driving off those thieves," Mrs. Sweet said with a smile.
"Well, thank you, though I doubt we've seen the last of them," Ash replied.
"Well, I'll be sure to keep an eye out for them," Officer Jenny said. "I best get back to the precinct."
"And we best get back to our restaurants. You kids enjoy," Mr. Green said.
"Thanks," the group said as the owners and Officer Jenny left.
Ash then turned towards everyone and exclaimed, "Okay, again let's dig in!"
The group then resumed eating the food for their lunch, while their Pokémon finished off the Pokémon food. After a while, they resumed training for the rest of the day, with Ellie and Raynard still training alone apart from them.
At sundown, the group bid farewell to Ellie and Raynard and returned to their villas. As Ash and the Landors sisters reached their villa, they saw Delia with Fennekin on the front porch.
"Hey, Mom," Ash greeted his mother.
"Pika Pi," Pikachu greeted as well.
"Hi, Mrs. Ketchum!," April said.
"Ash, girls, great to see you all," Delia replied.
"You too, Mrs. Ketchum," replied Kensi. Fennekin and Pikachu then jumped down from Delia's lap and Ash's shoulder and started chasing each other playfully. "I see Fennekin's doing much better."
"Yeah, it's really opened up thanks to Professor Oak," Delia replied. "And you should've seen it with Mimey, they got along so well."
"Where are Oak and Mimey anyways," Ash asked.
"Inside preparing dinner. I hope you're all hungry."
"You bet I am."
"After the lunch we had today?," April exclaimed at Ash's appetite. "What are you a bottomless pit or something, Ash?"
"I doubt it, but anything's possible with my son," Delia replied with a chuckle. "By the way, what exactly happened at lunch today?"
"It's a long story, Mom," Ash said.
"And I can't wait to hear it," Delia said. Ash, Pikachu, Fennekin, and the Landors sisters then followed her inside the villa.
With another day on Densetsu Isle behind them, our heroes have gotten to know each other a little more, and encountered new friends, old enemies, and old and new rivals. But there's still more in store for them in the coming weeks before the tournament, as the journey continues…
Elsewhere, in a hidden location, a woman (whose face remains unseen) walked into an office and handed the mystery man from the beginning (who remains in the shadows) a folder. He then opened it to find pictures of Seamus standing next to a man.
"He's arrived, sir, just as you planned," she told him.
"Excellent," the man said in a cold tone. "Soon, I will have my revenge, and then a new Genesis will rise, and all like this man will suffer my wrath!"
The man began to cackle loudly.
To Be Continued…