The Pokepal's third round duel begins in earnest as Brock attempts to woo Shawna, the apprentice to Dewford Gym's Brawly, by showing off his dueling skills. Before long, Brock has taken down Shawna's first two cards with his Kadabra, threatening to sweep the duel!
However, Shawna also has a few tricks up her sleeve, nearly knocking out Brock's Kadabra with her lucky card: a rare Psychic Baltoy. Just when it seems like a neck and neck duel is developing, Brock turns the tables on Shawna and wins the Thunder Crest with a simple strategy: Psychic always beats other Psychics.
Can the Pokepals continue their advance through the tournament? What will our heroes face today? Find out!
The Heart of the Cards, part 21: Pikachu's Shocking Discovery
"Unngh..." Ash rolled around in his bed, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep. "After all that excitement today, I can't sleep..." he mused as he tried again to get comfortable. Finally, he turned to face the window, where the pale blue sky was starting to fill with wisps of pink and orange as the sun peeked over the hill. "Well, the sun's coming up, and then it'll be time to get up anyway...so there's no point in going back to sleep..." Ash sighed as he threw off the covers, climbed out of bed, and tiptoed to the kitchen, being extra careful not to wake Misty or Brock.
As he trudged towards the kitchen, he passed the small alcove where Pikachu and Togepi were sleeping. "Guess I'll see if Pikachu's ready to wake up..." he thought as he bent down and gently nudged Pikachu. "Hey..."
"Pika...chuuuu..." Pikachu yawned as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Pika?"
"Good morning..." Ash whispered. "Hungry?"
"Pika..." Pikachu replied as he carefully climbed aboard Ash's hand.
"Come on then..." and Ash carried Pikachu into the kitchen
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After finishing a hearty breakfast and getting dressed, Ash grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled a short message:
Guys,
I've gone out to the park for a while. Will be back in a few hours.
--Ash o-o
"Pika pi!" Pikachu replied as he admired the sketch of a Pikachu next to Ash's signature.
"It DOES look like you, doesn't it?" Ash smiled as he slung his pack on his back, grabbed his cap from the hat stand, and started out the door. Pikachu followed along behind him, happily nibbling on a biscuit.
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When the twosome arrived at the park, Ash wasted no time in settling down under a tree, where he and Pikachu watched the sky turn shades of pink, orange and yellow, heralding the sunrise.
"Pika..." Pikachu watched in awe as the rising sun bathed the world in light and warmth. Inspired by this thought, he hurried over to Ash's pack and began to rummage through it.
"Huh?" Ash looked over at Pikachu as he continued to dig through the pack. "What are you looking for?" No sooner had he asked this, he felt the sensation of something being placed on his lap--his Pokeflute!
"Pikapi? Pika pika pi pi chu!" Pikachu begged eagerly.
"Okay..." Ash chuckled as he brushed the dust off of his instrument. "What do you want me to play?"
"Pika!" Pikachu replied, obviously excited.
"Anything?" Ash thought for a moment, then started a hauntingly beautiful air--one that Melody had taught him before his adventure with Lugia.
"Pika chu..." Pikachu interrupted, shaking a tambourine earnestly.
"Oh, you wanna dance, then?" and Ash started a rousing rendition of "The Trick House Reel", a dance tune May had taught him. Pikachu danced nearby, shaking and banging his tambourine for percussion, obviously enjoying the ever growing crowd that came to listen to Ash perform...
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After a while, Pikachu had tired of dancing, and Ash heaved from playing a long stretch of dance tunes. "Whew..." he sighed. "Playing all of that is hard work!"
"Pika pi..." Pikachu agreed, slumping down to the grass. But before he could get comfortable, he spotted a shiny object embedded in the grass nearby a tree. "Pika?"
"What is that? Well, bring it to me and I'll look at it." Ash assured Pikachu. Pikachu gave a quick nod to Ash, then skittered off into the grass. He returned a few moments later, clutching the shiny object in his mouth. Ash took the object from Pikachu and looked at it for a moment, taking special note of the shiny back. "Hmm...it seems to be a card, but I don't know of any cards that look like this." he explained.
"Pika pi Pichupika? Pika pi!" Pikachu suggested.
"You want to ask Maya? Okay, we will." With that, Ash slung his pack on his back and started down the path. "Brock and Misty are probably wondering where we are, anyway..."
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"We're back!" Ash called as he returned to the room, where the others were just beginning to sit down to breakfast.
"Did you enjoy your sunrise walk?" Misty asked.
"Yeah! Pikachu enjoyed the run too..." Ash replied as he grabbed two pieces of bacon from the counter and sat down.
"Did you just go walking or what?" Maya asked, interested.
"Actually, Pikachu found this," Ash explained, setting the shiny card before Maya. "and he wants to know what it is."
Michael took a look at the card and gasped. "Is that what I think it is?"
"There's only one way to find out..." Maya assured him as she inspected the glittery back, then inspected the bottom of the card's front.
"Well?" Ash asked, impatient.
"Pi pika, Pichupika?" Pikachu agreed.
Maya smiled as she returned the card to Ash. "Congratulations. You're the proud owner of a super rare Charizard holo card!"
Ash's mouth dropped open. "REALLY?"
"Those were given out as prizes for the Cinnabar Island Championships last year." Michael explained. "There are only a hundred of them in existance, so keep that one safe."
"Wow..." Ash stared at the beautiful card, mesmerized by the tiny rainbows its shiny back projected onto the table. "I'm going to go put it in my deck right now!" With that, he raced into the bedroom, reached for his deck tin, and slipped the card inside.
"I'm sure it'll help you in the rounds ahead!" Maya smiled, leaning back in her chair and looking out the window.
"Have we received any challenges?" Brock asked as he put his plate in the sink.
"No, but you can initiate a challenge...duels are taking place outside today." Maya explained. "The grand hall is being renovated, so they moved some portable arenas outside so the tournament can continue."
"Cool!" Misty rushed over to her bed and grabbed a pair of sunglasses for herself. "Let's go outside and watch!"
"Good, maybe I can get some more tournament brackets..." Brock mused as he trudged towards the bathroom and started the shower.
"Michael's already outside, so I'll tell him you guys are coming!" Maya assured the group as she left.
"We'll be there as soon as we finish getting ready!" Ash called after Maya.
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"There...that's the last of our supplies." James began as he moved a few more boxes inside an underground chamber.
"It sure was nice of da boss to bail us out ofda slammer!" Meowth giggled. "But why did he give us all dese boxes?"
"He said something about parts...for a plan!" Jessie explained as she collapsed in a chair, exhausted. "It was hard work moving the boxes here!"
"I wonder what's in them?" Meowth asked, climbing on top of the largest box and tearing open the top.
Jessie walked over and peered inside the box, where various metal pieces, dials, gauges, and other odds and ends were carefully packed inside. "Hmm..." she mused. "Whatever this is supposed to be, it looks like it'll be huge!"
"Well, you'd tinkda factory would give us an instruction manual or something..." Meowth grumbled, as he rummaged through the box, looking for any sort of material explaining how to use the strange contraption.
"Already found it!" James announced, waving a small booklet in the other's direction. Jessie and Meowth closed up the box and listened as James studied the assembly instructions. "Take body piece A and connect it to body piece B....then take socket C and place in hole D...."
"Hold on, you're going too fast!" Jessie exclaimed as she struggled to screw in the socket.
"You're toining it the wrong way!" Meowth noted. "Gimmie da screwdriver for a second!" With that, he started to screw in the socket...but the socket popped loose from the hole and tumbled to the ground.
Jessie sighed. "See? I WAS turning it the right way to begin with!"...
A few hours later...
"There..." James sighed as he hammered the last piece of metal in place. "It's finished!" The three Rockets took a few steps back and admired their handiwork: a huge silvery tank with a vacuum hose attached to the front.
"Wow..." Jessie gasped.
"Took long enough..." Meowth sighed. "Remind me to scratch whoever writes those instruction manuals really good...."
"Don't worry, I will..." James assured Meowth as he climbed inside the huge monstrosity and turned the key, causing the strange machine to hum to life!
"Come on!" Meowth led Jessie aboard the mecha, and the three Rockets began to burrow their way out of the underground base...
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"Hi, you guys!" Michael called as Maya and the group walked out onto the waterfront. In addition to the red and blue arenas that dotted the piers, there were also games, a few rides, and food stalls everywhere. "Maya said you were coming, so lets just sit back, relax, and enjoy the duels out here in the breeze!"
"I will admit, this is much better than being in that stuffy hall!" Ash began as he settled inside a beach chair. "Not to mention you can see the arenas better!" With that, he leaned back and watched the duel unfold.
"At least to don't have to fight your way through a few thousand people just to see!" Misty smiled as the girl on the Ruby side commanded her Kirlia to attack. The Kirlia formed a small purple ball in its hands and fired it at the opponent, a Manetric.
"Good shot!" Ash commented, applauding the girl on her move.
"Pika pika?" Pikachu asked, longingly glancing at the hot dog stand.
"Ash, I think Pikachu wants a hot dog." Brock noted as he made a few notes on the unfolding duel.
"Okay..." Ash slowly stood up from his chair and deposited Pikachu on his shoulder. "I'll be sure and ask for extra ketchup."
"Pika..." Pikachu smiled as Ash got in the line for hot dogs.
Brock couldn't resist snickering about Pikachu. "I know how he likes his ketchup..."
"Huh?" Michael was confused.
"It's a long story..." Brock sighed.
"Not quite..." Misty interjected. "See, we were traveling one day, and we stopped somewhere for lunch. As we waited for our food, Pikachu found the ketchup, somehow managed to open it, and started eating it from the bottle!" Everyone cracked up at this...but no sooner had they calmed down, the entire waterfront began to rumble and shake.
Maya gasped. "What's going on?
"Earthquake!" Michael called.
"No, wait!" Misty called, gesturing to a gigantic crack forming in the pavement. "There's something coming up from the ground!" Everyone watched as a giant silvery tank with a vacuum hose in the front burst from the ground, leveling several arenas and scattering the crowds!
"What in the world..." Brock asked, awed by the sparkling monstrosity.
Just then, Jessie and James appeared from the tank's exit door. "Give us your cards and don't cause us any trouble!" Jessie demanded, causing the crowd to gasp.
"And if you do resist, your pain will be double!" James agreed. With that, he flicked the switch on the vacuum hose, brewing up a huge windstorm that started sucking up hundreds of deck tins!
"RUN!" Michael called to the others, but the vacuum's suction was too powerful for anyone to take one step.
"My cards!" Misty cried, helplessly watching as her Starmie tin was sucked into the tank.
"NO!" Brock tried his hardest to hold onto his prized Geodude tin, but it was ultimately squeezed through his hands and inside the tank.
"There goes my deck..." Maya grumbled as her tin was also sucked away.
"GIMME BACK MY CARDS!!!" Misty demanded over the whoosh of the vacuum.
"Sorry miss, they're OURS now!" James chortled as he shut the vacuum off.
Just then, Ash returned with a hot dog drowned in ketchup. "Hey guys, what's...with....the...." he started as he looked up at the giant tank. "Oh my...."
"That tank just vacuumed up all our cards!" Michael explained. "We have to try and get them back!"
"Then, I have an idea!" With that, Misty ran up to the tank and started to bang on it with clenched fists. Surprisingly enough, the group's tins slid out onto the ground!
Ash was impressed. "Hmm...maybe that tank has a weak point?"
"And I just so happen to know what it is..." Brock smiled, reaching for several kazoos from his pocket and giving them to the group. "I was going to give these to the Pokemon, but they might come in handy now!"
"How is a kazoo going to get our cards back?" Michael wondered.
"I saw this on TV once..." Brock explained as he finished dividing up the small toys.
"What are you twerps plotting down there?" Jessie yelled from her position atop the tank.
"You do realize that our vacuum tank is indestructible..." James cautioned, pleased with all the decks the Rockets had gathered.
"Okay, on the count of three..." Brock called to the others. "A-one, a-two, a-one, two, three!" With that, he began to buzz a familiar song...
"Hey, that's the Zelda theme!" Misty cried. She led the others into the song, making a four part harmony.
Jessie covered her ears from the noise. "You call THAT music? Stop that racket!" She then sniffed the air. "That's funny, do you guys smell something burning?
James looked over at his position and noticed the tank had blue sparks and smoke criss-crossing it as it struggled to hold together. "Uh oh..."
"I have a bad feeling about this..." Meowth sighed, bracing himself for the impending explosion.
KA-POW!!! Ash watched as the tank exploded in a bright red nova, sending the three Rockets flying. "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off AGAAAAINNN!!!! ping. Then, deck tins began to rain down on the pavement, ensuing in a mad scramble!
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"Brock, you're a genius!" Maya smiled. "How did you know what to do?
"Easy..." Brock explained. "When I saw Misty banging on the tank, I noticed that it broke loose in that place; so I concluded that the mecha was weak to sound waves."
"Well, although your plan was a little bit strange, I am glad to get my deck back..." Michael began. "In fact, I feel like initating a challenge right now!"
"But Michael, who are you going to duel?" Maya asked, curious.
"I choose Misty as my opponent." Michael explained, leading Misty over to an arena....
Can Misty defeat Michael? Stay tuned!