AUTHOR'S NOTE: Greetings, readers! Here is chapter 42 of the continuing adventures of Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu as they continue their journey through the Johto region. Jimmy from the anime makes an appearance in this chapter. As you know, he is based off the male counterpart of the main player in the Gold, Silver, and Crystal version games, and he appears in the three-part saga: The Legend of Thunder in the Pokémon Chronicles series. We've seen his Beedrill, but what happens when he catches it as a Weedle? I'm basing the Bug Catching Contest from the Bug Catching Contests in the Gold, Silver, and Crystal version games, too. Taz also makes an appearance in this chapter. Be sure to follow this story for more chapters, and leave responsible reviews.

TEASER: Tristan and Hillary meet a Trainer named Jimmy, and they all participate in the Bug Catching Contest. But Taz wants to eliminate the competition using his Ariados. Will they be able to avoid him before they get tied up?

Chapter 42: GETTIN' BUGGY WITH IT

(Music Cue: Bug Catching Contest)

The Bug Catching Contest: A contest that will determine which Trainer catches the best Bug Pokémon they can find. And today, our heroes have stopped at a National Park to participate in that very contest.

"Whoa, can you believe this crowd?" said Tristan as he and Pikachu looked around.

"I know," agreed Hillary. "I guess everyone must be here to compete."

Togepi chirped in agreement.

Sure enough, there was a long line of people waiting outside to register for the contest.

"They must all want to win, too," said Tristan. "We'll just do our best and have fun. Right, Pikachu?"

"Pika Pika!" agreed Pikachu.

Presently, a Trainer wearing yellow shorts, a red jumper, and a yellow and black cap approached them. He wore the cap backwards. "Hi, I'm Jimmy. You two must be planning to enter the Bug Catching Contest, right?"

"That's right," answered Hillary. "I'm Hillary, and this is my Togepi."

Togepi greeted Jimmy warmly.

"Hi, Jimmy, I'm Tristan," said Tristan. "And this is Pikachu."

Pikachu also said hello to Jimmy.

"It's nice to meet you," said Jimmy. "So, where are you two from?"

"From New Bark Town," answered Tristan.

"Wow, that's the same town I come from!" said Jimmy excitedly. "All right, I've decided that you two are my rivals. I could tell that you two are good Trainers."

Tristan and Hillary were confused, but gave a nod.

"Well, Jimmy, I'm looking forward to a good contest," said Tristan.

"And so am I," added Hillary.

"That's the spirit!" said Jimmy.

And all three gave a good handshake.

Presently, an announcer came to the microphone and began to speak. "Attention, please. Welcome to the Bug Catching Contest. The rule is very simple. You may enter one Pokémon to battle with you. The rest will be kept with one of our employees that you see here."

"That means we can't have more than one Pokémon with us," said Hillary.

"Yeah, but who should I choose?" asked Tristan.

"I'd say that you have a pretty good candidate right on your shoulder," answered Hillary.

Sure enough, Pikachu was on Tristan's shoulder, and was ready for the challenge.

"Yeah, I'll go with Pikachu," said Tristan.

"And I'll use my Cyndaquil," added Hillary.

"And I'm gonna use my all-powerful Typhlosion," said Jimmy.

"Typhlosion?" Tristan and Hillary had never heard of that Pokémon before.

The announcer continued. "Whichever Trainer catches the strongest Bug Pokémon and earns the most points will be the winner. The winner will receive a Fire Stone as today's grand prize. Furthermore, you can keep the last Bug Pokémon that you catch."

Tristan was first to register with Pikachu, followed by Hillary and Cyndaquil. Finally, Jimmy registered with his Typhlosion.

The rest of their Pokémon and Togepi were left with the contest employee.

Meanwhile, a short distance away, a familiar bearded man was planning on messing things up as usual. Yes, it was Taz, the villain Tristan and Hillary had run into many times before. "Now we'll see who bugs out. Heh heh."

(Music Cue: Route 38 (as heard in "Charizard's Burning Ambitions"))

Tristan, Hillary, Jimmy, and the contestants all got ready to start as the announcer continued.

"Each of you will have a special Poké Ball called a Park Ball to use to catch a Bug Pokémon."

All the Trainers received Park Balls, which looked like turquoise green Poké Balls with even greener fly-like wings.

"You all have 20 minutes to find and catch the strongest Pokémon you can find. All right, Trainers! Ready...set...go!"

An air horn sounded and all the Trainers split up to begin their search.

Tristan and Pikachu searched on the western edge of the park in the tall grass.

"Keep your eyes and ears open, Pikachu," advised Tristan. "You never know when a Bug Pokémon will show up."

Pikachu nodded as it walked beside him.

In the eastern edge of the park, Hillary and her Cyndaquil looked all over the forest area.

"See anything, Cyndaquil?" asked Hillary.

Cyndaquil shook its head.

"Well, that's all right," said Hillary. "We'll find something even if we settle for a little Caterpie."

On the northern edge of the park, Jimmy and his Typhlosion looked high and low.

"There's gotta be a Bug Pokémon around here somewhere," said Jimmy.

Typhlosion nodded in agreement as it walked slowly on all fours beside Jimmy.

"Whatever Pokémon we find is bound to be a winner in our book," added Jimmy.

Presently, Jimmy and Typhlosion heard grunting and straining a short distance away.

"What's that?" asked Jimmy. "Come on, Typhlosion, we'd better check it out."

And Jimmy raced off with Typhlosion hot on his heels.

Sure enough, there were three Trainers who were all tied up by a sticky white string with their Pokémon in front of a nearby tree.

"Hey, are you guys okay?" asked Jimmy as he and Typhlosion approached.

"Get us outta this!" grunted one Trainer.

"All right, Typhlosion, we've gotta get 'em out, so use Flamethrower to burn the string!" commanded Jimmy.

Typhlosion shot a hot stream of fire from its mouth at the string, being careful enough to avoid burning the Trainers.

"Thanks so much!" said the second Trainer as he and the other two Trainers stretched their arms and legs, relieved to be freed.

"How did this happen?" asked Jimmy.

"Some guy with a red beard used an Ariados and tied us up with its String Shot attack!" answered the third Trainer. "Be on the lookout for him!"

And the three Trainers ran off in a hurry.

"I'd better spread the word!" said Jimmy. And he quickly took out his Poké Gear.

Meanwhile, Tristan and Pikachu were still searching for a Bug Pokémon when his Poké Gear rang suddenly.

Tristan quickly took it out of his backpack and answered it. "This is Tristan."

"Tristan, this is Jimmy."

"What's going on, Jimmy?"

"We just ran into three Trainers who were tied up by an Ariados," answered Jimmy. "They said that it belonged to a bearded man, but they can't confirm who it is. They've never seen him before."

Hmmm, thought Tristan. It sounds like whoever this bearded man is wants to eliminate the competition.

"Typhlosion and I set them free just a few moments ago," continued Jimmy, "but it's very important that you check your surroundings immediately and at all times. Do you see anyone suspicious, including that Ariados?"

Tristan and Pikachu quickly checked their surroundings, but didn't see any sign of a bearded man or an Ariados nearby.

"No, Jimmy, Pikachu and I don't see anything," answered Tristan, "but we'll be extra careful."

"Good," replied Jimmy. "Send my message to Hillary, too."

"Will do, Jimmy," said Tristan. And he hung up. Let's just hope Hillary and Cyndaquil are safe, wherever they are. And he called Hillary on his PokéGear.

A few minutes later, Hillary had gotten Jimmy's message from Tristan. "Okay, Tristan, thanks for the update. We'll keep an eye out." And she hung up. "Wow, Cyndaquil, our day's been pretty active so far."

Cyndaquil was nodding in agreement when suddenly...

(Music Cue: Johto Wild Pokémon Battle (as heard in "A Ghost of a Chance"))

...they saw a Flamethrower attack shoot high into the air.

"Whoa, that's a Flamethrower!" gasped Hillary. "It must be that Ariados! Come on, Cyndaquil, let's hurry!" And she and Cyndaquil ran as fast as their legs could carry them.

But what had been happening was that Jimmy and his Typhlosion had found a very strong Weedle, and their battle against it had just begun.

Weedle was just beginning to use its poisonous stinger on its head.

"It's using Poison Sting!" said Jimmy. "Dodge it, Typhlosion!"

Typhlosion nimbly got out of the way of Weedle's attack.

Next, Weedle shot a sticky string at Typhlosion.

"That's s String Shot," said Jimmy. "We can handle that. All right, Typhlosion, use another Flamethrower!"

Typhlosion fired a hot stream of fire from its mouth, not only scorching Weedle's String Shot, but also scoring a direct hit on Weedle in the process.

"Yeah!" smiled Jimmy. "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

Typhlosion agreed as Weedle fell to the ground.

"Now's my chance! Go, Park Ball!" shouted Jimmy as he threw it.

The ball hit Weedle, which transformed into red energy and shot inside. The Park Ball then wiggled as the red button flashed. Seconds later, it stopped, signifying that the Weedle had been caught.

"All right!" Jimmy said excitedly. "You rock and you rule!"

Typhlosion nodded in agreement.

"Jimmy!"

Jimmy and Typhlosion turned to see Hillary and Cyndaquil quickly approaching them.

"Are you okay?" asked Hillary.

"Hey, Hillary," said Jimmy. "Typhlosion and I just caught a strong Weedle."

"Oh, for a minute there, I thought that you had run into that Ariados," said Hillary.

"Nope," replied Jimmy. "But we're still keeping an eye out for him. So I take it Tristan told you about that?"

Hillary nodded. "We're watching out for that Ariados and that guy, too."

Presently, they heard more grunting and straining in the distance.

"What was that?" asked Hillary.

"Oh, come on, not again!" complained Jimmy. "Come on, Typhlosion!" And he and Typhlosion ran off.

"Jimmy, wait!" called Hillary.

But it was too late, for Jimmy and Typhlosion had already disappeared from sight.

Hillary sighed. "That guy sometimes reminds me of my own brother."

Cyndaquil nodded in agreement.

But just then, the bushes rustled.

Hillary and Cyndaquil went for a closer look. But as she did, a giant green mantis-like Pokémon with scythes flew out of the bushes straight toward them!

(Music Cue: Raid!)

"Aaah!" exclaimed Hillary. "It's a Scyther! Run for it!"

And together, Hillary and Cyndaquil beat a hasty retreat.

But no matter how fast they ran, they were still directly in Scyther's path.

"What am I doing?" asked Hillary to herself. "I shouldn't be running away from Scyther, I should be battling it! This is the Bug Catching Contest, after all." And she quickly turned around and faced Scyther. "Okay, Scyther, get ready to be caught! Ready, Cyndaquil?"

Cyndaquil turned around and nodded. It then charged toward Scyther as it prepared to battle.

"Cyndaquil, Flamethrower!" ordered Hillary.

Cyndaquil ignited the flame on its back and shot a powerful blast of fire from its mouth at Scyther.

But Scyther quickly flew from side to side to dodge it and prepared to strike back using its scythes.

"That Scyther's fast!" gasped Hillary.

Sure enough, it was fast, and it kept dodging Cyndaquil's Flamethrower.

"Cyndaquil, go slow!" encouraged Hillary. "First take aim, then use another Flamethrower!"

Cyndaquil stopped and allowed Scyther to get closer and closer. Then, when it was within striking distance, it shot another powerful blast of fire from its mouth directly at it, scoring a direct hit on it and weakening it.

"Nice job, Cyndaquil," said Hillary as she took her Park Ball out and threw it. "Go, Park Ball!"

The Park Ball hit Scyther, causing it to turn into red energy and shoot inside. The Park Ball wiggled as the red button flashed. Seconds later, it stopped, signifying that Scyther had been caught.

"All right!" said Hillary as she and Cyndaquil cheered. "We caught Scyther!"

But just as Hillary picked up her Park Ball, a String Shot attack came from the bushes and tied both her and Cyndaquil, causing them to hit the ground.

"Hey!" grunted Hillary. "What's going on here?"

"Heh heh heh," chuckled a bearded man as he and an Ariados stepped out of the bushes.

"Taz!" said Hillary disdainfully. "What do you want?"

"All I'm doing is eliminating the competition," replied Taz innocently.

"Let us go right now!" demanded Hillary.

Taz gave a smirk. "I'd love to stay and chat, but obviously, you're a little tied up at the moment." And he laughed as he and Ariados walked off.

Hillary seethed in anger. "I've about had it with this guy," she fumed.

"Hey, Hillary! Are you okay?"

Hillary was relieved to see Jimmy and Typhlosion coming her way. "Jimmy! Typhlosion!"

All right, Typhlosion, get Hillary and Cyndaquil out of there!" instructed Jimmy.

Typhlosion burned through the string using its Flamethrower.

In no time, Hillary and Cyndaquil were free.

"So how'd you get tied up?" asked Jimmy.

"Taz did this," answered Hillary. "His Ariados was the one who tied me up."

"Who's Taz?" asked Jimmy.

"He's the one who poaches Pokémon and is always up to no good," replied Hillary.

"We have to warn Tristan," said Jimmy. "Taz and Ariados may be heading his way."

"Let's hurry!" agreed Hillary as she and Jimmy raced to warn Tristan and Pikachu.

Meanwhile, Tristan and Pikachu were getting ready to search another area of the park after an exhaustive search on the western side.

"Well, no Bug Pokémon here," said Tristan. "Come on, let's try going deeper into the woods."

Just then, Pikachu pricked its ears up.

"What's up, Pikachu?" asked Tristan.

A blue bipedal beetle-like Pokémon flew into view and landed on the trunk of a nearby tree. It had a long, pronged horn on its head. A single pair of wings was covered by its carapace.

"Wow, it's a Heracross!" said Tristan as he scanned it with his Pokédex.

"Heracross, the Single Horn Pokémon. Though gentle and docile, Heracross possesses great strength and power. Its favorite food is the fresh sap from leafy trees."

Sure enough, Heracross was sucking the sap from the nearby tree. It was clearly enjoying its meal.

But Tristan knew that he and Pikachu were running out of time. "Pikachu, use Quick Attack on the other side of that tree!"

Pikachu nimbly ran to the other side of the tree as a white line streaked behind it. It bashed into the tree, causing Heracross to topple over.

"Yeah, great, Pikachu!" commended Tristan.

(Music Cue: Kanto Wild Pokémon Battle (as heard in "Good 'Quil Hunting"))

But just then, Heracross got angry. Apparently, it didn't like being disturbed in the middle of its meal. So it spread its wings and charged toward Pikachu as it prepared to attack.

"Dodge it, Pikachu, now!" ordered Tristan.

Pikachu easily evaded Heracross as it got within striking distance. But Heracross quickly turned around and charged in for the attack again.

"Quick, Pikachu, jump onto Heracross!" instructed Tristan.

Pikachu jumped into the air and landed neatly on Heracross' back. It held on tight as Heracross tried to shake it off.

"Now's our chance, Pikachu!" said Tristan. "Thunderbolt now!"

Pikachu nodded and unleashed a close-range Thunderbolt on Heracross, scoring a direct hit on it and causing it to drop like a fly to the ground.

Heracross was now down for the count.

"Nice job, Pikachu. Park Ball, go!" shouted Tristan as he got out his Park Ball and threw it at Heracross.

Heracross was hit by the Park Ball, and it transformed into red energy and shot inside.

The Park Ball wiggled as the button flashed. Tense seconds went by, but soon, the wiggling and the flashing stopped.

"Yeah!" said Tristan. "We caught a Heracross!"

Pikachu leaped into Tristan's arms and celebrated their catch.

Not too far away, an Ariados quietly crawled out of the bushes and prepared to attack. Sure enough, it was Taz's Ariados.

"It won't be long now," smirked Taz. "All right, Ariados, go get 'em!"

(Music Cue: Team Rocket Appears (as heard in "The Bug Stops Here"))

Ariados leaped into the air and prepared to use its String Shot attack to tie up Tristan and Pikachu.

However, Pikachu pricked its ears up and alerted Tristan to the danger. It then leaped out of Tristan's arms and launched a Thunderbolt at it.

Ariados got zapped before it had time to react or launch an attack.

"Ariados!" cried Taz as he ran to it.

Tristan recognized who it was immediately. "So you're the one who tied up those three Trainers all along, aren't you?"

"Yeah, so what?" replied Taz. "I'm getting rid of anyone who gets in my way so I can win the Bug Catching Contest! Go get 'em, Ariados!"

(Music Cue: Kanto Trainer Battle (as heard in "Hi Ho Silver...Away!"))

Ariados charged forward and prepared to attack.

"We won't let you bully us into surrender, Taz!" said Tristan. "All right, Pikachu, give it your Quick Attack now!"

Pikachu sped forward with a white line trailing behind it and scored a direct hit on Ariados, causing it to fall on Taz.

"You crazy Pokémon!" scolded Taz. "Get off me and use your Night Shade attack!"

Ariados crawled off of Taz and launched crimson beams from its eyes at Pikachu.

"Dodge and use your Quick Attack again, Pikachu!" commanded Tristan.

Pikachu easily dodged Ariados' Night Shade and rammed into Ariados, sending it flying into Taz.

"Okay, Pikachu, Thunder attack now!" ordered Tristan.

Pikachu jumped into the air and launched a powerful bolt of electricity from its body, scoring a huge direct hit on Taz and Ariados, causing an explosion that sent them blasting off again.

DING!

"Nice work, Pikachu," commended Tristan as Pikachu landed neatly on its feet in front of him.

Pikachu gave a happy reply.

Presently, Hillary and Jimmy arrived on the scene. "Tristan! Are you okay?"

"We're fine," answered Tristan. "Pikachu and I just dealt with Taz and Ariados. They won't be a problem anymore."

"That's a relief," said Tristan.

Presently the air horn sounded and the announcer's voice came on the loudspeaker. "Attention please. The Bug Catching Contest is now over. Please report back to the center of the park and we will judge the Bug Pokémon that you caught."

"We'd better hurry back, guys!" gasped Jimmy. "Judging's gonna start any minute!"

And they all raced away to their destination as fast as they could.

Soon, every contestant came to the stage as the audience watched.

The announcer came to the stage and had the judge look at every Bug Pokémon the Trainers. "Okay, ladies and gentlemen, the judges have chosen our winners!"

Tristan, Hillary, and Jimmy watched anxiously with the other Trainers as the results came in.

"Coming in third place is...Jimmy from New Bark Town, who caught a very strong Weedle!" said the announcer.

(Music Cue: The Day is Conquered! (sample 2)

Jimmy gasped in shock as the audience applauded him.

The announcer then opened the Poké Ball and Jimmy's Weedle came out of it.

"Wow!" said Jimmy. "I knew the Weedle I caught was strong, but I never knew it would earn me third place."

"That's still pretty good, Jimmy," said Tristan.

Hillary nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," chuckled Jimmy.

The announcer returned Weedle back to its Poké Ball and prepared to announce the second-place finisher. "That Weedle scored Jimmy 420 points. Coming in second place is...a Trainer named Hillary, who also comes from New Bark Town, and she caught a powerful Scyther!"

(Music Cue: The Day is Conquered! (sample 1)

The audience applauded as the announcer opened up the second Poké Ball.

Sure enough, the Scyther that Hillary had caught stood proudly with its scythes raised high to show its power.

"Your Scyther looked pretty strong, Hillary," said Jimmy.

"Your Weedle did, too," replied Hillary.

This time, it was Tristan's turn to nod in agreement.

(Music Cue: The Day is Conquered! (as heard in "Hot Matches!"))

The announcer returned Scyther back to its Poké Ball. Then he prepared to deliver his big announcement. "That score earned her 425 points. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, this is it...the moment you've all been waiting for! It's time to announce our big winner who came in first place! And the winner of the Bug Catching Contest who earned 430 points is..."

There was a long silence as he took the third Poké Ball and opened it.

Out came...Heracross, the Bug Pokémon that Tristan had caught.

"...Tristan, who is also from New Bark Town, with the big Bug Pokémon winner, Heracross!"

Everyone in the audience cheered and applauded for Tristan, who was bewildered at what had just happened. He wasn't expecting Heracross to be the big winner, but he soon gave a big smile.

"Wow, Tristan," said Jimmy. "Where did you find such a powerful Heracross?"

"I just found it by chance," replied Tristan. "It was sucking sap off of a tree. I figured if it was sucking that much sap, it must be strong."

The announcer returned Heracross to its Poké Ball and came to Tristan as he continued. "And as Tristan's reward, he gets the grand prize: a Fire Stone. And he gets to keep his Heracross. And every one of you can keep the Bug Pokémon that you caught." He then handed Heracross' Poké Ball and the Fire Stone to Tristan. "Congratulations, young man."

"Thank you very much, sir," said Tristan politely. He then raised his items in the air as Hillary and Jimmy looked on proudly.

Later, after Tristan and Hillary got their other Pokémon back, Hillary noticed that Scyther's Poké Ball had shrunk, and she couldn't get it to grow. "What's going on? Why can't I get this Poké Ball to work?"

"You already have six Pokémon, sis," replied Tristan. "You'll have to send one of your Pokémon to Professor Oak's lab first."

"Oh, yeah, that's right," said Hillary. "I think I'll send my Scyther there for now, just to give Professor Oak a little extra help."

"That's a good plan," smiled Jimmy. "So where are you guys off to next?"

"We're going to Ecruteak City so that I can earn my fourth Johto League badge," answered Tristan.

"Well, I wish you and Hillary nothing but the best on the rest of your journey," said Jimmy. "Just remember...you rock and you rule!"

"Yeah!" said Tristan and Hillary together.

Pikachu and Togepi smiled in agreement.

Tristan and Hillary continued to the east as they waved goodbye to Jimmy.

Jimmy continued south as he waved to them.

And so, Tristan catches a Heracross, Hillary catches a Scyther, and they both made a new friend in Jimmy. How will the rest of their journey pan out as Tristan strives to earn his fourth Johto League badge? You'll have to stay tuned to find out!

► TO BE CONTINUED