Ash continues to make strides in the Triple Challenge, easily defeating Kristen, a budding Grass-type duelist, for his second victory! But, that victory proves even sweeter for Brock when he receives a surprise visit from Professor Ivy! Despite another reunion with an old friend, Team Rocket also returns and tries again to capture Pikachu, but they prove to be no match for Pikachu's superior mettle!
Just when the day couldn't be filled with any more action, Gary returns and challenges Ash again for the third battle in the Triple Challenge!
Can Ash defeat Gary again? Find out!
The Heart of the Cards, part 17: Gary Evens The Score
Ash sighed as he readied his deck for battle. "Thankfully, I have all my best cards this time..." he thought as he watched his stats appear on the scoreboard: SAPPHIRE 2 3 4 53 200 "Maybe I can show Gary that I'm more than a match for him!"
Gary snickered confidently as he observed Ash's stats. "I've been earning new cards and trying them out in different decks...let's just see how well your deck does against some of my new favorites!" he jeered, gesturing to his stats: RUBY 2 4 4 53 200
"Favorites or not, we'll see who's truly worthy of that prize card!" Ash taunted. Just then, the ref blew the whistle, signaling the coin toss....
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"See the scoreboard?" Misty asked, directing the others' attention to the stats. "Ash and Gary have the same HP count!"
"I know..." Brock agreed as he grabbed a fresh score sheet from his pack and wrote "ASH VS. GARY" at the top in preparation to keep track of the score. "I hope Ash knows what he's doing...
"Hey, if Ash can beat Gary once, he can beat him again!" Michael assured the others as he saw an O appear on the scoreboard, affirming that Ash had won the toss the second time around.
"I don't know..." Brock mused. "Gary may have some good cards this time around...but only time will tell..."
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"Treecko, I choose you! Ash called, summoning Treecko into the arena. Treecko took a bow to the crowd, then started to chew on his lucky twig as he waited for Ash's command.
"Go, Doduo!" Gary announced, flipping up his active card. A Doduo raced into the arena anxious to battle
"Sapphire's turn!"
Ash started by attaching a Grass Energy to Treecko, then commanded. "Treecko, Tail Slap!" Treecko skittered up to Doduo and slammed its tail into the Doduo's legs, making it start to lose its balance. Gary's HP went down by 10.
"Ruby's turn!"
Gary slyly attached a Double Colorless Energy to Doduo. "Heh, heh...with Doduo's Fury Attack...Ash won't even know what hit him!" he thought as he watched the bright white energy flow into Doduo, allowing it to regain its composure. "Doduo, Fury Attack!" he commanded. The Doduo opened its beak and began firing twigs at Treecko, pinning it to the platform! Ash's HP went down by 20.
"Sapphire's turn!"
Ash quickly recalled Treecko and grabbed his newest card, Meowth lv. 14 off of his bench. "Gary thinks he's so smart...he won't be so strong without his best Pokemon!" he smiled as he placed Meowth in the arena and gave it a Double Colorless Energy....
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"Why did Ash suddenly decide to change Pokemon?" Misty wondered. "He was doing fine with Treecko!"
"Treecko would be knocked out, Gary's Doduo is stronger." Maya explained. "Type alignment, you know..."
"Yeah..." Misty sighed and slumped in her chair. "I'm just worried that this duel will be a repeat of last time..."
"It won't, thanks to Meowth lv. 14!" Michael interjected.
"How so?" Misty raised an eyebrow, interested.
"Meowth lv. 14 has an attack called Cat Punch..." Michael explained. "It can attack ANY of the opponent's Pokemon, even the benched ones!"
"Michael's right!" Brock agreed. "If Ash can slowly bring down Gary's Pokemon before he can get them out, it might be an easy win!"
"Let's just keep our fingers crossed and hope your prediction's right..." Misty mused as she turned her attention back to the arena.
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"Meowth, Cat Punch!" Ash commanded.
"Meow!" The Meowth bounded to Gary's bench and punched it with a paw.
Gary laughed confidently to himself. "You call THAT an attack?" he taunted, completely unaware that his HP had gone down by 20. "That didn't even scratch Doduo!"
"Ruby's turn!"
"Doduo, Fury Attack!" Gary commanded. The Doduo fired another round of twigs, but the Meowth veered out of the way!
"Ruby's attack missed!" the ref announced. "Sapphire's turn!"
"Meowth, Cat Punch!" Ash called. The Meowth bounced up to Gary's bench and struck another card, making it float out of the arena into Gary's discard.
Gary was shocked!" "Wha...how could you defeat Squirtle before I could even bring him out!"
"It's called strategy!" Ash called back as he grabbed one of his prizes.
"Ooh..." Gary gritted his teeth as he heard the ref call "Ruby's turn!".
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"All right! Ash brought down one of Gary's cards!" Michael cheered.
"He's not done yet!" Maya cautioned as she brought up the bench makeups on her PokeNavi. "Gary has a tough Pokemon waiting for Ash!"
Misty looked over at the flickering PokeNavi screen with interest. "What's so bad about a Scyther card? I have one in my own deck, so he can't be all THAT bad!"
"I can probably answer that question in two words: Swords Dance." Brock explained as he flipped to a clean page in his notebook and sketched a rough drawing of a Scyther. "You know that the attack Slash, no matter which Pokemon has it, will always do 30 damage, right?" Everyone nodded. "However..." Brock paused to draw the Scyther twirling around two swords. "If the Scyther uses Swords Dance, that doubles its attack for three turns. And if our Scyther used Slash directly after that..." He let that hang.
"So long Ash, you lose, game over." Michael sighed. "We can only hope Ash can take that Scyther out quickly!"
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"Doduo! Try again to hit the Meowth with Fury Attack!" Gary commanded. The Doduo again fired twings from its beak, this time successfully pinning the Meowth to the Sapphire platform. Ash's HP went down by 20.
"Sapphire's turn!"
Ash quickly put the Potion he had drawn earlier into the arena. "There you go!" The Meowth scurried over and drank the entire potion dry, boosting Ash's HP by 20. Next, Ash attached a Pluspower to Meowth, causing a red aura to form around it. "Now, Meowth! Cat Punch with Pluspower!" The Meowth obediently ran up to Gary's bench and struck another card, knocking Gary's HP down to 120.
"Ruby's turn!"
Gary quickly recalled his Doduo and set Scyther in the arena. "If Ash is doing what I think he's doing, I better take out that Meowth and quick... he thought as he attached a Grass Energy to Scyther. "Scyther, Swords Dance!" he commanded. The Scyther formed two swords and began to twirl around them, all the while chanting a war chant.
"Scyther's attack is up!" the ref announced. "Sapphire's turn!"
"Quickly, Meowth! Cat Punch!" Ash screamed i0n panic when he saw the Swords Dance. The Meowth ran up to the Scyther and gave it a punch in the stomach, knocking it backwards and lowering Gary's HP to an even 100.
"Ruby's turn!"
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Gary's mind raced as he searched his deck for an Energy card."Don't tell me that I put my Double Colorless Energy in the prize pile...where is it...where is it...." he thought as he rummaged through the deck, once...twice....three times...
"Ruby, make your move..." the ref called, snapping Gary out of his thoughts.
"I end my turn!" Gary called to the ref, obviously panged by the thought of seeing his Scyther defeated.
"All right, then...Sapphire's turn!"
"Okay, Meowth!" Ash called. "Cat Punch, and be sure you hit the Scyther!"
"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Gary cried in shock and disbelief as the Meowth punched his Scyther, defeating it! He hung his head as Ash triumphantly drew one of his prizes. "That does it!" and he threw down his deck in frustration. I'm going to withdraw and get some NEW cards!" and he ran from the platform.
The ref blew the whistle. "Ruby forfeits the match! Sapphire wins!" Ash calmly stepped down from the Sapphire platform as the crowd applauded.
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"Goodness, Gary didn't have to get all upset like he did just because of losing one card!" Misty mused as the crowd gathered for the Triple Challenge awards ceremony.
"Maybe that's his weakness." Brock suggested. "He may be so dependent on certain cards that once he loses those, all his other cards are extremely weak!"
"That may be true..." Michael agreed as Ash approached the referee to receive his prize.
"Ash..." the referee began. "It is my greatest honor and privilige to give you this rare card...Mewtwo lv. 53." The crowd cheered as Ash took the card from the ref's hand and flashed it to his teammates. "Pokepower!" he cried.
"Go, Pokepower!" the crowd called back. With that, Ash tipped his cap to the crowd and ran back to his waiting teammates.
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"What a day!" Ash sighed as he and the others returned from the grand hall. "Three duels in one day, and a rare card to boot!"
"You worked hard to get Mewtwo, and now you've earned it!" Michael cried, putting an arm around Ash. "Treat it like an heirloom!"
"Oh, I will!" Ash laughed as he reached for his deck and inserted the new card inside, then turned towards the window, where the lights of Titian City glittered against the deep blue night sky. "However...I don't get why Gary would suddenly withdraw from a match like he did..."
"Who knows?" Misty mused. "He could be plotting revenge, for all we know..."
"How do you know?" Brock asked, curious. Misty turned to answer, but was soon interrupted by a knock at the door.
"I'll get it!" Ash leapt up from his chair by the window, hurried to the door, and opened it. "Maya!"
"Hi, guys!" Maya called to the group as she set down some bags of food on the table. "Did you clench Mewtwo?"
"I did..." Ash assured Maya. "The weird thing is, he suddenly withdrew after I knocked out his Scyther! He usually isn't like that!"
"Hmm...he may have a bigger plan up his sleeve..." Maya mused. "But, the important thing is, you got the card and won the Tripe Challenge...so I brought you guys dinner to celebrate!"
"You did? What is it?" Brock asked, interested. "I'm starved after a long day of dueling..."
"Look who's talking!" Ash replied, playfully elbowing Brock.
Maya just laughed at the ongoing elbow fight as she set out the food: roast chicken, potatoes, green beans, and a tray of brownies for dessert. "I fixed this just for you, so help yourselves!"
"Thanks, Maya!" Ash repled as he got settled at the table.
"Let's dig in!" Brock passed out the silverware and got drinks for everyone, then helped himself to the food that Maya had prepared....
With the Triple Challenge behind them, what lies ahead for our heroes? Stay tuned!