Episode 129: To Catch a Bug
A day came and went since rescuing Professor Oak from Cassidy, Butch, and Dr. Namba. Speaking of which, Dr. Namba is facing criminal charges for staging Professor Oak's kidnapping.
This motivates Professor Oak to do some research on the Pokérus virus and what Team Rocket plans to do with it.
Sora, Kairi, Tracey, Pikachu, Angel, and Togepi continued their journey in the Johto region, so Sora exchanged Ursaring, Skarmory, and Azumarill for Wynaut, Pineco, and Spinarak.
Along the way, Sora and Kairi are being challenged by twin sisters.
"Look what we got here, sis," one of the twins said.
"It appears we have a couple of Trainers to challenge," the other twin said.
"I have a feeling they're talking about the two of you," Tracey said.
"I think you're right, Tracey," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"What do you say, Mindy?" The first twin asked.
"Whenever you are, Cindy," the second twin said.
"I guess I could use some exercise for my Gym battle," Sora said.
"And I can help you out with your practice," Kairi said. Sora and Kairi took out their Pokéballs and threw them.
"Okay, here we go, Wynaut!" Sora called out. Wynaut came on out.
"Go! Ledyba!" Kairi called out. Ledyba came right out alongside Wynaut. The twins took out their Pokéballs and threw them.
"Go! Skiploom!" The twins called out. Their Pokéballs opened and the Skiploom both came out at the same time.
"Cindy, we should focus on that Wynaut first," Mindy said.
"I agree, Mindy. Let's do this thing," Cindy said.
"Skiploom! Use Headbutt!" The twins ordered. They head right towards the Bright Pokémon.
"Wynaut! Use Counter!" Sora ordered. Wynaut's body is giving off an orange aura. Their Headbutt combo bounced right off. "Your turn, Kairi!"
"Ledyba! Use Comet Punch!" Kairi ordered. Ledyba gave one of the Skiploom three punches in the face. "Use Tackle!" Ledyba charges at the other Skiploom, dealing some additional damage.
"Use Leech Seed on Wynaut!" The twins ordered. They fired a couple of seeds at Wynaut.
"Use Safeguard!" Sora ordered. Wynaut created a turquoise shield. It protects Wynaut from the seeds.
"Use Swift!" Kairi ordered. Ledyba fired Swift at the Skiploom, making them deal some damage.
"Use Headbutt on Ledyba this time!" The twins ordered. Both Skiploom dashed at Ledyba, but Wynaut got in front of Ledyba.
"Use Counter!" Sora ordered. Wynaut successfully blocks their combo Headbutt and they were both taken down. "Good work!" Wynaut then started to evolve. Wynaut then became a Wobbuffet. He did a salute.
"Wobbuffet," the newly evolved Wobbuffet said.
"Unlike Jessie, I actually like my Wobbuffet," Sora said.
"Wobbuffet," Wobbuffet said.
Meanwhile, Team Rocket are running down the streets of Goldenrod City, panting for their lives.
"That was a close shave," James said.
"I thought for sure that neanderthal of a woman was going to catch us," Jessie said.
"Well, it was Wobbuffet who knocked over all those jars of pickles off the shelves and spilled all of that Moomoo Milk after we just put them up," Meowth said.
"Mime Jr," Mime Jr agreed.
"Wobbuffet," Wobbuffet said, popping out again. Jessie growled.
"It's all your fault, because if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be in the pickle you put us in, and I'm not talking about the ones you knocked over," Jessie said.
"Wobbu, Wobbu," Wobbuffet said.
"Well, I'm glad nobody we knew showed up, because it would be humiliating," Jessie said.
"How about we go back to finding the twerps before she finds us," James said.
"In the word of Snagglepuss, exit, stage left!" Meowth said.
"Mime, Mime," Mime Jr said, running again.
"Team Rocket's running off again!" Team Rocket exclaimed as they ran.
"Wobbu!" Wobbuffet said.
Meanwhile, Sora, Kairi, Tracey, Pikachu, Angel, and Togepi made a stop to pick some berries just so Kairi could make some Pokémon food later.
"I think that should be enough berries for right now," Kairi said.
"Seems like enough to me," Sora said. Just then, a familiar voice is heard.
"Chikorita! Use Vine Whip!" The voice ordered. Sora, Kairi, Tracey, Pikachu, Angel, and Togepi went through the shrubs and saw Casey battling a Trainer with a Kadabra with a short mustache.
"Kadabra! Use Ice Punch!" The Trainer ordered. Kadabra came at the Leaf Pokémon with an icy punch.
"Dodge and use Razor Leaf!" Casey ordered. Chikorita fired Razor Leaf at the Psi Pokémon, dealing some damage. "Knock it out of the park with a Tackle!" Chikorita charges at Kadabra with a heavy Tackle, resulting in a knockout.
"My Kadabra!" The Trainer exclaimed.
"Yes! Home run! And the home team wins the game and the MVP is Chikorita!" Casey said. The Trainer called Kadabra back and he approached her.
"Not bad, Casey. You're one of the most challenging Trainers I have ever battled," the Trainer said.
"Thanks. You were pretty good, too," Casey said with a smile. They shook hands and parted ways. It was when Casey saw the couple. "Sora, Kairi! Hey! It's been a while!"
"Same to you, Casey," Sora said.
"You and Chikorita look well," Kairi said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"Toge, Toge," Togepi chirped.
"Thanks. I was thinking the same with you," Casey said. She finally noticed Tracey with them. "Who's this?"
"My name's Tracey Sketchit. Sora and Kairi mentioned they met you before," Tracey said.
"Tracey's a Pokémon Watcher," Kairi said.
"That's cool," Casey said. "What's new with you two?"
"Well, Kairi and I caught some new Pokémon since we've been here in Johto, and I won three Gym Badges, so we're heading for Ecruteak City," Sora said.
"You're have to be MVP if you're catching Pokémon and earning three Badges already, Sora," Casey said.
"What about you, Casey? What's new with you?" Kairi asked.
"Still on the quest to catching yellow Pokémon with black stripes. But I have been on a major winning streak just like my favorite team, the Electabuzz! They're making a major comeback!" Casey said.
"Good for them, Casey!" Sora said.
"Glad you think so, Sora. So, I'm going to sing the fight song for the season!" Casey said as she swings the flag of the Electabuzz baseball team. Whistles are blurring
(Casey)
Let's all cheer on Electabuzz
Greatest Team of all!
The Players charge the field
And Double Team the Ball!
They all threw Mega Punch
When they are in a Crunch!
Metronome safe at home
Hyper Beam too!
Win! Win! Through thick and thin!
Electabuzz beats you! Yay!
"And I'm going to fight extra hard to win my next battle!" Casey said.
"Don't get carried away, Casey. Don't you think you might be pushing it a little?" Sora asked.
"Not in the least, Sora! I'm going to go and make the Electabuzz proud!" Casey said.
"That's the spirit," a voice said. They turned to a boy who is just standing right next to them. "I take it that you're going to be competing in the Bug Catching Contest," the boy said.
"Bug Catching Contest?" Sora, Kairi, Tracey, and Casey asked.
"Pika?" Pikachu asked.
"Eevee?" Angel asked.
"Chiko?" Chikorita asked.
"Toge, Toge," Togepi chirped.
"You mind telling us about the Bug Catching Contest?" Kairi asked.
"The Bug Catching Contest is an event that takes place in Johto's National Park. The rules states that the competing Trainers are to catch a Bug-type Pokémon that's judged by strength, size, or appearance. Trainers are allowed to use one Pokémon each. Once you've the strongest Bug-type Pokémon, you'll be meeting with the contest officials until the contest is over. When the strongest Bug-type has been decided, the winner gets to keep the caught Pokémon and they get a Sun Stone," the boy said.
"Yeah, that's the one for me! I'm going to hit a home run in that!" Casey said.
"Sounds like fun," Sora said. "What do you say, Pikachu? Wanna give it a try?"
"Chu?" Pikachu nodded.
Sora gave his other Pokémon to Kairi and Tracey since they weren't competing, so they made their place before the contest officials.
"Attention contestants!" The judge announced. "Before we begin the contest, I will explain the rules. Trainers will only be permitted to use one Pokémon each! All the competitors will be given twenty Sports Balls!" The said as he took out a Pokéball that appears to have an S at the top. "Once you feel that you have found a winner, you may decide of you may keep it or let it go." A staff member hands Sora and the rest of the competitors a small box filled with small Sports Balls. "Once the conest had concluded, the judging committee will decide which Pokémon is the winner, judging by strength, size, or appearance. First prize will be the fabulous Sun Stone, but the contestants will keep the last Pokémon they caught during the contest. Now let the Bug Catching Contest begin!" With that said, all the trainers take off to find the strongest, biggest, and most beautiful Bug Type Pokémon they could find.
Sora and Pikachu wondered the park looking around for a Bug-type Pokémon to find.
"Keep your eyes open and ears up, because a bug might just show up at any moment," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu nodded.
Just then, a Scyther appeared before them.
"A Scyther! Pikachu, get it!" Sora said.
"Chu," Pikachu nodded and stood before the Mantis Pokémon. Scyther attacks with a Slash.
"Dodge and use Thunderbolt!" Sora ordered. Pikachu jumped and fired Thunderbolt at Scyther, shocking it. Scyther came at Pikachu with a Quick Attack. "Use Iron Tail!" Pikachu swings his tail and lands a hit onto Scyther. Sora took out a Sports Ball and threw it. Scyther flows inside and the Sports Ball wobbles around and around. It busts open and Scyther came back out. "Okay, Thunderbolt again!" Pikachu unleashed another Thunderbolt, hitting Scyther and sending it back down. Sora took out another Sports Ball and threw it. Scyther flows inside and it wobbles around and around. Stars swirls around the Sports Ball to confirm the catch. "I got one. Great work, Pikachu."
"Pi," Pikachu said.
"Ooh! A Scyther. That's pretty good, but it'll be nothing compared to the one I'll bring back," Casey said. She looks over to her Chikorita. "Come on, Chikorita! Let's go!"
"Chiko!" Chikorita nodded and they take off. Sora and Pikachu decided to follow Casey and her Chikorita for a bit to see for themselves. It turns out that Casey has been pushing Chikorita hard and hard. She spots a Beedrill and sends Chikorita after it. Chikorita battled Beedrill hard and once it was at its weakest, Casey threw a Sports Ball making Beedrill flow inside. Stars swirls around the Sports Ball confirming the catch.
"I got me a Beedrill!" Casey cheered. Chikorita starts panting from that battle. Chikorita almost falls to the ground in fatigue. "Hey, what's the matter, Chikorita?"
"Chiko!" Chikorita chirped.
"We've gotta keep our team spirit high until we win the game!" Casey told Chikorita. Chikorita nodded when they spotted a wild Scyther in the tall grass.
"Alright! A Scyther! If we bring back a Scyther, we're just guaranteed to win!" Casey proclaimed. "First we'll knock it out of the box and show it who's boss. Play ball! Razor Leaf!" Chikorita sends out Razor Leaf and Chikorita starts panting out of exhaustion. Scyther charges towards the Grass Johto starter.
"Chiko!" Chikorita said feeling scared.
"Don't be afraid, Chikorita! Stay tough and hang in there!" Casey told her partner as Scyther swipes at the Leaf Pokémon. Sora and Pikachu made it just in time and saw what was happening.
"This can't be good," Sora said.
"Pika," Pikachu agreed.
"Chikorita! Use another Razor Leaf!" Casey ordered. Chikorita fired Razor Leaf and Scyther sends it back at Chikorita. "A blowback! Chikorita! Quick! Dodge it!" Chikorita dodges his own attack only to be open for Scyther's attack. "Chikorita! Jump onto Scyther's face!" Chikorita jumps on Scyther's face and the Mantis Pokémon tries to shake Chikorita off. Sora saw how tired Chikorita was getting just barely holding on. He and Pikachu steps in.
"Casey! This isn't fair!" Sora stated.
"Who asked you? You already caught your own Scyther!" Casey hissed.
"I'm not talking about that! I'm talking about your Chikorita! You're pushing him too hard!" Sora said.
"Chikorita will do what I say!" Casey said. Scyther manages to shake off Chikorita and he hits a tree. Scyther moved in to finish Chikorita off when Sora stepped in.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Sora ordered. Pikachu sends out Thunderbolt and it shocks Scyther making it retreat having enough.
"You're not getting away from me, Scyther! Chikorita! Let's go after-" Casey's sentence was cut short when she noticed Chikorita was gone. "Chikorita?" She, Sora, and Pikachu went off looking for Chikorita and found him in the bushes. "Chikorita! Come on! Let's go get Scyther!" Chikorita shakes his head sadly and walks off. "Hey! You get back here! Quitters aren't allowed in this team! We have to win this game!"
"At least Chikorita knows when to call it quits!" Sora stated. She turns to Sora and saw he had a stern look on his face. "What's more important to you? Winning some contest or the well-being of your Pokémon?"
"How can you ask me that! My Pokémon mean the world to me!" Casey argued back to the experienced Pokémon Trainer. Chikorita didn't go too far.
"Well, that's a funny way of showing it!" Sora stated. "Your Chikorita is all worn out and you were too busy thinking about winning when you should have been thinking about your Chikorita! He knocks himself out for you and you were pushing him beyond his limit!" Casey was about to argue back when she saw the look in his eyes. "A Pokémon Trainer should always know the limitations of their Pokémon. You should always know what your Pokémon can do and can't do! The same can be said for the Electabuzz baseball team! The reason for their winning streaks is because they worked together to win!" Casey didn't know how to counter what he just said to her, but she saw that he did have a point.
"You're right, Sora. I was pushing Chikorita so hard I wasn't even thinking about him; I was thinking only about myself," Casey said. "I got caught up with winning so much, I forgot that caring for your Pokémon is the most important thing!" Chikorita comes back to Casey with a saddened look on his face and he listened to the whole thing. "Chikorita!" Casey embraces her partner in her arms. "I'm sorry, Chikorita. I was pushing you so hard, I just forgot about about your limits. Can you ever forgive me?" Chikorita nuzzles his Trainer.
"I think that's a yes," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu agreed.
"Thanks for talking some sense into me, Sora. When I saw you show up, I thought you were trying to upstage me, but I guess I was wrong," Casey said.
"Sometimes we forget what's important," Sora said.
"Yeah, we do," Casey agreed.
"You know, when I was first starting out, there was a Pokémon Trainer named AJ who I battled against; I lost because, but I did my best," Sora said.
"Really?" Casey asked.
"Really. You can lose even if you do everything right." Sora said.
"An important lesson to learn," a voice spoke. The voice belonged to Demyx who appeared in a corridor of darkness. "You look like you're doing okay."
"What are you doing here?" Sora asked.
"You know this guy?" Casey asked.
"I met a friend of his a while back," Sora said.
"You're talking about Axel. He and I aren't exactly friends," Demyx said. "But we might as well get familiar with each other. The name's Demyx."
"What do you want?" Sora asked.
"Does it look like I want something?" Demyx asked. He saw the look in Sora's eyes. "Okay, dumb question. What did that card say again?" He took out a card and read it. "'If the subject turns hostile, use aggression to combat him'. Right. If they ever sent the wrong guy for this." He raised his hand and water forms from his hand. Appearing in his hand is a sitar that is designed to resemble one large Nobody logo. The headstock of the sitar consists of three large, light blue spikes with blue bases. The neck of the sitar is blue with light blue, concave edges, and three yellow, pointed machine heads are visible on the left side of the weapon. Several yellow frets line the fretboard. The body of the sitar is connected to the neck by a dull blue spike shaped like those on the Nobody logo, and the body itself is shaped like the lower half of the symbol. The shape of the symbol, particularly the circular indentations on the bottom of the sitar, is distinguished from the rest of the sitar by a light blue border. The sitar's saddle is yellow and its three strings are a very pale blue. This sitar is known as the Arpeggio.
"Okay, Axel's element is fire, so his element is water. I can take you on!" Sora said, summoning his Kingdom Key. Casey was surprised to witness Sora summoning a key-shaped weapon.
"Dance, water, dance!" Demyx chanted. He several water clones. Sora smacked one with his Keyblades and it took the shape of a music note. Sora grabbed the water note and he swung it at the other water clones. It went on until the last of the water clones were dealt with. "Uh-oh! Time for me to split!" Demyx vanished into the corridor of darkness were he came. Sora dismissed his Keyblade.
"That wasn't much of a fight," Sora said.
"Who was he and what was that key thing you were just holding?" Casey asked.
"Okay, what you saw was a Keyblade. It's a weapon I use to defend myself against creatures called the Heartless, which there weren't any. And that guy is from Organization XIII. They're these guys who make Team Rocket look like nice guys. But I'm not sure about that Demyx guy though," Sora explained.
"Organization XIII? He mentioned someone named Axel. Is that Axel with the Organization, too?" Casey asked.
"Yeah. I met him twice. One time just before we got to Azalea Town, and the second time was in Greenfield," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"I think we can save that for later," Sora said.
"Right," Casey said.
Once the competition was over, all of the competors were inspected of the Bug-type Pokémon that were caught. When the judge had a look at the Beedrill Casey has caught, the judge was pretty amazed just by the coloring and its appearence. The judge had made his decision.
"Ladies and gentlemen! We have our winner for the Bug Catching Contest! First prize goes to Casey for cathing a beautiful Beedrill!" Casey takes the Sun Stone and the Beedrill as her prize. "As promised, Casey gets to keep Beedrill as her own Pokémon! And the runner-up is Sora who has caught a strong Scyther. As our second place competitor, he gets an Everstone and he gets to keep Scyther as his own Pokémon as well!" Sora's Pokémon Box goes off asking him if he wants to keep Scyther with him. He chose to send Scyther to Professor Oak's lab.
After the Bug Catching Contest came to an end, Sora told Kairi and Tracey about their run-in with Demyx, though he just ran away when he defeated his water clones. Kairi was relieved that he was okay. Kairi revealed she has the ability to use the Keyblade as well. The couple filled her in on the Heartless and the Nobodies, leaving a shock to the baseball fan. It was a lot for her to take in, but she didn't change her views about Sora and Kairi.
"Say, Sora. I was wondering if you could have a battle with me. I wanna show you how much stronger I got since the last time," Casey said.
"Okay, Casey," Sora said. "Let's see if you can land a home run." Sora took out his Pokéball and threw it. "Go for it, Spinarak!" Stars swirls around Spinarak when he came on out.
"Casey knows she's at a disadvantage since Spinarak is both a Poison-type and a Bug-type, right, but she's not going to back down because of a type disadvantage, " Tracey said..
"You can make the first move, Casey," Sora said.
"Chikorita! Tackle!" Casey ordered. Chikorita charges right at Spinarak with full force of his body.
"Spinarak! String Shot!" Sora ordered. Spinarak fired String Shot from its mouth making Chikorita get caught in the silk. "Move in with Bug Bite!" Spinarak moves in to give the leaf Pokémon a bite to cause a super-effective hit.
"Chikorita! Razor Leaf!" Casey ordered. Chikorita fires Razor Leaf and it hits Spinarak hard. "Cut out of the silk and use Tackle again!" Chikorita charges at Spinarak landing a hit. The battle raged on as Chikorita began to evolve. Everyone was at awe, especially Casey. Chikorita was now a quadrupedal, pale-yellow reptilian Pokémon that resembles a sauropod dinosaur. It has a long neck, red eyes, a short, rounded snout, and a stubby tail. Each foot has a single, light gray nail. Sprouting from its forehead is a green leaf that curves back over its head and around its neck are a series of tightly curled leaves. Sora took out his Pokédex and scanned it.
Bayleef, the Leaf Pokémon
The evolved form of Chikorita
Type: Grass
Bayleef's neck is ringed by curled-up leaves. Inside each tubular leaf is a small shoot of a tree. The fragrance of this shoot makes people peppy.
"Yes! Chikorita is now a Bayleef! Tackle!" Tracey ordered. Bayleef charged towards Spinarak again, but Sora had to think fast
"String Shot! Aim for Bayleef's feet!" Sora ordered. Spinarak fired String Shot tangling Bayleef in the silk making him slip. "Now use Bug Bite!" Spinarak moves in and lands a bite attack. "Now wrap it up with Night Shade!" Spinarak his Bayleef and the newly evolved Pokémon falls knocked out from the battle. Casey helps up Bayleef.
"You did great, Bayleef. You're still MVP even if you don't win," Casey said.
"Bay, Bay," Bayleef said. She calls Bayleef back inside his Pokéball. "Well, Sora. What did you think?"
"The way you battled is a sign that you have been getting stronger. Just don't overdo it," Sora said.
"I'll be sure to take it easy," Casey said with a promise. With that said, she took her leave of Sora, Kairi, Tracey, and the Pokémon and hoped to see her again soon enough. They continued on to Ecruteak City and for Sora's fourth Johto Gym Badge.