Are you ready to the first blasting-off of the anime? And for a Joy a bit violent? I almost forgot: last time Domino homaged The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
by lord Martiya
TALE 09: VS PIKACHU
It was after my encounter with Agata that I started my crusade against Team Rocket. Knowing all that he did, I couldn't let Giovanni escape the right punishment. Nobody with a bit of decency would do. What?! Killing him?! No, I never thought to kill him, it wouldn't be enough. My plan was simply destroy his organization and forcing him to watch all his work to be destroyed.
But before start, I needed to have Federico back in shape and check out my other Pokemons, and the nearest Pokemon Center was in Viridian City, the city completly OWNED by Team Rocket. Yes, I said owned: everybody in Viridian knew that my father was Team Rocket leader, and nobody dared to defy him. Well, to be totally sincere I would say that only three Viridian's citizens, beside my sister and me, defied him at every chanche, and, luckily, one of them was Margareth Andrea Joy, better known as 'The Nurse Joy of Viridian City', the girl in charge of the local Pokemon Center.
When I entered I was wondering on how convince her that I was Rocket no more.
"Raise your hand, you damned Rocket!" she told me pointing me a shotgun.
Yes, she had a shotgun, and that weapon was the only thing that prevented Team Rocket from killing her: the first time two Elite Agents tried, she shot them and had Attila arrested with a leg filled by pellets and his pal permanently stucked under flowers (the attorney managed to claim the Self-Defence: the two were armed and tried to shoot her). Yes, Attila was freed after paying the bail, but after that time TR tried only three times to kill her, and the second time the would-be killers, two B-Rank volunteers, were almost killed by an half-crazy starting trainer, the third time the killers, Butch and Cassidy on their third A-Rank mission and the first after their first arrest, barely escaped with their butts filled by pellets and the fourth time... Well, the Rockets were two Elite Agents, and Rose was there. You can guess the rest.
For what concern me, I was lucky enough to be a wanted criminal. Why? Well, Joanna Jenny, at that time better know as 'The Younger(1) Officer Jenny of Viridian City', was one of the two other people in Viridian who dared to rebel against Giovanni's rule, and she knew that I was wanted as TR member because I deserted. She was the one who came to arrest me, and seeing me explained her the situation and left a black fisher's hat with a red Pokeball symbol to help me to hide my identity, before returning to her station at the edge of the city and telling her superior that the Elite Agent managed to flee.
"So, why did you came here?" she asked.
"My Nidoking was injuried by a Snorlax and a Charizard, and my Sneasel need a check-up." I replied. "Also, I would ask you to check-up my other Pokemons, as well."
She nodded, and after the check-up gave me back my Pokemons beside Federico, who needed a little rest. While waiting, I slept for a while with the hat covering my face. Do you want to know a little thing? When I sleep well, not even explosions can wake me up, but a simple touch can. So, when I woke up it was night, the Pokemon Center was partly destroyed by an explosion and I was held in hostage by Jesse, James and Meowth to prevent Federico, Nurse Joy, and the little and enraged Misty Williams to greatly hurt them, Jesse's Ekans and James's Koffing.
"Ahahahahahahahah! We won!" said Meowth. "Now, if you don't want him dead, surrender no... Hey, what are you doing?!"
There was a trainer with a familiar look and an official Pokemon League hat who was pedaling a totally burned-up bike with a Pikachu linked to the dinamo and charging up. While the Trio looked at him, I elbowed Meowth in his thooth and escaped his grip. Just a second before that a super-charged Thundershock zapped them and triggered an unexplicable explosion that blasted them off in their baloon.
For that moment I was totally awoke, and I immediatly recognized the Pikachu and his trainer: the Pikachu was once a failed Mewtwo with the biggest identity crisis in world history, and his trainer was Rose's brother.
"ASH KETCHUM!! WHAT DID YOU THINKED?!" Misty erupted, confirming my guess. "THEY HAD AN HOSTAGE!!"
"Well, I believed that if we zapped them strongly enough the Nidoking could beat them before they realized what's happened." Ash answered. "How I was supposed to know that those two had explosive in their boots?"
"They have no explosive in their boots." I stated after checking the ground zero. So far, nobody realized how they managed to explode in such manner. "Now, can you explain me what's happened?"
"Well, those two entered shouting that they wanted the Pokemons, we escaped them in the Pokemon Restroom and unleashed on them your Nidoking, but the Meowth knew him and... Well, you know the rest." answered Nurse Joy while giving me back Federico's Ultraball.
I recalled Federico and thanked Nurse Joy, and I was about to exit to destroy some of Giovanni's holding in the city when Ash asked me if I knew his sister Rose and my name was Enrico.
"Yes to both, why?" I replied.
"PIKACHU, THUNDERSHOCK!"
Obviously, Pikachu tried to zap me three times, stopping only when I managed to shield me with his trainer. Then I pulled him off with one arm and asked him: "What did you thinked to do?" in a tone capable to scare to death the Devil himself. But not Ash.
"What did you to Rose?!" he shouted back. "She was away for a work, and when she returned didn't eat and drunk, and sleeped very few sleeptalking your name! And then she went away again saying that she owed you something, and never retOUCH!!"
"I'm not responsible of that stupid act of your sister, an act that she ceased after our last meeting last week." I answered him after leaving him fall on his ass.
I was about to leave, but he challenged me to a Pokemon match. A BEGINNER against ME. Normally I would refuse, but he was the annoying people, so I accepted to kick his ass into submission and unleashed Snyer.
His Pikachu used Thundershock. Snyer evaded, kicked him in the trash can and then, obeying my order to calm Ash, closed the poor boy and Misty in the broom room.
"Hey, what...?! LET ME EXIT FROM HERE!!" Misty shouted in disbelief.
"AAAAAHHH!! COOTIES!!" Ash shouted.
When the beating noises ceased, Snyer opened the door, and an embarassed and angry Misty exited with a totally KOed Ash. After that treatment, Ash was a bit calmed, and listened what's happened. Then I had an idea.
"Listen, I want to help you." I said. "Do you know how entering in the Conference?"
"Yes, I just need to beat eight gym leaders and show the badges!" Ash replied. "Mom told me to avoid Viridian's Gym for a while, so I planned to go to Mintale Town(2)..."
"AAAAAAAARGH!! NOT THAT!!" Misty shouted.
"Why not?"
"Not that city!! Listen, I will follow you until you pay back my bike, but you won't go to Mintale Town! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"
Ash nodded. How unlucky that Mintale Town Gym was specialized in Bug-type and that their gym leader was in love with Misty... Poor girl.
"Well, I had no plan to send you to Mintale Town." I said, while writing a list of places with a gym. "Ash, if you want to become strong, follow this list. Every leader will be more strong than the previous, so..."
The list began with Pewter City: Ash would deal with his natural enemy, a Rock-type specialist who had a Rock-Earth type as his strongest Pokemon. Then, Cerulean City, and probably Misty. OK, he had a Pikachu, but Misty was a bad customer especially for Pokemon with the type advantage on her Water-type(3). Third, Vermillion City, and Surge with his newly-caught Raichu. I know Surge, he's exactly the type who would do a such thing. Fourth, Saffron City. Well, at that time Sabrina wasn't the official Gym Leader, she was only the leader of an unofficial League gym specialized in Psychic-type, and if I knew that she would overthrow Kiyo from his position I would never recomanded Saffron City. Fifth place was Celadon City, with Erika, and sixth was Fuchsia, with Koga. I was expecting Ash to be strong enough for them by that time. Seventh, was Cinnabar Island, with Blaine. Not only Blaine was really strong, but simply REACH HIM would force Ash to use his brain and overcome his limits. Last, Viridian City. Yes, I planned that thing from that istant.
After that, I exited, avoiding the police, and left Viridian City to start my training.
footnotes
(1)During the Indigo Plateau Conference episodes we saw two Jennys with the Viridian's symbol on their hats, sowe know that Viridian City has at least two Jennys.
(2)The setting of the spin-off game Pokemon Channel. It's near Viridian City and Pewter City, as evidenced by the presence of Viridian Forest in the game. In the game Mintale Town has no gym, but this is not the game.
(3)See every time she had to fight a Pokemon with a type advantage and managed to not use Psyduck: her foe always had immense problems, and only Ash managed to beat her.