This chapter is going to be an exciting one! I hope you enjoy it.
By the way, do you think Sarah's Voltorb should become an Electrode? It seems to get along with them. Then again, Ash's Bulbasaur doesn't seem to want to evolve. I'm not sure why. Maybe it wants to feel young and free?
Horace will fight Lance and Jake will fight Sarah. I wonder why Lance didn't fight the executive in Generation II. Although to be fair, he did fight the executive in the remake since double battles had been invented in Generation III. Personally I thought the game was better with those double battles. I don't find them to be a really big change in strategy but still.
Chapter 33: The Horrible Truth
For his first Pokemon, Horace sent out Graveler.
"Graveler!" shouted the rock Pokemon.
Strangely enough, Graveler's extra arms made him look like a Machamp, even though Gravelers didn't have nearly the same amount of superhuman strength that a Machamp possessed.
Graveler launched a Rock Slide at Dragonite.
Unfortunately, this did super effective damage. Becoming a flying type upon evolution wasn't all good. Especially since he now had a double weakness to ice types. Gyarados had a similar problem with electric types.
Even so, Dragonite didn't seem too phased. It seemed that he was a strong Pokemon, fitting for a Pokemon that had been tamed by a champion.
Dragonite hit Graveler with Dragonbreath.
"Graveler!" shouted the rock Pokemon. That breath was spicy...though it wasn't a fire-type attack.
Sarah sent out Voltorb.
Jake sent out Marowak. It seemed like the best choice.
"Marowak!" shouted the Pokemon with a skull-like face.
Voltorb tackled Marowak, but he got back up to his feet.
He hit Voltorb with Bone Club.
"Voltorb!" shouted the electric Pokemon.
Unfortunately, electric type attacks wouldn't have any effect.
Realizing that Voltorb was losing, Sarah decided that she should have her Pokemon explode.
"Voltorb, use Self-Destruct!" exclaimed Sarah.
"Self-Destruct?!" shouted Jake.
Voltorb self-destructed.
Marowak fainted.
Voltorb had fainted as well, but its efforts had not gone in vain.
"Whoa! That was one big boom!" noted Sarah.
"I'll say." nodded Jake. Marowak simply could not endure an attack of that caliber.
Graveler launched more rocks at Dragonite, but he was ready.
Dragonite hit Graveler with another Dragonbreath.
Graveler fainted.
For her next Pokemon, Sarah sent out Pineco.
"Pineco!" shouted the pinecone Pokemon.
Jake sent out Quilava in retaliation.
Fortunately, he had a type advantage again.
Quilava used Flame Wheel.
Pineco was roasted.
"Pineco!" shouted the bug Pokemon.
Pineco got ready to explode.
However, Jake was more alert this time. He didn't want history to repeat itself.
"Quilava, get out of there!" warned Jake.
Quilava nodded and got out of the way.
Fortunately, Pineco's Selfdestruct missed.
"Whew!" exclaimed the boy.
Sarah was disappointed. But at least she tried.
However, she had an idea as to what Pokemon she should next.
She considered sending out Totodile, but she wanted to test out one of her latest Pokemon.
Sarah sent out Gyarados.
"Uh-oh..." said Jake.
Gyarados used Surf.
Quilava fainted.
Unfortunately, Jake did not have an electric type.
He decided to improvise and send out Vileplume.
However, Sarah's Gyarados happened to know Flamethrower.
She fired it at Vileplume.
Luckily, she evaded it.
"Vile!" shouted the grass Pokemon. That had been a close one.
"Try using Sleep Powder!" ordered Jake.
Jake's Vileplume nodded. A sleeping Gyarados was a lot less fierce than an awake one.
Unsurprisingly, it took a lot of sleep powder to put Gyarados to sleep...but it worked.
"Now try charging a Solarbeam!" instructed Jake.
Vileplume nodded.
Fortunately, since Gyarados was asleep, she did not have to worry about interference.
Vileplume blasted Gyarados with the solar beam.
It was a critical hit.
Gyarados fainted.
Horace sent out Haunter.
The air became chilly all of a sudden.
"Brrr..." remarked Sarah. She wondered if she should try catching a ghost Pokemon herself.
It would give her a hand against other ghost types, or psychic types.
Haunter fired a Shadow Ball at Dragonite.
Dragonite quickly moved out of the way.
Haunter frowned.
Dragonite hit Haunter with Thunder in retaliation.
The ghost Pokemon found herself being zapped violently.
"Haunter!" shouted the phantom Pokemon.
Haunter fainted. Did she not stand a ghost of a chance?
Horace withdrew Haunter.
Meanwhile, Sarah decided that the best Pokemon to use would be Slugma.
There were several Pokemon that would work well against grass types, but Slugma seemed like the best choice.
"You wouldn't happen to be a fighter by any chance, would you?" asked Sarah.
"I have fighting experience, but I'm not very good at fighting." explained Murkrow.
Still, she was a smart bird. Perhaps it would be a good idea to ask her for advice.
Slugma used Lava Plume.
Vileplume gasped in astonishment.
That attack really knocked the breath out of her.
"I guess you don't do well in extreme temperatures..." noted Jake.
Vileplume nodded. Blizzards were something that she dreaded.
Sunny weather was alright though, even if it did give fire types the upper hand. It made charging up Solarbeam so much easier.
Still, it would be best if she went down fighting.
She used Giga Drain and drained some of Slugma's HP.
However, Slugma suddenly yawned.
"Feeling tired?" asked Sarah.
"Slugma..." answered Slugma. He was feeling a little tired. But he had an idea in mind.
Vileplume started to feel sleepy as well.
Suddenly, she fell asleep.
"Vile..." mumbled the grass Pokemon in her sleep.
"I guess I'm getting a taste of my own medicine..." noted Jake. Or was it Sarah's?
This gave Slugma the perfect opportunity to attack.
Slugma used Lava Plume again, and it was a critical hit.
This was enough for Vileplume to faint.
"Vileplume..." murmured the fainted grass Pokemon. Sometimes she wished that she didn't have several weaknesses.
On the other hand, she was resistant to a variety of different Pokemon types as well.
Jake sent out Blastoise this time. It seemed like the best counter for Slugma.
"Uh-oh..." said Sarah.
"Slugma..." remarked Sarah's Slugma. It looked as if he was about to be soaked in water...not a pleasant experience for him.
Perhaps it would be best if she switched Pokemon.
She did just that, switching to Oddish.
Oddish used Stun Spore.
Unfortunately, Blastoise breathed them in.
She was paralyzed.
"Blast...oise..." murmured the water Pokemon, who was now feeling rather sluggish.
Now that Blastoise was paralyzed, dodging her attacks was much easier.
Jake wondered if he should have brought Paralyze Heal. Then again, Sarah did not specialize in electric Pokemon. Her fighting style was far more unpredictable than that.
She had caught an electric Pokemon recently though.
Even so, she ended up being hit by Surf.
"Oddish..." remarked Sarah's Oddish.
"You have one too, huh?" asked Jake. Well, sort of. Her Oddish hadn't evolved yet.
Horace sent out Kadabra.
"Kadabra!" shouted the psychic Pokemon.
Jake felt like the Pokemon was reading him like a book.
Kadabra used Psychic.
Despite the mustache, this Kadabra was female.
Dragonite had a slight headache, but other than that there wasn't any noticeable signs of damage.
Dragonite used Wing Attack on Kadabra.
Kadabra was bombarded by gusts of wind.
"Kadabra!" exclaimed the psychic Pokemon.
The psychic Pokemon fainted, dropping her spoon on the floor. Had she been outsmarted?
Horace withdrew his fainted Pokemon.
Oddish got back up to her feet and drained Blastoise with Giga Drain.
However, he countered by using Ice Beam.
Unfortunately, Oddish did not see it coming and she fainted.
"Oddish..." murmured the grass Pokemon, who was now feeling quite chilly.
For her next Pokemon, Sarah used something unorthodox.
She sent out Aipom.
"Aipom!" shouted the monkey Pokemon.
"You also have a monkey Pokemon..." noted Jake. The two of them were a lot alike, it seemed.
Unfortunately, Aipom knew Thunderpunch. The hand on her tail surged with electricity as she hit Blastoise.
Blastoise was zapped.
She fainted.
"Blastoise..." murmured the tortoise Pokemon. She had been reminded all too well that water conducted electricity.
Unfortunately, Jake was down to his last Pokemon.
As such, he needed to make it count.
He sent out Grimer.
Horace sent out Machoke.
"Macho macho!" shouted the muscular Pokemon, flexing his muscles.
"He seems to be using the Pokemon that evolve from trading." noted Jake. He wondered why some Pokemon evolved this way. Perhaps it had something to do with the device that was used to transfer Pokemon across trainers.
Incidentally enough, he and his friends happened to have one of each.
Though he wasn't quite sure, he suspected Sarah might have a Pokemon that evolved through trading as well, though it might require a specific item.
Dragonite hit Machoke with Wing Attack.
Machoke fainted, collapsing on the floor.
"Ma...choke..." murmured the fighting Pokemon. It might have been hard to believe, but his strength had given out.
Unfortunately, he had been up against a flying type. His fighting techniques had a hard time reaching an opponent that was all the way in the sky, though for some strange reason, he had an easier time when he was fighting against a Murkrow or a Skarmory.
Fortunately for Grimer, he was able to take down Aipom by launching Sludge at her head.
Down to her last Pokemon, Sarah sent out Slugma.
"Slugma!" shouted the fire Pokemon.
Jake hoped that Grimer could win.
For his last Pokemon, Horace sent out Houndoom.
"Doooom!" howled Houndoom.
"Strange, I don't recall Houndours evolving through trading..." noted Jake.
Perhaps this Pokemon was the odd one out.
Although, there was a portrait of a Houndoom in his office.
Houndoom used Crunch, sinking his teeth into Dragonite's tail.
However, Dragonite shook him off. He had no intention of being used as a chew toy.
Houndoom then followed with Flamethrower.
Dragonite was injured. Fortunately, though Houndoom's flames were known for being toxic, he hadn't been poisoned.
He had some mild burns though.
In retaliation, he hit Houndoom with Hyper Beam.
Houndoom gasped in astonishment as a beam came out of Dragonite's mouth.
But it was too late. He was hit dead-on.
Houndoom fainted.
"Houndoom..." murmured the fainted fire Pokemon.
Dragonite was feeling tired after using that attack, but he was still standing.
Lance had won...and of course retained his position as Pokemon Champion. It was a fleeting title, but he would keep it today.
Fortunately for Jake, he remembered that Grimer could use Mud Bomb.
He instructed Grimer to do just that.
It worked surprisingly well.
Slugma was pelted with mud.
"Slugma!" shouted the fire Pokemon. He did not enjoy his mud bath.
"Hang in there!" shouted Sarah.
Slugma used Lava Plume, but it missed.
Jake used Mud Bomb again.
Slugma fainted.
"Slugma..." murmured the fire Pokemon.
Horace recalled his last Pokemon.
Sarah recalled hers as well. It had been a long battle, but Jake had been triumphant in the end.
Totodile was disappointed with the outcome.
"Totodile..." spoke Totodile dejectedly.
Togepi was disappointed as well.
"Well, that sure was a long Pokemon battle. But it was quite a show, wouldn't you say?" asked the Murkrow.
On the other hand, she was kind of disappointed with how Horace's battle with Lance had turned out. It didn't seem like it took Lance a lot of effort to take him down, though Horace was a strong Pokemon trainer.
It looked as if Horace simply couldn't beat the Pokemon champion. Still, he lasted longer than a lot of people.
People didn't want a member of a criminal organization to be their champion anyway.
"It's time for you to leave Mahogany Town." noted Lance.
"Very well. We'll leave. You won't hear from us causing any more trouble in the Lake of Rage." nodded Horace.
"He sure is cooperative." remarked Jake.
Lance nodded. Fortunately, he was not a sore loser and wasn't going to blow up the hideout out of spite...though there did seem to be a few explosive Pokemon that had been powering the radio machine.
He decided to take them somewhere where they wouldn't bother anyone...at the abandoned power plant in Kanto.
A short while later...
"Finally! Now we can challenge the Gym Leader!" exclaimed Chris.
"Yeah...but that guy selling Ragecandybars is blocking our way..." noted Ned.
Chris shrugged.
Well, at least one person was out of their way.
He seemed happy that things had gone back to normal at the Lake of Rage. He was "the teacher of winter's harshness."
Apparently, this Gym Leader was an ice-type specialist.
But she figured that she could take care of him. After all, she had her Houndour with her.
Meanwhile, Sarah was apologizing for her actions.
"I'm sorry, boss, I don't know what happened!" exclaimed Sarah. One minute she was looking for her boss and the next the machine had been blown to kingdom come.
"To be honest, I was probably going to turn off the machine anyway." noted Horace.
"Huh?" asked Sarah.
"It was making too much noise. It was only a matter of time before we were discovered." answered the man.
"True..." nodded the Team Shadow Grunt. She hadn't been looking forward to the police raiding their hideout and arresting as many Team Shadow Grunts as they could find.
She could probably hold them off based on prior experiences, but still.
"And besides, the Grunts got the bright idea of using Electrode to power up the machine...as you know, they happen to be very explosive." remarked Horace.
Perhaps they should have come up with a different plan.
"I...may have given Lance a hint as to where the hideout was." noted Sarah.
"A lot of Team Shadow Grunts would have told Lance where the hideout was." explained Horace. Sarah thankfully did not tell much, though it was enough for the hideout to be uncovered anyways.
"I see. Well, I guess we'll be taking our leave now." noted Sarah.
"Actually, there is one more thing that I wanted to talk to you about...you seem to have a lot of destructive potential..." remarked Horace.
"Yeah, I do..." nodded the Team Shadow Grunt.
"I figured maybe you would do well as a Team Shadow Executive...your Pokemon seem a lot stronger than that of a regular Grunt, for one..." said the Team Shadow executive.
"Well, they do seem to look up to me..." noted Sarah.
"You can be our sabotage specialist." remarked Horace.
"Oh! I just remembered! I brought you your Murkrow back." noted Sarah. She didn't need it anymore.
Murkrow looked at Horace curiously.
Horace was surprised to see the Pokemon.
"Where did you get that?!" exclaimed Horace.
"Well, I found a hidden room behind your office..." noted Sarah.
"You found out about that?" inquired the man.
"Well, my Totodile likes to nibble on things." explained the Team Shadow Grunt, pointing to the poster.
"I see..." nodded Horace.
"To be honest, I was wondering if the room would ever be uncovered." answered the Murkrow.
He wondered if Sarah had a knack for finding secret rooms and the like.
"I don't get it though, why would there be a hidden room behind your o-"
Sarah suddenly started to have flashbacks.
She remembered the time that Togepi cried when she saw Morgiana.
Violet also said that their leader was better at disguising themselves than she was.
There was also the Igglybuff doll that she had found in the office behind Horace's.
Now that she thought of it, hadn't Morgiana said how valuable Pokemon were? And the funding for Team Shadow had to come from somewhere.
"Is Morgiana...actually the leader of Team Shadow?" asked Sarah.
"Bravo bravo." said a familiar voice.
Sarah heard the sound of hands clapping.
Morgiana suddenly entered the room.
Togepi started crying again.
"Huh. So that's why you started crying." noted Sarah. She didn't like Morgiana at all.
Apparently, Togepi was able to sense the person Morgiana REALLY was.
"Totodile?" inquired Totodile. Was Togepi some sort of living lie detector?
Morgiana was impressed. Sarah had been the first person to figure it out. Not even the meddling kids that had been interfering with her criminal organization had figured it out.
However, she was dressed rather differently than usual.
She was wearing the Team Shadow uniform, but the S was much larger than it was on the normal Grunt uniform.
Sarah noticed that her Murkrow seemed to be frightened of her, just as her Togepi was.
Did...they have some sort of history together?
"I don't get it, why did you go through the trouble of hiding your true identity?" asked Sarah.
"So I could throw Officer Jenny and her insurmountable amount of sisters off my trail. That's why I hired Horace and had him be my second-in-command. With him posing as leader, nobody would suspect me." noted Morgiana.
"That explains his scary appearance..." said Sarah.
Although, now that she thought of it, Horace wasn't as evil as he looked. His Grunts didn't seem to fear him like the Team Rocket Grunts had feared Giovanni at Kanto.
"I have to admit, it was lucky I managed to find and befriend him. Now I can operate things behind the scenes while evading detection from the authorities." noted Morgiana.
"Things had been lonely before I met her." said Horace. People judged him like they judged books by its cover. He was lucky to befriend Morgiana.
"Now then, where was I? Ah yes." spoke the leader of Team Shadow.
Morgiana grabbed Sarah by the shirt.
"You idiot!" exclaimed Morgiana.
Sarah gasped.
"Do you realize how much money we spent on that machine?!" exclaimed the Team Shadow Executive.
"It was an accident!" shouted the Team Shadow Grunt.
"You are the saddest excuse for a grunt that I've ever seen!" bellowed Morgiana.
Sarah whimpered.
"You're fired!"
She started to cry.
"Oh, and you can take this bird with you! I don't need it anymore!" shouted the leader of Team Shadow.
Morgiana picked up Murkrow and tossed her next to Sarah.
"Are you sure you should have done that?" asked Horace. He was just about to make her an executive.
"I...may have been a bit hasty. But we'll be fine. Soon I'll be the supreme ruler of Johto." noted Morgiana.
She began to laugh.
Surprise surprise! Morgiana was the leader of Team Shadow this whole time! Kudos to anyone who guessed it.
Well, it looks like Sarah's no longer part of the group. What will she do now?
And what's this about Morgiana being supreme ruler of all Johto? She's truly plotting something huge this time.