Poke-Odyssey 2001 chapter 24

Virtual Reality Check

In our last chapter, Cameron and friends met Neil, the eighth and final gym
leader. He explained that his town and gym were destroyed by a huge meteorite,
but luckily, his gym was moved to a floating space station in, get this, outer
space!!! Neil invited them aboard his rocket Moltres 13 and they blasted off
unaware that Team Rocket had snuck aboard. Luckily, they found out about
the Rockets in the rocketworks so they defeated them and put them all in an
escape pod that sent our villains back to Earth. Now we find the mighty
Moltres 13 entering the docking bay of the impressive Space Station Relish.
Enough narrating, now on with the story. PANT PANT PANT!!!

"Here we are kids", smiled Neil as he and our heroes stepped out of the rocket
and looked around the docking bay. "My little home away from home."

"It looks so cool!" said Cameron as he saw all the different looking space
vehicles getting worked on by mechanics along with Clefaries assisting them
with the tools.

"Hi Neil!" called out all the workers.

"Nice to see you all again", smiled Neil giving his friends a big thumb's up!"

"I feel like I'm in a sci-fi flick!" said Ash.

"You look like you came from one too!" teased Misty.

"But how come we're not floating like we did in the rocket?" asked Tracey.

"That's because this station's equipped with gravity generators", said Neil.
"Only certain rooms in here are gravity free."

"Even though it is fun to float around sometimes", said Reiko. "I also like
keeping my ninja boots on the ground just like the Bellsprout that refuses to
get itself yanked out."

"I noticed you got lots of Clefaries around this place", said Ash.

"Yes, Clefaries are very helpful and likable around here", said Neil. "Mainly
because people believe Clefaries once came from the moon."

"That's what my foster scientist father, Seymour believes", said Cameron. "Boy,
I'd bet he'd love to visit this place. It would be a neat second honeymoon for
him and Jenny."

"Maybe he can", said Neil. "We love it when scientists visit here. Is he any
good?"

"Yes he is!" said Cameron. "Seymour spent his whole life studying about the
moon and the wonders that may have come from it. And he owns a Clefairy and
a Clefable too."

"Excellent!" smiled Neil as he handed Cameron a small paper. "This here's my
Earth phone number", he smiled. "Have him call me sometime."

"Okay, thanks", smiled Cameron.

* * * * * *

Soon, Neil was leading our heroes through a strip that looked like an indoor
mall with lots of people and even kids in space jumpsuits walking in and out
buying lots of cool space-like stuff. "This place would put the sci-fi
conventions we had back in Trenton to shame", smiled Cameron.

"They're just some small shops to provide needs for the employees and their
families living here", said Neil. "Most of them once lived in the sadly
destroyed town of Relish. But I invited some of them here to start up sort of
a new Relish Town. Only difference is that there're stars out 24 hours a day."

"Just look at this!" said Ash as he eyed something in a store window. It was a
glowing tube-like lamp with red and yellow liquid dancing around. "Is this some
kind of alien in a pod?"

"No, that's just a lava lamp", laughed Neil. "They've been around since the
70s."

"The 70s of which planet?" asked Ash while being mesmerized by the pretty
flowing colors.

"Heavy sigh!" groaned Misty as she grabbed Ash away from the window and they
continued on.

"Do you have any aliens living here?" asked Cameron.

"Of course not!" laughed Neil. "There still hasn't been proof that there are
other life forms out there in this universe."

"Silly Came-chan", said Reiko. "Like the Koffing that gets dark clouds in its
brain from keeping it in too long. You should really get your heads out of the
clouds too. Imagine, aliens working here! HA HA!"

"Well Moonray", said Cameron. "What do you call that?!" And he pointed to
something small on the ground. It was a little gray creature with a huge
smiling head, tiny gray body with no arms, little feet, a flat tail, and purple
antennas sticking out of its cheeks. "WOOP! WOOP!" it replied in a cute voice.

"WHAT PLANTET DID THAT COME FROM?!" cried Misty as the little alien rubbed
its slimy body up against Misty's ankle.

"Relax Misty", smiled Tracey. "That's not an alien. It's a Wooper. A
pre-evolution of those Quagsires we saw in Sauerkraut."

"Wooper?" asked Cameron as he took out his Dex.

"WOOPER: the water fish Pokemon", replied Dextra. "This Pokemon lives in cold
water. It will leave the water to search for food when it gets cold outside."

"You mean it's actually a water Pokemon?" smiled Misty as she bent down and
patted the little Pokemon. "WOOP! WOOP!" it cooed. "Aw, how cute!" she smiled.

"Weren't you totally freaked when you first saw it?" asked Ash.

"Now that I know it's a water Pokemon and not an alien, I now kind of like it",
smiled Misty.

"I thought Woopers only live near ponds and streams", said Tracey. "What's one
doing in outer space?"

"Most the kids who live here love to own and train Woopers", said Neil. "It's
because they resemble aliens."

"WHOOPIE!" called out a little girl's voice. A little 6 year old girl with a
small rocketpack on her back flew up to them. "There you are you naughty baby!"
scolded the girl as she took the Wooper away from Misty.

"Is this little cutie yours?" asked Misty.

"Yeah", said the girl. "Whoopie just loves to run around the place whenever I'm
not looking. Come on Whoopie. I've prepared a bathtub of cold water just for
you. Bye everyone!"

"WOOP! WOOP!" said Whoopie as it waved goodbye to Misty with its tail.

"Ah, here we are!" smiled Neil as he came to a place with a huge closed door.
"This is where my gym is."

"Does that mean we can start battling?" asked Cameron.

"No, not today", said Neil. "My Porygon 2 needs to recover from navigating
through many miles of space. We'll have our match tomorrow morning at 8
o'clock. In the meantime, you can spend the night in that Pokemon center
across from my gym and feel free to look around the space station while you're
at it. See you all tomorrow." And he pushed a button on a small door marked,
Gym Leader's Entrance Only. The door slid opened while Neil stepped through
it and waved goodnight to everyone as the door closed itself.

* * * * * *

"Hello there", said a Nurse Joy as our heroes walked into the station's Pokemon
center. "Welcome to the Space Station Relish Pokemon center."

"Hi!" said Cameron as he handed her a tray that contained his Pokeballs and
Sandy. "I'm going to be battling Neil tomorrow and I'd to have my Pokemon all
well and active until that time comes."

"Why of course", smiled Joy. "That's what Pokemon centers are here for." And
she picked up Sandy and rubbed her nose against his cute sandy one. "You're
such a cute little shrew!" smiled Joy.

"Shrew!" smiled Sandy while blushing.

"It's very rare that I get to treat a Pokemon like Sandshrew", smiled Joy.
"Lately, the people who live on this station bring me Clefaries and Woopers to
treat. I hope you got some interesting ones in these balls too."

"Yes I do", said Cameron looking at the Level Ball wondering what Joy will
think of his amazing Scaleon.

"I'll treat them right away", said Joy as she put Sandy back on the tray and
picked it up. "You can pick them up bright and early tomorrow morning."

"Thank you", smiled Cameron as he gave Sandy a pat on the head. "Goodnight
Sandy", he smiled. "You get plenty of rest tonight. It'll be a big morning for
you and your Pokepals."

"Shrew!" smiled Sandy as he gave Cameron a slurp on the cheek and then Nurse
Joy took him and the Pokeballs into the back room.

Ash, Misty, and Tracey went off to explore the neat places the station had
while Cameron looked out the huge windows of the station's Pokemon center.
There were millions of pretty stars along with a spectacular sight. There in
front of Cameron's eyes was the moon. Since the station was very close to the
moon, it looked like a huge ball of cheese floating right in front of him.

"It's like I can almost reach out and touch it!" smiled Cameron as he pointed
his finger to the window imagining that he was scooping out some cottage cheese
and tasting it. Then he felt his arms get pinned down for some pretty golden
hands with lavender sleeves had put him in a wrap attack. "Moonray?!" he asked
while smiling.

"Like the Rattata that eyes a huge ball of cheese unaware that an Ekans will
seize him", said Reiko. "You are my most favorite prey!" And she gave him a
kiss on the neck while Cameron started to blush.

"What about Growlithe?" asked Cameron. "He's gonna bite your shins if he sees
you doing this to me."

"Do not worry about my annoying prison guard", smiled Reiko as she turned
Cameron around while still clutching onto him. Cameron saw Growlithe having a
conversation with another Growlithe who had on a sash that read, Space Station
Relish Growlithe Patrol.

"Is that what I think I see in Growlithe's eyes?" asked Cameron. Sure enough,
Growlithe had hearts in his eyes for this SSR Growlithe was indeed a female.

"Like the mother Butterfree that distracts a Pidgey so her Caterpies won't get
harmed. That lady Growlithe will keep him distracted so we can have a little
quality time together." Cooed Reiko.

"But why isn't an Officer Jenny watching over that Growlithe?" asked Cameron.
"Do they just let Growlithes roam free on this space station unsupervised?"

"Yes", smiled Reiko. "I've learned from Nurse Joy that hardly any crimes happen
here on this station. So they just have a few Growlithes partrol the place
unsupervised just in case something does happen."

"Why that's great!" smiled Cameron as he approached the two dogs. "Uh,
Growlithe", asked Cameron. "Is it okay if Reiko and I go exploring around the
station for a while?"

"Growl, Gr", said Growlithe which meant, "Yeah, whatever!" And he went back to
admiring the pretty girl Growlithe. As Cameron and Reiko left the Pokemon
center holding arms, Growlithe walked behind the girl Growlithe and started to
sniff her... (Uh, let's just cut to the next scene, okay?)

* * * * * *

We find Cameron and Reiko sitting at a table in a place called the Cosmic Cafe.
Cameron had ordered the steak and fries while Reiko ordered sushi. "This is so
pleasant Came-chan!" sighed Reiko as she took Cameron's hand. "Our very first
date!"

"Yes", smiled Cameron. "Come to think of it. This is our official first date!"
And it was true. For when Cameron and Reiko first fell in love, Reiko was a
Rocket outlaw unable to show any affection for him fearing it might put him in
danger. Then there were the times Cameron visited Reiko in jail, but it didn't
seem like a date talking through a wired window. Sure they had traveled all
through Ryooku together, but Cameron's other friends traveled with them, not to
mention a pesky Growlithe who didn't trust Reiko enough to let them be close.
But now this dinner in this out-of-this-world restaurant proved it was the
official first date of Cameron and Reiko.

"Came-chan", asked Reiko in a serious voice. "Do you remember the day we first
met?"

"Uh, yes I do", said Cameron nervously. "It was in Brock's old house. Team
Rocket held his family and our friends hostage and you appeared and tied me up."

"Were you scared of me when I did that?" asked Reiko with a shaky frown.

"Well", stuttered Cameron. "I admit at first I was a little scared of you. But
anyone would be if they were taken prisoner by a ninja."

"I am truly sorry", said Reiko bowing her head in shame. "I wish we could've
first met in better circumstances."

"That's okay Moonray", smiled Cameron as he touched her chin and tilted her
head back up. "When I first met you, you had your beauty hidden under a ninja's
mask. It was when we were stranded on that island of Machokes I got a good
look at your outer and your inner beauty. Even though we were taken prisoner
by those Machokes and locked up together. It was still a memorable moment for
me for I started falling in love with you."

Reiko thought silently for a moment and remembered that big turning point in
her life. Holding Cameron in fear with her ear against his chest listening to
his kind heart beating. She suddenly felt some kind of safe security when she
was in this boy's arms. "And I fell in love with you too Came-chan", smiled
Reiko as she placed her hands onto his. "Like the Charizard that melts away
polar ice caps, you've melted the black ice that kept my heart frozen and
bitter. Arigato my love!"

Cameron and Reiko silently smiled while looking at each other passionately.
Then they came back to reality when the waiter put their dishes down right in
front of them. "Oh, thank you", said Cameron blushing. "Hai, arigato", said
Reiko politely.

"I can wait to dig into this steak", said Cameron as he put his napkin in his
lap.

"I wonder why there are no chopsticks?" asked Reiko as she looked around and
found no utensils anywhere. Not even a knife, fork, or spoon.

"Maybe they're under these covers along with our food", said Cameron as he
lifted up the metal cover from his plate while Reiko did the same with hers.
They were surprised at what they found. Cameron had two plastic squeeze tubes
on his plate and Reiko had one.

"Is this toothpaste?" gasped Reiko.

"I don't think so", said Cameron as he picked up his tubes. One had the word
fries on it and the other had the word T-bone steak on it. Cameron undid the
top from the steak tube and squirted it on his plate. Out came some brown
looking paste.

"Do they expect us to brush our teeth with this stuff?" demanded Reiko. "For I
left my toothbrush back at the Pokemon center!"

"No, this is what astronauts eat when they go up in space for many days", said
Cameron. "They take food in paste form with them. I guess we eat it like this."
He squirted some steak paste on his index finger, then squirted some fry paste
on top of it. It was golden with some salt and grease mixed into it. "At least
I won't have to worry about choking on a T-bone eating this stuff", he smiled.
Then Cameron sucked the steak and fry combination from his finger, let it dance
around in his mouth, then swallow it.

"How was it?" asked Reiko.

"Not bad", said Cameron. "It almost tastes like the real thing. But I think
they should squeeze the steak and fry pastes in the same tube. That would
make it extra good!"

Reiko slowly picked up her sushi tube and studied it. "My ninja ancestors
would probably slice the manufactures to death if they knew they did this to
sushi." She said as she squirted some of the sushi paste on her tongue and
gulped it.

"How is it?" asked Cameron.

"Not bad", said Reiko. "Want to try some?"

"No thank you", said Cameron. "That there's your own special sushi tube. I
insist you have it all", He smiled for Cameron didn't really like sushi,
neither in paste or real forms.

* * * * * *

Cameron and Reiko were now seen walking around the station munching on what
looked like brown, white, and pink striped styrofoam cubes. "Now I have seen
everything", said Reiko looking at her cube. "Ice cream that is not frozen and
will not melt in your hand neither."

"And you don't have to worry about frozen headaches neither", smiled Cameron
as he finished off his treat while dusting ice cream crumbs off his shirt. "I
wonder if I'll ever go back to Earth food again", laughed Cameron.

"Look Came-chan!" said Reiko as she dragged him over to a room marked. VR
Chamber. "What do you supposed VR means? Victorious Reiko I hope."

"Not really", said Cameron.

"WHAT?!!" sneered Reiko looking mean eyed at Cameron.

"I'm not saying you're not victorious my Moonray", said Cameron sweating. "VR
actually stands for virtual reality."

"That's right", said a guy standing in front of a ticket booth. "This is a
virtual reality chamber. For a fee, you can step inside and enter an imaginary
world to escape the stresses and worries of the real world. But only for a
half-hour though. If you want to stay longer, or forever. You'd better hand
over your life savings. Heh heh!"

"What do you say Moonray?" smiled Cameron as he took out his Pokedex ready to
do some spending.

"Oh, Came-chan!" sighed Reiko as her red mad eyes turned into red hearts.

* * * * * *

Cameron and Reiko were now in a breathtaking place they thought they would never
be in. They were floating in outer space. But in a VR simulated version of
space though. There were also other people in there too. Mainly couples just
like them. And it looked like Ash and Misty were in there too compassionately
holding each other. "Oh, Came-chan!" smiled Reiko as she started doing ninja
flips in the blackness of space. "Just being here in the starry night sky is a
ninja's dream come true. Arigato my Came-chan for making it happen!"

"You deserve it my love", smiled Cameron as he tried to float after her, but he
wasn't as graceful as Reiko and he kept floating upside-down in all directions
bumping into other couples. "Excuse me", said Cameron humbly as he backed away,
but then bumped into someone else. "Oops, sorry again!" said Cameron blushing.
But then he felt some hands turn him around and put him in a strong hold.

"Like the prey that escapes the Tentacruel's wrath, but ends up getting
recaptured by its extended tendril. I will not forbid you to escape from me,
prisoner!" Smiled Reiko as she called him the name she used when they first met.
Cameron was about to speak until Reiko silenced him with a kiss. Then Cameron
managed to pull his arms free so he could hug his love back.

They both just floated there in space as they looked at each other's faces.
Reiko's black hair still shone beautifully in the moonlight and the stars
reflected off Cameron's blonde hair and glasses making him look almost like an
angel.

"Hey, look at that!" called out someone. Cameron and Reiko stopped looking at
each other and saw another spectacular sight. Lines were slowly getting drawn
on the stars forming constellations. First appeared a Mareep, then a Tauros,
then a Krabby, a Persian, a Gligar, a Growlithe, a Teddiursa, an, Ursaring, and
two Magikarps.

"This is so ultra cool!" smiled Cameron as he continued holding Reiko.

"Hai!" whispered Reiko as she leaned her head against his chest.

"I've visited this VR Chamber many times and I've never seen this happen
before", said a guy. "I wonder why?"

The reason was that Tracey was in the VR chamber as well and he let his
Smeargle out his Pokeball. Smeargle was using its paintbrush tail to connect
all the stars together thinking it was the world's biggest connect-the-dots
page. "No Smeargle! You might get us kicked out of here!" cried Tracey as he
tried his best to swim after his little astral artist.

* * * * * *

The next morning at eight, we find our heroes looking through a huge window
that looked like a huge white room. Cameron and Sandy were on one side and
Neil was on the other one. "So how did you find my little space station world?"
asked Neil smiling.

"It was the best", smiled Cameron. "I don't think I ever had such a great time
in all my life!"

"Well now it's time for the more serious side of my station", said Neil now
with a serious frown. "The Pokemon match! We'll be using four Pokemon each,
no time limit." And he pushed a button on his remote and Cameron and Sandy
suddenly found themselves standing on the moon's surface.

"How did they get on the moon so fast?!" gasped Ash as he saw through the
window where his friends had ended up.

"It's just probably another VR simulation", said Tracey still miffed about
getting kicked out of that VR Chamber last night.

"It looks like we get to battle on the moon Sandy", said Cameron. "What do you
think of that?"

"Shrew!" gasped Sandy as he peeked into a small crater of darkness.

"Let the match begin!" said Neil. "Clefable, I choose you first!" And he
released a huge fairy Pokemon that cooed out, "Clefable!"

"Okay Sandy", said Cameron. "Try blinding it with your sandstorm!"

"Clefable, use light screen!" commanded Neil. Just as Sandy had released his
sandstorm, Clefable had created a glowing wall in front of itself blocking away
all the incoming sand.

"Nice work Clefable", said Neil. "Now try out your metronome!"

"Clefable!" smiled Clefable as it wiggled its fingers around getting ready to
start up a surprise attack.

"Better brace yourself Sandy", said Cameron nervously. "Metronome can either be
a harmless attack like splash or a powerful attack like hydro pump."

"Shrew", said Sandy cautiously. Then Clefeable had released a rock slide
attack that consisted of glowing moonstones.

"Okay Sandy", smiled Cameron. "You can handle this with your rock smash!"
"SHREW!" shouted Sandy as he made two fists and started smashing all the
approaching rocks into moonrubble one by one. Then once he got close enough,
he socked Clefable right in the tummy knocking it out.

"Way to go Sandy!" smiled Cameron. "Shrew!" said Sandy while making his
victory sign.

"You did your best Clefable", said Neil as he called it back into its Pokeball.
"Well Cameron, your Sandsrhew seems to handle living on the moon nicely, but
can he stand the harsh coldness of Pluto?!" And he pushed another button and the
moon scene changed into a planet of snow and ice.

"Fighting on Pluto?!" gasped Reiko. "Growl?" asked Growlithe as he looked
around wondering if his favorite cartoon dog was actually here.

"BRRRR!" said Cameron as he started shaking. "I thought this was just a
simulation. Why is it freezing in here?!"

"Shrew?!" replied Sandy while shaking.

"Because that there on the ground is real snow", smiled Neil. "I want you and
your Pokemon to get the sensation you're really on Pluto. Kind of like biting
into a Peppermint Patty, huh?" Then he took out a Pokeball and released a
Wooper. "WOOP WOOP!" it said while dancing around.

"Okay Wooper, use your water gun attack!" said Neil.

"Quick Sandy, start digging!" cried Cameron. "SHREW!" shouted Sandy as he
started digging through the snow just as Wooper's water gun had missed him and
hit Cameron's face. "BRRRR!" he said for getting hit with water in a cold place
was definitely no day at the beach.

"Wooper, dig after him!" said Neil. "WOOP!" said Wooper as it started using its
legs and tail to dig into the snow after its opponent.

"Quick Sandy!" cried Cameron. "Get out of that snow before Wooper gets you!"
But Sandy did come out of the snow, but not in a way Cameron had hoped. Sandy
was curled up bouncing on top of a huge spout spraying out from the snow.
"SHREW!" cried Sandy in wet cold pain.

"WOOP!" shouted Wooper as it jumped out from the snow and squirted poor Sandy
back into Cameron's arms. "Sandy, are you all right?" asked Cameron as he tried
to dry the poor Sandshrew off with his shirt.

"Shrew!" said Sandy in a shivery voice.

"Here, you can get warmed up and dry in your Pokeball", said Cameron as he put
Sandy back in his ball. Then started shivering even more for he was now
wearing a wet shirt in this cold simulation.

"Which is the reason I always go into the battle in my trusty jumpsuit", said
Neil. "But don't worry kid. You'll be thankful you're all wet once you make
it to the final simulation. That is if you can make it that far. You got
three more Pokemon left to use!"

"All right", said Cameron who had stopped shivering and took out another ball.
"Elekid, I choose you!" and he released the electric kid right in front of the
smiling Wooper. "Elekid, use thunderbolt!" commanded Cameron.

"Bri!" said Elekid as he fired a thunderbolt at Wooper, but the little water
Pokemon didn't get shocked at all. It just stood there still feeling very
happy. "Bri?" gasped Elekid.

"What the...?" gasped Cameron. "I thought Wooper was a water Pokemon? Why didn't
electricity shock it?"

"Because Wooper is a ground-type also", laughed Neil. "Electriciy can't harm
this particular water Pokemon. Wooper, use your mist attack!"

"WOOP!" said Wooper as it sprayed a thick cold fog all over the place causing
Cameron and Elekid not to see anything. "BRI?!" cried Elekid.

"Nice job Wooper", said Neil. "Now use your slam attack!"

"WOOP!" called out Wooper in a cute, but violent sounding voice. "BRIIII!"
cried Elekid in a not so cute painful sounding voice.

"KID!" cried Cameron as he saw an image in the mist. It looked like Wooper who
had its tail wrapped around Elekid's leg and was slamming him around in the
snow. "Quick Kid! Use the biggest flash attack you can come up with!" cried
Cameron. "BRRRIIIII!" cried Elekid who suddenly lit up the entire room
dissolving all the mist and causing Wooper to cry out in pain for he became
totally blinded.

"OH NO!" cried Neil who found himself blinded as well.

"Okay Kid", said Cameron who had his eyes closed so the flash wouldn't blind
him. "Finish Wooper off with a headbutt!" Elekid smiled as he ran at full speed
and butted Wooper right in the stomach back at Neil's feet. "Woop!" cried
Wooper and then fainted.

Neil, who had just rubbed his eyes to get his vision back, saw his defeated
Wooper lying in the snow. "Sorry about that", said Cameron. "I didn't mean to
blind you."

"No harm done", smiled Neil as he pulled Wooper back in its ball. "I know now
to wear goggles whenever I have any future matches with trainers like you."
Then he pushed another button and the snow disappeared and Neil, Cameron,
and Elekid were in yet another simulation. They were floating around in space
just like the VR Chamber Cameron and Reiko had visited, only there were a
million more stars.

"It smells like vanilla shake in here!" said Cameron.

"Just something to make you feel like you're in the Milky Way", laughed Neil as
he took out his third Pokeball. "Go Forretress!" he shouted and released what
looked like a huge silver ball with huge pink eyes and pink knobs on each side.

"It's a UFO!" gasped Misty.

"No, that's actually a Forretress!" said Tracey as they watched Cameron
activate his Dex.

"FORRETRESS: the evolved form of Pineco", replied Dextra. "Forretress's entire
body is shielded by a steel-hard shell. What lurks inside this powerful armor
is a mystery."

"They're wouldn't happen to be any little green men lurking around in there?"
asked Cameron.

"Not that I know of", laughed Neil. "But my Forretress can sure fight like a UFO.
Forretress shoot out some spikes now!" Forretress then started to spin around
releasing a bunch of sharp spikes right at Elekid.

"Use thunderbolt to fry those spikes!" called out Cameron. "BRI!" shouted Elekid
as he fired a thunderbolt causing the incoming spikes to dissolve then shocking
Forretress as well.

"That's good Kid!" smiled Cameron. "Now while its shocked, give it a bunch of
non-stop thunderpunches!" Elekid smiled and approached the stunned Forretress.
Then Elekid made some sparking fists and started thunderpunching the unmoving
Forretress causing its metal shell to sparkle really pretty.

"Why isn't Neil ordering Forretress to attack back?" asked Ash.

"Unless this is part of Neil's strategy", said Tracey looking at the sneaky
smile on Neil's face.

"Okay Forretress", said Neil. "You've got enough juice in you. Now release a
bide attack!"

"BIDE?!!" gasped Cameron for he remembered what this attack does. Forretress
suddenly started to glow a powerful white color and then released all the
electricity that Elekid had punched into it. "BRRRIIII!" cried Elekid as he
got blasted back and landed unconscious into Cameron's arms.

"My poor little Kid!" cried Cameron as he put the defeated Elekid back into his
ball then took out his third ball. "Okay Scaleon, it's up to you now!" and he
released his huge dragon Pokemon right in front of Forretress.

"So you've managed to catch a legendary Scaleon, huh?" said Neil in an
impressed voice. "Too bad my Forretress will turn it into luggage. Forretress,
release some more spikes."

"FOR!" said Forretress as it fired some more spikes into Scaleon's hind legs.
But luckily, Scaleon's tough scales protected herself from the spikes. She
just pulled out a woman's razor and started shaving the spikes off her legs
while Cameron looked puzzled.

"That's pretty neat", said Cameron. "Now how about trapping Forretress with
your dragonrage?"

"SCALE!" shouted Scaleon as she created a typhoon causing Forretress to spin
around her like a satellite orbiting a scaly planet.

"Good job Scaleon!" called out Cameron. "Now catch it and use your strength
attack!" Scaleon reached out her front claws and caught Forretress. Then she
started to squeeze the steel orb causing its armor to crack a little.

"Forgive me for making you do this Forretress", called out Neil. "But use your
explosion attack!"

"FOOORR!" growled Forretress as it started to glow again while Scaleon looked
down at it with a nervous face. Then an explosion happened and smoke covered
the room.

"SCALEON!" cried Cameron as the smoke cleared and he saw both Forretress and
Scaleon floating in space unconscious.

"Well kid, it looks like both our number threes have been K.O.ed", said Neil as
he pulled his Pokemon back into its ball while Cameron did the same. "Now we
each have one Pokemon left to use. Let's see how hot you are. And I mean that
literally where we're going!" And he started up his final simulation. This
time Cameron and Neil were standing on a hot surface with flames dancing around.
"Welcome to the sun son!" laughed Neil.

"OUCH! OW! OW! OW!" cried Cameron as he started dancing around trying to
keep the soles of his feet off the boiling surface.

"Relax kid", laughed Neil. "I keep telling you, all of this is just a
simulation. Only the heat you're feeling in here is real."

"You're telling me!" puffed Cameron as he stopped dancing and started fanning
himself with his hat and was thankful that he was wearing a wet shirt.

"Presenting my champion warrior and part-time navigator", shouted Neil. "Porygon
2!" And he released the same robot parrot that had navigated Neil's rocket to
this station.

"Okay Slowie, you're my last chance!" said Cameron as he released his Slowking
onto the sun's surface. "SLOW!" cried Slowie as he started dancing around
thinking the sun was burning his feet also.

"No Slowie, it's okay", said Cameron. "See, my feet aren't burning so yours
isn't either." "Slow?" said Slowie as he looked down at his master's sneakers
and saw that they weren't melted at all. "Slow!" smiled Slowie as he faced
Porygon 2, tilted his crown down, and put on his battle face.

"That's my Slowie", said Cameron. "Now use your blizzard attack!"

"#2, convert to a fire-type!" commanded Neil. "The Porygon started to burst
into flames just as Slowie had released his blizzard. The fire just melted all
the snow and ice away leaving #2 unharmed.

"Now give it your tri-attack!" said Neil. "PORYGON!" said #2 as it released a
triangle made of fire, ice, and electricity.

"SLOW!" cried Slowie as the triangle burned, chilled, and shocked him like
crazy.

"SLOWIE!" cried Cameron as he steadied his shaken up Slowking. "What was that?!"
cried Cameron. "I've never seen a tri-attack do that before!"

"You've obviously never seen an upgraded version of tri-attack", said Neil.
"Care to forfeit now?"

"SLOW!" said Slowie as he got back up and approached #2.

"You still want to continue battling?" asked Cameron. "Bring it on!" said
Slowie. Cameron became amazed that his Slowking had learned some more words,
but then got his mind back on the battle. "Okay Slowie, give it your psychic
attack!" he commanded.

"Now convert to dark-type #2", said Neil. Just as Slowie had released his
psychic power, #2 suddenly turned a pitch black and was unaffected by the
powerful psychic attack.

"Good work", said Neil. "Now lock on and fire a zap cannon!" #2 looked at
Slowie with a target eye and then fired a sparking cannonball at Slowie.

"Quick Slowie. Get out of the way!" cried Cameron. "Slow!" said Slowie as he
started running all over the place but the zap cannon slowly followed him like
a guided missile.

"Tell your Slowking to save his breath", laughed Neil. "Cause once #2 has
locked onto its target. There's no escaping what so ever!"

"There's gotta be a way!" thought Cameron as he saw Slowie running for his life
while the zap cannon followed him. "I got it!" said Cameron. "Slowie! Climb
over Porygon #2 and get behind it!"

"Slow!" nodded Slowie as he quickly grabbed #2's beak and climbed right behind
the robot parrot. Then Slowie grabbed #2 and faced it right in front of the
incoming zap cannon.

"Quick #2!" cried Neil. "Convert to a ground-type!" #2 then turned into a sandy
brown color just as the zap cannon hit it not shocking it one bit.

"You're pretty clever", smiled Neil. "But not clever enough I'm afraid."

"That's what you think", smiled Cameron wickedly. "Slowie, surfs up!"

"WHAT?!" gasped Neil. Slowie had released a huge tidal wave from its mouth
soaking #2 to death. And since it was converted to a ground-type, #2 was
easily defeated. Then the sun simulation turned off and Cameron, Neil, and
their Pokemon found themselves back in the white room for the match was over.

"You did it Slowie!" smiled Cameron as he ran over and hugged the champion of
the day. "You've defeated Neil's last Pokemon!"

"I'll say!" smiled Slowie as he winked his eye.

All of Cameron's friends were outside the window cheering for he had defeated
the eighth and final gym leader while Neil looked down at his soaked Porygon 2
then pulled it back into its ball. Then he approached Cameron, reached into
his jumpsuit and pulled out something.

"Cameron Fusterman from Earth", said Neil. "For challenging and defeating all
of my little masters of the universe, I present you with the Galaxy Badge.
Congratulations Earth boy!" and he handed Cameron a purple badge that was in
the shape of Saturn covered with little golden stars.

"Thank you", said Cameron bowing to him. "That was the most awesome Pokemon
battle I've ever been in!" Then he took the badge and showed it to his friends
who were looking through the window. "Hey everyone!" he said with pride. "I won
a Galaxy Badge! The final Ryooku badge!"

"Like the Ledyba that develops its final spot and truly becomes an adult. My
Came-chan has come of age as well!" sighed Reiko with a huge happy smile and
stars in her red eyes.

* * * * * *

Later, we see the rocketship known as Moltres 13 heading back to Earth and
landing on the meteorite that our heroes first met Neil. Then a door opened,
an escalator popped out and Neil and our heroes came out of the rocket and set
their feet back on Earth soil.

"Shrew!" smiled Sandy as he jumped out of Cameron's arms and started hugging
the dirt while dirty hearts danced around him. "Yes Sandy, you're home sweet
home!" smiled Cameron.

"Even though I'm gonna miss that neat space station, it's still great to be
back on good old Earth", smiled Ash.

"You're right Ashy", sighed Misty. "The Earth would not be so pretty anymore if
I had left it."

"Oh brother!" thought Ash.

"Growl!" smiled Growlithe for he loved being back on Earth too. He wasn't too
disappointed about leaving that girl Growlithe on the station behind, for it
turned out neither one of them really had anything in common. So Growlithe
went back to ruining Cameron's and Reiko's romance fun.

"Came-chan, can you show me all of your badges again please?" asked Reiko.

"Certainly Moonray", smiled Cameron as he opened up his Pokedex, pulled open a
slot, and showed Reiko the eight Ryooku badges he earned. The Vine Badge, The
Pyramid Badge, The Harvest Badge, The Metro Badge, The Ocean Badge, The Snow
Badge, The Peak Badge, and finally the Galaxy Badge.

"Well, you did it Cameron", smiled Tracey. "You've earned all eight badges.
Now you're qualified to compete in the Ryooku League!"

"That's right!" smiled Cameron. "But where do I go to do that?"

"Just cross that bridge over there", said Neil as he pointed south to a bridge
that led to a town. "That will take you to Vinegar Town where the Ryooku League
HQ is located. If you can defeat all the members there, you'll have it made."

"Thank you Neil", smiled Cameron as he shook his hand. "It was a pleasure
getting to know you and battling you."

"My pleasure kid", smiled Neil as he ruffled Cameron's cap and hair.

* * * * * *

Under the bridge, we see a rocket escape pod bobbing in the water. And out of
it popped three dizzy villains. "I wish we could've made a more softer
splashdown!" whined James.

"You mean like on your soft head?" moaned Meowth.

"It's all water under the bridge!" said Jessie.

"Yes, there's water under that bridge", said Meowth. "So?"

"That's not what I meant kitty litter brain!" growled Jessie, but then she
looked up at the bridge and started smiling wickedly again. "But look who's
crossing it!" James and Meowth looked up too and saw our heroes walking on
the bridge to the other side while singing and humming the song, Stand By Me.

"Oh, we'll stand by you twerps!" grumbled Jessie. "We'll keep standing by you
until we do away with all of you forever. HA HA HA HA!" laughed Jessie along
with the other Rockets. Then the escape pod started to sink into the water
while the Rockets continued to laugh until all you see were bubbles floating
out.

TO BE CONTINUED

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Well, Cameron's done it. He's won all eight Ryooku Badges and now he's going
off to battle in the Ryooku League. Will he become victorious or will he be
defeated? Or will Team Rocket try to ruin his dreams? For the answers to
these questions, stay tuned for the next chapter. ^_^