This is a filler chapter, but it it will appear one of my two favourite one-time character of the anime. He appeared some chapter ago, but I make sure that you won't recognize him. Also, now I'll reveal you the origins of the nicknames of Enrico's team: Italian nobles who fought for other nations (I used their Italian names). They are: Antonio=Mark Antony (Roman general who fought for Cleopatra VII); Ambrosio & Aureliano=Ambrosius Aurelianus (semi-legendary Roman leader of Imperial ancestry who guided the Britons against the invading Saxons); Federico=Fredrick II Hohenstaufen (Holy Roman Emperor, he was born in Italy but fought for his Germany-based empire); Raimondo=Raimondo Montecuccoli (Prince of Montecuccoli and Count of the Empire, he was a leader for the Holy Roman Empire from the Thirty Years War to the Franco-Dutch War); Eugenio=Prince Eugene of Savoy-Carignan (cadet of the Dukedom of Savoy, he fought for the Holy Roman Empire from 1683, fighting in the Ottoman Siege of Vienna as a dragoon, to 1738, guiding the Imperial Army in the War of the Polish Succession of 1733-1738). Who guessed the common theme will be contacted for the spoilers.
by lord Martiya
TALE 12: VS SANDSHREW
After that first job, I received various anti-logistic jobs and did it flawlessly. Then I found a red-headed kid with a Nidorino and a bunch of CHEERLEADERS battling someone's Tangela. The redhead was a lot more intelligent than his more experienced but stupider foe, and, coupled with the Type advantage, this gave him an easy victory. Then, the kid challenged me to defeat his Nidorino. I unleashed Federico.
"Wait..." the kid said while looking at Federico. "Uh... Can I retire for now? I'm not strong enough for your Nidoking, yet."
"No problem." I replied.
I was about to go away, but he called for me and asked: "Are you Enrico Paolucci?"
"I am. Who want to know?" I replied.
"The name's Gary Oak, and I am the strongest, most intelligent and most gorgeous of this year beginning trainers from Pallett Town."
"You forgot the most modest!" Antonio mocked him.
"What?! A talking Pokemon?!"
"If humans can talk, why not I?"
"Enough." I said. "Gary Oak, why did you asked for my name?"
"Well... Rose Ketchum told me that she will wait you in Cerulean City. By the way, what's your rel-"
I imitated a Mean Look attack on him.
"Uh... Nevermind." he said. "I'll defeat you another day. Smell ya later!"
The immodest kid went away in a car with his cheerleaders, and I headed for Cerulean Gym. The only place where Rose would wait for me. But before that I got a little thing in a shop.
When I arrived to Cerulean's Gym I found a thing for what I planned: Misty Williams fighting as gym leader against Ash Ketchum. And Misty just won the first round, nearly drowning Ash's Butterfree. Ash was about to call for his Pidgeotto when Rose interrupted.
"IT'S ENOUGH!" she shouted appearing on the springboard.
"Sis?! What are you doing here?!" Ash exclaimed.
"I'm waiting for a friend. But for now, I want to ask a thing to Pikachu. Tell me, Pikachu, why don't you want to fight? Why? Are you so... so... What's the word...? Oh! Good Pokemon!"
Pikachu jumped in the arena, ready to fight. And frightened by Rose.
"You know each other..." Ash stated, and Pikachu nodded. "Very well. PIKACHU, THUNDERBOLT!"
The effect was a bit shocking. You know, Misty is famous for being nearly unbeatable when her foe has the Type advantage, and I heard of that from Giovanni before leaving TR, but her Staryu got knocked down with one hit. Apparently, Ash had a talent in that(1). Then they were about to battle with Pikachu and Starmie, when Jesse & James & Meowth entered in the gym with a machine.
"PRE-"
"TURTLEY! HYDROCANNON!"
Well, Turtley just evolved in Blastoise, and Rose didn't appreciated the interruption. Team Rocket was blasted off.
"Your sister is a bit scaring..." Misty said.
"You don't know the other one." Ash replied. "Let's continue before she decide to punish us."
Ash's Pikachu defeated Misty's Starmie with some problem, but Ash still won and made a victory dance. Then I showed me.
"Finally!" Rose exclaimed. "I was wondering when you'll arrive here!"
"I arrived here a while ago, but I was looking on how Misty would humiliate her sisters with a better performance." I replied, making Misty chuckle.
"Hey! How you dare!" the pink-haired shouted.
"She's the brat of the family, and the most inexperienced!" the blue-haired shouted.
"And despite being the younger of you and in Type-disadvantage, she fought well." I replied. "Also, I know that she passed the gym leader exam with flawless strategy, and that her opponents were of the nasty type. A newly-evolved Raichu from Surge, and you know what this mean, a swimming Nidorina with Poison Point and Electric-Type attacks, a Venusaur, Erika's main Gloom with all his horrible stink(2) and a Gyarados with Electric-Type attacks. The masterpiece was making the Gyarados electrocuting himself while forcing herself to not wet herself. I suppose that Misty has a little fear of those..."
"He has a point." admitted Daisy, the only sister intelligent enough to deserve that I learned her name.
"Yes, the boss has." Antonio declared.
One istant later, we had to stop Misty from strangling him with a killing hug.
Some minute later, while Ash was lost in a sort of overconfidence delirium, Rose and I were alone chatting of various things when Rose asked me to travel with her brother for a while.
"Why?" I asked.
"Well, I suppose that he'll benefit a lot from being around you." she replied. "Also, I suppose that it's in the interest of both of you to visit a certain unofficial gym on Route 25, just after the Nugget Bridge."
"And why is it in our best interest?"
"It's in Ash's interest because he need a devastating defeat to bring him back to reality, and it's in your interest because... Well, you'll see. Oh, I was forgetting a thing."
Rose pulled out a Razor Claw and said: "That's for Snyer, it'll help him."
"Thanks. And goodbye." I said.
Then, before departing, I slapped on her head a white fisher's hat with a red Pokeball symbol, and then ran away and hide before she reacted in shock at receiving a present from me.
After Rose going away, I reached Ash and Misty and their travelling companion, Brock Peters, who just forfeited his gym leader position to his father to travel with them. As later he confessed me, he initially did it only to have an excuse to block his father at home to be tortured by the littler childs(3) and begin his journey, but now he decided to go with them. We presented each other our Pokemon. Brock had with him his starter Onix, one of his Geodudes and a newly-caught Zubat. Misty has her Staryu, her starter Starmie and her Goldeen. Ash had his starter Pikachu, his Butterfree and his Pidgeotto. And I found out that Aureliano evolved in a Honchkrow, thanks to Rose and a Dusk Stone(4).
"She often does that..." Ash commented. "Hey... She's gone, isn't her?"
If you shout 'Cootie Alert' or something like that for the both of us, I'll make you able to tell who's the crueler." I replied, blocking him immediatly.
Ash was really believing to be 'all that and a bag of pop corn', thanks to his victory streak going uninterrupted from 'defeating' Brock, and just before reaching the gym he defeated a local youngster, his tenth victory in a row. Then we arrived at the gym.
" 'A.J. Gym. Not recognized by the Pokemon League. 98 victories to 0 losses'." I read. "Well, this guy has some victory more than you, Ash."
"Don't worry, now he will have a loss!" Ash replied.
"He's getting a big head." Misty declared.
"Yeah, but his brain's still the same size!" Brock added.
"Are you sure? I think that his brain SHRINKED." Antonio said.
Then I sensed someone arriving. And I understood WHO was A.J. and why Rose wanted me to meet him and Ash to challenge him: he was an old friend of mine and a trainer really TOO strong for Ash.
When arrived with some just captured Pokemon, he asked: "Who's the challenger?"
"Are you A.J.?" Ash replied.
"He's Andreas James Roberts, a really good trainer." I said.
Yes, the Andreas James from my days in TR was the trainer who opened an unofficial gym near Viridian City under the name 'A.J.'(5).
"Enrico?" he asked after hearing my voice, going to reach one of his Pokeballs.
"Don't worry, I quitted TR. Didn't Rose told you this?" I replied.
"Er... No."
Well, Rose forgot to tell him that. Sometimes, even she has some strange moment. But after our little discussion Ash called for his match, and Andreas guided us to the ring of his gym.
"3 versus 3. Are you ready for my 99th victory?" Andreas asked.
"Uh, OK... But why are you here, if you are so strong?" Ash replied.
"I decided to defeat 100 foes before collecting badges."
"Oh, really? Look here: two badges and ten matches!"
"Wonderful! Where did you won those, at Failure City and Wimpsville?"
Misty and Brock's reactions were wonderful. If I had a camera... Then Andreas summoned his Sandshrew, Gaara.
"Unaffected by Electric-type attacks, but in disadvantage against Flying-type Pokemon." I said.
"I know, I know..." Ash replied.
Ash unleashed his Pidgeotto and ordered a Gust. When the Gust hit, however, Gaara was curled up and completely deflected the hit, and then counterattacked with a Body Slam, KOing Pidgeotto with one (too) powerful hit. Then Ash called out his Butterfree. KOed with a Poison Sting barrage before Ash finished ordering the Stun Spore. As last chance, Ash called for his Pikachu, but the Pikachu zapped him to not fight the allmighty Gaara of the Desert (a nickname from Rose). 99th victory for A.J., after that I went to sleep while Ash learned his lesson (and shouted that Andreas cheated before admitting that he was simply stronger). Then I was woken up by Team Rocket, and reacted badly: I made Eugenio shave Jesse's hair. I hate her loud laughing.
"HOW YOU DARE!" she shouted.
"With Eugenio's cut." I replied.
"I'LL DEFEAT YOU!"
"Hold on, you two called Gaara a second-rate Pokemon." Andreas stated.
"Well, he IS second rate!" Meowth replied.
"I'll defeat you in the arena. NOW."
"Tag battle?" I asked.
"Well, let's humiliate these B-rankers together!"
"Good. Antonio, you're up."
We exited in the arena. Jesse was fuming, and called for her Ekans. James was looking around to escape, but he summoned his Koffing. And Meowth was ready to give orders.
"Gaara, Fissure(6)." Andreas ordered.
"WHAT?!?!?!" everybody shouted.
Two seconds later, Jesse, James, Ekans and Meowth were in the fissure. Koffing was in the air looking Gaara REALLY worried, when Antonio jumped on him and hit with a point-blank Hydro-Pump (the first thing I teached him), sending him to his trainer. 100th victory for A.J.
"Well, that was your 100th victory. But exactly WHY you were waiting?" I asked.
"The Siora(7) of Viridian's Gym." he replied.
"The what?" Misty asked.
"The self-declared leader of the Ground-type trainers from Viridian's Gym." Ash replied. "I don't know her, but I heard that she has a rival with the Johtaja(8) of Viridian Forest."
"She defeated you, didn't she?" I asked.
"Defeated? HER RHYDON DECIMATED MY TEAM!" A.J. replied.
"H-how?" Ash asked.
"Well, I found some student from the Pokemon Tech(9) bullying a traveling trainer, and I defeated them. Then she appeared and criticized my use of Ground-type attacks, I replied that she didn't know what I was saying..."
"And she decimated you and told that you'll need 100 victories to ask a rematch. She won't change... Well, I was going there. We could go together."
We went all to the Pokemon Tech. We went all to know HER.
footnotes
(1)As seen just two episodes later, Misty is nearly unbeatable when she has the Type disadvantage: almost all times when her Water Pokemon were faced by a Grass or Electric-type, she won fair and square, the only exception being Ash's Grass-type (in Who Gets to Keep Togepi Ash's Bulbasaur defeated Misty's Psyduck with an improvised Tickle. In The Totodile Duel Misty got her revenge defeating Pikachu with Togepi's CHARM, but in the same episode Ash's Grass-types defeated Misty's Staryu and Poliwhirl).
(2)As seen in Pokemon Scent-Sation: Erika's Gloom is horribly stinking even for a Gloom (and Glooms in the anime are reputed for being stinking). That Gloom's smell is so bad that it was described by James (just before fainting for it) as a mixture of old sneakers, garbage and rotten eggs with a hint of skunk fumes, and managed to defeat TR and Ash's Charmander, and, in a flashback, force a GRIMER (a really stinking Pokemon who lives in polluted habitats and sewers) to run away.
(3)Well, I always found a bit strange that Brock started his journey with two COMPLETE STRANGERS who fought all the time. OK, maybe he knew Misty as they were both gym leaders, but it's still strange. Then I remembered that when his father revealed himself Brock immediatly forced him to took over in their house...
(4)I'm glad to remember you that Rose is derived from the Blue girl from Pokemon Special (Green in the Pokemon Adventures version). And Blue is incredibly skilled in evolving Pokemons, being even nicknamed The Evolver by Oak. Enrico derived from Silver of the same manga, and like The Trader is a bit greedy.
(5)I bet you didn't see this coming: I modeled Andreas from A.J. I loved that one-time character from The Path To the Pokemon League...
(6)It's a bit strange that a so tiny Pokemon used such map-changing move, but in Generation I games, Fissure was a TM move that Sandshrew could learn. And A.J. Sandshrew KNOWS Fissure, and used it in the episode The Path To the Pokemon League. Also, Ash's battling Tauros in Hello, Pummelo! and Enter the Dragonite knows the move, having used it in two occasions.
(7)Literally, 'lady' or 'master' in Venetian language.
(8)Same as 'siora', but in Finnish.
(9)A trainer academy in the anime, from the episode The School of Hard Knocks. It's a really high-level academy, and its graduates are automatically admitted at the Kanto's Pokemon League conference. Note: graduating is not sure, in The School of Hard Knocks one of the 'freshmen' was in his late twenties while all the other students were child or teenagers...