In this chapter, our heroes are going to head towards Ecruteak City. You probably know this already, but that's where the fourth gym is. It's not a long distance between the third and the fourth, am I right?
Chapter 23: A Historical City
"So...this is where the next gym is..." stated Lucy.
"Looks that way." nodded Jake.
Curious, they noticed that there were two towers in the city. One of them had been burned down, but the other was completely intact.
"I wonder what happened to the one on the left..." questioned the rich girl.
"Beats me." answered the boy.
Curious, they decided to take a closer look.
They encountered a monk.
"Do you know what happened here?" asked Lucy.
"Ah yes...I'm afraid that Ho-Oh went berserk and destroyed this tower..." explained the monk.
"Oh my." answered Jake.
Perhaps Ho-Oh was displeased with one of their offerings. It was hard to judge.
Lucy looked up Ho-Oh with her Pokedex.
"Ho-Oh, the Rainbow Pokemon. Wherever it flies, a rainbow follows. Its body glows in all sorts of different colors." explained Lucy's Pokedex.
"Fortunately, nobody was inside the tower when Ho-Oh raged, except for three Pokemon." answered the monk.
"Those poor Pokemon." answered Lucy.
"Clefairy..." said Lucy's Clefairy. This sounded like a sad tale.
"Fortunately, they were resurrected by Ho-Oh, and became the three legendary beasts. Speaking of which, they're at the tower right now." answered the monk.
"Really?" asked Lucy.
The monk nodded.
Lucy and Jake quickly went to investigate.
Sure enough, there they were.
Apparently, each of the legendary beasts were of a different type, based on their coloring.
Jake scanned the three of them with his Pokedex.
"Raikou, the Thunder Pokemon. The rain clouds it carries allows it to fire thunderbolts at will. It races around the land, and its cry sounds like thunder."
"Entei, the Volcano Pokemon. Whenever it barks, volcanos erupt. This Pokemon races across the land."
"Suicune, the Aurora Pokemon. This Pokemon can instantly purify filthy, murky water. It races across the land, and whenever it appears, it will become windy."
"Seems none of the three like to hold still for too long." answered Jake.
Well, they better savor this opportunity while it lasts.
Jake and Lucy started taking pictures.
Those were certainly going in their scrapbooks. It's not every day that you got to meet a legendary Pokemon.
Of course, they had already encountered the three legendary birds.
After they were finished taking pictures of these one-of-the-kind Pokemon, they wondered where they should go next.
Apparently, there was a theater where you could watch the kimono girls perform.
As it turned out, Sarah was doing just that.
With her were her Togepi and her Totodile.
"They sure dance pretty well, don't they?" asked Sarah.
Totodile nodded.
Suddenly, she noticed that there was a Togepi dancing onstage.
"That Togepi dances pretty well, doesn't she?" inquired the girl.
"Totodile!" exclaimed Sarah's Totodile. She certainly did.
"Maybe you could learn to dance like her, can't you, Togepi?" asked Sarah.
Suddenly, she noticed Togepi was missing from her seat.
"Huh?" inquired the young girl.
It was at that very moment she realized what was going on.
"Totodile, I thought you were watching over her!" exclaimed Sarah.
"Totodile!" exclaimed Sarah's Totodile. He thought she was.
Sarah sighed.
"Well, one of us is going to have to go get her. Not it!" shouted Sarah.
Totodile frowned. It looked like he had lost.
Immediately, he went to pick up Togepi, who was still dancing.
At that very moment, Togepi noticed Totodile.
Sarah's Togepi smiled and grabbed Totodile's hands.
"Totodile?" asked Sarah's Totodile.
She then started dancing with Totodile.
"It looks like I'm going to have to go over there..." noted Sarah.
Immediately, Sarah began to walk onstage.
"Alright, that's enough dancing for you t-"
Suddenly, Totodile and Togepi grabbed Sarah's arms.
"Huh?" asked Sarah.
As it turned out, Togepi had successfully persuaded Totodile to dance onstage.
Sarah was confused at first, but she decided why not dance with them?
And so she danced.
Outside the theater, Jake and Lucy decided to split for the time being.
"I'm going to the theater to watch the Kimono Girls...how about you?" stated Jake.
"I think I'll stay outside and admire the Pokemon wildlife..." answered Lucy. There certainly was going to be a lot to see.
Jake nodded.
Lucy went to Route 38.
Curious, she noticed that there was a sign that was pointing to where the farm was.
Lucy decided that would be interesting.
Apparently, that was where the Moomoo Milk that was so popular around Johto was coming from.
She decided to check out the Moomoo Farm.
Sure enough, there were several Miltank grazing on grass.
"Mooooooo!" exclaimed one of the Miltanks. The grass certainly was delicious.
"They sure have a lot of Miltanks." noted Lucy.
Clefairy nodded in agreement.
Now that she thought of it, didn't Whitney use a Miltank in her battles? It was a pretty decent fighter. She had already fought it twice.
Suddenly, she noticed that someone was doing something very naughty.
As it turned out, that person was Jerry, and he was Miltanktipping.
"Hahaha!" laughed Jerry as he tipped over one of the Miltanks.
"Moooooo!" exclaimed the startled Miltank.
"What are you doing? You'll scare the Miltanks and they won't be able to produce milk!" shouted Lucy.
"But it's fun!" shouted Jerry.
Jerry tipped over another Miltank.
Lucy sighed.
It looked like she was going to have to stop him. It seemed likely if she managed to defeat him at a Pokemon battle that he would leave.
The only question was which Pokemon she was going to send out first.
She settled on her Mareep. It seemed appropriate since she was at a farm.
Of course, people didn't usually shear Mareep for wool without wearing rubber gloves. That way they didn't end up zapping themselves like the Pokedex had warned about.
"Mareep, it's your turn!" exclaimed Lucy.
"Mareep!" shouted Lucy's Mareep.
"Using an electric type? Good! I've been looking forward to using my new Pokemon!" shouted Jerry. He had found it gliding from tree to tree.
Jerry sent out his Gligar.
"Gligar!" exclaimed the ground Pokemon.
"Gligar, the Fly Scorpion Pokemon. After flying at its target face, it clamps down on the startled victim and injects poison." said Lucy's Pokedex.
This Pokemon DID sound rather scary. And to make matters worse, it was poisonous. Being poisoned could really wear down a Pokemon's HP.
"A ground Pokemon? That's not good." stated Lucy. Electric attacks weren't going to have any effect.
"Mareep..." said the electric Pokemon. She wasn't liking her chances here...even if Gligar WAS part flying type on account of its gliding habits.
Perhaps it would be best if she switched the Pokemon she was using.
Lucy switched out her Mareep and sent out her Poliwag.
"Poliwag!" exclaimed Lucy's Poliwag.
Since she was a water type, she would stand a better chance against a ground type like Gligar.
"Ha! Looks like I get to attack first!" shouted Jerry.
Sure enough, Gligar got ready to do just that.
Unsurprisingly, it attempted to jab Poliwag with his stinger.
However, Poliwag moved out of the way and splashed Gligar with water.
"Gligar!" exclaimed the fly scorpion Pokemon. Unfortunately, he happened to be part ground type, so water was effective against him. At least he wasn't getting hit by an ice attack. That would be REALLY bad for him.
Lucy's Poliwag smiled. It looked like she had an advantage against her opponent. She enjoyed fighting fire types and rock types for this very reason.
"It might be best if you switch Pokemon..." noted Lucy.
Clefairy nodded in agreement.
"Nonsense! My Gligar can beat your Poliwag easy!" exclaimed Jerry.
"Gligar..." said Jerry's Gligar. He wasn't sure if that was the case.
"Alright then." answered the girl.
Lucy's Clefairy wondered what was going through Jerry's head. Other than him harassing the local cattle Pokemon.
"Get her, Gligar!" shouted the boy.
Gligar nodded, and lunged at Poliwag with Quick Attack.
However, Gligar ended up bouncing off of Poliwag's belly.
Gligar crashed into a nearby Miltank.
Fortunately for the Miltank, she was fine.
Unfortunately for Gligar, he had fainted.
"Dang it!" exclaimed Jerry.
The Miltank wondered what was going on.
She then realized that there were two Pokemon trainers facing each other.
She decided to watch the battle to see how it would turn out.
Jerry sighed and withdrew his fainted Gligar.
This time, he was going to send out his Qwilfish.
"Go, Qwilfish!" exclaimed Jerry.
"Qwilfish!" shouted the spiky Pokemon.
"Well, it looks like now it's time for Mareep to shine." stated Lucy.
However, when she sent out Mareep, she ended up sending another Pokemon out instead.
"Flaaffy!" exclaimed Lucy's new Pokemon.
"Huh?" asked Lucy.
It looked like it was time for Lucy to scan her new Pokemon.
She decided to do just that.
"Flaaffy, the Wool Pokemon. It has rubbery, electricity-resistant skin, allowing it to store lots of electricity in its fur." said Lucy's Pokedex.
"Wait...Mareep, is that you?" asked Lucy.
Mareep nodded. Of course, she was a Flaaffy now.
"Why'd you evolve?" inquired the girl.
"Flaaffy." said Lucy's Flaaffy. Jerry was getting on her nerves, so she figured, why not evolve in order to teach him a lesson? Besides, she was looking forward to the increased electrical power, even if she no longer had nearly as much wool in order to keep her warm in the cold.
"Oh...well, I do agree with you. He isn't a good person." noted Lucy.
"Flaaffy!" exclaimed Lucy's Flaaffy. She was glad that she was Lucy's Pokemon instead of him.
"Anyways...try zapping Qwilfish with electricity!" shouted the girl.
Since Qwilfish was covered in quills, getting close would be a bad idea. So, it would be better to attack from a distance.
Flaaffy nodded and zapped Qwilfish with electricity.
"Qwilfish!" exclaimed the water Pokemon.
"Come on! Don't tell me you're losing to a farm Pokemon!" shouted Jerry.
The nearby Miltank took offense to that.
"Try stinging her with poison!" exclaimed Jerry.
Jerry's Qwilfish nodded.
Unfortunately for Flaaffy, having a rubbery body did not protect you from having a quill pierce your skin.
"Huh? That was actually a smart move...using something sharp to get past Flaaffy's rubbery body..." noted Lucy.
"Really? I feel weird...I usually wing things." noted Jerry.
Flaaffy was poisoned.
However, Flaaffy zapped Qwilfish in retaliation.
Qwilfish fainted.
"Not again!" exclaimed Jerry.
Since Qwilfish was down for the count, Jerry decided to send out one more Pokemon as he withdrew his fainted balloon Pokemon.
"Go, Croconaw!" shouted the boy.
As it turned out, Jerry had evolved his Totodile.
"Croconaw!" exclaimed Jerry's evolved Pokemon.
Lucy scanned Croconaw with her Pokedex.
"Croconaw, the Big Jaw Pokemon. It always has 48 fangs in its mouth. If it loses one another one will quickly regrow in its place." stated Lucy's Pokedex.
"Huh. It really does have a big jaw." noted Lucy.
Lucy decided to withdraw Flaaffy and send out Chikorita.
"Chikorita!" exclaimed Lucy's Chikorita.
"You think you can take him?" asked Lucy.
Chikorita nodded.
Lucy's Chikorita attacked first, launching razor leaves at Croconaw.
This aggravated Croconaw.
But unfortunately, Jerry decided instead of splashing Lucy's Chikorita with water (since she would resist it), he would have Croconaw bite Chikorita with his strong jaws.
CHOMP!
It was a critical hit.
"Hang in there, Chikorita!" exclaimed Lucy.
Lucy's Chikorita nodded. She aimed to please her trainer.
Speaking of pleasing her Pokemon trainer, that gave Chikorita an idea.
She decided to try evolving.
Lucy's Chikorita became Bayleef.
"Bayleef!" exclaimed Lucy's Bayleef.
"Alright! You did it!" shouted Lucy.
Bayleef smiled.
She didn't want to disappoint her Pokemon trainer.
Lucy scanned Bayleef with her Pokedex.
"Bayleef, the Leaf Pokemon. It has the scent of spices coming from its neck, and sniffing it makes you want to fight." stated Lucy's Pokedex.
Sure enough, Croconaw DID seem to want to fight.
Then again, maybe that was just the Pokemon that he was.
Croconaw lunged towards Bayleef.
However, Bayleef made Croconaw trip and fall with vines.
"Croconaw!" exclaimed the crocodile Pokemon.
Bayleef then hit Croconaw with Razor Leafes and he fainted.
"Noooo! I lost to a little girl!" exclaimed Jerry.
"Not just any little girl." said Lucy. She had gotten eight gym badges in Kanto and made it to the Indigo Conference.
"Grr...I'll be back!" shouted the boy.
With that, Jerry left the farm.
Suddenly, the Miltank from before approached her.
"Hmm?" asked Lucy.
"Miltank!" exclaimed the Miltank.
"What? You want to be my Pokemon? But I thought you were here so that you can make milk..." said the girl.
"Miltank." answered the cow Pokemon.
"You feel like you're destined for greater things? Alright, if you say so." nodded Lucy.
Lucy tossed a Pokeball at Miltank.
There was a ding, and Miltank was caught.
"Yes!" cheered Lucy.
At that very moment, Chris and Ned approached her.
"Did you take care of Jerry? I figured he was causing trouble again." asked Chris.
"Yeah...I think he'll probably be back though." answered Lucy.
"Fair enough." nodded Ned.
Meanwhile at the Ecruteak Dance Theater...
Jake sat down on a seat, expecting to see the kimono girls perform onstage.
Instead, what he witnessed was none other than his acquaintance Sarah dancing instead.
"Huh?" asked Jake.
Dancing with her were her Togepi and Totodile.
"What is going on here?" thought Jake.
He was confused.
Perhaps the kimono girls could shed some light on the situation.
He decided to ask them.
"Can I ask what's going on here?" asked Jake.
"This girl stole the show from us." stated Zuki.
"I have to admit, she's pretty good." noted Naoto.
"I'll say." concurred Miki.
"I wish I could dance that well." remarked Sayo.
"Well, we did our best." answered Kuni.
"Wait, I thought Sarah was clumsy..." stated Jake.
Suddenly, Sarah fell off the stage and on top of Jake.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Sarah.
"Oof!" bellowed Jake.
"Totodile!" shouted Sarah's Totodile. He was worried that would happen.
"Togepi?" asked Sarah's Togepi. Was she OK?
"Sorry! Sometimes that happens..." stated Sarah.
"I know." nodded Jake.
"Totodile!" exclaimed Sarah's Totodile. Since they were at a theater, why not fight each other again?
"Togepi?" asked Sarah's Togepi. But she was too young to fight.
"Totodile?" inquired Sarah's Totodile. Perhaps she could stay on the sidelines.
Sarah's Togepi nodded. That would probably be for the best. Maybe someday she would be old enough to fight another Pokemon.
That was something she would be looking forward to.
Sarah and Jake both stepped onstage and nodded to each other.
They then pulled out a Pokeball.
Who was going to win? It wasn't certain.
I know that someone wanted Jake to fight Jerry, but it seems more appropriate for Jake to fight his friendly rival Sarah than for him to fight Jerry. Funny how Sarah is more likable than Jerry despite being a member of Team Shadow. I did make Lucy fight Jerry though since they were basically opposites.
I think I might have him battle Jerry at Olivine though. The Gym Leader at the Olivine City Gym is gone at the moment so no doubt he's going to be disappointed.