The Year of Rocket's Revenge
Session: November, Part 2 (11.14.05 / 02.15.07)
When we last left Cassie and Arius, they were traveling from Dewford Island to Mauville City by way of boat. Thanks to help from a seaman who went by the name of Old Man Bridges, the two teenagers arrived at their destination after a few hours. Hours in which they entertained him by reliving the story of how the two of them first met... and grew to love each other. Granted, they didn't tell him everything...
Meanwhile, our plucky young hero, Ash Ketchum, was trying to track them down. With Cassie still unfamiliar of what transpired at the Evergrande City Pokémon Junior Master Tournament in regards to Marco, Ash, along with Pikachu, were hoping to find her and explain the strange sights of that day.
Thanks to the young couple still being in Mauville despite having arrived there two weeks ago, Ash and Pikachu were finally closing in on them. Hopefully, nothing will distract them from reaching their goal.
Of course, this is Ash Ketchum we're talking about...
Saturday, November 3rd, Mauville City
After two weeks of searching the Hoenn Region, Ash and Pikachu had finally arrived in Mauville City. They were still in the process of attempting to track down Arius and Cassie. But they seemed to have run into a little problem...
"I... can't... take... it... anymore!"
Pikachu had once again been charged, against his will, with the task of keeping Ash focused on what they had come here to do. That included keeping him from walking into every Pokémon gym they had passed along the way. But Ash was having none of that this time...
"I... must... go in... NOW!"
Ash broke away from Pikachu and bolted for the gym's front door. Pikachu gave chase, but Ash beat him there, running smack into the door. But unexpectedly, the door fell forward and started moving along some sort of track. Pikachu hopped on board the moving platform, as Ash lied there in an amazement, wondering what was going on.
"Why is this thing moving? It kind of reminds me of a..."
Just ahead of them, the floor began to slope downward. Steeply. Ash and Pikachu freaked out as they realized what was going on.
"ROLLER COASTER!"
"PIKAAAAAA!"
A guard rail appeared on either side of the platform, and the duo hung on for dear life as the 'coaster car' picked up speed and dropped downwards...
Just a few miles away, on a hillside just outside of the city, Arius and Cassie were in the midst of a training battle. Arius watched as his Snorlax stood fast while Cassie ordered her Espeon to attack.
"Espeon, use Swift!"
Espeon fired a small wave of stars right at Snorlax, resulting in a direct hit on the giant Pokémon's belly. But Snorlax seemed to phase it off as it was nothing, reaching down to scratch his stomach as a sign of such.
"Cassie, you're not even trying anymore! Do you want to stay a Second-Level Novice or what?"
"I'm doing the best I can!"
"Well, try harder!"
"Try harder, he says," Cassie thought to herself. "Espeon's not a physical Pokémon, and that makes it even harder to take down a strong defender like Snorlax!"
Cassie glanced at her boyfriend across the way, and appeared to look as if she was trying to see through him. In reality, she was just trying to read his mind in order to discover his next move.
"I bet she's trying to read my mind right now," Cassie heard from Arius' mind. "Cheater. How's she supposed to become a Pokémon Master if she has to resort to that to gain an advantage?"
"I hate it when he's right," she mumbled under her breath. "But..."
Cassie closed her eyes and started to concentrate on the battle using her other senses. Arius noticed that, and smiled.
"Snorlax... Body Slam!"
Snorlax started walking over towards Espeon, one ground-shaking step at a time. Espeon stood her ground, waiting for her next command. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Cassie deep in thought, trying to transmit instructions through telekinesis.
But then, out of the blue, Cassie fell backwards, hitting the ground back-first. Espeon was about to run over and see what was up, but then she saw a shadow engulf her. The shadow of Snorlax.
Who was about to deliver what amounted to a belly flop on her.
"SNORLAX!"
"Oh crap!" Arius yelled as he ran over to check on Cassie. "Cassie!"
As Arius ran past their two Pokémon, Snorlax got back up on his own two feet, only to fall backwards himself... and into a deep sleep. As for Espeon, other than having been knocked out by the attack, she didn't look too worse for the wear.
Meanwhile, Cassie had come to, rubbing the side of her head as she sat up and saw Arius coming up and going down on both knees in front of her.
"Are you okay?" Arius asked, concerned.
"I think so," Cassie replied. "That's never happened before..."
"The fainting part?"
"No, no, what caused the fainting! I was trying to transmit my next move to Espeon using my psychic powers. But, for some reason, I couldn't do it. And now... I've got a headache! Uhhhh..."
"Maybe we should quit for the day," recommended Arius. "We need to get back to the Pokémon Center so you can get some rest."
Arius then pulled out Snorlax's Pokéball to recall it. Once that was done, he got Espeon's and did the same for Cassie's Pokémon.
"Do you need help walking back?" Arius asked, not even waiting for an answer as he draped one of Cassie's arms around the back of his neck.
Cassie nodded, then let Arius lead her slowly back into Mauville.
"Ha ha ha! I see you made it all the way through!"
Ash and Pikachu, a little disoriented after the ride and a battle with a robot Raikou, were slow to get up as they were greeted by a man with gray hair and beard, dressed in a yellow suit covered by a brown and gray sweatshirt.
"By the way, my name's Wattson! I'm the gym leader here! I'm guessing you've come to challenge me for a Dynamo Badge!"
"That's right, and I will... once the room stops spinning..."
"Ha ha! Well, when it does, the battle field awaits! Right, Watt?"
A younger, glasses-wearing man with a lab coat over his green shirt and tan slacks sighed over Ash's disoriented state. As well as the fired-up look that Pikachu had on his face.
"I apologize in advance... he insists on his challengers having 'fun' before their battles."
"CHHHHHHHHHHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"
Ash returned the 'fun' favor... by having Pikachu knock out Wattson's Magnemite, Voltorb, and Magneton without difficulty. In fact, each one had been done in by a single, well-placed Thunder attack apiece. As Wattson and Watt stood there, flabbergasted, so did Ash and Pikachu, who actually couldn't believe it themselves.
"I guess that's it," Watt said, having acted as referee for the match. "With Magneton unable to battle, the victory goes to Ash of Pallet Town."
Despite the shocking result, Ash reacted to the win all the same.
"Yes! I've got myself... a Dynamo Badge!"
"Pi pikachu!" Pikachu added.
"Well, well..." Wattson admitted, shaking a bit as he walked over. "Very impressive indeed."
Wattson reached into his pocket and pulled out a Dynamo Badge, which he promptly handed over to his challenger.
"Congratulations, Ash! Now, if you'll excuse me..."
With that, Wattson turned about and slowly waddled out of the room.
"Sorry about that," Watt apologized again. "I think he's a little surprised about how that battle turned out. We all are."
"No kidding."
Ash watched as Wattson left the room. He had won a gym badge in the Hoenn Region at long last. But for some reason, the victory felt a little hollow to him...
45 minutes later, at an ice cream parlor in downtown Mauville, Arius was sitting at a table. His face showed that he had his own reason to look stunned in disbelief. While he had barely touched his single scoop of Rocky Road ice cream, which had almost completely melted out of its cone and onto his left hand, his girlfriend just across from him was finishing off the remnants of a four-scoop banana split sundae, covered in chocolate sauce and topped off with two red cherries.
"If you were that hungry, we could've gone to eat at an actual restaurant!" complained Arius.
"You're just grumpy because I ordered the most expensive thing off the menu," Cassie observed. "That, and because your ice cream melted while you were watching me eat."
"Because I was concerned about you!" Arius said as he used a napkin to wipe off what of the sticky substance he could on his hand into Cassie's empty bowl. "It couldn't be because I added it to your tab!"
"Whatever happened to treating a girl?"
"If I want to treat you, it'll be at some fancy shmancy five-star place. Not somewhere like this, just to get a quick, cheap thrill."
"Wow, it's really him!" a customer squealed from another table.
Curious, Arius and Cassie both turned to the counter. They saw a man with a gray beard and hair that only covered the back of his head standing there. He was dressed in a yellow dress shirt and pants, with a grayish-brown sweatshirt over that. And he seemed... sad.
"Here you go!" the chipper girl behind the counter said as she handed him a tub of ice cream labeled 'Winning Wattson'.
"Thank you," he said as he paid for his purchase.
"Did something happen?" she asked as Arius and Cassie tried to listen in from their table. "You only order a tub of ice cream when something bad happens to you. And for it to be a tub of the flavor we named after you... it must be real bad!"
Wattson sighed. "I'm sorry, Katrina... but I don't feel like talking about it."
"Oh."
After ringing the purchase up and bagging it, Katrina bid him farewell.
"Hope you feel better! I wanna see you smiling the next time you drop by!"
Wattson walked out silently without any sort of reply.
"That's Wattson, the gym leader here in Mauville!" Arius deduced.
"Ya think?" Cassie retorted, a little dismayed he was only now figuring that out.
"It's perfect! What better way to prepare for a Pokémon League advancement exam than to challenge a high-ranking gym leader? That's just what you need!"
Arius then jumped out of his seat and bolted for the door.
"Hey, wait for me!" Cassie exclaimed, fiddling around in her backpack for some money to leave for a tip.
"Hey! Mr. Wattson, hold on a second!"
Wattson stopped as Arius caught up to him on the street.
"What do you want?" he asked, not turning around to face Arius.
"My name's Arius McFly, and me and my girlfriend want to challenge you to a gym battle! We've heard so much about you, and now we want to see if we're strong enough to beat someone as powerful as you!"
"I'm sorry..." Wattson said slowly. "But I'm afraid I must decline your challenge."
With that, Wattson started walking away.
"Hey!" Arius yelled, trying to get Wattson's attention.
"Don't bother," came Cassie's voice, as she had caught up and she had put a hand on his shoulder. "He has his reasons."
"What? But doesn't he know that generally gym leaders are required to accept every single challenge?"
Cassie dodged the question, instead content with watching Wattson turn at the next street corner and disappear from sight.
"Hmmmm..." Cassie figured out, flashing a smile all of a sudden. "Looks like he finally caught up with us."
Arius was confused. "Wait a minute... what now?"
"We need to go back to the Pokémon Center," Cassie answered as she turned about and started heading the other way.
"I'm glad your psychic powers are back to normal, but how about explaining for the mind reading-impaired?" Arius shouted as he followed her.
That night, Ash was lying awake in bed at his room at the Pokémon Center, while Pikachu slept soundly next to him. As he stared up at the ceiling, he picked up his Dynamo Badge from his badge case and stared at it for quite awhile.
"I know I should be happy about this. But..."
Ash quickly replayed the short battle in his head, as Pikachu easily bested each of Wattson's Pokémon with just one electric attack apiece. He then remembered something that Nurse Joy had asked him when she was checking out Pikachu afterwards...
"Pikachu seems a bit overcharged," Joy commented as she hooked Pikachu up to a machine to draw some of it out. "Did anything happen to him that may have caused this?"
Ash shook his head. "I don't think so."
Earlier, in the gym's trap-filled entrance hallway, Ash watched as Pikachu attacked a Raikou! But upon touching it, a lot of Raikou's electric charge was transferred to Pikachu. The resulting exchange caused Raikou to explode, taking out its own head and sending Pikachu flying back towards Ash.
"Pikachu!" Ash cried.
Pikachu managed to land on his own feet okay, though sparks were now visibly sparking from his cheeks. Meanwhile, the Raikou, which was apparently a fake if the wires sticking out of its neck were any indication, had stopped moving.
"THAT'S IT!" Ash realized, shouting at the top of his lungs and waking Pikachu up.
"Pi... pika pi?" Pikachu asked sleepily.
The next morning, Ash and Pikachu had just ran past the main desk at the Center, about to head out for the Mauville Gym. But out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Watt at the desk, chatting with Nurse Joy.
"Oh, Ash, it's you!" Watt stated, relieved. "Good."
"Watt? Oh, yeah... I have to tell you something."
"I know," Watt cut him off. "Nurse Joy and I just kinda figured it out a few minutes ago."
"Well, let's go tell Wattson then! I think it was kind of unfair for me to win a gym badge like that. It would only be fair if I give it back and challenge him again... with Pikachu's normal strength."
"Pika!" Pikachu chirped in agreement.
"That's all well and good... but Wattson walked out about half an hour ago, saying he was going to take a vacation and that he wasn't sure when he'd be back. Oh... and there was an empty tub of 'Winning Wattson' flavored ice cream rolling across the floor in his room..."
"WHAT? We have to go find him!"
"Well, he was heading north..."
Ash grabbed Watt by the arm and pulled him out the door, with Pikachu running right behind them.
About a mile or so outside the city, Wattson had stopped by the river when he had been approached by a wild Electrike. Wattson was smiling and laughing as the playful Pok?on jumped about here and there. Electrike then jumped up onto Wattson's lap and started licking the gym leader on the side of his face.
"Ha ha, you're full of energy, aren't you?" Wattson laughed.
"Wattson!"
Wattson turned about and saw Ash and Watt running towards him.
"Well well, look who's here! How are you, Ash?"
"I'm fine... but there's something we have to tell you."
"It's regarding the battle you two had yesterday."
As Watt explained the situation, a smile started appearing on Wattson's face.
"Well now... that explains it! I knew I wasn't losing my touch!"
Ash reached into his pocket and pulled out the Dynamo Badge he had 'earned' yesterday. He then motioned to hand it over to Wattson.
"Wattson, I..."
But Wattson rejected Ash's open palm, closing it into a fist and pushing it back towards Ash.
"Keep it as a souvenir."
"But... I didn't win this fair and square. Attacking that robot ended up supercharging Pikachu that it gave us an unfair advantage! I don't deserve this badge."
"I applaud your honesty, Ash. But we all know you didn't plan on that happening. Heck, I didn't plan on it. It was an accident and a case of good fortune on your side. We couldn't have predicted this. As far as I'm concerned, you won that badge yesterday."
"Are... are you sure?"
"As positive as a Plusle! Ha ha ha!"
"So that means you're not going on vacation?" Watt asked his boss.
"Of course not! There are others waiting to challenge me! Besides..."
Wattson started to stroke Electrike's head, to which he smiled with approval.
"I've got me another Pok?on to train!"
Ash nodded. "And I've got something I have to take care of too."
"In that case... I wish you the best!"
Wattson shared a hearty handshake with Ash before bidding him and Pikachu farewell. Ash and Pikachu waved back as Wattson, Watt, and Electrike saw them off.
"Thanks again for everything!" Ash shouted.
As Wattson disappeared from sight, Ash and Pikachu began plotting their next move.
"Well, Pikachu, maybe we should try our luck here in the Hoenn Region," Ash told his partner as they walked down the hill. "I mean, since it looks like we're not gonna ever catch up to Cassie and Arius..."
"Pikachu," Pikachu nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, the duo heard some applause coming from nearby. Turning to their right, they saw Arius leaning against a nearby tree, clapping his hands with joy.
"Congratulations, Ash Ketchum... you've found us."
Ash and Pikachu ran over excitedly.
"Whew... I thought we'd never find you!"
"Pika!"
"We couldn't put our own lives on hold just to wait for you, you know! What's so important that you had to come all the way here to Hoenn to talk to my girl in person?"
"It's regarding Marco."
"Marco?" Arius asked, scratching his head. "Oh, now I remember! The kid that knocked her out of the tournament, right? And unfairly, I might add! I mean, what was up with that strange glow his Absol had? And while he was unconscious?"
Ash sighed. "It's a long story..."
"Then I bet you wouldn't mind telling it over lunch?" Cassie offered as she walked up along the path towards them.
All of Ash, Arius, and Cassie's Pokémon were off to the side, enjoying some Poké-food as the three trainers enjoyed some sandwiches while they sat on a blanket on top of the grass.
"Nice to hear about the whole thing with Wattson," Cassie exclaimed. "I kinda figured you were in town after reading his thoughts yesterday. But I began to doubt myself after we couldn't find you at the Pokémon Center!"
"She was getting really worried," recalled Arius.
"Yeah," Ash chuckled. "My mind was kinda busy at the time..."
"So... what can you tell us about that cheater, Marco?"
"Yes. There was always something about him I didn't like..."
"Well..." Ash began, "I'm not sure how to explain it. In fact, I'm not sure how much of it I understand myself."
"Um... if I may..."
Cassie leaned forward and pressed her forehead against Ash's. In an instant, she used her psychic powers to find and process everything that Ash was going to tell them. Her task complete, she pulled away. But for some reason, Cassie was holding her head in pain again. And apparently, so was Ash.
"Ooh, that smarts..." Cassie remarked.
"Ow!" Ash cried out. "What did you do?"
"Did you do what I think you just did?" Arius asked.
"Yes... but that's the first time I've tried doing it that way."
"Uh... what did you do?" Ash repeated again.
"I just tried to read your mind," Cassie admitted.
"Wow! You can do that?"
"I can... but for some reason, I couldn't pull out everything you wanted to tell me."
"Is he holding back?" Arius wondered out loud.
Cassie shook her head. "I don't think so. It may be that I'm not strong enough to get out that much information at once."
"So, what did you find out?"
"You know about what Marco can do now, don't you?" Ash concluded.
Cassie nodded. "Yes. Yes I do."
Arius scratched his head, distraught that he's being left out again. But Cassie then began to explain it to him.
"Apparently Marco has gained this strange ability where he's able to temporarily transfer his soul to one of his Pokémon. The two combine to increase the attacking Pokémon's strength, with the merge signified by the appearance of a visible colored aura around the Pokémon."
"What do you mean he's able to do this? At will?"
"No. He can't seem to control when it happens. But the incident in Evergrande City wasn't his first. And it may not be the last. Furthermore, he may not be the only one with this 'power.'"
Cassie looked over at Ash, allowing Arius to instantly draw a quick conclusion.
"You mean... you..."
"Yeah," Ash admitted. "Strangely, though, I remember it happening, but not what happened when it was going on. You know?"
"It's true. Ash has shown that ability once before. Though I was unable to discern where, when, or how from the brief time I was in there."
"It was at the Viridian City gym. Though, like I said, I don't recall much about that day..."
"So this means that you could've cheated just like Marco," Arius had figured out, "but for whatever reason, you decided not to?"
"I told you, I don't know how to even use these powers in the first place!" defended Ash.
"So, why tell us?" questioned Cassie. "If it's just to justify me finishing fourth in that tournament, it didn't work."
"No... you see, I've been having trouble figuring out this thing, and neither Professor Oak or anyone else I've asked seems to know what's going on with me. I don't even know if I can do that again!"
"Well... I guess we could look through our networking channels..."
"Psst!" Arius reminded Cassie. "We're not in the PTA anymore!"
"There are networking channels you're not privy to that aren't connected to them, you know!"
"So you can figure this thing out?"
"Well, Ash... considering the great Professor Oak couldn't... it's pretty doubtful. Still, it's worth a shot. You never know."
Ash smiled. "I knew I could trust you!"
Cassie blushed in response. "Well... uh... glad to know that I've finally proven myself to you... again."
"I still don't see the point of him coming all the way out here just to tell us that," Arius mumbled under his breath.
After finishing up lunch, Ash and Pikachu pack their stuff.
"So, what are you going to do now?" Cassie asked of Ash.
"I'll have to talk it over with Professor Oak," he answered. "Of course, I've been away from Misty and Brock for a few weeks, so I bet they want to know what I'm up to. I might go back home."
"You could come with us," Cassie suggested. "Arius and I are going to challenge Wattson for Dynamo Badges tomorrow. After that, we're heading up along Route 111. Cassie has her Novice Class First Level Exam coming up in a few days."
"Ah, I remember that," Ash scratched his chin. "That was a hard one."
"You mean you passed it already?"
"Heh heh," Arius snickered. "Looks like the genius is falling behind."
"Rookie Class League members shouldn't be making fun of those above him," Cassie chided, reminding Arius to remember his place.
"That's okay... I wouldn't want to get in the way of you two."
"Just remember to call us next time instead of following us halfway across the region," Arius said in jest.
"And the next time we do see each other, you better have Misty and Brock with you!" Cassie told Ash. "Especially Misty. So I can tell her in person that I've never had a romantic interest in you."
"What?" Arius gasped in shock.
"How did you..." Ash scratched his head. "I never..."
Cassie winked playfully. "At least I'm one less girl she'll won't have to worry about. C'mon, Arius..."
"You mean you never..."
Cassie tugged Arius away. "You really think I'm the type to keep my options open? Now, we have some training to do..."
"Maybe we can have a battle next time!" Ash shouted as he waved goodbye.
"Pika pika!"
With Cassie and Arius heading off to prepare for their match with Wattson, Ash and Pikachu are on their way to the Pokémon Center to decide upon their next move... and if necessary, beg to be wired enough money for the trip back home!
To be continued next week in Part 3!
