Team Rocket: ::Blinks::
Me: ::Blinks::
Team Rocket: ::Blinks::
Me: ::Blinks::
Team Rocket: Well!? Aren't you gonna say something!?
Me: Nope. I got nothing to say, so let's get on with part 2 of chapter 9.
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The Young Master's Quest Ch. 9: Get to know us better! Part 2
The next day…
"Good morning." Brock said to Izzy as he was getting out of his tent.
"What are you doing up so early?" Izzy asked.
"Brock always gets up this early to make breakfast." Misty said as she sat by the fire.
"Good morning everybody." Ash said as he got out of his tent.
"Good morning." Everyone else said as Ash went to his spot by the fire.
"It'll be a while before breakfast is ready." Brock said as he put a lid on top of the pot.
"So where are you from?" Ash asked Izzy.
"I'm from Platinum City." Izzy said proudly.
"Is that in Johto?" Misty asked.
"Yeah. It's my hometown." Izzy replied.
"Hmmmmmm… Let's see." Brock said as he was turning the pages of his field guide. "Ah. Here we are! Ahem, 'Platinum City, the capitol of Johto, is located in the heart of the Johto region. It is the where the royal family lives. The king's oldest son, Prince Israel III, is the rightful heir to the throne of Johto & is the leader of the Platinum City gym.'" Brock read.
"But I thought there were only eight gyms in Johto." Ash said.
"Don't worry. The Platinum City gym is an optional gym, meaning that you don't have to battle there if you don't want to." Izzy explained.
"What's the gym leader like?" Ash asked.
"Well, I never battled him, but I heard stories from the news & from people who battled him."
"Well, what did they say?" Misty asked.
"I heard from news reports that the prince has won both the Indigo Plateau & Johto leagues on his first try. Some people say that Prince Israel owns every pokémon that has been discovered." Izzy explained.
"Yeah right! No one has EVERY pokémon!" Ash laughed. Izzy got a little mad at that statement, but he still kept his cool.
"Well, that's what those people said. Anyway, there's more to this story." Izzy continued. "Some say his pokémon are so strong that he wouldn't have to use his most powerful pokémon to win his battles. It's because of this & the fact that Prince Israel constantly tries to find worthy opponents that he hosts tournaments with his gym's badge, the Jeweled Crown Badge, as the prize. Many people attend every tournament, but they all fail miserably. If they don't get defeated in the tournament, Israel finishes them off in the final match." Izzy almost grinned at that last part.
"Why do so many people want his badge?" Brock asked.
"They want his badge because if anyone can beat him, he or she will become a pokémon master. Plus, he/she will be able to compete in the Johto league if he or she doesn't have eight badges." Izzy replied.
"Alright! I wanna go & battle him!" Ash yelled with excitement.
'You will—soon.' Izzy thought.
"You're not afraid?" He asked out loud.
"No. Why should I be?" Ash asked.
'Either he's real brave, really strong, or really stupid.' Izzy thought.
"Were you paying attention?" Misty asked.
"Uh, sort of… No." Ash replied. Everyone else fell over.
'Yep. He's stupid.' Izzy thought. Misty quickly repeated everything he said. Needless to say, she was very much out of breath after that.
"So let's go to Platinum City!" Ash said. Izzy sweatdropped.
"There's just one problem."
"What?" Ash asked, slightly knowing what Izzy's going to say.
"There are certain times when Prince Israel leaves Platinum City to find worthy challengers to battle him."
"And this just happens to be one of those times, right?" Misty asked.
"Right." Izzy answered.
"How long before Israel returns?" Brock asked.
"About six months to a year. He usually returns around the time of the annual celebration." Izzy replied. "In the meantime, we should go to the other gyms."
"Awwww! But I wanna battle him now!" Ash cried.
'What a cry baby!' Misty thought.
"You guys asked me a lot of questions, so it's my turn." Izzy said.
"Ok. Ask away." Misty said.
"First off, where are you guys from?" Izzy asked.
'As if I didn't already know.' He thought.
"I'm from Pallet Town." Ash said.
"I'm from Pewter City." Brock said.
"And I'm from Cerulean City." Misty said.
"Oh, so you're from Kanto, then?" Izzy asked.
"Yep." Brock replied.
"You guys had to have traveled a long way. I'm just curious, what pokémon do you have?" Izzy asked.
"I'll show you. Poké balls! Go!" Misty yelled as she threw four poké balls.
In a flash, Misty's psyduck, staryu, goldeen, and poliwhirl appeared.
"Impressive." Izzy said. "Your favorite type must be water, then."
"Yeah. I love water type pokémon soooo much!" Misty replied while going starry eyed.
"Right… So, what're your pokémon, Brock?"
"See for yourself. Poké balls! Go!" Brock yelled as he tossed four poké balls & a fast ball. Brock's vulpix, geodude, onix, zubat, and pineco appeared. Shortly after, Pineco exploded. Izzy struggled to avoid laughing.
"Nice… team." He said between laughs. "And now Ash, if you would be so kind."
"Ok. You know Pikachu already." Ash said.
"Pika!" It gave a little wave.
"And now, poké balls! Go!" Ash said as he tossed three poké balls & a lure ball. Bulbasaur was content, but Izzy couldn't hold his laughter when he saw Cyndaquil sleeping, Totodile dancing, and Chikorita rubbing up against Ash. "Here's my last pokémon. Noctowl! Go!"
Izzy's laughter soon turned into a gasp when Ash's noctowl appeared in a dazzling display of sparkles.
"Im-Im-Impossible!" Izzy said while stepping back. "That noctowl's red!"
"Yeah. Rare, huh?" Ash said.
"Rare? It's simply amazing! Beautiful even! I've never seen anything like it!" Izzy exclaimed. "It looks so fierce with that red, yet it looks smaller than an average noctowl."
"Well, we showed you our pokémon. How about you show us your's?" Misty asked.
"Ok. You already met Sadie, Dragon King, Pidgeot, and Charizard." Izzy said. Sadie meowed while he called out Dragon King, Charizard, and Pidgeot. They bowed to the group of pokémon & trainers. "But you haven't met gyarados! Go!" He tossed a gold master ball. Gyarados appeared & roared a hello to everyone. Everybody but Izzy & his other pokémon shook in fear.
"Relax. He's harmless. And now, Voldemort! Go!" He tossed a silver master ball & his alakazam appeared.
"So, what do you think?" Izzy asked. He looked around & saw everybody huddled together in fear. "What's the problem?" he asked.
"Y-y-you s-said You-know-who's name!" The trainers replied. Izzy fell over.
"Are you joking!? This is Pokémon! Not Harry Potter! Get up!" He yelled.
"Look who's talking about this is Pokémon." Misty said. The group got out of the huddle.
They ate breakfast, which was leftovers from Brock's soup. Then they called back their pokémon & packed up their stuff. They continued on their journey to the Johto League.
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End of Chapter 9