With all the action and duels taking place, the Pokepals decide to take a moment and reminisce about past adventures. It proves to be a night of laughter and song as stories of the Orange Islands and Houen are shared and relived.
But maybe the past holds a lesson for the present: Maya informs the group of the Triple Challenge, a special compitition open to all tournament competitors!
Can Ash win the Triple Challenge? Find out!
The Heart of the Cards, part 14: Triple the Pleasure, Triple the Fun!
"Unngh..." Ash stretched as he climbed out of bed. "Good morning, guys!" he called to the others.
"Mornin'...." Brock yawned as he kicked the covers off of himself and stretched. "Are you going to need the shower anytime soon?"
"Nah, I took one last night." Ash assured Brock as he pulled a fresh shirt over his head and tossed his pajamas in the laundry hamper.
"Okay..." Brock was about to walk in the bathroom until he heard the shower starting, followed by Misty singing "I wanna be a star, star, star...gonna have my name up in lights..."
"Looks like Misty beat you to it!" Ash laughed as he admired himself in the mirror. "How do I look?"
"Wait!" Brock hurried over to the hat stand by the door, grabbed Ash's cap, and plopped it on Ash's head. "There you go...now you're beautiful."
"Thanks!" Ash smiled as he walked into the kitchen, where he discovered Pikachu hungrily admiring the boxes of cereal in the pantry. "Which kind do you want, Pikachu?" he asked.
"Pika pi!" Pikachu replied as he pointed out Ash's favorite cereal: Cosmic Crunch.
"Okay, you can have some of my cereal..." Ash got down the cereal, got a bowl for himself and a small bowl for Pikachu. "Here you go..." and he filled Pikachu's bowl to the top.
"Pika..." Pikachu happily nibbled on the small star-shaped nuggets as Misty walked in the kitchen in her royal blue bathrobe and settled down next to Ash, who was practically inhaling his cereal. "Pikapi! Pika!" he told Misty.
"You like Cosmic Crunch, huh?" Misty replied as she fished one of the star nuggets from the box. "I think I'll try these to introduce Togepi to solid food." With that, she walked over to Togepi's crib and held out the cereal nugget. "Want this?"
"Togi..." Togepi picked up the cereal nugget and took a bite...
"Okay...the moment of truth..." Misty mused, clasping her hands together. "If he can hold that down without throwing up, I can begin to wean him off the formula!"
"Mmm..." Ash reached for the box of Cosmic Crunch and poured himself another helping, while Misty watched Togepi intently. "Did he swallow it?"
"Yeah...now we have to watch him for a few minutes to see if he holds it down." Misty explained.
"Come on..." Ash cooed in encouragement. He made a few clicking noises with his tongue to try and get a response from Togepi. Togepi just giggled at Ash and began to look for something to play with.
"YESS!!!!" Misty cried. "He did it!"
"Yeah!!!!!" Ash agreed.
"What's all the celebration about?" Brock asked as he entered the kitchen and stuck two pieces of bread in the toaster.
"Togepi just took his first bite of solid food!" Misty cried.
"Really?" Brock smiled and glanced at Togepi, who was playing with some blocks. "You're getting to be a big guy, you know that?"
"Togi to!" Togepi chirped.
"I'm going to tell Maya!" Misty cried as she cleared off her place at the table. "Oh, Ash...make that clicking noise again; I think Togepi likes it."
"Okay..." Ash clicked his tongue a few more times, causing Togepi to giggle again.
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"What took you so long?" Maya asked as the group arrived in the grand hall for the Triple Challenge, where a large crowd had apparently gathered. Several arenas had been set up the night before, and several duels were already underway
"We had to celebrate a milestone with Togepi." Misty smiled as she pulled up a chair and got comfortable. "He ate his first bite of solid food today!"
"Aww..." Maya cooed. "What did you feed him?"
"Oh, just a piece of Cosmic Crunch out of Ash's bowl." Misty explained. "It was one of the normal star nuggets, not the marshmallows."
"Great!" Maya smiled for a moment, then her eyebrows narrowed as she reached for her rules sheet. "Okay, here are the rules for the Triple Challenge...
--The Triple Challenge is open to both the public and tournament contestants
--You challenge and defeat three consecutive opponents in a standard match--one match, four prizes. No exceptions!
--When you win a match, inform the ref you're participating in the Triple Challenge, and that victory will be counted toward your three wins.
--You are allowed to make deck modifications BEFORE the match..."
"What about for teams? Are there any rules concerning teams?" Misty asked.
Maya studied the rules sheet for a moment, then replied, "These two rules apply for teams:
--Sponsors are not allowed to view any events of the Challenge. If you need to contact your sponsor for any reason, inform an official.
--The team must choose someone to represent them in the Challenge.
And if you do win the challenge..." Maya unzipped her bag and displayed a card to the group. "you win this card: Mewtwo lv. 53." Misty and Brock admired the card, impressed.
"I'll duel in the Challenge and win that Mewtwo card!" Ash announced, turning his cap backwards. "Bring it on!"
"Wow...Ash must be raring to go, eh Brock?" Misty was surprised by Ash's sudden enthusiasm.
"He probably is..." Brock mused as he relaxed in his chair and reached for another commentary sheet.
"Now all we have to do is wait for a challenge!" Ash laughed. He reached for a piece of paper and started to draw a picture.
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"Boy, some challenge..." Misty groaned as she watched some of the other duels taking place. "It's been an hour, and we haven't been challenged yet!"
"Be patient, Misty." Brock assured her as he watched the crowds of people mill about. "We'll get a challenge sooner or later..."
"I'm going to go mingle for a while and see if I can find someone for Ash to duel." Misty told Brock as she stood up from her chair. "Be back in a little while." With that, she disappeared into the crowd.
Just then, Ash felt his eyes being covered by a mysterious pair of hands. "Hey, what the..."
"Guess who?" a familiar voice giggled.
"May?" Ash guessed. "Is that you?"
"SURPRISE!!!" and May lifted her hands from Ash's eyes.
"May, hi!" Brock put away his tournament bracket and gave May a hug. "Fancy seeing you here!"
"Oof, I kinda forgot about your powerful hugs, Brock..." May gasped as the two friends embraced. "What's your secret?"
"If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret anymore, now would it?" Brock smiled and winked at May, then relaxed in his chair and observed the crowds some more.
"So, what brings you here to Kanto?" Ash asked, curious.
"I heard that there was a tournament going on from Max, got your letter a few days after that, so after a little convincing..." May began as she dug a Skitty tin from her bag. "I borrowed some of Max's old cards to build a deck. I made sure to take the ones he didn't use anymore...then I trekked down to Lilycove Harbor and caught the latest ship headed for Kanto...and here I am!"
She stared at her Skitty tin for a moment, then mused, "I'd really like to duel somebody and see if this deck is any good..."
"Care to try me out for size?" Ash smiled.
"Yeah!" May hurried over to the closest arena and stepped up to the Ruby platform, which caused the scoreboard to display her deck information: RUBY RISING STAR
A referee approached Ash as he stepped up to the Sapphire platform. "Are you participating in the Triple Challenge?"
"Yes, sir." Ash replied as he organized his deck and observed his deck information: SAPPHIRE FLAME OF CONFUSION
Misty looked up at the scoreboard and compared the stats: RUBY 1 5 4 53 270 to SAPPHIRE 1 5 4 53 260 "Whew...it looks like it's gonna be a close match."
"Here we go..." Brock noted as the ref blew the whistle, signifying May had won the toss.
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"Go, Torchic!" May announced as she placed her first card, Torchic lv. 10, into the arena.
"Chic!" the Torchic chirped with excitement
"Showtime, Treecko!" Ash placed his Treecko in the arena.
"Ruby's turn!"
May first attached a Lightning Energy to Torchic, then commanded, "Torchic, Peck the Treecko!" The Torchic flew over and began to furiously peck the Treecko in the stomach, knocking it over. Ash's HP went down by 10.
"Sapphire's turn!"
Ash attached a Grass Energy to his Treecko, then commanded. "Treecko, Tail Slap!" The Treecko raced over and slammed its tail into the Torchic, making May's HP go down by 10.
"Ruby's turn!"
May attached a Fire Energy to her Torchic and called "Torchic! Launch some fireworks for this crowd!"
The ref's whistle interrupted her command. "If tails, Ruby discards an Energy card!" The coin went up...
"Heads!" May called, smiling confidently as an O came up on the scoreboard. The Torchic took a deep breath and blew out sparkling stars of different colors, causing some in the crowd to ooh and ahh.
The colorful attack turned out to be too much for Ash's Treecko, so it fell, defeated. Ash stood, unfazed for a moment. "Wow...May has grown up a lot since our adventures in Houen...she did great. But, a battle is a battle.... He searched his bench for another card as May grabbed a prize. "Where did it go...I know Abra's on here someplace..." He finally grabbed the top card and looked at it. "Lotad? One of Brock's best cards? How did it wind up in my deck?" he wondered.
"Sapphire, select a Pokemon!" the ref called, snapping Ash out of his thoughts. He placed Lotad in the arena as the ref called "Sapphire's turn!"
Ash calmly attached a Water Energy to Lotad, then commanded "Lotad, Tackle the Torchic!" The Lotad scuttled up to the Torchic and rammed it in the stomach, causing May's HP to go down by 20.
"Ruby's turn!" announced the ref.
"Torchic! Give'em some more Fireworks!" May commanded, motioning to the ref for the coin toss. The coin went up...and landed on heads! The Torchic hurled another onslaught of fire, color and sound, but the Lotad didn't even flinch.
May was puzzled. "Huh? Why didn't your HP go down?" she asked, noting Ash's stats: SAPPHIRE 3 4 4 48 220
"You forgot that Water beats Fire." Ash calmly explained as he attached another Water Energy to Lotad. "Lotad! Blot attack!" The Lotad smothered the Torchic in its lilypad, defeating it.
"Hmm..." May readied her next card as Ash selected a prize. "Go, Skitty!"
"Skitty!" the Skitty mewed as it faced Ash's Lotad.
"Ruby's turn!" called the ref.
"Skitty, Scratch the Lotad!" May commanded. The Skitty ran up and scratched the Lotad on the face, causing Ash's HP to go down by 10.
"Sapphire's turn!"
"Lotad, Tackle!" Ash commanded. The Lotad slammed into the Skitty with such force, it bumped its head against the Ruby platform. May's HP went down by 20, leaving her at an even 200.
"Ruby's turn!"
"Check this out!" and May overlaid her next card, Delcatty lv. 35, on top of the Skitty, making a Delcatty appear in the arena, boosting her HP by 20. "Delcatty, Lunge attack!" she called. The Delcatty pounced on the surprised Lotad, lowering Ash's HP by 20.
"Sapphire's turn!"
"Oh yeah? Take a look at this!" and Ash overlaid Lombre lv. 30 on top of the Lotad. "Lombre, Fury Swipes!"
The ref blew the whistle, signaling a coin toss. The first coin went up....and landed on heads!
"Yeah!" Misty cheered from the sideline.
"Come on..." Brock coaxed as the second coin went up...and landed on tails. "Oh well...at least he only needed one to knock Delcatty out anyway..."
Back in the arena, Ash smiled confidently as the Lombre furiously clawed at the Delcatty, defeating it.
"Okay...let's see..." May grabbed the next card off her bench. "How about...Bulbasaur!" she announced, placing a Bulbasaur lv. 13 in the arena.
"Ruby's turn!"
"Bulbasaur, Vine Whip!" May commanded. The Bulbasaur fired a vine from its bulb that struck the Lombre so hard, it slumped to the ground, defeating it. Ash watched as the Lombre card floated into his discard. "Brock...I'm sorry..."
"All right! We're even!" May cried as she grabbed one of her three prizes. "I feel confident I'll win now!"
"Not for long!" Ash cried, revealing his next card: Pineco lv 12. "Meet Pineco!"
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"Pineco...isn't that one of your cards too?" Misty asked Brock.
"It is..." Brock replied as he wrote a few notes on Ash's progress. "Ash's deck doesn't have any Water Pokemon in it, so I gave him some of mine to help him out."
Misty smiled. "That was nice of you..."
"Don't mention it." Brock replied, playfully nudging Misty.
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"Sapphire's turn!"
Ash attached a second Psychic Energy to his waiting Abra, then drew his next card: Kadabra lv. 38! He quickly overlaid that on top of his Abra, making a flash of light appear on his bench. "May is sure gonna be in for a surprise..." he smiled as he ended his turn.
"Ruby's turn!"
May overlaid her next card, Ivysaur lv. 32, over her Bulbasaur, making an Ivysaur appear in its place. Next, she attached a Pluspower to Ivysaur. "Ivysaur, Razor Leaf with Pluspower!" she commanded. The Ivysaur fired a wave of leaves with a red aura at the Pineco, defeating it.
"Yeah!" May cheered as she grabbed one of her two remaining prizes. "Is your next Pokemon going to be that easy?" she asked as she danced on the platform excitedly.
"Don't count on it!" Ash retorted, placing Kadabra lv. 38 in the arena. He turned his cap back as the ref announced "Sapphire's turn!" Next, he attached a third Psychic Energy to the Kadabra. "Kadabra, Super Psy!" The Kadabra formed a pulsing ball of blue energy in its hands and fired it at the Ivysaur! The explosion was so bright, it also blinded the audience.
May watched in horror as her Ivysaur floated out of the arena. "Wow, you're pretty good...but not as good as this next one!" With that, she laid Plusle lv 18 in the arena.
"Ruby's turn!"
"Plusle, Thundershock!" May commanded. The Plusle unleashed a crackling thunderbolt, throwing the Kadabra back. Ash's HP went down by 10.
"Sapphire's turn!"
"Kadabra, Super Psy again!" Ash called. Everyone shielded their eyes as another ball of energy struck its target, defeating it.
"Game set!" the ref called. "Sapphire wins!" The crowd cheered as Ash and May stepped down from the platforms and shook hands.
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"You did a good job, May..." Ash smiled as he leafed through his latest booster pack. "Maybe those contests are good for something after all!"
"Actually, I think I'll build my own deck and see if I can get a tournament going in Houen!" May giggled as she turned to leave. "Although...I did have a great time dueling."
"The pleasure's all mine." Ash smiled as he gave May one last hug. "Take care!"
"I will!" May assured Ash.
"And good luck with your other duels too!" Brock added. He and Ash waved goodbye as May disappeared into the crowd.
Just then, Misty returned and settled into a nearby chair. "No luck finding challengers..."
"I got challenged by May!" Ash exclaimed.
"Really?" Misty was impressed. "How did that go?"
"Well, she came not long after you left..." Ash began. "and she actually had some good cards, but in the end, she was no match for Kadabra!"
"I wish I could've seen that..." Misty sighed as she continued to watch the crowds...
What will happen next in the Triple Challenge? Stay tuned!