AUTHOR'S NOTE: Greetings, readers! Here is Chapter 9 of the continuing adventures of Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu. As always, please feel free to read, review, and ask questions. Feedback is welcome.

TEASER: Tristan and his Pokémon friends have a chance to earn another badge from the Cerulean City Gym. But will they be strong enough to defeat the Sensational Sisters?

Chapter 9. A TRIPLE WET THREAT

(Music Cue: Opening & Title Screen (as heard in "Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon"))

The big day has finally arrived. Tristan and Pikachu are about to take on their next challenge: their second Gym Battle. Will they be successful and earn their second Badge?

Tristan and Pikachu were up early with the sun the next morning, but they felt that they had some energy to burn. So they went out for a morning run to warm up for their Gym battle.

"Awesome!" said Tristan as he ran with Pikachu. "If we win here, then I'll be another badge closer to entering the Pokémon League!"

"Pika-Pikachu!" agreed Pikachu.

Hillary, on the other hand, was still snoozing away. When she finally woke up, she noticed that Tristan and Pikachu weren't around.

"Tristan must be jogging again so he can be well prepared for his Gym battle," she said sleepily as she went back to sleep for another hour.


After Tristan finished his jog, he started focusing on his Gym battle, but not before Hillary reminded him that it was time for breakfast.

"Where would your true strength be without a little battle fuel?" said Hillary as she handed him fresh toast and juice.

Tristan shared his breakfast with Pikachu and his other Pokémon and said, "Acting in the underwater ballet was fun, but now I'm ready for a Gym battle."

"Who wouldn't be after how much you jogged this morning?" said Hillary.

"Okay, listen up everyone," said Tristan to his Pokémon. "I'm going to need everything you've got if we want to win today's Gym battle."

Pikachu and Butterfree agreed excitedly. Pidgeotto acted like it wasn't interested at all in listening to Tristan's lengthy pep talk.

"We're going to be in three one-on one matches," explained Tristan. "If we can win at least two out of three, then we'll win. Are you with me?"

Pikachu and Butterfree shouted happily, but Pidgeotto just stood there, totally bored.

"That means you, too, Pidgeotto," said Tristan.

Pidgeotto just turned away and ignored him.

"It looks like Pidgeotto doesn't want to help you," said Hillary sadly.

"I know, but I don't know what I could have done wrong," said Tristan, who by this time was getting really concerned.

Pikachu tapped Tristan on the shoulder.

Tristan looked and saw that Pikachu was flexing its muscles to show that he shouldn't be getting concerned. "You're right, Pikachu," he said. "We shouldn't let little things like that concern us, because we're after the big prize—a Gym Badge!"

"Pi-Pikachu!" said Pikachu.


Tristan and Hillary arrived at the Gym a little while later. Daisy, Lily, and Violet were waiting for them and welcomed them warmly.

"Did you sleep well, Tristan?" asked Daisy.

"You bet," answered Tristan. "I've been looking forward to this Gym battle for awhile. I can't wait to get started."

"I can, like, totally understand your excitement," said Violet.

"But shouldn't we wait for the spectators to get here first?" added Lily.

"As you know, we put up new posters to promote our Gym battle," finished Daisy. She motioned Tristan and Hillary to look at the new poster featuring Water Pokémon battling with the three Sensational Sisters in the background.

"Now that's what I call a big battle event!" said Hillary.

"I agree," said Tristan. "Having more people here will make this battle an ever better one."


(Music Cue: Ending 1997-1998)

Crowds of excited people gathered at the Gym to see the Gym battle. After yesterday's success of The Magical Mermaid, they were even more excited to see lots of Pokémon action.

Inside the Gym, Tristan was warming himself up for the battle. Hillary was in the front row of the bleachers, cheering him on. The rest of the crowd gathered inside the gym and sat on the bleachers. As it turned out, there were more people than seats, so it was standing room only. The battlefield consisted of a swimming pool with floating platforms.

Tristan was standing on a blue platform on one side of the battlefield. He was starting to get a little nervous. "I've never seen so many people in one place before," he said, noticing the huge crowd. Then he felt a tap on his leg.

It was Pikachu. "Pika pika!" it said, flexing its muscles.

"You're right, buddy," said Tristan. "We'll just show these ladies what friendship and trust can do."

Finally, a battle judge came in. He was wearing long black pants and a blue long-sleeved shirt with a Pokéball symbol on it.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he announced, "thank you for waiting and welcome to the Cerulean City Gym!"

The audience roared with excitement.

"The Gym battle between Tristan the challenger, and the Cerulean City Gym Leaders, Violet, Lily, and Daisy, will now begin!" he continued. "This battle will consist of three one-on-one matches, one for each of the ladies. No substitutions are allowed by any of the trainers during the battles. The match will be over when one side wins the best two out of three."

"I'm up first!" said Violet as she leaped to the other side of the battlefield. She threw a Pokéball. "Go, Horsea!"

A bright white light thrust out of the Pokéball and materialized into a light blue seahorse with scales.

"I've never seen that Pokémon before," said Tristan as he scanned the Pokémon with his Pokédex.

"Horsea: The Dragon Pokémon," it said. "If it senses danger, it will vigorously spray water or a special type of ink from its mouth."

"Butterfree, I choose you!" shouted Tristan as he threw his Pokéball.

Butterfree materialized from the bright white light that shot out of it.

"Let the battle begin!" called the judge as he raised both his red and green flags in the air.

"Butterfree, use your Tackle attack!" ordered Tristan.

(Music Cue: Raid!)

Butterfree charged forward and flew towards Horsea, but Violet was ready for it.

"Quick, Horsea, use your Smokescreen now!" called Violet.

A black cloud of smoke shot out of Horsea's mouth, just like the Pokédex said.

Butterfree found it hard to see because of it.

"Butterfree, flap your wings to blow the smoke away!" instructed Tristan.

Butterfree vigorously flapped its wings. Sure enough, the smoke dissipated. But Horsea disappeared, too.

"Wait! Where'd it go?" said Tristan. He was frantically searching for where Horsea disappeared to. Little did he know that Horsea used its Smokescreen attack for cover and dove underwater.

"Okay, Horsea, Water Gun!" shouted Violet.

At Violet's command, a stream of water shot out from underwater and scored a direct hit, causing Butterfree to fall into the water.

Butterfree struggled in vain to stay afloat because its wings were soaked with so much water.

"Butterfree's in big trouble!" exclaimed Hillary.

"Horsea, Tackle attack!" ordered Violet.

Horsea charged toward Butterfree at frightening speed and rammed into Butterfree, knocking it out.

"Butterfree, no!" exclaimed Tristan.

"Butterfree is unable to battle! Horsea is the winner! Violet wins the first match!" declared the judge as he raised his red flag.

The crowd cheered at the declaration. They were already excited from watching the first battle.

"Way to go, Horsea! I guessed our younger sister Misty raised you better than we thought she did!" said Violet as she spun around and hugged it.

Tristan dashed from platform to platform toward his injured Butterfree and cradled it in his arms. "Are you okay, Butterfree?" he asked.

"Free…" it said weakly.

"Don't worry about it, Butterfree," Tristan said. "You deserve a nice rest." He aimed the Pokéball's button toward Butterfree, which de-materialized into a red field of energy and disappeared inside.

"I guess I'm next," said Lily, as she stepped on the red platform.

"Bring it on, Lily!" replied Tristan as he returned to the green platform on the other side of the battlefield.

"Go, Goldeen!" shouted Lily as she threw her Pokéball.

From the white light, the Pokémon materialized into what appeared to be an orange and white fish with a horn on its forehead.

"Cool! What's that?" asked Tristan, as he took out his Pokédex again.

"Goldeen: The Goldfish Pokémon," it said. "When it is time for them to lay eggs, they can be seen swimming up rivers and falls in large groups."

I'd better be careful, thought Tristan. That horn on Goldeen's forehead could do a lot of damage. And I'm already down by one match, so I'd better make this one count. He turned to his Pikachu, who was standing beside him. "Are you ready, Pikachu?" he asked it.

(Music Cue: Kanto Gym Leader Battle)

"Pika!" it responded and jumped onto one of the floating platforms with determination.

"It looks like Pikachu has the advantage this time," said Hillary. "Electric-types have the advantage over Water-types. Plus, water conducts electricity."

Tristan agreed with her. "That's right, and since Goldeen spends most of its time in the water, Pikachu's Thundershock attack should be able to take it out in one fell swoop," he said.

"Begin!" declared the judge, raising both flags.

"Okay, Pikachu, Thundershock!" commanded Tristan.

"Pikachuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" shouted Pikachu as it shot a yellow bolt of electricity toward Goldeen.

"Goldeen, dive underwater!" yelled Lily.

Goldeen dove underwater to avoid Pikachu's attack.

"Now, Goldeen, Supersonic!" shouted Lily.

Goldeen then jumped out of the water. Goldeen's horn glowed light blue and thin blue circles shot out from it.

Everyone in the audience, including Hillary, had to cover their ears because Goldeen's Supersonic attack was so loud. It was louder on the battlefield for Tristan and Pikachu as they covered their ears as well. Lily didn't cover her ears because she could handle the decibels of Goldeen's attack.

"What is THAT?!" bellowed Tristan as he covered his ears.

"Now, Goldeen, Horn Attack!" instructed Lily.

Goldeen aimed its horn and charged toward a defenseless Pikachu, who was still covering its ears.

"Pikachu, listen! Use your Quick Attack to dodge it!" yelled Tristan.

Even though Pikachu had its ears covered, it could still hear Tristan's voice inside its head, guiding it along the way. At that instant, Pikachu sped out of Goldeen's way just in time with a white line trailing behind it.

"Don't let it get away! Keep aiming toward Pikachu with your Horn Attack, Goldeen!" commanded Lily.

"Pikachu, keep dodging with Quick Attack!" instructed Tristan.

Pikachu sped from platform to platform to avoid Goldeen's Horn Attack. Again and again, Goldeen charged, but not once did it hit Pikachu. Eventually, Goldeen tired out.

"Now's our chance, Pikachu!" shouted Tristan. "Thundershock attack!"

"Pikachuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" shouted Pikachu as another bolt of electricity shot out of its body toward Goldeen. It successfully landed a clean hit.

"That's awesome!" said Hillary excitedly. "Goldeen was still wet from swimming in the water, which caused Thundershock to deal double the damage!"

Goldeen fell back into the water and came back up above the surface with swirls in its eyes. The Pokémon had fainted.

"Goldeen is unable to battle! Pikachu is the winner! The second match goes to the challenger!" declared the judge as he raised his green flag in the air. The crowd cheered again.

Pikachu leaped into Tristan's arms and was very happy indeed.

"Way to go, Pikachu! You were outstanding!" said Tristan as he hugged it.

"Pika, Pika-chu!" replied Pikachu.

Daisy stepped on the red platform. She was impressed with Tristan's way of battling so far.

"Your Pokémon look like they've been raised well," said Daisy. "However, just because we're friends, doesn't mean that I will go easy on you."

"I wouldn't want you to," replied Tristan. "Show me what you've got."

"Now, you're going to see another Pokémon that Misty was so kind to lend to us. Go, Starmie!" she called as she threw a Pokéball.

The Pokémon that materialized from the bright white light looked like two starfish fused together: one on the front and one on the back. There was also a core on its front.

Tristan scanned the new Pokémon with his Pokédex.

"Starmie: The Mysterious Pokémon," it said. "Starmie's core is said to glow in seven colors. Some people regard this Pokémon as a type of jewelry."

"It sounds to me that Misty is a great Water Pokémon Trainer," said Tristan to Daisy. "But I can't spend the day making compliments. I came here in the first place to win a Gym Badge, and that's exactly what I'm going to do."

"That's the spirit, Tristan," replied Daisy. "With an attitude like that, you're going to do well in this last battle. Now what's your final Pokémon going to be?"

"Pidgeotto, I choose you!" shouted Tristan as he threw its Pokéball.

Pidgeotto appeared from the bright white light that shot out of it, but still didn't have its heart in it. It just turned away from the action.

"I need your help, Pidgeotto," said Tristan. "I'm counting on you to win this battle for us."

Pidgeotto just stood there, ignoring what Tristan said.

"If you're not going to make the first move, then we will! Starmie, Tackle attack!" yelled Daisy.

(Music Cue: Kanto Trainer Battle (as heard in "The Fortune Hunters"))

Starmie charged toward Pidgeotto, spinning as it went.

"Quick, Pidgeotto, get out of the way!" shouted Tristan.

Pidgeotto flew up out of the way all right, but didn't do so because of Tristan's orders. It just felt confident that Starmie couldn't touch it in the air.

"Stay on it, Starmie!" instructed Daisy.

Starmie kept spinning and charged at Pidgeotto, but every time Pidgeotto dodged the attack. Then, Starmie bounced off one of the platforms and became airborne. It was headed straight for Pidgeotto like a spinning shuriken!

"Pidgeotto, Quick Attack now!" yelled Tristan.

But Pidgeotto just flew there, ignoring what Tristan just said.

"Come on, Pidgeotto!" shouted Tristan. "Get out of there!"

But it was too late. Starmie struck Pidgeotto head on, causing it to crash on one of the platforms.

"Now, Starmie, use your Water Gun attack with feeling!" instructed Daisy.

Starmie shot a stream of water from one of its ten points toward a defenseless Pidgeotto.

Pidgeotto was struck head on by the full force of the attack and was sent flying straight toward the wall.

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on whose side you were on, Tristan was the only obstacle in the way.

"Don't worry, Pidgeotto! I've got you!" called Tristan as he got into position to catch it.

Pidgeotto flew into Tristan's arms, but they both fell into the water as a result.

"Tristan, are you okay?" asked Daisy.

"Please say something!" shouted Hillary.

"Pikapi!" called Pikachu.

Tristan and Pidgeotto were both all wet. Everyone in the audience gasped with surprise. They had no idea that a trainer would go the extra mile to save his or her own Pokémon. Even the judge was astounded.

Pidgeotto opened its eyes and saw that Tristan had caught it just in time.

"Are you okay, Pidgeotto?" asked Tristan, worriedly.

Pidgeotto cawed weakly, but happily. It was the first time that it was shown compassion: something it never knew anything about.

"Listen, Pidgeotto," said Tristan. "I may not be the very best trainer yet, or the strongest. I'm bound to make mistakes and get into trouble sometimes, but I try to do all I can to make sure that all my Pokémon are the very best they can be. We've been together since you were a little Pidgey, and we've come a very long way already since then. All I want is to be good enough for you. Nothing would make me happier if we can work together as a team. Will you please let me do that with you?"

Pidgeotto thought hard about what Tristan just said, and was inspired by his speech.

(Music Cue: Boy Trainer Appears)

Finally, Pidgeotto nodded and squawked with a happy, but determined response. It flew back into the battle with new strength.

"All right!" said Tristan. "I knew you could do it, Pidgeotto." Then, he faced Daisy. "Let's get back into this battle!"

"Okay, Tristan!" said Daisy with determination. "We'll see how well Pidgeotto does with handling Starmie's Tackle attack! Go, Starmie!"

Starmie charged toward Pidgeotto while spinning, but Tristan wasn't about to fall for the same trick twice.

"Pidgeotto, Gust attack!" commanded Tristan.

This time, Pidgeotto did exactly what Tristan told it without question. It squawked and furiously flapped its wings. It created a huge gust of wind from them. Starmie found it hard to manage and was blown back into the water.

Hillary and Pikachu were impressed. "Do you see that, Pikachu?" she asked it. "Pidgeotto's listening to Tristan!"

"Pika Pika!" replied Pikachu in agreement.

"Hang on, Starmie!" shouted Daisy. "Use your Water Gun!"

Starmie resurfaced and shot a full-power stream of water at Pidgeotto, but Pidgeotto dodged the attack with ease.

"Awesome, Pidgeotto!" said Tristan. "Finish this with Quick Attack!"

Pidgeotto charged toward Starmie with a white line trailing behind it at full speed. It rammed into Starmie, causing it to fly right into the wall. It fell back into the water, much to Daisy's shock.

"Starmie!" shouted Daisy.

Starmie's core flashed on and off in a red color and was knocked out.

"Starmie is unable to battle!" declared the judge and raised his green flag. "Pidgeotto is the winner, and the winner of this Gym battle is Tristan!"

(Music Cue: I Got a Victory Badge!)

The audience cheered and gave a standing ovation.

"We did it, Pidgeotto!" cried Tristan happily.

Pidgeotto squawked a happy reply back to its trainer. It felt so happy to be in a battle and win so much that it wanted to do it again.

"That was great!" said Hillary. "Not only did Tristan win, but he got Pidgeotto to listen to him!"

Pikachu agreed with her.


"How's Starmie doing?" asked Tristan to Daisy when he and the others stood outside the Gym sometime later.

"Starmie just needs some rest and it will be just fine," replied Daisy. "That was a really great battle."

Lily and Violet agreed with her. They never expected that turn of events before, especially when they witnessed how far Tristan was willing to go to save Pidgeotto.

"Even though, we had Misty's Horsea and Starmie to help us in our battle today, you have demonstrated the kind of compassion that all trainers should give to their Pokémon," said Daisy. She took out a special case and opened it. There was something that resembled a raindrop inside it. She took it out for Tristan to see.

"What's that?" asked Tristan.

"This is a Cascade Badge," explained Daisy. "It is proof that you were truly victorious at the Cerulean Gym. This is for you." She handed the Badge to Tristan.

"I don't know what to say, Daisy, except 'thank you.'" said Tristan. He raised his new badge in the air and proclaimed, "Yes! I got a Cascade Badge!"

"Pi-Pikachu!" replied Pikachu.

"That's awesome, Tristan," said Hillary. "Now, you're six badges away from qualifying for the Pokémon League."

"Where is my next challenge going to be?" asked Tristan.

"I suggest you take your next Gym challenge in Vermilion City," suggested Daisy. "It's got a port, it's near the ocean, and it has a cruise liner that just came in after the St. Anne sank to the bottom of the sea."

"What is it?" asked Tristan.

"It's the S.S. Anne, of course!" replied Daisy, Lily, and Violet together.

"It must be the smaller version of the St. Anne," said Hillary, "but I think we ought to explore the rest of Cerulean City first. I want to see all that I can on my travels so that one day, I will become a trainer just like Tristan is."

"That's the spirit, Hillary," said Daisy.

"Well, we should probably get going, ladies," said Tristan.

"Goodbye, Tristan! Goodbye, Hillary! Goodbye, Pikachu!" called Daisy, Lily, and Violet as they waved. "Good luck on your journey! We hope to see you again soon!"

"Goodbye, ladies!" called Tristan and Hillary. "We will!"

"Pika Pika!" called Pikachu as it waved.


Now that Tristan has earned Pidgeotto's trust, he was able to acquire his second Gym Badge, and so, he and Hillary continue their journey, thinking of new friends and new adventures that lie ahead.

► TO BE CONTINUED