Pre-chapter Conversation

"Hey Boss, got a question for ya." Izzy said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"You know how in most animé and games, you can see the color of the characters' eyes?"

"Yeah." I replied, giving him a curious look.

"Since you're having the RP cast play as some of the Pokémon cast, what color eyes do you think they would have if the animators ever decided to do an animé version of the show?"

"Let's see…" I said, getting into a thinking pose. "Sam's eyes would be blue."

"Pffft! That's pretty obvious." Izzy scoffed.

"Otto and Reggie's eyes would be green." I continued.

"Green? Oh wait." Izzy narrowed his eyes at me. "This has to do with you identifying them with Sonic characters again, right?" I smirked.

"You know me too well."

"Well I am your muse." Izzy said before sighing. "I swear, you might as well transform them into animals, the way you keep talking about it." I held my chin to that. That doesn't sound too shabby.

"Hmmmm…" I turned to the camera. "In the mean time, for this chapter, Sam will finally face his first gym leader, the leader of the Mad Town gym. Who will the leader be and will Sam be able to claim victory?"

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Rocketmon Ch. 6: The High-Flying Skate Master

It's been a week since Sam found himself in this screwed up dimension. He's adapted pretty well considering his best friends are out to get him and someone that teases him on a daily basis is officially his rival. Oh, and let's not forget one important thing; THE SHORE SHACK IS NONEXISTANT!!!

"NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!"

Like I said, he's adapting. Sam hasn't captured any new pokémon. He's been too busy training his current pokémon as well as trying to locate the sender of the mysterious e-mail. He used all of his hacking skills, but the sender seems to be one step ahead of him. Sam was now skating towards the pier on his roller blades.

"Today's the day, Pikachu." He said to his pokémon, which was clinging to his helmet. "We're gonna battle our first gym leader."

"Pika!" Pikachu yelled with excitement. Sam reached the pier and stopped at the wreck that was once Ocean Shores' pokémon center. He stood at the ramp that overlooked the beach.

"Hmmmm… Should I go to Mad Town's gym first or the beach's gym?" He asked, looking at both areas. "Mr. Rocket said that I should do alright in either one because I got Pikachu. Does that mean the gym leaders' pokémon are weak against electric attacks?" He shrugged.

"Come on. We're going to Mad Town's gym." Sam skated down the ramp and entered what he knew as Mad Town's main entrance. In this dimension, it marked the entrance to the gym half of the skate park. When he stepped through the entrance, he found himself standing in front of the field.

"Hello. I'm here to challenge the leader." Sam said. Nobody answered. "Hello! I want to challenge this gym's leader!" Still no answer! "I said—!"

"Aye! I heard ya the first time, mon!" A voice answered. Sam turned towards the park's office, an old-looking trailer. The door opened and out stepped Conroy. A pidgey was perched on his right shoulder.

"Conroy? You're the gym leader?" Sam asked.

(Me: Honestly, ya shoulda known he was gonna be the gym leader. He's the only one who works there!)

"He could've paid someone to be the leader." Sam defended.

"Aye. I would have gotten someone to be the leader, but Otto wasn't around." Conroy agreed.

"Gee, I wonder why." Sam looked up.

(Me: Continue.)

"Anyway, why Otto?"

"He's usually here like everyday, but lately, he's been coming less." Conroy replied.

"Again, I wonder why." Sam said with sarcasm. "Anyway, can I battle you for your badge?"

"Yea mon!" Conroy replied with a grin. "Thing's have been boring. Only one other trainer came today."

"Who?"

"It was Lars. He beat me badly." Sam raised an eyebrow.

'Lars seemed like a lousy trainer when we fought.' He thought. 'Either he's improved or this battle's gonna be cake for me.'

"The rule for this battle is a two-on-two with no time limit. Are ya cool with that?" Conroy asked.

"Yeah." Sam replied with a nod. The two then walked over to the field. Sam was on the side facing the exit and Conroy was on the opposite side.

"Hey! Someone's going up against Conroy!" A random passerby yelled.

"Who is it?" A random girl asked.

"It looks like Sam Dullard." Another passerby said.

"That new trainer who took on Team Rocket?"

"Yeah!" And in a matter of seconds, a huge crowd was looking in on the field. Sam looked around and his face flushed with embarrassment.

"And now, we start." Conroy said, taking out a poké ball. "Go! Farfetch'd!" He tossed it into the field. The ball opened, revealing the flying type, who twirled its leek like a baton.

"What's that thing?" Sam asked as he took out his pokédex.

"Farfetch'd. The wild duck pokémon." The machine started. "It uses its leek as both a weapon and food in emergencies. This pokémon is sought after for its exquisite taste."

"Hmmm… Go! Bellsprout!" Sam said, tossing his first poké ball. The plant soon came out and the crowd started laughing.

"There's no way he could've beaten Team Rocket if he battles like that!" One member of the audience said.

"That story must've been a lie or something!" Another audience member laughed.

"o.O;;; Uhhh… What's everybody's deal?" Sam asked.

"You mean you don't know!?" Conroy laughed. Rolling his eyes, Sam pressed a button on the pokédex, which analyzed the current battle situation.

"Farfetch'd is a flying type. Bellsprout is a grass type. Flying types beat out grass types, you n00b!" The pokédex teased.

"Man, even this thing's against me." Sam groaned. "Another thing, what reason is there for grass types to be beaten by flying types?"

(Me: My guess is it has to do with crows eating corn in a field or hummingbirds that eat pollen.)

"o.O That's not much of a reason."

(Me: Hey, you gotta work with what little you have.)

"Enough stalling!" Conroy yelled. "Farfetch'd! Agility and then Peck attack!" Farfetch'd squawked and charged at an intense speed.

"Bellsprout! Razor Leaf!" Sam ordered. Bellsprout tossed some leaves, but the duck dodged every single one flawlessly. "There's gotta be something I can do!" Farfetch'd was mere seconds away from its target.

"I know! Bellsprout! Use Stun Spore!" Sam yelled. Just as Farfetch'd was about to end the match, Bellsprout shot some yellow powder at it, paralyzing the bird. "Now use Vine Whip!" Bellsprout extended one of its roots and wrapped Farfetch'd in it. The flower then spun the duck around before tossing it out of the field. The crowd gasped and then cheered.

"Alright! Good job!" Sam shouted.

"Bellsprout!" The grass type cheered before it glowed white. Sam gasped as Bellsprout changed its shape.

"Weepinbell." It said lazily as the glowing subsided. Bellsprout had become a floating Weepinbell.

"Congrats! Your Bellsprout evolved!" Conroy said as he called back the dazed Farfetch'd. "But I'm not going down that easily. Go! Dodrio!" He tossed another ball into the field and the three headed ostrich appeared.

"These things just get weirder looking." Sam said.

"Dodrio! Agility!" Conroy ordered. Dodrio dashed towards Weepinbell much faster than Farfetch'd did.

"Stun Spore!" Sam blurted. Weepinbell released its powder.

"Dodrio! Jump and go into a 360!" Conroy yelled. Dodrio jumped over the grass type's Stun Spore and spun in the air. "Now use Drill Peck!" Dodrio's beaks spun like a power drill as it dived towards Weepinbell. Before Sam was able to give a command, the bird drove its beaks into Weepinbell, making it faint.

"Oh man." Sam blinked. "What was that about!?" Conroy chuckled.

"Now you see why I train flying types. With their speed, they can take off and get major air!" Sam called back Weepinbell. He then grabbed another poké ball from his pocket.

"Well, I guess Pidgeotto should be able to—"

"Pika!" Pikachu interrupted as it jumped off Sam's shoulder and ran into the field.

"You want to battle, Pikachu?" Sam asked.

"Chu." Pikachu nodded. Sam put away Pidgeotto's poké ball.

"Alright then. Quick Attack!" Pikachu dashed towards Dodrio.

"Dodrio! Use your Quick Attack too!" Conroy ordered. The two pokémon ran to the middle of the field and started butting heads.

"Pikachu! Don't give up!" Sam yelled. Pikachu started to push Dodrio back.

"Dodrio! Don't let that little pipsqueak push ya!" Conroy yelled. Dodrio bashed Pikachu and sent it reeling back.

"Pikachu! Thunder Shock!" Sam ordered. Pikachu shook its head and charged electricity.

"Dodrio! Agility!" Dodrio started to move when Pikachu released its energy, shocking the bird. Dodrio was still standing though.

"Quick Attack!" Both trainers ordered. Both of the pokémon ran towards each other again. They crashed into each other when all of the sudden, a net came down and trapped them!

"Where'd that net come from!?" Conroy asked.

"Look!" An audience member yelled. Everybody looked up and saw a meowth balloon. Three voices cackled.

"-.- Why now?" Sam asked as he recognized the voices.

"Prepare for trouble!" Everybody heard Reggie's voice yell.

"And make it double!" Everybody heard Otto add.

"To protect the world from shoobies!"

"To unite all surfers within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of major beefs!"

"To get huge air in the stars above!"

"Reggie!" Reggie looked over the edge of the balloon.

"Otto!" Otto made his presence known as well.

"Team Rocket grinds rails at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to face us in Hockey!"

"Twister! That's right!" Twister yelled, ending the motto.

"Do you guys always have to say that?!" Sam asked.

"Yeah! Our fans have come to expect it!" Otto replied.

"What fans?! You've been trying to steal my pikachu for the past week! What fans could you possibly have!?"

"Yeah. What fans, Rocket Boy?" Reggie whispered.

"Whose side are you on!?" Otto yelled. The Rockets started arguing.

"Uhhh…can we skip this and get back to business?" Twister asked with an embarrassed expression.

"Hey! Let go of my dodrio!" Conroy yelled.

"Yeah! And Pikachu too!" Sam added. Team Rocket got out of their fight and laughed evilly.

"No way! We stole this pikachu fair and square!" Otto yelled.

"And we got a nice bonus." Reggie said.

"Let's make our getaway!" Twister yelled. They started lifting the net.

"I'll show you!" Sam yelled, taking out a poké ball. "Go! Pidgeotto!" He tossed it and Pidgeotto came out. It flew towards the balloon.

"I won't lose this time!" Otto said as he took out his own poké ball. "Deal with this, Koffing!" He tossed it and released the poison type.

"Wow! A battle in the sky!" Someone yelled.

"Yeah! That's what this gym is known for!" Another person yelled. Everybody cheered as they watched.

"Koffing! Tackle attack!" Otto ordered.

"Pidgeotto! Wing Attack!" Sam said. Koffing charged forward, as did Pidgeotto. Koffing tried to crash into Pidgeotto, but the bird dodged the attack and made to slap Koffing. The poison type dodged the assault.

"Smokescreen!" Otto yelled. Black smoke came out of Koffing's craters, completely blocking both pokémon from view.

"Gust!" Sam called. Pidgeotto flapped its wings hard and blew the smoke away. Everybody noticed Koffing has moved behind Pidgeotto.

"Man, this is a good battle." Twister said, eating popcorn.

"Yeah. Best one I've seen in a while." Reggie agreed, munching on a hot dog. Otto turned to them.

"What are you doing?"

"Watching the battle. You're doing pretty good." Twister replied with a thumbs up.

"Keep it up, Rocket Boy." Reggie said. Otto grinned.

"Thanks. I've been doing a lot of practicing and—O.O PULL UP THAT NET!!!"

"Alright, alright! Sheesh!" Twister and Reggie yelled as they continued pulling up the net.

"Sludge attack!" Otto ordered, getting back to the battle.

"Koffing!" The pokémon opened its mouth and spit out a black substance in multiple shots.

"Dodge them!" Sam ordered. Pidgeotto skillfully dodged the attacks.

"This isn't getting anywhere." Conroy said as he walked over to Sam. Sam looked at him and noticed the pidgey perched on his shoulder earlier wasn't there anymore. "Now listen, Sammy, get Pidgeotto to ignore Koffing and cut the net."

"But why?" Sam asked.

"No time! Hurry!" Conroy replied.

"Alright. Pidgeotto! Use Wing Attack to cut that net down!"

"What?!" Otto asked after hearing the command. He saw Pidgeotto fly away from Koffing. It was getting ready to charge at the net!

"Don't just float there! Do something!" The redhead ordered.

Pidgeotto charged at the net as Koffing floated into its path. The poison type shot a Sludge attack at the flying type, but Pidgeotto dodged it. Koffing then tried to tackle Pidgeotto, but it didn't help. Pidgeotto dodged every single attempt and then, it slashed the net with its wings, making it fall. The pokémon in the net landed with a thud. They both had dazed expressions on their faces.

"We were so close!" Reggie yelled.

"This is all your fault! If you guys didn't take so long pulling up that net, we woulda won!" Otto barked.

"Our fault!? You're the one who can't battle out of a paper bag!"

"Oh, like you can do any better?!" And the siblings went at it again. While they were at each other's throats, Twister noticed a pidgey fly by.

"What a cute little birdie!" The costumed boy exclaimed.

"Birdie?" Otto and Reggie asked with confusion.

"Pidgey! Peck that balloon!" Conroy ordered. Pidgey chirped as it flew up to the balloon. It applied its beak to the balloon a few times before it broke through, making a widening hole in the balloon. Team Rocket screamed as the balloon took off.

"Ahhh!!! That little pest!" Otto yelled.

"How dare it pop our balloon!?" Reggie added.

"I still think it was cute." Twister said with his arms crossed. The other two sighed.

"It looks like Team Rocket's grinding off again!" They all yelled as the balloon became a star in the sky.

Back on the ground, everybody cheered as Conroy and Sam got their pokémon out of the net.

"Thanks a lot for helping me back there." Conroy said as he called back his dodrio. Pidgey flew down and landed on his shoulder. Conroy turned towards his trailer.

"Hey. We still have to finish our match." Sam said as he picked up his pikachu. Conroy stopped and turned towards him.

"Our pokémon are too shaken up after that Team Rocket tried to steal them." He noticed the distressed look on Sam's face. "Tell you what. In recognition for saving my pokémon, I'll give you this." He reached into a pocket and pulled out something. It was a pin that was shaped like a skateboard. It was red and had wings near the end.

"This is the Skateboard Badge." Conroy explained as he handed it to Sam. "It's proof that you defeated me in a battle."

"But I didn't—" Sam started.

"What they don't know won't hurt them." Conroy interrupted with a wink. "Just take it. As far as I'm concerned, you would've beaten me with that pikachu of yours." Sam smiled as he took the badge.

"Thanks! I got my first badge!" He yelled. Pidgeotto chirped in happiness.

"Well, see ya around." Conroy said. "Good luck in the other gyms." Sam called back Pidgeotto and waved good bye as he skated out of the pier.

'I'll heal my pokémon and then I'll battle the beach's gym leader tomorrow.' He thought as he went to the school. 'I wonder what pokémon the leader uses. Obviously, it would make sense to think that he uses water types.' He then reached the school and went inside.

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Post-chapter Conversation

"Is Sam right about the beach's gym leader?" I asked, raising questions like always. "For that matter, who is the leader going to be? Find out next time!"

"Oh, I almost forgot." Izzy said, turning to me. "What about the great Lars and Twister's eye colors?"

"Isn't it strange that we always wait til the end of the chapter to talk about those two?" Izzy only shrugged in response. "Anyway, because I identify the great Lars with the great Shadow, his eyes would be red."

"Well, at least I know what Twister's eye color would be." Izzy said confidently. "They would be brown because everybody knows purple is an impossible eye color to have."

"Actually…" I started with a grin.

"Oh come on! I know you identify him with Knuckles and that it's your favorite color, but purple!? Why!?"

"Let's look at the stats." I started. "Otto's skateboard is purple, Reggie's hair is purple, Otto (on occasion) wears purple swimming trunks, Sam (when snowboarding) wears a purple hat, scarf, and gloves, and last but not least, the great Lars wears a purple shirt. In all my years of watching Rocket Power, I have hardly seen an inch of purple on Twister, so making his eyes the royal color is perfect! It gives him depth!"

"¬.¬ The boy's as gullible as Knuckles. How much depth can he possibly have?"

"My guess is you'd have to look really hard into his character." I said with a shrug. I turned to the camera and waved. "Anyway, see ya next chapter!"

(Note: For the record, this story, including this chapter's conversation, was written months before Island of the Menehune premiered.)