Episode 175: Whichever Way the Wind Blows
A couple of days had passed since Sora had won his seventh Johto Gym Badge and started off towards their destination in Blackthorn City. As they left, Sora had learned he was going to be dealing with Dragon Type Pokémon. Along the way, the group began talking among themselves about a legend behind the Dragon's Den.
"Did you guys ever hear about the legend of the Dragon's Den?" Sophocles asked.
"What legend?" Mallow asked.
"I did," Lillie said.
"I'm with Mallow; what legend?" Acerola asked.
"I am familiar with this legend as well," Illima said.
"What are you talking about?" Sora asked.
"There is legend that speaks of the Dragon's Den. It was long ago that the den was dug into the earth by a dragon in the old days," Illima said.
"You mean a Dragon Type Pokémon dug into the earth? A Garchomp and a Flygon could do that without a problem," Hapu said.
"It wasn't a Garchomp or a Flygon or any kind of Pokémon that did it. It was actually a real dragon that did it," Sophocles said.
"An actual dragon? Really?" Kairi asked.
"My grandparents would tell me that story when I was a little kid. They would tell me that a dragon dug into the earth, making its own cave and then, one day a band of dragon hunters came to slay it," Sophocles explained.
"Do you think it's true?" Lana asked.
"It might as well be after everything we've been through together," Kiawe said.
"Kiawe's right. We've been through so much since we met Sora and Kairi; also with Riku, Hau, and Gladion before that," Mallow said.
Just as the group continued on their way to Blackthorn City, the group were approached by six Team Rocket grunts. It turns out that some of the grunts had escaped during the Lake of Rage incident. Five of them are guys and one of them is a woman.
"Not you guys again!" Sora groaned.
"What do you even want?" Hapu asked.
"We wanna settle the score with you nosey brats," the first grunt said.
"And you can make it up to us by handing over all of the Pokémon you've got," the second grunt said.
"You want them, then battle us for them," Sora dared the grunts.
"We plan to," the third grunt said. Suddenly, a ball of shadow hits one of the grunts and he went flying into a nearby tree. "What was that?!"
"Where did that come from?!" he second grunt exclaimed.
"It came from me," a woman's voice answered. She made her appearance known just by coming out of the woods. She has silvery-blue eyes and long silvery-blue hair that reaches past her waist with two long bangs that frame her face. She wore yellow spaghetti strap cropped tank top that reveals her midriff, and white knee-length pants with yellow beads. She also wears yellow high heels on her feet. Her tank top has four straps, two on each side that strap over her bare shoulders. Walking out with her is an Umbreon. "So, this is the ruthless Team Rocket? Just a bunch of petty thugs trying to take some lunch money from a bunch of kids? And their Pokémon too? You're not as nearly as intimidating like I heard you were."
"Who is this chick?" The fourth grunt asked.
"And who is she to tell us we're not so intimidating?" The fifth grunt asked.
"I think I know who that is!" The second said, almost shivering.
"Quit beating around the bush and spill it! Who is she?" The first grunt barked at his colleague.
"That is Karen. She's the number one trainer when it comes to training with Dark Type Pokémon!" The second grunt explained. "Her skills in battle alone matches her beauty." He sound almost smittened with her.
"Karen?" The sixth grunt asked. She looked at the trainer with disgust. "She doesn't look so tough."
Sora, Kairi, the Alolan nine, and the Pokémon were surprised to see a trainer show up to their rescue.
"Karen?" Sora asked.
"What's what they said," Acerola said. Karen turned to the kids and laughed.
"So, how about it? Would like to battle me? Just don't go easy on me just because I'm a lady," Karen said, almost in a playful tone.
"Oh, we wouldn't dream of going easy on the chick who gets in our way!" The first grunt said, taking out his Pokéball. He turned to the rest of the grunts. "Forget the kids! Karen is our priority right now!" None of the others questioned it; the other grunts also took out all of their Pokéballs. The Grunts all let out their Pokémon, all being an Alolan Raticate, a Houndour, a Fearow, a Venomoth, a Sneasel, a Beedrill, a Gloom, a Weezing, a Nickit, a Scyther, a Pinsir, a Machoke, a Nidorina, and an orange, fox-like Pokémon. Its ears are large, black, and pointy. Around its eyes are black fur resembling a mask and a mustache. Its eyebrows and underside are white. Its legs are black and resemble boots. On its back is a black forked stripe. Sora took out his Pokédex and scanned the two fox Pokémon.
Nickit, the Fox Pokémon
Type: Dark
Nickit are cunning and cautious, this Pokémon survives by stealing food from others. It erases its tracks with swipes of its tail as it makes off with its plunder. Nickit are aided by the soft pads on its feet, it silently raids the food stores of other Pokémon. It survives off its ill-gotten gains.
Thievul, the Fox Pokémon
The evolved form of Nickit
Type: Dark
With a lithe body and sharp claws, it goes around stealing food and eggs. It secretly marks potential targets with a scent. By following the scent, it stalks its targets and steals from them when they least expect it.
"It's only fitting that Team Rocket has Pokémon that are pratically bandits," Sora said in his thoughts. He puts his Pokédex away.
"Attack her!" The grunts all ordered. All of the Team Rocket Pokémon charged right at the Dark Type trainer and she scoffs.
"How predictable," Karen said, unimpressed. "Umbreon, use Confuse Ray." Umbreon nodded and the rings on its body glows sending an orange ray and it strikes all of the Pokémon and they all ended up fighting each other in their confusion. Karen takes out her other Pokéballs and lets out her Alolan Persian, Honchkrow, Weavile, two more Pokémon the group never seen before. They reminded them as Impidimp in some way. One is a somewhat humanoid Pokémon with a magenta upper body and a light green lower body divided by a zig-zag line. It has large muscular arms with hands that have three sharp fingers and round feet that have three toes. Just like Impidimp, it has prominently large ears, large eyes with red pupils instead of black, a long nose with a single nostril, although much longer and pointed upward, and a mouth with far more sharp fangs compared to Impidimp. Its face "mask" and bat-wing extend to be fully grown long, black hair with a bang that covers its left eye that's shaped like a pole arm. The other one is a large, muscular, dark purple humanoid Pokemon with light green ears, feet and stomach sides. It has purple hair on its head and partially its shoulders and legs. In its mouth comes with two large fangs. "Umbreon, you use Dark Pulse!Persian, Power Gem! Honchkrow! Shadow Ball! Weavile, Blizzard! Morgrem and Grimmsnarl, you use use Play Rough!" All of Karen's Pokémon attacked the Team Rocket Pokémon, taking them all down without a problem. The grunts were intimindated by her power and retreated. "And that is that." She turns to the young trainers. "It was a good thing I was nearby when those guys came."
"Yeah. Good thing," Sora said. "Thanks Karen."
"You're welcome. What was their beef with you anyway?" Karen asked.
"It's like this," Sora started. He explained to her about the times they thwarted Team Rocket at the Slowpoke Well and at Mahogany Town just recently.
"So, that's it. I do remember hearing how a bunch of kids foiled Team Rocket's attempts since they came to Johto," Karen said. She looked over to Sora. "I'm going to guess, your name is Sora isn't it?" And she looked over to Kairi and smiled. "And your name is Kairi right?"
"Yeah," Sora answered not wanting to tell her too much.
"That's right," Kairi added.
She looked at the rest of the other trainers and she pointed to each one of them and they all nodded, knowing how right she is.
"I thought you matched the description," Karen said, confusing the kids. "Will told me all about meeting you. He told me how skilled you kids are when it comes to training Pokémon. Where are youheading now?"
"We're on our way to Blackthorn City," Sora answered.
"We were already heading there when Team Rocket shown up," Kairi added.
"So, you're heading there for a Gym battle? How many did you win?" Karen asked.
"Seven," Sora said.
"Then you almost have all you need. I wish you luck in your match. And I look forward to seeing you compete in the Johto Pokémon League, Sora. Farewell," Karen said as her and her Pokémon were leaving.
"I never expected a trainer like Karen to show up in all places," Lillie said.
"She's even prettier in person," Lana said, captivated.
"And what about those other two Pokémon with her?" Kairi asked.
"I only heard about them, but I think that was a Morgrem and its evolved form Grimmsnarl," Lille said. Sora got curious and took out his Pokédex to get information on these two Pokémon.
Morgrem, the Devious Pokémon
The evolved form of Impidimp
Type: Dark/Fairy
With sly cunning, it tries to lure people into the woods. Some believe it to have the power to make crops grow. When it gets down on all fours as if to beg for forgiveness, it's trying to lure opponents in so that it can stab them with its spear-like hair.
Grimmsnarl, the Bulk Up Pokémon
The evolved form of Morgrem
Type: Dark/Fairy
With the hair wrapped around its body helping to enhance its muscles, this Pokémon can overwhelm even Machamp. Grimmsnarl's hairs work like muscle fibers. When its hairs unfurl, they latch on to opponents, ensnaring them as tentacles would.
"Didn't Takato and the others have an Impidimp with them?" Sora asked, trying to remember.
"Yes Sora," Kairi said.
"I thought so, because I find it hard to believe that's what he'll evolve into," Sora said.
"I know," Kairi said.
"How about we get going before we're faced with any more interruptions," Hapu suggested.
"No arguments from me, Hapu. Let's go," Sora agreed.
The group continued their way to reach Blackthorn City. Along the way, Kairi came across a wild Oddish and it reminded her of the Oddish she and Sora met back in Melanie's Pokémon village. This Oddish looked at the girl as Kairi took out a Pokéball.
"I get to have myself an Oddish of my very own," Kairi said as she threw her Pokéball. "Go! Mareep!" The Pokéball opens and stars swirls around Mareep upon entry. "Mareep! Signal Beam!" Mareep fired Signal Beam and it struck the weed Pokémon hard. Oddish responded with a Seed Bomb. "Mareep! Dodge it!" Mareep tries to dodge the attack, but she got struck by the bomb attack. Mareep manages to get back up. "Glad you're still in this! Electro Web!" Mareep fired a web of electricity and it traps Oddish in it. Kairi takes out a Pokéball and threw it at the Oddish, making it flow inside. The Pokéball wobbles around and stars swirls around it, confirming the catch. Sora hands his Pokédex to his girlfriend, asking her if she wants to keep Oddish or send it to Professor Oak's lab. Kairi chose to send Oddish to Professor Oak's lab.
"I guess having your own Oddish must bring back some old memories for you, Kairi," Sora said.
"What memories?" Sophocles asked.
"Remember that village we told you guys about?" Sora asked.
"You mean the same one where you two met Bulbasaur?" Kiawe pointed out.
"That's the one. You see, there was an Oddish there that stayed there when we were there. I tried to catch one for myself when Bulbasaur came and took down Butterfree," Sora explained.
"Did that Oddish remind her of the Oddish you met there?' Mallow asked.
"She did. I just figured that Oddish might be with a loving trainer by now, after being abandoned by her old trainer. As I remembered that little Oddish, I thought of giving her the treatment that little never got from that trainer," Kairi said. That made Sora smile.
"This is why I love you so much, Kairi. So much loving compassion for any Pokémon there is," Sora said, making Kairi blush.
"Sora, stop it. You're embarrassing me," Kairi said.
"You know it's true," Sora said. Kairi smiled and she kissed Sora on the lips. He kisses right back. The Alolan girls sighed captivated by the sight of them kissing. The couple broke their kiss as a Bellsprout came along eating an insect off a tree. "A Bellsprout!" Kairi smiled and she knew she wanted one of those too. She turns to Mareep.
"You still up, Mareep?" Kairi asked.
"Reep!" Mareep bleated.
"Okay Mareep! Tackle!" Mareep charges at Bellsprout, landing a heavy blow. "Now use Signal Beam!" Mareep fires Signal Beam and Bellsprout was weakened by Mareep's attack. She takes out another Pokéball and throws it at Bellsprout. Once the flower Pokémon flows inside, the Pokéball wobbles around for a moment. Stars swirls around the Pokéball confirming the catch. Once Sora's Pokédex starts buzzing, she chose to send Bellsrpout over to Professor Oak's lab.
Later came a Tangela and it attacked the group. Kairi had sent our her Abra to deal with the vine Pokémon.
"Abra!" Abra said, using Psychic to hold back the blue vines.
"Send it the vines back!" Kairi called out. Abra sends the vines back at Tangela and hits the trunk of a tree. Kairi threw her Pokéball and it flows inside. The Pokéball wobbles around before stars swirls around the Pokéball confirming the catch. Kairi was proud to have another Grass Type. She sends Tangela over to Professor Oak's lab. Down from the tree came an Exeggcute. "An Exeggcute?"
"Exeggcute!" The Exeggcute said.
"I think it looks angry," Mallow said. Exeggcute fires Egg Bomb right at the group in an angry fit. Abra teleports out of the way and reappears in front of the egg Pokémon.
"Abra! Psychic!" Abra lifted Exeggcute into the air. Kairi threw a Pokéball and it flows inside. Stars swirls around the Pokéball as the catch is confirmed, and Kairi sends the egg Pokémon to Professor Oak's lab.
At Professor Oak's lab, Lea, Isa, and the Pokémon professor were amazed by the Grass Type Pokémon Kairi had captured.
"My, my, Kairi has caught quite a spread," Professor Oak said.
"I'll say. An Oddish, a Bellsprout, a Tangela, and an Exeggcute," Lea said almost sounding envious. "Sora and Kairi has some pretty sweet Pokémon."
"That girl is just full of surprises; just like Sora. She sent quite a haul of Water Type Pokémon she caught that one time," Isa said.
"That takes me back," Lea said, smiling.
"Back to where? To our days in school?" Isa asked sarcastically. Lea stuck his tongue at his friend. Professor Oak laughed. Suddenly, he hears his phone ringing and he left to answer it.
Back in Johto a few days later, the group, Sora, Kairi, Pikachu, Togepi, the Pichu, and the Alolan nine were walking down the path when Pikachu's ears suddenly perked up.
"Pi?" Pikachu asked. Sora quickly noticed.
"What's the matter, Pikachu?" Sora asked. Pikachu jumps off of Sora's shouldrrs and ran towards three weakened Oddish. Judging how they looked, it looked like they haven't eaten anything for days. And they looked injured.
"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu called out. The group ran towards where Pikachu is pointing at and saw the Oddish.
"What's wrong with them?" Lillie asked.
"They look like they're hurt or something," Mallow said. She went over to the Oddish. "Wake up, little ones!" The Oddish didn't respond. The Pichu poked the Oddish stirring them awake and saw the two tiny mouse Pokémon staring at them.
"The good news is they're alive," Kiawe said.
"Yeah," Mina said.
"We should have them treated right away. A nice good bath should get the job done," Kairi said. She calls out Staryu and Kiawe had Turtonator warm up the water just right to have the Oddish cleaned up. Once they were nice and clean, Kairi took out some Pokémon food for the Oddish to eat. "Here you three go. Some nice and yummy Pokémon food to fill your empty tummies." She places the food down and one of the Oddish took a bite. Once the first Oddish nodded, the other two started chowing down on the food. "That's right, eat just as much as you want."
"They must be part Munchlax, since they're eating it like crazy," Acerola said.
"But, I wonder what made them so weak in the first place," Sophocles said.
"I was thinking the same thing. I can bet my money there must be some trouble at home," Sora guessed.
"I agree. Something bad must have driven them away from their home, wherever it is," Illima said. "And there's no doubt their home isn't too far away."
"Pikachu, how about you ask these little guys or girls where they live?" Sora suggested.
"Pika," Pikachu nodded. "Pika, Pika, Pikachu, Pika, Pika, Pikachu?" The Oddish all turn to the hill ahead of them.
"Oddish," the three Oddish chirped.
"Are they saying they live over that hill?" Lana asked.
"That's what it seems," Hapu said.
The group went over to the top of the hill and saw a huge tree. Sora, Kairi, and the Alolan nine were awestruck by the size and the appearance of the tree. The valley itself was full of Oddish, Gloom, Vileplume, and Bellossom; more than any one of them can count.
"Such a pretty tree," Lillie said.
"That is gotta be the biggest tree that I have ever seen," Sophocles said.
"The place looks nice, but why did the Oddish just run away like that?" Sora asked, looking around.
"That's a very good question," Kiawe said.
They got their answer when they heard some sounds and saw two Vileplume and two Bellossom staring at each other hostility.
"Why do I have a feeling they don't like each other very much?" Sophocles asked. The Vilplume and Bellossom then starts fighting each other.
"I think that explains why those Oddish ran off," Kiawe said.
"We better break them up before it gets worse," Mallow suggested. Sora, Kairi, and the rest of the Alolan nine agreed and Pikachu went over to the brawling Pokémon to stop them, but he gets knocked back when the attempt failed.
"That didn't work," Sora said, picking up Pikachu "You okay, buddy?"
"Pika," Pikachu answered.
"I'll settle this," Mallow said, taking out her Pokéball. "Go! Weepinbell!" The Pokéball opens and Weepinbell twirls her leaves. "Weepinbell! Stop that fighting with Vine Whip!" Weepinbell sends out her vines between the Vilplume and Bellossom, making them stop fighting. "Now, stop fighting each other and start apologizing to each other this minute!" The Vilplume and Bellossom stared at each other and huffed as they walked away.
"Well, that sounded sincere," Hapu said sarcastically.
"Hello!" A man's voice called out. The group turned to see a young man wearing a white lab coat. It was obvious he is a scientist. He wore an orange shirt, gray pants, and brown shoes. He wore small lens glasses. "I wanted to thank you for stopping the Pokémon from fighting with one another!" He reached the group and saw the three Oddish with them. "Oh, there you three are. Are you guys okay?"
"Oddish, Odd," the Oddish chirped.
"That's good. Don't wonder off again, because you had me worried," the scientist said. He noticed how healthy the Oddish looked. "They seem much better. Did any of you do something for them?"
"Yes. They didn't look so good and I gave them a bath and then I fed them some Pokémon food and they got better right away," Kairi said.
"Well, I'm very thankful that you knew what to do. My name is Stephen and I'm here doing some research on Grass Type Pokémon," he said.
"Nice to meet you, Stephen. My name is Sora and this is my girlfriend Kairi," Sora introduced.
"Hi Stephen," Kairi greeted.
"I'm Lillie."
"I am Illima."
"My name's Mallow."
"I'm Kiawe."
"I'm Lana."
"My name's Sophocles."
"I'm Acerola."
"Mina."
"And I'm Hapu."
"If you don't me asking, but why were those Vilplume and Bellossom fighting each other just now?" Lillie asked. "It just seems unusual."
"Yes, you are right to say that. It has been going on for quite some time. Lots of Grass Type Pokémon live here; not because of the river that flows through here, but also because this area gets lots of sunlight," Stephen said. "Therefore, Oddish and Gloom's evolved forms Vilplume and Bellossom have settled here. And they have divided this area up into different territories."
"I gotta say there is a lot of them," Sora said.
"Yeah," Mina agreed.
"There has got be so many of them, I don't think I could count them," Lana said.
"Yes, and that is why I have decided to do my research here, because there are so many Pokémon to study," Stephen said.
"I think I should point out how strange there are Vilplume and Bellossom hereright at the same time," Illima stated. Everyone looked right at the Normal Type trainer.
"How is that unusual?" Sora asked.
"As you know, Oddish evolves into Gloom when it reaches a certain level," Illima said. "But, in order to have a Bellossom, you must use a Sun Stone, and to get Vilplume is by using a Leaf Stone."
"I get it! Branched evolution!" Lillie stated.
"Kinda like Eevee right?" Kairi asked.
"Yes. And like Eevee, Gloom can evolve into either a Vilplume or a Bellossom depending on which stone you use on it," Illima concluded.
"That makes sense," Sora said.
"Pika!" Pikachu said.
"Pichu!" The Pichu said.
"If that could happen, then there should be some Sun Stones and Leaf Stones around here, right, Stepthen?" Kairi asked.
"Yes, but the stones are in the wind," Stephen answered.
"In the wind?" Kairi asked.
"What do you mean?" Mallow asked.
"It's a perfection demonstration, because the wind is picking up!" Stephen said. He looked at the Pidgeot weathervane pointing to the northeast. "Northeast wind. That means the Gloom will evolve into Vileplume!" The group looked over to some of the Gloom and they all evolved into Vileplume.
"Did you just see that?" Lana asked.
"I know I did," Hapu said.
"Those Gloom evolved into Vileplume just like Stephen said they would," Kiawe said.
"Just how did you know which one Gloom would evolve into?" Lillie asked.
"And what does the wind have to do with evolving?" Kairi asked.
"There are a number of things I still don't understand, but I know northeastern winds caused Gloom to evolve into Vileplume and northwestern winds caused Gloom to evolve into Bellossom," Stephen explained.
"They evolve depending where the wind blows?" Kiawe asked.
"I know it sounds bizarre, but I have a theory; I think northeastern winds contains traces of Leaf Stones and northwestern winds contains small traces of Sun Stones," Stephen concluded.
"How can wind carry stone like that? That don't sound right," Hapu said skeptical.
"You're right, Hapu. That does sound impossible, but there are exceptions. Trace of amounts of stones would be like dust in the wind. But my question is will it be enough to cause evolution?" Illima asked.
"Perhaps. Small amounts build up over time acting exactly the same way as a whole stone would," Stephen said.
"Whoa," Sora said in awe.
"It sounds like a magic wind. It sounds just like a fairytale come to life," Kairi said.
"Toge, Toge," Togepi chirped. Stephen looked to the ground and frowned.
"Except it's a real problem for the Pokémon. The wind direction is causing an inbalance in power between the Bellossom and Vilplume," Stephen said. The Vilplume and Bellossom starts fighting each other each other once again.
"Not again!" Sora groaned.
"Pika!" Pikachu agreed.
The Vilplume fired their Stun Spore paralyzing the Bellossom. Everyone covered their mouths, not wanting to breathe in the fumes. Sora and Kiawe remembered being paralyzed by a Vilplume's Stun Spore as did Davis and TK a while back.
"STUN SPORE!" Sora, Kairi, and the Alolan nine all exclaimed. Quickly thinking, Stephen takes out some masks for everyone to wear.
"Quickly! Put these on!" Stephen said after putting his mask on. Not wasting any time, the group quickly put on their masks, just so they wouldn't breathe in Stun Spore.
"Weepinbell! Razor Leaf!" Mallow ordered. Weepinbell fired Razor Leaf, stopping the fighting once more. "Now use Vine Whip!" Weepinbell used Vine Whip to keep them from starting again. The flower Pokémon looked at the fly catcher Pokémon and stormed off in the opposite direction.
"Good thinking, Mallow," Sora said.
"Thanks Sora," Mallow said.
"I agree with Sora. That was good thinking. It's nice to see someone around here to help out," Stephen said. "I have broken up an awful lot of these fights myself and the peace never lasts for very long before it starts up again. And most of the Oddish have gotten sick of all the fighting and went away. There are hardly any of them left." Sora then thought of something.
"Kairi, I just had a thought," Sora said.
"What?" Kairi asked getting curious.
"Didn't you catch an Oddish not too far from here just a few days ago?" Sora asked his girlfriend.
"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?" Kairi asked.
"Well, I thought it was a coincidence that there was an Oddish living in the wild, the same as a Bellsprout, a Tangela, and an Exeggcute, but that Oddish looked like it was heading off somewhere, but didn't know where it was going. I think your new Oddish might have been one of the Oddish that left because of the fighting between the Vileplume and Bellossom."
"Sora might have hit the nail on the head there, because it was just a few days ago and it wasn't too far from here either," Lillie said.
"I guess that explain why she was out there when we first met," Kairi said. She turns to Stephen. "I'm sorry for catching that one Oddish without your permission. I don't want you to think I would steal her from her home or anything."
"Oh, don't worry about it, Kairi. Just like Lillie said, it wasn't too far from here. And I don't mind since she was too far for me to do anything. And even if you did catch her while here, there wouldn't be a way for you to know this was a research facility," Stephen said. Kairi was glad he wasn't angry at her.
"Now we just need to figure out how to get the Bellossom and Vileplume to live here peacefully together," Kairi said.
"Kairi's right, because the Oddish here needs our help as well," Mallow said.
"Then, we have a mission. Operation: Stop Vilplume and Bellossom From Fighting is Officially underway!" Sora proclaimed.
The Alolan nine didn't say too much of anything and just stared at him.
"Is that the best you can come up with?" Acerola deadpanned.
"If you have a better idea, then I would like to hear it," Sora said. The Alolan nine just shrugeed and went along with it.
Over to Team Rocket, they were starting to have themselves a picnic in the meadow since it was such a beautiful day.
"So, what did ya pack for the picnic, Jess?" Meowth asked. Meowth got his answer when she presented them some sandwiches for the each of them.
"I hope it's one of those little pin wheel thingies I love so much!"James said all giddy.
"I ordered them, but for once I think we should just be thankful for what we have now. Dig in, everyone!" Jessie said happily. Just when Team Rocket was about to take a bote of their sandwiches when they heard some angry sounds. "What is that?"
"I dunno, but whatever it is, it's spoiling my ambience," Meowth said.
"Talking about a real mood killer," James added.
They found themselves in the middle of another imminent fight between Bellossom and Vilplume.
"Are they?" Jessie asked.
"Those are Bellossom," Meowth said.
"And those are Vilplume," James added.
The Vilplume and Bellossom charged into each other like soldiers launching the attack in battle. Vileplume and Bellossom fired Stun Spore at each other, paralyzing Jessie and James. Meowth had been knocked to the ground, but he quickly covers his mouth, not breathing in the Stun Spore.
"Crap! Not Stun Spore!" Jessie exclaimed.
"Oh, how I would wish it was Sweet Scent right now!" James exclaimed.
The paralyzing Grass Type attack took their toll on them.
"Too paralyzed to move," Jessie said weakly.
"Need Salveyo weed to get better," James said weakly.
"We don't have any Salveyo weed! There isn't a lake around here for miles! Maybe there's a place tht has one!" Meowth said, looking around. He spots the research house. "Eureka! Maybe that place has some Salveyo weed! It looks like a convient store! How convient!" Meowth raced over to the place and he sees that the window is opened. "This place looks like a Pokémon laboratory." He climbs up to the window. "There should be all sorts of medicines in there. And that should include some medicine made from a Salveyo weed!" The scratch cat Pokémon searches the place for the medicine. "Okay, let's see. Multivitamins, tongue polish, zit remover." He spots a glass jar of Salveyo weed medicine. "Bingo! That's the stuff I was looking for!" Meowth takes the whole thing and races back to Jessie and James. "Hey! Time for your medicine!" Meowth drops one each into Jessie and James and they feel better right away.
"That feels so much better!" Jessie beamed.
"Gotta stretch to avoid stress!" James said, stretching his body. Meowth just stared at his human colleagues with a blank expression.
"Maybe they were less annoying when they were fast asleep," Meowth said to himself. Jessie and James soon changed their mood, thinking about the brawl between the Vileplume and Bellossom.
"Just who do those Vileplume and Bellossom think they are of gasing us in the middle of our picnic?" Jessie hissed.
"I didn't get to have my pin wheel and now I'm even hungrier and very cranky!" James added.
"We could send the boss those Vileplume and Bellossom," Meowth said. Jessie and James looked right at Meowth.
"The boss wouldn't care so much about us sending a couple of flower Pokémon," Jessie said.
"He might if we send a whole lot of them! Just imagine the boss waking up from a peaceful sleep only to be greeted by Bellossom dancing in front of him and putting a smile on his face. And imagine what he would say," Meowth said. He tried Giovanni's voice, "What a delight to wake to." Jessie and James liked the idea. "His whole bedroom would have many Vileplume decorative and soothing in their plantness. And in his garden would be full of Oddish and Gloom, festive and yet immobile. Sorrounded by these Grass Type Pokémon, the boss will be completely relaxed and he would say." Meowth cleared his throat to use his Giovanni voice. "For having to brought me these Pokémon, Meowth and his friends will be model members of Team Rocket." Jessie and James laughed with joy, having to like how it sounded.
"Yes, and not only making us model members of Team Rocket, but he'll forget about our debt completely!" James said.
"Then what are we standing around here for? Let's get on with our operation!" Jessie said. "Yay!"
"Yay!" James and Meowth cheered.
Over to the group, they were all at the giant tree as Stephen was about to explain his theroy of the fued between the Bellossom and Vileplume.
"From what I was about to piece together, this gigantic tree is the original cause of the fighting between the Vileplume and the Bellossom," Stephen said.
"How can a tree cause a fight?" Sora asked.
"Well, you can see how big it is, right? This tree is the only source of shade around here for miles," Stephen said. "In the morning, the Bellossom's area doesn't get any sunlight, so they go over to the Vileplume's area and that's when the fighting starts. Then, as the sun moves aross the sky, the Vilplume's area is in the shade and they move over to the Bellossom's area and the fighting starts again.
"That makes loads of sense for them to fight over the sunlight," Mallow said.
"That's right. They need the sunlight," Lillie said.
"And it looks like the fighting is gonna keep lasting forever," Kairi said.
"Oddish, Oddish," the Oddish chirped as their leaves sways in the right in the blowing wind.
Stephen gasped, "More wind! But where is it coming from?" He turns to the weathervane on his roof and it points to the northwest.
"Northwest," Illima said.
"And that turns the Gloom into Bellossom," Lana said. A few of the Gloom evolved into Bellossom and went up to some of the others.
"And now they out number the Vileplume!" Kiawe said.
"That can't be good!" Hapu said.
"They're gonna rumble," Mina said.
And just like Mina said, the Bellossom and Vilplume starts braawling with each other.
"It's usually the new members that start the fight," Stephen said.
Some of the Vileplume showers the Bellossom with Stun Spore and the group quickly puts on their masks, not breathing in the fumes.
"Weepinbell! Just like before! Vine Whip!" Mallow ordered. Weepinbell seperates the fueding Bellossom and Vilplume once again. "It's wrong for you to fight all the time!" The Vileplume and Bellossom glare at each other and take off in the opposite direction.
"It looks hopeless," Sophocles said.
"It does, doesn't it?" Kiawe said.
Mallow noticed some of the Vileplume and Bellossom watching the brawl and they weren't fighting each other at all. The rest of the group noticed as well.
"Look at that," Hapu said.
"I'm just so glad that there are some of you who aren't interested in fighting. And only the others could get along as well as you do," Kairi said. The Vilplume and Bellossom looked at the girl quite sadly. Mallow went up to them.
"Don't be sad. I promise we'll do what we can to stop this," Mallow said.
Over to Team Rocket, they argue over what kind of giant robot to build.
"We should build a giant Bellossom robot and swipe all of the Bellossom all at once!" Meowth suggested.
"No, it would obviously be better to build a giant Vileplume robot to gather all of the Vileplume all at once!" James argued.
"Why do I have to always be the brilliant one? We build a single giant robot and grab them all at once!" Jessie proclaimed. They heard the sounds of Vileplume and Bellossom approaching and they knew it wasn't a good sign.
"Oh, that doesn't sound good!" Team Rocket all said at once. The flower Pokémon all charge right each other and they start fighting each other once again. And once again, Team Rocket gets caught in the middle. Somehow, Wobbufett pops out of his Pokéball.
"Wobbufett!" Wobbufett said, before one of the Bellossom grabs him and drags him into the brawl.
Over to the group, Sora, Kairi, and the Alolan nine all discuss how they were going to make the Vileplume and Bellossom stop fighting just like the ones from earlier. Togepi and the Pichu were playing with the Oddish while they were talking.
"So, anyone has any ideas about how we're gonna put a stop to this?" Sora asked.
"We could gather them them all up and have them sing about friendship," Lana suggested.
"I don't think it'll work. Some of the Vileplume and Bellossom might accuse one another of stealing some lines," Sophocles said.
"He's right. I don't think a song is going to solve anything," Hapu said.
"We could just have them apologize to each other," Lillie suggested.
"We would have to teach the Bellossom and Vileplume about not fighting each other, and I don't think it'll end so well," Kiawe said.
"I agree. It seems almost hopeless," Illima said. Stephen steps out his lab with urgent news.
"Everyone! I have terrible news! A big storm is heading this way!" Stephen exclaimed.
"How big of a storm?" Sora asked.
"I think it'll be best if all of you came in and see for yourselves!" Stephen said. The group went inside as Togepi, the Pichu, and the Oddish stopped playing. Stephen shows them the weather pattern on his computer. "The good news is, there won't be much rain, but the bad news is there will be very high winds."
"I just had to ask," Sora groaned.
"Which direction will the wind be blowing from?" Kairi asked.
"From the northeast," Stephen said.
"That means most of the Gloom will evolve into Vileplume and outnumber the Bellossom," Sophocles said.
"And when they fight, the Vileplume will win?" Acerola asked.
"That's seems to be the way it's going," Lillie said. Stephen turns to the group.
"You know, that wouldn't necessarily be the worse thing," Stephen said.
"How could say such a thing? Do you honestly want the Bellossom to lose?" Lillie asked.
"All I'm saying is when Bellossom's habitat shrinks, it's not the end of the world. It certainly be worth it to put an end to all of the fighting," Stephen said.
"I guess," Lillie said.
"And if the fighting stops, these Oddish will finally have a safe place to live and to grow too," Stephen said, holding one of the Oddish.
"Oddish," the Oddish held by Stephen chirped.
"I'm going to agree with Lillie, because it doesn't seem to be fair to see which side wins and the other side lose when neither one of them is better than the other," Kairi said.
"I understand your concern, Kairi, but I'm afraid there is nothing else we can do," Stephen said. Weepinbell turns to Mallow.
"Bell, bell," Weepinbell said getting worried. Mallow knew what she was worried about.
"I know, Weepinbell, I'm worried about the Bellossom too," Mallow said.
Outside, the storm clouds blacken the skies and heavy winds starts blowing from the northeast. Some of the remaining Oddish seeked shelter from under a rock. Over to a small band of Gloom, some of the Gloom evolved into Vileplume. Back inside, the group stares out the window, knowing what will happen.
"The Vileplume are evolving with more to come," Stephen said. His monitor starts beeping, getting the young researcher's attention. "Oh no! The wind just changed direction!" Everyone all turned to Stephen as they gasped.
"Now where is it blowing from?" Lana asked.
"Now it's from the northwest!" Stephen answered.
"Uh oh," Mina said.
"Uh oh is right. Now we're going to have more Bellossom on our hands," Kiawe said.
"And that should make the playing field even. I can't tell if that's a good thing or a bad thing," Sora said.
Back outside, another group of Gloom are affected by the wind, making them evolve into Bellossom. Back inside, Stephen continues to monitor the weather.
"Oh my! Look at that! Now the wind keeps changing direction from northeast to northwest in every few minutes! And if that keeps up, the Bellossom and Vileplume will be be increasing in numbers and we can have a major battle on our hands!" Stephen stated.
"There will be so many, I don't think even Weepinbell can stop the fighting by herself," Kairi said.
"She's right. Unless we get some additional help from other Grass Types, we won't be able to stop all of them at once," Mallow said.
"That means Mallow and I will have to work together to put a stop to it," Sora said.
"You mean you, her, and me," Kairi said. Sora was about to ask what she meant when he remembered his Pokédex.
"That's right," Sora said, taking it out. He handed his Pokédex over to Kairi and she accessed it to exchange Staryu for her Tangela. She hands it back over to Sora when she was done.
The winds blows fiercely and lasts for a a little while before the sky had cleared. Many of the Vileplume and Bellossom gather in front of the giant tree for their final showdown. The Vileplume and Bellossom who are neutral to the fighting could only watch having to see their friends hurt each other. Sora calls out Meganium and Kairi calls out her Tangela.
"Vileplume! Bellossom! Stop this insanity! Fighting won't get you anywhere!" Stephen called out, trying to stop them from fighting. It was no use, the Bellossom and Vileplume were about to begin their battle. Sora, Kairi, and Mallow quickly put on their masks.
"Pikachu, get the Oddish out of here. Take them somewhere safe," Sora said.
"Pika," Pikachu said. He took the Oddish and his adoptive little brothers somewhere safe since he didn't want them to be caught in the crossfire.
"Meganium!" Sora called out.
"Tangela!" Kairi called out.
"Weepinbell!" Kairi also called out.
"Vine Whip!" Sora, Kairi, and Mallow ordered.
The Grass Type Pokémon were about to use their Vine Whip when a bomb with a lit fuse comes falling from the sky. The bomb explodes when it makes contact with the ground. A few more drop from the sky, catching everyone off guard.
"Now what?!" Sora ecxclaimed.
"Prepare for trouble, funny you should ask," Jessie started.
"And make it double, in a groovy gasmask," James added in a rhyme. Floating in their balloon, Team Rocket all wore gasmasks to protect themselves from Vileplume and Bellossom's Stun Spore.
"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!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth! That's right!"
"Wobbufett!"
"Team Rocket!" Sora, Kairi, and the Alolan nine all exclaimed.
"What do you morons want now?!" Sora hissed. Team Rocket jumps from their balloon and stands before the group.
"Isn't it obvious? We're here to gather up every one of these Pokémon! To cut the grass as you might say," Jessie proclaimed.
"Ask a dumb question and what do you get?" Sora groaned.
"Just how do you plan to gather them all up?" Kairi asked.
"I'll tell you how! With an incredible Vileplume of Doom Robot!" James proclaimed.
"Vileplume of Doom?" Sora, Kairi, and the Alolan nine all asked.
"Not really," James sighed and frowned.
"With a nuclear-powered Bellossom Wrangler Robot!" Meowth proclaimed.
"Bellossom Wrangler Robot?" Sora, Kairi, and the Alolan nine all asked.
"I wish," Meowth sighed sadly.
Team Rocket just takes out a huge burlap sack, big enough for all of the Vileplume and Bellossom.
"Actually, it's a multi-flexible digital analog recovery device!" Jessie stated.
"You have got to be kidding! Do you think we're dumb enough to buy all that?" Sora asked.
"It's just a burlap sack you just knitted together!" Hapu said.
"Okay, so it's not exactly high tech!" Jessie stated.
"What do you want from us? We used up all of our Stun Spore protection!" Meowth added.
"And we didn't have any money to build our giant robot!" James concluded.
The rumble between the Bellossom and Vileplume started again as they began charging into each other. Jessie and James gets caught in the rumble and Meowth goes flying in the air and lands out of range of the fighting.
"Here they come!" Sophocles said.
"It's finally started," Stephen said.
"Perfect! Climb on in!" Jessie said, holding the sack open. None of the Vileplume and Bellossom went in and they fought each other. They sprinkled Stun Spore all around. "Have we caught any yet?"
"Don't think so," James said.
The brawl esccalates as the group all watched the battle go on.
"What are going to do? We can't just stand here and watch this happen!" Mallow said.
"I hate to say this, but I'm afraid that's what we're going to do," Illima said.
"Illima is right. We need to let them see for themselves that no matter how hard they fight, in the end it won't get them anywhere," Stephen said.
The fighting goes on and Jessie and James chases after the Vileplume and Bellossom as they sprinkled Stun Spore all around.
"Use all the Stun Spore you want, it doesn't affect us!" Jessie taunted.
"We've got ourselves an Anti-Stun Spore defense!" James also taunted when he saw his gaskmask wasn't connected to the oxygen tank. Jessie saw hers wasn't connected either.
"Oh shit! They're not plugged in!" Jessie and James gasped realizing their mistake. They faint as Stun Spore took their toll. The fighting lasted for a few minutes before they eventually wiped themselves out. Meowth struggles to get back up.
"Next time we use the robot; damn the expense," Meowth said. The group walked up to the fallen Pokémon.
"Do all of you understand now? All of you can fight all you want and it'll just the same thing; you just hurt each other and it won't solve a thing. I mean look at those guys over there," Sora said, pointing to the Vileplume and Bellossom who are neutral to the fighting.
"He's right. They are also Vileplume and Bellossom just like you are. But, they chose not to fight," Mallow said.
"They're only interested in getting along with each other," Kairi added.
"That's not exactly true," Meowth corrected her. The group turned to the scratch cat Pokémon confused by what he meant. "The Bellossom are staying out of the fight because they wanted to be Vileplume and the Vilplume are staying out of the fight because they wanted to be Bellossom." The neutral Vileplume and Bellossom all nodded to what Meowth just said.
"You sure about that?" Sora asked.
"It was thanks to the wind that they evolved into the opposite of what they wanted to be. They just couldn't bring themselves to fight the Pokémon they wanted to become; so they were just having themselves an identity crisis," Meowth said. The neutral Vileplume and Bellossom nodded to confirm Meowth is right.
"I honestly had no idea you Pokémon had your own opinions about what you wanted to evolve into," Stephen said.
"And I had no idea Meowth knew what an identity crisis was," Sora added.
"But wait. It wasn't because of the wind you Vileplume became Vilepume; it was because you were meant to be Vileplume. And the same can be said about you Bellossom. You evolved into what you meant to evolve into," Mallow said. "There's always a good reason to become what you were meant to be." She turns to Meowth. "Translate it, Meowth." Meowth translated what Mallow said to them. "No matter which one you evolved into, you shouldn't take that gift for granted, because it's up to all of us to make the most of our gift, no matter whoever and whatever we become."
"Mallow is right, because you all started out as Oddish and Gloom before evolving," Sora added.
"Come on, you little lawn ornaments! In you go!" Jessie said.
"No time to argue," James said.
Meowth ran up to his human colleagues.
"I thought you guys were out cold," Meowth said.
"It was thanks to the Stun Spore antidote you brought back for us!" James said, holding up the antidote.
"No you don't! Meganium! Vine Whip!" Sora ordered.
"You use Vine Whip too, Tangela!" Kairi ordered.
Meganium and Tangela used Vine Whip and smacked Team Rocket on the mark. One of the Vileplume and Bellossom joined in the battle against Team Rocket and they fired Stun Spore right at them.
"It won't work, because we have our Stun Spore protection!" Jessie said.
"And this time, we no hiccups!" James said. Jessie and James were about to swipe them, when Mallow stepped in.
"I don't think so! Weepinbell! Razor Leaf!" Mallow ordered. Weepinbell fired Razor Leaf, cutting the sack. Jessie growls in anger.
'You're going to pay for that!" Jessie hissed, taking out her Pokéball. "Arbok! Go!"
"Go in there, Victreebel!" James shouted, throwing his Pokéball. Oncce Victreebel was out, he chomps on James's head one more. "Not me, you numbskull!" James manges to get Vctreebel off and his mask comes off. "Crap! My mask!" James quickly puts it back on.
"Arbok! Crunch!" Jessie ordered.
"Victreebel! You use Leaf Blade!" James ordered.
Arbok and Victreebel came at Weepinbell to deliever their attacks.
"Weepinbell! Vine Whip!" Mallow ordered. Weepinbell whips both Arbok and Victreebel. Vileplume and Bellossom watched how Mallow was battling against the Team Rocket Pokémon to protect them. "Use Razor Leaf!" Weepibell fires Razor Leaf and it strikes both Arbok and Victreebel. The leaves also cuts the tubes on Team Rocket's gasmasks.
"We lost our protection!" James gasped.
"And we also lost our pride!" Meowth said.
"Send them packing with Seed Bomb!" Mallow ordered. Weepinbell fired Seed Bomb right at Team Rocket and it sends them all flying.
"I just hate it when we lose," Jessie goraned.
"I just hate these changes, because this didn't happen in the anime," James added.
"At least it went better than the last time," Meowth said.
"TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" Team Rocket shouted as they went flying into the disntance.
The Vileplume and the Bellossom celebrated having to get rid of Team Rocket and how they were moved by what Mallow said about being true to who they are.
"I'm just so happy to see them getting along again," Mallow said.
"Yes. They can finally see how special each one them is. And they all owe it to you," Stephen said. The Vilplume and Bellossom all continued to celebrate. The Vileplume and Bellossom that stepped up to battle Team Rocket walked up to the Grass Type trainer.
"Vileplume? Bellossom? Is there something I can help you with?" Mallow asked.
"Vile," Vileplume said.
"Bello," Bellossom added.
"I think they want to be with you, Mallow," Kairi pointed out.
"What? Is that right?" Mallow asked.
"I will have to agree. These two must have saw how brave you were to step up to defend them, so they want to become your Pokémon," Stephen said. Vileplume and Bellossom nodded.
"Are you sure it's okay, Stephen?" Mallow asked.
"I know it is. Just promise that you'll take very good care of them," Stephen said.
"I promise," Mallow said. She took out a Pokéball for each of them and they tapped the buttons on the Pokéballs and flows inside. Stars swirls around them to confirm the catch. Mallow now had both fully evolved forms of Oddish and Gloom to her team.
The group said their goodbyes to Stephen and to all of the Oddish, Gloom, Vileplume, and Bellossom as they continued on their journey. They felt satisfied having to bring peace between the Vileplume and Bellossom. Sora, Kairi, the Pokémon, and the Alolan nine continued their journey to Blackthorn City.