AUTHOR'S NOTE: Greetings, readers! Here is chapter 65 of the continuing adventures of Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu as they trek through the Whirl Islands. I decided to have Marcellus, the Remoraid/Octillery Trainer, as well as Maya the Sea Priestess from the anime make appearances in this chapter. Team Rocket may have attempted and failed to steal the Sea Spirit, but I decided to have Taz come and steal it; of course you know that he won't hang on to it for long. How will Tristan and Hillary help? Read and find out. But as always, please feel free to read and review responsibly at your leisure.
TEASER: A Trainer named Marcellus asks for Tristan and Hillary's help to recover a beautiful and seemingly magical treasure called the Sea Spirit Sapphire that belongs to a Sea Priestess.
Chapter 65: EXPLORING THE WHIRL ISLANDS, PART 5
(Music Cue: Opening Title 1999-2001 (as heard in the English dubbed version of "Dueling Heroes"))
Today, our heroes are exploring Scarlet City on Red Rock Isle, the third of the Whirl Islands. Pretty soon, they'll receive a formal invitation to attend Professor Elm's summer program, Whirl Camp, on Silver Rock Isle.
Tristan, Hillary, Pikachu, and Togepi all looked at a flooded and empty stadium from a high cliff the next morning.
"This must be the place where the Whirl Cup is held once every three years," said Hillary.
"It's too bad we got here too late to participate in it, though," sighed Tristan sadly.
Pikachu nodded sadly in agreement.
"Oh, that's okay," replied Hillary. "We had our own Water Pokémon tournament, remember? It was on our journey to Ecruteak City."
Tristan had such fond memories of that tournament that he forgot all about feeling sad. He remembered the time when he and his Totodile went up against Hillary and her Squirtle.
They had given each other everything they had, and had no regrets.
"I enjoyed that battle against you, Tristan," said Hillary. "It was a battle I'll never forget."
"Likewise," agreed Tristan. "I think it was one of our best battles ever. Right, Pikachu?"
Pikachu cheered up and nodded in agreement.
Togepi also agreed.
Suddenly, a boy in an orange t-shirt and green shorts was seen running toward Tristan and Hillary. "Help me! Please! We have an emergency!" Unfortunately, he was running so fast that he didn't see the edge of the cliff.
"Hey, watch out!" cried Hillary.
(Music Cue: Lugia Appears! (as heard in the Japanese version of "Revelation Lugia"))
But it was too late, for the boy lost his footing and was falling fast toward the water below.
Tristan was quick to react. He took out his Friend Ball and threw it. "Bayleef, grab him with Vine Whip!"
Bayleef emerged from the white light that shot out of it. Then it launched two vines from its leaf necklace and wrapped them around the boy, stopping him from falling.
Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu grabbed on to the vines, and pulled the boy safely back on the cliff.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"That was a close one," said Hillary. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay," replied the boy. "Thank you."
Tristan gently stroked his Bayleef. "Excellent job, Bayleef," he commended. "You saved the boy."
Bayleef nodded and gave a happy reply.
"My name's Marcellus," said the boy. "It's so nice to meet you."
"I'm Hillary," said Hillary.
"And my name's Tristan," added Tristan. "And this is Pikachu and Togepi. And you've met Bayleef."
Pikachu, Togepi, and Bayleef all greeted Marcellus warmly.
"Tell us, why were you calling out for help?" asked Hillary.
"Oh, that," said the boy. "You see...the Sea Priestess somehow lost her Sea Spirit, and doesn't know where it went."
"I'm afraid we don't follow," replied Tristan. "Could you tell us more about it?"
"I don't know exactly everything about it," said Marcellus. "But from what I've heard, it allows the user to communicate with all the Water Pokémon of the world, and open the Whirl Cup competition."
Tristan and Hillary were awestruck.
"That's awesome," remarked Hillary. "I never knew that something like that existed."
"Do you know how the Sea Priestess lost it?" asked Tristan.
"That's why I came to you guys for help," answered Marcellus. "I'll lead you to her."
Meanwhile, in the center of town, a woman wearing royal attire was speaking with Officer Jenny.
"Don't worry, Maya," said Officer Jenny. "We'll have every available unit helping you until you get your Sea Spirit back."
"Thanks, Officer Jenny," replied Maya.
Presently, Marcellus, Tristan, and Hillary arrived on the scene.
"Hey, guys, I brought help!" said Marcellus.
"Oh, good, thank you, Marcellus," replied Maya.
Officer Jenny was surprised. "You know that boy? And who are those kids?"
"We're Pokémon Trainers," answered Tristan. "I'm Tristan and this is Hillary."
Pikachu and Togepi greeted the women warmly.
"Sorry, but I didn't ask for your help," said Officer Jenny. "So you'll just have to move along now."
"Oh, it's all right, Officer Jenny," Maya assured her. "At this point, any help is welcome."
Officer Jenny sighed and reluctantly consented.
"We heard that your Sea Spirit was stolen," said Hillary. "Is that true?"
"Yes, it is," answered Maya. "Yesterday, I met this strange man, who said he would pay me top dollar for my Sea Spirit Sapphire."
"A strange man," said Tristan. "Do you know what this strange man looked like?"
"I know that he had a mustache and a beard," explained Maya. "But I also know that he looked like a smartly dressed collector of sorts."
"Do you know what the Sea Spirit does?" asked Hillary.
"Yes, I do," answered Maya. "With it, I have the ability to communicate with every Water Pokémon on the planet. Furthermore, I can invoke the Sea Spirit Union by raising it in the air and open and close the Whirl Cup competition."
"That's pretty cool," said Tristan.
"How did you respond to this man?" asked Hillary.
"I politely refused, but he wouldn't take no for an answer," replied Maya. "When he finally got the message, he left, but not before saying that someone would steal the Sea Spirit from its home. I slept that night unconcerned as usual. But when I woke up this morning, it just seemed to have disappeared without a trace."
"Officer Jenny, do you know of any security video that we can watch to see what happened?" asked Tristan.
Marcellus was confused. "What's up? Do you think you're on to something, Tristan?"
"I had the police force install security cameras all over Maya's house last night before she went to bed," answered Officer Jenny. "They should've recorded what happened to the Sea Spirit."
"Maybe one of them has the footage," suggested Tristan. "If we can watch that very moment that the Sea Spirit Sapphire disappeared, we can get to the bottom of this mystery."
"Good idea," agreed Officer Jenny. "Let's get down to the station and see if we have the video."
(Music Cue: A Devious Plot)
At that very moment, a familiar bearded man was watching everything from a high tree. Yes, it was Taz, who was dressed in black, and he chuckled evilly. "I'll be sure to make top dollar today. They'll never know it was me who stole this thing of beauty." And he took what appeared to be a staff out of his big bag.
Sure enough, the Sea Spirit Sapphire was attached to that staff.
(Music Cue: Imminent Danger)
Meanwhile, at the police station, everyone stood watching the video of Maya's residence during the night of the Sea Spirit's disappearance. Presently, they saw a man in black was seen quickly jumping from a tree like a ninja onto the roof of the house.
"Hey, what's that?" asked Marcellus.
"Did you see something, Marcellus?" asked Hillary.
"I thought I saw something jump from that tree onto the roof," replied Marcellus.
"Let's rewind and play it back again in slow motion," said Officer Jenny. And she did just that. And when she saw that precise moment that the person jumped from the tree onto the roof, she slowed the video down and stopped it so that everyone could get a better look.
"Looks like there's someone trying to sneak into Maya's house," said Tristan.
"Let's check the other cameras," suggested Officer Jenny. She clicked a few buttons and changed to another camera.
Sure enough, they saw a different angle of the roof where the mysterious person was. He used a tool to pick the lock on the roof and went in.
Maya gasped in shock.
"Looks like we have a burglary," said Officer Jenny.
Seconds later, they saw that same person emerge from the inside and sneak onto the roof with a staff of some kind in his hand, and close the hatch.
Everyone gasped in shock, especially Maya, who knew what that stolen object was.
"And now, it's a theft," said Officer Jenny.
"That's my Sea Spirit Sapphire!" gasped Maya.
"So that person stole the Sea Spirit," said Hillary.
"Just like in the threat," added Tristan.
"Growlithe, I choose you!" shouted Officer Jenny as she threw her Poké Ball.
Her Growlithe emerged from the white light that shot out of it.
"Maya, I'll need to have Growlithe get a sniff of you so that it can pick up the scent of the Sea Spirit," said Officer Jenny.
Maya nodded and consented.
"Growlithe, I need you to sniff Maya so you can track the Sea Spirit," instructed Officer Jenny.
Growlithe nodded and sniffed Maya very carefully. Then is used its nose and sniffed the air in an attempt to track the stolen Sea Spirit. A moment later, it barked and started running off.
(Music Cue: Wreakin' Havoc! (as heard in "The Totodile Duel"))
"Growlithe must've picked up the scent," said Marcellus.
"Come on, everyone, let's follow it!" advised Officer Jenny.
And they all quickly followed.
They ran until the came to the center of town.
"That was where we were before!" said Tristan.
"There must be some reason why Growlithe led us here," added Hillary.
Presently, Growlithe growled as it faced a high tree.
"I think we know why," said Officer Jenny. "The thief must be nearby."
"And he's probably in that tree," added Maya.
"How are we gonna find out if the thief is up there?" asked Marcellus.
"There's only one way to find out," replied Tristan as he took out his Friend Ball and threw it.
His Bayleef emerged from the white light that shot out of it.
"Bayleef, use your Tackle attack on that tree!" instructed Tristan.
Bayleef charged toward the tree full-body style and rammed into it.
A voice was heard screaming as he lost his balance and fell to the ground hard with the Sea Spirit in hand. He was dressed in black and had a mustache and a beard. All of a sudden, his mustache fell off his face. "Lousy Pokémon," he groaned.
Tristan and Hillary gasped in shock; they knew who it was.
"It's Taz!" exclaimed Tristan.
"We should've know it was you!" added Hillary.
Officer Jenny took out a pair of handcuffs. "I'm placing you under arrest for breaking into Maya's residence and stealing her Sea Spirit," declared Officer Jenny.
"You can't take me in that easily, Officer," replied Taz. "In fact, I've very good at making quick getaways! With this, I'll be sure to be a millionaire!"
"Not if I can help it," said Marcellus as he threw his Poké Ball. "Go, Octillery!"
A red octopus-like Pokémon emerged from the white light that shot out of it.
"What's that?" asked Hillary as she looked up the Pokémon in her Pokédex.
"Octillery, the Jet Pokémon. Octillery will instinctively sneak into rocky holes. It locks onto its opponents with its leg suckers, then rams them with its rock-hard head."
"Okay, Octillery, don't let him get away!" commanded Marcellus.
Octillery charged toward Taz.
"Go, Magmar, stop those losers!" shouted Taz as he took out his Poké Ball and threw it.
(Music Cue: The Rockets Unveilled)
His Magmar emerged from the white light that shot out of it and awaited his orders.
"Magmar, use your Smokescreen!" ordered Taz.
Magmar shot a thick, gray cloud of smoke from its mouth, enveloping everyone in it and causing them all to hack and choke.
When the smoke cleared, they saw that Taz had disappeared.
"He got away," said Officer Jenny.
"My Octillery's gone, too!" gasped Marcellus.
Everyone gasped in shock, for they knew that Octillery wouldn't just disappear without a trace.
Maya sank to her knees. "Why did I have to be the victim? If only I had an alarm or something. Then my Sea Spirit wouldn't have gotten stolen." A single tear fell from her eye.
"Don't worry, Maya, we won't give up until that Sea Spirit's back where it belongs," Tristan assured her.
"You have our word," added Hillary.
"Thanks a lot, guys," replied Maya.
"Hey, look at that!" gasped Marcellus.
Sure enough, there was a blue spot of ink where Taz and Magmar were, and a short distance away from it was another spot of ink, and another, and still another."
"Octillery must've left a trail for us," said Tristan.
"If we follow it, it'll lead us straight to Taz and Octillery," suggested Hillary.
"Let's hurry," advised Officer Jenny.
(Music Cue: Chaos (as heard in "The Totodile Duel"))
Meanwhile, Taz was having a hard time parting with Octillery, for it had attached itself to his face, and he was trying very hard to pull it off. "Get off me, you eight-armed freak!" Taz pulled harder and harder until at last, Octillery was pulled off his face.
Unfortunately for Taz, Octilliery got mad and charged straight for him, ramming him hard as it went.
Taz screamed as he got hit, then he fell flat on his back. "That's one hard-headed Pokémon," he grumbled as he struggled to his feet.
But Octillery wouldn't have any of it, for it rammed him again and again without letting up.
"Hey, you freak of nature, what do you want from me?" asked Taz as he got hit over and over. Then he thought, Of course! That thing must want that staff! "Well, not anymore, punk!" he shouted as he threw his Poké Ball. "Electabuzz, go!"
Electabuzz emerged from the white light that shot out of it.
"All right, Electabuzz, give it a taste of your Thunder attack!" ordered Taz.
Electabuzz gathered up the electricity in its body, then it shot a powerful bolt of it at Octillery, scoring a direct hit on it.
"Ha! That'll teach ya!" laughed Taz triumphantly.
Octillery fell to the ground, seemingly defeated.
But presently, Tristan and the others arrived on the scene.
Taz grumbled when he saw them approach.
"We found you, Taz!" said Tristan.
"Give back that Sea Spirit!" demanded Hillary.
"That Sea Spirit is no use to you!" added Maya.
"It means the world to me," retorted Taz. "And you wanna know why? Because this thing of beauty is about to make me some serious money and make me filthy rich!"
(Music Cue: Johto Trainer Battle (as heard in "Type Casting"))
Presently, Marcellus saw his injured Octillery and ran to it. "Are you okay, Octillery?"
Octillery struggled back up, but just barely, for it was still suffering from the damage it took from Electabuzz's Thunder attack.
Marcellus, upset, turned to Taz. "What have you done to my Octillery?!"
"It was in my way, what can I say?" replied Taz, who pretended to be innocent.
Fortunately, Marcellus had a bottle of Super Potion handy and sprayed it on Octillery.
Sure enough, Octillery's wounds were slowly fading away, and it was ready for battle once again.
"Nobody hurts my friends and gets away with it," said Tristan. "Go get him, Pikachu!"
Pikachu charged into battle and ran straight toward Electabuzz.
"Electabuzz, Thunder Punch, go!" commanded Taz.
Electabuzz charged forward as electricity crackled in its fist.
"Pikachu, Quick Attack!" shouted Tristan.
Pikachu quickly sped toward Electabuzz, dodging its attack as it went. Then it rammed hard into Electabuzz, sending it flying into Taz, causing him to lose the Sea Spirit Sapphire.
Tristan saw the flying Sea Spirit Sapphire and ran to catch it. Judging the distance, he ran under it, and caught it safely in his hands. "I got it!" he said.
"Great, nice catch!" said Hillary excitedly.
Then, Tristan returned the staff to Maya. "Here you go."
"Thanks so much, Tristan," replied Maya.
Taz seethed in anger. "If you think you can steal back what I stole, then you'd better think again! Electabuzz, get them!"
Electabuzz charged forward again.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" ordered Tristan.
Pikachu shot a bolt of electricity at Taz and Electabuzz and scored a direct hit on them.
"Let's send them packing, Octillery!" commanded Marcellus. "Use your Octazooka!"
Octillery concentrated its energy and shot a powerful blue orb of water from its round mouth at Taz and Electabuzz, scoring a direct hit on them and sending them flying.
"WE WON'T FORGET THIS!" screamed Taz as he and Electabuzz disappeared into the sky.
DING!
"I'm grateful to all of you for getting my Sea Spirit back from that nasty Taz," said Maya. Then she turned to Officer Jenny. "And I knew we had the right guys for the job."
"Well, I guess you're right," replied Officer Jenny. "Although I'm sad that there was no arrest."
"We were just glad that we could help," said Marcellus.
"He's right," agreed Hillary.
"That's what friends do," put in Tristan.
(Music Cue: Golden Silver)
"Hey, would you all like to come to my house for dinner tonight?" asked Marcellus. "I make some great easy recipes."
"We'd like that very much," replied Maya.
"And I can help with the food preparations," added Tristan.
"I'm in, too," put in Hillary.
"Well, since the emergency's over, I suppose I could take it easy for one night," said Officer Jenny.
And so it was decided.
That evening, Marcellus prepared dinner with Tristan's assistance.
"Okay, everybody, dig in!" said Marcellus excitedly.
Everyone happily ate their meals.
"Boy, this is good," said Tristan. "I know people say that my cooking is awesome, but yours, Marcellus, is great, too."
"Of course it's great, since you helped make it," smiled Hillary.
Everyone agreed that the food was good.
"I must admit, I'm quite impressed with that Octillery of yours, Marcellus," said Officer Jenny. "That Octazooka was really powerful."
"I collect Remoraid from almost everywhere," explained Marcellus. "I have aquariums of Remoraid and Octillery almost everywhere in the house."
Sure enough, there were tanks with Remoraid and Octillery happily swimming in them.
"They seem to be perfectly happy and healthy," smiled Tristan. "You've certainly taken very good care of them."
"Thanks, Tristan," replied Marcellus. "That's nice of you to say that."
"And I'll be sure to take even better care of the Sea Spirit Sapphire," added Maya.
"That's the spirit, Maya," chuckled Officer Jenny. "With an attitude like that, you'll never have to worry about another criminal stealing it again."
Everyone else nodded in agreement.
Later, as the sun went down, Tristan, Hillary, Pikachu, and Togepi had said goodbye to their friends and headed toward the Pokémon Center to rest up for the night.
"Another great day of adventures has come and gone," said Hillary.
"Yeah," agreed Tristan. "I really enjoyed learning about Octillery. And its Octazooka was really powerful. Marcellus should be very proud to have such a strong Pokémon. Of course, I can't stop thinking about Maya and her Sea Spirit. The fact that she's able to communicate with Water Pokémon and invoke the Sea Spirit Union is just astounding."
"Well, it's a good thing that Maya did get her Sea Spirit back," said Hillary. "Otherwise, she would've had to find another way to communicate with them."
"Besides using their hearts you mean?"
"Well, something like that."
Presently, they arrived at the Pokémon Center.
"What do you know? Here we are!" said Hillary excitedly.
"Let's go inside the Pokémon Center and rest up," suggested Tristan.
And so they went in.
Nurse Joy saw them enter. She had been waiting for them. "I have something for you from Professor Elm." And she handed each of them an envelope
"For us?" said Hillary.
Tristan and Hillary opened up the envelopes, which contained an invitation with "yes" and "no" boxes on them.
(Music Cue: Meeting and Parting)
"Those must be the invitations to Whirl Camp coming up in a couple of days," said Tristan.
"That's right," agreed Hillary. "And Professor Elm wants us to respond as quickly as possible."
"Well, he can count me in for sure," said Tristan excitedly.
"Me, too," agreed Hillary.
And together, they both checked the "yes" box.
"Oh, and Hillary," said Nurse Joy, "I'm pleased to report that your Lapras made a one-hundred percent recovery, so you can ride on it again."
Tristan and Hillary were happy to hear that.
"That's great news, isn't it, Hillary?" said Tristan.
"It sure is," replied Hillary. "And we'll ride it to Silver Rock Isle first thing tomorrow."
The next morning after getting a good night's rest, Tristan, Hillary, Pikachu, and Togepi all departed from Red Rock Isle on Hillary's Lapras.
"I can't wait until Whirl Camp starts," said Tristan excitedly.
"It's gonna be a blast," agreed Hillary. "We'll meet new friends and see all kinds of Pokémon."
"And Professor Elm and Professor Oak are gonna be there, too," put in Tristan. "I can't wait to see them again."
Pikachu and Togepi agreed.
And so, our heroes are finally on their way to Silver Rock Isle, site of the upcoming Whirl Camp. Will it be as great of an experience as they think it will be? Stay tuned and find out!
► TO BE CONTINUED