Last time, on "Pokemon: The Heart of the Cards"...
Ash and co. decide to take a break from dueling and spend the day at the Titian City Museum of Discovery. While there, they decide to take part in the Mt. Maze trials, hoping to dethrone the current champion, Camille!
But, when Camille challenges Ash to beat her record, Pikachu does more than that, he shaves an entire ten seconds off the time, leaving Ash as the new champion!
Now our heroes return to the arena for the fifth round, and things are beginning to get harder...
Can Ash and the gang win the other four Crests? Find out!
The Heart of the Cards, part 26: Master of Illusion
The group was just waking up when Maya arrived the next morning. "Morning, guys..."
"Morning..." Ash yawned as he pulled a shirt over his head. "Any challenges for us today?"
Maya rummaged through her papers untill she found a challenge sheet. "Yes...you have received your fifth round challenge. He's waiting for you in the grand hall.
"Who is he?" Ash asked as he sat down before a steaming platter of bacon and eggs.
"Just hurry and eat, Michael will give you the details when you get there." Maya assured Ash as she started towards the door. "I will give you a tip on defeating his deck: he likes to use Psychic types..."
"Remember: Psychic beats other Psychics..." Brock cautioned.
"And Colorless Pokemon are strong against Psychics..." Misty added as she settled in at the table.
Ash smiled as he ate. "I already know my general plan, and if I can use my special Charizard, he'll be no match for me!"...
---------
"Ash, there you are..." Michael started as Ash and the others arrived in the arena. "Your opponent is a guy named Murray...he's a bit of a character, so his Pokemon are an odd bunch...but he loves Psychic Pokemon with a passion!"
"I bet I can beat him!" Ash smiled. "Wish me luck!" With that, he ran towards the Sapphire platform and readied his deck. the scoreboard then blipped to life: SAPPHIRE FLAME OF CONFUSION.
"So, you must be Ash, are you not?" said a voice. Ash turned to look at the boy with short purple hair that was stepping up to the Ruby platform. "I've heard quite a bit about you..." At this, the scoreboard displayed his deck information: RUBY STRANGE PSYSHOCK
"Well, I hope to be a Card Master and inheirit the Legendary Cards!" Ash explained, gesturing to his stats: SAPPHIRE 3 2 4 53 150
"You? A Pokemon Trading Card Game Master? We'll see about that..." Murray smirked as his stats appeared on the scoreboard: RUBY 3 2 4 53 180
"Good luck, Ash!" Maya called as the coin went up...
"Pika pi!" Pikachu agreed.
Brock swallowed hard as Ash called the toss. "Is it just me, or do you guys have a feeling that there may be more to Murray's deck than we think we know?"
"I don't know..." Misty sighed as an O came up on the scoreboard, signifying that Murray had won the toss. "I do think he has some secret, or something he's hiding..."
----------
"Ruby plays first!" the ref announced. "And begin!"
"Mr. Mime, let's go!" Murray called, flipping up his active card. A Mr. Mime hovered into the arena and immediately began the old 'trapped in a box' pantomime routine, causing some in the audience to laugh.
"Charmander, I choose you!" Ash flipped up his active card. A Charmander skittered into the arena and warily eyed the opponent.
"Ruby's turn!"
"Meditate on winning!" Murray commanded. The Mr. Mime focused until it had formed a red ball of energy in its hands, then hurled it at the Charmander, but the Charmander ran out of the way.
"Sapphire's turn!"
"Charmander, Scratch!" Ash commanded as he attached a Fire Energy. The Charmander ran up to the Mr. Mime and tried to scratch it, but it was repeled by a wall. Confused, the Charmander tried to scratch again, but was again blocked.
"Ruby's turn!"
"Well, if your Pokemon aren't going to hold still...I'll just swap them for you!" and Murray set down a Warp Portal card, making the Charmander teleport out of the arena and bringing out a Meowth in its place.
"What the..." Ash was surprised.
"Mr. Mime! Keep Meditating!" Murray wasted no time in attacking. The Mr. Mime formed another red ball at the Meowth and fired, scoring a direct hit! Ash's HP went down by 30.
"Sapphire's turn!"
"What did you do?" Ash demanded. "I was doing just fine with my Charmander!"
"Oh, but remember, Warp Portal will automatically switch out your Pokemon until my Pokemon faints." Murray cautioned. "In fact, the next switch is in three...two...one..." Suudenly, the Meowth teleported out of the arena, brining in Ash's next Pokemon, a Pikachu.
Ash calmly attached a Lightning Energy to Pikachu. "Pikachu! Use Pikabolt!"
"CHUUUUU!!!" The Pikachu unleashed a giant thunderbolt, but it too was blocked by the strange wall. Before long, it too was teleported out of the arena, bringing Ash's Charmander back into the arena.
"Ruby's turn!"
"Mime!" The Mr. Mime was quick to fire another Meditate blast at the Charmander, dropping Ash's HP by 30.
"Sapphire's turn!"
"Charmander, use Ember!" Ash commanded, watching helplessly as his Charmander's attack was again blocked....
---------
"How come Ash can't even make a move against that Pokemon?" Misty asked.
"Well, we know what Murray's strategy is...put the opponent through the proverbial 'revolving door of Pokemon' and defeat them all using Mr. Mime..." Michael mused.
"That's not fair!" Misty cried.
"I know...but we can't just go complain to the refs during a duel." Michael sighed. "We should wait until the duel's over..."
Just then, Maya walked inside the arena and settled in next to Michael. "Hi, sweetie pie..." she purred. "How's Ash doing against Murray?"
"Not so hot..." Michael sighed as Ash's Meowth floated into the discard. "Murray's pummeling him to the point where he can't get a move in edgewise!"
Maya looked out into the arena and gasped as Ash's Pikachu teleported out of the arena. "Wait a minute...I thought Warp Point was illegal!"
"It is?" Brock was interested.
"Warp Point and Mr. Mime are banned from competition..." Maya explained...
"Why? What's so bad about them?" Brock asked as he watched Ash's Charmander fly towards the discard.
"Warp Point rapidly switches out Pokemon before the trainer can do anything to them...giving the card's owner an unfair adventage." Maya explained as she watched Ash add a Bulbsaur to his bench to try and boost his rapidly falling HP. "Mr. Mime is banned because its Invisible Wall power makes it practically invincible!"
"So Murray's been cheating this whole time???" Misty screeched. Maya nodded sadly as the ref cried "Game set! Ruby wins!"...
---------
Ash sat in a corner nearby the arena, sulking over his apparent loss. "Why? Why did Murray bulldoze me like this...now I'll be sent back to the fourth round..." He sighed...but suddenly, he saw Misty and Brock flag down a ref. "Huh?"
"Excuse me..." Brock flagged down the ref. "We'd like to contest the duel's outcome..."
"Okay then, what is your reason for your contest?" the ref asked.
"Ruby was using banned cards." Maya explained. "Warp Point and Mr. Mime." The ref nodded, and walked back to the Ruby platform, where Murray stood, gloating over his victory....
Ash watched as the officials confiscated Murray's deck. "So that's why he won against me...he cheated..." He smiled as the ref blew the whistle. "Ruby's victory is declared invalid!" Sapphire wins!" At this, the crowd cheered as Ash strolled towards the ref and took the Soul Crest...
---------
"So Murray was cheating the whole time?" Michael asked, surprised as Maya finished explaining to him the duel's outcome.
"They did an investigation on it and everything...Murray had a lot of banned cards, so they confiscated the deck and told Murray to go build a new deck or remove the banned cards before competing again." Maya concluded. "So Ash shouldn't worry about facing him again."
"Good...I hope he's learned his lesson now..." Ash mused as he relaxed on the couch and looked out the window. "Cheaters never win..."
"...and winners never cheat!" Brock laughed, swiping Ash's cap, mussing Ash's hair, then plopping his cap back on top of Ash's head. Everyone laughed as Ash stormed off to the bathroom to find a comb...
With three Crests remaining, are the Pokepals prepared for the challenges ahead? Stay tuned!
Ash and co. decide to take a break from dueling and spend the day at the Titian City Museum of Discovery. While there, they decide to take part in the Mt. Maze trials, hoping to dethrone the current champion, Camille!
But, when Camille challenges Ash to beat her record, Pikachu does more than that, he shaves an entire ten seconds off the time, leaving Ash as the new champion!
Now our heroes return to the arena for the fifth round, and things are beginning to get harder...
Can Ash and the gang win the other four Crests? Find out!
The Heart of the Cards, part 26: Master of Illusion
The group was just waking up when Maya arrived the next morning. "Morning, guys..."
"Morning..." Ash yawned as he pulled a shirt over his head. "Any challenges for us today?"
Maya rummaged through her papers untill she found a challenge sheet. "Yes...you have received your fifth round challenge. He's waiting for you in the grand hall.
"Who is he?" Ash asked as he sat down before a steaming platter of bacon and eggs.
"Just hurry and eat, Michael will give you the details when you get there." Maya assured Ash as she started towards the door. "I will give you a tip on defeating his deck: he likes to use Psychic types..."
"Remember: Psychic beats other Psychics..." Brock cautioned.
"And Colorless Pokemon are strong against Psychics..." Misty added as she settled in at the table.
Ash smiled as he ate. "I already know my general plan, and if I can use my special Charizard, he'll be no match for me!"...
---------
"Ash, there you are..." Michael started as Ash and the others arrived in the arena. "Your opponent is a guy named Murray...he's a bit of a character, so his Pokemon are an odd bunch...but he loves Psychic Pokemon with a passion!"
"I bet I can beat him!" Ash smiled. "Wish me luck!" With that, he ran towards the Sapphire platform and readied his deck. the scoreboard then blipped to life: SAPPHIRE FLAME OF CONFUSION.
"So, you must be Ash, are you not?" said a voice. Ash turned to look at the boy with short purple hair that was stepping up to the Ruby platform. "I've heard quite a bit about you..." At this, the scoreboard displayed his deck information: RUBY STRANGE PSYSHOCK
"Well, I hope to be a Card Master and inheirit the Legendary Cards!" Ash explained, gesturing to his stats: SAPPHIRE 3 2 4 53 150
"You? A Pokemon Trading Card Game Master? We'll see about that..." Murray smirked as his stats appeared on the scoreboard: RUBY 3 2 4 53 180
"Good luck, Ash!" Maya called as the coin went up...
"Pika pi!" Pikachu agreed.
Brock swallowed hard as Ash called the toss. "Is it just me, or do you guys have a feeling that there may be more to Murray's deck than we think we know?"
"I don't know..." Misty sighed as an O came up on the scoreboard, signifying that Murray had won the toss. "I do think he has some secret, or something he's hiding..."
----------
"Ruby plays first!" the ref announced. "And begin!"
"Mr. Mime, let's go!" Murray called, flipping up his active card. A Mr. Mime hovered into the arena and immediately began the old 'trapped in a box' pantomime routine, causing some in the audience to laugh.
"Charmander, I choose you!" Ash flipped up his active card. A Charmander skittered into the arena and warily eyed the opponent.
"Ruby's turn!"
"Meditate on winning!" Murray commanded. The Mr. Mime focused until it had formed a red ball of energy in its hands, then hurled it at the Charmander, but the Charmander ran out of the way.
"Sapphire's turn!"
"Charmander, Scratch!" Ash commanded as he attached a Fire Energy. The Charmander ran up to the Mr. Mime and tried to scratch it, but it was repeled by a wall. Confused, the Charmander tried to scratch again, but was again blocked.
"Ruby's turn!"
"Well, if your Pokemon aren't going to hold still...I'll just swap them for you!" and Murray set down a Warp Portal card, making the Charmander teleport out of the arena and bringing out a Meowth in its place.
"What the..." Ash was surprised.
"Mr. Mime! Keep Meditating!" Murray wasted no time in attacking. The Mr. Mime formed another red ball at the Meowth and fired, scoring a direct hit! Ash's HP went down by 30.
"Sapphire's turn!"
"What did you do?" Ash demanded. "I was doing just fine with my Charmander!"
"Oh, but remember, Warp Portal will automatically switch out your Pokemon until my Pokemon faints." Murray cautioned. "In fact, the next switch is in three...two...one..." Suudenly, the Meowth teleported out of the arena, brining in Ash's next Pokemon, a Pikachu.
Ash calmly attached a Lightning Energy to Pikachu. "Pikachu! Use Pikabolt!"
"CHUUUUU!!!" The Pikachu unleashed a giant thunderbolt, but it too was blocked by the strange wall. Before long, it too was teleported out of the arena, bringing Ash's Charmander back into the arena.
"Ruby's turn!"
"Mime!" The Mr. Mime was quick to fire another Meditate blast at the Charmander, dropping Ash's HP by 30.
"Sapphire's turn!"
"Charmander, use Ember!" Ash commanded, watching helplessly as his Charmander's attack was again blocked....
---------
"How come Ash can't even make a move against that Pokemon?" Misty asked.
"Well, we know what Murray's strategy is...put the opponent through the proverbial 'revolving door of Pokemon' and defeat them all using Mr. Mime..." Michael mused.
"That's not fair!" Misty cried.
"I know...but we can't just go complain to the refs during a duel." Michael sighed. "We should wait until the duel's over..."
Just then, Maya walked inside the arena and settled in next to Michael. "Hi, sweetie pie..." she purred. "How's Ash doing against Murray?"
"Not so hot..." Michael sighed as Ash's Meowth floated into the discard. "Murray's pummeling him to the point where he can't get a move in edgewise!"
Maya looked out into the arena and gasped as Ash's Pikachu teleported out of the arena. "Wait a minute...I thought Warp Point was illegal!"
"It is?" Brock was interested.
"Warp Point and Mr. Mime are banned from competition..." Maya explained...
"Why? What's so bad about them?" Brock asked as he watched Ash's Charmander fly towards the discard.
"Warp Point rapidly switches out Pokemon before the trainer can do anything to them...giving the card's owner an unfair adventage." Maya explained as she watched Ash add a Bulbsaur to his bench to try and boost his rapidly falling HP. "Mr. Mime is banned because its Invisible Wall power makes it practically invincible!"
"So Murray's been cheating this whole time???" Misty screeched. Maya nodded sadly as the ref cried "Game set! Ruby wins!"...
---------
Ash sat in a corner nearby the arena, sulking over his apparent loss. "Why? Why did Murray bulldoze me like this...now I'll be sent back to the fourth round..." He sighed...but suddenly, he saw Misty and Brock flag down a ref. "Huh?"
"Excuse me..." Brock flagged down the ref. "We'd like to contest the duel's outcome..."
"Okay then, what is your reason for your contest?" the ref asked.
"Ruby was using banned cards." Maya explained. "Warp Point and Mr. Mime." The ref nodded, and walked back to the Ruby platform, where Murray stood, gloating over his victory....
Ash watched as the officials confiscated Murray's deck. "So that's why he won against me...he cheated..." He smiled as the ref blew the whistle. "Ruby's victory is declared invalid!" Sapphire wins!" At this, the crowd cheered as Ash strolled towards the ref and took the Soul Crest...
---------
"So Murray was cheating the whole time?" Michael asked, surprised as Maya finished explaining to him the duel's outcome.
"They did an investigation on it and everything...Murray had a lot of banned cards, so they confiscated the deck and told Murray to go build a new deck or remove the banned cards before competing again." Maya concluded. "So Ash shouldn't worry about facing him again."
"Good...I hope he's learned his lesson now..." Ash mused as he relaxed on the couch and looked out the window. "Cheaters never win..."
"...and winners never cheat!" Brock laughed, swiping Ash's cap, mussing Ash's hair, then plopping his cap back on top of Ash's head. Everyone laughed as Ash stormed off to the bathroom to find a comb...
With three Crests remaining, are the Pokepals prepared for the challenges ahead? Stay tuned!