"Ugh. I hate being lost!" I burst out in a cry, stamping my foot and waving my fists in the air. "Ash Ketchum, you better tell me you know a way out of here right now or you're toast!" I yelled, jabbing a finger in his direction as he gulped.
"It's not my fault we're lost, I just took the path on the right like the map said!" He told me so I clapped a hand to my head.
"Which probably means we should've taken the left one." I muttered under my breath.
"And I was so looking forward to catching up on my beauty sleep at the next Pokémon centre." Misty said in a miffed tone, turning her head away from Ash who remained optimistic.
"Don't worry, we'll find our way out of here and besides Misty, you don't need beauty sleep." Ash said to her so she gradually relaxed a little.
"I guess you're right." She agreed eventually so Ash beamed.
"Cool! Then let's go!" But the moment Ash turned away, I was the only one to witness Misty's little blush as she hugged Togepi a little closer to her. Hmm…interesting. Very interesting. Ha! Now the next time she tries to worm some sort of confession out of me about Gary, I can turn it right back on her! At least now it's even.
"Hello!" Two voices called out simultaneously and we stopped to see a pair of salespeople standing with some sort of thing behind them covered in a large white cloth. They wore matching suits, though one was orange and the other purple with oversized spotty bowties. Neat.
"You weary young travellers appear to be lost." The man wearing the bright orange suit said to us.
"As does your Pikachu." His female counterpart added, wearing rather…interesting glasses.
"A lost Pikachu loses electricity." The guy continued and Ash blinked, touching a finger to his mouth thoughtfully.
"It does?
"But of course. It's so obvious that your Pikachu needs recharging." The lady told him pointedly.
"And it can all happen with this! The patented Pika-Power Mach two." They pulled off the white sheet to reveal a weird looking machine which was basically an old seat with a couple of gadgets added on. What's the deal here?
"And it's so quick and easy to use. Allow me to demonstrate." The woman said as she walked over, picked up Pikachu from Ash's shoulder then put him in the chair, which instantly buckled him in tight. "We just put poor Pikachu into the chair like so." She said as she stepped back.
"We radio our request." The man said as the lady lifted a radio to her ear and began to speak.
"Give the Pikachu some rest." Turning around they both faced us, Ash and I scratching our heads in confusion. "And before you can say no…" Suddenly a huge metal clamp dropped down and grabbed the chair, the two salespeople jumping up into the green basket that came with it.
"The Pikachu is ours and off we go."
"What?!" We all yelled as Pikachu called out for help.
"What is this? What are you doing?" Ash demanded as the balloon rose up from the trees and came into view. It's Team Rocket! Wait, did we just fall for one of their tricks again? Wow, we seriously need to wake up with that one, one day those guys might actually outsmart us and get away with us. Creepy.
"Prepare for trouble no time to spare!"
"Make it double as we slice the air!"
"We'll cut it short right there." Meowth declared, popping up into view and Jessie and James pulled off their disguises with a triumphant laugh.
"Team Rocket." Brock glared up at them as I craned my neck to see them rise higher.
"What an unpleasant surprise." Misty added as Ash growled.
"Give back Pikachu!" He yelled up at them but Jessie merely laughed before leaning down towards us.
"Maybe you should try telling Pikachu to use one of those special Thunderbolts." She suggested. Hang on, they actually want to be blasted out of the sky? Now I know they're crazy. What's going on with them?
"Okay then I will! Pikachu, Thunderbolt, go!"
"Pika." Pikachu nodded his head then his entire body lit up with electricity, however all its power was sucked into two lightning rods which absorbed all the energy from Pikachu's attack!
"Pikachu's Thunderbolt was sucked right into that thing!"
"So that's why they weren't bothered about Pikachu using an electric attack." I said to Brock who nodded his head.
"James, tell them what this machine really is." Jessie ordered simply so James went ahead and explained.
"This is an amazing machine that allows us to drain the energy out of any power source. If you call within the next ten minutes, Meowth show them what they can get." He said and Meowth jumped up holding what looked like a paw on the end of a rod.
"You'll receive the sister product of this appliance. We call it the Meowth Massage-inator Mach three!" He crowed as they all rose higher into the sky.
"Now then, what say we stop wasting volts and start sucking up all those Pikachu bolts?" Jessie suggested as Pikachu continued to try and blow his way out of that chair, filling up the bar with more and more of his own energy.
"Stop it right now!" Ash ordered but Jessie merely smirked.
"Hand over every single one of your Pokémon and we'll consider your demand, okay?" She suggested but I shook my head.
"You'll just make off with all of our Pokémon, we're not that stupid Team Rocket!" I paused. "Well, some of us aren't anyway." I gave a slight indication to Ash who shot me a look.
"Hey, I saw that!" He shot at me so I gave a little smile before he turned to face Team Rocket. "Then you leave me no choice, Thunderbolt attack with everything you've got Pikachu!" I slapped my forehead. Didn't he hear anything we just talked about? It's going to take a lot of power to get Pikachu to overload the system, maybe he should just try using another of his Pokémon? Maybe Cyndaquil?
Suddenly the bar shot up the scale until it exploded, Pikachu having given the appliance too much to handle and it caved in on itself. The belt opened up and Pikachu instantly leaped down into Ash's arms. "Pika Pi!" Ash laughed, catching Pikachu with a laugh.
"That's the way to do it." Ash said as we all smiled and crowded round.
"Good thinking!"
"Way to go!" Brock and Misty said as I reached out and rubbed Pikachu's head.
"Nice going genius." I told Ash then looked up as Team Rocket's new machine blew apart, sending them flying off into the sky until they were no longer in sight. "Oh that's a shame, I was hoping they'd let me have that backscratcher." I said sarcastically but then Pikachu suddenly flumped, ears drooping down.
"What's the matter Pikachu?" Ash asked but Misty saw instantly what was wrong.
"Must be tired." She told him.
"Is everything alright?" A soft voiced lady asked and we all looked up to see her standing a few steps away from us. "I heard an explosion and was concerned. Anyone get hurt?" She asked but then Brock suddenly leaped at he, going into one of his goofy moments.
"Hello beautiful! My name is Brock, fact is we were viciously attacked by some pretty rough characters, they stole Pikachu and it took some damage. I'd be happy to flush out the details, maybe over a nice cup of tea?" He suggested but Misty grabbed his ear and dragged him backwards a little.
"You will not flush out anything!" She yelled at him but Ash and I were distracted by Pikachu's bad shape.
"You're going to be just fine Pikachu." Ash promised as I checked his temperature.
"We need to get Pikachu to a Pokémon Centre. Is there any nearby? All those Thunderbolts have completely drained his energy." I asked but Misty gave a worried shake of her head.
"We don't know where we are, there might not be a Pokémon Centre for miles." Ash hugged Pikachu a little closer to him, looking down with care and concern.
"I know, but we have to do something. Brock, Ruby, don't you have anything you can give Pikachu?" I shook my head.
"Not to restore electrical power, no." Suddenly the woman spoke up.
"I'm sure that I can help out your Pikachu, but I can't unless you make me a very solemn promise." She told us and we all looked at her in surprise. "I work in a place that's very close to where we are now and we can get to it in practically no time at all but you've got to promise me that everything you see and hear will remain secret. Is that a deal?"
"Sure." We all answered with a unanimous nod of our heads, not needing a moment's consideration for the deal. If it helped Pikachu get better soon, then I'm willing to keep any kind of secret.
"Alright then, let's hurry." She said and we began to run. The woman led us up the mountain, a steep slope which became difficult to climb at a run so we slowed down the pace, however we kept moving forwards no matter what. On the way we all saw a number of electric type Pokémon, going exactly the same way we were.
When we got to the top, it turns out that all the electric type Pokémon were going to a massive lake where crystalline perfect water glistened before us. "Ta dah! We're here." I looked around and saw all the other Pokémon going into the lake and instantly looked healthier, their coats becoming shiny and crackled with electricity.
"Wow…" We all awed.
"What a gorgeous lake." Misty breathed.
"I've never seen a lake on a mountain top before." Brock agreed as he admired its perfect colour.
"Look at all those electric type Pokémon." I said, pointing to them all. "They look like they're really healthy."
"Believe it or not, all those Pokémon have been worn out or seriously injured. The waters in this lake have magical healing properties for electric type Pokémon." She told us and I blinked in awe. That's amazing! "Now, let's hurry with Pikachu."
"Okay." Ash said then gently put Pikachu into the water. I leaned closer to get a look and saw crackles of electricity run up Pikachu's body before it sparked at his cheeks, making him sigh softly with relief.
"Pika…"
"It's making Pikachu feeling better already!" Misty beamed as I reached out and touched the water curiously.
"Is Misty right? How do you feel?" Ash asked and Pikachu instantly lifted his arms up high.
"Pika Pika!" Ash laughed, his tense body instantly relaxing as he stood up.
"Well that was quick! Awesome!" I stood up too, drying my hand then looked over to the other Pokémon, seeing similar results all around.
"I don't get it. All these Pokémon have been healed just by stepping into some lake water?" Brock questioned and our new friend nodded her head.
"You got it, but this lake contains a little secret." She revealed, looking out over the lake where I could see something was glowing.
"Look!" I pointed. Once everyone had spotted the light, our friend brought out her little boat and sped us all out to the middle of the lake as Ash and Pikachu leaned over the side.
"Hey, it looks like a massive underwater flashlight." Ash said, making her laugh.
"You guys aren't going to believe your eyes when you see this." She declared then lifted the hatch at the base of her both to reveal a spy panel which looked down into the lake's bottom so we all crowded together and looked down, instantly gasping in awe and smiling. There at the bottom stood an old ruin with a large crystal shining at the top of a shrine.
"It looks like an underwater temple!" Misty gasped as I leaned a little closer.
"But something's still glowing down there!"
"That something is what's been healing all the electric Pokémon. The legendary crystal." Our researcher friend explained to us as I smiled.
"That's amazing. I wonder how it came to be here." I turned to face the expert who began to tell us everything she knew.
"Legend says that the crystal used to rest at the very top of this mountain, but torrential rains caused the temple to slide into the lake along with the crystal." She told us and I nodded my head. That's amazing, imagine, all this time that crystal has just been sitting there helping all kinds of electric type Pokémon. Awesome!
We went back to shore, leaving the crystal to rest and we all turned to admire the lake once more. "I can see why you'd want to keep this lake a secret." Ash said and Misty nodded her head in agreement.
"An unbelievable place like this needs to be protected. Forever." She said and I stooped down, filling a little vial with the water then stepped back.
"Here Pikachu, let's see if the lake water still works away from the main body." I said and Pikachu instantly leaped into my outstretched arm, making me giggle as he smiled up at me.
"Pikachu!" I poured some of the water onto his head and his ears twitched as he closed his eyes.
"Anything?" I asked and Pikachu thought for a moment before shaking his head.
"Pika." He told me sadly but I merely smiled and hugged him to me as I turned back to the lake.
"That's amazing, it really is the power of that crystal which helps all these Pokémon." However suddenly the light disappeared from the lake, leaving it to appear ordinary and powerless.
"Hey! Where'd the light go?!" Ash demanded to know, each of us gasping in horror. No! The crystal can't have just stopped working! What's happened?
"The crystal's stopped glowing!"
"That's right twerps." Two voices called out and our eyes widened before we whirled around and saw a Tentacruel hauling the crystal out of the lake with odd shaped tentacles which looked more like feet.
"Prepare for trouble we'll never get caught."
"Make it double and look what we've got!" Our mouths all dropped wide open as they lifted up the crystal to show us, our heads instantly kicking into defensive mode.
"Oh no, it can't be!" Suddenly the suit disappeared and Team Rocket stood there, Jessie snatching the crystal which she then hugged possessively to her.
"Yes! To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all people within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blast off with a bolt of light."
"Surrender now or prepare to be zapped with our electrical might!" Well, I guess they get full points for originality, though I think I dozed off somewhere in the middle. Suddenly Wobbuffet appeared with a radio, where Meowth's voice came online.
"Meowth that's right!"
"Team Rocket!" We all chorused and our friend pointed at them with an angry expression.
"That crystal is no use to you!"
"Really? Well I'm sure we can think of something to do with this little gem." Jessie said to us slyly.
"Now that our ride's here, it's time to say adieu!" James crowed as they all were lifted up into the sky, Meowth's voice chanting as they went.
"To you, and you, and you and you and you!"
"Not so fast!"
"Yeah, get back here!" Ash yelled after me but then we turned to see an angry hoard of electric type Pokémon swimming after Team Rocket, obviously unimpressed with how they'd stolen their crystal.
"Those Pokémon look really upset." Misty noted and I nodded my head with a laugh.
"Great, then they can help get the crystal back, so watch out Team Rocket!"
"Let's go help Pikachu! Thunderbolt 'em!" Ash called as I ran forwards to get in at a closer range. However as Pikachu and all the other Pokémon sent out electric attacks, large lightning rods extended out of Team Rocket's balloon basket and absorbed all the power.
"No! Not again!" Think Ruby think! Before I knew what was happening, the rods were sucking away all the electrical power by force, taking away all the Pokémon's energy. No fair! They can't do that! However everything suddenly changed. With an angry screech, something shot down a bolt of unbelievably strong electricity down at Team Rocket's rods, cutting off the forced suction and saved all the Pokémon before they could get too worn out.
"Huh?" I looked up at the sky, seeing a storm cloud begin to stretch out over the lake and filled the sky with an angry black and grey pallet, bolts of lightning shooting across the sky also until a group of clouds rolled away to reveal a Pokémon flying in the sky, crackling with intense electricity and it screeched with anger, glaring down at Team Rocket with bright yellow body.
"Zapdos, the electric Pokémon. Zapdos has both electric and flying elements and the flap of its wings can create lightning." Wait a minute, isn't Zapdos a legendary Pokémon? No way! That's so cool! Zapdos flew towards the balloon and released a powerful Thunderbolt attack with its screech echoing through the air.
The attack was absorbed by the rods. Question was, how much could they take? Or even, how much could Zapdos give? It looked like it was losing energy and fast! "Zapdos!"
"It's losing power and fast!" Ash called so I called up to the Zapdos.
"You can do it Zapdos, give it all you got!" Suddenly Zapdos spread its wings and the energy intensified further, engulfing the entire balloon and Team Rocket were hit with a full blast of its anger, making them shiver with electricity, their movements becoming jerky until finally, the rods exploded and they were blasted into the sky. "The crystal!" I called then saw Zapdos beginning to fall. "Zapdos!" Not wasting a second I flung out a Pokéball. "Charizard, catch Zapdos, quick!"
Charizard appeared with his usual roar of announcement then flew upwards, catching Zapdos easily in his arms before it could crash land then lowered it to the ground as I ran for the crystal, holding out my arms then jumped to catch it, smiling as it landed in my arms safely. "I got it!"
"Way to go Ruby!" Ash cheered as everyone ran forwards. Zapdos snapped its long beak, trying to get everyone to stay back but they all tried to calm it down.
"Everyone be careful, Zapdos is very weak." I warned. "It's used up all its power in getting the crystal back, so it's energy is low. But you already knew that, didn't you?" I said to the researcher who nodded her head with sad eyes.
"I did. You see, this is the real secret I wanted to keep. If people knew that Zapdos come here to recharge, then people would never leave this lake alone." Everyone nodded their heads in understanding.
"That's okay, we won't tell anyone." Ash promised as I patted Charizard's head before moving towards the lake. "Hey Ruby, what are you doing?" He asked as I took off my jacket, shoes, hat and backpack.
"If we can get this crystal back in the lake, then we can zap Zapdos back to the way it should be." I said then selected another Pokéball. "Go Dragonair!" Dragonair appeared with a flash of light then dove into the lake with a mystical call, resurfacing again to look at me. "Can you help me get down to the bottom of the lake? We need to get this crystal back." I said to her and she nodded her head, letting me climb on. "Be back in two seconds!" I gave a wave, tucking the crystal under my arm then dove under water with Dragonair.
She swam me down to the temple where I placed the crystal back in the spot I had seen it before then moved back, waiting for it to start glowing but nothing happened. What? Why isn't it working? Shaking my head I pointed up to the surface and Dragonair nodded her head, lifting me up and together broke the surface. "I don't understand, why isn't it working?" I asked but then I noticed all the electric Pokémon diving into the water and going down to the crystal, Pikachu included.
"What's going on?" Ash asked, stepping forwards but then it clicked.
"Of course! The crystal needs recharging! The Pokémon are all going to zap it with their electricity." I said and just then, the lake at the centre began to glow again.
"Well come on! Let's hurry and get Zapdos back in the water!" Ash called and together, we all pushed Zapdos into the lake and let it drift out and under, but after a couple of seconds, the light died out again. "No! It can't have gone out again." Ash said, biting his lip as Brock shook his head.
"There just…isn't enough power." I closed my eyes, forcing out all negative thoughts so I could try think of a plan. If they need power then…then that's what we'll give them!"
"Dragonair, into the sky! Start up a thunderstorm then use Thunderbolt directly down into the lake and up into the sky!" I called and Dragonair nodded her head determinedly. She rose up into the sky and hovered over the lake, where she closed her eyes and the orb at her throat began to glow.
The air became cold and clouds rolled overhead, flashing with light and once Dragonair had finally got the lightning under control, she blasted a bolt of lightning up into the clouds and down into the lake, striking Zapdos as the Pokémon all charged up the crystal which also gave Zapdos another bolt.
Lightning struck down from the sky, powering into the lake and with a final bolt, the crystal fully recharged and glowed even brighter than before, spreading out across the entire lake and bolts began to dance upwards, shining brightly as the water rushed up suddenly, rising until with a spread of its magnificent wings, Zapdos appeared with a loud screech, making us all laugh and jump for joy as I punched the air.
"Yeah! Go Zapdos!"
"You're alright!"
"And the lake is back to glowing just like before." Misty said as we all beamed and cheered. Dragonair gracefully lowered herself back down into the water then took a deep breath, taking her time before swimming over to the bank and I ran to meet her.
"You were awesome Dragonair, I knew you could do it." I said and she nodded her head before nuzzling against my face, so I hugged her tightly.
"Thank you for helping save the lake and Zapdos. We both owe you all a great deal." I turned and gave a smile to our researcher friend.
"No problem. It was the Pokémon that really saved the day. Right Pikachu?" I asked as he leaped out of the water and onto my shoulder.
"Pikachu!" He agreed before springing into Ash's arms. I looked up at Dragonair with pride as she looked down at me with warmth and affection before splashing me with water by her tail, making me laugh before splashing her back and before we knew it, it was all out war.
