Part 2
Ash and the others watched in horror at the incredible attack from Dragonair. Ash waited nervously as the water vapor from the battlefield settled so he could see what happened to his Pikachu. The clouds of vapor slowly faded away until finally Ash spotted his pokemon. Pikachu was lying on its stomach atop one of the platforms, completely unconscious.
"Pikachu!" Ash yelled out as he leaped into the water and swam to get his pokemon. Holding on to the platform with one hand he used the other to pick up Pikachu. "Are you alright?" Pikachu didn't answer. Ash carried it back to the group and handed it to Brock. "Brock quick is it going to be alright?"
Brock examined it for a minute. "Yes, but we still need to get Pikachu to a Pokemon Center right away."
Ash looked at Clair in admiration. "You are strong."
"Come on Ash," Brock nudged at Ash's shoulder. "If you want schedule a rematch, but make it fast we have to get going."
Ash looked at Clair, but before he could speak Clair spoke up first.
"Just so you know," Clair announced. Obviously she over heard them talking about Pikachu. "I do not give rematches."
"What?" Ash exclaimed. "Why?"
"I believe if a trainer does have what it takes to defeat me that trainer could do it in one match. Now that we have battled, you have an idea what pokemon I have so you can plan for another match which gives you an advantage. I do not put up with that." Clair finished. "So there is no rematch."
Ash was astounded and disappointed yet, highly respectful. "Sure, I suppose I understand." Ash was actually more concerned with getting Pikachu to the center.
"Well, I'm glad you understand. Please don't let this discourage you. Now be off and good luck on the rest of your journey."
And with that Ash and the other ran off to the Pokemon Center. Little did Ash and the gang know two hidden silent figures, which were hiding in the bushes, were watching the whole battle threw one of the gyms blue windows.
"Did you see that?" One asked the other as they watched the trio disappear out of sight.
"Yes, I did." The other answered.
They crawled away from the bushes. They were wearing white uniforms with a big red "R" on the front.
"A Dragonair is a very rare pokemon. A prefect prize to bring home to the boss." The second person said. "What do you think James?"
James agreed. "Especially a Dragonair that can defeat that twerps Pikachu!" He gave a goofy little evil laugh. "How do you think we should do it Jess?"
Jesse smiled. "Easy, but first we need to get back to Meowth and tell him the news about Dragonair. He is still in the forest working on a new trap. Come on let's go." Jesse finished as she and James stood up and ran off into the forest.
Ash sat in the waiting room as Nurse Joy healed his Pikachu. He thought about what had happened at the gym. "Please don't let this discourage you," Clair's voice kept racing threw his mind. How could it not discourage him? If he couldn't even beat Clair, what chance would he have in the Johto league? Ash sat by himself pondering his until Nurse Joy saw him and went over to him.
Ash saw her coming and spoke up first. "Nurse Joy, is Pikachu and my other Pokemon going to be okay?"
"Yes," Nurse Joy answered. "But I think a better question would be are you going to be okay?"
"Huh?"
"I heard about your battle with Clair from your friends over there." She pointed over to Brock and Misty who were checking out their pokemon. Misty was having a hard time keeping Togepi still. "That must have been a tough battle."
"It sure was." Ash agreed.
"But I really wouldn't think too much about it. No one has ever defeated Clair. Well, not since she got Dragonair."
"I'm not surprised. That Dragonair is some pokemon. It's really strong." Ash said as he thought about the battle he had with that pokemon. "It's practically unbeatable."
"Ash," Nurse Joy smiled. "No pokemon is unbeatable. You just need to work on your strategy and then you'd have a better chance with Dragonair." Nurse joy looked at her watch. "It's time for me to check on your Pikachu. I'll be right back." Nurse joy walked over to the door leading to the recovery room and disappeared inside.
Ash sat by himself a few minutes longer until Brock and Misty came over to comfort him.
"What did Nurse Joy say?" Misty asked.
"She said no pokemon is unbeatable." Ash repeated.
"Well, she is right." Brock agreed. "But how can you beat it?"
"I have no idea."
Nurse Joy the appeared through the recovery door. "You can come sit in the recovery room with your Pikachu now."
"Great thank Nurse Joy." Ash said as they all went into the recovery area.
They all huddled around a cute little white hospital bed surrounding the sleeping Pikachu. They sat in silence until the pokemon finally opened its eyes.
Ash leaped up out of his seat. "Pikachu are you alright?"
Pikachu looked up at its trainer and nodded as Ash smiled in relief.
Nurse Joy stepped in to join them. She had a small notebook along with her as she stepped around the trio to take the final readings of Pikachu's condition.
"I suggest you keep you Pikachu quiet for a day or two before you continue any serious training. That Dragonair took a lot out of your pokemon."
"Sure," Ash agreed.
"Nurse Joy you know a lot about Pokemon," Misty began. "What could you tell us about Dragonair."
"Well, just to be fair to Clair I could only tell you basic statistics about its species. Not about the actual pokemon itself."
"Oh," Misty said as she gave Togepi a hug for no apparent reason.
"Well," Brock looked at Ash. "Maybe you just need to actually hit Dragonair with a more powerful electric attack. I mean it is a water Dragon after all."
Misty agreed. "That's right. And with all the water in the battlefield a more direct attack could work."
Ash just shrugged. "Why even bother Clair said no rematches."
"So that's what is getting you down." Misty said.
"Besides, even if she did I'm not sure if Pikachu is strong enough to defeat it." Ash admitted.
Pikachu's ears perked up as it pretended not to listen.
Nurse Joy then interrupted their conversation. "Well, have you ever thought of using a evolution stone?"
The three of them looked up at Joy.
"You know, to evolve your Pikachu."
Ash looked a bit nervous.
"Do you have any?" Brock was getting a bit curious.
"I don't but I know there is a few trainer in this city who do have them." Joy
answered.
Misty then had a thought. "Hey, didn't Michelle have a complete collection of evolution stones?"
Pikachu's ears perked up a bit more and became more interesting in the conversation.
"Yeah just about," Ash added.
Pikachu thought about this and continued to listen.
"Well, maybe...." Nurse Joy started but Ash interrupted her.
"Don't even think about suggesting to make Pikachu evolve!" This was making Ash a bit angry and making his friends nervous.
"Oh, well it was just a thought." Nurse Joy nervously stepped towards the door of the recovery room. "Your Pikachu should be ready to go within the hour." She smiled at them and the walked out.
"Hey Ash, since Pikachu seems to be alright would it be alright if we went to grab something to eat?" Misty asked as Brock nodded.
"I don't see why not," Ash looked down at Pikachu. "Don't worry buddy," Ash smiled at his pokemon. "We'll be right back. You rest now okay."
Pikachu nodded and smiled back. It still seemed half-asleep.
Ash and the others left the room in search of food as they leave Pikachu alone to sleep. But Pikachu didn't sleep. Nor did it rest. Instead of listening to Nurse Joy and Ash Pikachu sat up and looked out the window of the recovery room as it thought about Ash's conversation with Joy.
"Pika Pi," Pikachu said to itself.
It's been almost an hour now and Ash, Misty and Brock were heading back to the Pokemon Center. They just ran across the street to grab some burgers for lunch.
"You should have seen the look on your face when the waiter placed that king sized hamburger in front of you," Ash laughed.
"Yeah that was priceless." Brock smiled.
"Well," Misty smiled back even though she was a little frustrated. "How was I to know that they were going to be that big? They sure were good though."
"Uh huh," Both Brock and Ash agreed.
Just as Ash reached for the knob of the front door Nurse Joy bolted out and crashed right into them. They were a little surprised, but other wise unhurt. They all got up and brushed themselves off.
"What's the made Nurse joy," Ash asked.
"Where have you been? I have been looking everywhere for you." She asked, a little out of breath.
"We just went to get something to eat." Ash answered back. "Why is something wrong?"
"I can't find your Pikachu."
"HUH?" They all gasped.
"Pikachu has disappeared." Nurse repeated.
They all ran to the recovery room. They bed was empty and the window was open letting in a cool breeze.
"See," Nurse Joy said as the others searched the room. "This is how is was when I came in to finish up you Pikachu."
Ash was panicky. "Pikachu!" Ash called out. "Pikachu where are you!" Ash continued to search the room.
"Ash stop it's not in here." Misty said. Let's go outside and look maybe it jumped out of the window."
"Or maybe it was taken." Ash said a little frantic.
"No then there would have been signs of struggle which there isn't any," Brock analyzed the area. "Pikachu was tired, but it was recovered so it couldn't have been weak enough to take without struggle."
"But where could it have gone?" Ash was now sounding like he was going to cry.
"Ash lets check outside," Misty suggested again.
"Yeah," Brock said. "Or maybe it went back to the gym."
"Why would Pikachu go back to the gym?" Ash asked as they begun the head out of the recovery room.
"I don't know I'm just throwing out suggestions." Brock admitted.
They searched for most of the afternoon and evening until it was finally time to take a rest. They all trooped back to the Pokemon Center for dinner. As they waited for their meal they all sat together around one of the cafeterias tables which was closest to the outside window.
"I can't believe we didn't find Pikachu." Misty said.
"Yeah, we've looked everywhere." Brock agreed. "All the stores, around trees, in pokemon holes, by the river. We even stopped by Michelle's tower and she wasn't even there."
"And still no sign of Pikachu." Ash said, wearily.
They were all pretty tired and they were considering just going to bed. Ash looked out the window and stared at the trees wondering if Pikachu was all right. As Ash stared he noticed slow moving smog was clouding up the window.
"Hey what's that?" Ash asked as the all looked toward the window.
The smog continued to build up and press against the glass. It kept building up until finally the window started to crack.
"Let's get out of here!" Brock shouted as the three of them moved from the table just as the window shattered into a million pieces.
The dark smog filled the pokemon center in no time and made it impossible to see. Two dark figures climbed in and stood over by the window facing the trio.
"Prepare for trouble."
"And make it double."
Jesse and James were now clearly recognizable.
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To united all people within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jesse."
"James."
"Team Rocket blasts off to the speed of light."
"So surrender now or prepare to fight."
Meowth, as usual, pops out of no where and finishes with a, "Meeeowth! That's right."
The trio glared at Team Rocket.
"Not you guys again!" Ash shouted just as Misty placed Togepi into her pack to keep it safe. Nurse Joy entered the room wondering what all the noise was.
"Hey, what is going on here?" She asked, quite surprised to find pokemon thieves in her Center, by this time most of the smog faded away.
"Don't worry Joy you don't have to worry about the center's pokemon." Jesse said as she looked down at Ash. "We just stopped by to grab the twerps Pikachu before we headed to the gym and snatch the real prize."
Misty shouted at them at the top of her lungs. "Well you wasted your time, Pikachu isn't even with us."
Team Rocket stopped at glanced around.
"You know she's right. That little Pikachu is no where to be seen." James said.
"So much for our two for one deal." Jesse said.
"Well let's get going," Meowth shouted. "Let's not waste time here. Let's go and get our real prize. We can grab that Pikachu another time"
James agreed. "You got it Meowth." James called out Weezing and ordered a smog attack as the smog filled the Pokemon Center once again. It took only a few minutes, but by the time the smog cleared Team Rocket was gone.
They aren't really upset at the disappearance of Team Rocket, because Ash and the others knew exactly where to look. The trio bolted out of the Pokemon Center and headed straight for the Gym. Up head they could already see smoke coming from the direction of the building so they assumed that Team Rocket had already arrived. When they finally got to the gym they could see smoke creep out of the doors and windows and rise up into the sky.
"Let's go!" Ash shouted as they all rushed in to help Clair.
The trio got to the battlefield where they saw the confrontation between Team Rocket and Clair. Clair was battling with Jesse and her Victreebell using a Kingdra. Dragonair was already tied down in a net with immensely strong ropes and was also in the clutches of Arbok's wrap. Arbok had its mouth around Dragonair's neck so that if Clair attempted to free it Arbok would snap its powerful jaws shut and Dragonair would get seriously hurt. Ash could tell that Kingdra wouldn't last much longer against Victreebell so he had to intervene and quickly.
"I won't allow you to get away," Clair announces as she was trying to figure out what to do.
"I'm afraid you have no choice." Jesse laughed. "No matter what you do you'll only hurt your own Pokemon. So you might as well give up and your Dragonair won't get hurt."
All of the Team Rocket members started to laugh at Clair's trouble and Ash couldn't take anymore.
"STOP RIGHT THERE TEAM ROCKET!" Ash shouted to get their attention.
Team rocket and Clair looked up and saw the trio.
"It's the twerp again." Jesse said. How did he get here so fast."
"Who cares," Meowth said back. "Not like there is anything he can do anyway."
"You better release that Pokemon right now!" Misty shouted as she clutched her pack containing Togepi.
"Yeah," James said. "Like we are going to release this rarest of rare Pokemon just because you say so."
"Fine," Ash shouted. "We will do this the hard way." Ash reached for a pokeball. "I choose you, Bulbasaur!"
Bulbasaur appears from its pokeball.
"Victreebell, forget that Kingdra and get that Bulbasaur!" James ordered.
Victreebell turned away from the weakened water pokemon and attacked the grass one.
"Bulbasaur use your razor leaf!" Ash ordered as Bulbasaur shot out several razor leaves.
Victreebell barely dodged the attack one leaf at a time.
"Victreebell, use your tackle!" James shouted as Victreebell attacked.
"Bulbasaur use your vine whip!" Bulbasaur used its vine whip and caught the Victreebell before it could strike. "Now toss it!" Bulbasaur lifted the Victreebell, swung it around in an overhead circle a few times, and tossed it across the battlefield. Victreebell landed hard onto the pavement. "All right!" Ash shouted in victory.
"Bulba." Bulbasaur grinned and stood next to its trainer.
Clair, for some reason, felt that this was the time to attack. "Kingdra, use your water gun on Arbok!" Clair ordered thinking this attack might save her Dragonair.
Kingdra drew its head back and released a powerful water gun attack. The attack was shot toward Arbok, but before it could strike Wobafett leaped into the way and used Mirror Coat to block the water gun.
"No!" Clair shouted at the failed attack.
"Where did Wobafett come from?" Misty whispered.
"Who knows." Brock whispered back.
"You shouldn't have done that lady." Meowth glared at her. "We warned you not to mess with Arbok and now your Pokemon is going to get it.
"No!" Clair cried out again. "You can't do that! Kingdra attack!"
Kingdra charged at Wobafett and tackled it.
"Come on Bulbasaur let's help them out!" Ash commanded as Bulbasaur attacked.
James looked over at Victreebell who was barely recovering from the first scuffle with Bulbasaur. "Get over here and take care of that Pokemon!"
Victreebell stood up and attacked Bulbasaur.
Bulbasaur used its Razor leaf and was quickly blocked by Victreebell's vine whip.
"Okay, now Bulbasaur use your sleep powder!" Ash shouted.
"Victreebell, move!" James cried out.
Bulbasaur released a thick cloud of sleep powder toward Victreebell as Victreebell barely ducks out of the way in time.
Ash clenches his fist in frustration.
Meanwhile, Kingdra was attacking Wobafett and kept getting its attacks blocked from Mirror coat and Counter and then thrown right back.
"Kingdra, dive under water!" Clair ordered as Kingdra dived under the battlefield water.
"Wobafett," Jesse yelled. "Do something!"
Wobafett leaped onto one of the floating platforms and searched the water for Kingdra.
"Kingdra, attack now!" Clair shouted as Kingdra bolted out of the water and charged at Wobafett with a takedown attack. Again Wobafett used counter attack and blocked Kingdra and sent it flying back into the water.
Ash ran to Clair as Misty and Brock watched in anticipation. Neither of them knew what to do. Misty was so concentrated on the battle that she didn't notice Togepi popping its head out of her pack. Togepi looked around and then stared at the excitement going on in the gym. Togepi smiled and started to wave its hands back and forth in pleasingly.
"Now Bulbasaur use your vine whip again!" Ash shouted as Bulbasaur shot out its vine whip. The whip reached to Victreebell and wrapped around its body enabling it to move. "Now use your solar beam!" Ash shouted, but before Bulbasaur could charge up James ordered an attack.
"Victreebell use you sleep powder!" Victreebell obeyed as a large cloud of powder was released.
"Quick Bulbasaur move!" Ash shouted, but Bulbasaur couldn't get away in time. The sleep powder surrounded the pokemon and Bulbasaur as fast asleep within seconds. "Bulbasaur no!"
Kingdra was still attempting to tackle Wobafett with absolutely no luck. Togepi continued to wave its hands playfully back and forth. "Toge toge toge.....!"
Clair called out another order. "Kingdra use your ice beam!"
Kingdra charged up the attack and released an ice beam straight for Wobafett. Again, Wobafett used Mirror Coat and not only blocked the attack, but the ice beam got shot right back at Kingdra striking it and tossing it back into the water.
Jessie cried out in victory. "Yahoo! We beat the twerp and that know-it-all gym leader."
Meowth held up its paw to quiet Jessie down. "We may have beaten the twerps, but we still need to teach this guys that we are criminals of our word. We told you if you tried something that we'd take care of your Dragonair." Meowth turned to Arbok. "Okay, Arbok do your thing." Meowth ordered as Arbok tightened its grip as Dragonair wiggled trying to get free. The snake pokemon opened its mouth wide.
"No, please!" Clair begged as the trio gasped.
The next few seconds, to Clair, seemed like it was all happening in slow motion. Arbok's jaws began to shut.
Togepi stopped waving its hands and grinned. "Togepiiiiii!" It smiled as its hands glowed a bright blue color. The same color light surrounded Dragonair. Arbok's jaws quickly came down as its fangs sunk deeply into its victim. Arbok held its position for a second. Ash and the others looked on as Arbok slowly realized that Dragonair was no longer there. Instead, of attacking Dragonair, Arbok had sunk its fangs into its own tail. Arbok hollered out in pain, as Team Rocket was highly confused.
"Where is Dragonair?" James asked as they all glanced around the gym.
Dragonair darted out of the battlefield water and just hovered over Team Rocket. Clair was thrilled to see her pokemon alive and well.
"I don't know how you did it, but now that your are free let's show Team Rocket that they can not mess with the pokemon in this gym. Dragonair nodded.
Team Rocket embraced each other in fear.
"Dragonair use Twister!" Clair ordered.
Dragonair straightened itself vertically and began spinning its body around. All the air around it was getting collected together until a huge twister of air formed over the water. The twister charged at Team Rocket and scooped them up into its swirling trap. A huge thrust of wind violently pushed Team Rocket out of the twister and went crashing through the ceiling of the gym.
"I can't believe how close we were to victory." Jesse exclaimed as they continued to move up higher into the air.
"I guess there isn't much we can do now." Meowth whined.
All of them cried out together. "So we're blasting off again!" As they all disappeared into the sky.
Clair sighed in relief as she held out her arms to Dragonair. Dragonair slid into her arms as she hugged her pokemon lovingly. She turned to Ash and smiled. "Thank you so much for your help Ash."
"I am just glad that Dragonair is okay."
Brock and Misty nodded in agreement as Togepi slid back into the pack.
"If there is anything I can do for you please don't hesitate to ask." Clair added.
Ash thought about it for a second. "Well actually, I would very much like a rematch.
Clair smiled. "Of course Ash. On one condition, we have the match right here, right now."
"Sure," Ash replied even though he still wanted his Pikachu with him. He hoped Pikachu was all right.
It only took Clair a few minutes to gather some other pokemon she had. Her Seaking, and Kingdra were out of commission, but Dragonair insisted to battle. Both trainers took their positions at the opposite sides of the battlefield.
"Are you ready Ash?"
"I am ready." Ash answered.
"Then I'll start with you!" Clair announced as she tossed a pokeball. A Remoraid appeared in the water.
Ash grabbed a pokeball. "Chickorita, I choose you!" Chickorita appeared. "Chickorita, use your razor leaf."
"Remoraid, get out of the way!" Clair shouted.
Remoraid dived under water to escape the attack.
"Now Remoraid, use your water gun attack!" Clair ordered as Remoraid lifted its head out of the water, aimed and shot a powerful water stream striking Chickorita. Chickorita tried to stay on the platform, but the water gun was slowly pushing the pokemon off.
"Come on Chickorita, you can do it!" Ash cheered on his pokemon as Chickorita used all its strength to push against the water gun just enough so it could leap to the next platform ahead to dodge the attack.
"Try again." Clair shouted as the stream of water moved toward the second platform that Chickorita was standing on. But this time Chickorita was able to jump over the stream before it hit and leaped back to the first platform.
"Now use your sweet scent." Ash ordered as a pink cloud of a sweet smelling aroma floated over to the Remoraid. Remoraid inhaled the scent and was calmed. "Now use your razor leaf!" Chickorita shot out a couple of razor leaves at the pokemon, which struck the Remoraid and sent it flying out of the water. The Remoraid landed hard on the cement floor next to Clair. Chickorita was victorious.
Clair called her Remoraid back. "Return." She put that pokeball away and then pulled out another. "Nice one Ash, now try your luck against this one. I choose you!" She tossed the pokeball and the pokeball opened up to release a cute little Horsea.
"Awe, cutie!" Misty said when she saw the little water pokemon.
"It maybe be cute, but cuteness won't stop me from winning this battle." Ash announced. "Chickorita, you've had enough so return." Chickorita returned it its pokeball. Ash reached for another. "I choose you, Noctowl." Noctowl appeared. "Quick, knock it out of the water with a gust."
Noctowl attacked, but the Horsea dived under the water to escape. Horsea popped up out of the water right behind Noctowl and used a smog attack. The smog filled the air around the flying pokemon.
"Noctowl use gust again to blow away the smog." Ash ordered.
While Noctowl was distracted with the smog Horsea fired its water gun at Noctowl once the pokemon was visible. Noctowl was knocked off balance a bit, but other than that the water gun really didn't effect it.
"Hypnosis." Ash order as Noctowl tried a hypnosis attack. Horse couldn't get away in time and the attack took effect.
Horsea looked confused for a minute then it began firing its water gun in all directions.
"Horsea what's the matter with you." Clair asked as she tried to think of a way to help her pokemon.
Horsea fired a powerful water gun towards the side of the battlefield, which bounced right back and struck Horsea dead on. Horsea was a little hurt and highly confused, but was still all right. "Now Horsea use your bubble attack."
Ash ordered Noctowl to dodge and it did. "Now use your gust and blow it out of the water!" Noctowl obeyed and Horsea was tossed out of the battlefield water and landed on one of the platforms closest to Clair. "Now finish it with a tackle attack!" Noctowl dove at Horsea and before Horsea could react Noctowl struck the pokemon with a powerful tackle attack. Horsea was thrown off the platform and landed straight into the water. Everyone waited to see what happened to Horsea after the attack as the dragon pokemon floated up to the top of the water unconscious and unable to battle.
Clair called back Horsea as she grabbed her last pokeball. Everyone knew what it was going to be. "Go, Dragonair." Dragonair was released and ready to battle. Ash knew that Noctowl would last too long against Dragonair. He began to think of which pokemon he could change to and think of a stragedy before he began to battle with the giant dragon pokemon so he could use Noctowl as a set up pokemon if he needed to. He wanted his Pikachu there with him. He was very worried about it now. He thought about it for a second and he realized the last thing they talked about was evolution with Michelle's evolution stones. He hopes that talk didn't purswade Pikachu to force evolution just to win a battle.
When Ash finally left his thoughts and focused back on the battle he realized that Clair had already ordered Dragonair to attack. Dragonair was chasing Noctowl in circles over the battlefield.
"Noctowl use hypnosis!" Ash finally ordered as Noctowl obeyed.
As Noctowl turned around to attack Dragonair immediately dove down from the circle and splashed into the water dodging the attack. Noctowl stopped and hovered over the water.
"Dragonair attack!" Clair shouted.
Dragonair leaped out of the water and tackled Noctowl from the air and dove right back in. Noctowl was a little shaken, but otherwise still all right.
"Again!"
Dragonair leaped out of the water once again and struck Noctowl as before. Ash didn't know what to do. Dragonair seemed to quick for Noctowl and he didn't have any pokemon that could battle. Kingler maybe, but it didn't have much chance the first time. Bulbasaur and Chickorita were out and Cyndaquil wouldn't stand a chance with all the water around. He had to stick with Noctowl as long as he could.
"Noctowl try hypnosis again." Ash suggested but again Dragonair dove and dodged the attack.
"Now use your ice beam!" Clair ordered as Dragonair charged up an ice beam attack.
"Noctowl you must dodge it." Ash cried out as Dragonair released the attack. Noctowl attempted to move, but Dragonair's ice beam was too quick and struck the pokemon with a mighty blow. Noctowl fell from the sky and Ash had to call it back before it could hit the water.
Ash didn't have much choice now. He had to make due with Kingler and hope that Kingler can cut it. Ash took a deep breath, grabbed Kingler's pokeball and was got ready to call the crab pokemon out. He stared at Dragonair his heart full of helplessness. He knew the match would be over in a matter of seconds. Ash drew back his hand to release the pokeball. Suddenly a quick flash of light struck the ground a foot in front of where Ash was standing frightening him.
"What was that?" Brock exclaimed.
"I don't know," Misty replied. "Hey, look." Misty pointed over to the entrance of the gym.
Ash, Clair and the others all looked over to the open door. A small silhouette of a creature was standing in the doorway, the sunlight shining in behind. The little creature stepped forward toward the battlefield. It came closer and closer and closer until finally it stepped out of the light in plain sight for everyone to see.
"PIKACHU!" Ash cried out in joy. "You're here!"
"Hooray!" Misty and Brock cheered when they saw the little mouse pokemon.
Pikachu leaped into Ash's arms as Ash caught it and gave it a gigantic hug. "I am glad to see you buddy."
Clair was getting a little impatient. "Are you ready or not."
"Pike!" Pikachu nodded.
"Do you want to battle?" Ash asked Pikachu.
"Pike." Pikachu nodded at Ash and smiled as Ash smiled back.
"Okay then let's do it!" Ash said as Pikachu leaped out of its trainer's hands and jumped onto one of the first platforms of the battlefield. "Pikachu use your thunder shock!"
"Dragonair fly." Clair commanded as the dragon pokemon fly up high and dodged the electric attack.
"Dragonair use tackle."
"Pikachu dodge."
Dragonair swooped down toward Pikachu as Pikachu dived into the water to escape. Once Dragonair flew back up Pikachu leaped back on to the platform.
Ash knew that Dragonair was too quick for an electric attack. It would just dodge it, unless there was another way. Ash then suddenly had an idea.
"Dragonair used take down!"
"Pikachu stand your ground." Ash ordered as Pikachu placed its feet firmly on the platform and braced itself for Dragonair's attack.
Dragonair dove down toward Dragonair. It got closer and closer and just as it was about to strike the pokemon Ash called out a quick order. "Pikachu jump." Pikachu jumped up into the air just as the Dragonair attacked. Pikachu fell back down from the air and landed right onto Dragonair's back. Dragonair flew up from its dive and then suddenly realized the unwanted passenger on its back and it attempted to shake it off.
"Dragonair get that Pikachu off of you!" Clair ordered.
Dragonair tried but it couldn't shake it off.
"Pikachu, uses your thunder attack." Ash ordered as Pikachu charged up the electricity.
"No!" Clair shouted.
But it was too late. Pikachu released the electric attack straight into the Dragonair. Dragonair cried out in pain as it stopped flying in midair. Pikachu gave it one last jolt of electricity then jumped off before the Dragonair fell into the water. Pikachu landed softly on the cement near its trainer as they waited to see what happened to Dragonair. Dragonair floated up to the surface of the water unconscious and unable to battle.
"Yes!" Ash shouted in victory. "We won!"
"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu just smiled.
"Congratulations Ash." Clair said as she called her pokemon back and walked around the battlefield to talk to Ash. "And here you go." Clair handed him the Rising badge.
Ash stared at it for a second then he held it up for Misty and Brock to see.
"Congratulations." Misty said.
There was a light sound of clapping high above them. There was a human figure standing there in the gym special seating above the battlefield. It took a few seconds for Ash to recognize who it was.
"Michelle!" Ash shouted.
Michelle smiled as she looked down. She had brought Raichu with her. She came down and congratulated Ash on his victory as Raichu congratulated Pikachu.
"Michelle." Ash began. "What are you doing here?"
"I brought your Pikachu back to you."
"What do you mean?" Ash asked.
"I caught your Pikachu in the tower trying to open the container with our evolution stones." Michelle patted Pikachu on the head. "After sometime I think Pikachu finally realized that you love it because of who it is not what it can evolve into."
Ash looked at Pikachu. "Thank you Pikachu!" He smiled. "I couldn't have done it without you."
Ash and the others said goodbye and they waved to Michelle, Raichu, and Clair as they continued their journey. Misty and Brock couldn't stop talking about the battle and even though Ash won the badge his mind was on something else. Not only did Michelle bring back Pikachu, but she also made sure that it didn't do anything it really didn't want to. He realized how much he liked her and he was sad that he had to say goodbye to her again. Who knows when the next time Michelle and Ash will meet. As long as they still believe in each other they will always be together no matter how far apart they are.
Ash and the others watched in horror at the incredible attack from Dragonair. Ash waited nervously as the water vapor from the battlefield settled so he could see what happened to his Pikachu. The clouds of vapor slowly faded away until finally Ash spotted his pokemon. Pikachu was lying on its stomach atop one of the platforms, completely unconscious.
"Pikachu!" Ash yelled out as he leaped into the water and swam to get his pokemon. Holding on to the platform with one hand he used the other to pick up Pikachu. "Are you alright?" Pikachu didn't answer. Ash carried it back to the group and handed it to Brock. "Brock quick is it going to be alright?"
Brock examined it for a minute. "Yes, but we still need to get Pikachu to a Pokemon Center right away."
Ash looked at Clair in admiration. "You are strong."
"Come on Ash," Brock nudged at Ash's shoulder. "If you want schedule a rematch, but make it fast we have to get going."
Ash looked at Clair, but before he could speak Clair spoke up first.
"Just so you know," Clair announced. Obviously she over heard them talking about Pikachu. "I do not give rematches."
"What?" Ash exclaimed. "Why?"
"I believe if a trainer does have what it takes to defeat me that trainer could do it in one match. Now that we have battled, you have an idea what pokemon I have so you can plan for another match which gives you an advantage. I do not put up with that." Clair finished. "So there is no rematch."
Ash was astounded and disappointed yet, highly respectful. "Sure, I suppose I understand." Ash was actually more concerned with getting Pikachu to the center.
"Well, I'm glad you understand. Please don't let this discourage you. Now be off and good luck on the rest of your journey."
And with that Ash and the other ran off to the Pokemon Center. Little did Ash and the gang know two hidden silent figures, which were hiding in the bushes, were watching the whole battle threw one of the gyms blue windows.
"Did you see that?" One asked the other as they watched the trio disappear out of sight.
"Yes, I did." The other answered.
They crawled away from the bushes. They were wearing white uniforms with a big red "R" on the front.
"A Dragonair is a very rare pokemon. A prefect prize to bring home to the boss." The second person said. "What do you think James?"
James agreed. "Especially a Dragonair that can defeat that twerps Pikachu!" He gave a goofy little evil laugh. "How do you think we should do it Jess?"
Jesse smiled. "Easy, but first we need to get back to Meowth and tell him the news about Dragonair. He is still in the forest working on a new trap. Come on let's go." Jesse finished as she and James stood up and ran off into the forest.
Ash sat in the waiting room as Nurse Joy healed his Pikachu. He thought about what had happened at the gym. "Please don't let this discourage you," Clair's voice kept racing threw his mind. How could it not discourage him? If he couldn't even beat Clair, what chance would he have in the Johto league? Ash sat by himself pondering his until Nurse Joy saw him and went over to him.
Ash saw her coming and spoke up first. "Nurse Joy, is Pikachu and my other Pokemon going to be okay?"
"Yes," Nurse Joy answered. "But I think a better question would be are you going to be okay?"
"Huh?"
"I heard about your battle with Clair from your friends over there." She pointed over to Brock and Misty who were checking out their pokemon. Misty was having a hard time keeping Togepi still. "That must have been a tough battle."
"It sure was." Ash agreed.
"But I really wouldn't think too much about it. No one has ever defeated Clair. Well, not since she got Dragonair."
"I'm not surprised. That Dragonair is some pokemon. It's really strong." Ash said as he thought about the battle he had with that pokemon. "It's practically unbeatable."
"Ash," Nurse Joy smiled. "No pokemon is unbeatable. You just need to work on your strategy and then you'd have a better chance with Dragonair." Nurse joy looked at her watch. "It's time for me to check on your Pikachu. I'll be right back." Nurse joy walked over to the door leading to the recovery room and disappeared inside.
Ash sat by himself a few minutes longer until Brock and Misty came over to comfort him.
"What did Nurse Joy say?" Misty asked.
"She said no pokemon is unbeatable." Ash repeated.
"Well, she is right." Brock agreed. "But how can you beat it?"
"I have no idea."
Nurse Joy the appeared through the recovery door. "You can come sit in the recovery room with your Pikachu now."
"Great thank Nurse Joy." Ash said as they all went into the recovery area.
They all huddled around a cute little white hospital bed surrounding the sleeping Pikachu. They sat in silence until the pokemon finally opened its eyes.
Ash leaped up out of his seat. "Pikachu are you alright?"
Pikachu looked up at its trainer and nodded as Ash smiled in relief.
Nurse Joy stepped in to join them. She had a small notebook along with her as she stepped around the trio to take the final readings of Pikachu's condition.
"I suggest you keep you Pikachu quiet for a day or two before you continue any serious training. That Dragonair took a lot out of your pokemon."
"Sure," Ash agreed.
"Nurse Joy you know a lot about Pokemon," Misty began. "What could you tell us about Dragonair."
"Well, just to be fair to Clair I could only tell you basic statistics about its species. Not about the actual pokemon itself."
"Oh," Misty said as she gave Togepi a hug for no apparent reason.
"Well," Brock looked at Ash. "Maybe you just need to actually hit Dragonair with a more powerful electric attack. I mean it is a water Dragon after all."
Misty agreed. "That's right. And with all the water in the battlefield a more direct attack could work."
Ash just shrugged. "Why even bother Clair said no rematches."
"So that's what is getting you down." Misty said.
"Besides, even if she did I'm not sure if Pikachu is strong enough to defeat it." Ash admitted.
Pikachu's ears perked up as it pretended not to listen.
Nurse Joy then interrupted their conversation. "Well, have you ever thought of using a evolution stone?"
The three of them looked up at Joy.
"You know, to evolve your Pikachu."
Ash looked a bit nervous.
"Do you have any?" Brock was getting a bit curious.
"I don't but I know there is a few trainer in this city who do have them." Joy
answered.
Misty then had a thought. "Hey, didn't Michelle have a complete collection of evolution stones?"
Pikachu's ears perked up a bit more and became more interesting in the conversation.
"Yeah just about," Ash added.
Pikachu thought about this and continued to listen.
"Well, maybe...." Nurse Joy started but Ash interrupted her.
"Don't even think about suggesting to make Pikachu evolve!" This was making Ash a bit angry and making his friends nervous.
"Oh, well it was just a thought." Nurse Joy nervously stepped towards the door of the recovery room. "Your Pikachu should be ready to go within the hour." She smiled at them and the walked out.
"Hey Ash, since Pikachu seems to be alright would it be alright if we went to grab something to eat?" Misty asked as Brock nodded.
"I don't see why not," Ash looked down at Pikachu. "Don't worry buddy," Ash smiled at his pokemon. "We'll be right back. You rest now okay."
Pikachu nodded and smiled back. It still seemed half-asleep.
Ash and the others left the room in search of food as they leave Pikachu alone to sleep. But Pikachu didn't sleep. Nor did it rest. Instead of listening to Nurse Joy and Ash Pikachu sat up and looked out the window of the recovery room as it thought about Ash's conversation with Joy.
"Pika Pi," Pikachu said to itself.
It's been almost an hour now and Ash, Misty and Brock were heading back to the Pokemon Center. They just ran across the street to grab some burgers for lunch.
"You should have seen the look on your face when the waiter placed that king sized hamburger in front of you," Ash laughed.
"Yeah that was priceless." Brock smiled.
"Well," Misty smiled back even though she was a little frustrated. "How was I to know that they were going to be that big? They sure were good though."
"Uh huh," Both Brock and Ash agreed.
Just as Ash reached for the knob of the front door Nurse Joy bolted out and crashed right into them. They were a little surprised, but other wise unhurt. They all got up and brushed themselves off.
"What's the made Nurse joy," Ash asked.
"Where have you been? I have been looking everywhere for you." She asked, a little out of breath.
"We just went to get something to eat." Ash answered back. "Why is something wrong?"
"I can't find your Pikachu."
"HUH?" They all gasped.
"Pikachu has disappeared." Nurse repeated.
They all ran to the recovery room. They bed was empty and the window was open letting in a cool breeze.
"See," Nurse Joy said as the others searched the room. "This is how is was when I came in to finish up you Pikachu."
Ash was panicky. "Pikachu!" Ash called out. "Pikachu where are you!" Ash continued to search the room.
"Ash stop it's not in here." Misty said. Let's go outside and look maybe it jumped out of the window."
"Or maybe it was taken." Ash said a little frantic.
"No then there would have been signs of struggle which there isn't any," Brock analyzed the area. "Pikachu was tired, but it was recovered so it couldn't have been weak enough to take without struggle."
"But where could it have gone?" Ash was now sounding like he was going to cry.
"Ash lets check outside," Misty suggested again.
"Yeah," Brock said. "Or maybe it went back to the gym."
"Why would Pikachu go back to the gym?" Ash asked as they begun the head out of the recovery room.
"I don't know I'm just throwing out suggestions." Brock admitted.
They searched for most of the afternoon and evening until it was finally time to take a rest. They all trooped back to the Pokemon Center for dinner. As they waited for their meal they all sat together around one of the cafeterias tables which was closest to the outside window.
"I can't believe we didn't find Pikachu." Misty said.
"Yeah, we've looked everywhere." Brock agreed. "All the stores, around trees, in pokemon holes, by the river. We even stopped by Michelle's tower and she wasn't even there."
"And still no sign of Pikachu." Ash said, wearily.
They were all pretty tired and they were considering just going to bed. Ash looked out the window and stared at the trees wondering if Pikachu was all right. As Ash stared he noticed slow moving smog was clouding up the window.
"Hey what's that?" Ash asked as the all looked toward the window.
The smog continued to build up and press against the glass. It kept building up until finally the window started to crack.
"Let's get out of here!" Brock shouted as the three of them moved from the table just as the window shattered into a million pieces.
The dark smog filled the pokemon center in no time and made it impossible to see. Two dark figures climbed in and stood over by the window facing the trio.
"Prepare for trouble."
"And make it double."
Jesse and James were now clearly recognizable.
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To united all people within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jesse."
"James."
"Team Rocket blasts off to the speed of light."
"So surrender now or prepare to fight."
Meowth, as usual, pops out of no where and finishes with a, "Meeeowth! That's right."
The trio glared at Team Rocket.
"Not you guys again!" Ash shouted just as Misty placed Togepi into her pack to keep it safe. Nurse Joy entered the room wondering what all the noise was.
"Hey, what is going on here?" She asked, quite surprised to find pokemon thieves in her Center, by this time most of the smog faded away.
"Don't worry Joy you don't have to worry about the center's pokemon." Jesse said as she looked down at Ash. "We just stopped by to grab the twerps Pikachu before we headed to the gym and snatch the real prize."
Misty shouted at them at the top of her lungs. "Well you wasted your time, Pikachu isn't even with us."
Team Rocket stopped at glanced around.
"You know she's right. That little Pikachu is no where to be seen." James said.
"So much for our two for one deal." Jesse said.
"Well let's get going," Meowth shouted. "Let's not waste time here. Let's go and get our real prize. We can grab that Pikachu another time"
James agreed. "You got it Meowth." James called out Weezing and ordered a smog attack as the smog filled the Pokemon Center once again. It took only a few minutes, but by the time the smog cleared Team Rocket was gone.
They aren't really upset at the disappearance of Team Rocket, because Ash and the others knew exactly where to look. The trio bolted out of the Pokemon Center and headed straight for the Gym. Up head they could already see smoke coming from the direction of the building so they assumed that Team Rocket had already arrived. When they finally got to the gym they could see smoke creep out of the doors and windows and rise up into the sky.
"Let's go!" Ash shouted as they all rushed in to help Clair.
The trio got to the battlefield where they saw the confrontation between Team Rocket and Clair. Clair was battling with Jesse and her Victreebell using a Kingdra. Dragonair was already tied down in a net with immensely strong ropes and was also in the clutches of Arbok's wrap. Arbok had its mouth around Dragonair's neck so that if Clair attempted to free it Arbok would snap its powerful jaws shut and Dragonair would get seriously hurt. Ash could tell that Kingdra wouldn't last much longer against Victreebell so he had to intervene and quickly.
"I won't allow you to get away," Clair announces as she was trying to figure out what to do.
"I'm afraid you have no choice." Jesse laughed. "No matter what you do you'll only hurt your own Pokemon. So you might as well give up and your Dragonair won't get hurt."
All of the Team Rocket members started to laugh at Clair's trouble and Ash couldn't take anymore.
"STOP RIGHT THERE TEAM ROCKET!" Ash shouted to get their attention.
Team rocket and Clair looked up and saw the trio.
"It's the twerp again." Jesse said. How did he get here so fast."
"Who cares," Meowth said back. "Not like there is anything he can do anyway."
"You better release that Pokemon right now!" Misty shouted as she clutched her pack containing Togepi.
"Yeah," James said. "Like we are going to release this rarest of rare Pokemon just because you say so."
"Fine," Ash shouted. "We will do this the hard way." Ash reached for a pokeball. "I choose you, Bulbasaur!"
Bulbasaur appears from its pokeball.
"Victreebell, forget that Kingdra and get that Bulbasaur!" James ordered.
Victreebell turned away from the weakened water pokemon and attacked the grass one.
"Bulbasaur use your razor leaf!" Ash ordered as Bulbasaur shot out several razor leaves.
Victreebell barely dodged the attack one leaf at a time.
"Victreebell, use your tackle!" James shouted as Victreebell attacked.
"Bulbasaur use your vine whip!" Bulbasaur used its vine whip and caught the Victreebell before it could strike. "Now toss it!" Bulbasaur lifted the Victreebell, swung it around in an overhead circle a few times, and tossed it across the battlefield. Victreebell landed hard onto the pavement. "All right!" Ash shouted in victory.
"Bulba." Bulbasaur grinned and stood next to its trainer.
Clair, for some reason, felt that this was the time to attack. "Kingdra, use your water gun on Arbok!" Clair ordered thinking this attack might save her Dragonair.
Kingdra drew its head back and released a powerful water gun attack. The attack was shot toward Arbok, but before it could strike Wobafett leaped into the way and used Mirror Coat to block the water gun.
"No!" Clair shouted at the failed attack.
"Where did Wobafett come from?" Misty whispered.
"Who knows." Brock whispered back.
"You shouldn't have done that lady." Meowth glared at her. "We warned you not to mess with Arbok and now your Pokemon is going to get it.
"No!" Clair cried out again. "You can't do that! Kingdra attack!"
Kingdra charged at Wobafett and tackled it.
"Come on Bulbasaur let's help them out!" Ash commanded as Bulbasaur attacked.
James looked over at Victreebell who was barely recovering from the first scuffle with Bulbasaur. "Get over here and take care of that Pokemon!"
Victreebell stood up and attacked Bulbasaur.
Bulbasaur used its Razor leaf and was quickly blocked by Victreebell's vine whip.
"Okay, now Bulbasaur use your sleep powder!" Ash shouted.
"Victreebell, move!" James cried out.
Bulbasaur released a thick cloud of sleep powder toward Victreebell as Victreebell barely ducks out of the way in time.
Ash clenches his fist in frustration.
Meanwhile, Kingdra was attacking Wobafett and kept getting its attacks blocked from Mirror coat and Counter and then thrown right back.
"Kingdra, dive under water!" Clair ordered as Kingdra dived under the battlefield water.
"Wobafett," Jesse yelled. "Do something!"
Wobafett leaped onto one of the floating platforms and searched the water for Kingdra.
"Kingdra, attack now!" Clair shouted as Kingdra bolted out of the water and charged at Wobafett with a takedown attack. Again Wobafett used counter attack and blocked Kingdra and sent it flying back into the water.
Ash ran to Clair as Misty and Brock watched in anticipation. Neither of them knew what to do. Misty was so concentrated on the battle that she didn't notice Togepi popping its head out of her pack. Togepi looked around and then stared at the excitement going on in the gym. Togepi smiled and started to wave its hands back and forth in pleasingly.
"Now Bulbasaur use your vine whip again!" Ash shouted as Bulbasaur shot out its vine whip. The whip reached to Victreebell and wrapped around its body enabling it to move. "Now use your solar beam!" Ash shouted, but before Bulbasaur could charge up James ordered an attack.
"Victreebell use you sleep powder!" Victreebell obeyed as a large cloud of powder was released.
"Quick Bulbasaur move!" Ash shouted, but Bulbasaur couldn't get away in time. The sleep powder surrounded the pokemon and Bulbasaur as fast asleep within seconds. "Bulbasaur no!"
Kingdra was still attempting to tackle Wobafett with absolutely no luck. Togepi continued to wave its hands playfully back and forth. "Toge toge toge.....!"
Clair called out another order. "Kingdra use your ice beam!"
Kingdra charged up the attack and released an ice beam straight for Wobafett. Again, Wobafett used Mirror Coat and not only blocked the attack, but the ice beam got shot right back at Kingdra striking it and tossing it back into the water.
Jessie cried out in victory. "Yahoo! We beat the twerp and that know-it-all gym leader."
Meowth held up its paw to quiet Jessie down. "We may have beaten the twerps, but we still need to teach this guys that we are criminals of our word. We told you if you tried something that we'd take care of your Dragonair." Meowth turned to Arbok. "Okay, Arbok do your thing." Meowth ordered as Arbok tightened its grip as Dragonair wiggled trying to get free. The snake pokemon opened its mouth wide.
"No, please!" Clair begged as the trio gasped.
The next few seconds, to Clair, seemed like it was all happening in slow motion. Arbok's jaws began to shut.
Togepi stopped waving its hands and grinned. "Togepiiiiii!" It smiled as its hands glowed a bright blue color. The same color light surrounded Dragonair. Arbok's jaws quickly came down as its fangs sunk deeply into its victim. Arbok held its position for a second. Ash and the others looked on as Arbok slowly realized that Dragonair was no longer there. Instead, of attacking Dragonair, Arbok had sunk its fangs into its own tail. Arbok hollered out in pain, as Team Rocket was highly confused.
"Where is Dragonair?" James asked as they all glanced around the gym.
Dragonair darted out of the battlefield water and just hovered over Team Rocket. Clair was thrilled to see her pokemon alive and well.
"I don't know how you did it, but now that your are free let's show Team Rocket that they can not mess with the pokemon in this gym. Dragonair nodded.
Team Rocket embraced each other in fear.
"Dragonair use Twister!" Clair ordered.
Dragonair straightened itself vertically and began spinning its body around. All the air around it was getting collected together until a huge twister of air formed over the water. The twister charged at Team Rocket and scooped them up into its swirling trap. A huge thrust of wind violently pushed Team Rocket out of the twister and went crashing through the ceiling of the gym.
"I can't believe how close we were to victory." Jesse exclaimed as they continued to move up higher into the air.
"I guess there isn't much we can do now." Meowth whined.
All of them cried out together. "So we're blasting off again!" As they all disappeared into the sky.
Clair sighed in relief as she held out her arms to Dragonair. Dragonair slid into her arms as she hugged her pokemon lovingly. She turned to Ash and smiled. "Thank you so much for your help Ash."
"I am just glad that Dragonair is okay."
Brock and Misty nodded in agreement as Togepi slid back into the pack.
"If there is anything I can do for you please don't hesitate to ask." Clair added.
Ash thought about it for a second. "Well actually, I would very much like a rematch.
Clair smiled. "Of course Ash. On one condition, we have the match right here, right now."
"Sure," Ash replied even though he still wanted his Pikachu with him. He hoped Pikachu was all right.
It only took Clair a few minutes to gather some other pokemon she had. Her Seaking, and Kingdra were out of commission, but Dragonair insisted to battle. Both trainers took their positions at the opposite sides of the battlefield.
"Are you ready Ash?"
"I am ready." Ash answered.
"Then I'll start with you!" Clair announced as she tossed a pokeball. A Remoraid appeared in the water.
Ash grabbed a pokeball. "Chickorita, I choose you!" Chickorita appeared. "Chickorita, use your razor leaf."
"Remoraid, get out of the way!" Clair shouted.
Remoraid dived under water to escape the attack.
"Now Remoraid, use your water gun attack!" Clair ordered as Remoraid lifted its head out of the water, aimed and shot a powerful water stream striking Chickorita. Chickorita tried to stay on the platform, but the water gun was slowly pushing the pokemon off.
"Come on Chickorita, you can do it!" Ash cheered on his pokemon as Chickorita used all its strength to push against the water gun just enough so it could leap to the next platform ahead to dodge the attack.
"Try again." Clair shouted as the stream of water moved toward the second platform that Chickorita was standing on. But this time Chickorita was able to jump over the stream before it hit and leaped back to the first platform.
"Now use your sweet scent." Ash ordered as a pink cloud of a sweet smelling aroma floated over to the Remoraid. Remoraid inhaled the scent and was calmed. "Now use your razor leaf!" Chickorita shot out a couple of razor leaves at the pokemon, which struck the Remoraid and sent it flying out of the water. The Remoraid landed hard on the cement floor next to Clair. Chickorita was victorious.
Clair called her Remoraid back. "Return." She put that pokeball away and then pulled out another. "Nice one Ash, now try your luck against this one. I choose you!" She tossed the pokeball and the pokeball opened up to release a cute little Horsea.
"Awe, cutie!" Misty said when she saw the little water pokemon.
"It maybe be cute, but cuteness won't stop me from winning this battle." Ash announced. "Chickorita, you've had enough so return." Chickorita returned it its pokeball. Ash reached for another. "I choose you, Noctowl." Noctowl appeared. "Quick, knock it out of the water with a gust."
Noctowl attacked, but the Horsea dived under the water to escape. Horsea popped up out of the water right behind Noctowl and used a smog attack. The smog filled the air around the flying pokemon.
"Noctowl use gust again to blow away the smog." Ash ordered.
While Noctowl was distracted with the smog Horsea fired its water gun at Noctowl once the pokemon was visible. Noctowl was knocked off balance a bit, but other than that the water gun really didn't effect it.
"Hypnosis." Ash order as Noctowl tried a hypnosis attack. Horse couldn't get away in time and the attack took effect.
Horsea looked confused for a minute then it began firing its water gun in all directions.
"Horsea what's the matter with you." Clair asked as she tried to think of a way to help her pokemon.
Horsea fired a powerful water gun towards the side of the battlefield, which bounced right back and struck Horsea dead on. Horsea was a little hurt and highly confused, but was still all right. "Now Horsea use your bubble attack."
Ash ordered Noctowl to dodge and it did. "Now use your gust and blow it out of the water!" Noctowl obeyed and Horsea was tossed out of the battlefield water and landed on one of the platforms closest to Clair. "Now finish it with a tackle attack!" Noctowl dove at Horsea and before Horsea could react Noctowl struck the pokemon with a powerful tackle attack. Horsea was thrown off the platform and landed straight into the water. Everyone waited to see what happened to Horsea after the attack as the dragon pokemon floated up to the top of the water unconscious and unable to battle.
Clair called back Horsea as she grabbed her last pokeball. Everyone knew what it was going to be. "Go, Dragonair." Dragonair was released and ready to battle. Ash knew that Noctowl would last too long against Dragonair. He began to think of which pokemon he could change to and think of a stragedy before he began to battle with the giant dragon pokemon so he could use Noctowl as a set up pokemon if he needed to. He wanted his Pikachu there with him. He was very worried about it now. He thought about it for a second and he realized the last thing they talked about was evolution with Michelle's evolution stones. He hopes that talk didn't purswade Pikachu to force evolution just to win a battle.
When Ash finally left his thoughts and focused back on the battle he realized that Clair had already ordered Dragonair to attack. Dragonair was chasing Noctowl in circles over the battlefield.
"Noctowl use hypnosis!" Ash finally ordered as Noctowl obeyed.
As Noctowl turned around to attack Dragonair immediately dove down from the circle and splashed into the water dodging the attack. Noctowl stopped and hovered over the water.
"Dragonair attack!" Clair shouted.
Dragonair leaped out of the water and tackled Noctowl from the air and dove right back in. Noctowl was a little shaken, but otherwise still all right.
"Again!"
Dragonair leaped out of the water once again and struck Noctowl as before. Ash didn't know what to do. Dragonair seemed to quick for Noctowl and he didn't have any pokemon that could battle. Kingler maybe, but it didn't have much chance the first time. Bulbasaur and Chickorita were out and Cyndaquil wouldn't stand a chance with all the water around. He had to stick with Noctowl as long as he could.
"Noctowl try hypnosis again." Ash suggested but again Dragonair dove and dodged the attack.
"Now use your ice beam!" Clair ordered as Dragonair charged up an ice beam attack.
"Noctowl you must dodge it." Ash cried out as Dragonair released the attack. Noctowl attempted to move, but Dragonair's ice beam was too quick and struck the pokemon with a mighty blow. Noctowl fell from the sky and Ash had to call it back before it could hit the water.
Ash didn't have much choice now. He had to make due with Kingler and hope that Kingler can cut it. Ash took a deep breath, grabbed Kingler's pokeball and was got ready to call the crab pokemon out. He stared at Dragonair his heart full of helplessness. He knew the match would be over in a matter of seconds. Ash drew back his hand to release the pokeball. Suddenly a quick flash of light struck the ground a foot in front of where Ash was standing frightening him.
"What was that?" Brock exclaimed.
"I don't know," Misty replied. "Hey, look." Misty pointed over to the entrance of the gym.
Ash, Clair and the others all looked over to the open door. A small silhouette of a creature was standing in the doorway, the sunlight shining in behind. The little creature stepped forward toward the battlefield. It came closer and closer and closer until finally it stepped out of the light in plain sight for everyone to see.
"PIKACHU!" Ash cried out in joy. "You're here!"
"Hooray!" Misty and Brock cheered when they saw the little mouse pokemon.
Pikachu leaped into Ash's arms as Ash caught it and gave it a gigantic hug. "I am glad to see you buddy."
Clair was getting a little impatient. "Are you ready or not."
"Pike!" Pikachu nodded.
"Do you want to battle?" Ash asked Pikachu.
"Pike." Pikachu nodded at Ash and smiled as Ash smiled back.
"Okay then let's do it!" Ash said as Pikachu leaped out of its trainer's hands and jumped onto one of the first platforms of the battlefield. "Pikachu use your thunder shock!"
"Dragonair fly." Clair commanded as the dragon pokemon fly up high and dodged the electric attack.
"Dragonair use tackle."
"Pikachu dodge."
Dragonair swooped down toward Pikachu as Pikachu dived into the water to escape. Once Dragonair flew back up Pikachu leaped back on to the platform.
Ash knew that Dragonair was too quick for an electric attack. It would just dodge it, unless there was another way. Ash then suddenly had an idea.
"Dragonair used take down!"
"Pikachu stand your ground." Ash ordered as Pikachu placed its feet firmly on the platform and braced itself for Dragonair's attack.
Dragonair dove down toward Dragonair. It got closer and closer and just as it was about to strike the pokemon Ash called out a quick order. "Pikachu jump." Pikachu jumped up into the air just as the Dragonair attacked. Pikachu fell back down from the air and landed right onto Dragonair's back. Dragonair flew up from its dive and then suddenly realized the unwanted passenger on its back and it attempted to shake it off.
"Dragonair get that Pikachu off of you!" Clair ordered.
Dragonair tried but it couldn't shake it off.
"Pikachu, uses your thunder attack." Ash ordered as Pikachu charged up the electricity.
"No!" Clair shouted.
But it was too late. Pikachu released the electric attack straight into the Dragonair. Dragonair cried out in pain as it stopped flying in midair. Pikachu gave it one last jolt of electricity then jumped off before the Dragonair fell into the water. Pikachu landed softly on the cement near its trainer as they waited to see what happened to Dragonair. Dragonair floated up to the surface of the water unconscious and unable to battle.
"Yes!" Ash shouted in victory. "We won!"
"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu just smiled.
"Congratulations Ash." Clair said as she called her pokemon back and walked around the battlefield to talk to Ash. "And here you go." Clair handed him the Rising badge.
Ash stared at it for a second then he held it up for Misty and Brock to see.
"Congratulations." Misty said.
There was a light sound of clapping high above them. There was a human figure standing there in the gym special seating above the battlefield. It took a few seconds for Ash to recognize who it was.
"Michelle!" Ash shouted.
Michelle smiled as she looked down. She had brought Raichu with her. She came down and congratulated Ash on his victory as Raichu congratulated Pikachu.
"Michelle." Ash began. "What are you doing here?"
"I brought your Pikachu back to you."
"What do you mean?" Ash asked.
"I caught your Pikachu in the tower trying to open the container with our evolution stones." Michelle patted Pikachu on the head. "After sometime I think Pikachu finally realized that you love it because of who it is not what it can evolve into."
Ash looked at Pikachu. "Thank you Pikachu!" He smiled. "I couldn't have done it without you."
Ash and the others said goodbye and they waved to Michelle, Raichu, and Clair as they continued their journey. Misty and Brock couldn't stop talking about the battle and even though Ash won the badge his mind was on something else. Not only did Michelle bring back Pikachu, but she also made sure that it didn't do anything it really didn't want to. He realized how much he liked her and he was sad that he had to say goodbye to her again. Who knows when the next time Michelle and Ash will meet. As long as they still believe in each other they will always be together no matter how far apart they are.