Chapter 6: Samurai
Mandy's POV

It was three days since Team Rocket's attack already. We had decided to look for trainers to battle for experience. Teresa was battling a trainer named Ben. I, however, wasn't paying attention to the battle. I looked at the PokéBall in my hand. It contained Pika.

'I don't understand. Why is Pika always so hard on me, when I haven't treated him poorly or anything?' I thought.

For the past three days, I had tried to train Pika. Unfortunately, he kept ignoring my commands and shocking me. Eevee had tried to talk to him, but Pika just ignored him. Al tried to comfort Pika, but he just shocked Al. Even Teresa had tried talking some sense into Pika. Nothing worked. I sighed.

"Is it because you don't trust me?" I asked the PokéBall, even though I was positive Pika couldn't hear me.

"Shellshocker, Water Gun!" Ben commanded his Squirtle. I turned back to the battle.

"Counter it with your Harden!" Teresa instructed to her Metapod. Q-T- Pie used Harden just as the Water Gun was about to hit home and dissipated it.

"Now! String Shot!" she ordered. Q-T-Pie wrapped up the Squirtle in a nice little package. Ben looked at Teresa, surprised.

"Return, Shellshocker!" he called. Shellshocker returned to his PokéBall. Ben and Teresa shook hands.

"Nice battle," Ben said. "I hope we meet again in the Pokémon League."

"Me too. Say, are you going to Pewter City?" Teresa asked him. Q-T- Pie hopped up to her leg and leaned against it.

"Yeah, but first I'm going to evolve my Squirtle into a Wartortle. If I can't beat a Metapod in battle, then I definitely can't beat Brock's rock Pokémon." He suddenly grinned. "I heard that two people with Charmanders were clobbered before they forced their Pikachu to evolve into Raichu."

"That sounds like something Jasmine would do," Teresa growled. I nodded.

"And Daniel," I added. Teresa raised an eyebrow.

"Daniel Greenwood?" she wondered. I sighed.

"Yes, him. He was about to catch Eevee when I came. He doesn't care at all about Pokémon. All he wants is power," I explained. Then, scratching my head, I admitted, "I still don't know why he's my rival."

"Well, you were that best student in school, and he probably got frustrated from that," Teresa pointed out. I laughed nervously.

"Let's just forget about school," I said. I wanted to forget about school and start focusing on finding out how to get Pika to like me. I suddenly thought of something that Ben had said.

'Come to think of it... This Brock sounds tough. I didn't know he's back,' I thought. I had heard that Brock had joined a group of Pokémon trainers a little while ago. If Brock was back, I had to train my Pokémon harder. A light distracted me. Q-T-Pie glowed bright and bursting out of her shell was a Butterfree, only golden in color.

"No way! She's gold!" Al exclaimed. Teresa smiled joyfully. I felt happy for her. She had gotten herself a very rare Pokémon. Ben looked from Teresa to Q-T-Pie, and gasped.

"You can talk to the Pokémon!" he exclaimed. I looked at him, puzzled. I guess Teresa had talked to Q-T-Pie.

"Yep," Teresa told him. "Well, we'll see you at the Pokémon League!"

"Bye!" I called.

"See ya!" Al shouted.

We continued on our way to Pewter City.

~*~*~*~*~

A few minutes later...

"Eevee, Quick Attack!" I ordered. Eevee zigzagged and hit a Rattata belonging to a trainer named Jane. The Rattata fainted immediately.

"Ratty, return!" Jane called. Ratty returned to its PokéBall in a beam of red light. Jane came up to me.

Wow. Your Pokémon are really strong," she said.

"Not as strong as yours," I told her modestly.

"No, I really mean it," Jane said sincerely. "You might even beat Flint."

"Flint?" we all echoed in unison.

"Who's Flint?" Al wondered.

"Well. Maybe you should see for yourself," Jane said. "Anyway, I hope to fight against you in the Pokémon League."

"I hope so too," I told her, smiling.

After Jane left, more trainers came. I sighed. After the battle with Jane, we had several more battles, and Teresa and I were getting bored. The battles were just too easy. That is, until another challenger stepped in. He walked right up to Teresa.

"Hey, is your name Teresa Helms?" he asked. I wondered how he knew Teresa's name. Maybe he'd been watching her battle to see if his Pokémon could handle it.

"Yeah," Teresa replied, looking at him quizzically.

"My name is Samurai," he introduced. "And I challenge you to a battle."

"Fine," Teresa said. "Ready, Lightning?"

"Pika-chu!" her Pikachu replied.

"Then I choose Metapod!" Samurai shouted. I raised an eyebrow as his Metapod came out.

'Wonder if he has a secret strategy,' I thought.

"Lightning! Quick Attack!" Teresa ordered.

"Metapod, Harden!" Samurai shouted. Lightning ran up to Metapod, zigzagging as he went. When he hit Metapod, however, he was thrown to the side by Metapod's powerful Harden.

"Cha!" Lightning yelled in pain. He fell onto the hard ground.

"Lightning!" Teresa cried, running over to him. Samurai smiled.

"Incredible!" Al exclaimed. "Lightning got hurt just like that!"

"No. His attack reflected back," I said. I knew how it was done.

"What?"

"Metapod's defenses are so high, it can reflect the energy stored in Lightning's Quick Attack, sending that energy back to him," I explained. "That's his secret strategy."

"How is it you know how to read his strategy?" Al inquired.

"Well... I did take sword training and karate from my karate master, and I learned to read moves."

"Your Pikachu needs more training," Samurai laughed. Teresa and I glared at him, and Teresa went to pick up Lightning.

"You take a good rest," she said, setting him down next to her bag. She looked at Evolution. She nodded and stepped in front of the Metapod.

"Mean Look!" Teresa ordered. Evolution narrowed her eyes and the Metapod shook itself. Samurai looked at Teresa, then at Evolution, and back at Teresa.

"Your Eevee can use Umbreon's attacks?" he wondered. It was Teresa's turn to laugh.

"That's not all," she snickered. Evolution glanced at her and chuckled too. Samurai gave her a quizzical look, while she just laughed triumphantly, as if she'd already won.

Al, Eevee, and I sweat-dropped.

"Is she alright?" Al asked, a bit frightened.

"Don't worry. She'll be fine," I told him. "I hope..."

"Are you going to attack?" Samurai demanded.

"Sure..." Teresa said, grinning evilly. "Evolution! Flamethrower, now!"

Evolution sucked in a deep breath, then blew a stream of fire at Metapod. Samurai was so shocked, he forgot to tell his Metapod to Harden. It fell over and fainted. Samurai was shocked.

"Return, Metapod!" Samurai called. His Metapod went back into its PokéBall in a beam of red light, and Samurai prepared another PokéBall. "Go! Butterfree!"

A silver Butterfree came out of the PokéBall Samurai threw. Everyone, except Samurai, was shocked. I quickly took out my PokéDex.

"Butterfree, the Butterfly Pokémon. In battle, this Pokémon flaps its wings at high speed to release highly toxic dust into the air. This is the only known Silver Butterfree in the world. Gathering data. Sending to Professor Oak. Transfer of information complete."

"You gotta be kidding!" I cried. Teresa looked at me just then. I knew why. Q-T-Pie was gold in color. I made a mental note to send that information to the professor in case Teresa forgot. Teresa went back to battle, because Samurai was waiting rather impatiently, tapping his foot. He apparently didn't like these constant pauses.

"Evolution! Thunder!" she ordered. Evolution's fur charged up and she sent a huge bolt of electricity to Butterfree. It fell to the ground and Evolution tackled it, causing it to faint.

"Good battle. I have something for you as a prize," Samurai said. He handed Teresa a Great Ball. She looked at him quizzically.

"It has a Pikachu in it," he told her. She nodded.

"I'll name it Shocker," she said. Shocker went to Professor Oak, but Teresa switched Hams, her Rattata, for Shocker, and Hams was sent to Professor Oak. I stared at Samurai. I felt a strong urge to fight him, so I stepped him.

"What do I get if I win?" I wondered.

"Are you from Pallet?" Samurai asked. I nodded. "Sorry, that was my last prize Pokémon. I wasn't expecting eight trainers from Pallet to come by. Listen, I'll give you an Ultra Ball, free of charge, if you win."

'Damn! Well...' I thought.

"I guess that's okay," I said, a bit disappointed. Teresa looked at me.

"Listen, an Ultra Ball is really good," she told me. Then she turned to Samurai. "Did you say eight trainers?"

"Yup. Why?" he wondered.

"Grrr... Gary, Jasmine, and Daniel are all ahead of us, those three Jerks," she growled. "Mandy, we don't have time for a battle. We have to catch up."

She turned to walk away, but before she could do so, I spoke.

"How can I catch up if my Pokémon have almost no experience?" I asked. Teresa looked at me. "I'm going to battle Samurai. I can't afford an Ultra Ball, but you can. Your mom's rolling in dough, and I." I looked down sadly. "My brother had to leave on his Pokémon Journey for the sole purpose of making money for the family. I have to help, and that means battling so that I stand a chance in the Pokémon League."

I glared at her, and she was silent for a little while. Finally, she spoke.

"...Fine, fine. Battle to your heart's content. I'll watch and give you suggestions," she said. "But we have to get a move on. I can't wait much longer to get my first Gm Badge. We're so close."

I smiled at those words.

"Okay," I said, turning to Samurai.

"Ready. Go -!" I began, but was drowned out by the drone of Beedrill. A swarm of Beedrill was headed our way.

"Take cover! I'll handle them!" Al shouted over the racket.

"I'll help!" Teresa yelled, grabbing all of her PokéBalls. "Go! Evolution! Lightning! Spear! Shocker! Q-T-Pie! Penny! Attack the Beedrill!"

"Go! Gyro! Free! Driller! Fearsome! Help Teresa's Pokémon!" Al shouted. A Pidgeot, a Butterfree, a Beedrill, and a Fearow burst out of the PokéBalls he threw. Their Pokémon teamed up again the Beedrill.

"Let me help!" I shouted. "Go, Bra-!"

A Beedrill nearly stung me with Poison Sting, but the stinger only hit my PokéBall, which was tossed aside. Its stinger shot into the ground near my feet. I knew that I was in deep trouble.

The Beedrill flew up and was about to attack Eevee and me, but was distracted by something. I quickly saw why. Brave was out of his PokéBall and was surrounded by two Beedrill. The other Beedrill joined them. I picked up a stone and threw it at one of them.

"Leave my Pidgey alone!" I yelled. They all turned to me, buzzing angrily. I gulped.

"Maybe I shouldn't done that," I muttered.

"Eee vee!" Eevee cried in tears. The Beedrill came closer, giving Brave the chance to escape.

"Brave, fly away, now!" I ordered. He didn't want to leave. He wanted to help me. One Beedrill turned around and pointed its stinger and twin- needles at him.

'Dammit!' I thought angrily. I didn't want my Pokémon to get hurt, so I did some quick thinking.

"You overgrown bug!" I yelled. I picked up a stick and charged at them. Eevee followed. I hit the Beedrill trying to attack Brave while Eevee used Quick Attack against the other two. I grabbed Brave and Eevee landed near me. The buzzing trio was down.

"Alright! We beat them!" I shouted in victory.

"Eevee!" Eevee cheered. Suddenly, I heard buzzing sounds coming from behind me. We turned around, only to come face-to-face with about nine Beedrill. There were too many to battle, and my Pokémon weren't strong enough to take on all of them. We were in serious trouble.

"...Well, Eevee, what should we do?" I wondered. Eevee held his chin and thought for a minute.

"Ee!" he said.

"You thought of a plan?" I asked. Eevee nodded. "Okay. What is it then?"

"Ee ve ev!" he cried and ran. Brave and I weren't impressed. I could just imagine him saying, "Run for it!" just then. Yet, see the Beedrill behind us, I followed Eevee and held Brave under my arm. The Beedrill flew behind, using Pin Missile against us.

"This was your plan!?" I cried. Just then, Gyro, Al's Pidgeot, swooped by and attacked the Beedrill. They fainted from Gyro's Gust attack, and we were safe. The army of Beedrill fled, except for four, which were too weak to get away. Teresa caught three of the four. The last one, which Eevee and I had hit, was captured as well. I named it Drills. All four of the Beedrill went to Professor Oak. Al and Teresa called back their Pokémon.

"Phew! I thought you said that the Beedrill were trained by you," I said, panting. I sat down on the ground.

"We're too far from my house to be near my hives. They've got their territories, you know," Al explained.

"Hey, where's Samurai!" Teresa wondered.

"Here!" a voice called from the bushes. Samurai jumped out. I got up, still panting.

"Now let's battle!" I declared determinedly.

"Not now. Night is falling, novice," he said. I gave him a death glare. No one calls me novice and gets away with it.

"Novice am I!? I'll show you novice!" I yelled. Al and Teresa held me back. I tried to shake them off.

"Let me go!" I demanded.

"Fine, you're not a novice. You're a rookie," Samurai said smugly. That made me even more irritated.

"Oh yeah!? I bet you're just a rookie yourself!" I shouted.

"Who says!?"

"I say!!" Sparks shots from our fiery eyes.

"For some reason, this situation is out of hand," Al observed.

"You ran away from the Beedrill instead of helping to fight them," Samurai pointed out.

I shook my friends off and just glared. Eevee hissed at him. 'It's true,' I admitted to myself. 'But what could I do? My Pokémon would get wiped out if they fought those Beedrill.' I clenched my fists tightly, continuing to glare at him. Teresa glared at him too.

"You ran away too!" she exclaimed.

"True, and for that, I am your inferior. Now, if you truly wish to battle me, novice, then battle we shall!" Samurai declared. I uncrossed my arms and grabbed a PokéBall.

"Fine. I choose you! Pika!" I shouted, throwing the PokéBall containing Pika. My Pikachu came out. "Alright, Pika, let's get ready!"

Pika just scratched his ear with his hind leg like a Growlithe. Eevee and I face-faulted, but we got back up. Samurai smiled. I looked at Pika and gulped. I knew I wouldn't stand a chance. Pika didn't even like me. Why did I choose my one Pokémon that hated me?

"Bad move," Samurai said. "Go, Metapod!" He threw Metapod's PokéBall, and the Pokémon appeared in a flash of white light.

"I don't think so. Pika! Thundershock!" I shouted, hoping he would listen. However, he wasn't listening and ran in for a Quick Attack instead.

"Harden!" Samurai ordered. Metapod used Harden just as Pika attacked, sending Pika flying. He struggled to his feet.

"Pika, for goodness sake, listen to me for once!" I cried.

"Pika!" he yelled at me. I wish I knew why he was so angry with me. I wish I knew.

~*~*~*~*~

Omniscient

Teresa listened to what he was saying.

I don't need a trainer to win! She's not gonna look down at me like that other trainer! he shouted.

Trainer? Teresa echoed. She looked at him, puzzled.

I'm gonna win. without your help! he yelled and used Quick Attack again, charging at Metapod.

"No! Don't do it!" Mandy cried. Samurai grinned.

"Harden!" he ordered. Metapod hardened its shell and Pika bounced off Metapod again and fell to the ground. He struggled to his feet again. Mandy knew he wouldn't win this match.

~*~*~*~*~

Mandy's POV

"Now, Tackle!" Samurai shouted. His Metapod flung itself at Pika, making him take more damage. I couldn't take it. Nothing deserved this abuse, not even Pika.

"Please! Pika's had enough! Stop!" I pleaded.

"A Pokémon battle only ends when one Pokémon can no longer battle," Samurai told me. I nearly gasped. He was taking this like it was survival of the fittest, like life and death. He turned back to Metapod.

"Use another Tackle!"

"Pika!" I wept.

~*~*~*~*~

Omniscient

Pika heard her and, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something fall down her cheeks. Tears. She was crying. At that moment, as Metapod leapt, he looked back at the memories. Mandy had been so kind to him while he was ignoring her. Then, a flashback of Eevee talking to him ran through his mind.

***Flashback***

Why are you so mad at Mandy? Eevee wondered. Pika looked away. It's because you don't trust her, isn't it?

So what!? Pika demanded. I bet you don't trust her.

True, Eevee admitted.

Huh?

I was afraid, though. Afraid she wouldn't like me before. So I escaped. I ran from the lab, only to be attacked by children because they tried to catch me. I bit one of them and ran.

So how did you end up then? Bet you got captured. Humans are as bad as-

Humans are not! Eevee yelled. The tone of his Pokémon voice stunned Pika. Mandy... She protected me. She protected me from those kids and a trainer. I found out that she was my trainer. I even found her kindness. She wasn't as bad. as I thought.

Well, that doesn't change a bit. You don't understand.

Make me then.

...A trainer with a Charmander beat me. He looked down at me and walked away, leaving me injured. I got pecked at by Spearow as if I was easy food and felt pain, so much pain! I swore to myself, if a trainer ever came to catch me, I'd give him or her their life, and even if I ever got caught, I'd attack that trainer until they'd leave me alone!

But Mandy is a totally different person! You've never appreciated her compassion!

Shut up! I don't care! Pika shouted.

You know why you lose? Eevee asked.

Huh?

Because you're so determined to be right over a useless matter! You swore to yourself that you wouldn't be caught and hurt again! Well, you were defeated! And Mandy is trying her best to make friends with you!

Pika was shocked by his speech, but he turned away anyway. Eevee, knowing it was hopeless, turned away.

She won't give up, he said. She'll never give up trying to be your friend. She never will.

Pika looked down, trying to ignore him, yet those words still echoed in his mind.

***End of Flashback***

...Mandy.

Pika quickly got out of Metapod's way and land near his trainer and faithful friend. He looked at her and smiled.

I'm ready whenever you are partner, he said. Teresa smiled at his words. Mandy saw Pika's smile and hers, and smiled too, still crying.

"What did he say?" Al hissed. Mandy leaned closer.

"He said, 'I'm ready whenever you are, partner'," Teresa replied. Mandy's smile widened and changed to a grin.

~*~*~*~*~

Mandy's POV

"Pika!" I called. Pika's ears perked up to show he was listening. "Let's show them a Thundershock!"

Pika nodded and began charging up. Sparks shot from his cheeks, following by small bolts of lightning. His energy level was going high. Samurai saw this and tried to call on an attack.

"Metapod! Tackle!" he ordered. His Metapod leapt as Pika continued to charge. Electricity built up until he sent a large bolt of electricity at Metapod as it launched itself right into his attack. Pika's Thundershock lit up the sky, which was turning black. It surprised everyone. Metapod was fried to a crisp. I saw Teresa look up at the first stars of the night coming out.

"Metapod, return!" Samurai called. His Metapod went back into its PokéBall in a beam of red light. "Go! Butterfree!"

He threw a PokéBall, and the silver Butterfree came out. We were astonished at the beautiful coloration, sparkling in the night.

"Pika, you deserve a good rest. Return!" I called. Pika went back into his PokéBall in a beam of red light. I looked at Eevee and nodded. He stepped in front of the Butterfree.

"Eevee! Transform into Flareon and finish this match with Flamethrower!" I ordered.

"Oh, sure. Like he can do that," Samurai laughed, but stopped when Eevee glowed with a white light.

An astonished Samurai watched Eevee transform into Flareon. Flareon sucked in a deep breath and blew out a stream of flames. Samurai's Butterfree wasn't ready for such a powerful attack and fainted. Flareon transformed back into Eevee. Samurai called his Butterfree back.

"I was wrong. You are no novice," he told me. I grinned.

"Come. We shall rest at my house."

"Wait. There's something I need to do first," I explained, and took out one of my PokéBalls. I let out Pika, who looked at me, bewildered. I knelt down in front of him.

"I'm sorry, Pika," I apologized.

"Pi!?"

"I wasn't doing my best to be a friend and a trainer. That's why you didn't trust me."

"Cha!?"

"But from now on, we're friends, right?"

Pika stared at me, startled, yet smiled and held out his paw. I understood what he was doing and shook it. We both smiled.

"Thanks, Pika. Now let's heal those wounds."

"Cha?" Pika wondered. He didn't know I have the power of healing. But I was going to show him.

~*~*~*~*~

Omniscient

She wrapped her arms around Pika, which surprised him. She was giving him a hug. Then, out of the blue, a light glowed around Pika, and his wounds were healed. He felt warmth and, for the first time, he felt contented.

I'm sorry, Mandy, Pika said. Teresa heard those words and smiled. After the light disappeared, Mandy held Pika in her arms and turned to Samurai.

"Okay, we can go now," she said. Samurai's jaws dropped.

"You can heal Pokémon!?" he shrieked.

"Yep," Mandy replied. "Now let's go."

They all followed Samurai to his house, which turned out to be a shack. However, it was nice to sleep under a roof for once.

~*~*~*~*~

Mandy's POV

The next day, refreshed and with our strength restored, we said our good- byes to Samurai and continued to Pewter City. I put my Ultra Ball away in my pack and told Teresa that I would use it in an emergency. She agreed.

After about three more days, we saw a break in the trees. Teresa and I ran to the edge of the forest and stared at Pewter City.

"We made it..." Teresa breathed.

"...We sure did," I agreed.