In this chapter, Chris and Ned are going to enter Team Shadow's hideout. It's a scary place.
They will be followed by Lucy and Jake.
Chapter 31: Way Of The Ninja
Unfortunately for Chris and Ned, there was a fat guy blocking the way to the gym.
"Oh no! Gyarados have taken over the Lake of Rage! We're all doomed!" screamed the man.
Another man was blocking the route to the right of Mahogany Town.
"Can we go through?" asked Ned.
"Not until I've sold all my Ragecandybars!" shouted the man.
"Darn it! Why do people keep blocking our way?" asked Chris. She was getting annoyed.
Well, there might be a way to get rid of at least one of them.
The hysterical man mentioned something about something going on at the Lake of Rage.
They should investigate.
The duo headed off to the Lake of Rage to do so.
Unbeknownst to them, Lance was flying in the sky on his Dragonite.
It really stood out amongst all the flying Pokemon that were in the skies.
On that note, some of them were paying attention to that Dragonite. They didn't see that sort of Pokemon flying in the sky every day.
"There's something going on in this town, and I'm going to get to the bottom of it." noted Lance.
He figured that he should do something about Team Shadow. They've been on everyone in Johto's minds for quite some time.
Fortunately, it seemed that there were heroic children who were putting effort into stopping them.
Meanwhile...
"So, are you here for a gym battle?" asked Jasmine.
"I sure am." nodded Jake.
Jasmine sent out Magneton.
Jake sent out Arcanine.
"Arcanine!" shouted the fire Pokemon.
It occurred to Jasmine that she may be in trouble.
Arcanine looked strong, and he had a type advantage.
And to make matters worse, Arcanine was fast enough to dodge her Magneton's attacks.
Except for when Magneton locked onto him. That time he had been hit.
However, he managed to avoid being paralyzed...which would have been a pretty big disadvantage for him. Speed was his greatest strength.
Arcanine hit Magneton with a Flamethrower...it was a critical hit.
Magneton fainted.
However, Skarmory did better.
Arcanine found himself being pecked at as well as bombarded by gusts of wind.
He was starting to feel worn out.
Perhaps it would be best if Jake switched Pokemon.
He withdrew Arcanine and sent out Machamp.
"Machamp!" shouted the fighting Pokemon.
Fortunately, her supreme strength was enough...though she wasn't necessarily at a type advantage.
Skarmory bombarded Machamp with gusts of wind, but she stood her ground, holding her arms in front of her in a defensive stance.
Her opponent was starting to feel tired.
She was pecked a few times by the steel bird Pokemon, but she still managed to come out on top.
Machamp flexed her muscles.
Skarmory fainted.
Unfortunately for Machamp, Steelix's iron defenses protected her from her attacks.
Machamp was starting to feel tired.
Steelix hit Machamp with Iron Tail, causing her to flinch.
"Machamp!" shouted the macho Pokemon.
"This doesn't bode well." noted Jake.
She then hit Machamp with Earthquake.
Machamp fainted. It seemed that her strength just wasn't enough to take down Jasmine's last Pokemon.
Jake considered sending out Arcanine again, but he probably wouldn't last long.
Steelix's ground attacks would be devastating for fire Pokemon like him...unless, of course, they happened to be part flying like Chris's Charizard was.
He decided to use Blastoise. Water attacks seemed like the way to go.
Blastoise opened up by launching water from her cannons at Steelix.
Steelix recoiled from the sudden shower, but she hit Blastoise with Iron Tail.
She staggered, but she was still able to fight.
Blastoise fired water again, but Steelix evaded the water this time.
Steelix used Sunny Day, hoping to weaken Blastoise.
All of a sudden, it became sunny in the gym.
"Maybe we should do something about the sun..." noted Jake. Sunny weather wasn't to Blastoise's advantage.
Lucy's Venusaur would most likely enjoy that kind of weather though. And Chris's Charizard.
However, Blastoise countered by using Rain Dance...by using her cannon as sprinklers.
"Why is the weather so random these days?" inquired the weatherman.
She then attacked Steelix with Surf.
A tidal wave of water shot towards the steel Pokemon.
Steelix's eyes widened in shock.
Jasmine had a worried look as well.
It was simply too much for her to handle, what with the weather taking effect.
Steelix fainted. Blastoise had shown her the full power of her cannons.
"Good job." said Jasmine. Jake's Blastoise certainly was awfully strong.
Jasmine handed Jake his Mineral Badge.
Now it was time to head to Mahogany Town to get their seventh badge. After that, they would be almost done with their preparations for the Johto Pokemon League...also known as the Silver Cup Conference.
On the way there, they stopped by Mt. Mortar. It was nice to look for Pokemon to catch every now and then. Who knows? They might even find a Pokemon that would assist them in the Pokemon League.
As it turned out, there were water Pokemon living there.
"Marill!" shouted the water Pokemon.
"You kind of look like a Pikachu..." noted Lucy.
"Marill?" asked the Pokemon. Whatever made her say that?
Lucy flipped the Pokedex to Pikachu's entry.
Now that Marill thought of it, they did look similar.
However, Marill was blue and white, not yellow and black.
The tail also looked different...and so did the ears.
Still, the resemblance was kind of weird.
She was definitely a water type though, not an electric type.
"You wouldn't happen to be looking for a Pokemon trainer, now would you?" asked Lucy.
Marill noted that it could hear Pokemon trainers from long distances away, so it figured it might as well.
It WOULD be useful if Lucy wanted to battle other Pokemon trainers.
It shook Lucy's hand.
Lucy caught Marill with her Pokeball.
"You sure have a knack for charming Pokemon." noted Jake.
"I sure do." nodded Lucy.
"Marill, the Aqua Mouse Pokemon. Its fur repels water, allowing it to swim in water for extended periods of time." said Lucy's Pokedex.
Lucy's Clefairy noted that she had charmed her almost as soon as they had met. It had been some time ago, but she still remembered it well.
Meanwhile...
"Sarah, is that you?!" shouted Ned.
It was hard to believe that Sarah was riding a Gyarados, let alone one that was red.
And yet, here she was.
"Hey Ned, are female Gyarados less aggressive than male ones?" asked Chris. Ned certainly seemed knowledgable about Pokemon...though she could probably simply ask her Pokedex.
"Surprisingly no. Trust me, it's a hassle breeding them at the Pokemon daycare." noted Ned. Although, people didn't seem too interested in making Magikarp hatch from eggs.
Chris shrugged.
"Interesting..." said a stranger with a cape. It seemed the rumors about a red Gyarados in the Lake of Rage were true.
"Huh?" asked the boy.
Ned recognized him as the Pokemon Champion of Johto.
"Lance?! What are you doing here?" asked the boy with glasses. Shouldn't he be at the Pokemon League? That was where he was most of the time, though it wouldn't surprise him if he decided to visit Clair every now and then. He heard that she was also a dragon-type specialist.
"I'm here to investigate reports of Magikarp spontaneously evolving. It seems I've found evidence." noted Lance. Perhaps the abnormal color was a side effect of the forced evolution.
Fortunately, it seemed that somebody had tamed the mysterious Gyarados that was colored red already. He didn't have to worry about it going on a rampage...which Gyarados were infamous for.
Ned's Gyarados was already evolved, so at least HE didn't have to worry about spontaneous evolution.
Lance decided to talk to Sarah. Since she had caught the mysterious red Gyarados, perhaps she would be ideal to ask about it.
He noticed that she was dressed like the Team Shadow Grunts that were in the area.
Perhaps he should ask her some questions.
"Could you hop down for a second?" asked Lance.
Sarah nodded.
"Do you know anything about the strange evolutions in this area?" inquired the man. He suspected that there was criminal activity as soon as Team Shadow Grunts had been spotted close to the town.
"You mean my Gyarados? She did evolve kind of suddenly..." noted Sarah.
"I've been hearing a strange noise on the radio. What do you know about it?" asked Lance.
Sarah pulled out her radio.
There WAS a strange sound coming from it.
Togepi apparently didn't enjoy it, because she hid in her eggshell.
"Totodile..." murmured Sarah's Totodile. That noise really got stuck in his head after a while.
"I know. It's been stuck in mine after we payed the visit to the shop." noted Sarah.
Sarah covered her mouth. It seemed that she had said too much.
"The shop?" asked Lance.
Now that he thought of it, the signal seemed particularly loud when he was right outside it.
Could it be...that was where the signal was coming from?
Perhaps he should investigate.
Immediately, he left.
Chris and Ned decided to follow him.
The two of them went to the shop in Mahogany Town. They had noticed Lance entering it and they figured something was up.
However, there was something off about it.
"Hey there! Welcome to our perfectly legitimate shop! There's absolutely nothing wrong with it at all!" exclaimed the shopkeeper.
"OK?" asked Ned.
"I'm not so sure about that." answered Lance.
"We promise you, we aren't doing anything illegal! And we're not concocting experiments related to evolution!" shouted the man.
Lance noticed that there was a statue nearby.
It was a statue of a Murkrow.
"That sure is a nice statue." noted Lance.
"Thanks. We've had it for a while." acknowledged the black belt.
Suddenly, Lance decided to push it to the left.
The black belt gasped in alarm.
As it turned out, there was a staircase underneath the statue the entire time.
"Oh no! They found the secret staircase!" exclaimed the black belt.
"We're in trouble! We're in trouble!" shouted the shopkeeper.
"Wait a minute, I know that voice!" exclaimed Ned.
The shopkeeper gasped.
"You're Larry! The guy who was causing trouble at the Slowpoke Well!" shouted Chris. The citizens of Azalea remembered well how much trouble that they had caused. The Slowpokes sure seemed shaken up by the experience.
He sighed and removed his disguise.
"Lousy kids, uncovering our hideout..." murmured Larry.
He pulled out a Pokeball, but Dragonite glared at him.
The Team Shadow Executive decided to put it away.
Meanwhile, Sarah realized that the Team Shadow Hideout was in danger of being discovered.
"Oh no! I need to warn Horace!" exclaimed Sarah.
Quickly, she went to warn him.
However, she tripped a few times.
"My clumsiness strikes again..." noted Sarah.
Sarah's Totodile shrugged. At least she never seemed to be hurt whenever that happened.
In a way, she was both unlucky AND lucky.
"Did you know that this place used to be a ninja hideout?" asked a Team Shadow Grunt.
He didn't know what had happened to the ninjas, but he didn't really care. He just knew that it was an ideal place to use as a hideout. Apparently, it had been their boss's idea.
"Really?" asked Sarah.
"Yeah...there are ninja traps here. If you step on the wrong tile, you'll set off a booby trap." noted the Grunt.
Suddenly, Sarah lost her balance...and she fell on one of the traps.
A Voltorb appeared.
"Voltorb!" bellowed the wild Voltorb.
It exploded.
"Whoa!" shouted Sarah.
Luckily, she was alright.
"See? What did I tell you?" inquired the Team Shadow Grunt.
"Are you alright? You kind of...exploded." noted Sarah.
"Huh?" questioned the grunt.
Voltorb nodded. Exploding was fun.
"OK then." said Sarah.
Totodile began to play around with it.
"I'm not so sure that's a good idea." noted Sarah.
Totodile then remembered that Voltorbs were explosive. Perhaps his trainer had a point.
Quickly, he kicked it away.
However, it stopped rolling near Togepi.
Sarah panicked and tossed a Pokeball at it.
Fortunately, Togepi was alright.
Suddenly, she heard a ding.
The Pokeball seemed to be smoking a bit, but it seemed that it was still intact.
Sarah decided to send out her new Voltorb.
"Voltorb!" exclaimed Voltorb.
"You wouldn't happen to be interested in battling, would you?" asked Sarah.
Voltorb nodded. That sounded like fun!
Of course, considering how much exploding it did, it would probably end up fainting a bunch of times in those battles.
But it thought it would be worth it.
Chris and Ned noticed that there were Houndoom statues inside the hideout.
They looked rather unnerving.
"Relax, I'm sure they're harmless." said Chris.
However, she had spoken too soon.
As soon as she stepped by one, she triggered an alarm.
"Me and my big mouth..." said the teenage girl.
Two Team Shadow Grunts showed up.
"Trying to sneak your way into our base, are we?" asked one of the Team Shadow Grunts.
Chris quickly had Jigglypuff use a song to put them to sleep.
"We need to do something about those security cameras or we're going to get thrown out..." noted Ned.
Chris nodded.
"By the way, do you think the leader of Team Shadow is here?" asked the boy.
"That's...actually a worrying thought." noted the teenage Pokemon trainer.
Hopefully Lucy and Jake would find the hideout as well.
Fortunately, they were already at Mahogany Town.
"What happened here?" asked Jake.
"Wait a minute...is that Larry?" inquired Lucy.
"Darn it! What are we going to do now that our hideout has been uncovered?" asked Larry.
"I don't know. Grab all our money and run?" inquired the black belt.
He wasn't sure.
"I guess we managed to find Team Shadow's hideout..." noted the boy.
Perhaps Chris and Ned were there as well.
They decided they would help them any way that they could.
As soon as they descended the steps, Lucy's Clefairy glared at the nearby Houndoom statue.
"What is it, Clefairy?" inquired Lucy.
Clefairy pointed to the Houndoom statue.
She toppled it over and broke it.
"You sure you want to draw attention to ourselves?" asked Jake.
"I think there might have been a reason for that." said Lucy.
"Security cameras? You sure are observant." noted the green-haired boy.
Perhaps Giovanni would have been interested in having a security system like that. It never came to pass though.
However, chances are there were more of those statues where they came from.
Was there a way to shut them all down?
As it turned out, there was.
There was a computer nearby.
"We sure have pulled off a lot of crimes lately." noted the scientist.
Unfortunately, there were meddling kids that had been interfering with their business.
Hopefully they wouldn't meet the same fate as Team Rocket. Team Rocket was officially gone.
Clefairy pointed to the computer.
"I guess we better do something about that scientist..." noted Lucy.
Jake sent out Grimer.
He threw sludge at the scientist.
This made the scientist angry.
"Aaugh! Look at my lab coat! Now I have to go and wash up!" bellowed the scientist.
He promptly left.
Clefairy then began to type on the computer.
The Houndoom statues were suddenly disabled.
Chris and Ned didn't know what had happened, but they decided not to dwell on that.
Lance was waiting for them.
"Did you have trouble with the statues?" asked Lance.
Chris and Ned nodded.
Fortunately, for some strange reason, the Team Shadow Grunts didn't come for Lance even when he tripped the alarm.
"Well, at least you managed to make it. Unfortunately, though somebody disabled the security cameras, we still need to find a way into their leader's office. I would imagine that one of the Team Shadow Grunts has a key somewhere..." said Lance.
Sure enough, there was a Team Shadow Grunt carrying a key.
"Nah nah nah! You can't catch me!" exclaimed the Grunt.
Chris and Ned chased after him.
However, the Grunt bumped into Lance.
He gasped.
"On second thought, you can have the key. I don't need it at all!" shouted the Grunt.
He promptly left.
"I guess that's how you got past the cameras." noted Ned. None of the Grunts wanted to be anywhere near Lance.
Chris's Jigglypuff sensed that he was a strong Pokemon trainer.
Well, now they had the key to Horace's office.
They unlocked the door and went it.
It wasn't well-lit.
However, they could make out a large portrait of a Houndoom in the office.
There were also a poster with Team Shadow's motto on it.
"Pokemon are ours for the taking!"
Ned noted that perhaps Houndoom was Horace's first Pokemon...though it had probably been a Houndour at the time.
Nearby, Sarah realized that the first place to look for her boss would be at his very own office.
Fortunately, she happened to know where it was.
For some strange reason, the door was already unlocked.
This caused her to worry.
Horace was sitting at his desk, with his hands pressed together.
"Your criminal activities are at an end, Horace!" exclaimed Chris.
"Oh no! You've managed to infiltrate my hideout! Oh no! Whatever shall I do? Me, the great Horace!" retorted Horace sarcastically.
"You don't seem too phased." noted Ned.
"Psyche! Horace isn't actually here! He's outside dealing with two Shadow Grunts who are unsatisfied with their pay..." noted the imposter.
"Wait, if you're not Horace, then who are you?" inquired Chris.
"Horace" shed their disguise.
As it turns out, it was actually Violet the entire time.
Ned gasped.
"Fooled you, didn't I? I've known Horace long enough that I can perform a decent impression of him. Though to be honest, our boss is even better at fooling people than I am." noted the executive.
"If you're not the boss, then who are you?" asked the boy.
"I happen to be one of Team Shadow's executives. I'm second-in-command after Horace to be precise." explained Violet.
"Wait, what do you mean about your leader being better at fooling people than you?" asked Chris.
"I'm not going to answer all your questions. That would spoil the fun. Now then, where was I? Ah yes. I think you've been a real pain for Team Shadow ever since that incident at the well. I think I should deal with you myself." spoke Violet.
Violet pulled out a Pokeball.
Sarah decided to look elsewhere for Horace. It was clear that he wasn't there at the moment.
However, she hadn't heard the part of how he was outside the hideout, and she assumed that he was in the hideout somewhere.
Where was he?
I could have given Marill to Ned, but I figured Marill suited Lucy more.
Why did I make Sarah's Gyarados female you ask? Well, Ned's Gyarados was male. And besides, it's perfectly possible for the shiny Gyarados to be EITHER gender. Though I will admit Gyarados is kind of a masculine Pokemon.
In the next chapter, Sarah's going to find something interesting in Lance's office.