Episode 112: Going Apricorn!
Where we last left off, Sora, Kairi, and the rest were staring at Kurt as they all realized that he is the man they were looking for.
"Would you quit staring at me like that? I would like to know why you're looking for me," Kurt said. Sora shook off his shocked expression.
"Oh right!" Sora said. "We were sent by Professor Oak to make an important delivery to you."
"An important delivery, you say?" Kurt asked.
"Yeah," Sora nodded.
"This is the first that I have heard anything about a delivery being made to me. But I do wonder what could be so important that Professor Oak could send you all the way out here just to reach me," Kurt said. "Perhaps we should discuss this at my house."
Sora, Kairi, Tracey, Pikachu, Angel, Togepi, and the all said their goodbyes to Riku, Naminé, Eevee, Ethan, Lyra, and Kris as they all made their way to Kurt's house. Everyone made it to Kurt's house. Sora still couldn't believe that the man who helped thwart Team Rocket was with them all this time. Kurt, an expert of Pokéball mechaniacs.
When they all arrived to the house, they were greeted by Kurt's granddaughter.
"Grandpa! You're okay!" The girl cried when she went to hug her grandfather. "You didn't throw your back again didn't you?"
Kurt chuckled a bit as he hugged his granddaughter, "Stop your worrying, I'm fine. And it's thanks to all these kids right here." He gestured to the guests. All of them are talented Pokémon Trainers" The group entered the house. "All of you wait here. There's something in my workplace I want to give you." With that said Kurt went to his work room.
"Thank you for helping my grandpa. My name is Maizie, by the way," The girl introduced herself.
"Nice to meet you Maizie. I'm Sora and this is my partner Pikachu and my girlfriend Kairi," Sora introduced.
"This Eever is Angel, and this little guy is my Togepi," Kairi introduced.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"Toge, Toge," Togepi chirped.
"And I'm Tracey Sketchit," Tracey introduced.
"Good to meet you," Maizie said. "I hope my grandpa didn't slow you down too much. Not because he's old, but he's been known to have back problems from time to time."
"He didn't slow us down. He did help us out in his own way. Right, Pikachu?" Sora asked his partner.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed.
"Toge, Toge," Togepi chirped.
"Eevee, vee," Angel said.
"I'm glad," Maizie said. Kurt came out a few seconds later and handed Sora, Kairi, and Tracey some Pokéballs that are characterized by yellow half-circles on the sides of both the top and bottom halves, with the top half being primarily red and carrying a lightning-bolt yellow mark on the very top. to He hands them to the Trainers.
"Here kids. A little something to show you my gratitude. Fast Balls for the lot of you. Just consider it as a thank you present for everything you've done," Kurt said.
"Well, thank you, sir," Tracey said.
"We are just glad to help out anyway we can, Kurt," Kairi said. Kurt smiled as he nodded. He set his sights onto Sora.
"Now young man. You said you have an important delievery for me, is that right?" Kurt asked.
"Yeah. Professor Oak had sent me down to Azalea Town to make this delivery to you," Sora said as he took the GS Ball out from his backpack. Kurt was a bit amazed by the sight of this mysterious Pokéball. "This Pokéball couldn't be transferred like any other Pokéball, so that's why we all made it here by foot. We don't even know if it's empty or not."
"I see," Kurt stroked his chin. "I have to say I am pretty amazed by the sight of this Pokéball. In all my years, I have seen every kind of Pokéball currently known to man, but I have never seen anything like this before. But I will say that this is definitely no ordinary Pokéball."
Sora nodded letting him know that he understands what he meant. Sora already knew it wasn't a normal ball. But he did wonder why it's so important. What kind of Pokémon was in it. And more importantly; who made it in the first place? And he thought the Pokémon themselves were full of mysteries.
Kurt looked at the GS Ball quite carefully, turning it to have a good look at the Pokéball to see every angle of it.
"How fascinating. What could this possibly mean?" Kurt asked in his thoughts. They all marveled at the GS Ball as their curiosity started to escalate.
"What do you suppose is inside of it?" Tracey asked.
"I'm not even sure if there is anything in it," Sora said.
"But who designed it and why?" Kairi asked.
"This is a big mystery even for me," Kurt said stroking his chin. "I will have to look into this some more."
"You do that, Kurt. We'll have to head back to the Pokémon Center and rest up. I need to report to Professor Oak anyway," Sora said.
"Very well. I will find out whatever I can to determine the GS Ball and let you know what I have discovered. And thank you very much for bringing this to my attention," Kurt said. Sora, Kairi, Tracey, Pikachu, Angel, Togepi made their way back to the Pokémon Center. Sora dialed Professor Oak's number on the picture phone. Professor Oak answered the phone with a smile on his face.
"Ah Sora. It's good to hear from you. I trust that you have your second Gym battle by now?" Professor Oak guessed.
"Well, not exactly. Not yet. I had a run-in with Team Rocket," Sora said.
"Is that right? Tell me what has happened," Professor Oak said.
"Well, Kairi, Tracey, and I had just arrived in Azalea Town; but as soon as we did we noticed that there weren't that any Slowpoke around and we didn't know why at first. That was when we found out that Team Rocket in Slowpoke Well. We managed to take care of them, only that we had a little help from Kurt without even realizing it at first," Sora explained.
"So you've met Kurt. And to top it off, you saved the Slowpoke in the mysterious Slowpoke Well. I remember hearing that old tale when I was around your age. And what have you learned about the GS Ball?" Professor Oak asked.
"Kurt is looking into that right now. And he said he will let us know what he has found out," Sora said.
"Well, the best part of the mystery is having to wait for what comes," Professor Oak said. He noticed Sora's troubled face. "But I feel there is more you want to ask me."
"That's right, professor. I would like to know if you know who has made this Pokéball and why?" Sora asked.
"I'm afraid I don't. There are diffirent kinds of Pokéballs as well as there are Pokémon. When I asked Professor Ivy about it, she has replied that she doesn't know either," Professor Oak said.
"And that's when you asked me to send it to him," Sora said.
"Yes," Professor Oak said. "I do appreciate what you did for me," Professor Oak said.
"Not a problem, professor," Sora said.
"Anyway, I wish you luck in your Gym battle," Professor Oak said.
"Thanks. I might need it," Sora chuckled. Both Sora and Professor Oak hung up and he met up with Kairi and Tracey.
"What did the professor say, Sora?" Kairi asked.
"Well, he appreciates that we got it here and that we gave Team Rocket the heave-ho. We only stopped them for now," Sora said.
"But there's still Organization XIII to deal with," Tracey pointed out.
"You're right, Tracey. Them, the Nobodies and the Heartless to deal with, too," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
Suddenly, Mazie approached them.
"Glad I found you," Mazie said.
"What is it, Maizie?" Kairi asked.
"I was wondering if you would like to have a tour of my garden. It's full of apricorns to choose from," Maizie said.
"Okay, Riku mentioned that the apricorns came in seven colors. That'll be red, blue, yellow, green, pink, black, and white," Sora pointed out.
"That's right. And the Fast Balls my grandpa gave you are crafted from White Apricorns. The reason they're called that is because they're used to catch Pokémon that are likely to run away in battle," Maizie said.
"And no wonder," Sora said, looking at his Fast Ball. Tracey took his out and hand it to Sora.
"Here, Sora. Why don't you have mine?" Tracey said. Sora was surprised to see Tracey offer his to him.
"You sure, Tracey?" Sora asked.
"I'm sure, Sora. I don't have any need for it. And you deserve it a whole lot more than I do since you, Kairi, Riku, Ethan, Kris, and Lyra did all the work. Also, it's a gift from a friend," Tracey said. Sora takes the Fast Ball and held it.
"If you feel that way, then I'll make good use of it," Sora said.
Maizie led Sora, Kairi, Tracey, Pikachu, Angel, and Togepi to the tree in front of her house and shows them the White Apricorns in the tree.
"Are those the White Apricorns you were telling us about?" Kairi asked.
"Yes. Like I already said, they're used to make Fast Balls. There are plenty of others in the trees up on the hill," Mazie said.
"I am quite curious to see them," Tracey said.
"Come with me and you'll see," Maizie said leading ther guests to the hill. When they arrived up in the hill, they came Pink Apricorns. "This tree is a Pink Apricorn tree. These are used to make Love Balls. They're used to catch Pokémon of the opposite gender."
"Say like when Kairi used one to catch a male Oddish when she has a female Sunkern," Tracey said.
"That's right," Maizie nodded. "But those don't look ripe enough to be picked."
"You seem to know a lot," Kairi said.
"How can you tell if an apricorn is ready to be picked?" Sora asked.
"I just can. I learned it from my mom, dad, and grandpa. You shouldn't pick an Apricorn before its time and you should never, ever pick too many at once or else you can risk damaging the whole tree," Maizie said.
"Good thing you warned us, because we wouldn't want to harm any tree by accident," Sora said.
Maizie led the them to another tree containing Yellow Apricorns.
"You see that tree right there? That one has Yellow Apricorns. And those becomes a Moon Ball," Maizie said.
"And what do those do?" Sora asked.
"They're used to catch a Pokémon that can evolve with a Moon Stones like Clefairy, Jigglypuff, Nidorino, and Nidorina," Maizie said.
"They look ripe, don't they?" Sora asked.
"They do, but this tree is full of Pineco," Maizie said, pointing to the tree. The tree is full of blue-green, pine cone-like insectoid Pokémon with red eyes and no visible limbs. It has a single spike on top of its head, which is supposedly its stem. It makes its shell thicker by gluing tree bark to their bodies.
"Maizie's right! Those are Pineco," Tracey said.
"Do they all live here?" Kairi asked.
"Yes they do. And they have an act to explode when you're not careful," Maizie said. Sora took out his Pokédex to get information on them.
Pineco, the Bagworm Pokémon
Type: Bug
Pineco hangs from a tree branch and patiently waits for prey to come along. If the Pokémon is disturbed while eating by someone shaking its tree, it drops down to the ground and explodes with no warning.
"And I thought Voltorb and Electrode has an explosive personality," Sora said, putting his Pokédex away.
"I agree with Sora," Tracey said. "Pineco can be a dangerous Pokémon when you're not careful enough."
"And it was a good thing you pointed them out because they would have exploded on me if I treied," Sora said. "Thanks for the warning, Maizie."
"No problem, Sora. Come on, there are more to see," Maizie said. Maizie led the group to trees full of Green Apricorns. "All of these trees are full of Green Apricorns. And they're used to make Friend Balls. Like a Luxury Ball, they're used to make a Pokémon you caught a lot more friendlier. They are especially used for Pokémon that can evolve by friendship."
"Friend Balls, huh?" Sora asked intrigued. "Are these good to pick?"
"Go ahead. Those look ripe enough," Maizie said. Sora went over to the Green Apricorn Tree and picked one.
Maizie led the group to a tree filled with Red Apricorns.
"Here we have are Red Apricorns. And they're used to make Level Balls. They're used on Pokémon that are less experienced than the Pokémon you're using in battle," Maizie said. "And those look ripe enough. Help yourself."
Sora went over to the tree and picked one as well.
"Got one!" Sora said. "So, anything else?"
"Yeah. Follow me," Maizie said leading the guests to a tree filled with Blue Apricorns. "And here we have is a tree filled with Blue Apricorns. And they're used to make Lure Balls. Lure Balls are used to catch aquatic Pokémon just by fishing. And they look ready to be picked."
"I know I want one of those," Kairi said with her eyes sparkling.
She and Sora went over to the tree and picked one each. Mazie led the group to a tree filled with Black Apricorns.
"And now we have is a Black Apricorn tree," Maizie said.
"And what kind of Pokéball can you make with those?" Kairi asked.
"They're used to make Heavy Balls," Maizie said.
"And those are made to catch Pokémon that can be total heavyweights," Tracey guessed.
"Yeah. Just like a Snorlax or an Onix," Maizie said. "That big one looks ready though." Sora went over and picked the big one Maizie was talking about.
Suddenly, a Pineco appears out of the tree.
"What's this one's deal?" Sora asked.
"That Pineco must be mad because you bothered it," Maizie said.
"You're not gonna scare me off my blowing up," Sora said. "Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt now!" Pikachu rushed to Sora's side and gave the pinecone-like Pokémon quite a shock. Pineco looked weak enough and took out a Fast Ball Pokéball and threw it at the weakened Pineco. Stars swrils around the Fast Ball confirming the catch. Sora's Pokémon Box goes off asking him if he wants to keep Pineco or send it to Professor Oak's lab. Sora chose to send the newly caught Pokémon to Professor Oak's lab. "I got myself a Pineco. And I just used an Apricorn Pokéball." Sora picked the Heavy Ball.
After they got a tour of the hills, they brought the apricorns back for Kirk to work on.
"Quite a haul, kids. And it'll give me something to do," Kurt said.
"We do appreciate it, Kurt," Kairi said. Kurt smiled.
"Not at all. I'm happy to do it," Kurt said. "Also, Maizie told me that you already put that Fast Ball I gave you to good use. Well done."
"I had to give it a shot," Sora said, smiling.
With that said, Sora, Kairi, Tracey, Pikachu, Angel, and Togepi stepped out to train for the upcoming Gym battle. Sora decided to use Cyndaquil, Noctowl, and Gligar since he found out that he'll be facing a Gym Leader who uses Bug-type Pokémon.
"Using Fire and Flying-type Pokémon is a smart move on your part, Sora. But it might not be as easy it you think," Tracey said.
"I know. But I know I gotta try something," Sora said.
"Sora's been up against tough Gym Leaders back in Kanto. Each and every Gym Leader gave him a real for his money," Kairi said, remembering the Gym battles from Brock to Hayner. "They all almost had him, too."
"Nobody ever told me it was going to be easy. And nobody ever told me that I would have a Keyblade either, but I have both Pokémon and a Keyblade," Sora said.
"I know what you mean, Sora," Kairi said.
Just then, Silver approached them.
"Hey, you!" Silver called out to them. Sora, Kairi, and Tracey turned to him.
"Silver?" Sora asked.
"Who is he?" Tracey asked when he whispered to Kairi.
"Silver. He's an arrogant Pokémon Trainer we met shortly after we came to Johto. He has a really bad attitude," Kairi replied to him.
"Tell me something. Is it true that Team Rocket has come to Johto?" Silver asked.
"Yeah, that's right. And we stopped them in their tracks," Sora said. Silver just looked at him with skepticism.
"What? You beat them? Hah! Quit lying," Silver said.
"That's the honest to gosh truth, Silver," Sora said.
"You're not joking? Then let's see how good you are," Silver said, taking out a Pokéball and threw it. "Go! Gastly!" His Pokéball opened and his Gastly came on out to battle. Sora looked at Gligar.
"Okay, Gligar! You're in first!" Sora said. Gligar glides his way in front of Gastly. "Slash is a no-go, so use Wing Attack instead!" Gligar flew at the Ghost-type with Wing Attack.
"Dodge and use Mean Look!" Silver ordered. Gastly dodges Gligar's attack and gave the Fly Scorpion Pokémon a glare with glowing red eyes. Gligar is then surrounded by a red aura.
"Mean Look will make it hard for Sora. The only way Mean Look will fade is when either he calls Gastly back or Gligar takes Gastly down," Tracey said.
"I think he's planning to take Gligar down, Tracey," Kairi said.
"Use Shadow Ball!" Silver ordered. Gastly fired Shadow Ball and it struck Gligar on the spot.
"Use X-Scissor!" Sora ordered. Gligar came at Gastly by crossing his claws at the Gas Pokémon. Gastly was hit hard by the attack.
"Gastly! Use Confuse Ray!" Silver ordered. Gastly fired Confuse Ray at Gligar, confusing him. "Use Shadow Ball to finish it off!" Gastly fired Shadow Ball and it struck Gligar hard, knocking him out. Sora called Gligar back.
"You did your best, Gligar. Get some rest," Sora said.
"Please. Your Gligar lost because it was weak!" Silver said.
"Hey, you don't know anything," Sora said. Silver calls Gastly back and he took out another Pokéball and threw it.
"Zubat! Go!" Silver called out. His Zubat came on out to battle. Sora looked at Noctowl.
"You're up, Noctowl!" Sora said. Noctowl flew in to battle Zubat. "Noctowl! Use Wing Attack!" Noctowl flew right at Zubat.
"Show them a real Wing Attack!" Silver ordered. Zubat flew at the Shiny Owl Pokémon and lands a hit. "Use Air Cutter!" Zubat fired Air Cutter at Noctowl.
"Dodge it, Noctowl!" Sora called out. Noctowl dodges Zubat's Air Cutter. "Use Peck!" Noctowl flew at Zubat and lands a hit with his beak.
"Zubat! Use Poison Fang!" Silver ordered. Zubat's fangs emits poison and lands a venomous bite onto him. Noctowl ends up being poisoned.
"Hang in there, Noctowl!" Sora said.
"Coddling your Pokémon only shows how weak you are! Zubat! Use Poison Fang again!" Zubat came flying at Noctowl with another Poison Fang.
"Noctowl! Use Confusion!" Sora ordered. Noctowl uses Confusion to stop Zubat in the air. He threw Zubat with his telepathic attack. "Use Wing Attack to finish Zubat off!" Noctowl flew at Zubat and lands a critical hit on the Bat Pokémon, resulting in a knock out. Silver scowled as he called back Zubat. "What was that about being weak?"
"It's not over yet! Not by a long shot! I still have one more Pokémon left to use!" Silver said, taking out his next Pokéball and threw it. "Go! Croconaw!" He threw it and out came a bipedal, crocodilian Pokémon. It has well-developed, rounded jaws with two fangs visible in the corners of the lower jaw even when closed. Its eyes are red with black markings around them. There are three clusters of red spikes on its body: one with three points on top of its head, one with two points between its shoulders, and a diamond-shaped one near the tip of its tail. While most of its body is blue, its lower jaw is yellow and there is an asymmetrical, yellow-and-blue pattern around its chest that resembles a spotted animal skin. Sora took out his Pokédex and scanned Silver's Pokémon.
Croconaw, the Big Jaw Pokémon
The evolved form of Totodile
Type: Water
The tips of its fangs are slanted backward. Once those fangs clamp down, the prey has no hope of escape.
"I knew his Totodile evolved," Sora said.
"Now that you got your lecture on Croconaw, either choose your next Pokémon or give it up," Silver said.
"Not a chance," Sora said, calling back Noctowl because of the poisoning. He looked at Pikachu. "You're up, partner."
"Pikachu," Pikachu said, stepping in. Silver scoffed.
"Doesn't this look familiar? Oh, yes, I remember. You used that Pikachu against me the last time. And that left a bad taste in my mouth. Croconaw has a score to settle against that Pikachu of yours," Silver said.
"I can tell your Croconaw has gotten stronger. But you'll end up losing again if you let your guard down," Sora said.
"Keep your advice to yourself. Croconaw! Use Ice Fang!" Silver ordered. Croconaw came at Pikachu with an Ice Fang.
"Dodge it with Quick Attack!" Sora ordered. Pikachu dodges Croconaw's Ice Fang.
"This again?" Silver growled in frustration.
"Use Quick Attack again!" Sora ordered. Pikachu dashed at Croconaw with Quick Attack, landing a hit.
"Use Rage!" Silver ordered. Croconaw's rage builds up and comes at the Mouse Pokémon with a tackle, landing a hit.
"Use Electro Ball!" Sora ordered. Pikachu forms a ball of electricity and sends it at the Big Jaw Pokémon, landing a hit. This builds up Croconaw's rage.
"Use Rage again!" Silver ordered. Croconaw comes at Pikachu again with even more rage than the last time.
"Use Iron Tail!" Sora ordered. Pikachu swings his tail at Croconaw, landing a hit. "Use Thunderbolt!" Pikachu fired Thunderbolt at Croconaw, shocking him. Croconaw was still standing after taking that. "Use one more Quick Attack!" Pikachu dashed at Croconaw, landing a hit, knocking him out. Silver growled and called back his Croconaw.
"Beaten by the same Pikachu again?! Unbelievable! Unacceptable! Unforgivable!" Silver exclaimed.
"Hey, you lost the match because you let your emotions do the talking!" Sora said.
"Shut up!" Silver roared. "I hate the weak. Pokémon, Trainers. It doesn't matter who or what. I hate to see them hanging around. That goes for Team Rocket, too. They think they are big and tough as long as they are in a group. But get them alone, and they're weak. I hate them all. You stay out of my way. You won't be an exception if you get in my way." He takes off running.
"What's his deal?" Tracey asked.
"Let him go. He's not even worth it," Sora said.
"Still, what he said about the weak; it was an awful thing to say," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel agreed.
"Toge, Toge," Togepi chirped.
Just then, Maizie came up to Sora, Kairi, and Tracey.
"I'm glad I found you! The Pokéballs my grandpa has been working on are finished," Maizie said.
"Great! Let's have a look," Sora said.
She shows them the newly crafted Pokéballs. Two of them are characterized by a blue top with a red "V" going up the middle which is decorated by three, vertical, yellow lines. These are Lure Balls. One has a yellow top with a black spot on top of it. It's engraved by a red V. That is a Level Ball. One has a green top decorated with four red dots slanting toward the center button on both sides of the vertical mid-line on the top half and a gold dot near the "top" part of the ball's top half as seen from the front. This is a Friend Ball. And the last Pokéball has a dark blue top with lighter blue circles on either side at an angle from the central button, the top most of which is the largest and the lower-most of which are tiny and almost the same shade of blue as the majority of the top. This is a Heavy Ball.
"Two Lure Balls, a Level Ball, a Friend Ball, and a Heavy Ball. Pick whichever ones you want," Maizie said.
"These look awesome, Maizie. I think I'll take one of those Lure Balls and that Friend Ball," Sora said, taking the Friend Ball and one of the Lure Balls.
"I'll take the other Lure Ball and the Level Ball," Kairi said, taking the two Pokéballs.
"I suppose this leaves me the Heavy Ball," Tracey said, taking the Heavy Ball.
"We'll have to thank your grandpa for making us these Pokéballs for us," Sora said.
"You're going have to wait, because he's busy looking over the GS Ball you gave him. He asked me to deliever those to you before he forgot," Maizie said.
"That's okay. We're in no hurry, Maizie," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
Now that Sora, Kairi, and Tracey each have retrieved a Pokéball forged from a specific Apricorn, all that is left is for Sora to have his second Gym battle and learn the results of Kurt's research.