A PokéSeries #9
War of Wars
by Cyllya
"Part 4: The Safari Zone and the Thunder Badge"
Part 4
Chapter 27 (1)
Ash's Pokémon noticed that Bulbasaur's new flower was acting strangely. They looked outside and saw the sun set as the flower closed into a bud.
"Light activation… That's a unique feature," Galacteon commented. He saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He turned, but it was gone.
"[Where's Jigglypuff and Dodrio?]" Squirtle wondered.
"[They have their own path to follow,]" Pikachu said.
~~~
The next morning, Ash woke up fully refreshed and fairly sane. "Let's head to the gym."
~~~
"Why don't you come back when Misty's here?" Violet advised.
"Aren't you three supposed to be the official gym leaders?" Ash asked.
"We'll give the title to Misty if she stays here permanently," Lily said.
"She called us a while ago," Daisy said, "She should be here in about three days."
"She seems to like battling more than we do anyway," Lily said.
Ash sighed.
"[It's okay; we'll come back in a few days,]" Pikachu said.
"Yeah, but…" Ash began.
"Don't worry," Galacteon suggested, "You can beat her… Unless we're talking hand-to-hand combat. Then you wouldn't stand a chance…"
"That's not what I'm worried about," Ash snapped, "I—"
"[You don't want to beat her because she's your friend?]" Pikachu asked.
"No, that's you," Ash said, "I—"
"You don't want to beat her because she's a little closer than a friend, and you don't want her feelings to be hurt?" Galacteon interrupted, batting his eyes.
"But I—what?!" Ash demanded.
"Hah! Told ya so!" Lily exclaimed to Violet, "You owe me five bucks!"
"What are you talking about?" Ash asked as Violet reluctantly gave Lily five dollars. Daisy used her elbow to poke Lily in the ribs.
"Oh, nothing…" Lily lied.
"Uh-huh," Ash said, "Anyway I just didn't want to loose time by having to come back. I suppose staying here would be worse, so we'll stop by some other time."
"Okay," Daisy said, "See ya later."
Ash said goodbye and headed toward Vermilion City.
Chapter 28 (2)
"I really wish that boat had less security…" James thought as he floated through the ocean with Jingles, Shocker, and Slowpoke, "but at least my suitcase is waterproof and Slowpoke swims better than Magikarp does."
"Swim?" Jingles asked, "No swim. Only feet."
"Feet?" Shocker wondered.
"Fleet?" Jingles stammered, "Flow-oat?"
"Float—Woah!" James said as a diminutive wave tossed them up a few feet, then back down, "That's it…"
"S-l-o-o-o-o-o-o-w-poke," Slowpoke commented.
"Uh…yeah," James said.
"Cha…" Jingles said dizzily.
"What's wrong?" James asked.
"Th-s-s-s-sick-k," Jingles stuttered.
"Hang in there; I think I see land," James said, pointing toward a small grayish line on the left horizon. Shocker hopped onto James's head to make sure.
"Pika! L-l-l-land!" he said happily.
"Great," James said, "because Jingles isn't the only one getting seasick…"
"Pika!" Shocker cried again, less happily. Another of the many waves swept them up and down. Shocker lost his footing and fell into the water.
"Shocker!" Jingles cried. She reached for his tail, but was pulled into the waves with him.
"Slowpoke!" James ordered, "Turn around!"
"Pika! Pika!" Jingles cried. She thrashed around and sank like a stone. Shocker was a slightly better swimmer and tried to keep her afloat.
"Weezing, go!" James ordered.
"Wee-ee!" Weezing appeared beneath Shocker and Jingles and floated them safely back to James and Slowpoke.
"Why don't all three of you return?" James said, rendering them back to their Pokéballs.
"S-l-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-w!" Slowpoke cried.
"Huh?" James turned his head around and saw a very large wave headed toward him and Slowpoke, "Ahh!"
"P-o-o-o-o-k-e!" Slowpoke cried as the wave picked them up.
"Ooh! Surfing!" James exclaimed. They were on top of the wave. Although they didn't stay up long, in the short time that the wave carried them, they were brought very close to the land James had seen.
"Poke?" Slowpoke questioned nervously.
"Uh-oh…" James muttered. The wave went down and left them hurtling through the air. Slowpoke spun his legs slow at first, then rather fast. They crashed into the sand of the island.
~~~
"Poke? Poke-poke?"
"Huh?" James moaned.
"Poke? Poke-poke?"
"Slowpoke?" James wondered. He sat up in the sand and shook his head to get it out of his hair.
"Slow," Slowpoke said, "Slow-poke s-l-o-o-o-o-o-w."
"What happened?" James wondered.
"Slowpoke slow-slowpoke-slow," Slowpoke slowly tried to imitate the wave and them crashing to the sand with his hands.
"Oh, so the fall knocked us out?" James asked.
"P-o-o-o-o-o-k-e," Slowpoke nodded.
"Yeah," James said, "Good job. Return now."
He returned Slowpoke, stood up, and looked around. His suitcase was only a few feet away. There was seemingly endless sand in one direction and seemingly endless water in the other. There were three scattered palm trees and what appeared to be the remnants of a brick wall near by.
"Hmm…" James thought, "I wonder where this is…" He walked over to the bricks. He gave a small kick to one of the ones that was lying randomly on the ground. It fell into three pieces, not counting that a little of it now looked more like gray sand.
After exploring more of the beach, he found more half-crumbled brick walls. Some of the more intact ones were accompanied by rotted wooden beams. This suggested that these were ruins of buildings.
"This place is creepy," James thought, "Maybe I can find an old raft or something…" When he did find something that appeared to be a raft, it was to rotted and old to use. James thought, "Swimming didn't seem to be a good idea. Maybe I can use these palm trees to make a raft… or something that floats… Victreebel go!"
Victreebel screeched as it arose from its Pokéball.
"Use Razor Leaf to cut down the palm trees," James ordered. He struggled to get the stubborn Pokémon off of his head before it attacked the tree. Victreebel cut them neatly into logs then hollowed them out. James plugged the end of each log with the first few inches of wood that Victreebel had cut out of it. This trapped air inside to make it float. James tied the logs together with the palm fronds. He said, "Good work, Victreebel!"
Victreebel wrapped his head again. It was assigned as the raft's propeller. Slowpoke's tail acted as the rudder. James and Shocker rowed with branches. Jingles was kept in her Pokéball because she couldn't swim at all.
They used the tiny raft to float north. Victreebel spun the vines of its Vine Whip around behind the boat to make it move. Soon, to everyone's relief, they saw land and floated to it.
"Wow… Fuchsia City," James said as they ditched the raft and walked to the nearest town, "Last time I only saw the gym…. It looked a lot different than this."
The city looked pretty modern. The buildings were pretty tall, though not as tall as places like Saffron and Celadon Cities. James wandered around until he saw a big crowd. He went to investigate.
"MMM!" something squeaked. From the other side of the crowd, a Lapras appeared. It went high into the air as if it was flying. Water sprinkled out behind it and sparkled in the sun. The Lapras fell out of sight and made a huge splash. The crowd applauded.
"What's that?" James wondered.
"That's a Lapras, boy," someone said. James turned to see a vertically challenged old man.
"I know what the Pokémon is," James said snidely, "I wanted to know why everyone was gawking at it."
"It's talented," the man said, "That there is part of the Safari Zone. The zoo section."
"What other sections are there?" James asked.
"There's the preserve, the Big P. Pokémon Ranch, and the Safari Ball section," said the man.
"Safari Ball section?" James asked.
"That's where you pay to go in and catch all sorts of rare Pokémon with Safari Balls."
"I'll have to go see that," James realized.
"You do that!" the man advised, "I gotta go, kid."
"Maybe Jessie and I were always going to the wrong part of the Safari Zone," James thought, "I'm gonna try to catch a Dratini!"
Chapter 29 (3)
Ash, Pikachu, and Galacteon's trip to Vermilion City was pretty uneventful, and even rather boring. They reached Vermilion early: just in time to be there at the exact moment the gym opened.
"Gee, kid," Lt. Surge said, "I didn't expect to see you back here. I figured you'd get through the Pokémon League easier than you snap your fingers."
"I tried," Ash said.
"If you're looking for a badge," Lt. Surge said, "My daughter Fulgura's the gym leader now. She likes three-on-threes."
"Great," Ash said, "When can I battle her?"
"Right now!" a teenage girl walked into the gym. She was tall and fierce-looking. She had blond hair and hazel eyes. She looked tough.
"Alright, let's go!" Ash said.
Once in the stadium, the battle opened with Pikachu versus Raichu. It wasn't the same Raichu that Pikachu had battled before.
"You can beat that Raichu, Pikachu!" Ash enthused, "Use Quick Attack!"
"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed. He ran at Raichu.
"Agility!" Fulgura ordered Raichu.
"Rye-rye!" Raichu shouted. He jumped away to avoid Pikachu's attack. Pikachu was fast enough to become a yellow blur as he did a U-turn at astonishing speed and rammed Raichu in the back. Raichu's tail knocked Pikachu aside.
"Cha!" Pikachu cried.
"Tail Whip, Pikachu!" Ash ordered.
"Pi-KA!" Pikachu spun on one foot and slapped Raichu in the face with his tail. Raichu wasn't hurt much, just surprised. This gave Pikachu time for a very successful Quick Attack.
"Chu!" Raichu moaned.
"Thunder!" Fulgura and Ash ordered together.
"CHU!" Pikachu and Raichu yelled. They pressed their cheeks together angrily and let loose all the electricity they had. The lights in the gym flared brightly, then shattered, along with the windows. Light shone through what had been the sun light. The floor crumbled as if a herd of Diglett had just dug by. The trainers of the two mice were electrocuted as well. Fulgura fell to her knees, and Ash stumbled dizzily.
"Pika-pi?" Pikachu asked, stopping his attack.
"Rye-Raichu?" Raichu wondered.
"Keep battling!" Ash and Fulgura commanded.
"Chu!" the mice continued their battle. They began to run out of electricity. They waited for their trainers' commands.
"Quick Attack!" Ash ordered.
Raichu dodged about half of Pikachu's repeated Quick Attacks. Fulgura was still swooning from the electricity that had hit her. She was too dizzy to tell Raichu what to do.
"Pi-ka-CHU!" Pikachu cried victoriously as Raichu was knocked out.
"Raichu, return," Fulgura returned him and threw her next Pokéball. She had regained her senses and was completely ready to continue the battle.
"Volt-ORB!"
"A Voltorb?!" Ash questioned.
"Pika!" Pikachu challenged.
"Voltorb! Paralyze Pikachu with Thunder Wave!" Fulgura yelled.
"Volt-orb!" Voltorb obeyed.
"Cha!" Pikachu cried. He stood frozen.
"Tackle!" Fulgura said.
"Volt!" Voltorb slammed into the paralyzed Pikachu.
"Cha!" Pikachu cried. He was knocked into the air. Ash caught him.
"Pikachu!" Ash said, "Go, Galacteon!"
Galacteon yipped and jumped into battle. He hit Voltorb with Moonbeam. The force of the attack shot Voltorb into the far wall. It ricocheted back at Galacteon.
"Explosion!" Fulgura ordered.
"VOLTORB!" Voltorb hit Galacteon, knocked him back, glowed, and blew up.
Chapter 30 (4)
"Gah…" Galacteon whimpered.
"Voltorb, return!" Fulgura ordered.
"Grrr…" Galacteon stood up and growled.
Fulgura looked frustrated, "That thing's got a lot of spunk…" She sent her next Pokémon, Go…Jolteon!"
"Jolt! Jolt! Jolt!" Jolteon barked. Galacteon growled louder.
"Pin Missile!" Fulgura ordered.
"Teon!" Jolteon fired pins at Galacteon, who dodged most of them.
"Mega Moonbeam," Ash instructed.
"Heya!" Galacteon cried as Jolteon was knocked across the room.
"Thunderbolt!" Fulgura directed.
"JOLT!" Jolteon exclaimed as he carried out the command.
"Eon…" Galacteon whimpered. His legs collapsed beneath him. He struggled back up and faced Jolteon. After a moment of glaring, Galacteon fell to his side.
"Jolt…EON!" Jolteon howl victoriously.
"Galacteon, return!" Ash said, "Go, Bulbasaur!"
"SAUR!" Bulbasaur cried.
"…What's that thing?" Fulgura asked.
"Bah!" Bulbasaur burst out exasperatedly.
"Bulbasaur," Ash informed angrily, "Use your Razor Leaf attack!"
"Bulb-a!" Bulbasaur shot leaves from beneath his flower.
"Jolt!" Jolteon cringed, trying to avoid the leaves.
"Thunderbolt, Jolteon!" Fulgura cried.
"EON!" Jolteon howled as he released his wrath of lightning.
"Bulbasaur!" Ash cried.
"Saur!" Bulbasaur cried as the electricity rushed at him. A jet of some clear liquid shot out from the center of his flower toward Jolteon. Jolteon's electricity hit the liquid, but not Bulbasaur. The liquid absorbed the electricity right before it splattered on Jolteon's face.
"JOLT!" Jolteon cried. The electricity-conducting fluid had released Jolteon's charge against him.
"Bulb?" Bulbasaur wondered.
"What the…?" Ash wondered. He took out his PokéDex.
"Nectar, a recently discovered grass attack," Dexter explained, "It heals Grass-type Pokémon on contact. The fluid conducts electricity."
"Jolteon?" Fulgura asked.
"Jolt…" Jolteon whimpered, having been knocked out by his own electricity.
"Poor thing… return…" Fulgura recalled, "Here ya go Squirt. You won…"
"Thanks," Ash said as she tossed him a Thunder Badge.
"How did you stand all that electricity?" Fulgura asked, "You must have gotten just as much shock as I did."
"I can stand anything from hanging around with Pikachu," Ash said.
"That's cool," Fulgura said, "See ya."
"Bye," Ash said.
Bulbasaur followed Ash out of the gym. Ash kneeled down and petted him.
"You did a great job Bulbasaur!" he praised, "That was a cool attack. I'm glad you learned it!"
"Bulb-A-saur…" Bulbasaur blushed.
"How 'bout a rest in your Pokéball?" Ash asked. Bulbasaur was returned. Ash still held Pikachu in his other arm as he continued toward the Pokémon Center.
Chapter 31 (5)
"That'll be $10.00!"
James sighed. Without Jessie and Meowth's help, sneaking into the Safari Zone would be too much trouble—double or not. He thought, I guess sacrifices must be made… I am short on money though…
"Thank you," the man at the Safari Zone gate said, "Here are your 30 Safari Balls. Good luck!"
James took the greenish-colored Pokéballs and walked uncertainly through the gate. Shocker and Jingles were following. A herd of Doduo ran by.
"Catch?" Jingles asked.
"No," James said, "We'll get something rarer than Doduo!"
"Kang-gas- Kang-gas- Kang-gas-KHAN!"
"Kangaskhan?" Jingles asked and looked toward a nearby Kangaskhan that was shuffling through some bushes.
"W-ware?" Shocker questioned.
"Yep!" James said. They tiptoed closer to it.
"Khan?" it questioned.
"Gotcha!" James cried, hurling a Safari Ball. The ball swallowed up the Pokémon and landed on the ground. It wiggled around a few seconds, then opened to revealed the angry Kangaskhan.
"Bad?" Jingles asked.
"Yeah, this is bad…" James and the Pikachus jumped out of the way as the furious parent tried to tackle them. After landing in the dirt, James threw another Safari Ball. After a lot of wiggling, the ball stayed still.
"Ka-chu!" Shocker exclaimed.
"Caught you!" Jingles said.
"I…I caught it?" James wondered. He stood up and picked up the ball, "I caught it! I caught a Kangaskhan!"
"Kangaskhan!" Shocker said. The Safari Ball containing Kangaskhan disappeared.
"What?" James wondered.
"Only six Pokémon," Jingles said.
"Oh," James said, "There's you two. Plus Eevee, Slowpoke, Sandshrew, and Mankey. I guess Prof. Rose doesn't know about Weezing, Victreebel, and Kitsy."
"No know," Jingles agreed.
"Let's keep going," James said. "If I were a Dratini… where would I stay?"
"Water!" Jingles and Shocker exclaimed in unison.
"Of course…" James realized. They found one of the five or so lakes in the Safari Zone and put some PokéFood on the very edge of the water. They crouched in a nearby bush. A Magikarp swam by and snatched the food away.
"Not Dratini!" Shocker said.
"No, it's not," James said angrily. He tossed more food near the water. After a Goldeen, a Slowbro, three Magikarps, and a Psyduck had all gotten a free meal, James looked ready to explode.
"Patient," Jingles advised.
James sighed and said, "You're right." He continued to toss more food. For a while no Pokémon came to get it. Then a blue and silver face appeared from beneath the water and looked around curiously. James's face got a big evil-looking grin.
"Dratini?" Jingles asked.
"Teeny?" Dratini looked around and twitched its wing-like ears.
"Shh…" Shocker advised quietly. Jingles nodded.
James stood up and threw a rock at Dratini's head.
"Draw…" the Dratini growled angrily.
"Take this!" James exclaimed and threw a Safari Ball. Dratini dodged.
"Chu!" Jingles protested.
"Teeny! Teeny-teeny-DRATINI!" Dratini threatened. It slithered out of the water toward its attackers.
"Uh-oh!" Shocker said.
James threw Safari Balls as fast as he could. Shocker helped. Dratini's offense was delayed because it had to dodge the balls. One of Shocker's throws hit Dratini, but it broke out.
"Dra?"
"Pi?" Jingles looked over and saw another Dratini watching the scene. It looked almost as angry as the other one. Jingles thought a moment and stepped over near a rock that was a little taller than her. She called out, "You're a stupid Pokémon!"
"Nee!" the second Dratini jumped out of the water, trying to attack Jingles. She dodged, and the Dratini slammed face first into the rock. It slithered back dizzily.
"Catch!" Jingles said. She picked up one of the un-thrown Safari Balls and threw it at the dizzy Dratini. It was caught easily. Jingles looked proud of herself.
"We'll get that thing!" James cried. He and Shocker were still chucking Safari Balls at the first Dratini. It got distracted by Jingles and the second Dratini. It was caught.
"Dratini got caught!" Shocker said.
"Dratini!" James said, "We caught a Dratini! And it only took a jar of Pokémon food, a rock, and … twenty-seven Safari balls!"
"Wait!" Jingles said, "Have two Dratini!"
"Two?" James asked, taking the Safari Ball that had the second Dratini, "You caught another one?! Great job, Jingles!"
"It was easy!" Jingles said as the two Safari Balls disappeared.
"There's still two Safari Balls left," James said, "and we're gonna put them to good use!"
The next Pokémon they saw was Rhyhorn. It broke out of both Safari Balls, forcing James and the Pikachus to leave the Safari Zone.
"Have to go?" Jingles asked sadly.
"Yeah, but we got a good haul," James said.
Jingles smiled. When they got to the gate, she turned and yelled, "Bye-bye!" to the Safari Zone and its inhabitants. She was surprised when the herd/flock of Doduo answered her.
"Come again!" the man at the gate said.
Chapter 32 (5)
"They're headed to the Pokémon Center!" Meowth informed. He was looking through binoculars at Ash and Pikachu. Jessie and Butch were crouched behind him. They were all in a bush.
"Are you sure this kid's worth wasting our time with?" Butch demanded.
"Yes, now shut up," Jessie said.
"His Pokémon are weak from their gym battle!" Meowth said. "Let's go!"
~~~
Ash walked along the quiet street. Without warning, a net with weights on the sides land on top of him and Pikachu. Pikachu was still out cold from its battle with Voltorb.
"Hey!" Ash cried.
"Ha-ha-ha!"
Ash looked up to see a much-familiar balloon. The balloon landed and its occupants jumped out.
"Team Rocket Squirts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, for you will surely loose the fight!"
"That's right!"
"Raticate!"
Ash looked confusedly at Butch. He looked to Jessie and asked, "What's he doing here?"
Butch sighed.
"That's none of your business!" Jessie said.
"Where's James?" Ash asked.
"Uh…" Jessie started to say something snide, but her eyes watered up.
"We can do this the easy way or the hard way, kid," Butch said, shoving Jessie out of the way, "Hand over your Pokémon or else!"
"Or else what?" Ash asked blankly. He turned to Jessie and said, "I figured if someone was going to push me around it'd be you."
"Yeah! Stop doing my job!" Jessie exclaimed.
"Well, someone has to. You're not!" Butch said defensively.
"Are you really gonna let him push you around like that?" Ash asked Jessie, "I thought that both you and Meowth were better than that…."
"Cut it out! We have a job to do!" Butch said.
"…but I must have been wrong…" Ash concluded.
"Wrong nothing!" Meowth cried, using Slash on Butch's face.
"That's the best you have?" Ash said.
"Get out of our way, Moron!" Jessie ordered Butch.
"Out of your way?! I'm the only one doing this job!" Butch yelled.
"It's not your job! It's our job!" Meowth insisted.
"Raticate!" Raticate objected.
"I'll show you!" Meowth said, beginning to battle Raticate.
"Stay out of our way, you halfwit!" Jessie said.
"Back off! I have a job to do!" Butch insisted.
"Rat…" the crumpled Raticate was tossed into Butch's arms by Meowth.
"I showed that little rodent!" Meowth said, "The rat's down so the mouse will be easy… YAH! WHERE'S THE MOUSE?!"
The spot the Ash, Pikachu, and the net had been was empty.
"SEE?! You let them get away!" Jessie cried.
"You were the one who started it!" Butch insisted.
"Me-OW!" Meowth cried, falling backward in exasperation.
~~~
Ash, who held Pikachu, ran down the street to the Pokémon Center as fast a possible. Since he couldn't untangle himself from the net, he dragged it along with him. Thus, he was not surprised by Nurse Joy's confused look when he burst through the doors of the Center.
"Hi," Nurse Joy said, "Can I help you?"
"My Pikachu needs help," Ash said. He handed her Pikachu and the Pokéballs containing Galacteon and Bulbasaur, "These two too."
"Right away!" Joy took the three of them and went to another room.
"Chan-Chansey?" a Chansey asked.
"Uh, yeah, thanks," Ash said.
"See…" Chansey tried to pull the net off of him. Frustrated, she Egg Bombed each of the weights. Ash pushed the remains of the net away and thanked her again.
"What?" Ash wondered as he saw a red blur rush past the glass doors of the Center. He saw Butch come from the direction the blur had come from and stop. He yelled something and waited for Jessie and Meowth to come back.
"Okay, kid, hand your Pokémon over," Butch said as the group walked in.
"Not interested," Ash said.
"You're Pokémon are too weak for you to defend them!" Jessie teased.
"You can't escape this one, Twerp!" Meowth said.
"Why do you think my Pokémon are any weaker than usual?" Ash asked.
"You just got finished with a tough gym match, so your Poké-pipsqueaks are Poké-pooped," Jessie said. She laughed as if she'd already won the fight.
"But it was only a three-on-three," Ash sighed. He threw a Pokéball and yelled, "Go get 'em with Body Slam!"
"Huh?" Meowth wondered.
"Snore!"
"Uh-oh…" Jessie muttered, looking up at Snorlax.
"Lax!" Snorlax began to lean slowly forward…
"MOVE!" Meowth suggested.
Snorlax landed on its belly. Butch was lying on his side with one leg trapped under Snorlax's shoulder. Jessie was light-headed and half-conscious. She was on her belly, and her body below her chest was trapped under Snorlax's side.
"Good job, Snorlax!" Ash said, "Return!"
"That was a mistake!" Butch said. He stood up and bounced on his un-squished leg.
"Really?" Ash asked, "Lapras, go!"
"MMM!" Lapras cried. She couldn't move around on the tile, but she could fight from where she was.
"Water Gun!" Ash said to Lapras.
"Mmm!" Lapras obeyed, soaking Butch.
"Is that really your best shot?" Butch teased and rung out his shirt.
"Nope!" Ash sad, "Ice Beam!"
"What?" Butch stuttered, right before being frozen in a block of ice.
Officer Jenny ran through the door and asked, "Did I see Team Rocket come this way?"
Ash nodded. Jessie began to pull herself together. By the time she did, she was handcuffed and being dragged into a truck by a police canine. Jenny slid the ice sculpture of Butch out of the Center.
"Mmm?" Lapras asked.
"Good job, Lapras. Return now," Ash said.
"Chansey…" Chansey grumbled, kicking at the broken floor tiles where Snorlax had landed.
"Sorry," Ash apologized.
Chansey sighed.
Ash thought, "I feel like I'm forgetting something…."
"Meowth! That's right!" Meowth cried. He hopped out from behind a tall potted plant near the door. He jumped at Ash and slashed his face. Ash noticed Meowth had a small backpack.
"Ahh! Get off!" Ash threw Meowth aside, "Don't out think you're a little out-numbered?! My three Pokémon versus you!"
"Not three-to-one!" Meowth mocked, "Three-to-two!"
"Big difference," Ash muttered, "Let's take this outside!"
"Why not?" Meowth asked. They went to the empty space outside the Pokémon Center.
"You know I don't play fair!" Meowth warned.
"Go, Snorlax!" Ash said.
"Meow!" Meowth cried. He opened his backpack and took out a small Pokéball. He enlarged it and threw it.
"Me-ew!" a tiny pink Pokémon appeared as the challenger.
Chapter 33 (6)
"Is that… a Mew?" Ash wondered, "Head Butt, Snorlax!"
"Snore!" Snorlax tried to butt Meow, but it dodged.
"Double Team!" Meowth ordered.
"Mew!" Meow cried. Without warning, there were five of them.
"Mew has a Double Team attack?" Ash questioned nervously.
"Three against one, huh?" Meowth mocked.
"Snore? Lax?" Snorlax looked at all of the Mews in confusion.
"Body Slam 'em all!" Ash ordered.
"LAX!" Snorlax attempted to squash all of them, and all of them tried to dodge. Only three of them did. Those three stepped back and surrounded Snorlax's head. They jumped at once and kicked Snorlax in the face.
"A Mega Kick attack?" Ash wondered.
"Snorlax!" Snorlax cried as Meow and its copies Double Slapped him. Only one of them did damage, but it was impossible to tell which was the real one.
"Head Butt, then get up!" Ash ordered.
Snorlax attacked all of them. Two vanished, and the real Meow get back up. Snorlax stood back up.
"Double Team again!" Meowth said.
"M-mew-mew!" the five Meows said. They jumped around on Snorlax like several hyper preschool kids. The angry Snorlax swatted at them vainly. While he was distracted by the Mews, Meowth jumped up and used Fury Swipes on his face.
"Hey!" Ash objected as Snorlax fell backward, "Return!"
"I warned you that I don't play by the rules!" Meowth said, "Even though you should have already known that!"
"Lapras! Ice Beam!" Ash ordered as he released Lapras.
"Mmm!" Lapras bellowed as she attempted to freeze Meow. Each copy moved too fast. She picked one and aimed only for it. After leaving a lot of ice on the ground, she hit her target. It vanished.
"Ha-HA!" Meowth teased. He slashed and kicked poor Lapras into unconsciousness.
"Mmm…." Lapras whimpered.
"Lapras, return…" Ash sighed, "We're counting on you, Squirtle!"
"Squirt!" Squirtle roared.
"Heh-heh…" Meowth laughed nervously.
"MEW!" Meow scampered up Squirtle's shell and bit his nose.
"Squirtle!" Squirtle cried. He picked Meow off is nose and threw him.
"M-mew!" Meow somersaulted and landed softly.
"That's the way!" Meowth said.
"Mew!" Meow shouted. He jumped aerobically and landed on Squirtle's head.
"Squirt?" Squirtle wondered.
"Mega Punch!" Meowth ordered.
"Mew!" Meow punched Squirtle's head as hard as possible.
"Squirtle?" Squirtle said, fairly unharmed. He bent over on tried to reach back and grab the annoying little thing on his head.
"Tail Whip!" Meowth retorted, "then Pound!"
"Me…ew!" Meow turned around and waved his tail in Squirtle's face.
"Grab it!" Ash ordered.
"Squirt-Squirtle!" Squirtle falteringly reached for the tail.
"MMM-MEW!" Meow's tail swung up, then came back down, and hit the side of Squirtle's head with incredible force.
"Squirt!" Squirtle fell over. Meow jumped aside and waited. Squirtle didn't get up.
"Me-MEW!" Meow squealed joyfully.
"Uh…" Ash stuttered as he recalled Squirtle.
Chapter 34 (7)
"Pika-pi! Pi-pika-chu!" Pikachu came running out of the back door of the Pokémon Center.
"Glad you're feeling better, Pikachu!" Ash said, "Thunderbolt!"
"Pi…ka…"
"Water Gun!" Meowth cried.
"CHU!"
"Mew!" Meow spit. This was saliva, not water. The same thing happened in this event as when Bulbasaur battled Jolteon. Pikachu was knocked out by his own voltage.
"We learned that trick from you and your Bulbasaur!" Meowth said.
"Chansey!" Chansey came over carrying two Pokéballs. She gave them to Ash.
"Thanks," Ash said, "Go, Bulbasaur!"
"SAUR!"
"Double Team!" Meowth ordered.
"Mew!" cried the nine Meows.
"Bulb-a?" Bulbasaur wondered.
"Attack them all with Vine Whip!" Ash commanded.
"Bah!" Bulbasaur cried. He extended his vines and tired to crush the Mews together. The five in the center dodged the vines. The outer four vanished.
"Try the middle one!" Ash suggested.
"Bulb!" Bulbasaur aimed for the middle Mew. It jumped, but was hit from behind. It too vanished. The remaining four surrounded Bulbasaur. He started to get dizzy.
"Fury Swipes and Mega Kick!" Meowth ordered.
"Mew-mew-mew-mew!" the four Mews cried. They surrounded Bulbasaur's head and slashed at his face.
"Bulb-a! Bulbasaur!" Bulbasaur muttered. He shook his head. The Mews got behind him and kicked him forward.
"Nah-hah!" Meowth laughed. He left a pair of slash marks across Bulbasaur's face.
"Saur…" Bulbasaur moaned.
"Bulbasaur, return…" Ash said, "Galacteon, go!"
"Gah!" Galacteon roared as he leaped from his Pokéball. He expected to see a challenger that was at least his size. He seemed surprised and insulted by his assembly of tiny opponents.
"Mew!" all of the Mews said. The real Meow stepped forward, brought his tail back, and Pounded Galacteon in the nose.
"Ow!" Galacteon rolled back from the force, "Why you little…" He search for his target, but Meow had vanished within the renewed Double Team. There were nine of them again.
"Moonbeam!" Ash said.
"Heya!" Galacteon managed to hit six of them. They all disappeared. They Pounded him in unison.
"Mega Moonbeam!" Ash decided.
"Grrr…" Galacteon growled. The star of light from his forehead hit the center Meow; it vanished. The two moons hit the other copies. The left one sent the one and only real Meow hurling into the air.
"MEW!" Meow landed and bounced. He didn't look like he'd get back up. Meowth looked a little down-hearted, but then he laugh. He took something in an orange container out of his backpack and sprayed it on the injured feline.
"Super Potion," Meowth mocked.
"Mew-mew!" Meow jumped up, looking fully refreshed.
"Oh, pooh…" Galacteon muttered.
Ash grumbled, "Don't worry! Keep fighting with Slash!"
"Agility!" Meowth said, "Use Tail Whip when you can!"
"M-mew-MEW!" Meow ran circles around Galacteon. Galacteon slashed at him with his blade. Seeing that that wasn't working, he moved his blade in a circle around him that was opposite of the way Meow was running. Meow dodged by dashing between Galacteon's legs.
"You little—!" Galacteon began. Ash cut him off by warning him. Meowth jumped in and tried Slashing at him. Thanks to Ash's warning, he fired a Moonbeam attack out of reflex. It hit Meowth in the stomach and knocked him away.
"Me-ew!"
"YOW!" Galacteon yelped as Meow's tiny teeth latched onto his right ear. He tried to shake him off. Meow's tail waved around in front of his face. Still shaking his head, he tied several times to bite the tail and finally did.
"Mmm-ew…" Meow grumbled as Galacteon pulled his head to the left in an attempt to pull the Mew off his ear. Meow hung on to the ear, but was pulled to the right of Galacteon's right eye.
Everything else happened in one split second. Galacteon tried to Slash Meow, who then let go before he was hit. Galacteon's pulling made him swing to the left. His tail was freed, and Galacteon howled in pain after his star-blade cut into his own ear. Meow, having been hurled into the back wall of the Pokémon Center, used his big feet to ricochet off the wall and deliver a powerful Mega Kick to the side of Galacteon's head.
"Galacteon?! Are you okay?" Ash asked.
Galacteon's uninjured ear twitched.
"Return…" Ash said. His mind raced, That's all six down… Now what? How do I protect my Pokémon?
"Don't forget… Psy…" Galacteon muttered breathlessly before entering his Pokéball.
"Psy? Psy-what?" Ash wondered. A white glow came from his backpack, along with a Pokémon.
"Psy? Duck!" Psyduck said.
"Psyduck…" Ash sighed.
"Psy-yi-yi?" Psyduck wondered.
"Mew?" Meow questioned. He prepared for Mega Kick. His kick bounced off of Psyduck's rubbery stomach, and the feline hit the ground. He stood and shook his head to clear away the temporary confusion that had come with the ground's impact.
"Psy?" Psyduck wondered.
"Okay, good job," Ash praised. He though, I hope Psyduck listens to me…
"MEW!" Meow bit Psyduck's hand.
"Psy-yi-YI!" he cried.
"Disable," Ash tried.
"Duck?!" Psyduck demanded.
"Uh, Scratch!" Ash said.
"Psy-yi!" Psyduck used his free hand to scratch Meow's face.
"Mew!" Mew released Psyduck and stumbled back in pain.
"Great!" Ash said, "Now use…Tail Whip!"
"Psy-duck-psy-duck-psy-duck…" Psyduck said, waving his tail at Meow.
"Cut it out!" Meowth cried. He scratched at Psyduck's eyes.
"DUCK!" Psyduck cried.
"Meow! Fury Swipes!" Meowth ordered.
"M-mew!" Meow slashed angrily at Psyduck's stomach.
"You use Fury Swipes too, Psyduck!" Ash said.
"Psy-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi!" Psyduck cried. His swipes battered and knocked Meow aside. Even Meowth had bright lines across his face after Psyduck's attack.
"Mew…" Meow whimpered.
"Me-OW-TH!" Meowth screeched as he recalled Meow to his Pokéball and bit Psyduck's tail.
"DUCK!" Psyduck shrieked as he Tail Whipped Meowth off the horizon.
Ash blinked for a second, then smiled, "Great job, Psyduck! You didn't even have to use your psychic powers!"
"Psy…" Psyduck rubbed his tail in pain.
"We'll tell Misty about that battle," Ash said, "She'll be proud of you!"
"Psy?!" Psyduck demanded. He gained a very large grin.
Ash smiled, "Return."
"Chansey?" Chansey asked.
"Thank you," Ash thanked. He handed the seven Pokéballs to her and followed her into the Center.
Chapter 35 (8)
"Ring-ring-ring! Ring-ring-ring!"
The same lady that had answered Pikachu's call before answered again this time. She sighed at the site of Pikachu and called for Haze. Haze took on look at the screen and yelled something to someone who wasn't in Pikachu's view.
A small gust of wind passed the lady at the phone before she was electrocuted.
"PIKACHU?!" Pika cried, almost desperately, as she pushed the fried lady out of the way and grabbed the phone's receiver.
"PIKA!" Pikachu greeted.
After a few minutes of conversation in Pikachu language, the Pichus popped into view.
"Pi-pi-chu?" the asked.
"Pika," Pika said. She handed them the receiver and they huddled around it.
"Pi-Pichu!" Pikachu said.
"Pi-chu!" answered the Pichus. Togechikku fluttered up behind the Pichus and talked to Pikachu when they were done. Galacteon, then Psyduck, talked to everyone after Pikachu.
Pikachu and Pika took the phone again. Pikachu said, "Pika-pi pi-pika pi-KA-chu Cha. Pika chu-chu pika?"
"Pi-hee-hee-hee-hee!" Pika laughed. She turned and called, "Cha! CHA! Pika-pi pika-chu-chu!"
There was the sound of someone running, but it stopped abruptly as Pika began to snicker.
"Pika-pi?!" Pikachu called.
"Cha Pika-pi KA!" Pika laughed.
"I'm not exited!" Misty snapped as she stomped into Pikachu's view. She was wearing a pink bikini. Her hair hung down and was slightly curly because, like her swimsuit, it was wet. Misty took the phone, "Why would I be?! Oh, hi, Pikachu!"
"Pi-KA-Cha!" Pikachu greeted. He handed the phone to Ash, who was confused as to why, when he walked over.
"Hey, Ash, what's up?" Misty asked.
"Not much," Ash said. His cheeks got a reddish tint. Galacteon, who was behind Ash, batted his eyes teasingly. Pika giggled.
"What?" Misty asked Pika.
"Pika," Pika shook her head innocently.
"Has Psyduck given you any trouble?" Misty asked Ash. Having heard, Psyduck drooped.
"Nope," Ash said, "He won a battle without his headache getting any worse."
"Really? How?" Misty asked, appalled.
"Fury Swipes and Tail Whip," Ash said.
"Wow, Psyduck! I didn't know you could use Fury Swipes!" Misty said.
"Psy…" Psyduck said modestly. He smiled and blushed.
"Are you gonna show her Bulbasaur?" Galacteon asked loudly enough for Misty to hear.
Ash looked alarmed, "Well, uh…."
"What's so different about Bulbasaur?" Misty asked.
Ash held Bulbasaur's Pokéball and said, "I'll show him to you, but…"
"But what?" Misty asked.
"Could you please be nice to him?" Ash said.
"What makes you think I wouldn't?" Misty asked, looking slightly insulted.
"Because not everyone has been," Ash said, "and you seem to be skilled in the area of hurting people's feelings…."
"How should you know?!" Misty demanded angrily.
"Personal experience…" Ash sighed, "Just be nice to Bulbasaur, okay?"
"Uh… yeah, sure," Misty said, lacking words. Ash released Bulbasaur onto the table.
"Saur. Bulb-a-saur!" Bulbasaur said, ruffling his flower petals.
"Oh, how cute!" Misty cooed.
"Bah…" Bulbasaur blushed.
"So, how many badges do you have, Ash?" Misty asked.
"Two," Ash said simply.
Misty seemed slightly surprised, "Great job."
"Thanks," Ash said, "but we ought to keep going."
"Okay, talk to ya later," Misty said, "Bye."
"Pika!" Pika called.
"See ya," Ash said.
"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu said.
Ash and Misty hung up. Misty looked down and asked, "Mom? Are you okay?"
"Vapor, vapor, vapor…" Haze pushed on the fried lady's arm, then used Water Gun on her face.
"Pi-hee-ka…" Pika laughed nervously.