Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story!

Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga

Chapter Twenty Eight

The Fall of Team Rocket

While Ashley and Rina were relaxing on One Island, someone else was about to earn his final badge to challenge the Elite Four.

"Looks like this place is finally open." Red thought to himself, taking notice of the sign in front of the gym. "The final gym leader...I wonder who it is?"

Red pushed open the doors of the gym and slowly walked inside. Unlike Ashley and Rina, Red didn't make a habit of having a pokemon with him at all times. As such, he was alone when he entered. The interior of the gym was darkened, not a single light lit the area. Red began to wonder if the gym leader was really back at all.

"If there's anyone here, my name is Red and I've come here to challenge the gym leader." Red announced to the seemingly empty gym.

"So even here, you have managed to find me..." A voice called out from within the darkness.

"That voice..." The lights in the gym came on, revealing the barren looking interior with its black walls and smooth, dirt battlefield that had been unscarred by any recent battles. At the far end of the gym was a middle-aged man in a black suit. Red recognized him immediately.

"Giovanni!" Red growled.

"Yes, thats right. I, Giovanni, leader of the criminal organization known as Team Rocket, am the Viridian City gym leader." Giovanni replied with a grin. "Are you surprised? I returned here to begin rebuilding my organization, but it seems you have managed to catch up with me once again."

"If you think I'm going to let you get away with that then you're wrong!" Red shouted back. "I'll put a stop to anyone who mistreats pokemon or uses them for evil goals!"

"I figured you would say as much." Giovanni snickered to himself. "Very well. You came here to challenge the gym leader, correct? Then I, Giovanni, accept your challenge. We will use six pokemon each."

"Now you expect me to believe you're going to battle by Kanto League rules? I don't buy it." Red said to him.

"Even if you don't believe me, you will still need to beat each of my pokemon before you can get near me as it is." Giovanni said calmly. "I may be the leader of Team Rocket, and I may care very little for pokemon other than a means to make money, but I am a man of my word. If you manage to beat me here and now, using pokemon gym rules and six pokemon each, then I will disband Team Rocket forever."

"If thats really how you want to do this, then fine. You should already know you can't beat me, and the gym rules are in the challenger's favor as it is." Red replied while grabbing a pokeball from his belt. "There's nowhere for you to run, and no way for you to beat me. Team Rocket ends today!"

"A bold declaration." Giovanni chuckled to himself. "There is more to battling than just strong pokemon, and unless you can learn that then I believe you will find this battle to have a surprising outcome." Giovanni drew a pokeball from his belt as well. "Rhydon, go!"

"Charizard, I choose you!"

Red and Giovanni each released their pokemon to start the battle. A rhino pokemon with a rocky hide appeared standing upright on Giovanni's side of the field, while the fire lizard Charizard appeared before Red. It wasn't unusual for Red to lead with Charizard, due to it being his first pokemon. It had grown into a fierce and powerful pokemon since joining Red.

"Rhydon, attack Charizard with Rock Blast!"

"Charizard, use Heat Wave!

Rhydon thrust one arm forward to fire a rock at Charizard. As he brought his other arm forward to fire a second rock it found itself suddenly engulfed in a fiery windstorm. The first rock bounced off Charizard's body, causing him to wince in pain, but Charizard kept flapping his wings and sending blasts of hot air and fire at Rhydon. The power of Charizard's attack briefly distracted Rhydon, causing it to stop its attack.

"Your pokemon are as powerful as ever, Red." Giovanni mused. "Very well. Rhydon, finish it in one attack with Horn Drill!"

Rhydon followed Giovanni's orders unquestioningly, pushing through the blasts of hot air to move toward Charizard. Rhydon's horn began to spin like a drill in preparation to attack. Red watched Rhydon's movements, waiting for the rock pokemon to move closer to Charizard before he made his move.

"Charizard, grab that drill now!" Red called out. Charizard stopped his attack, giving Rhydon the chance to lunge toward him. Rhydon's drill came close to Charizard's stomach before the fire pokemon grabbed it. The drill continued to spin while Charizard pressed down on it, eventually stopping the drill though injuring his hands a bit in the process.

"Now, Charizard, use Dragon Rage!" Charizard spat out a blue fireball right into Rhydon's face. The fireball exploded when it hit Rhydon, covering it in a blue fire and causing it to stagger back in pain.

"Rhydon, use Rock Blast again!"

"Charizard, attack quickly with Wing Attack!"

Rhydon quickly shook off the Dragon Rage and thrust out his arms, flinging a pair of rocks at Charizard one after the other. Rhydon managed to get in two good hits on Charizard, who was particularly weak against rock attacks, but that was all it could do before Charizard attacked again.

Charizard stepped forward, twisting sideways to strike at Rhydon with his wing. Although Rhydon was a tough pokemon and resistant to flying attacks, it had already taken immense damage from Charizard's Heat Wave and Dragon Rage attacks. Rhydon fell back as the wing struck it, hitting the ground hard and quickly falling unconscious. In only a few attacks, Giovanni's first pokemon was already down.

"And so you defeated my Rhydon...as if there was any doubt you would." Giovanni said to Red, raising a pokeball and recalling Rhydon. He then returned the pokeball to his belt and drew another one.

"If you already knew you'd lose, then how are you expecting to win?" Red asked Giovanni.

"You will see soon enough, Red." Giovanni replied. "Now, let us see if you can do the same against my Nidoqueen." Giovanni held out the pokeball he grabbed and released a large, light blue pokemon. It had spines covering its body and a pair of large ears. It almost resembled Rhydon in its basic body structure.

"Charizard, thats enough for now. Return!" Red held out Charizard's pokeball and recalled him. In any battle, Red always made the individual matches 'personal' for his pokemon. He would switch everytime his opponent sent out a new pokemon.

"Snorlax, I choose you!" Red called out as he took another pokeball in hand. He then released Snorlax out onto the field. It appeared standing and ready for battle, showing more interest in the match than Ashley's Snorlax ever did.

"Snorlax, a tough pokemon indeed. Lets see how well it does against Nidoqueen's Superpower." The ground began to shake as, at Giovanni's meer mention of the technique, Nidoqueen began to use Superpower. She first conjured all of her inner strength and then leapt into the air. She came down toward Snorlax, smashing into him with her arms outstretched and sending out a wave of energy at point-blank range. Despite such a powerful attack, though, it hardly seemed to do anything but knock Snorlax onto his ass.

"Snorlax, strike back with Hyper Beam!" Without getting up, Snorlax opened his mouth and fired an immense energy beam. Nidoqueen took the attack at nearly point-blank range and was pushed all the way across the gym before the beam lost its power. She fell unconscious and dropped almost immediately after, though. Snorlax's Hyper Beam was a very strong attack as it was and using Superpower had weakened Nidoqueen's defenses.

"Hmm...an especially powerful Snorlax." Giovanni said to himself and chuckled. He held out Nidoqueen's pokeball and recalled his pokemon.

"Just what is your aim here anyway?" Red asked. "I've just beaten two of your pokemon without even breaking a sweat!"

"You don't really expect me to just give away my plan, do you?" Giovanni replied with a grin. "You should know me better than that, Red." Giovanni took another pokeball from his belt and released his next pokemon, which looked a lot like his Nidoqueen only with a purple body instead of light blue.

"Nidoking shall be my next pokemon." Giovanni said simply.

"Snorlax, good job, return!" Red recalled Snorlax and returned its pokeball to his belt, then took another one in hand. "Espeon, I choose you!" Red held up the pokeball he grabbed and released the psychic pokemon Espeon out onto the field.

"Interesting. Its not often you go for a straight type advantage." Giovanni chuckled. "Nidoking, attack with Megahorn!"

"Espeon, get ready and dodge it with Quick Attack!"

Nidoking leveled its horn at Espeon and then charged across the gym. A yellowish-green aura surrounded Nidoking's horn, giving the appearance of an even larger horn. Espeon's muscles tensed and, at the last possible moment, it dashed out of the way with a Quick Attack. Nidoking made a thrusting motion with his horn, stabbing at the air where Espeon had been, before the aura faded.

"Now take it down with Psychic!"

"Nidoking, Megahorn again and don't miss this time!"

Espeon began to focus on Nidoking, a blue aura surrounded him as his horn became elongated again. The blue aura caused Nidoking to pause and suddenly double over in pain from the crushing psychic force. As Espeon's hold weakened near the end of the attack, Nidoking suddenly turned and charged him. He gave Espeon a hard jab with his horn, knocking him back several feet, then dropped to his knees gasping for breath.

"Looks like Giovanni's Nidoking isn't any better than the rest of his pokemon." Red thought to himself, still trying to figure out what Giovanni was planning. "Espeon, finish it with Quick Attack!"

Espeon quickly hopped onto his feet, having taken Nidoking's attack surprisingly well. He then shot toward Nidoking in a blur of movement, striking before Nidoking even had time to blink. Nidoking winced as Espeon suddenly struck him in the gut and staggered back, eventually falling over as he fainted. Giovanni recalled Nidoking, as if he had been expecting him to fall so easily, and placed the pokeball back on his belt.

"Thats three pokemon now, my remaining pokemon outnumber your's two to one." Red said to Giovanni. "Unless you've caught the winged mirages, this battle is over."

"So confident in your abilities, are you? You truly think it takes a legendary pokemon to defeat you, Red?" Giovanni chuckled to himself and shook his head. "It seems your strength has made you overconfident..."

"What does he have up his sleeve then?" Red wondered. "Is he just trying to psyche me out? Or does he really have a pokemon he thinks can make up for all these losses somehow?" Red looked at Espeon and thought over his remaining pokemon.

"Giovanni primarily uses ground-type pokemon, and I still have Venusaur and Blastoise left anyway. Whatever he has up his sleeve, I'm not going to worry about it." Red took a pokeball from his belt. "I'll use Venusaur next."

Meanwhile, Giovanni had drawn a pokeball and was ready to release his next pokemon as well. He held the pokeball in his hand and pressed the button, releasing his Kangaskhan out onto the field. He then waited for Red to make the usual switch to another pokemon, grinning eagerly.

"Espeon, thats enough for now, return!" Red called out as he recalled his Espeon. He didn't give the move a second thought and immediately held up Venusaur's pokeball. "Venusaur, I choose you!" The pokeball opened in Red's hand, releasing Venusaur, the final evolved form of Bulbasaur, out onto the field.

"Venusaur, use Leech Seed!" Venusaur angled the large tree-like plant on its back and fired a seed from the top of it. The seed almost overshot its target but landed on Kangaskhan's tail. The seed immediately sprouted vines and latched on.

"Kangaskhan, Dizzy Punch!" Kangaskhan wound up for a punch and then charged across the gym. Venusaur turned its head to the side, the best it could do to try to avoid the attack, taking Kangaskhan's punch as a right hook to the side of its face. Venusaur easily shrugged off the attack though, looking almost unharmed by it.

"With Leech Seed up, Venusaur can definitely survive long enough to use that attack now." Red thought to himself. "Venusaur, begin charging! Solarbeam!" Venusaur nodded and began gathering solar energy through the plant on its back.

"A reckless tactic, Red!" Giovanni said to him. "Your Solarbeam technique leaves you wide open! Kangaskhan, use Comet Punch and follow up with quickly with another Dizzy Punch!"

Kangaskhan unleashed a flurry of punches on Venusaur. Venusaur felt only the lightest of blows from each hit, four punches in total, but still winced as each hit it directly in the face. Kangaskhan then wound up for a punch as Venusaur's plant began to glow brightly, signalling it was almost fully charged, and delivered another Dizzy Punch to end off its attacks. Venusaur winced and took a step back, but quickly shook it off.

The light began to drain out of the plant on Venusaur's back as it opened its mouth and fired the Solarbeam. A bright, yellow beam of energy blasted Kangaskhan at point-blank range, throwing her across the gym. Kangaskhan started to get back up shortly after hitting the ground, but collapsed again and fell unconscious as Leech Seed drained the last of her energy.

"It seems you don't give much thought to the consequences of your actions." Giovanni said to Red as he recalled Kangaskhan. "Of course, I won't say exactly what you did wrong yet, but that last battle most certainly decided this match Red."

"What are you talking about? I just beat your fourth pokemon without any losses!" Red shot back.

"Your overconfidence is going to be your undoing, Red." Giovanni said to him. Even with only two pokemon remaining, Giovanni's confidence hadn't faltered in the slightest. He took a pokeball from his belt and released his next pokemon, sending out a large steel snake pokemon out onto the field.

"That pokemon...thats a Steelix." Red thought. "It must have evolved from his Onix. Blastoise can handle this one though."

"Venusaur, good job, return!" Red recalled Venusaur. He placed Venusaur's pokeball on his belt and took Blastoise's pokeball in hand. "Blastoise, I choose you!" He pressed the button, releasing Blastoise from its pokeball and sending it out onto the gym's battlefield.

"Blastoise, take Steelix down in one hit! Hydro Pump!"

"Steelix, evade with Dig!"

Steelix hit the ground with its head and began drilling into it. Blastoise fired two wide, high-pressure blasts of water from its dual cannons at Steelix but was too slow. The blasts caught the tail end of Steelix's body just before it disappeared into the ground.

"Like we're going to let you hit with that attack!" Red said. "Blastoise, use Protect!" Blastoise crossed its arms in front of itself defensively, forming a protective barrier around its body.

"A minor setback." Giovanni said calmly. "Steelix, rise over here and use Sandstorm!" The ground near the hole Steelix had dug began to crack and burst open as Steelix rose up. Sand swirled around Steelix's body and then spread out across the field, creating a sandstorm. Blastoise's shield dropped and the pokemon winced as it felt sand blasting its body.

"Like that will stop us..." Red muttered. "Blastoise, use Hydro Pump again!"

"Steelix, evade with Dig!" Blastoise made another attempt to attack Steelix, but with much the same results. Blastoise fired two strong blasts of water at Steelix, but Steelix drilled into the ground and Blastoise only managed to land a glancing blow. The blinding sandstorm didn't help matters any, although Blastoise still managed to get in the hit.

"This again? Blastoise, block it with Protect!" Blastoise crossed its arms defensively, forming a blue, transparent shield around itself.

"Do you really think I would use the same tactic twice?" Giovanni said with a grin. "Steelix, rise!" The ground near the middle of the gym cracked open and Steelix rose out of it with a roar. Steelix curled its body around the hole until it had emerged fully.

"Now, knock his Blastoise down with Earthquake!" Steelix slammed the ground with his body, sending a shockwave throughout the battlefield. The ground cracked and ruptured, with the shockwave reaching Blastoise just as its protection wore off. The ground under Blastoise's feet ruptured, knocking it onto its back.

"He went through all that to knock Blastoise over?" Red thought in disbelief. "At that range, Blastoise can finish his Steelix as soon as he gets up."

"Now to finish this..." Giovanni quietly said to himself. "Steelix, Explosion!" Steelix moved toward Blastoise, its body glowing as energy began to gather in its body, building up to explosive proportions.

"No! Blastoise, quick! Get up and finish it off! Hydro Pump!" Blastoise withdrew into its shell and flipped itself over to get back on its feet. Blastoise stood up and faced Steelix, but it was too late. A blast of energy shot out in all directions from Steelix's body, scattering the sand that had been blowing through the gym. In the blink of an eye, Blastoise disappeared into the blast.

"BLASTOISE!" Red had to shield his eyes against the sand being blasted out of the battlefield. When the sand and dust died down, leaving a clear battlefield, both Steelix and Blastoise were unconscious. Giovanni recalled Steelix without a moment of hesitation. Red, upon seeing his Blastoise, fell to his knees.

"Blastoise..."

"Now don't tell me this is a new experience for you, Red." Giovanni said, chuckling to himself. Red clenched his fists and shot Giovanni a glare.

"Only you would force a pokemon to use a technique like Explosion!" Red yelled at him. He stood up and quickly recalled Blastoise, then took Pikachu's pokeball in hand.

"Explosion is a perfectly legitimate strategy, Red, used by many trainers throughout Kanto and other regions." Giovanni said to him. "Even pokemon are willing to win a battle at any cost, you of all people should recognize this."

"What? Why would you think that?!"

"You claim to understand how your pokemon feel, don't you?" Giovanni said flatly. "Have you ever wondered why pokemon listen to their trainers at all? Why they are willing to fight for their trainers?"

"Its because of the bond we share with them!" Red replied. Giovanni laughed at him.

"Do you honestly believe that, Red?" Giovanni asked him, grinning. "Pokemon are born weapons, natural killers. They bond with humans only out of their desire for battle. Their powers and capabilities are beyond anything we could do ourselves, which is why they are the perfect weapon."

"I don't have to stand here and listen to this!" Red shot back. "Pikachu, I choose you!" Red opened Pikachu's pokeball and released her. Pikachu appeared on the field with an excited cry, but frowned when she saw Giovanni.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice in the matter." Giovanni said to him. "Every move I have made so far...was for this." Giovanni took a pokeball in hand and released a pokemon out onto the field. At first, nothing seemed to appear. The red beam from the pokeball was angled toward the ground. Three holes soon opened up, though, and the brown heads of a trio of Digletts popped up. Giovanni's final pokemon was Dugtrio.

"This is your final pokemon? I don't..." Red stopped and gasped when the realization dawned on him. Giovanni knew he would use Pikachu last, and Red fought through the entire match without giving it a second thought. His Pikachu couldn't harm any of Giovanni's pokemon except Kangaskhan, but he had been following his usual battle plan so closely that it slipped his mind completely.

"You see, Red, unlike you I plan more than a step ahead." Giovanni said to him. "Each of my pokemon needed only to weaken your's so that my most powerful pokemon, Dugtrio, could finish them off one by one."

"Even if your Dugtrio is strong, there's no way its strong enough to do that!" Red said, knowing Snorlax at least could take Dugtrio's strongest attacks. Even after taking a Superpower from Giovanni's Nidoqueen.

"True, unfortunately, but you have played straight into my hands and given me the opportunity to change that." Giovanni said with a grin.

"Whats that supposed to mean?"

"To put it quite bluntly, you've fallen straight into my trap. Dugtrio?" Dugtrio disappeared into the ground, reappearing in the middle of the gym. The ground suddenly shook and slanted down toward Dugtrio. Pikachu tried to run to get out of the way, but the ground under her feet slide toward Dugtrio as she tried to run and kept her from moving anywhere.

"Arena Trap, perhaps you are familiar with it?" Giovanni said to a bewildered Red. "Your Pikachu is trapped with no choice but to fight Dugtrio, denied its most powerful means of attacking. Your Pikachu is something special, but it is still nothing against a ground-type pokemon."

"I still don't see how thats going to help you beat the rest of my pokemon."

"That would be where this technique comes in." Giovanni replied. "Dugtrio, Ancientpower!" Dugtrio focused, bringing out a latent ancient power from within itself. Rocks began to float up from the ground and were then flung at Pikachu. Pikachu cried out and was sent rolling across the ground from the attack, though the sliding soil under her kept her from moving any further away from Dugtrio.

"Damn it, no time for talking then!" Red thought, realizing now what Giovanni had planned. Though the chances were slim, Ancientpower could cause an increase in Dugtrio's speed, toughness, and power. "Pikachu, attack from above with Slam!" Pikachu jumped out toward Dugtrio and came down on top of it, hitting the ground pokemon with her tail. Dugtrio's three heads winced as Pikachu's tail hit them from above, but they easily shook it off.

"Perhaps you're smarter than you seem, Red, but its too late for you to change the outcome." Giovanni said to him. "Dugtrio, use Ancientpower again!"

"Pikachu, quick! Double Team!" Pikachu split off into multiple images as Dugtrio called upon Ancientpower again. Rocks floated around Dugtrio and it flung the rocks at one of Pikachu's image, but the image vanished as Dugtrio struck a fake.

"My Pikachu isn't so helpless, Giovanni! You're going to regret banking on this strategy!" Red said to him. "Pikachu, now! Slam!"

"Dugtrio, Dig!" Pikachu's duplicate images vanished as she moved to attack, jumping down toward Dugtrio to attack with her tail. Dugtrio quickly withdrew its body underground, disappearing under the gym before Pikachu could land the attack. Dugtrio popped back up almost as quickly, knocking Pikachu back from the hole where she landed.

"It will take more than Double Team to save you now, Red." Giovanni said to him. "Even with Double Team, there is still a chance for Dugtrio to hit the right target. And Dugtrio can evade your follow-up attack with Dig."

"There's really no way for Pikachu to beat it then..." Red thought in dismay. "And if he uses Ancientpower and manages to get that power-up, its game over." Red looked over at Pikachu and pondered his next move.

"Wait a second...in order for his strategy to succeed, he needs Pikachu to stay in the battle." He thought. "She doesn't look like she could take another hit from Dig...would he risk it?"

"Dugtrio, Ancientpower!"

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack and dodge under it!"

Dugtrio focused its power again, causing rocks to float around it. When Dugtrio flung the rocks at Pikachu she quickly dashed down the sloped ground in a blur of movement. She managed to move under the rocks, narrowly avoiding the attack, and then struck Dugtrio with a light hit. Dugtrio shook it off easily.

"Pikachu, now! Double Team!" While still next to Dugtrio, Pikachu split off into multiple images and surrounded it.

"As I already said, Red, Double Team won't help you." Giovanni said to him.

"We'll see about that!" Red shot back. "Pikachu, Slam attack now!"

"Dugtrio, withdraw with Dig!" Pikachu twirled around, trying to slam her tail into Dugtrio but the swift mole pokemon pulled its head under before Pikachu could hit it. The attack also caused the duplicate images to disappear.

"Are you sure you want to do that, Giovanni?" Red asked him with a grin.

"What are you talking about?" Giovanni asked in response, raising an eyebrow. Red pointed to Pikachu, and when Giovanni looked he noticed Pikachu was panting and seemed rather tired. He gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath.

"Dugtrio, don't attack!" Giovanni called out. Dugtrio emerged from the ground in front of Pikachu.

"Heh. Seems there's a flaw in your plan, Giovanni." Red said to him. "You need Pikachu to survive until you manage to get the Ancientpower boost, but in all your planning you forgot that, even though my Pikachu is strong, her defenses are weak."

"Wait...does that mean its a good thing I can't take hits well?" Pikachu wondered.

"The next hit you get in on Pikachu will knock her out, meaning a different pokemon will face Dugtrio." Red continued explaining. "Snorlax could deal with your Dugtrio just fine if you can't get the boost. He'll take a hit from whatever attack you use, use Rest to heal, and then knock Dugtrio out with a Snore attack."

"I see...seems you're starting to think things through." Giovanni replied. A bead of sweat dripped down the side of his face. "But if that last attack is Ancientpower then I still have a chance! Dugtrio, Ancientpower!" Dugtrio began to focus, drawing out its latent powers for another attack.

"And thats checkmate, Giovanni!" Red called out. "Pikachu, now! Slam attack!" Pikachu twirled around, striking Dugtrio hard with her tail. Dugtrio was caught while it was still powering up for the attack, stunning it briefly and causing Dugtrio to lose focus.

"He...he set me up!" Giovanni thought, a shocked expression on his face. "Impossible! I, Giovanni, was tricked by Red?!" Red had Pikachu move in close, knowing Giovanni wouldn't attack Pikachu with Dig in its weakened state. Within close proximity, Pikachu would be able to stop Dugtrio from using Ancientpower.

"One more time, Slam!" Dugtrio tried to draw out power for its attack again, but Pikachu again attacked before Dugtrio could. With one more strike from her tail, each Diglett that made up the trio leaned over and fell unconscious. With Dugtrio unconscious, Arena Trap wore off and Pikachu ran across the gym to stand at Red's side.

"Banking on a single pokemon to win the match for you is never a good idea." Red said to Giovanni.

"So it would seem..." Giovanni muttered. "Seems you have somehow managed to outwit me afterall. Perhaps it is time I retired from Team Rocket afterall."

"Do you really think I'm just going to let you walk away?" Red said to him.

"Are you?" Giovanni asked flatly. "I have no pokemon left, while you have all of your's. I am completely at your mercy, it seems. So what will you do?"

"What WILL I do?" Red wondered. "The right thing to do would be to turn him over to the authorities but..." Red decided to think over his next move. He finally had Giovanni right where he wanted him, and he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.


Meanwhile, back on One Island...

"I can see why people love hot springs so much, I feel ready to take on the world now!" Ashley said, full of enthusiasm after a relaxing soak in One Island's hot springs. The three of them, Ashley, Rina, and Pippi, were just leaving the cave the springs were in.

"How about you settle for a gym leader instead?" Rina suggested, giggling quietly at Ashley.

"Right! I'll beat the last two gym leaders no problem!" Ashley declared. "And then, I'll keep going and beat the Elite Four too!"

"Ok, maybe you need a dip in the cold springs to cool off now..." Rina said to her. "So how do you feel, Pippi?"

"-Great!-" Pippi replied. "-But I can't help but feel like we missed out on something while we were in there...-"

Rina smiled and nodded to her. "I wouldn't worry about it, we get plenty of excitement as it is."


Author's Notes: Though the story focuses on Ashley and Rina at this point, I felt the need to show this battle. Still debating what to do with Giovanni at this point. In the games, he just disappears. But why would anyone, especially Red, just let him off the hook so easily? Maybe Red can come up with some sort of karmic punishment for him. Also, to say Red's strong is an understatement. His pokemon grew rather quickly.

From a writer's perspective, I have to say I hate Dugtrio. Its one of those bizarre first gen pokemon, like Voltorb and Muk, but at least those two you can show easily enough. First off its technically not even three Diglett's fused, according to the pokedex, rather they just share a hive mind of sorts. Second, what the HECK do they look like below the ground? They obviously have claws down there somewhere but what do they look like? What would happen if you released a Dugtrio somewhere it couldn't dig into so easily?

You're pretty much limited to showing Dugtrio on natural, diggable terrain unless you want to take creative liberties with its appearance. I've considered doing that before, but decided I'd rather stick to its given appearance. If at some point I ever have a character get a Dugtrio, you can bet it won't be seen very often and only when the terrain would permit its usual head-only appearance.

Short chapter overall, but I felt it was necessary to show this. Would have had it up sooner but I spent most of last week procrastinating up until the weekend, as usual, and then had to deal with a family dinner yesterday.