AUTHOR'S NOTE: Greetings, readers! Here is chapter 87 of the continuing adventures of Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu as they continue their journey through the Johto region. I decided to add Marina from the anime into the mix. She's the anime counterpart of the female player named Crystal from the Gold, Silver, and Crystal version games. Please feel free to read and review responsibly at your leisure.

TEASER: After seeking shelter from a thunderstorm, Tristan and Hillary meet a Trainer named Marina. However, they meet a very distrustful Raikou, and they must help it, for Taz wants to capture this legendary Pokémon!

Chapter 87: AS FAST AS LIGHTNING

(Music Cue: Let's Run! (as heard in "As Clear as Crystal"))

Our heroes continue their journey to Blackthorn City and Tristan's final Gym battle. However, it appears they're forced to make a run for it, as it has begun to rain heavily.

"Gosh, I never thought that we'd see rain this early in the day," said Tristan as he, Hillary, and Pikachu ran in the rain the next day.

"Never mind that, Tristan," replied Hillary. "We need to find a place and seek shelter."

"Hey, look there!" exclaimed Tristan.

Sure enough, there was a big building with a letter P on top of it.

"All right, a Pokémon Center!" smiled Hillary. "That'll be a great place for us to stop and dry off."

"Let's hurry," said Tristan.

And together, they ran to the Pokémon Center as fast as their legs would carry them.

But just as they ran inside, a huge lightning blast came from out of the sky and struck the ground 3,000 feet away from the center, creating a gigantic hole.

A bearded man crawled out of the hole created by the blast. It was Taz. "Boy," he groaned. "What does a bad guy like me need to get a break from a lightning storm?" And he collapsed back into the hole and fainted.

Tristan, Hillary, Pikachu, and Togepi managed to dry off and catch their breath a few minutes later.

Hillary looked out the window. "Boy, it's really coming down out there."

Tristan nodded in agreement. "It's a good thing we found this Pokémon Center, otherwise we'd be stuck outside with no shelter."

"Hey, did you come in from the storm, too?" said a voice.

(Music Cue: Golden Silver)

Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu turned around to see a female Trainer with sky-blue hair tied in two ponytails. She was wearing a hat, a pink t-shirt, and a white jacket.

"I'm a Trainer, too," said the girl. "My name's Marina. I'm from New Bark Town."

"New Bark Town? That's the same town we're from!" Tristan was delighted to meet a fellow Trainer from his hometown.

Hillary was just as excited. "My name's Hillary, and this is Togepi."

Togepi trilled warmly to the girl.

"And I'm her brother, Tristan, and this is Pikachu," added Pikachu.

Pikachu said hello to the girl.

"My name's Marina," said the girl. "It's nice to meet you all. I enjoy meeting cute little Pokémon. May I please hold your Pikachu for a second?"

"Uh, sure, I suppose," replied Tristan.

Marina took Pikachu and held it in her arms. "Aren't you just the cutest thing? Those little sacs are equally cute. I don't know what I'd do without meeting cute Pokémon."

Pikachu didn't seem to mind being held by Marina, but smiled because it never thought it'd make Marina's cute list.

Then Marina gave Pikachu back to Tristan. "Could I please hold your Togepi?"

"Sure, I guess," replied Hillary.

Marina held Togepi closely in her arms. "I'm just tickled to meet someone as cute as you are."

Togepi enjoyed getting attention from Marina.

Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu looked at one another.

"She must love cute Pokémon," whispered Tristan.

"Yeah, but does she have to lose control like that?" replied Hillary.

"Say, I have an idea," said Marina. "Would you like to try some of my Pokémon food, Togepi?"

Togepi chirped happily to the idea as Marina dug out some Pokémon food from her backpack.

Then she gave a piece to Togepi. "Open wide."

Togepi chewed on the piece of Pokémon food and trilled in excitement.

Tristan was impressed. "Wow, Marina, Togepi seems to like it."

"I wanted to be a better Trainer, so I decided to take a few cooking lessons by watching a few shows on TV," explained Marina.

"Wow, Marina, that's great," smiled Hillary.

Marina nodded in agreement, then she handed some more Pokémon food to Togepi.

"Wow, Tristan, that's awesome!" said Marina a little while later. "Seven badges and you're already going for your eighth? You're working hard."

Tristan nodded. "I can't wait until I get it. Then I'll be able to compete in the Johto League."

"I was in the Johto League last year," said Marina. "Of course, I didn't win it, but nevertheless, we had fun."

"So what got you so interested in cute Pokémon, Marina?" asked Hillary.

"I like to practice my singing and dancing steps with my Pokémon," explained Marina. "When I battle, I also want to perform a show. My dream is to someday be a Pokémon Idol."

"A Pokémon Idol?" repeated Hillary.

Marina nodded. "I want my Pokémon and me to be famous on magazine covers and on TV."

"That's a cool dream, Marina," replied Tristan. "I want to be one of the very best Trainers in the world like my grandmother. It'll be one giant step on my way to becoming a Pokémon Master."

"Our grandmother, Veronica, was a Champion Trainer back in her day," added Hillary.

"That Veronica name sounds familiar to me," said Marina. "Hold on! Isn't it the same Veronica I used to see competing against other Trainers on TV when I was just a baby?"

Tristan and Hillary nodded.

"I can't believe my luck!" squealed Marina. "It's a real treat to meet two grandchildren of the famous Veronica. But I've always enjoyed seeing the famous Fabu-Lance and his trusty capes in action!"

"Oh, you must mean Lance," corrected Hillary. "We're acquainted with him, too. He even took us to Vermilion City so we could sail to the Orange Islands."

Marina regained her composure and asked, "So, Hillary, what's your dream?"

Hillary gave the matter a lot of thought. "Being an idol would definitely be interesting, but I really haven't settled on a dream yet. I'm traveling with Tristan to figure out what it'll be."

"I'm sure it'll come to you eventually," replied Marina.

Just then, they saw a big lightning flash followed by a huge clap of thunder. An instant later, the lights in the Pokémon Center went out.

(Music Cue: Enter Mewtwo)

"What's going on?" asked Tristan.

"A power failure," replied Hillary.

"What could've happened?" wondered Marina.

Nurse Joy frantically ran into the lobby, gathering emergency supplies.

"Nurse Joy, what's going on?" asked Marina.

"All the Pokémon in this Center are in danger," answered Nurse Joy. "Without any power, they may not get the treatment they need."

"That's awful!" gasped Hillary.

"We've gotta do something!" added Marina.

"Come on, let's check it out," suggested Tristan as he, Hillary, and Marina all rushed out of the Pokémon Center posthaste.

"Be careful out there in the storm!" called Nurse Joy as the door closed behind them.

They came to the back of the building and saw that the generator had been damaged by the lightning.

"There's no way they're getting power with this thing," said Hillary. "It looks like it's damaged beyond repair."

"Who or what could've done this?" asked Marina.

Just then, there was another lightning flash followed by another huge thunderclap, causing everyone to stop dead in their tracks.

"I hate lightning storms!" yelled Marina.

"There's no way a storm like this would stay in one place for this long," said Hillary. "Something's definitely up."

"It sure is! Look!" exclaimed Tristan as he pointed to a nearby rock up above.

There was a large, yellow tiger-like Pokémon with black stripes all over its body standing right on top, looking directly at them. It had a blue muzzle shaped like an "X," and it had a mane on its back that resembled dull purple rainclouds.

"What's that?" asked Hillary.

"Let's check it out," replied Tristan as he scanned the Pokémon with his Pokédex.

"Raikou, the Thunder Pokémon. It is said to have descended to earth from a bolt of lightning. Raikou stores energy in its body, then sweeps off across the land, shooting off electricity."

Raikou glared warily at Tristan, Hillary, and Marina.

"It doesn't look too happy," said Hillary worriedly.

"Jimmy, Vincent, and I all had a similar experience once before," explained Marina. "Atilla and Hun from Team Rocket tried to capture it using a purple crystal once, but once it understood that we were here to help it, it calmed down, and we became its friends."

(Music Cue: Zapdos Appears! (as heard in the Japanese version of "Revelation Lugia"))

At that moment, Raikou leaped off the rock and unleashed a powerful bolt of electricity from its body directly at them.

"Look out!" cried Tristan.

Everyone ducked out of the way of Raikou's blast just in time just as Raikou landed on the ground.

"Why would it attack us like that?" asked Hillary as she and the others quickly rose to their feet.

"I wish I knew the answer to that," replied Marina. "Raikou helps Electric Pokémon that are in trouble, and are very distrustful of humans, so it's no surprise that this Raikou would attack us also." Suddenly, Marina gasped and exclaimed, "I think I know this Raikou!"

Tristan and Hillary were surprised.

"You do?" asked Tristan. "How is that possible?"

Just then, Raikou unleashed another blast of electricity at them.

Tristan and the others ducked out of the way again.

Raikou then gave a mighty roar that sounded like thunder.

"Boy, when it comes to thunder and lightning, Raikou sure makes it sound like it," said Hillary.

Tristan quickly got to his feet and tried to reason with Raikou. "Raikou, we're not your enemies, we're your friends!"

But Raikou only roared at him.

"We're not here to hurt you!" insisted Tristan. "We only want to be friends with you!"

But Raikou still wouldn't listen as it gave another roar.

Pikachu tried to reason with Raikou as well, but it only received a Thundershock from Raikou as a response, causing it to be knocked off its feet.

"Pikachu!" gasped Tristan as he rushed to his friend. "Are you okay, pal?"

Pikachu quickly got back on its feet as it got ready to defend him.

But Tristan stopped it. "Hold on, Pikachu, Raikou doesn't know that we never want to battle or hurt it."

"Oh, I sure hope Tristan knows what he's doing out there," said Hillary worriedly.

Marina got to her feet and tried to reason with Raikou. "Please look at me, Raikou! We helped you before, remember?"

Raikou looked directly at her and growled warily at her as electricity crackled from its body.

"We helped you defeat Team Rocket just a few weeks ago! These two are my friends! They'd never harm any Pokémon!"

Pikachu came alongside Marina, and assured Raikou that she was telling the truth.

Raikou understood Pikachu's language, especially since it, too, was an Electric-type Pokémon. So it stopped its electricity and jumped down from the top of the rock toward Tristan, Hillary, and Marina. It then stood there, as if nothing was happening.

"It looks like Raikou remembers you now, Marina," smiled Tristan. "And it stopped attacking us."

"What a relief," sighed Hillary.

Pikachu and Togepi nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, Raikou," said Marina. "I'm glad you remember me."

Raikou just stared directly at her. It thought of the time she and her friends as well as their Pokémon went to great lengths to save it, and in turn, it helped save them.

(Music Cue: Ash's Decision to Fight (Decision)

Meanwhile, Taz was looking intently at his next target from a high vantage point. "Well, it looks like those kids have found a Raikou today," he said with an evil smirk. And according to what I've heard in legend, it was the Pokémon that's said to have been the reincarnation of thunder and lightning. Well, just wait till the kids see the new toy I managed to get." And he quickly got inside a nearby helicopter, started up the engine, and took off into the air.

Back with Tristan and his friends, he was telling Marina all about the Silver Wing hanging around his neck.

"So this Silver Wing helps you befriend legendary Pokémon?" gasped Marina. "That's amazing!"

"Well, I don't know about that," replied Tristan. "Lugia gave it to me as a gift. We always have a blast when we're together."

"Lugia really loves Tristan a lot," added Hillary, "and recently, we helped it unite with another Lugia, Silveena, who is a different color. I enjoy watching its pink fins in action. Pink's my favorite color, you know."

"Sounds like those two lovebirds really hit it off," smiled Marina.

Just then, they heard the sound of buzzing right above them. They turned to see the helicopter Taz was driving in.

"What's that thing?" asked Tristan.

(Music Cue: A Fight! Real vs. Copy Pokémon (full version as heard in "The Underground Roundup"))

Then they heard the sound of maniacal laughter over the helicopter's loudspeaker. "Well, well, kiddies, we meet again."

"Oh, great, it's Taz!" exclaimed Hillary.

"Who's Taz?" asked Marina.

"He's just a good-for-nothing troublemaker who steals Pokémon," explained Tristan.

"What are you after?" demanded Marina.

"Oh, I just want that Raikou that you managed to simmer down," answered Taz innocently.

"You can't have it!" retorted Hillary.

"Oh, yes, I can, and I will!" replied Taz, and he launched an electric-proof net and snared Raikou in it, much to the shock of Tristan and his friends.

"Raikou!" cried Tristan.

"Let it go!" demanded Marina.

Raikou struggled and strained but to no avail. Then it unleashed a Thunder attack from inside the net, but it had the same result.

"Ha!" laughed Taz. "Don't be shocked, pal, but this net's electricity-proof. Now, I have a delivery to make to my client, so, farewell, kiddies, and good luck!" And he swiftly turned the helicopter around and started climbing higher into the sky.

"Quick, Pikachu, use a Thunderbolt attack!" ordered Tristan.

Pikachu leaped into the air and unleashed a powerful yellow bolt of electricity at the helicopter, but unfortunately, the attack proved futile, much to its surprise.

"No way!" exclaimed Tristan.

"Come on, dweeb," smirked Taz. "Did you honestly think that I wouldn't be prepared for your lame electric attacks?"

"Then prepare for this! Go, Little Miss!" shouted Marina as she threw a Poké Ball.

A dark blue-green ghost-like Pokémon with beads around its neck emerged from the white light that shot out of it.

"Hey, that's a Misdreavus!" gasped Hillary as she scanned Little Miss with her Pokédex.

"Misdreavus, the Screech Pokémon. Misdreavous are extremely mischievous, and like to cry out at night just to startle people."

:Little Miss, use Psybeam on that helicopter!" commanded Marina.

A multi-colored beam was launched from its eyes at the helicopter, but to no avail.

"It bounced right off!" cried Marina.

"Of course it did, kid, you should've know that your attacks are useless against me," smirked Taz.

"We've gotta do something to stop him," said Tristan.

"I know, but what can we do, Tristan?" agreed Hillary.

"Look, up there!" exclaimed Marina as she pointed up.

Sure enough, Raikou had started gnawing through the net using its two long fangs, causing the helicopter to shake violently.

Of course, that made Taz very annoyed. "Hey, you filthy beast! Stop it right now! You're making me lose control!"

But Raikou ignored him and kept going at it. With all its might, it managed to break through the net a moment later and jumped out.

"Nooooooooooooooooo!" screamed Taz.

"All right!" cried Hillary.

"Raikou's free!" added Marina.

Raikou landed on its feet and roared at Taz.

"That does it!" yelled Taz. "Have a taste of this! Go, Electabuzz!" And he tossed a Poké Ball out the window.

Electabuzz emerged from the white light that shot out of the ball.

"Show that beast whose boss with a Thunderbolt!" ordered Taz.

Electabuzz unleashed a yellow bolt of electricity at Raikou, seemingly scoring a direct hit on it.

"Raikou's in trouble!" exclaimed Marina.

"Hold on, Marina, look again," said Tristan.

Sure enough, Raikou just stood there getting recharged by Electabuzz's attack, as if nothing was happening.

Taz just stood there in disbelief. "Impossible! You should've been obliterated by the blast!"

"It's absorbing the electricity!" gasped Hillary.

"I see!" said Marina. "Raikou is an Electric-type like that Electabuzz, so Raikou's getting all charged up again."

"I bet Taz was shocked to learn that," smiled Tristan.

As Raikou absorbed the last of Electabuzz's attack, it unleashed a powerful Thunder attack on Electabuzz, causing a massive explosion that sent it reeling into the helicopter. Then it unleashed another Thunder attack on the helicopter itself, causing a tremendous explosion.

BOOM!

"We'll remember this!" screamed Taz as he and Electabuzz screamed as they were blasted sky-high.

DING!

Tristan and the others were amazed at Raikou's power.

"That Raikou really is something," remarked Hillary. "Isn't it, Tristan?"

"It sure is, sis," agreed Tristan.

But suddenly, Raikou suddenly collapsed on the ground, much to everyone's worry.

Everyone rushed over to Raikou to see what had happened.

As Tristan bent over to check on Raikou, it let loose a barrage of small lightning bolts as it flailed about in vain.

"It's okay, Raikou," Tristan assured it. "We only want to help you."

Raikou then collapsed from lack of power.

"It's used up all its energy," said Marina sadly. "Being captured by a madman and using up all you had can really take a toll on anyone."

Presently, Nurse Joy ran out. "I saw the whole thing," she said. "Let's get Raikou into the Pokémon Center so I can treat it."

"But what about the lights?" wondered Hillary.

"I switched to reserve power in the Center," answered Nurse Joy. "We should have enough to power it up until our generator gets repaired."

"Please, Nurse Joy, let me go in there with you," insisted Tristan. "I can help keep Raikou calm while you treat it."

Nurse Joy gave the matter a lot of thought. Then she nodded and said, "All right, come with me."

(Music Cue: Calm After the Storm)

Moments later, Tristan and Nurse Joy were in the operating room as Hillary, Marina, Pikachu, and Togepi anxiously watched through the window.

Tristan kept a careful vigil on Raikou while Nurse Joy treated it.

"I remember something like this happened once before," said Hillary to Marina. "It was on our journey to Azalea Town."

"What do you mean?" asked Marina.

"I mean, something similar happened when Tristan had saved Lugia's life after it was attacked by Team Rocket," explained Hillary. "When Lugia was surrounded by strangers, it was feeling very scared. But with Tristan's diligence and compassion, he managed to calm it down, and Nurse Joy was able to treat it, allowing it to recover."

"You don't think he's gonna put himself in danger again, do you?" asked Marina worriedly. "I mean, what if Raikou suddenly attacks him again?"

Hillary thought about it. Then she replied, "He'll be fine. He's been in tough situations like this before, and he always comes through."

Presently, the operating light turned off, and Nurse Joy emerged from the operating theater. "Raikou has been recharged. It should make a full recovery."

"Yes!" cried Hillary and Marina as they gave each other a high five.

"I knew Tristan could do it," added Hillary.

"It wasn't just Tristan, Hillary," replied Nurse Joy. "You all helped."

As they looked through the window, they could see Raikou sleeping peacefully as Tristan watched over it.

That night, after keeping watch over Raikou for several hours, he finally fell asleep.

Raikou slowly opened its eyes and saw Tristan sleeping next to it. It then saw the Silver Wing hanging around its neck and realized that he helped take care of it. So it closed its eyes and went back to sleep.

The next morning, Hillary, Nurse Joy, and Marina, along with Pikachu and Togepi met Tristan and Raikou outside the recovery room.

"Well, Tristan, you did it again," smiled Hillary. "You helped take care of Raikou."

"We all did," replied Tristan. "And now, Raikou should be able to return to the wild with no problems whatsoever."

"We're so happy for you, Raikou," added Marina.

Raikou growled in agreement.

But as they stepped out of the Pokémon Center, another net came out of the sky and scooped Raikou in it!

(Music Cue: Team Rocket Appears (as heard the second time in "The Chikorita Rescue"))

"Raikou, no!" cried Hillary.

"Hey, what is the meaning of this?!" demanded Nurse Joy.

"Ha!" laughed Taz in his Electabuzz-shaped balloon. "You didn't think I'd be back so soon, did ya? Now it's time for me to fly and say buh-bye!"

"No, you don't! Bayleef, I choose you!" shouted Tristan as he threw his Friend Ball.

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

"Use Razor Leaf on that balloon!" ordered Tristan.

Bayleef unleashed a flurry of razor-sharp leaves and sliced the balloon with them, causing it to run out of air.

Without the heated air, the balloon sank like a stone to the ground with Taz screaming as it went.

CRASH!

Taz pulled himself out of the rubble and grumbled, "You're gonna pay for ruining my getaway, kid!"

(Music Cue: Ash's Decision to Fight (Ash Appears)

Raikou also managed to get out of the net and shook itself off.

"It looks like Raikou's okay, too," said Hillary.

"Yeah," agreed Marina.

Raikou gave a mighty roar and called up some thunderclouds, causing Marina to get nervous.

"Is it gonna attack us again?" asked Marina.

"No, we should be okay," replied Tristan. "As long as Raikou understands that we're its friends, we shouldn't have to worry about getting attacked."

Sure enough, Raikou saw Tristan with its trusting eyes and gave a nod, signaling to him that it agreed with him. It then unleashed a Thunder attack into the sky, charging the clouds with lightning.

"Okay, so now what's gonna happen?" wondered Taz. "That beast is just standing there. It can't seem to do anything while it's standing there under a stormy sky like that. Now it's time for a Raikou catch!" He then charged toward Raikou with what remained of his net.

Thunder rumbled in the sky as lightning traveled through the clouds, and then suddenly, lightning fell on Taz, scoring a direct hit on him and causing an explosion.

BOOM!

"I guess I was wrong!" screamed Taz as he disappeared into the sky for a second time.

DING!

"What a powerful Thunder attack!" exclaimed Marina as the sky cleared up.

"Yeah, it sure was," agreed Tristan.

"Raikou is such an incredible Pokémon," added Hillary.

Pikachu seemed to be impressed as well as it and the others marveled at Raikou, now back to full power.

(Music Cue: Route 26)

Then, Raikou started to run. Faster and faster it went until it was out of sight.

"Bye, Raikou!" called Tristan.

"You take care of yourself!" added Hillary.

"See you again soon!" put in Marina as she and the others continued to wave.

Then, suddenly, as they stopped waving, a glow came from Tristan's backpack.

"Whoa, what's that?" wondered Tristan as he dug into his backpack and took out what appeared to be a shiny yellow egg with black stripes.

"I don't believe it!" gasped Marina. "Tristan's got a secret egg!"

"I guess Raikou must've trusted you enough to have it," said Hillary.

"Yeah, but I don't remember getting this egg," replied Tristan.

But just as he said that, it glowed even brighter and a shimmering tone was emitted.

"Look, it's hatching!" gasped Hillary.

"This is so exciting!" exclaimed Marina excitedly.

Sure enough, the egg was hatching, and what came out of it was another Raikou, only smaller.

"It's a baby Raikou!" said Hillary.

"How lucky are we?" added Marina. "We got to see it hatch!"

"We sure did," agreed Tristan.

The baby Raikou looked at him with trusting eyes. Then it ran off into the distance at lightning speed.

"Wait, Raikou, come back!" called Marina.

"It's okay," replied Hillary. "I'm sure it can take care of itself. It's a legendary Pokémon, after all."

"Hillary's right," agreed Tristan. "We have nothing to worry about." And just as he said that, the Silver Wing around his neck gave a flash, signaling to him that another legendary Pokémon had befriended him and Hillary.

"And now we have another legendary friend we can play with whenever we want to," added Hillary.

Marina nodded in agreement, as did Pikachu and Togepi.

"Where are you headed now?" asked Marina as Tristan and his friends prepared to leave.

"We're off to Blackthorn City so I can try and earn my eighth badge," answered Tristan.

"I wish you great success," replied Marina. "Oh, and if you see my friends Jimmy and Vincent, would you tell them I said hello? Sometimes, Vincent gets called by another name called Jackson."

"We'll be sure to say hello to your friends when we see them," promised Hillary.

Then, Tristan, Hillary, Pikachu, and Togepi waved to Marina until she was out of sight.

Thanks to our heroes and their friend, Marina, another legendary Pokémon has escaped from the evil clutches of their old nemesis, Taz. And so, our heroes' journey to the Johto League will resume once again, as they continue on their way toward Blackthorn City!

► TO BE CONTINUED