Just when things are looking bleak for Ash, he takes advantage of a Potion card, giving him the boost he needs to stay alive and knock Maya's Manetric out of competition! But Maya brings out Makuhita; and Ash is forced to take control of Cyndaquil. Luckily for Ash, he takes advantage of another evolution and defeats Maya! Maya accepts her defeat humbly, and gives Ash one of her decks as thanks for a job well done. She then signs him up to compete in the Challenge Cup, the greatest honor a duelist can win!
Is Ash ready for this new challenge? Find out!
The Heart of the Cards, part 4: Three's Company!
The next morning, the group broke camp and returned to Pokemon Dome. "Wonder where Maya is?" Ash wondered as the group entered Pokemon Dome and walked to the waiting room.
"Probably busy doing whatever it is card masters do in the mornings, I guess." Misty replied as the group sat down. "All we can do for now is wait for her to get here."
Just then, Ash felt a tug on his shirt. "Huh?" He noticed Pikachu was looking up at him from the floor, so he knelt down, picked Pikachu up, and cradled him in his arms. "What is it, little guy? Whatcha want?" he cooed as he scratched Pikachu's head.
"Pika pi ka pi pi, pikapi?" Pikachu asked.
"You want to go explore for a while?" Ash asked. "Okay...but come right back here when Maya gets here, okay?" With that, he set Pikachu on the floor.
"Pika!" Pikachu assured Ash as he hurried off into the crowds of people.
"What was that about?" Misty asked, curious.
"Pikachu was getting bored, so I let him go explore the Dome for a while." Ash explained. "I told him to come back here when Maya gets here."
"Which might not be for a while..." Misty groaned.
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Pikachu watched the crowds of people from another chair, apparently amazed at the sheer number of people. There were families, trainers from all over the world, some of whom had their Pokemon with them, couples, school classes--all coming to watch the best of the best battle it out for a fabulous prize. He was about to climb down and interact with some of them when he heard the sound of a Pokeflute coming from another lounge. He hurried on, curious as to who was playing the beautiful song.
It turned out the music was coming from a TV...but Pikachu was too far away to see. "Pika..." he told himself, and bounded through the room to an empty chair located in front of the TV, where he sat and watched the girl on the screen play one song after another.
"You must like that pretty music, don't you?" said a voice. Pikachu quickly turned around and noticed that a girl had sat down in the chair next to him. She smiled and offered a Pokeblock to Pikachu. "Want one?"
Pikachu took the Pokeblock and sniffed it, then took a bite. After sucking on that for a little bit, he stuffed the remainder of the Pokeblock in his mouth, apparently pleased with the sweet taste. "Pikapika!" he called to his new friend.
"You're welcome!" the girl replied. She waved goodbye as Pikachu skittered off into the halls.
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After a while, Pikachu came back to the hall where the group was waiting. He sat nearby a fountain in the hall and watched the water flow down into a small pool surrounded by reeds. Fascinated by the reeds' movement, he picked a few, then brought them back to the group. "Pika pika, pikachu?" he asked Brock.
"Well..." Brock got out some scissors, some small clay balls, and tape from his pack and began to cut some of the reeds. "If we cut the reeds so that each one is a little bit shorter than the last one..." he explained as he cut the reeds. "...stop them at one end..." He then proceeded to plug each of the cut reeds with a clay ball. "....tape them all together..." he continued as he gathered up the reeds and taped them together into a raft shape. "...you wind up with something like this. And if you blow across the tops of the reeds, like so..." Brock demonstrated by blowing across one the reeds, making a note. "you make a sound."
"Pika..." Pikachu was impressed. "Pi?"
"Oh, panpipes!" Misty laughed. "I loved making those back at the Gym! I used to challenge Lily, Violet and Daisy to see who could play the best! Naturally, I won most of the time!"
"Cool!" Ash was impressed. "May I try them?"
"Here." Brock offered the pipes to Ash.
Ash thought for a moment, then began to play a slightly tropical sounding melody...
"Island mon day o! Pokemon day o! Lying in the sun, we're having so much fun....Island mon day o! Pokemon day o!...." Misty sang.
"Togi togi, to-iiiii!" Togepi joined in with his master.
"Pika pika Chu! Pika pi ka chu!" Pikachu chimed in.
"Wow, you guys! That song sounds great!" said a voice.
Ash stopped his song and turned to see Maya walking towards them. "Oh! Good morning, Maya!" he stammered. "When does the tournament start?"
"Not until the afternoon, so there's still time for your friends to sign up, if they want!" Maya replied, ruffling for her sponsor sign up sheet, which had Ash's name down under the ENTRANT column.
"I will! I have my deck, 'Rock Storm'!" Brock dug out his Geodude tin and fanned out the cards before Maya. "I call it that because it's a mix of Fighting and Lightning Pokemon, with some Fire ones thrown in for good measure."
"I think I have a deck..." Misty rummaged through her not-so-organized pack until she found a small blue tin with a Starmie on it. "Here it is!" She opened the tin and fanned out the cards before Maya. "I named this deck 'Psychic Rain", since it's based on Water and Psychic Pokemon, with some other ones in there for emergencies."
"I see..." Maya admired the decks. "Would you guys like to enter as a team? I have two more spaces for entrants on this sheet."
"I do!" Misty smiled. "I want to see if this deck is good or not!
"Me too!" Brock agreed. "What do we have to do to enter?"
"Well, all you guys have to do is think of a team name and I'll put that on the sponsor's sheet." Maya replied. "But think carefully, since once you've registered with the team name, you're stuck with it, okay?"
"Okay..." the group replied.
"Thank you for sponsoring us, Maya..." Ash added.
"Anytime!" Maya replied. She looked at her watch. "I have to go do something really quick, so you can think of a name while I'm gone." With that, she disappeared into the crowd, leaving the group in the lounge.
"Let's see..." Misty thought for a moment. "How about 'Raging Storm?'"
"Chu!!" Pikachu replied, disgusted.
"Uh...the Shining Stars?" Brock suggested.
"Togi!" Togepi chirped angrily.
"The Jewels of Power?" Misty suggested.
"Mmm...nah." Brock replied. "Champions of Kanto, maybe?"
"That's a little better..." Misty replied.
"Yeah..." Ash agreed.
"Maybe the Flowers of Power?" Misty suggested.
"EW!!!!!" Ash and Brock cried. "No way!"
"How about the Pokepals?" Ash suggested.
"Pokepals?" Misty and Brock asked, confused.
"See, we all like Pokemon..." Ash explained. "and we're pals, so to speak...put them both together, and that's what you get!"
"YEAH! PERFECT!!!" Misty and Brock exclaimed.
"All right, the Pokepals it is!" Ash replied with a laugh.
"Pikapi, pika pi pi chu!" Pikachu interjected.
"You think we need a catch phrase and a fight song?" Ash asked.
"Why not? I've got a catch phrase idea!" Misty suggested. "Guys, put your hands on top of mine." Ash and Brock obeyed, putting their hands on top of Misty's. "Then I'll say 'Two, three, comin' in! Who's the greatest?', and we'll all say 'Go, Pokepower!' together. Got it?" Ash and Brock nodded.
"Let's try it!" Brock cried.
"Okay! Two, three, comin' in! Who's the greatest?" Misty cried.
"GO, POKEPOWER!" the group chorused.
"Well, since we're on the subject...I have an idea for a fight song!" Ash suggested. With that, he began to sing. "We're the Pokepals, we're a-comin' in, with our combined power we are gonna win, we will rise and triumph over every foe, and let the Pokepower shine!..."
"Sounds good!" Brock commented. He rummaged for some paper and a pen. "I'm going to write this down so we don't forget it!"
"Here's my two cents!" Misty started to sing. "Trainers everywhere, they will heed our call, we believe that they are always standing tall, if we trust our hearts and always give our all, and let the Pokepower shine! We will take our struggles hand in hand, and forever be admired 'cross this land, though we may be many, as one we stand, letting our Pokepower shine!..."
"So far so good." Brock replied as he finished writing both of Misty's verses and his own verses down. "Here's my part..." With that, he began singing in a different key. "Onward now we go, onward to the fight, with our Pokepower as our guiding light, we will ever climb up to the greatest height, and let the Pokepower shine! We have traveled far across this land so free, Pokemon League waiting just for you and me, and there we'll reign as Pokemasters three, and let the Pokepower always shine!"
"I like it!" Misty commented.
"Let's sing it for Maya when she gets back!" Ash cried.
"Better idea, we'll sing it as we enter the arena!" Misty added.
"Pika, pika!" Pikachu pointed out Maya making her way through the crowd. "Pikapi!"
"So, have you guys decided on a team name?" Maya asked.
"Yeah, we are the Pokepals!" Ash replied. "We even have a catch phrase and a fight song." He grabbed the paper with the fight song lyrics on it. "Wanna hear it?"
"Later, okay?" Maya replied. "Before we go into the arena, let me explain a few rules of the tournament...When you are challenged, you will fight one match with four prizes. If you win, you get one of these..." She dug out a silver coin with a picture of the Earth Badge on it and showed it to the group.
"What's that?" Ash was curious.
"This is a Crest." Maya continued. "If you get all eight of these, you advance to the semi-finals, where you duel the four Grand Masters. Once two people have defeated them, they will face each other in the finals. Whoever wins that gets the four Legendary cards and a nice cash prize....questions?"
"How would a team advance through the tournament?" Brock wondered.
"A team advances very much like a single person would." Maya explained. "However, there are a few differences..."
"Like?" Ash beckoned, eager to know more.
"Well, a team has to be sponsored by a card master...and when a team is challenged, the team chooses someone to accept the challenge." Maya continued. "The sponsor cannot duel, however, but I can help you and give you new cards."
"This is going to be so exciting!" Ash could hardly contain himself, he was so excited. "Let's all duel hard and win the Legendaries!"
"Then, are you guys ready to go into the arena?" Maya asked.
"Let's go! Pokepower!" Misty cried as she led the group down the hall into the arena.
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"Wow..." Ash commented as the group walked into the arena and marveled at all the different teams and competitors. "This is our competition?"
"Sure is! People come from all over to compete." Maya explained. "You guys aren't the only ones going after the four Legendary cards."
"Just curious, which Legendaries are we dueling for?" Ash asked.
"Ho'oh lv. 70, Lugia lv. 64, Suicune lv. 58, and Raikou lv. 50". Maya replied. "They're all very powerful cards, so only the best duelist can use them!" With that, the group found a spot on the sidelines, got comfortable, and waited as people filed into the arena.
An hour or so later, the referee ran onto the arena floor. "Attention please..." she called, getting everyone's attention. "We have received our first challenge of the day. Competitors, do you wish to take on Ken, the Fire Club master?" she asked, gesturing to a young black haired man stepping up to the Ruby platform.
"That's 'Lord of the Flames' to you!" Ken snapped. "I will burn all challengers to cinders with my powerful Fire Pokemon!"
"Oh yeah?" Brock walked over to the arena and stepped up to the Sapphire platform. "Try me out for size!"
"Well then, challenger, are you ready to get scorched by my Fire Pokemon?" Ken asked, taunting Brock.
"I think the more appropriate question is...are YOU ready to be stormed?" Brock asked as the scoreboard displayed the deck information: RUBY WILDFIRE SAPPHIRE ROCK STORM
Will Brock be able to handle this duel? How will the Pokepals fare in the competition ahead? Will the Legendary cards be theirs? Stay tuned!