Day 32
Sunny
Current mood: content
Current location: Scizor Forest, en route to Azelea Town
Dear Diary:
We're camped in the (rather woodsy) Scizor Forest this evening...some of the Scizor here even cleared a path for us so we could camp tonight. But the highlight of today's adventure was showing a young trainer that raising a Pokemon isn't all facts and figures...you've got to have love and trust in the equation too.
You see, we were walking along the forest's edge this morning, untill we heard a scream coming from inside the forest. Ash was curious at first, but he shrugged it off and told us to keep going. It wasn't too long before we all heard the scream again...this time, Ash was a little concerned, so he sent me to go see what was going on. I hadn't gone very far when a red bug-like Pokemon sprang in front of me, surprising me to the point of screaming for help. Ash hurried by my side and told me to get ready to duel, but Brock told us to proceed with caution, since he figured the trainer might take advantage of our fear to defeat us. No sooner did he say that, a tall imposing figure-who Ash assumed was the Pokemon's owner-came to meet us. His sheer size and figure made me faint with fear.
Misty, however, was so mad at the figure for scaring me; she started yelling and screaming at him for at least an hour; or at least until Brock dragged her off to a tree to calm down.
The figure, who introduced himself as Muromasa, told us that he was very impressed with our skills and teamwork. I was comforted somewhat by Muromasa's kindness...despite his tall and authoratative figure, he did know how to be nice to a Pokemon. Next, Muromasa offered to take us to his training center, where many trainers came to enhance their skills and learn more about Pokemon in general. Ash jumped at the opportunity to better his battling skills, so we followed Muromasa into the forest to an open clearing, where a majestic blue building rose into the sky.
I wasn't the only one amazed by the sheer array of students and Pokemon at the center...Brock seemed to share my awe as well...we were told that Muromasa was an excellent trainer himself, so much so that his Scizor was dubbed "The Crimson Streak", since he had such amazing speed.
We were then taken to the main computer lab to meet the center's top student, a shy, yet intelligent boy named Shingo. Ash said hello and offered a duel, but Shingo just continued his work on his trusty laptop, analyzing Ash's trainer profile and doing some sort of a math problem. After what seemed like an eternity, Shingo declined Ash's duel offer saying that according to the problem he had been working, Ash had a 70 chance of losing. Shocked by this, Ash tried to defend himself by saying he was a better trainer now that what the stats were showing. Shingo calmly worked the problem again, and the answer still came out to a 70 chance of loss. Muromasa was not impressed by Shingo's obession with numbers, and told him that Pokemon wasn't about numbers and stats alone.
Later that afternoon, Ash and I visited Shingo's dorm room, where we found him still enraptured in his research. Ash tried to offer a chance to duel again, but Shingo responded with a resounding no...his research had already calculated the winner and the loser. Finally, Ash got so frustrated, he practically had to drag Shingo out of the room and down towards an arena to check and see whether his research was true or not. We were about to arrive when Ash heard yelling and screaming outside...it turned out that Team Rocket had gotten Shingo's computer and was trying to hack into his research! Shingo rushed to try and get his data back, but Arbok lunged at him! Just when it looked like Shingo was about to be choked to death, a Scizor slashed Arbok in the face, freeing Shingo! He was so relieved that all his data was safe, to say the least.
Team Rocket taunted Shingo by saying his research was incomplete with something about them...but Shingo calmly summoned his own Scizor, Blade, to duel. Amazingly, Blade sent Team Rocket packing with one hit. After the dust had settled, Ash assured Shingo that numbers and data couldn't save you every time in battle. Shingo pondered this for a moment, then accepted Ash's challenge...so we continued on our way to the arena.
I watched from the sidelines as Ash pitted Heracross against Blade...but I still wondered-does Ash know what he's getting himself into?
"Gold side ready?" Brock asked...Ash gave an affirmative nod. "Silver side ready?" Blade responded by flashing his claws. "And three...two...one..." and when the whistle blew, Blade promptly slammed into Heracross, knocking him backwards. Ash told Heracross to try a Leer attack, but Blade was a mere blur, so all his attacks missed, and before long, Heracross looked all bruised and battered. I watched in horror as Blade's claws turned silver-a sign that he was about to perform a Metal Claw attack! Heracross miraculously countered the attack, much to Shingo's surprise. Ash called for a Horn Attack next, but while Blade tried to dodge, he got nicked in the leg. Shingo called time out to use a Potion on Blade. While he was doing that, he asked Brock just what made Heracross' defense so great...and Brock told him that Ash was relying on instinct rather than data-and on that note, the duel continued!
After several hours, Blade was getting tired while Heracross still looked ready for more. I concluded that Shingo was still putting his trust in his data rather than just relying on instinct. Finally, Shingo decided to try calling a few shots on his own; ordering Blade to do another Metal Claw. Heracross, however, nailed Blade with a Fury Attack. The duel continued for another hour or so, until I heard a whistle blow, followed by Brock declaring "Game set! Gold wins!"
Humbled by his defeat, Shingo finally realized that battling wasn't just facts and numbers...the experience and love you share with your Pokemon counts too; and on that note, we departed the center and made our camp.
I only hope that Shingo never forgets what he learned about experience today...
Until tomorrow,
Pikachu
Day 33
Sunny
Current mood: joyful
Current location: Quil Ridge, en route to Azelea Town
Dear Diary:
We added another new member to our party today: a brave, yet laid back Cyndaquil. Right now, he's helping Brock fix dinner, so I guess I'll write a little about him while I wait for dinner.
We were on our way through another forested area this morning until we arrived in Quil Ridge-so named because of all the wild Cyndaquil living there. It seemed that we were lost, but after double checking his map, Brock assured us that we were still on the right track, and going through Quil Ridge would help us get to Azelea Town faster. Misty, on the other hand, was unconvinced that we were even going the right way to begin with.
Suddenly, a tall boy met us on the path and asked if we had seen any Cyndaquil around. Excited, Ash took me inside the forest, despite the boy's pleas to not catch any Cyndaquil.
We wandered inside the forest for a while, until I thought I heard Misty and Brock screaming about something...Ash turned to see what the frightening object was, only to come face to face with a giant Meowth robot-that had obviously scaring Misty and Brock! I tried to defend Ash by shocking the robot, but that only made it stronger! Ash took me in his arms and rolled between the robot's legs before taking off into a panicked sprint, outrunning all the gum bombs the robot was throwing at us! Apparently my Thunderbolt didn't power up its agilty...the robot kept tripping over itself every time it tried to chase us!
We ended up losing the robot nearby the Quil Caves, which are the most populated areas of Quil Ridge. Relieved, Ash eased into one of the caves...and I noticed a Cyndaquil sunning itself in one corner of the cave.
Dexter had this to say about our Cyndaquil:
"Cyndaquil, the fire mouse Pokemon. He usually stays hunched over. If he is angry or surprised, he will shoot flames out of his back."
Inspired by this, Ash started to climb up the cliff, but kept getting battered by sand the whole way up...It turned out that the same boy we had met earlier was at the top of the cliff with his Sandslash, and judging from how the Sandslash was battering Ash, this boy was more than determined to keep all the Cyndaquil for himself, which I found grossly unfair.
Ash, however, made it to the top of the cliff, grabbed the Cyndaquil, and chased the boy into another cave...at about the same time I saw the Meowth robot again! It fired another gumball, which came rolling at us right as Ash and I caught up to the boy and his Sandslash. He tripped us up, but we managed to escape in the nick of time!
We kept running along the maze of paths until the ball hit a stray stalactite, causing it to explode and blowing us out of the cave...at that second, Ash and I got pinned to the cave wall by another gum bomb. As we tried to unstick ourselves, Ash tossed the Cyndaquil onto a safe path and told it to flee. Team Rocket took advantage of this by trying to attack it, but surprisingly, the Cyndaquil made the robot overheat, which also meant that it would explode in a matter of minutes.
I quickly fired a Thunderbolt, which unstuck us both; and Ash caught the Cyndaquil just seconds before the robot exploded. Brock and Misty arrived not too long afterwards, and both of them were worried about us. Ash assured them that he wanted to help the little Cyndaquil out, but he caught it by accident. Misty was quite relieved that we were all okay, even the Cyndaquil.
Just then, the tall boy emerged from the cave, still bent on having the Cyndaquil; but Ash told him that he had caught it fair and square. The boy was unconvinced and demanded a duel to see who would keep the Cyndaquil, but Brock told him that having a duel would be pointless, since Ash plainly caught it, making him the rightful owner. Yet Ash accepted the challenge and offered to use Cyndaquil in the duel. Brock just sighed and grabbed his referee's whistle.
"Gold side ready?" The Cyndaquil gave a cheer in response. "Silver side ready?" The Sandslash confidently flexed its claws. "And three...two...one..." As if the whistle was its cue, the Sandslash went into a slashing frenzy...yet the Cyndaquil was just a tiny grey and red blur as it skillfully dodged attack after attack.
The dodgefest continued for another twenty minutes, when the Sandslash began showing a few signs of fatigue. Ash called for Cyndaquil to use Flamethrower, but Cyndaquil wasn't quite warm enough to pull it off.
Just when it seemed like the Sandslash was getting the upper hand, Ash kept encouraging Cyndaquil to keep dodging...until the Sandslash got his claws stuck in a tree. I couldn't resist laughing at his futile attempts to free himself. Inspired by this, Cyndaquil Tackled it in the stomach, knocking it out! I guess my cheering was the loudest as Brock blew his whistle and called "Game set! Gold wins!".
Yet the boy refused to accept defeat...he was about to chase after Cyndaquil with a net, but Brock got his attention with a short whistle blast. telling him "Gold side won, now shake hands." Cyndaquil, meanwhile; gave the boy the old hot foot! Ash smiled and congratulated Cynaquil on a job well done...
..and here he is, in camp...he's doing a good job roasting the hamburgers...and I'm getting hungry, so I'll wrap this up and get ready for dinner.
Until tomorrow,
Pikachu