Lucky Strike
The tenth graders start to board the new state-of-the-art buses for the trip to Professor Pine's lab. "I can't wait to play with some Pokemon," Herve said. "I'll doubt it," Nicholas said. "Ms. Hertz said that we will be in the workroom all day." "I don't think so," Sissi said. "I heard a student intern there, and he is our age." Aelita rolls her eyes. "It is going to be a long day," she said. "With XANA regaining its strength, let's hope it doesn't pull anything," Jeremy said. As the students take their seats, Odd pulls Dawn aside. "Hey, we never talked about last year," Odd starts. "I think we should table it until after the trip," Dawn said as she sat next to Allison. Odd tries to get up, but Samantha sits next to him."Are you ready? We can be 'study buddies.'" "I thought you were playing hard to get." "I am, but as two of the students have no idea what the fuck is going on, we should stick together." Odd gulps as he notices Dawn rolling her eyes. "And besides," she continues. "I don't trust anyone else, and you have to regain my trust." "Excuse me. It is the other way around," Odd states. Samantha gets up and walks to the back as Ulrich sits down. "Trouble in paradise?" Ulrich teases. Meanwhile, Brock and Ash plan the day. "If we go to section B for about twenty minutes, we can get the assignment done and have the rest of the day to explore," Brock said. "But what about G.I Joe Jim? He will be on the prowl," Ash said. "Leave that to me." Once the bus starts to move, the driver notices purple static on the steering wheel. "It must be the new hydro pump feature," the driver says gleefully. Jeremy falls asleep as the gentle breeze from the window blows on his face. The driver notices something else."The new company symbol is glowing again." Aelita senses something. "I think I feel XANA's presence," she said. "Well, XANA taking over a bus is nothing new. So we need to watch our back," Ulrich said. The bus drives faster and faster as students scream. "We're going to crash!" Sissi shrieks. Jeremy opens his eyes as he sees the Eye of XANA on the driver's panel. "XANA!" Jeremy cries as everything goes black.
At the academy, William finishes his homework as he feels something strange. "It feels like pulsations, but they are weak." He notices that there is a step team a few feet away. "Maybe it is nothing." Yumi joins him. "Hey, do you want to grab a hot chocolate before class?" "Sure. I'll bet our friends are having a great time with Professor Pine." Jeremy walks up and sees the bus has arrived at the lab. "That's what I call supersonic speed," Odd said. The students see all of the plants, wildlife, and high glass ceilings. "Welcome to the lab," Professor Pine said. He looks around and scans the group of students. "Well, let's get the tour started." Jeremy looks uneasy as Aelita squeezes his hand. "Maybe it was a dream?" "Maybe?" As the pair walks off, Professor looks at them. "I'll keep an eye on them." The students noticed that there were only grass types around in the lab. "Here at my lab, I study grass-type Pokemon. Both singular and dual types." "I see a Belsprout," Moxie said. "I see a Rillaboom," Ulrich said. "There is every grass type here," Ash said. He notices that a Grookey is angry. "I remember when Goh's Grookey was angry, it was bored." "Is there something wrong?" Professor Pine asks. "What is going on with Grookey?" Ash asks, "Grookey is normally like that. It is in their nature." "I don't think so." "Trust me. I'm the adult and expert," Professor Pine said as he walked away. "Did he say that Grookey is meant to be angry?" Allison asks. "Yeah. That is some bull shit." "I know, my friend Mari has a Rillaboom, and when it was a Grookey, it was the happiest Pokemon in the world." "I know. There could be one exception, but he said all Grookey. That is not right." Meanwhile, Dawn notices that a Ludicolo is crying. "Are you sad?" Dawn asks. Ludicolo growls at Dawn, and Brock pulls her back. "Stay back, I met another one, and it used Water Gun on Steve." Ludicolos are not angry by nature." "I know, Professor Pine told me the opposite, but I didn't believe it." Dawn thinks, "I think Jeremy was right; XANA launched an attack." Meanwhile, Allison observes a Seedot who is attached to the ground. "Seedot like trees that are not dry." "Correct. However, we have a drought," Professor Pine said. "I'm sorry. I can see that water is flowing but is it not enough for the trees?" "No. But Seedot likes the ground because of the wizened ground." "That means the ground is dry. Seedot doesn't like that." Professor Pine approaches Allison. "Listen, little girl, who is the expert, me. Not you and your little ex-trainer friends." "I'm sorry, but something doesn't add up." Allison steps back as Professor Pine grans her arm, and students surround them. "What is going on?" Jim asks. "This little girl and her friends are smart asses," Professor Pine said. Allison looks to the side and sees that it is a long way down. "Can you let me go?" "Why?" Professor Pine asks in a deep voice. Allison looks into his eyes and sees the Eye of XANA. "Just my fucking luck this week!" "Ms. Jones, language!" Ms. Hertz yells as Professor Pine pulls Allison towards himself. "Let her go!" Jim shouts. Professor Pine strikes him. "XANA!" Odd yells as Professor throws Allison off the edge. Ash tries to use his telekinesis powers, but Ulrich "sprints" over and catches Allison. "Thanks," she said. "No problem," Ulrich said as he realized that he "super sprinted" like Lyoko. Professor Pine shocks the whole lab, and sparks start to fly. Odd tries to open the door and notices something. "The outside is white, like the edge of a computer game." "That's it!" Jeremy states. "The dream wasn't a dream. XANA trapped us in an Earth simulation bubble." "And no one is leaving!" Professpr Pine shouts.
William feels pulsations during class. "XANA?" Yumi whispers. "Yeah. But it is not close by." "The lab." "The factory?" "No. Professor Pine's lab." William thinks about it. "We need to reach them." "Who?" shouts the music teacher. "We need to reach our audience with music," William said. "I see, and how do we do that?" "By being in sync with our instruments." "And?" "Playing attention." "Bingo!" The class laughs. After class, Yumi calls Aelita. "Yumi! We are trapped in a simulation bubble!" Aelita cries. "On Lyoko?" Yumi asks. "No. On Earth!" "Earth?" "XANA has gotten stronger," William said. "Aelita? Aelita?" Yumi calls out. Professor Pine cracks all the phones and sets off sparks, striking a couple of students. Odd takes shelter in a room with Dawn and Samantha. "What is going on?" Samantha asks. "Professor Pine is possessed," Dawn said. "Like by a Pokemon?" "Yeah. We need to get out of this lab," Odd said. "All of the windows are shut," Samantha said. At the same time, Aelita and Brock are gathering students. "We will shoot water at him, then when water gets on the Roserade, it will use Sleep Powder to put him to sleep," Brock said. When Professor Pine gets to the group, he clogs up the hoses and commands the Roserade to use Stun Spore. The group dodges it. 'We need a new plan," Alice said. Jeremy tries to find a way to break from the simulation bubble when the videophone rings. "Don't answer it," Ash said. "Yeah, it might be a trap by XANA," Jeremy agreed. Ash knocks on the phone with a stick. "Jeremy?" William asks. "William?" Jeremy asks back. "This is not a trick. I am calling from the factory. Yumi and I are worried." "Aelita said that you are all trapped in a bubble," Yumi said. "Yeah, we need a way out," Jeremy said. William searches the Supercomputer for answers. "It says to use Digital Powers." "Well, we're on Earth." "Maybe someone could force themselves out. But it will be one at a time." "Okay, well, since you and Yumi are there, you two can go to Lyoko, and we will try to get someone out." William nods and starts a self virtualization process in the Ice Sector. "Let's go," Yumi said. Ash and Allison try to break the doors. "We need a plan," Allison said. Ash looks outside and sees shadows of people. "People are on the other side of the bubble. We need to reach them." "Okay, we need some backup." They split up. Odd tries to break the window, but it bounces. "Ouch," Odd said. "Are you okay?" Samantha asks. "Yeah. We need something stronger." Odd finds a cinder block and throws it at the window. The window is going to break, but XANA's bubbles make it stronger and throw the block back. Samantha is in the line of fire, and Dawn quickly pushes her, similar to her fast "super reflexes" on Lyoko. Odd is in awe about what he saw; then he remembers Samantha. "Are you okay?" "Yeah. Dawn, you are fast," Samantha said. "Thanks," Dawn said as she gave Odd an edgy look. Samantha gets up to get some air. As she leaves, Odd talks to Dawn. "What was that?" "I don't know. It was like I was on Lyoko, but we're not, right?" "Right. But that was cool. It was like this sixth sense kicked in." "And I had this power that awakened from inside." "Right. It was amazing, like," Odd starts. "Like?" Dawn asks. Before Odd can finish, Ash bursts throw the door.
On Lyoko, Will had the Over bike and the Overwing in place as Bloks came towards the duo. "XANA, you have out down yourself," Yumi said. "But we are still going to beat you," William said. Yumi uses her fans to cut a Blok in half as William uses his Zweihänder to slice two Bloks in half. Yumi jumps and cuts two more Bloks. Moments later, it snows. "Blizzard!" William shouts. The snow-covered the sector and relocated the tower to the other side of the sector. "No way!" Yumi said. "We need back up," William said. "Stop!" Yumi yells. William stops and looks down. "Fuck! That was close!" At the lab, Ash sees Dawn and Odd having an intimate moment. "Is everything okay?" "Yeah," Odd said. "Yeah. Any luck on an escape plan?" Dawn asks. "We think so, but not all of us can go." "I'll stay," Dawn said. "We need to help our classmates." "Okay, I'll go," Odd said. Ash J moves some students to a back room. "I think these two students will not make it," Ash J said. "Let me see," Laura said. She checks their pulses. "Well, if they hurry, they can make it," Laura said. "Who the police?" "Yeah." Laura smiles. "Let's see if the Warriors can do their job." Laura picks up a lab picture and places it in her pocket. Brock and Aelita meet up with Jeremy, Dawn, and Ulrich. "Where are the others?" Aelita asks. "Ash thinks he found a way, but we have to stay and minimize the damage," Dawn said. "Right!" Professor Pine said. He charges up and throws static at the group, and they fall over the edge into the Pokemon Sanctuary. and meet a group of angry Abamasnow. At the entrance, Ash breaks the doorknob and pries open the door, and he tries to walk out as Allison and Odd push him out. A force is pushing him back, but Allison and Odd keep on pushing him. Ash sees one of the shadows and grabs it, and himself, Allison, and Odd are pulled back into reality. "Whoa!" Ash said. "Are you kids okay?" A woman asks. "Yes. Sorry and thank you," Allison said. "You saved our lives,' Odd said as they ran towards the factory. "Okay, they fell from an empty field," the woman said. Once at the factory, Odd speaks to William and Yumi. "Are you okay?" "Yeah. There is a blizzard, and we have to go back to where we started," Yumi said. "Why?" "Becasue XANA moved the tower." "Like teleported it?" "Like yeah. What a shitty movie!" "Okay, I will walk you through this," William started. "No need; we know how to virtualize ourselves," Odd said. "You do?" "Yeah, a few months ago, Jeremy gave a crash course on the Supercomputer," Allison said. "Plus, when Jeremy was out of commission, we had to manhandle the Supercomputer," Ash said. "Yeah, when he was on bed rest," William said. The other four Warriors stopped and realized that William did not know the whole truth. "Yeah, out of commission," Yumi said. Odd starts the process and sends the trio right in the middle of the Blizzard. "Blok!" Ash yells. Allison puts up her force shield. "Okay, I have a plan," Odd said. Odd climb on some rocks and sees that the sky is cleared. "It is clear up here." "Where is the tower?" Ash asks. "Not that far from Yumi and William." "Great, we are on our way," William said. Odd sees a Blok following the pair. "Allison! Ash! Blok!" Ash uses his Sword to hit the Blok on the target. Allison uses her Plasma sticks to hit another Blok. William almost reaches the tower when a white Blok zaps him and freezes him. Yumi runs and uses her fan to cut him. Odd uses his Laser Arrows to help. At the lab, the group wakes up and sees the Abamasnow about to use Blizzard. Dawn grabs some Pokemon food and throws it at the Pokemon. Ulrich sprints towards a level and pulls it. Fire flakes fall from the sprinklers and stop the Pokemon in their tracks. However, Professor Pine flies down and uses Grass Knots to tie knots around the group's feet and unleashes sparks. Yumi and Odd manage to free William, and he runs into the tower. The group in the lab holds hands as Professor Pine sends shock waves through the grass and right to the Warriors as the other students are asleep, well, except for Laura. William gets to the top and enters the Code: Lyoko. "What about the RTTP?" Odd asks. "I think William set it up to happen right about now," Allison said.
The Warriors meet in the park after the field trip. "How is everyone?" Jeremy asks. "Fine. However, we need to be more careful. XANA is getting stronger," Odd said. "Yeah, two students died," Yumi said. "Staple and Keeys," Ulrich said. "It might have been when the sparks happened," Dawn said. "Are you okay?" Aelita asks Allison. "Yeah. I mean, it was close. XANA has learned new tricks during his nap," Allison said. "I know. It reminds me of Brian and Tiny," Brock said. "Which William doesn't know about, so do 't tell him. He doesn't need to know what he did which his hands," Jeremy said. "And Jack Slate," Ash said. "I know. XANA made that bubble so real, but it didn't know the personality traits of Pokemon," Dawn said. "How XANA's trap blew up quickly," Allison said. William enters with boba teas. "Thanks," Aelita said. "Thanks. What was XANA's plan for you all in the bubble?" William asks. "I m not sure. Maybe to keep us there while you two are left high and dry. We don't know," Jeremy said. "But we know that XANA is stronger, but there is nothing we can't handle," Aelita said. Ash gets an email. "Can Anybody Hear Me? That is a Nicki Minaj song." Brock also receives an email. "Almost Is Never Enough. That is by Ariana Grande. Laura sits on her bed and sighs. "The lab is okay, but nothing happened." She goes into her bag and sees photos of the lab. "What is that? Attacks? When? I need more information." She opens her door and hears Ash and Brock talking. "I mean, the RTTP helped us out because it was bad at Professor Pine's lab," Brock said. "I know. Although it wasn't perfect, we were able to save everyone else," Ash said. "What is an RTTP, and could this explain the photos?" Laura thinks.
What a trip! A simulation bubble on Earth. Laura is up to something. Why is she eavesdropping, and who does she work for? A few days later, Jeremy stumbles upon some information. "A new Replica. It has a name." Jeremy searches for the name. "Cortex. I think we have a new mission," Jeremy said. Cortex? Let's see.