Episode 222: Now That's Flower Power!
On the very next morning, Sora, Kairi, and Pikachu have departed from Dewford Island and began to head down for Slateport City on the way to Mauville City.
"How much longer until we reach Slateport City?" Sora asked.
"If we stay on this course, we can get there by this afternoon. So, until then, enjoy the ride, kids," the sailor said.
"That's what we wanted to know," Sora said.
"Pika, Pika," Pikachu said.
Kairi sat on board and looked at her very first ribbon. She still couldn't believe she won it like it was no problem, but thanks to all the training she had since she first caught Jigglypuff and all of other battles, she managed to pull through. Sora sat next to his girlfriend.
"You okay, Kairi?" Sora asked.
"I'm okay, Sora. Just feeling overwhelmed," Kairi said. "And a little nervous."
"You? Nervous? No," Sora said.
"Why not?" Kairi asked.
"For one thing, you did fine in your last Contest, if I remember right," Sora said.
"True, I did. I'm just thinking about some other things. Like since you're a Pokémon League Champion and you end up judging the same Pokémon Contest as me. What then?" Kairi asked. Sora didn't know how to respond to it. He was afraid he was going to end up saying the wrong thing. He remembered the talk they had before.
"Kairi, no matter what, I'm right behind you. I told you that before. I doubt I'll judge in one of those. So, don't think about it too much, Kairi," Sora said. Kairi gave her boyfriend a deserved hug.
"You're right, Sora. I shouldn't be dwelling on it too much. I'll do my best in it," Kairi said.
"I know you will," Sora said.
Sora and Kairi kissed each other on the lips and held each other as soon as their lips parted. Along the way, they spotted a pod of Wailmer swimming by.
"Look at that, Sora. Wailmer," Kairi said.
"I think we caught a good time to see a migration," Sora said.
"You sure did, kid. This Wailmer pod passes through here year after year. And since there are Wailmer swimming here, there should be some Wailord swimming by along with them," the sailor said. And as luck would have it, out in the distance, immense, blue, whale-like Pokémon with small black eyes and a wide mouth filled with baleen-like teeth. It has a round, blimp-like body with two pairs of fins on either side and a small crescent-shaped tail fluke. Its underbelly is cream with vertical stripes running through it, and on its back is a series of small white spots. "And speak of the deviul, there's a Wailord!" Sora and Kairi were amazed by the sight of the large Pokémon and he takes out his Pokédex to scan it.
Wailord, the Float Whale Pokémon
The evolved form of Wailmer
Type: Water
Wailord is the largest Pokémon to be ever discovered. When chasing prey, Wailord herds them by leaping out of the water and making a humongous splash. It is breathtaking to see this Pokémon leaping out of the sea with others in its pod.
"Cool," Sora said.
"What I was thinking," Kairi said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
They watched on with amazement as the whale Pokémon swam and splashed around. Neither of Sora or Kairi have ever seen anything like this before. The world of Pokémon never ceased to amaze them.
Hours have passed and they have finally arrived in Slateport Harbor.
"Here you go, kids. Slateport City," the sailor said.
"Thanks for giving us a lift," Sora said.
"Anytime, you two. I wish you luck in your contest there, missy. And good luck with your Gym battle, youngster," the sailor said before taking his leave. As they had arrived in Slateport City, unknown to them walking by is a familiar pair. It was Riku, Naminé, Eevee, and Azurill. Riku now wore a white vest with a large black collar, a yellow back, and a black stripe along the bottom as well as around each arm hole. It is closed with a zipper that is closed just a bit below his collarbone and slightly above his belt. He had a Pokéball logo on the back of his vest. He also wore loose fitting jeans and a black belt with a large silver buckle. On his feet Riku wore white hightops that are black on the bottom with a yellow stripe separating the two colors. His laces are black. He also has another pair of laces wrapped around his shoes at the ankle that are tied into a bow. On his wrists he sports thick black, cloth bracelets. Eevee's perked up when he spotted Sora, Kairi, and Pikachu.
"Eeevee, Eev!" Eevee called out.
"What is it, Eevee?" Riku asked his partner. Azurill saw them too.
"Azurill, Azu!" Azurill also called out.
"What's got you so worked up, Azurill?" Naminé asked. She spotted Sora and Kairi and smiled. "Riku!" He turned to see them.
"Well, look who's here," Riku said.
They went over to surprise them. Pikachu's ears perked up and he saw a familiar Pokémon.
"Eevee?!" - Pikachu subtitle.
"It's been a while, Pikachu!" - Eevee subtitle.
Sora and Kairi stopped to see their friends coming towards them.
"Riku?" Sora asked.
"Naminé?" Kairi asked.
"What are you doing here?" Sora asked.
"Travelling the Hoenn region. Same as you. I knew we were gonna bump into you sooner or later," Riku said.
"When did you get here?" Sora asked.
"Just now. What's new with you?" Riku asked. Sora grinned.
"Like you had to ask. When Kairi and I got here in the Hoenn region, we caught some Pokémon and I earned two Gym Badges, while Kairi earned a ribbon from a Pokémon Contest," Sora said. Riku wasn't a bit surprised by his rival's progress. But Kairi really surprised him.
"Not surprsing that you are on your way, but I would never have guessed Kairi being a Pokémon Coordinator. You two are really made for each other," Riku said. Kairi giggled.
"So you noticed," Kairi said. She looked over to Azurill in Naminé's arms. "And your Azurill is still as cute as ever, Naminé."
"Thanks Kairi. That's very nice of you to say. Where's Togepi?" Naminé asked.
"He's at home at Professor Oak's lab along with our other Pokémon," Kairi said.
"Riku pretty much did the same thing. He left all of other Pokémon at home and just brought Eevee with him," Naminé said.
"It's true, I did. My mom is taking care of them right now. Anyway, did you hear from Illima and the others since then?" Riku asked.
"Funny you should ask, Riku. Kairi and I saw Lillie in Rustboro City when I challenged the Gym Leader there. She handed us letters from each of them," Sora said, taking out the letters. "And here they all are."
"Naminé and I saw her not too long ago along with two trainers named Elio and Selene, I thinik it was," Riku said.
"You got it exactly right, Riku," Naminé said.
"How about we head for the Pokémon Center and catch up there," Sora suggetsed.
"Great idea," Riku agreed. They headed up towards the Pokémon Center and they told some stories about their accomplishments since then. Riku wasn't surprised to hear Team Rocket was in Hoenn as well, but fortunately, they haven't been dealing with them much lately. "Don't they ever learn their lesson?"
"Doubt it, Riku," Sora said. As they all looked around, they all saw there were trainers there doing some practicing for the upcoming Pokémon Contest. "Looks like their really getting into it."
"They should be since that contest is just two weeks away," Sora said.
"And that's plenty of time to practice for it," Kairi said.
"Atta girl, Kairi," Sora said.
"Which Pokémon are you going to be entering in it?" Naminé asked.
"Beautifly of course. This'll be her debut show," Kairi said.
"Figured you would. And I say go for it!" Sora said. Kairi smiled, knowing how she'll always have Sora's support.
Later, Sora, Kairi, Riku, Naminé, Pikachu, Eevee, and Azurill found a spot to practice for the contest. Kairi had several pinks frisbees ready. Watching them not too far is a a mid-sized boy, who has green eyes and green hair. He wore a black long-sleeved shirt, a purple jacket, a pair of teal trousers and black shoes.
"Okay Beautifly! Like we practiced! You ready?" Kairi asked. Beautifly nodded. "Okay, here we go!" Kairi tosses the frisbees towards Beautifly. "Get ready! Gust! Let's go!" Beautifly flaps her wings as fast as she could and Kairi has managed to catch the frisbees one after another.
"Nice one!" Riku praised.
"With a performance like that, you'll be a shoe-in," Naminé said.
"I wouldn't go that far, Naminé," Riku said. "She just have to please the judges first."
"You wouldn't say that if it was me in Kairi's shoes, would you?" Naminé asked in a pouting tone. Riku winced as he heard his girlfriend say that. "I mean Sora supports his girlfriend, and you're saying you won't support me?"
"That's not what I'm saying at all!" Riku said in his defense. Sora and Kairi laughed at his predicament.
"You're in trouble, mister," Sora teased.
"Shut up!" Riku snapped at him. Eevee was also laughing. "Hey, whose side are you even on?!" Eevee stuck his tongue out at his partner. "Why do I feel alone?"
"Okay now, let's leave Riku alone and we can keep practicing," Kairi said. She turned to her Beautifly. "Okay Beautifly. Let's Try Silver Wind. You learned that one while we were on Dewford Island." Beautifly flapped her wings together and she kicked up Silver Wind pretty fast. "That's great! Now use Gust!" Beautifly flaps her wings and it created a tornado, combined with Gust and Silver Wind. Kairi then throws the frisbees into it. The frisbees go flying as Kairi has managed to catch them, one after another. The boy watching was impressed by the sight.
"Not too bad," the boy said, coming down Beautifly ceased her combo attack and went towards Kairi's arm as she holds it out like a falcon handler. He clapped his hands, cathing the attention of the group. "Not too bad. I wasn't expecting to have such a tough competition."
"Um, who are you exactly?" Kairi asked.
"If you must know, the name is Drew; a Pokémon Coordinator," Drew introduced. "And you are?"
"Kairi," Kairi introduced herself.
"Kairi," Drew simply said. "I'm looking forward to competing with you." Kairi knew she has earned herself a new rival. Sora had hoped Drew wouldn't get any ideas about making a move onto her.
They went back to the Pokémon Center to for a break when a trainer had approached Sora.
"Hey there! Your'e Sora Ketchum, aren't you?" The trainer asked.
"Um, yes," Sora answered. "Let me guess, you're here to battle me, right?"
"That's right! Let's make it a double battle! What do you say?" The trainer asked.
"Okay, I'm game. Just a little practice for my Gym battle," Sora said.
"Sweet!" The trainer exclaimed happily. The group went to the battlefield outside. Kairi sat with Riku, Naminé, Eevee, and Azurill. The trainer took out two Pokéballs and hurled them. "Let's do this! Vigoroth! Pelipper! Go!" The Pokéballs opens and Vigoroth and Pelipper enters the battlefield, ready for battle. Sora takes out two Pokéballs and he threw them both.
"Go for it, Treecko and Turtonator!" Sora called out. Treecko and Turtonator both entered the battlefield also ready for a battle. Treecko sticks his twig in his mouth.
"Vigoroth! Use Crush Claw on Turtonator! Pelipper! Use Seed Bomb on Treecko!" The trainer ordered. Vigoroth came at Turtonator and Pelipper fires a seed right at Treecko.
"Turtonator! Block Seed Bomb with your Flamethrower! Treecko! Use Quick Attack on Vigoroth!" Sora ordered. Turtonator fires Flamethrower and it reflects Seed Bomb, causing an explosion. Treecko lands a Quick Attack onto Vigoroth. "Treecko! Use Bullet Seed! Turtonator! Body Slam!" Treecko fires Bullet Seed and it pelts Pelipper and Turtonator comes down at Vigoroth, slamming his body onto the wild monkey Pokémon.
"No way! He's even better than I thought! Pelipper! Ice Beam on Treecko!" THe trainer ordered as Pelipper fires Ice Beam right at the wood gecko Pokémon.
"Dodge with Quick Attack!" Sora ordered. Treecko dashes across the battlefield with Ice Beam chasing after him. Turtonator gets off of Vigoroth. Treecko hops off of Vigortoh's head. The trainer gasped when he realized where it was heading.
"Vigoroth! Dodge it! Quick!" The trainer called out. Vigoroth avoids Pelipper's Ice Beam. "Watch the friendly fire, Pelipper. You almost froze Vigortoth." Pelipper looked over to Vigoroth with an apologetic look.
"Turtonator! Dragon Pulse! Treecko! Bullet Seed!" Sora ordered. Turtonator fired Dragon Pulse as Treecko fired Bullet Seed. Both attacks struck both of the opposing Pokémon and they both fell in exhaustion. Sora's opponent had clearly lost the battle.
"No way! You're even better than I thought," the trainer said. "No wonder you're the champ!"
"Thanks. You battled pretty hard," Sora said. They both shook hands.
"Thank you, Sora. I enjoyed our battle. Later," the trainer said, taking off. He froze in place and turned around. "Thanks again!" He continued to go on his way. They waved right at him.
With that battle settled, Kairi kept practicing her routine for the Pokémon Contest. Riku and Naminé were amazed by how skill Kairi was getting when training her Beautifly, but at the same time, Naminé was envious of her since she has such a beautiful Pokémon. Kairi got done practicing and went to make some PokéBlock for her Pokémon. Just leaving the boys.
"The both of you have improved so much since the last time I saw you," Riku said.
"Thanks Riku," Sora said.
"Just when did Kairi decide to become a Pokémon Coordinator?" Riku asked.
"It was on the way to Rustboro City. Kairi used her Ribombee to win it. She ended up battling a Coordinator named Janet and her Beautifly. There's another trainer named May who decided to go down that same path as her, becoming Kairi's rival," Sora explained.
"I see," Riku said.
"Also, there's something else I think you should know," Sora said.
"What?" Riku asked.
"There are some guys you should be on the look out for," Sora said.
"If you're talking about Team Rocket, you should know I can handle those losers without even trying," Riku stated.
"It's not them I'm talking about," Sora said. Riku became curious about what he was getting at.
"What?" Riku asked.
"There are these guys calling themselves Team Aqua and Team Magma. I know because Kairi and I had a run-in with them before. We saw them on Dewford Island not too long ago. You might be able to tell them apart from their uniforms," Sora said.
"I'll keep that in mind," Riku said. "Why are you telling me this right now?"
"I didn't want to ruin the mood for Kairi," Sora said.
"It's good that you shouldn't," Riku said. Just then, Pikachu and Eevee's perk up when they spotted two Electrike fighting. One of them has a dark blue coloring. "Electrike!"
"What could they be fighting about?" Sora asked.
"Probably over territory," Riku said. He turned to his friend and rival. "Should we each have one?" Sora turned to his friend and rival.
"Which one do you want?" Sora asked. Riku looked at the dark blue Electrike.
"I'll take that one right there," Riku said.
"Fine with me," Sora said. Both trainers turned to their respected partners. "Go get it, Pikachu."
"You move in, Eevee!" Riku said. "Quick Attack on that different colored one!"
Pikachu and Eevee moved in against the two Electrike. Eevee uses his Quick Attack on the dark blue Electrike as Sora deals with the green Electrike. The green Electrike comes at Pikachu with its fangs emitting electricity.
"Dodge and use Iron Tail!" Sora ordered. Pikachu avoids Electrike and swings at the lightning Pokémon. Electrike takes the hit.
"Eevee! Use Swift!" Riku ordered. Eevee fired Swift and it hits the dark blue Electrike hard. The dark blue Electrike comes at Eevee with its fngs emitting electricity as well. "Dig!" Eevee dug underground, avoiding the attack.
"Quick Attack!" Sora ordered. Pikachu dashes towards the green Electrike, so it dashes with its own Quick Attack as well. The green Electrike attacks with Shock Wave, hitting Pikachu on the spot.
The dark blue Electrike waited for Eevee to pop out at any moment, before he jumped out from behind.
"Use Shadow Ball!" Riku ordered. Eevee fires Shadow Ball and it struck the dark blue Electrike, before it had enough reaction time.
"Pikachu! Use Electro Ball!" Sora ordered. Pikachu forms a ball of electricity and hurls at the green Electrike and it struck the green Electrike on the spot the same way that Shadow Ball did the other one.
Both Electrike were weakened enough, so both Sora and Riku each took out a Pokéball and threw it at their selected targets. The Pokéballs wobbles around and around for a moment. Stars swirls around them and confrims the catch. Sora's Pokédex starts buzzing asking him if he wants to keep his new Electrike with him. He chose to keep it with him in exchange for Turtonator. They went to the Pokéballs containing their latest catch.
"Nice one, Sora," Riku said.
"Right back at you," Sora said.
"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu said.
"Eevee, vee!" Eevee said.
They both locked hands and grinned at one another.
"That was an entertaining display," a familiar voice called out to them. Sora and Riku turned to see Drew, holding a branch holding a blue-colored berry. "You two have caught yourselves an Electrike. You're not entering the contest, are you?"
"Me? No, I'm just supporting my girlfriend; the one in the pink dress," Sora said.
"Me neither. Contests aren't my thing," Riku said. Drew just smirked.
"I see now. You're afraid, aren't you?" Drew taunted. Sora then ended up laughing, confusing Drew. "W-What's so funny?"
"That's a good one. Me, afraid," Sora said, laughing. He kept laughing until he looked right at Drew, giving him a serious look. "Oh, you weren't kidding."
"Of course I wasn't kidding," Drew stated. He looked right at Riku. "What's wrong with him?"
"Nothing. And I'm with him, I thought it was a joke, too," Riku said. "And if you're trying to throw us off, you'll be disappointed to know, it won't work. I wouldn't turn down a challenge. Not even from a pretty boy like you."
"Is that a fact? Okay, how about I challenge you both into a battle, right here and now," Drew said, flipping his hair.
"Sure. Just don't end up regretting it," Riku said. He turned to his partner. "You still up for it, Eevee?"
"Vee!" Eevee nodded.
"I figured you would be," Riku said. "Let's make this one-on-one."
"I was going to suggest that anyway," Drew said, taking out a Pokéball. "Roselia! Go!" Out from the Pokéball is a small green Pokémon with three thorns on its head. and each of its hands bloom red and blue roses. It also wields a single-leaf with yellow stripe running down it, covering the torso, thigh, and partially the legs. Sora took out his Pokédex and scanned Drew's Pokémon
Roselia, the Thorn Pokémon
The evolved form of Budew
Type: Grass/Poison
Roselia shoots sharp thorns as projectiles at any opponent that tries to steal the flowers on its arms. The aroma of this Pokémon brings serenity to living things.
"So, that's what Budew evolves into," Sora said, putting his Pokédex away.
"You may have the first move," Drew said.
"Eevee! Shadow Ball!" Riku ordered. Eevee fires Shadow Ball right at the thorn Pokémon, but Drew didn't seem even worried.
"Roselia! Petal Dance!" Drew ordered. Roselia sends out a flurry of flower petals and it cancels out Eevee's Shadow Ball. "Now use Stun Spore!" Roselia sends out Stun Spore to paralyze the evolution Pokémon.
"Eevee! Dig!" Riku ordered. Eevee dug underground to avoid Stun Spore.
"You think you can run away? You'll never win that way. Roselia! Use Solar Beam in that hole!" Roselia got to the hole Eevee had dug into and began to build up energy to fire Solar Beam, but Riku just grinned.
"I don't run. I have where I wanted you, actually," Riku said. Drew was confused by what Riku had just said. "Swift!" Eevee fired Swift from underground and struck Roselia repeatedly, cancelling out Solar Beam. Eevee jumps out of the ground. "Use Quick Attack!" Eevee dashes towards Roselia, striking it hard. "Now use Shadow Ball!" Eevee fired another Shadow Ball, sending Roselia down to the ground. Drew was at a disbelief that he had just lost.
"How could I lose?" Drew asked in disbelief.
"Because you underestimated your opponents. That is a costly mistake," Riku stated. Eevee returned to his side. "Taking your opponents seriously is the one thing every trainer should consider or else you'd end up losing." Drew didn't say much and he calls back Roselia and heads back to the Pokémon Center to heal up Roselia. Sora didn't say much.
Over to the girls, Kairi had successfully made some PokéBlock for her Pokémon. Each one was specific for each one of her Pokémon.
"I have got to hand it to you, Kairi, anything you make just tastes good, and they seem to agree," Naminé said.
"Azu, Azu, Azu!" Azurill chirped.
"Thanks. I just followed the instructions carefully," Kairi said. She hands some of her PokéBlock to Azurill to try. "Here Azurill. Have some." Azurill takes a bite of the PokéBlocks and she instantly liked them.
"Is that good, Azurill?" Naminé asked.
"Azu!" Azurill chirped. Naminé giggled to her little Pokémon cute sounds and cooed her.
"Oh, you're ever so adorable, Azurill!" Naminé cooed. Kairi smiled as she remembered when she used to cuddle Togetic before evolving. She wondering how he was doing.
Back to the boys, Sora kept training for his upcoming Gym battle. He wanted to stay on his toes and be ready for anything. Just when he was training a large Zigzagoon came along and went to Sora's backpack, curious about what's inside. Pikachu's ears perked up and saw what the tiny raccoon Pokémon was up to.
"Pika!" Pikachu said, pointing to Zigzaggoon. Sora turned to see the thief rummaging through.
"Hey! Get out of there!" Sora called out. "Pikachu! Quick Attack!" Pikachu used Quick Attack on the large Zigzaggoon and landed a hit on it. "Now use Thunderbolt!" Pikachu shocked the Zigzagoon. Sora takes out a Pokéball and throws it at the thieving Pokémon and it flows inside. The Pokéball wobbles around for a moment before stars swirls around it to confirm the catch. Sora's Pokédex starts buzzing asking him if he wants to keep Zigzagoon with him. He chose to send Zigzagoon to Professor Oak's lab. "There. That is that."
"It was your own fault for leaving your stuff unguarded, Sora," Riku stated. Sora chuckled nervously since he knew he was right.
"Yeah, probably," Sora said, nervously. "But it was Pikachu who noticed right away."
"Pika, Pika," Pikachu said
"Just be more careful next time," Riku said. Sora didn't say much as Riku just laughed at his expense.
Night came as the boys rejoined their girlfriends for the fireworks show going on that night. Drew and his Roselia was watching the show from a different spot. Sora wrapped his arms around Kairi's shoulders as they watched the show. The fireworks displayed were Pikachu, Pichu, Mudkip, Torchic, and Treecko. They were amazed by the beauty of the fireworks.
"So beautiful," Kairi said.
"Sure are," Sora agreed.
"We're pretty lucky to catch it tonight. And it was a good thing we bumped into the both of you or else we couldn't have caught it," Riku said.
"Eevee!" Eevee said.
"He's right. I'm just happy to see the both of you again," Naminé said.
"Azurill!" Azurill said.
"So are we," Kairi said.
"We wouldn't have noticed you either if it weren't for Pikachu and Eevee bumping into each other," Sora said.
Riku smiled at that. The four friends and three Pokémon enjoyed the fireworks show going on. The Slateport Pokémon Contest was just a couple of weeks away and she would have been nervous if she didn't have Sora's support. Will Kairi earn her second ribbon to enter the Grand Festival? We'll have to wait and see the next time. Until then.