Disclaimer: Pokémon and Ranma are characters of someone else's imagination, so go bother them!
: Thoughts
A Cut Above the Rest
"Wow! This is the first time I've been in Golden Rod City." Sam commented as her eyes glittered at the sight of all the things that were on sale.
"At the last Pokémon Center, Mom called and told me to pick up a few things for her when we got here." Jeanette added.
"I've been wanting to do a little shopping myself." Ia smiled as she saw a dress shop advertising a forty-percent discount on all purchases.
"Come on, Ranma!" All three girls said as they grabbed hold of the martial artist's arms and dragged him toward the stores.
"Now hold, on! Wait a second! We're here for a badge, not discounts... whoa!"
It was too late. Once his female friends saw those low prices and great buys, there was no stopping them.
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Later...
Ranma moaned. Going shopping with one girl was hectic, but with three was almost unbearable. At the moment, he was carrying more than twenty boxes in his arms. Behind him, his Machoke was carrying a huge load as well. At this point, Bruiser was wishing he would evolve into a Machamp. Having four arms would make balancing the packages easier. Walking beside the martial arts Pokémon, Raiden, Razor and Sea Storm were also loaded down with goods. Ranma couldn't use Wildfire or Wind Rider since the horse's flames would have set the boxes on fire and the Pidgeton was just too big for the streets of Golden Rod City.
"Hurry up, guys!" Jeanette called back to them. "There's a store that we want to check up on!"
Ranma gritted his teeth. "Aw c'mon girls! Don't you think you have enough now?! We won't be able to take all this stuff along and..." Ranma then felt extremely agitated when he peeked between two boxes and saw where the girls were heading next, a lingerie shop. "Oh no! Uh-uh! NO WAY! I ain't going in there!"
"Why not?" Sam asked.
"Because I'm a guy, remember? If I went in there, people would think I was some kind of pervert!"
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Back on Ranma's home world, an ancient evil suddenly sneezed from within a sealed cave.
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Ia shrugged as she pulled Ranma into a nearby alley. "No problem." She then took out a canteen from her carryall and doused him with some cold water. "There you go. You have nothing to worry about since you're girl now, Ranko. So let's go."
"Hey, no fair!" A wet Ranko complained as she was dragged into the shop.
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Later on, at the Golden Rod Pokémon Center...
"I can't believe you tried to get me to wear a bra." Ranma grumbled as he emerged from the center's restrooms. He had used the hot water to change back. Currently, his Pokémon were being treated, along with Jeanette, Sam and Ia's.
"Sorry, but we couldn't resist!" Jeanette giggled. She and her friends had already sent most of their purchases to their homes via delivery service and were now ready to face off against the Golden Rod Gym Leader.
At that moment, Nurse Joy came up to the group with a tray full of Pokéballs. Beside her, Chansey also was carrying a tray. Raiden was walking beside it.
"Well, here we are. All of your Pokémon are now ready to go." The Pokémon caregiver said as she handed each trainer their respective Pokémon.
"Chansey!"
"Pikachu!"
"All right. Thanks a lot, Nurse Joy." Ranma said as he took his Pokéballs.
"Excuse me, but I thought those Pokémon belonged to a red-haired girl that came in with these other girls."
Ranma nodded. "Yeah... well, that was my cousin Ranko. She brought in my Pokémon for me. Right, Raiden?"
"Pika!" The electric mouse nodded as he hopped onto Ranma's right shoulder.
"I see." The nurse nodded. "So you're all going to be challenging Whitney for a Plain Badge?"
"That's right." Ranma and the others turned to leave.
"Good luck. Whitney is no pushover. It took a trainer named Ash Ketchum a lot of work to beat her."
"So I've heard."
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Much, much later...
"Now where IS that Gym?" Ranma wondered as he and this friends wandered the streets. With the many twists and turns of Golden Rod City, the group was soon lost.
"Maybe we should have asked Nurse Joy for directions?" Ia suggested.
"We can't now." Sam shook her head. "With all these crowds and dead end streets, I don't even remember the way back to the Pokémon Center. Any luck with the guidebook, Jeanette?"
The trainer from Crimson City shook her head as she scanned through the guidebook. "No. I can't make sense of these maps. There are just too many intersections and alleys, and we're in the heart of downtown."
Ranma pondered it for a few minutes, then snapped his fingers. "I got it! If we can't go through the streets, then let's just go over them."
"Huh?" All three girls said at once.
"Follow me!" Ranma then bounded toward a nearby mailbox and used it as a springboard to leap up to a shop awning. He was followed closely by Raiden. He began gaining altitude with each leap and was soon triangle-jumping up the sides of two buildings.
The females shrugged as they began following his lead. Ia and Jeanette were making twenty-foot leaps while Sam lagged behind at seventeen. The training that Ranma had been putting them through had begun to show as they hopped up toward the roof of a very tall building. Several people on the streets below stopped and watched in awe as the four disappeared from sight after making it to the top.
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"Okay, Ranma. Now what?" Sam asked as they stood on the roof of a twelve-story hotel.
"Now, we fly!" Ranma replied as he took out Wind Rider's Pokéball. "C'mon out and spread your wings!" He tossed the device into the air, which popped open and released his bird Pokémon.
"PIDGOOOOOOOOOOO!" The huge bird caused a considerable gust of wind as he spread out his flying appendages, which nearly knocked his trainer off the roof.
"Take it easy, pal!" Ranma called out, which caused Wind Rider to calm down as the girls began ascending the bird's back. Once everyone was aboard, the ebony avian took off.
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High in the sky, above Golden Rod City...
"This is so boring!" A news reporter commented as he and his cameraman rode in a traffic helicopter. "Same old skyline, same old traffic congestion, same old..."
WHOOSH! KRA-KOOOOOM!
A black shape suddenly sped past them like a rocket, causing the helicopter to experience sudden turbulence as a sonic boom followed. The pilot fought to maintain control and managed to steady his craft after a minute.
"WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!" The newsman exclaimed as he scanned the skies for whatever had past them.
"Whatever it was, it's long gone now." The camera operator said as he had his device pointed at a tiny black dot that was receding in the distance.
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On the Pidgeton's back...
"Ranma! Slow down!" Sam cried out as she and the other girls clung tightly to the bird's back. Even with Wind Rider's aura protecting them from air friction and inertial forces, it was still hard to hold on. "We'll be halfway to Olivine City if Wind Rider doesn't stop!" Jeanette gasped.
Ranma nodded as he was perched near the junction of his bird's neck. Looking down, he caught a glimpse of a structure on the ground that looked like a Gym and pointed at it.
Catching the signal out of the corner of one eye, the Pigeton nodded and began to decelerating.
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Outside the Golden Rod Gym...
"Any more challengers for today?" Whitney asked one of her assistants.
"Looks like that was the last one." The aide answered.
"Well, then I guess it's time to close up and..."
It was then that a gale-force wind was stirred up, causing a huge cloud of dust to blow past the two girls. A large shadow appeared on the ground, which made them look up. What they saw coming in for a landing made them shocked beyond words. It's not every day that the evolved form of a Pidgeot came to visit.
As soon as the bird landed, the passengers quickly got off. Ia and Jeanette were bit unsteady on their feet, having some trouble with their equilibrium, while Sam was desperately trying to hold down her lunch. Ranma took several deep breaths to calm down before disembarking from his ride with his Pikachu.
Whitney and her assistant got over their sudden surprise as they slowly approached the group.
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"I knew I shouldn't have had that extra slice of cake for dessert." Sam moaned.
"You girls okay? I thought by now, you'd be used to Wind Rider." Ranma asked as he let Jeanette and Ia lean on him for support.
"Just... caught us, by surprise... that's all." Jeanette gasped.
"Yes, we... were expecting Wind Rider to just... glide around, not take off like a missile." Ia said.
"Sorry about that." Ranma said as he gently set Jeanette and Ia down on a nearby bench. "I guess Wind Rider was just too anxious to spread his wings."
"I've never seen such a big Bird Pokémon before."
All four trainers and Raiden looked over and saw the owner of the voice.
"Hello." Whitney greeted. "Welcome to the Golden Rod Gym. Are you here to challenge for a Plain Badge?"
Ranma nodded as he absently patted his bird's wing. Wind Rider made some gentle cooing noises and then bent down to nuzzle him. "Yeah. Me, Jeanette and Ia are here to battle the Gym Leader."
"I'm the Gym Leader. The name's Whitney." The girl again looked up at Ranma's Pokémon with awe. "I've never seen a Pokémon like this one. What is it?"
Ranma took out his Pokédex and held it up to Wind Rider. He had recently added new data to it.
*PIDGETON, THE BIRD POKÉMON. THE EVOLVED FORM OF PIDGEOT. IT IS ABLE TO FLY AT AN ALTITUDE OF THREE MILES AND CAN REACH SPEEDS OF MACH 4. ITS GUST ATTACK IS POWERFUL ENOUGH TO DEMOLISH A FOUR-STORY BUILDING.*
"An evolved Pidgeot?! Is that really possible?" Whitney was amazed to say the least.
"Yeah, it took a lot of training and hard work to get him to this level." Ranma admitted.
"Is it a Dark-type Pokémon?" The Gym Leader asked, noting the bird's plumage, which reminded her of a Murkrow.
The martial artist considered his Pokémon and replied, "You know... he might be. He did stand up to Noctowl's attack. I'll have to find out more later. Right now, I'm here for a badge, so let's battle!"
"You go on ahead. We're... not up to battling right now." Jeanette said. She and the others were still a bit dizzy from the sudden acceleration and high altitude.
----------
After returning Wind Rider to his Pokéball, Ranma and Whitney faced each other off as everyone else stood on the sidelines.
"This will be a three-on-three battle between the Gym Leader Whitney and the challenger...?" The aide looked at Ranma. "Say, what's your name?"
"Uhhhhh..." Ranma took a deep breath, as he knew that his exploits were probably well-known by now. Oh well. No help for it. "It's Ranma Saotome."
"Ranma Saotome?" Whitney repeated with interest. "Well now, this IS a surprise. I was wondering when you'd get here. I've heard a LOT about you. It's going to be pleasure to battle with you."
"Let's do it!"
Whitney took out her first Pokéball. "I choose you, Stantler!"
Ranma took out his Pokédex and pointed it at the deer Pokémon.
*STANTLER, THE DEER POKÉMON. THESE POKÉMON NORMALLY TRAVEL IN LARGE HERDS. ITS ANTLERS LET OFF SWEET-SMELLING ODORS THAT CAN BE USED TO CONFUSE ITS OPPONENTS. IT SPECIALIZES IN HYPNOTIC ATTACKS, BUT ITS STOMP IS ALSO POWERFUL.*
"Okay, let's try this one!" Ranma tossed out his first Pokémon. The Pokéball opened up to reveal Bruiser.
"Machoke!"
Whitney nodded. Good choice. A fighting-type Pokémon. "STANTLER! HYPNOSIS!"
The deer let off a grunt as it glared at Bruiser and let loose with hypnotic waves.
"BRUISER! COVER YOUR EYES!"
The Machoke nodded and shut his eyes tight, evading the Hypnotic Attack.
"Not bad, Ranma, but your Pokémon can't attack what it can't see." Whitney commented. "STANTLER! STOMP!"
The Pokémon charged at Bruiser while still emitting hypnotic waves. It readied its hooves to dish out some damage. However, Bruiser had trained with Ranma and Sea Storm for just such a situation. The martial arts Pokémon waited for his opponent to get in closer, then raised his arms to block the forelegs of the Stantler, trapping them in their powerful grip.
"Okay, show that Stantler why I named you Bruiser!"
"Machoke!"
WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!
Whitney winced as her Pokémon was slammed repeatedly to the floor of the gym. Large cracks began to form in the floorboards. Bruiser had the advantage in overall brute strength and her Stantler wasn't suited for grappling. Bruiser then spun the Stantler over his head before ending with a Seismic Toss.
"Stantler! Are you all right?" Whitney ran to her battered Pokémon. The Stantler gave a weak nod before fainting. "You did your best, Stantler. You deserve a good rest." After recalling it into its Pokémon, she stood back up and faced her opponent. "That Machoke of yours is tough, but let's see if he can handle this!"
With these words, she through out her second Pokéball.
"Clefairy!"
"Huh?" Ranma looked at the cute and fluffy Pokémon as it began waving its index fingers out in front of it.
"Clefairy! Clefairy! Clefairy!"
"Look out, Ranma!" Sam called out. "It's using its Metronome Attack!"
"What's that?"
"It's totally unpredictable! Any kind of attack; water, ice, fire, wind, psychic or physical can come out!"
A few seconds later, the Clefairy's arms glowed with a blue light and Ranma's Machoke was suddenly frozen.
"All right! Great Disable Attack, Clefairy!" Whitney applauded. "Now use your Hypnosis Attack!"
Like the Stantler, the Clefairy let loose with hypnotic waves. This time however, Bruiser wasn't able to avoid it with all of his muscles paralyzed, including the muscles to his eyelids. In a heartbeat, he fell backward and went to sleep.
"Machoke is unable to battle!" The referee said.
Ranma could only shrug as he recalled Bruiser. "Okay... that was different." But I can see an obvious flaw in that Metronome Attack. He considered sending in Wind Rider, but decided against it as the Gym was just too confined for the big Pokémon. He then gestured to Raiden. "You're up, buddy."
"Pikachu!" Raiden came forward and took a ready stance.
"HYPNOSIS ATTACK!" Whitney cried out.
Clefairy did just that, but Raiden simply countered by sliding his headband down over his eyes.
"METRONOME ATTACK!"
Once again, the Clefairy began waving its arms. However, that was when Ranma demonstrated the attack's fatal flaw.
"Raiden... knock it out."
By using his sensitive ears to pinpoint the sound of Clefairy's voice, the electric Pokémon rushed up to it and began slapping its face.
"Pika! Pika! Pika! Pika! Pika! Pika! Pika! Pika! Pika! Pika!"
Clefairy fell backward in a daze after receiving ten Double Slap Attacks. Whitney had a huge sweatdrop behind her head as her aide declared Ranma's Pikachu to be the winner.
Ranma stifled a snicker. "That Metronome is cute, Whitney... but it's got a really SLOW start-up. Your Clefairy's too vulnerable while it's powering up for that attack."
"I... see." Whitney had to admit, Ranma was right about that one. After recalling her Clefairy, she then took out her third and final Pokéball.
Ranma and Raiden tensed up. If what they heard from Ash was true, then her third Pokémon would be...
"I choose you!"
"Miltank!"
Bingo!
Ranma considered the cow Pokémon. Despite its gentle-looking demeanor, he could see that it had some serious power and weight. Bruiser could have taken it, but he was still out like a light. Well, it was time to see if this Miltank was as tough as Ash said it was.
"MILTANK! USE YOUR ROLLOUT ATTACK!"
The larger Pokémon curled up into a ball and hurtled toward Ranma's Pikachu like a boulder in an avalanche. The entire floor rumbled as the Pokémon rolled toward Raiden.
"RAIDEN! EVADE!"
The mouse Pokémon used his agility and speed to dodge the first few passes, but when he let loose with a few Shock Attacks, he was very surprised to see Miltank shrug off the blasts.
"You'll have to do better than that." Whitney said with pride. "Miltank's last opponent was a Pikachu and we've been training to resist against electric attacks."
"Impressive." Ranma saw that she had trained her Pokémon in much the same way that he had trained Razor and his Buzzsaw Barrage Attack. "RAIDEN... ANYTHING GOES!"
The electric rodent nodded as he stood his ground and began focusing his energy. He would only one chance at this. As Miltank rolled toward him, he focused on the spot in which he would strike. When he was about to be run over, the mouse shot forward and hit with a ki-energized fist at the floor. The resulting explosion caused Miltank to be propelled upward.
Whitney gasped as she saw her Pokémon go flying. She knew that once Miltank was in the air, it was at a serious disadvantage. However, her Pokémon had learned from its earlier encounter with Ash's Pikachu. As Raiden jumped up to finish the job, Miltank threw itself into a counter spin, coming right back down at Ranma's Pikachu. This sudden reversal caught Raiden by surprise. The Miltank slammed into its opponent and sent him flying back down.
Raiden hit the floor hard and before he could recover, Miltank came down on top of him. It was like having a Sumo wrestler landing on him.
WHOMP!
"Raiden!"
The cow Pokémon eased off Raiden after delivering an aerial Body Slam.
"Good job, Miltank!" Whitney cheered. "You had me worried there!"
"Miltank!"
Ranma quickly ran up to his Pokémon and cradled him in his arms. "Are you all right?"
"Pi... ka."
"It's all right, Raiden. You can't win them all. It's time for you to rest." Ranma then walked back to his side and gently handed Raiden to Sam. Giving her a nod, he faced off against the Gym Leader while taking out another Pokéball.
"We're tied now, Ranma!" Whitney called out.
"And this Pokémon is going to win!" Ranma declared. "GO, RAZOR!"
Just as he was about to throw out the Pokéball, a large explosion was heard as one of the walls of the Gym was blown out.
"PREPARE FOR TROUBLE!"
"AND MAKE IT DOUBLE!"
Ranma winced. Them again?! This is the first time I've ever had the same Team Rocket in two days!
Whitney was also in disbelief. "You again?!"
"TO PROTECT THE WORLD FROM DEVASTATION!"
"TO UNITE ALL PEOPLE WITHIN OUR NATION!"
"WILL YOU JUST CUT THAT OUT?!" Ranma shouted in annoyance. "Just go away, will ya?! I don't have time to kick your butts at the speed of light!"
Jessie became irritated at being interrupted. "Hey! It was rude when you stopped our motto before! At least let us finish!"
Ranma snorted. "As far as I'm concerned, hearing that stupid motto once was one too many times! Now why don't you two get lost, before I pound you into next year!" Ranma's battle aura flared as he prepared to take on his would-be tormentors.
Jessie took on a haughty look as she, Meowth and James took a pose at the hole in the wall. "Not this time!"
"Yes!" James agreed. "This time, we've got a new secret weapon!"
Meowth nodded as he produced a remote control. "Not only is it resistant to special attacks, but it's also punch-proof! Activating Cyber-Snorlax!"
As Meowth pressed a large red button, a huge rumbling sound was heard. The ground trembled as everyone present heard something stomping toward the building. The roof was then torn off its foundation as Ranma and the others gasped.
The machine was about the size of a three-story building and resembled a technological Snorlax. It let off a roar as it began reaching toward Miltank.
"We didn't get your Miltank last time, so we might as well take it now." Meowth declared as he controlled the machine.
"Not if I can help it!" Whitney shouted. "MILTANK! USE YOUR ROLLOUT ATTACK!"
"Miltank!"
The Pokémon curled up and shot toward the belly of the mechanical monster at full speed. However, the Gym Leader became shocked as she saw it rebound back without causing any damage.
"HA HA HA HA HA!" Jessie sneered. "Our Cyber-Snorlax happens to have a rubberized outer shell that can withstand any impacts! It also has the same reflective coating as our Wonder Wheezing did, making it invulnerable to special attacks!"
The Cyber-Snorlax shot forward with an arm and grabbed Miltank in its massive paw.
"MILTANK!" Whitney cried out.
Ranma gritted his teeth as he couldn't risk firing off a ki blast without endangering Miltank. Then he decided that a ground assault would be best as he threw out Razor's Pokéball.
"Slash!"
"BUZZSAW BARRAGE! CUT THAT THING DOWN TO SIZE!"
The armored mouse curled up into a ball and began spinning furiously with quills extended. Though Razor cut up the floor of the Gym with ease, he too bounced back after hitting the belly of the Cyber-Snorlax. The outer coating was just too pliable for his quills to dig in. Then he too was grabbed by the machine's other paw and held aloft. Razor tried to slash away with his claws, but the weapon simply began applying pressure by closing its fist. The Sandslash didn't have any room to move, nor any leverage to work with.
"Slash! Sandslash!"
"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Jessie and her cohorts chortled.
"That's two Pokémon for us!" Meowth taunted.
"Now then, you'd better surrender yourself and all your Pokémon, or else!" Jessie snapped her fingers and the machine began to squeeze even tighter.
"RAZOR!" Ranma found himself in a tight spot. He couldn't attack, nor bring out any more Pokémon without endangering Razor and Miltank. Raiden and Bruiser were too injured from battling Whitney's Pokémon. Things looked bleak.
Up above, Razor was still struggling to free himself, much to the amusement of Team Rocket.
"Struggle all you want pal!" Meowth said with a smug grin. "There's NO WAY you can get out of this!"
"SLASH! SLASH!"
Meowth chuckled as he continued to tease his helpless captive. "Oh yeah? And just what are you going to do about it?"
At this point, the Sandslash's rage hit the boiling point. He was going to slice off that arrogant smile on Meowth's face! His struggles became even more intense and finally... it happened. Razor was suddenly enveloped in a bright nimbus of light as his eyes flared with blue.
"What's going on?" Jessie gasped.
"You don't suppose...?" James started out.
"No way! It can't be!" Meowth shook his head in disbelief.
Down on the ground Ranma, Whitney and the others were also in a state of shock.
"Can it be?" Jeanette said.
"Razor's... evolving!" Sam declared.
"Pika..." Raiden breathed out.
The mouse Pokémon gained about forty percent more muscle mass and height. The scales took on a metallic sheen and became more pronounced. The claws became a bit longer. When the light faded away, Razor suddenly burst free from the Cyber-Snorlax's grip with unprecedented strength and landed on the ground for all to see.
He was now about the size of a Graveller and was colored silver-gray. His scales were now heavily armored, metal plates and his quills were like cutlery blades. The scales near his head formed a kind of open-face helmet and his eyes were like sapphires. His claws resembled mini-Scyther blades. He was like a walking Ginsu Knife shop.
"Razor evolved into a Steel-Type Pokémon!" Ia gasped.
Ranma held up his Pokédex but...
*POKÉMON SPECIES UNKNOWN. NO DATA AVAILABLE.*
At this moment, Meowth was REALLY regretting his earlier words as Razor glared at him.
"Heh-heh. (gulp) Hey pal... nice new look. About what I said before..."
"Slice! Slice!" Razor growled as he prepared to attack.
"Huh?"
"Steel... slice!" The new Pokémon leapt high, despite its heavier form and made a downward sweep with his claws, easily slashing through the thick arm of the Cyber-Snorlax, cutting Miltank free.
Steelslice, eh? Ranma thought as he marveled at Razor's new form. I guess that's what he is now.
After freeing Miltank, Ranma's Steelslice then decided to give Team Rocket a proper goodbye. Curling up into a ball, he launched himself at the Cyber-Snorlax, spinning a thousand times faster than ever before. His amplified Buzzsaw Barrage ripped through the rubberized outer hull, cutting the machine cleanly in half!
Jessie and her team cried out as one half came falling toward them.
"I guess it's time for us to spilt." Meowth squeaked.
There was a massive explosion and guess who was sent blasting off again?
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A few minutes later...
"Wow! Look at this! No wonder Razor cut though their machine so easily." Sam exclaimed as she and her friends took a closer look at Ranma's Steelslice. "Look at his quills! They're diamond-tipped!"
Sure enough, the quills had a thin, glittery substance on their edges that resembled tiny crystals. The claws had the same surfaces on their points and edges.
"I must say that I'm very impressed!" Whitney commented. "I didn't know that a Sandslash could evolve into a Steel-Type."
Ranma shrugged. "Well, to tell you the truth, I didn't know either. I guess that battle against Team Rocket must have... hey, wait a minute!" He snapped his fingers while turning to the Gym Leader. "You still OWE me a Gym Match!"
Whitney could only smile and nod. "I guess I do. And I have a feeling I know which Pokémon you're going to use."
Ranma smirked as he addressed Razor. "Ready to give that new body of yours a workout?"
"SLICE!"
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Ranma and Whitney once again faced each other off as Miltank and Razor readied themselves. The aide and referee stood by and announced, "We will now conclude the match between challenger Ranma Saotome and Gym Leader Whitney. Begin!"
"ROLLOUT ATTACK, MILTANK!"
The cow went into its strongest attack and rumbled toward the Steelslice. However, Razor stood his ground and when Miltank reached him, he swung with one paw and knocked his opponent off-course.
"Whoa! He didn't even budge!" Jeanette remarked.
"Now that he's a Steel-Type, Razor's like a walking tank!" Sam said.
Ranma nodded as he assessed the new power that Razor possessed. Strength and endurance had dramatically increased. He motioned for his Pokémon to attack and noted that the mouse's speed and agility hadn't changed. Apparently, Razor handled his new weight and size with ease.
"ANYTHING GOES, RAZOR!"
"SLICE!" Razor wasted no time and began delivering a barrage of Fury Swipes at his opponent. With more power and sharper claws, the assault was far more devastating. Even Miltank's thick hide was no protection.
Whitney winced as her Pokémon took hits. Its strongest attack was useless against a Steelslice and Razor clearly had the advantage in close-quarters fighting. She then saw her Miltank put into a Seismic toss and thrown into the air. Razor leapt up after it and that was when Miltank began spinning for a counterattack.
However, Razor started spinning as well and when the two Pokémon collided, it was the Steelslice that had the advantage. With his newly armored skin, sharper quills and more RPMs, he overpowered his opponent and sent it crashing down on the floor. Miltank staggered for a moment before finally fainting.
Razor landed heavily on the floor and held up his paws in victory. The match was over.
----------
Ranma pocketed the Plain Badge as he and the girls prepared to say goodbye.
Jeanette and Ia had decided to challenge Whitney at another time, which was fine by her. The Gym Leader wanted to wait until her Pokémon were fully recovered and her Gym was rebuilt. Fortunately, she didn't blame the so-called Gym Destroyer.
"That was quite a match, Ranma. You certainly earned that Plain Badge. I can see how you beat Prima. I've never seen Pokémon quite like yours."
"Thanks." Ranma said as he and his friends made their final farewells. "Maybe we can battle again some day."
"I'm looking forward to it. I'll be a much tougher opponent. You can bet on that!" Whitney gave him a wink, which made the other girls uncomfortable.
Ranma nodded as he and his friends departed.
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As they walked toward the outer city limits, the girls then caught sight of some shops that were offering fifty-percent discounts. Ranma could only shake his head as they dragged him toward the stores.
"NO WAY!"
"C'mon Ranma!" All three girls said as they headed toward the establishments.
To be continued...
Author's notes
Well, that takes care of Johto Badge number three. As for Ranma's new Steelslice, I got the idea after looking at pictures of Skarmory and Steelix, and I figured that a metal version of Razor would be cool. Next episode, we'll be seeing new surprises and such. See you then!