In this chapter, Sarah is going to have the honor of meeting Morgiana. Lucy and Jake have already encountered her twice, so perhaps a different character can encounter her.
We're also going to see just how strong of a Pokemon trainer she is. Just for the record, she isn't the champion of Johto. It's Lance just like in the games.
Also, Ned and Chris are going to battle Bugsy.
Chapter 18: Cut Above The Rest
Sarah gave her employer a phone call.
"Have you made it to Mahogany?" asked the man in charge of Team Shadow.
"I'm getting closer...I'm in Goldenrod City right now. In fact, that's where my mother and I live..." explained Sarah.
She had to admit, the city was rather expansive. There was a radio tower as well as a bike store.
"Home sweet home? Just remember, you've still got a ways to get to our headquarters..." noted the leader of Team Shadow.
"Right, I'll talk to you later..." answered the girl.
Suddenly, she bumped into someone.
That person happened to be Morgiana.
"Whoops!" exclaimed Sarah.
"I guess you didn't see me..." answered Morgiana.
Sarah's eyes widened in surprise.
"Wait, you're Morgiana! You're a celebrity across Johto! Everyone's heard of you! You've even been on TV!" exclaimed Sarah.
"I certainly am...when you're as well off as me...people tend to respect you..." answered Morgiana.
"My mother's trying to strike it rich...I'm not sure how well she does at gambling to be honest." stated Sarah. Hopefully she would be successful one day.
"I see...do you happen to live in Goldenrod City like I do?" inquired the lady.
"Yeah..." nodded Sarah.
"I happen to own a mansion...it's right over there." explained Morgiana.
Morgiana pointed to her mansion.
Sarah gasped in astonishment.
"Good grief, it's huge!" exclaimed the young girl. Apparently, all of Morgiana's wealth was going somewhere. In front of the mansion was a wall and a gate.
"I know..." nodded Morgiana. She happened to have that mansion for years. Her parents happened to own a mansion of their own, though it wasn't as big as hers.
Part of Sarah wished that she could live in a place like this. She lived in a small home along with her mother...who wasn't even there that often. She was in love with the slot machines.
She had become a Pokemon trainer though, so she decided not to ask for too much else. She didn't want to be blind to what she already had. Especially Totodile. He was her best friend forever.
Then again, she hadn't made a whole lot of friends.
Suddenly, a familiar face showed up.
Totodile immediately frowned. Why did Jerry always have to spoil their fun?
"Jerry, what are you doing here?" asked Sarah.
"I'm here to challenge the Gym Leader! Duh!" exclaimed Jerry. He heard that she was a simple farm girl so he figured that it would be easy.
"Right..." answered the girl. She had seen the Goldenrod City Gym Leader sometimes. She had a liking for cute Pokemon.
Now that she thought of it, her Totodile was rather cute...though admittedly he had a sharp mouth full of fangs. So was her Togepi.
Currently, her Togepi was sleeping.
"Togepi..." murmured the egg Pokemon. Since she was a baby, she took naps every now and then.
"Wait, you're Morgiana! I hear that you're filthy rich!" shouted the youngster.
"A lot of people say that about me..." answered Morgiana.
"Big deal! You're not even a Pokemon trainer like me! You need to be a Pokemon trainer if you REALLY want people to respect you!" shouted the boy.
"Actually, I am a Pokemon trainer." stated the lady.
"What?!" exclaimed Jerry.
"Would you like me to demonstrate my Pokemon?" asked Morgiana. She happened to have a full party of them, but she primarily used her starter Pokemon.
"I bet you're a wimpy Pokemon trainer...so yes!" shouted the youngster.
"I assure you I'm a formidable Pokemon trainer..." answered the lady.
Immediately, she pulled out a Pokeball.
"Yeah, right!" exclaimed Jerry. He was sure that he could beat her easy.
"Go, Wigglytuff!" shouted Morgiana.
"Wigglytuff!" bellowed the balloon Pokemon.
Jerry gasped in surprise.
"Wigglytuff? Not even my rival Chris has that!" shouted Jerry. Last time he checked her Jigglypuff hadn't laid a hand on a Moon Stone.
Jerry scanned Wigglytuff with his Pokedex.
"Wigglytuff, the Balloon Pokemon. Wigglytuff has luxurious fur, and can inflate itself when it is angered." read Jerry's Pokedex.
"Surprised?" asked Morgiana. She had discovered a Moon Stone during a trip to Mt. Moon and she figured that her Jigglypuff would want it...which she did.
All of a sudden, Jerry was having second thoughts about this. Her Wigglytuff looked really really strong.
At that very moment, his Totodile came out of his Pokeball.
"Funny, my Totodile loved doing that..." noted Sarah.
"Totodile!" exclaimed Sarah's Totodile. He wanted some freedom.
Fortunately, thanks to Sarah, he didn't need to be in a Pokeball anymore.
Apparently, Jerry's Totodile wanted to fight Wigglytuff.
"Um, I think she might be too strong..." answered Jerry.
"Totodile!" exclaimed Jerry's Totodile. He was pretty sure that he could handle anything.
Unfortunately, Wigglytuff proved him wrong.
"Body Slam!" ordered Morgiana.
Wigglytuff immediately hit Totodile with a powerful Body Slam.
Jerry's Totodile fainted instantly, much to Jerry's shock.
"Totodile..." murmured Jerry's Totodile. He could not believe that he lost. Wigglytuff hadn't even broken a sweat.
Curiously, Togepi was still sleeping. It was a shame really. That was quite a show.
"I'm not easily impressed, but that was totally awesome!" exclaimed Jerry.
"Aren't you usually a sore loser?" asked Sarah.
"Normally yes, but her Wigglytuff is like a legendary Pokemon! I don't think I'm worthy to even meet her now..." shouted the youngster.
"You flatter me." answered Morgiana. She happened to have had her Wigglytuff since she was an egg. Naturally, it had hatched into an Igglybuff. A sweet adorable Igglybuff.
"By the way, why do you always keep that parasol with you?" asked Sarah. It was sunny out.
"One of my Pokemon happens to know Rain Dance..." explained the lady.
"Oh, I see..." nodded the girl. Apparently, some Pokemon were strong enough to control the weather to a certain extent.
"How did you get so strong?" asked Jerry.
"Well, it wasn't exactly hard to give my Jigglypuff a Moon Stone...I happen to be well off so I can purchase my own evolutionary stones..." remarked Morgiana.
Still, she decided not to evolve her Jigglypuff as soon as she obtained it. If she did, her Jigglypuff wouldn't be able to learn more techniques. But once she was satisfied, she decided to evolve her Jigglypuff into a Wigglytuff.
"I'll see you later. I've got people to meet." answered Sarah.
"So do I, actually." stated Morgiana.
Suddenly, Jerry noticed something.
"Where's your hat? It's not nearly as awesome as mine, but I'm still curious..." stated Jerry.
"What? It's right on my h-what the-how the-why the-" questioned Sarah, grasping her now bare head. At least she still had her pink hair. It was cute.
"Totodile!" exclaimed Sarah's Totodile. It looked like they were going to have a take a break from their mission and search for the hat.
The only question was...where on earth could her hat possibly be?
Hopefully she hadn't lost it in the Ilex Forest. If she had, she probably wouldn't be able to find it.
It then suddenly occurred to her that she had probably lost it when she had crashed into that tree.
"Oh, that's right. Now I remember!" exclaimed Sarah.
"Totodile!" shouted Sarah's Totodile. Perhaps it was located near the Pokemon Day Care Center.
At the Azalea Town Gym...
For some strange reason, Ned got the feeling that Metapod wasn't going to fare any better against his Pokemon than Kakuna did.
Still, he wasn't complaining. Defeating Bugsy would earn his Pokemon valuable experience which would allow them to level up. And leveling up his Pokemon was something that he needed to do if he wanted to do well in the Silver Conference.
Perhaps his Pokemon would evolve if they were lucky. What exactly did Hoothoot evolve into though? He got the feeling that she would evolve into something, but he wasn't quite sure what. It would most likely be another flying Pokemon though.
He instructed his Hoothoot to use Peck.
"Metapod!" exclaimed Metapod. That one happened to be a critical hit.
In retaliation, Bugsy instructed Metapod to use Harden. Maybe having extra defense would give her the edge.
But unfortunately for Metapod, Hoothoot managed to get past her defenses.
Metapod fainted.
"Metapod..." murmured the unfortunate bug Pokemon. On the plus side, she got the feeling that she was going to evolve soon.
"I guess it's time for me to send out Scyther..." noted Bugsy.
Sure enough, Bugsy did just that.
"Scyther scythe!" exclaimed Bugsy's main Pokemon.
"Something tells me this one's going to be harder to beat than the other two..." remarked Ned. Those blades sure looked rather sharp.
Hoothoot noted that she might be in trouble now. Sure, she could fly...but so could Scyther apparently. She no longer had the flight advantage.
And to make matters worse, Scyther was fast. Really fast.
"Hoothoot!" exclaimed the owl Pokemon. How was she supposed to hit the bug Pokemon?
Scyther hit Hoothoot with Cut.
It was a critical hit.
"Hoothoot!" exclaimed Hoothoot. That really hurt.
Hoothoot tried pecking Scyther, but she blocked it with her scythe.
She then slashed Hoothoot.
Hoothoot fainted.
"Hoothoot..." said the owl Pokemon. She had to admit, it was pretty impressive that it took all three of Bugsy's Pokemon to take her down.
"Poor Hoothoot...well, at least I still have two Pokemon left." noted Ned.
It was time to send out a different Pokemon.
He decided to send out his Seel. He happened to be part ice type.
"Go, Seel!" exclaimed Ned.
"Seel seel!" shouted the ice Pokemon.
Scyther attempted to cut Seel with her scythes, but he blocked it with his horn.
He then hit Scyther with Ice Beam.
Scyther was frozen solid.
"This can't be good." noted Bugsy. If only he he had brought Ice Heal.
Ned's Seel then finished Scyther with a well-placed Horn Attack.
Since Scyther had fainted, Bugsy decided to give Ned the Hive Badge.
"It's nice to meet an intellectual like myself..." noted Bugsy.
"I know, right?" asked Ned.
"Right...I guess it's my turn now." answered Chris. She was looking forward to this.
After Bugsy healed his Pokemon at the Pokemon Center, he was ready to fight again.
"You ready?" asked Bugsy.
"I was born ready!" exclaimed Chris.
"Go, Metapod!" shouted the bug Pokemon trainer.
"Metapod!" exclaimed the bug Pokemon.
"Hmm, I was expecting more of a challenge..." remarked Chris.
Suddenly, Metapod evolved into Butterfree.
"You might want to be careful what you wish for..." noted Ned.
"Big deal! I can still take her on!" shouted Chris.
Chris decided to send out a bug Pokemon of her own.
"Go, Spinarak!" exclaimed Chris.
"Spinarak!" shouted the spider Pokemon.
"Butterfree, use Confusion!" ordered Bugsy.
Butterfree nodded.
Unfortunately for Spinarak, it was super effective.
"Spinarak!" shouted the bug Pokemon.
"Come on! Don't tell me you're going to lose that easy! Try using Poison Sting!" instructed Chris.
Spinarak nodded and used Poison Sting on Butterfree.
"Butterfree!" exclaimed the butterfly Pokemon. She was poisoned.
However, Butterfree hit Spinarak with Confusion and she fainted.
"Spinarak..." murmured the fainted spider Pokemon.
Chris sighed and recalled her fainted bug Pokemon.
She then sent out Poliwag.
"Poliwag!" exclaimed the tadpole Pokemon.
Hopefully Poliwag would do better since he wasn't so vulnerable to psychic attacks.
Not only that, but he was apparently a strong Pokemon, much like her Jigglypuff.
She decided to put that to the test.
"Use Water Gun!" instructed Chris.
Poliwag nodded and blasted Butterfree with water. It seemed to be a powerful blast.
"Butterfree!" exclaimed the flying type. That had been a critical hit.
Butterfree used Confusion, but Poliwag wasn't confused.
Poliwag then hit Butterfree with another Water Gun.
Butterfree fainted. Of course, the poison had helped.
"Not bad. How about you try going up against Kakuna now?" asked Bugsy.
"That'd be too easy for my Poliwag..." remarked Chris.
Suddenly, Kakuna came out of her Pokeball on her own.
Bugsy wondered what was going on.
As it turned out, Kakuna was evolving into Beedrill.
"Two Pokemon evolutions in one fight? Must be my lucky day..." noted Bugsy.
"Yeah..." nodded Ned. Of course, Caterpies and Weedles were both fast evolvers.
"Poliwag, use Bubble!" exclaimed Chris.
Poliwag used Bubble...
...but Beedrill used one of her drills to burst the bubble.
"Beedrill!" exclaimed the bug Pokemon.
"Well, that was embarrassing..." noted Chris.
"Poliwag..." murmured the sad water Pokemon. He was doing so well earlier.
Beedrill then used Fury Attack on Poliwag.
"Poliwag!" exclaimed the water Pokemon.
Poliwag then used Water Gun, but Beedrill was fast enough to avoid it.
Beedrill used Poison Sting, and Poliwag fainted.
"Poliwag..." murmured the fainted water Pokemon.
Chris sighed. Now she had only one Pokemon left.
Well, she had better make it count.
She decided to send out Jigglypuff.
"Jigglypuff!" exclaimed the balloon Pokemon.
"Using your starter? Good move." noted Ned. Perhaps he could have used his Eevee against Bugsy.
Chris instructed Jigglypuff to use Sing.
That usually worked...and this time, it did.
Beedrill fell asleep.
"Wake up!" instructed Bugsy.
Beedrill remained asleep.
With Beedrill asleep, Jigglypuff had an opportunity to strike...which she did.
Chris instructed Jigglypuff to use Rollout.
It hit Beedrill and she fainted.
"Beedrill..." murmured the fainted bug Pokemon.
Now all that was left was Scyther.
"Scythe!" exclaimed Scyther.
Chris tried to have Jigglypuff use Sing again...
...but Scyther was too quick for her.
Jigglypuff ended up being deflated by Scyther's scythe...which made Jigglypuff faint.
"Dang it! I lost!" exclaimed Chris. This didn't happen very often.
"Well, you were the one that kept asking for a challenge..." noted Ned.
"Yeah...I guess I bit off more than I could chew this time." remarked Chris.
Well, at least she had an excuse for training her Pokemon some more.
She decided to go outdoors and train her Pokemon.
Meanwhile at Route 34...
Sarah went to search for her hat. It had to be around the route somewhere.
Much to her surprise, she found that an Aipom was wearing it.
"Give that back!" exclaimed Sarah.
The Aipom simply climbed up a tree.
"How am I going to get my hat back?" asked the girl.
Totodile noted that perhaps she should challenge the Aipom to a Pokemon battle in order to get it back.
Surely there was a Pokemon that she could use to battle Aipom.
"Hmm..." thought Sarah.
She decided to send out Pineco.
"Go, Pineco!" shouted Sarah.
"Pineco!" exclaimed the bug Pokemon.
Hopefully Sarah can get her hat back from that Aipom. Also, it seems like Ned has obtained a Hive Badge for himself. Hooray for Ned.
Unfortunately for Chris, she didn't win the Hive Badge. Maybe she can catch a Pokemon that will help.