Another quick update again, had some free time before I head out to a band festival. So this chapter is part two and still based from "The Battle For The Badge" episode. Enjoy!
Chapter 42: Earth Badge Challenge
Last time, Ash and friends arrived in Viridian City so Ash could earn his last gym badge. Togepi was missing and Angelina ran off in search for the Pokemon while also finding Team Rocket scheming to defeat Ash and capture Pikachu. Now Angelina has agreed to help Team Rocket with the Viridian Gym. While the Rockets work on their plan, she walks through the corridors and through the gym door leading onto the balcony looking out into the gym.
"It's quiet…." Angelina stared out into the darkened arena below emotionlessly, seeing figures sprawled out onto the gym floor. "Hmm…. Daddy and his ultimate Pokemon did something to them…."
"Togi togi!" A tiny voice responded and echoed through the gym.
"Huh! What the-" Angelina blinked; she shook her head slightly from the sudden trance. "Togepi?" she saw the baby Pokemon on the other side of the gym and the heavy gym doors opened. Ash and his friends ran inside.
"Thank goodness you're safe," Misty said in relief, scooping up Togepi in her arms.
"Something's not right," Brock said with concern. "It's too quiet in here. Isn't Gary supposed to be having a Pokemon battle?"
"Right," Angelina agreed and took a closer look at the figures on the gym floor. "Oh no, it's Gary!" she recognized the person that Ash ran to, he and his cheerleaders were laying dazed as though they had been stunned.
"Gary, are you all right?" Ash lifted up Gary's head.
Gary opened his eyes.
"Gary, what happened here?" Ash asked.
Gary spoke slowly, "A Pokemon that we've never seen before did this. It had powers that I've never encountered in my life."
"That's impossible!" Brock said.
One of the cheerleaders sniffled, "I can't believe that Gary lost…" they all began wailing like a group of banshee. Gary cried out in surprise as Ash dropped him and covered his ears, so did Brock and Angelina.
"Why are you making such a big fuss?" Misty asked. They stopped. "If I cried like that every time Ash lost, I'd be waterlogged!"
Ash laughed nervously, "She's only kidding."
"There's something strange going on in this gym." Gary whispered. It's like there's an evil force running this place."
"Got that right!" Angelina muttered as the gym lights flashed on all at once and there was a loud cackle. She glared at Jessie and James as they were lifted up into the room on a low red platform.
"Prepare for trouble!" Jessie began.
"And make it double!" James finished.
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all peoples within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above…."
"Oh no, it's them!" Ash moaned.
"Again!" Brock and Misty added.
Jessie scowled. "Why do you little twerps always interrupt us before we get to finish?"
"We know what you're going to say," Misty sighed. "It's never any different!"
Jessie smiled smugly, holding up a finger. "Ah, but today is very different."
"Something's happen that's going to make you very jealous." James added.
"Oh, big deal." Angelina rolled her eyes.
A glittering ball descended from the ceiling of the gym. The ball opened and Meowth fell out in a shower of confetti. The confetti- and Meowth- landed in front of Jessie and James.
"Let's celebrate!" Meowth said dramatically. "We just got a big promotion!"
"That's right," James agreed. "Cause the new leaders of this gym are..."
"The three of us!" Jessie continued.
"You guys are Gym Leaders?" Ash said in disbelief.
"Their Boss promoted them to Gym Leaders right after he rejected Togepi," Angelina explained out loud, everyone looked up and saw her seated up in the balcony holding Pichu.
"Rejected?" Ash gasped. "They stole Togepi and tried to give it away?"
"I stopped that of course," Angelina smirked, then she pointed accusingly to Team Rocket. "They held me hostage and forced me to help them!"
"You little traitor!" Jessie screamed. "How dare you say that when you agreed to help us!"
"I never said that!" Angelina yelled back. "Don't you pin this on me because no one believes you!"
Jessie growled, "Okay, so it's true. The Boss put us in charge of the gym a little while ago. He had to leave on an emergency."
"I bet it had something to do with that strange Pokemon." Gary guessed.
Jessie continued. "Not only are we in charge of the gym, but we're in charge of the Earth Badge!" she held out the glittering green stone.
"The Boss! The Earth Badge!" Ash exclaimed. "You mean this gym is controlled by Team Rocket?"
"Well it could've taken a genius to figure that one out." Angelina muttered sarcastically.
"That's right," James said. "Our Boss runs this gym. And now we're the Boss of you! If you want an Earth Badge, you'll have to defeat us."
Ash stepped forward. "That's just what I'm going to do!"
Jessie laughed. "Then step right into the ring we're prepared for you." She pressed a button on the rail that surrounded the platform. The red platform began to rise into the air. Soon, she was standing fifteen feet above the ground.
At the same time, a blue platform began to rise up next to Ash.
"Don't get in, Ash." Misty warned. "It's a trick."
"They must have booby-trapped it somehow!" Brock added.
James sneered. "If you run away now, you won't get your Earth Badge."
"I'm not running anywhere!" Ash said, he climbed up a laded on the back of the platform. He stood high above the gym floor, facing Jessie across the gym.
"Get'em, Ash! You can do it!" Angelina cheered.
"Hey, shut up!" Jessie barked.
"No, you're not the Boss of me!" Angelina jumped from the balcony and landed gracefully on the gym floor.
"No, but I am." James said and grabbed hold of the young girl from behind.
"Lemme go, help!" Angelina cried, while her Pichu jumped free. "Cocoa, Thundershock now!"
"Piiii-chuuuuuu!" Pichu's red cheek-sacs sparked and released an electric shock on James.
"Aiiieee!" James yelled, while Angelina managed to escape to the other side of the gym.
"Ha, that'll teach ya to mess with me!" Angelina laughed and stuck out her tongue.
"Forget her, Jimmy." Meowth encouraged the half-fried Rocket. "Now we can concentrate more."
"What do you say we begin with three Pokemon each, no time limit?" Jessie suggested.
"Fine," Ash said, pulling out a Pokeball from his belt. "Let's battle!"
Jessie threw out three Pokeballs that the Boss had given her. A gray Pokemon with four strong arms appeared; a Machamp. A giganitic crab-like Pokemon with sharp claws; a Kingler. The last Pokemon was Rhydon, a tough-looking rhinocerous with a long sharp horn on the end of its nose.
Jessie smiled, "This should be a cinch."
"And don't forget our secret weapons!" Meowth whispered loudly.
"Be careful," Brock called to Ash. "They're up to something."
"Right," Ash said. "But first I need to choose a Pokemon." He threw a Pokeball into the air. "Squirtle! I choose you!"
Squirtle appeared in a flash of light. This Water Pokemon looked like a cute, harmless turtle; but Angelina knew Ash trained it well, the Pokemon knew how to fight.
Jessie just laughed. "Squirtle? Is that the best you can do?" she pointed at Machamp. "Machamp! Karate Chop!"
Machamp rushed at Squirtle and began delivering karate-style punches with its strong arms. Squirtle grunted from the impact. At the same time, Ash felt a sharp shock tear through his body. His platform lit up with electric light. He groaned and grabbed the railing in front of him. He could barely stand.
"What's happening?" Misty asked.
James smiled. "That's one of the custom features here in our gym," he explained. "In that box, the trainer feels all the pain his or her Pokemon feels!"
"It's hurting him!" Angelina cried. "Shut it off!"
"Do you want to quit now, twerp?" Jessie asked.
Ash shook his head. "Never," he said weakly.
"Try another Pokemon, Ash." Gary suggested. "Squirtle can't beat Machamp. It's too powerful!"
Ash nodded, he threw another Pokeball out into the battle arena. "Bulbasaur! Go!"
A Grass Pokemon appeared. It resembled a small dinosaur with a plant bulb on its back.
Jessie frowned. "Then I'll choose Kingler!"
Kingler and Bulbasaur ran toward each other and faced off in the center of the gym floor.
"Bulbasaur! Vine Whip!"
The plant bulb on Bulbasaur's back opened up. Four strong, green vines lashed out at Kingler.
"Kingler! Harden!" Jessie commanded.
A hard shield formed around Kingler's body. The vines crashed against the shield, but they couldn't do any damage.
"Kingler! Bubblebeam!" Jessie yelled.
Bubbles streamed out of Kingler's mouth. The rock-hard bubbles slammed into Bulbasaur.
"Owwwwww!" Ash yelled. Each time a bubble hit Bulbasaur, a jolt of pain coursed through his body. He fell to his knees.
"Ash, you can't win!" Gary said. "These Pokemon are too strong."
James and Meowth jumped up and down. "We're going to win! We're going to win!"
"Oh no you're not!" Angelina shouted. "He can do it, I believe in him!"
Ash slowly rose to his feet; he had a determined look on his face. "I... w-won't give up. I've come too far to quit now. I trust my Pokemon." He held out another Pokeball, "We can do it!"
"That 'a boy, Ash!" Angelina cheered. "Take'em down!"
"Maybe he can." Gary said with admiration.
Ash threw the Pokeball. "Pidgeotto! Quick Attack!"
Pidgeotto burst out of the Pokeball; the bird-like Pokemon flew through the air, straight at Rhydon. It used its beak to land a hard blow on Rhydon's chest.
At the same time, an electric shock through the red platform and made Jessie's feet tingle. She gasped in surprise.
"Pidgeotto! Double-Edge Attack!" Ash commanded.
Pidgeotto slammed into Rhydon again and again with its sharp beak and powerful wings. The blows came too quickly for Rhydon to react.
On the red platform, Jessie screamed as an electric shock zapped her. "James, why did you set it to give shocks on both sides?"
James shrugged. "I didn't think it would matter, I never thought we would lose!"
"Well, turn it off!" Jessie screamed.
James looked panicky. "I don't know how!"
"What's going on?" Angelina watched Meowth pull out a small control box from behind its back, the box had one red button and one blue button. "What's that?"
Gary ran up to Meowth. "Oh no you don't!" he tackled Meowth, the control box skidded across the floor.
Gary and Meowth were about to fight, but they quickly stopped at the sound of Jessie's voice. "Team Rocket is not about to lose this match! We can do anything together, right guys?"
"Right!" Meowth and James said.
Jessie took two Pokeballs from her belt. "All Pokemon attack at once!" she cried and threw the Pokeballs. "Go Arbok! Go Weezing!"
Two more Pokemon appeared on the gym floor. Arbok hissed and Weezing floated in the air.
"You can't use new Pokemon now," Misty protested. "It's against the rules!"
"I make the rules for this gym." Jessie said.
"Well, if those are the rules, then I can use a new Pokemon, too." Ash said. "Go Pikachu!"
Pikachu ran out into the battle arena. With a leap, it hopped up on Arbok's back. Pikachu released a big electric charge from its body. The yellow light electrified Arbok. Then the beams of electricity shot out and zapped Weezing.
Up on the red platform, Jessie screamed as the electricity shocked her, too. Pikachu's powerful charge zoomed across the gym floor. Machamp, Kingler, and Rhydon got a taste of Pikachu's amazing lightning powers. They collapsed to the floor in a heap.
Ash let out a cheer. "We did it! We won the match!"
Gary's cheerleaders let out a cheer for Ash. "He's the winner! He's our Ash! Let's all have a victory bash! He's the victor! He's our man! No one wins like Ketchum can!"
"Way to go, Ash! I knew you could do it!" Angelina exclaimed happily.
Ash climbed down from the platform. Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Pidgeotto, and Pikachu ran up to Ash. He hugged them all.
"You all did great," Ash said. "I'm so proud of you." he got to his feet and called, "Hey Jessie!" the Rockets stopped arguing and turned to him. "I won the match fair and square, and now I want the Earth Badge that I earned."
Jessie grinned evilly. She held out the badge. "Well, you're not getting it!" she taunted.
"Hey, gym leader rules!" Angelina yelled. "For every gym match upon Pokemon trainers and their victory against the gym leader, they're awarded a badge! If the gym leader does not agree-"
"That's cheating!" Ash finished.
"Well, I'm a cheater!" Jessie spat.
"Brilliant, Jess!" James said. "We've got something Ash wants, and he has something we want. Maybe we can get Pikachu for the Boss after all."
"Oh no you-" Angelina tried to interfere, but she froze. "Huh?"
"Togi, togi!"
Angelina turned and saw Togepi near the control box on the floor. It had one tiny hand on top on the red button.
"Stop!" Meowth yelled. "Get away from dat ting!"
"Uh-oh, not good!" Angelina gulped nervously. She placed Pichu on her left shoulder. "Hang on, Cocoa! We're gonna rescue Togepi!"
"Pi-chu!" Pichu squeaked as Angelina ran toward the other side of the gym and swooped Togepi into her arms just as the Pokemon pressed the red button on the control box.
"Togi, togi!" Togepi chirped.
An explosion rocked the platform's base. Billowing clouds of black smoke filled the air. The platform rose out of the floor like a rocket ship.
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" Jessie, James, and Meowth screamed.
The platform shot through the roof of the gym. The Earth Badge flew out of Jessie's hands and dropped to the gym floor below, right into Ash's palm.
"I finally got my Earth Badge!" Ash said proudly.
Suddenly, the whole gym begins to shake.
"Let's get outta here!" Angelina yelled.
Everyone fleas from the Viridian City Gym just as the building crumbles to the ground from the platforms.
"Hey Misty, I found your Togepi." Angelina said, holding the baby Pokemon.
"What a relief, thanks Angel." Misty takes hold of her Pokemon.
"Well, I better get going," Gary spoke up. "That was really some battle, Ash! Too bad the real gym leader wasn't around, you look like him somewhat. Smell ya later!" he waved, now sitting in the red convertible and driving away with his cheerleaders.
Angelina had a chill run down her spine when Gary mentioned that Ash looked like Giovanni. She remembered eight years ago just faintly riding in a car with her father, a young woman with auburn-red hair holding a two year old boy with black hair. Their car was then involved in a nasty avalanche accident, Angelina escaped with a bump on her head, but she never saw the other people again. She was constantly moving from Viridian City to Crystal Island for a couple years and then to Pallet Town throughout the rest of her childhood up until she started her first Pokemon journey.
"Uh…. so now what?" Ash looked confused.
"You have all the badges, now you can train for the Pokemon League Tournament." Misty explained.
"Yeah, you're right!" Ash agreed. "But where is it?"
"Maybe Professor Oak knows," Brock suggested.
"Then it's off to Pallet Town!" Ash announced. "Let's go!" he runs down the dirt path with his friends following close behind.
"Well, its about time we head home anyway, huh Cocoa?" Angelina asked, riding her bike.
"Pi, pichu, chu!" Pichu nodded. (Yep, let's go)
"Onward to Pallet!" Angelina cheered happily. "For the Pokemon League!"
§To Be Continued§
*Gary owns ten gym badges, and challenges the Viridian Gym Leader, but loses to a mysterious Pokemon.
*Jessie, James, and Meowth temporarily become the Gym Leaders of the Viridian Gym.
*Ash earns his eighth and final badge after defeating Team Rocket.
*Ash's Pidgeotto is revealed to know Double-Edge.
*This marks the first and only time a Gym Leader refuses to give the badge to Ash despite winning the battle fair and square; granted, Ash did not actually battle the official Gym Leader.|
*The book "Team Rocket Blasts Off!" is based on this episode.
*Rhydon is affected by Pikachu's Electric attacks, despite being part Ground-type.
*Angelina denies the fact of helping Team Rocket so it wouldn't make her look bad.
Onward to Pallet Town for Ash and friends to find out what's going on for the Pokemon League Tournament! That'll be up next time, thanks for reading!