Episode 232: Pros and Con Artists
It was a good morning in Fallarbor Town and Kairi was training hard for the Pokémon Contest being held there. Her Togedemaru practiced hard with his Gyro Ball and Discharge combo.
"That's it, Togedemaru! Keep it up!" Kairi said. Togedemaru did keep up with the Gyro Ball and Discharge combo and it was even more dazzling than the last time. "That was great!" She went to her Togedemaru and picked him up. "You're really doing great!"
"Maru, Maru, Maru!" Togedemaru said.
"Now, let's go check on Sora and see how he's doing with his training," Kairi said, heading back to the Pokémon Center. Over to Sora, he was challenged into a double battle. He was up against a a man wearing a brown sleeveless vest and a black hat along with a pair of brown boots.
"My next opponent is some scrawny kid?" The man laughed. "Why don't you go on home to mommy before you hurt yourself, little boy?"
"If you're trying to scare me off, you'll find it won't work, dude. Also, I'm more skillful than you think," Sora said.
"I seriously doubt that, kid," the man said.
It didn't take long before a crowd started to gather. Some of the patrons recognized Sora and they were anxious to see what kind of battle he was going to show them.
"Hey, isn't that Sora Ketchum over there?" One of the trainers asked.
"It is! And he's challlenging Hunter McCloud into a battle!" Another trainer stated.
Coming through the crowd, it was Drew who came through the crowd.
"What's going on?" Drew asked.
"Hunter McCloud is is about to battle the Pokémon League Champian into a battle!" The trainer told him. Drew was curious to see who he was talking about, only to find it was Sora.
"No way! Isn't that Kairi's boyfriend?" Drew exclaied in his thoughts. Hunter and Sora each took out two Pokéballs.
"Your time to shine, Fearow and Dodrio!" Hunter called out as he threw them. His Fearow and Dodrio both come out with a fiersome expression. Sora threw his.
"Go! Zangoose and Seviper!" Sora called out as his Zangoose and Seviper both had come out to battle. All of the patrons couldn't believe what they were seeing. A Zangoose and a Seviper sharing the same trainer. This didn't phase Hunter one bit.
"Fearow! Dodrio! Drill Peck!" Hunter ordered. Fearow and Dodrio came at their opponents while spinning their bodies like drills.
"Seviper! Zangoose! Dodge!" Sora called out. Seviper and Zangoose avoided the bird Pokémon's attacks. "Zangoose! Use Slash on Fearow! Seviper! Use Poison Tail on Dodrio!" Zangoose slashes right into Fearow and Seviper and smacks Dodrio with his bladed tail emitting poison. Dodrio ends up being poisoned by Seviper's attack.
"Fearow! Steel Wing! Dodrio! Jump Kick!" Hunter ordered. Fearow comes at Seviper with Steel Wing and Dodrio comes down to land a kick onto Zangoose.
"Seviper! Sludge Bomb!" Sora ordered. Seviper fired Sludge Bomb and it struck both bird Pokémon hard. "Zangoose! Use Night Slash!" Zangoose swipes at Dodrio with his claw emitting a dark aura.
"Fearow! Dodrio! Drill Peck!" Hunter ordered. Fearow and Dodrio both came at the unlikely duo again with their bodies spinning around like drills.
"Dodge!" Sora called out. Both Zangoose and Seviper dodges their attacks. "Zangoose! Seviper! Night Slash!" Zangoose and Seviper both swipes at both Fearow and Dodrio with their Night Slash and the both of them. They were both taken down. The crowd cheered as Sora had won.
"I don't believe it! I lost to some little kid!" Hunter exclaimed. Sora went to his Zangoose and Seviper, feeling proud of the both of them.
"Good work, you guys! You both did great!" Sora said. Seviper wrapped his body around Sora as Zangoose hugged him as well. Drew was amazed by his battling skills and he remembered he never had his battle with Sora back in Slateport City before the contest. He calls back his two Pokémon into their Pokéballs. Just when he was about to get back inside the Pokémon Center to rest Seviper and Zangoose he numped right into Drew. "I know you. Drew wasn't it?"
"Gotta hand it to you, that was an impressive battle. No wonder they called you a Pokémon League Champion. I didn't even know about that until I saw you battling," Drew said.
"So, what's up?" Sora asked.
"Just I thought I challenge you into a battle; one-on-one," Drew challenged. Everyone was getting excited to another upcoming battle. "What do you say, Sora? You in?" Sora was skeptical about challenging him.
"Okay, what's the catch? It's not because my girlfriend beat you the last time, is it?" Sora asked.
"No. Just collecting on my promise, after I did prmise you that after I lost to the trainer with the Eevee," Drew said.
"Okay, I can accept that," Sora said. Both Sora and Drew were going to get ready for their battle.
Meanwhile over to Team Rocket, Jessie and James were still feeling awkward about their physical relationship from last night and Meowth was looking at them really funny.
"I know something happened last night. I can feel it in my bones," Meowth said to himself.
"Wobbufett," the patient Pokémon concurred.
"You don't think something happened last night?" Meowth asked.
"Wobbu," Wobbufett shrugged his shoulders.
"Yeah, you're probably right. It's not worth thinking about, not now anyway," Meowth said.
Kairi was heading back for the Pokémon Center when she spotted some familiar faces. Walking down were Tai, Kari, Matt, TK, Sara, Izzy, Mimi, Joe, Davis, Ken, Yolei, and Cody. Kairi's face lit up when she saw them.
"Guys!" Kairi called out. The group to see the familiar girl.
"Kairi!" Kari called out. She and the others all approached her. "It's been a while!"
"It feels like it's been ages," Kairi said.
"What brings you to Fallarbor Town?" Joe asked.
"Just practicing for a Pokémon Contest being held here," Kairi said. Tai and the others were all stunned to hear it coming from her.
"You mean, you're actually participating in a Pokémon Contest?" Sara asked.
"I think Sora and I will explain when we get there. I was on my way there when I bumped into you," Kairi said. Tai and the others began to go with her.
Back to the Pokémon Center, Sora has chosen his Torchic as Drew has chosen Roselia.
"Roselia! Begin with Magical Leaf!" Drew ordered. Roselia began with Magical Leaf and it struck Torchic hard. "Now use Stun Spore!" Roselia lets out Stun Spore to paralyze the chick Pokémon.
"Torchic! Dodge with Quick Attak!" Sora ordered. Torchi avoids Stun Spore using his speed attack. "Now use Flae Charge!" Torchic charges towards Roselia with his body surrounded by flames and struck the thorn Pokémon.
"Not bad, Sora. But not good enough. Roselia! Petal Dance!" Drew ordered. Roselia fires a barrage of flower petals from its roses.
"Torchic! Flame Charge again!" Sora ordered. Torchic charges towards Roselia and struck it again. "Now use Peck!" Torchic pecks Roselia a few times. Drew was even more impressed by his battling skills.
As the battle raged on, Kairi, Tai, Kari, and the others have finally arrived to the Pokémon Center and they came just in time as the battle between Sora and Drew went on.
"Roselia! Solar Beam!" Drew ordered. Roselia began to absorb sunlight to build up energy to fire Solar Beam. Sora knew how powerful it was gonna be when it is fired. Roselia fired Solar Beam once it has built up enough energy. The beam of energy struck the ground, creating some some. Drew was confident that he had won, but he was stunned to see his opponent's Torchic was still standing, or should I say running as Torchic used the smoke as a cover to make a run.
"Flame Charge!" Sora ordered. Torchic rammed right into Roselia, earning a knockout. Drewe was stunned that he had lost to Sora like he lost to Kairi and Riku. Many of the spectators all cheered for Sora as he had won.
"What can be expected from the Pokémon League Champion of Kanto and Johto?" One of the spectators asked. Drew called back his Roselia and he shook it off like it was nothing.
"Champion or not, you got lucky," Drew scoffed as he walked off inside to have his Roselia healed. Sora decided to take a break and he called back his Torchic. He spotted his girlfriend and a familiar group.
"Enjoyed the show, guys?" Sora asked.
"I can see you haven't lost your touch, Ketchum," Tai said.
"Where are Lillie, Illima, and all the others?" Matt asked.
"Aren't they usually with you guys?" Davis asked.
"About that," Sora said.
The couple exlplained to their friends that most of the Alolan nine went back to be Gym Leaders for Alola while Lillie has become a lab assistant along with two other research fellows for Professor Kukui's colleague.
"So that's it," Ken said.
"At least we know they'll be doing okay without you two holding them back," Yolei said.
"And since you brought up missing persons, where's Jun?" Sora asked. Davis snickered when he brought up his sister.
"And about that," Davis said.
They all explained to the couple that Jun had gone back home when Matt has chosen Mimi over her; and earning a slap on the face in the process. They were stunned to hear that he and Mimi were now a couple. The same can be said about Tai and Sara, TK and Kari, also for Ken and Yolei. Izzy, Joe, Davis, and Cody were all still single.
"Pika," Pikachu said.
"So, I guess you can say Matt is no longer up for grabs," Mimi said.
"Though Jun didn't take it so well; Davis took it even better when she chose TK over him," Matt said, earning him a glare. "Glare at me all you want, just stating a fact."
"So, what's new with you two, besides the Torchic Sora has?" TK asked.
"After we saw Lillie and the others off to the airport, we met Professor Birch who was visiting Professor Oak and decided to come along with him into the Hoenn region," Sora explained.
"Sora and I left all of our other Pokémon at home except for Pikachu and the baby Pokémon that hatched from the eggs we got from Illima, Hapu, Mina, and Sophocles," Kairi said.
"And since Kairi is entering the Pokémon Contest here, how many ribbons did she win?" Izzy asked.
"She won two. And I already have three Gym Badges," Sora said as he and Kairi had shown them the Badges and Ribbons they won. "We decided to make a stop here in Fallarbor Town before we hit Lavaridge Town."
"Have you bumped into Riku and Naminé at all?" Cody asked.
"We met up with them by accident when we were in Slateport City," Kairi said.
"Looks like you're already on your way," Joe said.
"And I don't doubt you have caught some Pokémon here while you were at it," Izzy said.
"Other than Torchic, you would be right," Sora said.
"Which Pokémon are you going to enter in the contest?" Ken asked. Kairi ook out a Pokéball to show them.
"I think I'll show you," Kairi said as she threw it. "Come on out, Togedemaru!" The Pokéball opens and Togedemaru comes out. Tai, Kari, and their friends were stunned by the sight and size of this Pokémon.
"Doesn't Sophocles have one of those?" Davis asked.
"He does, but this one is much bigger than Sophocles's Togedemaru," Cody said.
"Never thought I would see one here of all places," Izzy said.
"You'd be surprised," Sora said.
Just then, Nancy along with Yuuko, Satoe, and Toshiko all came in and spotted their kids, along with the familiar couple.
"Matt, TK," Nancy said.
"Tai, Kari," Yuuko said.
"Sara," Toshiko said.
"Mimi," Satoe said.
They all turned to see the mothers in the same Pokémon Center.
"Mom," Tai, Kari, Matt, TK, Sara, and Mimi said.
Sora and Kairi definitely knew them since seeing them back at the Johto Pokémon League a while back and how they acquainted with their families.
"If it isn't Sora and Kairi," Yuuko recognized. "Fancy running into you two here. And not your other friends."
"Their friends have all gone back home to be Gym Leaders," TK said.
"While Lillie is working as a research assistant," Kari added.
"So, it's just the two of us," Sora said.
"Pi," Pikachu deadpanned.
"Three when you count Pikachu," Sora said. Pikachu beamed. "Anyway, what brings you ladies here?"
"Just thought we all come with Nancy as guests since she used to be a Pokémon Coordinator," Yuuko said. Sora and Kairi were completely caught off guard by that statement.
"Really?!" Sora exclaimed.
"I didn't know that!" Kairi said.
"Pika," Pikachu said.
"Demaru," Togedemaru said.
"Believe it or not, it's true. That was how she and our dad first met. Her Ninetales was a Vulpix at the time. She was a top Coordinator in the day," Matt said. Nancy took out a photo that shows when she was younger holding out a ribbon she had just won along with her Vulpix.
"So, I figured I come out of retirement and give it my best shot, and give these gals here a real show," Nancy said.
"Kae would have gone with us, but she had to visit her mother for their wedding anniversary. Oh, and Izzy, they received your present," Yuuko said. Izzy was happy to know his mom is doing well. Kairi knew she was going to have some serious competition other than Drew.
Over to Team Rocket, they went on with their latest operation. They concocted some PokéBlock that appears to be gold and silver.
"This time, it's bound to work," Jessie said.
"I sure hope so, Jess. That fiasco the last time was a real downer," James said.
"It will work. As long as we don't run into the twerps, it'll be fine. Besides, what we need is someone who is actually dumb enough to fall for our scam," Jessie said. As luck would have it, a man wearing a green shirt walks by. "And he looks clueless enough." Meowth got to work to put on his diguise as did Jessie and James. "Hey, you. Man in green."
"You wanna start winning all the contests?" James asked. The man stopped in his tracks.
"What are you selling?" The man asked.
"Glad you asked! What we got here will make you a Pokémon hero! Dames and drinks with little umbrellas in them!" Jessie said.
"It's ture! Use our secret product and pretty soon, you'll win so many ribbons, you will move into much bigger house!" James said.
"What is this secret product?!" The man asked, all interested.
"Well, perhaps you should take a little peek," Jessie said.
"Satisfaction guaranteed! I'll return it no questions asked!" James said. Jessie and James gestures the man to the alley.
"This way to Dr. Crock's PokéBlock Shop!" Jessie said.
"Where honesty is our middle name!" James said as he and Jessie shared a laugh.
"Man, running into you guys is a lucky break!" The man said.
"Yeah! You've got a customer, Doc!" Jessie and James said. The man walked towards Meowth, in a diguise as a doctor, wearing a fake mustace and beard.
"Welcome. You wanna win Pokémon Contests, don't you?" Meowth asked, holding up a magnifying glass.
"Yes, I supposed," the man said.
"Then, do you swear to secrecy and tell no one about what I'm about to say to ya?" Meowth asked. The man nodded, promising to keep his mouth shut. "Every Contest Judge requires, cuteness, cleverness, confidence, classiness, and of course courage! They're called the Five Cs and everything is known about them, and there are two more that the judges don't want you to know." The man became curious about those other two. "Two other qualities the judges seek that makes the difference between victory and defeat! And I'm about to identify their identity."
"Please, tell me! I just have to know what they are!" The man said, wanting to know.
"Coolness and charismatic-tism!" Meowth said, confusing the man completely, since he didn't know what he meant. Coolness and charismatic-ism is key ingredient to winning ribbons!"
"Is that what it takes?" The man asked.
"And there's more!" James called oout from behind. He turned to see the Team Rocket members wearing suits, making them look like they work in some huge company. Cacnea and Wobbufett are out of their Pokéballs. "Tell him how it works, Doc!"
"Tell him how your wonderful PokéBlocks turned my Wobbufett into a winner!" Jessie said.
"There, you see? Two satisfied customers! See?" Meowth asked. "Have a look at what they are talking about and you will be amazed beyond belief." Meowth shows them the gold and silver PokéBlocks. "What we have here are PokéBlock Gold and PokéBlock Silver! Feeding your Pokémon a gold block will make it instantly cool! Side-effects may include uncontrollable burping. Increasing charismatic-tism requires a silver block! And those side-effects may include enlarged lips. Now, won't the lady with the Wobbufett please open up its mouth?" Jessie does so as Wobbufett was reluctant to do so, but it was for the sake of the scam. Meowth tosses the gold PokéBlock into the patient Pokémon's mouth and he swallows it. "Hey, what's that over there?" The man looked and Jessie quickly placed a trenchcoat, a fedora, and a pipe to make him look cool. "Lookie here, my boy! Is that Humphrey Bogart over there?!" The man turned to see Wobbufett looking so cool.
"Wobbufett," Wobbufett said in a deep voice.
"Wow! Look at you! I'll pay whatever it costs!" The man exclaimed.
"You got it!" Meowth said. The man payed for the purchase and ran out like a mad man.
"First place ribbon, here I come!" The man yelled. Team Rocket snickered.
"That was fun," Jessie said.
"Sure was," James agreed.
"You think he'd be mad if we told him that these were just ordinary PokéBlocks?" Jessie asked.
"With a customed paint job?" James added.
"Let' just hope the rest of the Pokémon Coordinators were half as gullible as that one was," Jessie said.
"And we would be rolling in doe!" James said. He then said in his thoughts, "Just like when we rolled in the hay last night. Wait a minute! Jessie and I agreed not to bring it up! But, she didn't say I couldn't think about it. I better stop thinking about it just to play it safe." James was starting to sweat. Meowth noticed him sweating.
"Hey, James, what's up with you? You're not getting sick are you?" Meowth asked.
"It's nothing," James said. He looked over to Jessie and she shrugged it off. "But, who cares, since the boss will be happy that we will bring back some money and some Pokémon to boot!"
"Yeah!" Jessie and Meowth both cheered.
"Wobbufett," Wobbufett said, still using the deep voice.
Back to the Pokémon Center, Nancy had her Ninetales out and she had it perform Fire Spin and it spiraled upwards.
"That's great, now use Extrasensory!" Nancy ordered. The fox Pokémon controls it and creates a star, and then makes it into a firework. "Still got it."
"Never doubted yu for a second," Yuuko said.
"Kae should be here and see you perform," Toshiko said.
"Not to mention, your ex-husband," Satoe said.
"If only," Nany said as she remembered her Coordinator days.
It was years ago as a young Hiroaki had taken his seat to witness the Pokémon Contest.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen! Let's give it up for contestant number 15! Nancy!" The master of ceremonies announced. The young Nancy had entered the stage with a Pokéball in hand.
"Take the stage, Vulpix!" Nancy called out as her Vulpix had entered the stage in style. "Begin with Fire Spin!" Vulpix fires Fire Spin stright up into the air. "Now use Extrasensory!" Vulpix uses its Psychic Type attack to control the Fire Type attack and created all sorts of shapes with it. The Fire Type attack then exploded into a huge firework, wowing everyone.Hiroaki was astounded by what he was seeing, but it wasn't the Pokémon he was interested in; it was the Coordinator herself.
"Now, that was quite a performance! Let's hear what our judges has to say about it!" The master of ceremonies said.
"That is quite a unique use of Fire and Psychic Type moves," the first judge said.
"Just witnessing it brought some old memoeries from my youth!" The second judge said.
"A dazzling and passionate performance!" The third judge said.
We fast forward to where she won her ribbon.
"Congratulations to our winner, Nancy!" The master of ceremonies announced.
It didn't take long after for the two of them to meet and that was only the beginning.
We come back to the present as Nancy was happy to remember that day.
On the very next morning, Team Rocket carried on with their scam as customers all lined up.
"Step right up and imagine if you will when a Pokémon eats this PokéBlock," Jessie said.
"Its increased coolness and charismatic-tism then increases immediately!" Meowth said.
"Wobbufett," Wobbufett said.
James comes strolling down the streets in drag as his Cacnea follows from behind.
"Man, how cool is that?" One boy asked.
"This PokéBlock must be incredible!" One girl said.
Before long, they all started to demand for the gold and silver PokéBlocks. Kairi was walking by when she spotted Team Rocket's booth. She instantly knew it was them since she saw Jessie, judging by her hairstyle along with Meowth in that poor disguise and Wobbufett in a trenchcoat.
"What are they up to now?" Kairi asked. She went up to one of the customers from behind. "Excuse me, but what are they selling?"
"Miracle PokéBlock Gold and Silver! That stuff works wonders!" The man explained.
"Miracle PokéBlock? Sora is going to have himself a laughing fit hen he hears this," Kairi said. Just then, Nancy had come up to see what the commotion was about. Meowth winced when he saw Kairi in the crowd.
"Oh crap! The twerpette!" Meowth exclaimed. Jessie also winced.
"You're right!" Jessie said.
"Team, remain calm," James said. Kairi walked up to examine the PokéBlock. She pretended to be interested in it.
"Very impressive coloring. I never seen PokéBlock like this before. Just what kind of berrie did you use for this?" Kairi asked. Team Rocket's faces all turned chalk white.
"Good question," Meowth said.
"So, answer her already," Jessie said.
"Berries were involved?" Meowth asked.
"You don't know what kind of berries you used to make this stuff?" Kairi asked. She turned to the crowd. "Why would any of you give your Pokémon some PokéBlock without knowing what's in it?"
"She is right," Nancy agreed. "I used to be a Pokémon Coordinator and I always made my own PokéBlock and I did it without relying on short cuts and some magical PokéBlock to make my Pokémon tough, beautiful, or confident."
Now the crowd felt foolish since they were almost duped by Team Rocket out of their money. They didn't feel like real Coordinators since they now realized they didn't want to win that way.
"The jig is up, Team Rocket!" Kairi said. They inflate their hot air balloon and take to the sky.
"How did you even know it was us?!" James exclaimed.
"You should by now how we aren't fooled by you three!" Kairi said. She took out her Pokéballs and tosses them. "Go! Stufful! Togedemaru!" The Pokéballs opens and out comes her two Pokémon.
"It looks like we'll be stealing and running!" James said, turning on some grapple hands. Nancy joins in the fray.
"Go! Ninetales!" Nancy called out as she threw her Pokéball and her Ninetales joins in.
"Stufful! Focus Blast! Togedemaru! Gyro Ball!" Kairi ordered. Stufful forms up a ball of energy as Toedemaru spins around. They destroy the grapple hands.
"Ninetales! Use Fire Blast!" Nancy ordered. The fox Pokémon unleashed a powerful Fire Blast and it strikes the balloon, making an explosion.
"WE"RE BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" Team Rocket shouted as they went flying.
"Too bad Sora had to miss it, because he would love that," Kairi said. She turned to Nancy. "Thanks for the assist."
"No problem. You're even more impressive than I remember. I know I'll be in for some serious competition," Nancy said.
"I was thinking the same about you," Kairi said. They promied each other a good Contest battle when it comes down to the two of them. Kairi went back to the Pokémon Center and she told him about what happened.
"What? You beat Team Rocket and didn't have me along?" Sora asked.
"I'm sorry, Sora. It was beyond my control," Kairi said.
"Well, as long as they're out of our hair, then it's okay," Sora said.
On the very next day, it was the day of the Fallarbor Pokémon Contest. Sora sat along with Tai, Kari, their friends, and the other mothers as Kairi, Nancy, Drew, and the other participants all have entered the stage. Kairi has some serious competition ahead of her, so let's see how well she does against these toughies. May the best trainer win.