Me: It's been quite a while, hasn't it? I don't own Pokemon, 'cause if I did, Ash and Misty would be together, Charizard would've stayed with Ash, and some other stuff I can't recall at the time.
(Ash, Pikachu and Chikorita fall over)
Ash: Sometimes, you remind me of me, you know that?
Me: And sometimes, you remind me of a determined little kid who needs almost everything to go his way, or no way!
Ash: Take that back!
Pikachu: Pika, pikachu! (Yeah, or you'll be sorry!)
Me: (sees Pikachu charging up and gulps) Okay, I take it back! Out of all the trainers, I get the
one with his own power source as a Pokemon...
Pokemon: The Power of Two
Chapter XIII-Master Ball or Heavy Ball?
In the previous adventure, Ash took some downtime to battle Falkner in a two-on-two Pokemon
battle. Both trainers had Charizard, and after a very intense first round, Ash's Charizard was
defeated because he was too drained of energy to go on. So, Ash sent in his relief hitter,
Pikachu, to clean up the mess. Pikachu showered Falkner's Charizard with sparks, and after a
difficult battle, defeated Skarmory with a well-aimed Thunder Attack. Team Rocket has warned
Ash and his friends that Gary is attempting to find the Legendary Pokemon Ho-oh, and dire
consequences could occur if Gary claims him as his own. Now, Ash, Misty and Brock are on
their way back to Ecruteak City in order to stop Gary from whatever he has planned!
(Theme song; Fanfare starts as Ash says the name of the episode)
Ash: Master Ball or Heavy Ball?
Ash had lost a lot of time while getting to Ecruteak-mainly because of Misty! It wasn't technically her fault, but Ash saw it that way. She'd suggested that they call Whitney and have her send the train from Goldenrod all the way to Violet City. That alone took at least a day and a night for Whitney-who drove the train herself-just to make it to Violet City! Now, Ash was silently fuming, trying not to blow up at his girlfriend. The last thing he needed was a full-on fight that could result in one saying something they didn't mean and everything they'd worked on for the past three or four weeks would go up in smoke!
"Pika pi, pikachu?"
"Chikori, chiko?" Both Pikachu and Chikorita were wondering what was bothering Ash-basically, they wanted information on why their trainer was "eating sour grapes" as Brock had put it once.
"Nothing's wrong, you guys. I just...need to let off some steam and be by myself for a while. I don't blame any of you for this-not at all, okay?" Ash made sure to eye Chikorita when he'd said that, to be certain she'd gotten the gist of the conversation.
"Chiko!"
"Pikachu!"
To sweeten the deal, Chikorita decided that she'd help Ash calm down in the best way she knew-by letting him have a full blast of Sweet Scent, or Sweet Smell as he called it, in the face.
"Mmm...thanks, Chikorita."
Misty was watching the display from the next car, which separated her from Ash, and tears trickled down her face.
"Why won't he come to me and tell me what his problem is? We're supposed to be a team!"
Unbeknownst to our heroes, Team Rocket had hitched a ride in the cargo bay of the train, determined to capture Pikachu.
"Even though the twerp's life may be in immediate danger..." Jessie said quietly.
"...We can't let that stop us from doing what we do best-capture Pikachu!" James added.
"Wobbuffet!"
"Who ordered you out? Get back in here!" Jessie demanded impatiently, recalling Wobbuffet a second later.
"Now that they have all 3 Legendary Pokemon, capturing Pikachu won't be that easy, guys." Meowth warned.
"Wobbuffet!"
"I told you to-" That's when it came to Jessie-the plan they needed, the plan they could've used this entire time, and hardly ever tried.
"I think I know a way we can capture Pikachu and seriously take the twerp's Pokemon out of
commission. Come here-you too, Wobbuffet."
"Ash? Is there something wrong? Do you want to talk about it?" Ash was jerked from his thoughts by Misty, who had a concerned look on her face. He eyed her with a look of irritation before turning away.
"I don't want to hurt her, so it's best if I don't talk to her!" "No, Mist, nothing's wrong. Trust me-I'm fine!" Ash even did his patented "peace" symbol, but Misty wasn't buying it.
"Come on, Ash! We've known each other for over four years now and we've gotten close-real close. We were best friends, and we took it to the next level. If something's bothering you, I want to know about it so I can help you." Misty insisted.
"Please, Misty, just go. I have to handle this by myself." Ash was silently begging her not to go on, but as Ash knew she would, Misty's stubborn nature got in the way once again.
"NO! You've handled lots of things by yourself, and I'm not going to let you go through this inner turmoil again. Now tell me-what's wrong?" That was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.
"FINE! You wanna know what's wrong, Misty? YOU'RE what's wrong! If you hadn't suggested we go by train, we probably could be at Ecruteak by now! All we had to do was take our Legendary Pokemon, if you're so concerned about Charizard." The fight that had started had alerted Brock, Pikachu, Chikorita and Whitney. It also caused Whitney to stop the train, but no one was hurt. Not yet, anyway. Luckily for everybody else, Togepi was sleeping a few cars down.
"Then our Pokemon would be too tired for helping us to battle Gary-did ya ever think about that?"
"That's why in every city, there's a Pokemon Center!" Ash retorted, his anger already boiling up to beyond normal standards.
"This, my friends, is where Ash and Charizard could connect-when they both get angry." Brock muttered grimly.
"Pikachu."
"You mean every major city. There isn't even a Pokemon Center in Pallet Town! The only reason anybody knows about it isn't because of you-it's because of Professor Oak! Sure, anyone could make the top 16, win in the Orange League, or beat the Johto League, but those Pokemon trainers have the one thing you don't have..."
Ash's eyes narrowed into slits, prepared to dodge whatever Misty would say next. "What's that?"
"SKILL! Almost every good trainer let's his or her Pokemon evolve during some matches and they have enough skills to make sure the evolved Pokemon obeys them! Charmeleon didn't even obey you once after he evolved. You only made it to the top 16 'cause you didn't use Charizard. If you'd used him earlier, you'd have been beaten earlier!"
"Pikachu pi, pika, pikachu!"
"Chiko! Chiko, chiko!"
Ash held up a hand, insisting that his Pokemon quiet down. He knew they were trying to help, but he just couldn't handle anything else at the moment. "Don't, Pikachu, Chikorita...she's right." Misty's anger, like Ash's had finally ebbed down, and the one thing Misty hoped wouldn't happen, did happen-tears were steadily flowing down his face.
"Ash, I..."
"Maybe we shouldn't be together, then." Ash turned away from Misty, looking out toward the skies, Ecruteak's bright lights beckoning.
"What are you saying, Ash?" Misty asked, already feeling tears of her own appear.
"If you really mean all that stuff you just said about me having no skill, then you should be with someone who does have skills. It's over!" Ash declared, trying to hide his tears.
"Pika pi, pikachu pi pichu, pika!" Ash gritted his teeth, struggling with his decision. He really wanted to take Pikachu's advice to heart, to take it back and forgive Misty for what she said, but like Misty, his own stubborn nature wouldn't let him concede defeat.
"Who wants a scrawny teenager as a girlfriend, anyway? So, we're through!" Misty felt her anger resurface, simply because Ash had the decency to break up with her and call her scrawny in the same night, but her anger vanished when she heard Ash speak up while opening the window.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye."
"What do you mean, Ash?" Brock finally said, figuring out what he had in mind, but silently hoping he wouldn't do it.
"I can't stay around here with you, now that my relationship's just gone down the toilet, can I? You'll find someone else, Mist-maybe even Rudy. He's waiting for you in the Orange Islands, isn't he?" Ash's tears were running down his cheeks, but only Pikachu and Chikorita saw them, since they were closer to Ash than any of the others.
"Come on, Ash! You're talking crazy. All you need is a nice, hot bath and you'll feel better in the morning. How about it?" Whitney asked, trying to help reconcile her two friends.
"I think Misty'll need it more than I would." As Ash placed both his feet on the windowsill, Misty grabbed his arm, turning him around and showing him her tears.
"Ash, I didn't mean..."
"Maybe I'll see you on TV one day, happily married to Rudy...CHARIZARD, GO!" Ash tossed a Pokeball in the air and leaped up as the Fire/Flying Pokemon appeared in the night sky.
"ASH!" Pikachu and Chikorita were close to crying themselves-Ash had just abandoned them in the train, without giving any thought as to how they might react to his rash decision.
"CHIKORI!"
"PIKA PI!"
Ash finally started crying heavily as Charizard flew off toward Ecruteak, making sure he didn't look back.
"I don't wanna leave, but if I stayed, it would only cause problems for everyone. Take care of Pikachu and Chikorita, Mist. They'll be good Pokemon to have in times of trouble. Goodbye, my love. Don't forget me!"
As Misty, Brock, Pikachu, Chikorita and Whitney watched Ash and Charizard's figures disappear into the night, they all heard the Dragon Pokemon's roar of anguish.
"CHARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!"
"Did you hear what I just heard? Those two twerps split!" James whispered excitedly.
"And he left Pikachu behind." Jessie said.
"But this isn't how it's supposed to go! Those two are meant to be, and we're gonna help get 'em back together!" Meowth said. "We can use our plan later, once they've reconciled their differences."
"Operation: Reunite Twerps is underway!" James hissed.
"Wobbuffet!"
"Pikachu pi? Pikachu, pika pi?" The only things a heartbroken Misty was able to translate out of what Pikachu said was her name and Ash's. So, she took a stab in the dark and guessed.
"I didn't mean those things I said to him, Pikachu! I wasn't thinking, like usual whenever I'm angry with him. Ash has plenty of skill, otherwise Charizard wouldn't be obeying him now. He's gotten really good with training, or else he wouldn't have Espeon, right?" Misty asked through her tears. Nodding, the Electric-type ran over to Misty and pulled out a handkerchief from a bag above her head. She took it wiped her tears off before realizing whose bag that was.
"This is Ash's bag! Which means that this is Ash's..." Misty broke down into a fresh set of tears as Brock came in.
"Cheer up, Misty. When daylight comes, we'll go and find Ash. In the meantime, what are we going to do about Chikorita?"
Confused, Misty looked up to see Ash's Grass Pokemon, silently crying on the same windowsill Ash had jumped off of an hour or so ago.
"The last time Chikorita was like that was during the whole Teddiursa thing. Ash was there to forgive and forget, but this wound won't heal so easily." Brock explained. Misty wiped her tears away fully before standing up.
"Pikachu, look after Togepi for me. I think it's time Chikorita and I had a woman-to-woman talk."
"Huh?" Brock asked in amazement.
"You know what I mean!" Misty hissed before opening the door and carefully walking over
toward the tear-stricken Pokemon.
"Chikorita, can we talk?" The Grass-type glared at Misty through reddening eyes before turning away in unrepressed anger.
"Chiko! Chiko, chikori chiko!" Once again, Misty took a guess and figured that Chikorita was angry with her for causing Ash to leave her and Pikachu behind.
"I deserve every bit of anger and resentment you have toward me, but let's see the glass as full, okay? On the one hand, if Ash had just told me what was wrong, we'd probably still have that fight, so let's think of something else." Misty said, a tiny sweatdrop appearing on her head.
"Let's see-if I'd taken Ash's suggestion about using our Legendary Pokemon instead of having Whitney come get us, I would be upset at Ash, but not for long. He'd still be here right now, and you wouldn't be angry at me-"
"Chiko! Chiko,chiko!"
"Okay, maybe you would. But there's one thing you and I both have in common-we both love Ash. True, Ash shows his love for me differently than he does you, but he still cares for you deeply and would take a Fury Cutter attack to the chest just to see that you weren't hurt. He told me so himself, once."
The Grass-type blinked away her tears and looked into Misty's eyes for any sign that she was lying; she didn't find any signs whatsoever.
"ChiKO!!!!" Chikorita let a fresh stream of tears flow as she jumped into Misty's arms.
"If you want to know the real reason why Ash left you and Pikachu here, we should just go find him."
"Chiko?" Blinking away her tears once more, Chikorita eyed Misty with a look of profound surprise.
"That's right-you, me, Togepi and Pikachu! Right now. We'll take Suicune and go hunt him down. What do you say?" Misty plucked one of her two Heavy Balls and held it in the air, waiting for Chikorita's response.
"ChiKO!" Smiling, Chikorita held up one of her hind legs in a fist, showing Misty she was in all the way!
"That's the spirit. Now, let's go find our man! Suicune, GO!" Misty tossed the Heavy Ball outside the opened window before turning to Chikorita once more.
"I need you to tell Suicune what we're doing, and I'll leave Brock and Whitney a note, telling them what we're going to do, okay?"
Chikorita nodded, determined to find Ash as quick as possible.
"Okay-I'll be back as soon as I can."
By now, Ash had dried his tears and had made it to Ecruteak City. Being night, Ash wouldn't expect anyone to be out at this time, but he was wrong.
"Ash? Is that you?" Gasping slightly, Ash swiveled around, letting out a breath when he realized it was only Morty, the Gym Leader of the Ecruteak City Gym.
"What are you doing out at night, Morty? Shouldn't you be in bed?" Ash said, finding his voice and making sure he didn't look like he had been crying.
"I could ask the same about you, but that'll have to wait. There's someone inside the Tin Towers, and I don't know what he-or she-could be doing there. A young teenage boy about your age came into my Gym in the afternoon while I was battling a young boy with a Jumpluff as a Pokemon, asking about Ho-oh."
"The boy must be Efram, and I don't even have to guess who the teenage boy is!" Ash thought angrily before speaking. "Did this teenage boy have spiky brown hair, a pendant around his neck, a cloak on his back and an Umbreon by his side?"
"Yes, yes, yes, and yes. Do you know him?" Ash dropped to the ground in shock before getting back up again.
"Gary! The opponent who I faced during the Johto League Championship. He wants Ho-oh, and I can't let him get it! I'll explain on the way-come on!"
"Where are we going, Ash?" Ash almost screamed before realizing who the voice belonged to.
"Efram?! I thought you'd won your 4th badge already." Ash insisted. "And the last time I saw you, it was in Azalea Town. How'd you get to Ecruteak so soon?"
"The Gym Leader in Goldenrod took me by train." Ash groaned irritably before realizing that he couldn't stop Gary and catch Ho-oh by himself-he'd need help. Help he'd just abandoned not so long ago in a train.
"Even with just Efram and Morty, I couldn't stop Gary. I need you, Mist. Where are you?"
"Come on, Ash! Where did you go at a time like this?" Misty asked herself while holding on to Chikorita, Pikachu and Togepi at the same time.
"I need to apologize for what I said to him, and take him back. How can I do that if he's-"
"That's it!"
"Chiko?"
"Pika?"
"Toge?" Chikorita, Pikachu and Togepi all eyed Misty with a confused look.
"Where else would Ash go at a time like this, with so much on the line? Ecruteak! Toward
Ecruteak, Suicune, and hurry!" Nodding, Misty's Water Pokemon raced as fast as he could to
Ecruteak's borders.
"Can't this train go any faster?" Jessie demanded impatiently. After revealing themselves-voluntarily-to Brock and Whitney, Team Rocket took control of the train and headed toward Ecruteak as fast as they could...which wasn't very fast.
"This train runs by the electrical current in the tracks, so it takes some time to power up, like it is now." Jessie, James and Meowth sighed.
"We're never gonna help the twerps now."
"Sure we are-all we gotta do is get this bucket moving!" Meowth retorted.
"How?" James asked.
"I don't really know." Jessie, James and Brock all fell over in response to Meowth's answer.
It took Ash, Efram and Morty until about midnight to make it to the top of the Tin Towers. When they got there, the skies had grown a darker shade of red instead of black, and the stars weren't even visible.
"What's wrong with the sky, Morty?" Efram spoke up. Ash knew it wouldn't do him any good to tell Efram that it was too dangerous-that had never stopped him; why would it stop anybody else?
"The only reason the sky ever lights up like this-and it hasn't lit up in this way for a long time-is for one reason, and one reason only..."
Morty was interrupted by a high-pitched shriek of power. The three of them all looked up to see Ho-oh, the Legendary Pokemon with Fire and Flying abilities.
"That's the Pokemon Pikachu and I saw the day we first started our Pokemon journey!" Ash exclaimed excitedly, pulling out two Pokeballs and a Heavy Ball.
"Charizard, Entei, Espeon, I CHOOSE YOU!"
"CHARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!" Charizard shot up a powerful blast of fire as he, Espeon and Entei materialized seconds later.
"Are you ready to battle, Jumpluff? Since Ho-oh's a Fire Pokemon, you may need some aerial assistance, so I choose Pidgeotto!" Efram smiled as his Flying Pokemon appeared next to Jumpluff, ready for battle.
"Gengar, I choose you!"
"Gengar!"
Smiling evilly to himself, Gary Oak revealed his position from where he was at-only meters away from Ash and his old friends, a Master Ball clutched in his hand.
"I may have helped you out before, Ashy boy, but I will be the world's most powerful Pokemon
trainer, and I don't care what I have to do!"
"There-the Tin Tower!" Misty cried as they finally reached Ecruteak's borders.
"Pikachu!"
"Toge-prrrrri!"
"Chiko!"
"Ok, Suicune, give us all you got, and get us to the top of that Tower!" Misty advised. Suicune first responded with disappearing from view, which in turn, caused Misty and the Pokemon to disappear!
"Oh-this must be Acid Armor, huh? But I thought that was also a poisonous attack."
"Ho-oh: The Legendary Pokemon. Details about this extremely rare Pokemon are unknown."
"Why'd I even bother to try?" sighed Ash a second later. Before he could order his Pokemon to attack, he heard a yell. Confused, he looked down at the ground and didn't see anything. That's when he heard it again.
"Asssssssssssh!"
"Pika piiiiiiiiiiiii!"
"Chikoriiiiiiiiiiii!"
Ash felt tears of joy come to his face. After what he'd done to his two closest Pokemon, and to his girlfriend, they still wanted to help him!
"MISTY! PIKACHU, CHIKORITA-UP HERE!" Ash cried out.
At that second, Ho-oh fired a star of fire directly at the trainers!
"ASH, LOOK OUT!" Misty yelled as Suicune jumped up and landed in front of Ash.
"Waaaa! Charizard, to the sky! Espeon, Entei, get out of the way!" Ash warned while jumping on Charizard's back. Pikachu and Chikorita jumped on as well before Charizard took off, both of them happily hugging their trainer, and their friend.
"I'm sorry I left you two like that. I just thought you wouldn't want me as your trainer after what I said about Misty. Can you two forgive me?" Ash asked sadly. Pikachu and Chikorita both nodded, content in the knowledge that Ash was back to normal.
"Now, it's time to get on the offense! Charizard, Entei, Flamethrower!" "Espeon, Psybeam!"
Once Charizard and Entei each fired a stream of fire, Espeon opened her mouth and sent out a ball of white light, the three attacks causing Ho-oh some damage, but not enough.
"Jumpluff, show Ho-oh your Double Team!" Efram suggested. Instantly, lots of Jumpluff were on the Tower! As Ho-oh got rid of one, two more popped up in it's place.
"Now, Tackle attack!" Millions of Jumpluff suddenly jumped up and hit the Fire/Flying Pokemon hard!
"Pidgeotto, Quick Attack!" But before Pidgeotto could even launch the attack, Ho-oh fired a
quick blast of fire that weakened the Pokemon so badly, that Efram had to call him back.
"Gengar, Shadow Ball!" Morty commanded. Immediately, Gengar summoned up a ball of dark energy before shooting it at Ho-oh! The Legendary Pokemon shrieked in pain before glowing brightly.
"Uh-oh." Ash said from his protective spot on Charizard's back.
"What do you mean by that, Ash?" Ash looked down near Misty with a worried look.
"You don't remember what attack that is? Mist, it's Future Sight!" Ash warned. Unfortunately, Ash was right about what attack it was. Good news for them, it hadn't hit yet, so they could keep attacking.
"Suicune, weaken Ho-oh with Hydro Pump!" Misty said. The Water-type blasted Ho-oh with two powerful streams of water, which extremely weakened the powerful Pokemon.
"Chikorita, use Razor Leaf! Pikachu, Thunderbolt attack!" Ash advised, his grin reappearing on his face.
"Chi-KO!"
"Pika...CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!" The two combined attacks finally caused Ho-oh to fall to the ground in defeat. However, they still had the Future Sight to worry about. Moments after Ho-oh dropped to the ground, a tiny beam of light steadily grew bigger as it made its way toward them!
"Charizard, go down!" Ash screamed, holding on tightly to Pikachu and Chikorita. The Fire/Flying type swooped down to the roof only seconds before the attack would've hit them! Instead, it ended up hitting the old Pokemon Gym, not actually causing any damage.
"Ho-oh, you're mine!" Ash held up his last Heavy Ball with his left and recalled Entei with his right.
"I don't think so, Ashy boy!" Ash growled under his breath as he turned to see Gary, holding a Master Ball in his hands!
"How? The Master Ball was destroyed!" Misty insisted.
"That was just a copy prototype Giovanni had made, redhead. The real one's still in that collector guy's airship. You have Entei already, Ash-let me be a Legendary trainer, too and capture Ho-oh." Gary suggested, a fake grin plastered on his face.
"Don't you even remember what happened to me on that ship, Gary? What do you think'll happen to me if you capture Ho-oh?" Ash replied, knowing he had his rival trapped.
"There's only one way to find out. Master Ball..." At the same time Gary rose the Master Ball to the sky, Ash rose the Heavy Ball.
"Heavy Ball..."
"GO!" Ash and Gary chorused, the two Pokeballs flying through the air at the same time toward the same Pokemon, with Misty, Pikachu, Chikorita, Charizard, Espeon, Suicune, Efram, Jumpluff, Morty and Gengar all watching in anticipation.
Talk about a cliffhanger! Will Ash claim Ho-oh as his Pokemon, or will Gary? What could happen to Ash if Gary captures Ho-oh? And what happened to Brock, Whitney and Team Rocket? Find out as The Power of Two continues!