Last time, on "Pokemon, The Heart of the Cards...

The hottest new toy to hit Titian City is the Mini Pikachu! Piqued by the toy's popularity, Michael asks Ash to get one of them for Maya.

But, Team Rocket also wants in on the craze...yet the toys are all sold out by the time they get to the toy store! Then, Meowth gets an idea: Why not raid the toy factory and steal the Mini Pikachus? So one scuffle, one giant mess, one giant bag, and several zillion Mini Pikachus later, Team Rocket makes off with their cargo...

However, Ash and Pikachu see the whole thing and give chase, ultimately clashing with the Rockets themselves. After braving the many traps of the base, Ash gets the Mini Pikachus back, just in time to watch Maya receive hers.

Now, Ash and co step back into the arena and prepare to win another rare card!

Can Ash add Rayquaza lv. 50 into his collection? Find out!

The Heart of the Cards, Part 28: Third Time's a Charm

"Good morning..." Maya called as Ash and the others arrived in the grand hall, where a large crowd had already gathered around an arena. Several smaller crowds also dotted the hall, watching duels unfold. Some people were building decks, and others were buying cards from the card shop. "Ready for your second Triple Challenge?"

"You bet!" Ash replied as he ran up to the Sapphire platform, which caused the scoreboard to display his deck: SAPPHIRE FLAME OF CONFUSION

Just then, the ref motioned to Ash. "Ruby has requested the use of a premade deck. Is that okay?"

"Okay!" Ash pocketed his own tin and took the rose tin wth a picture of Latios on it from the ref. "Latios...I still remember how he sacrificed himself to protect Latias, his sister... he thought, brushing away a tear as he organized his premade deck. The scoreboard changed the deck information to read SAPPHIRE LATIOS' THUNDER

"What's the matter?" a brown haired girl asked as she stepped up to the Ruby platform and organized her deck. "Does that Pokemon remind you of someone special?" At this, the scoreboard displayed her deck information: RUBY LATIAS' FIRE

"Well..." Ash started to nervously organize his cards. "I have traveled to Alto Mare before, and something happened there involving Latios and Latias...that I don't--" and he choked up, trying his hardest not to cry over the painful memory of Latios dying.

"Oh...I see..." the girl replied. "I've been learning about Alto Mare in school...there were rumors that one of the Lati twins had died when someone tried to take their sacred talisman, the Soul Dew."

"I know...I was there..." Ash replied, drying his watery eyes and regaining his composure as his stats appeared on the scoreboard. SAPPHIRE 2 4 4 53 260

"Diana, enough talk for now..." the ref on the Ruby side told the girl. "Organize your cards, please."

"Oh, I'm sorry..." Diana blushed. "I got carried away in my discussion and forgot to get ready!" With that, she readied her deck for a moment, then placed her active card as her stats appeared on the scoreboard RUBY 2 4 4 53 250.

"Okay, are both sides ready?" the ref asked. Diana and Ash nodded.

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"I wonder why Ash nearly cried when he saw Latios?" Maya was curious.

"While we were on Alto Mare trying to protect the Soul Dew from a pair of thieves, Latios sacrificed himself to protect it and his sister Latias...and Ash watched Latios die." Brock explained. "That memory still haunts him, so he'll break down anytime he even sees a picture of Latios..."

"Aww..." Maya's eyes began to well up with tears. "That must have been a hard thing to see..."

"He cried about it for several days afterward." Misty continued as she watched the coin go up. "Fourtunately, the power of the Soul Dew ressurrected Latios...yet Ash still remembers when Latios died to save him..."

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"Sapphire plays first!" the ref announced. "And begin!"

"Let's go, Pikachu!" Ash cried, flipping up his active card, Pikachu lv. 20. A Pikachu ran in the arena, anticipating the battle's start

"It's showtime, Torchic!" Diana watched as a Torchic flitted into the arena and fluffed its feathers anxiously, eager to fight.

"Sapphire's turn!"

Ash started by attaching a Lightning Energy to Pikachu, then commanded "Pikachu, Scratch the Torchic!" The Pikachu ran up to the Torchic and scratched it in the leg, making Diana's HP go down by 10.

"Ruby's turn!"

Diana calmly attached a Fire Energy to her Torchic, then commanded "Torchic! Firebreathing!"

The ref's whistle startled the two competitors. "Coin toss! If heads, Ruby's attack will do extra damage!" The coin went up....and landed on tails. The Torchic, meanwhile, blew a rain of fireballs at the Pikachu, making Ash's HP go down by 20.

"Sapphire's turn!"

Ash drew his next card and gasped at what it was: a Double Colorless Energy! "Wow! I didn't know this pre-made deck had one of these in it!" he thought as he quickly attached it to his Pikachu. "Pikachu! Pika Bolt!" he commanded.

"CHUUUU!!!" the Pikachu cried as it unleashed a giant thunderbolt that caught the Torchic offguard! It fell to the floor with a plop, defeated....

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"Great shot!" Misty commented as she watched Ash select one of his four prizes.

"Let's just be glad that Diana didn't use her Combusken card..." Maya began, reaching for her Pokegear.

"Huh?" Everyone stared at Maya, confused.

"Observe..." and Maya brought up the Combusken card that Diana was using on the Pokegear screen. "While Flare is a decent fire attack, the thing Ash would have had to worry about was Combusken's Double Kick. When used, two coin tosses are called for; the attack's total damage is 40 times the number of heads...which means that it could theoretically knock out a Charizard in one blow!"

"Really?" Misty was impressed. "That's pretty powerful!" Brock whistled in agreement, also impressed. "But...doesn't Ash have a Torchic in his usual deck?"

"I think so...I'll check later." Brock assured Misty as he turned his attention back to the arena and watched Diana place Skitty lv. 15 in the arena. "If he does, I'll be looking through the booster pack he gets and see if there's a Combusken card in there..."

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"Ruby's turn!"

"Wow! You're pretty good!" Diana commented as she attached a Fire Energy to her Skitty. She then commanded "Skitty, Tackle attack!" The Skitty barreled into the Pikachu, causing it to stumble backwards. Ash's HP went down by 10.

"Sapphire's turn!"

"Pikachu, Pika Bolt!" Ash commanded. The crowd shielded their eyes from the flashing light as another thunderbolt went flying, dramatically weakening the Skitty! Diana's HP went down by 40.

"Ruby's turn!"

Diana smiled. "You must have a knack for Pikachus...but can it handle my Delcatty?" she asked as she overlaid a Delcatty lv. 35 on top of her Skitty, making a Delcatty appear in the arena.

'Bring it on!" Ash cried, turning his cap backwards in response to his opponent's challenge.

"All right...Delcatty, scratch the Pikachu!" Ash watched in surprise as the Delcatty strutted up to his Pikachu and scratched it across the chest, defeating it! He gritted his teeth as Diana took one of her prizes. So, that's her little game, is it? Well, she's sure going to be in for a little surprise...

"Sapphire's turn!"

"Magnemite, I choose you!" Ash commanded, watching a Magnemite hover into the arena. "Rollout attack!" The Delcatty watched in horror as the Magnemite summoned a large rock and slammed it to the floor, where it began rolling at the Delcatty. The crowd winced in horror as a SPLAT! filled the air...

"Ouch..." Brock commented as he watched the Delcatty try to stand up, only to fall to the floor again.

"That had to hurt..." Misty agreed.

"Ruby is paralyzed!" the ref announced. "Ruby's turn!"

Diana just calmly attached a Fire Energy to her next Pokemon, ending her turn.

'Sapphire's turn!"

Ash quickly attached a Pluspower to his Megnemite, then braced himself as the Magnemite hurled another rock at the Delcatty, this time causing Diana's HP to go down by 30. The Delcatty collapsed on the floor with a plop, defeated.

"Okay..." Diana grabbed her next card off of her bench. "Let's try...Numel!" She smiled confidently as a Numel sauntered into the arena.

"Ruby's turn!"

"Numel, Firebreathing!" The Numel blew a blast of fire at the Magnemite, dazing it and causing Ash's HP to go down by 20.

"Sapphire's turn!"

"Oh, but remember, Rock is great against Fire!" Ash cautioned, flashing a thumbs up to Brock as the Magnemite hurled another rock at the Numel, defeating it on the spot!

"Ruby's turn!"

"All right! Finally, let me show you....Bagon!" and Diana placed Bagon lv. 22 in the arena. "Bagon, Headbutt!" The Bagon leapt in the air and bashed the Magnemite, causing Ash's HP to drop by 10.

"Sapphire's turn!"

"One more time, Magnemite!" Ash commanded, watching as a rock rolled on top of the Bagon....

Just then, the ref called "Game Set! Sapphire wins!" The crowd cheered as Ash and Diana stepped down from the platforms and shook hands.

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"That was nice of Diana to give you both Lati cards..." Misty mused as the group relaxed in their room that evening.

"She told me that she had just graduated from the Junior Card Leagues, and was wanting to try out the Triple Challenge to get a taste of the big tournaments." Ash explained. "On top of that, she has an interest in Alto Mare, Latios, and Latias...so I told her about our adventure there...she was impressed."

"I'll bet..." Brock laughed. "I hope she'll become a card master herself one day...she looked pretty calm about losing..." He was about to say more when he heard the door slam. 'Who's there?"

"It's just me...: Michael assured the group as he got comfortable on the couch next to Brock. "Had to work the Junior League orientation today, so I missed Ash's first duel in the Challenge..."

"Ash dueled one of your best pupils, Diana." Maya explained. "Remember her?"

Michael thought for a moment, trying to remember the name. "Oh! Wasn't she the one with all the Latios and Latias stuff?"

"That's her!" Ash smiled. "She told me to tell you hello!"

"At any rate, congrats on getting one step closer to a rare card, Ash." Maya smiled.

Who will Ash's next opponent be in the Challenge? Stay tuned!