Episode 145: Spring Fever
After meeting up with their old friend, Todd, the Sora, Kairi, Karen, Tracey, Sakura, and the Pokémon are joined by the young photographer for the search of the legendary bird Pokémon known as Articuno.
They went deeper in the mountains and they come to a cliff facing a tall mountain with its top shrouded in a cloud.
"Look at the size of that mountain," Kairi said.
"I know, it's huge," Tracey said.
"It has got to be one of the tallest mountain I have ever seen," Karen said.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Sora?" Todd asked.
"Articuno has to be roosting somewhere on that mountain," Sora said.
"You guys might be right. A picture of an Articuno will be very valuable," Tracey said. "A photo or a sketch."
"Just about anyone would do just about anything to see a picture of an Articuno," Karen said.
"Yeah. It'll be my most prized picture yet!" Todd said.
"But, before we go anyfurther, how about we make a stop for some lunch first," Kairi said. "This looks like a perfect stop for lunch anyway." That made Sora beam with happiness and delight on having to taste Kairi's cooking once again.
"That's a great idea, Kairi. I'm starting to get hungry, anyway," Sora said.
For lunch, Kairi had prepared some sandwiches for everyone. Todd got a taste of Kairi's sandwiches and was amazed by the taste.
"Wow! This is great, Kairi!" Todd said. "I can see why Sora enjoys it so much," Todd said as he took a bite.
"Thanks Todd. Just makes me happy to see others enjoy it so much," Kairi said.
"Anything she makes just tastes great. But, the air up here makes the food taste even better," Sora said taking a bite. "Her hands are hands are magic."
"Again with the flatter," Kairi said, giggling. Togepi tries to open a canteen.
"Toge, Toge, Toge," Togepi chirped getting Kairi's attention.
"What is it, baby? Are you thirsty," Kairi asked.
"Toge," Togepi nodded. Kairi opened the flask and poured some water in the cap for Togepi to drink out of. Little did they know, a Swinub comes out of the corner of a rock and eyes the riceball Sora was about to eat.
"Swinub!" The Swinub shouted, surprising Sora, making him drop the riceball. The sSinub starts to eat it. Sora, Kairi, Todd, Karen, Pikachu, Angel, Blossom, Togepi, and the Pichu theyall watched the Swinub eat the sandwich fast.
"A Swinub," Sakura said.
"Not unusual to see one up in the mountains," Tracey said. Two more Swinub had shown up and started to eat the same riceball.
"I guess these little guys likes Kairi's cooking too," Todd said, snapping a picture.
"Actually, I think they're girls; all three of them," Kairi corrected the photograper.
"And they must like eating more than a Munchlax does," Sora joked.
"Hey! Quit stealing food from strangers!" A new voice called out. The voice belonged to a little girl with her green hair in little pigtails wearing an orange shirt, blue shorts and red shoes over white socks and violet eyes. "Cut it out right this minute!" The Swinub stops eating and huddled up to her. "That's very rude." She turns to the visitors. "I'm so very sorry about them. I hope they haven't caused you any trouble."
"Don't worry about it. We still have plenty of food with us," Sora said.
"And they're very cute in my opinion," Kairi said.
"They're very hard to control when they're hungry and smell stuff to eat," the little girl explained. "Where are your manners, Su, Ein, and Ub?"
"I'm going to guess those are they're names, right?" Karen asked.
"That's right: the girl said. She placed her hand on the Swinub on her left. "This one is Su." She places her hand on the one on her right. "This one is Ein." She picks the one in the middle. "And this one is Ub. And my name is Peggy."
"Good to meet you, Peggy. My name is Sora," Sora introduced himself. "Along with my best friend and partner, Pikachu, and his adoptive little brothers the Pichu."
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"Pi," the Shiny Pichu said.
"Chu," the spiky-eared Pichu said.
"My name is Kairi. This Eevee is Angel, and this little cutie is Togepi," Kairi introduced herself and Togepi.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"Toge, Toge," Togepi chirped.
"My name is Todd," he introduced.
My name's Karen, I'm Sora's sister. And this Pikachu is Blossom," Karen said.
"Pikachu," Blossom said.
"My name's Sakura," Sakura said.
"And I'm Tracey," Tracey said.
"So, do Su, Ein, and Ub belong to you?" Kairi asked.
"No. They belong to my father," Peggy said.
"Your dad?" Kairi asked.
"Uh-huh. I'll even take you to meet my daddy if you want," Peggy offered.
"Sure. Why not?" Sora accepted the offer. Peggy led the group to the site she and her father are staying at while working. "Daddy!" The man has thick black hair and a thick beard. He wore a turquoise shirt under a dark blue vest jacket, gray jeans and brown shoes. He turned to see his daughter bringing back the three missing Swinub.
"Oh, Peggy! It's a good thing you found Su, Ein, and Ub. I was starting to worry,' Peggy's father said. He noticed the other kids with his daughter. "Who are your friends, honey?"
"These are Sora, Kairi, Todd, Sakura, and Tracey. I met them when Su, Ein, and Ub was eating some of their food," Peggy introduced the group.
"But we forgave them for it, sir. They didn't cause too much trouble," Sora said. "And besides, it was just one sandwich."
"That's good to hear. They get pretty hard to control whenever they smell food. Anyway, my name is Rory and if figured it out, I'm Peggys father," Rory said.
"So, what brings you two up in these mountains?" Karen asked.
"My dad is a professional hot springs digger," Peggy answered.
"And we've been working up in these mountains for a month," Rory added.
"A whole month?" Sakura asked.
"That sounds cool," Karen said.
"A big hotel company hired me to find some hot springs. I dig 'em out and they build resorts," Rory said.
"Really?" Sora said.
"I travel all around the world and help daddy, Su, Ein, and Ub," Peggy added.
"The company that hired me wants to build a resort up here, but to do that, I have to find for a hot spring just so they can," Rory said.
"I guess you can find a hot spring with all the experince you have," Sora said, making Rory frown.
"Oh, all my experince hasn't helped us much in the last few months, I'm afraid," Rory said sadly.
"We can't seem to find hot springs anymore." Peggy said. The group all shared a frown.
"Too bad. It must be pretty hard for you," Sora said.
"You are right. It is hard for us," Rory said. "But, I won't throw in the towel just yet."
"How do you find a hot spring to begin with?" Kairi asked.
"I'm glad you asked. From my little helpers of course," Rory said making the Swinub jump excitedly. Then it hit Tracey.
"Of course. The Swinub can smell for things. They must be able to smell for steam of hot water," Tracey said.
"That's right, Tracey," Peggy nodded. "How do you know so much?"
"It helps if you're a Pokémon Watcher like me. I heard that pig Pokémon like Swinub has a keen sense of smell depending on what they're looking for. Chefs at various restaurants often used them to sniff for wild truffles to use," Tracey said. That gave Sora an idea. He took out his Pokémon Box and he exchanged his Stantler for Swinub.
"I think I know what you're getting at, Tracey," Sora said taking out a Pokéball. He tosses it letting out his own Swinub.
"Why are you letting out your Swinub?" Sakura asked.
"Tracey did say that pig Pokémon has a keen sense of smell, right?" Sora asked.
"Yes, I did say that," Tracey said.
"I thought maybe my Swinub can help out by sniffing for the steam of the hot water," Sora said.
"I think you wanted to test out your Swinub's sense of smell, like when you volunteered your Growlithe to work like a police," Kairi said.
"A good Trainer should get to know what their Pokémon is capable of. How else can a Pokémon Trainer have a good connection with his Pokémon?" Sora asked.
"He does have a point," Karen said.
"And my Swinub can be a pretty big help since four heads are better than three; even better than a Dodrio's," Sora said. That made Peggy laugh. "Okay, Swinub. How about you lend a hoof and help Su, Ein, and Ub search for some hot springs?" Swinub nodded liking that idea. "Thought so. Give a whiff. What you're looking for is a steamy smell. Su, Ein, and Ub will be sniffing around, too."
Sora's Swinub along with Su, Ein, and Ub sniffs around for the steamy smelling around for the steamy smell. The little pig Pokémon starts circling around making Sora's Swinub do the same thing.
"Look! They found something! This could be the spring we're looking for!" Rory said taking out a Pokéball. "Go Graveler!" Once Graveler is let out, the Rock Pokémon starts digging. "Whenever there are hot springs, my graveler will find them."
"So, Graveler does all the digging. Now that's clever," Tracey said.
"I've gotta shoot a picture of this!" Todd said, taking a picture.
Not too far away, Team Rocket is observing the group from a distance. Meowth looked through a pair of binoculars.
"They got an expedition operation going on there," Meowth said.
"Yes, they certainly do," James agreed. Jessie is getting all excited over the hot springs.
"Yes! Yes! The hot springs! The hot springs!" Jessie exclaimed at the top of her lungs. James and Meowth saw her excitement.
"Jessie?" Meowth asked.
"That's it! We're going in the hot springs business!" Jessie said.
"Our own hot springs business, Jessie?" James asked.
"I smell another plan coming; and I don't even have a nose," Meowth said. Jessie gets into Meowth's face.
"Keep your comments to yourself and listen! We should forget about Pokémon for a while. We can open up a hot springs business right here in this mountain! We can draw in a whole lot of customers coming in here to relax after a long, difficult journey. We can make a whole lot of money and we can pay off our debts as fast as a Beedrill can flap its wings," Jessie said.
"So, how do you plan to do it, Jessie?" James asked.
"We'll do it by helping them," Jessie said.
"Help them?" James asked.
"Something is telling me this is not going to end well," Meowth said in his thoughts.
"We'll help them and claim every hot spring they find! Come!" Jessie said, running off.
"I never could tell what's on her mind," James said.
"The one place I prefer to stay out of," Meowth said. Wobbuffet popped out once again.
"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet said, alarming James and Meowth.
"Don't do that!" James exclaimed.
"Wobbuffet," Wobbuffet said.
Graveler came out the hole it was digging and waited for some hot water to come gushing out, but so far, nothing.
"I knew it was too good to be true. Nothing again," Rory said in a sigh. "I guess I was wrong again. Sora hung hung his head in defeat. Kairi and patted his back for comfort.
"I thought for sure, my Swinub would be able to find some hot springs," Sora sighed.
"It's okay, Sora. You did your best. You always do your best. And you always come out a winner to the end," Kairi comforted him.
"She's right, big brother. You shouldn't throw in the towel yet," Karen said. Sora smiled.
"Thanks Kairi, Karen. You two always know what to say," Sora said. Sora was very proud to have a sister and a girlfriend like them.
"Are they boyfriend and girlfriend?" Peggy asked.
"Sora and Kairi are. Karen is Sora's sister," Sakura said.
"I thought they were, because they've been standing next to each other so much," Peggy said.
"Hate to change the subject, I'm thinking this doesn't surprise you one bit, right?" Tracey asked.
"No. Daddy hasn't been able to find any good springs for months. He had to quit his last two jobs because of the hard time they've been having," Peggy said.
"Well, finding hot springs isn't easy. Even for Swinub," Tracey said.
"Yeah. But, we're starting to run out of food and other supplies. I hope we find a hot spring pretty soon," Peggy said.
"I hope so, too, Peggy," Kairi said. Everyone turned to see Rory laughing and playing with the Swinub.
"Hey, you little rascals. Don't worry, we'll find those hot springs soon," Rory said, laughing.
"Daddy plays with the Swinub almost as much as I do," Peggy said. Rory took out some Pokémon food for the Swinub to eat.
"Now don't these look yummy? Here, have one, Pikachu," Rory offered.
"Pika!" Pikachu said eating the piece offered to him. He looked at Angel. And he offered it to her.
"You have some, too, little Eevee," Rory said.
"Eevee," Angel said, eating the piece to Angel. He then looked at the Pichu.
"And here's some for the two of you," Rory offered to the Pichu. The two Tiny Mouse Pokémon ate the pieces offered to them.
"Pikachu, Pika," Pikachu said to the Pichu. Both Pichu knew it was just to thank him.
"Pichu, Pi!" Both Pichu said happily.
"Glad that yu two little guys enjoy them," Rory said. The two Pichu started to play with Su, Ein, and Ub already becoming fast friends.
"Look at that, it's so cute. They're friends already," Kairi cooed.
"They obviously like those Swinub. And they like the Pichu back," Sora said.
The two Pichu and the three Swinub continued playing with Rory when Team Rocket comes down from their hiding place wearing a pair of sunglasses each.
"You ready, guys?" James asked.
"Only when you are," Meowth asnwered.
"Remember the plan," Jessie said.
"Right," James and Meowth said as they approached Rory.
"Oh, there you are. We've been looking everywhere for you," Jessie
"Who are you?" Rory asked.
"The company that hired you has sent us to assist you since you haven't been having too much luck lately," James said.
"They decided that three is better than two," James said.
"This is wonderful! Just what we need!" Rory smiled.
"Now let's get cracking because that hot spring isn't going to find itself," Jessie said.
Sora Kairi, Karen, Tracey, Sakura, and Todd were relieved to see someone lending a hand for Rory and his daughter. But why it had to be Team Rocket, Sora will never know. He knew something was up, so he had to know what it is.
"I think we should lend a hand, too, since the work can go much faster," Sakura said.
"That's a good idea, Sakura. We should all pitch in," Sora said. He turned to his Swinub. "Wanna try again, Swinub?" Sora's Swinub nodded and helped his fellow Swinub search for the hot spring.
Everyone dug for the hot spring and they didn't even feel even the slightest warmest steam shoot out. Karen wiped off some sweat.
"This one is much dryer than a Cubone's bone," Karen said.
"No hot spring," Sakura pouted.
Over to Team, they stopped digging and they made sudden realization about their plan.
"I don't think we can find any hot springs around here, Jessie," James said.
"I think you're right. We'll have to steal the Graveler and the Swinub then," Jessie said.
"Who's gonna get the Swinub?" James asked his brother.
"You are. And I'll be meeting you over to that way," Jessie said, pointing to her right.
"Right," James said. Jessie went the one way while Dan grabbed a burlap sack to bag the three Swinub inside. Once he was certain no one was around, he whistled to the little pig Pokémon. "Here, Swinub, Swinub, Swinub. Some yummy treats inside this sack." The Swinub got excited and and he bagged them. "Gotcha, you little piggies!" The Swinub then started to stuggle inside. He laughed to himself. "Like taking candy from a baby." One of the Swinub tried to get out, but he kept her inside the bag. "Oh, no you don't! Stay in there!"
Not too far, Peggy were looking for the little Swinub.
"Su, Ein, Ub, where did you all go?" Peggy called out to the Swinub.
"Swinub!" One of the Swinub called out. Peggy saw what was going on while James was keeping the Swinub from getting out. He tied the sack with a small rope.
"There! That should keep you contained!" James said. Peggy gasped at the sight.
"Everyone! Come quickly!" Peggy called oout to everyone getting their attention. "Su, Ein, and Ub are being taken away!"
"What?! Sora exclaimed. He saw James running off. "That's no helper! That's James! I should have realized it a lot sooner!"
"He's taking Su, Ein, and Ub away!"
"Hey you! Come back here with my Swinub!" Rory called out. Dan turned to see the group coming.
"Crap! Gotta get going!" James panicked. He took out a Pokéball and tossed it in the air. "Victreebel! Go!" The Pokéball opens and lets out Victreebel and he chomped on his head "How many times do we have to do this?!" Victreebel got off him. "Use your Razor Leaf!" Victreebel fired Razor Leaf at them.
"Angel! Use Swift!" Kairi ordered. Angel fired Swift and cuts through the leaves. James quickly took out his other Pokéball and threw it.
"Weezing! Go!" His Weezing came on out to battle. "Use Smokescreen!" Weezing unleashed a thick fog of smoke from his mouths.
"Get back!" Sora shouted. They all back up from the smoke.
"I'll handle this!" Tracey said, taking out a Pokéball and threw it. "Scyther! Go!" The Pokéball opens and Scyther comes right out. "Use Swords Dance to blow the smoke away!" Scyther spins around and blows the smoke away. When the smoke clears, James and Victreebel were even further away.
"He got away!" Sora said.
"We gotta go after him!" Karen said.
"Right," Sora agreed with his sister, but Kairi stopped him.
"Sora, wait!" Kairi stops him.
"What do you mean wait? He's getting away!" Sora stated.
"We can't rush in without a plan. Your Swinub can sniff their scent and we can follow them," Kairi said. Sora nodded and took a deep breath.
"You're right, Kairi. We'll have to be smart about this," Sora said. He turns to Swinub. "Okay, Swinub. Pick up the scent."
"Nub," Swinub said, taking a whiff. Swinub snuffed the ground and the group followed.
"Here we come, morons, ready or not," Sora said.
After losing the group, James called back Weezing and Victreebel and he ran as fast as they could despite carrying the sack containing the three Swinub.
"You goth them?" Jessie asked
"Yeah. But, now we have a problem. That guy and the twerps caught me in the act," James said.
"We'll have to make a break for it now; it won't be long until they catch up with us," Meowth said.
"You mean like right now?" Sora called out to them. The brothers turns to see the group had finally caught up with them. "Give back those Swinub! Now!"
"Prepare for trouble, since when do we do what you say?" Jessie asked.
"Make it double, it's going to be our day," James said with a rhyme.
"To protect the world from devastaion."
"To unite all peoples to our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth! That's right!"
"Wobbuffet!"
"Mime, Mime!"
"Who are they?" Peggy asked.
"They're from Team Rocket. They're bad people who make a living stealing other people's Pokémon," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"Toge," Togepi chirped.
"And we're happy to do it," Jessie said.
"Say, how about we grab that extra Swinub and Pikachu, too?" James suggested.
"Excellent idea, James," Jessie said, taking out her Pokéball and threw it. "Arbok! Go!"
"Join right in, Victreebel!" James called out. Arbok and Victreebel both came right out, but the Fly Catcher Pokémon chomps on James's head again. "Twice in one chapter?! My head is not a chew toy!"
"Okay, Swinub! Move right in!" Sora said. Swinub steps in to battle Team Rocket. Kairi took out Miltank's Pokéball and threw it.
"Miltank! Go!" Kairi called out. Miltank came right out to battle beside Swinub. "Miktank! Use Stomp!" Miktank rushes at Team Rocket to stomp on them.
"Wobbuffet! Use Counter!" Jessie ordered. Wobbuffet uses Counter to block Miktank's attack and send her flying.
"Swinub! Use Powder Snow!" Sora ordered. Swinub unleashed small gust of cold air along with small balls of snow, freezing Wobbuffet like a popsicle.
"Wobbuffet's frozen solid!" Meowth exclaimed.
"Use Tackle!" Sora ordered. Swinub heads right at Wobbuffet and lands a hit, sending Wobbuffet flying. He's still frozen solid.
"Arbok! Use Wrap!" Jessie ordered. Arbok wrapped his body around the Pig Pokémon.
"Miltank! Seismic Toss!" Kairi ordered. Miltank grabbed the Cobra Pokémon and gave him a toss on the ground after Arbok has uncurled his body around Swinub.
"Thanks, Kairi," Sora said.
"Anytime, Sora," Kairi said.
"How about I join the party! Blossom! Use Double Kick!" Karen ordered. Blossom gave Victreebel a couple of kicks.
"James, do something!" Jessie said.
"Right! Victreebel! Leaf Blade!" James ordered. Victreebel came at Blossom with Leaf Blade.
"Swinub! Use Tackle!" Sora ordered. Swinub tackled Arbok hard. "Use Powder Snow!"
"Dodge and use Razor Leaf!" James ordered. Victreebel gave Swinub a hit with Razor Leaf, hitting Swinub hard. Just then, Swinub started to evolve. Everyone was surprised by the sudden evolution. Swunub has become a Piloswine. His tusks were much longer than the one Kairi battled in the Poké Maiden Tournament.
"Swinub! You evolved into a Piloswine!" Sora said.
"Pilo!" Piloswine said with a snort.
"Since you evolved, you know a new move. Use Ice Fang!" Sora ordered. The newly evolved Piloswine charges at Team Rocket with his tusks emitting ice. Piloswine gave Arbok and Victreebel a shove with his tusks. They hit Jessie and James as James drops the sack, making Su, Ein, and Ub run out.
"Oh, no you don't!" Meowth said, stopping them.
"Graveler! Use Mega Punch!" Rory ordered. Graveler lands a punch onto Meowth, sending him flying. The Swinub ran up to Peggy as she embraced them.
"Su, Ein, Ub, I'm so happy to see you're okay!" Peggy said. The Swinub nuzzles her happily as they tickled her. She giggled.
"Okay, they're safe. Piloswine! Use Mud Bomb!" Sora ordered. Piloswine fired Mud Bomb at Team Rocket. They screamed as they're hit by the mud attack.
"You want some payback, Su, Ein, and Ub?" Rory asked.
"Swinub," Swinub nodded.
"Use Powder Snow!" Rory ordered. The Swinub unleashed Powder Snow and freezes Team Rocket like Wobbuffet.
"Use Rollout!" Kairi ordered. The Milk Cow Pokémon curls up into a ball and plows right into them. The ice shatters and they go flying in the air.
"I wanted that hot spring so badly," Jessie said.
"Jessie, stop me if this is an obvious question, but didn't you say you were going to get that Graveler?" James pointed out.
"Oh, I thought I forgot something," Jessie said.
"No wonder the twerp calls us morons," Meowth said.
"We're blasting off again!" Team Rocket shouted as they go flying in the sky. A star twinkles in the distance.
"Good work, everybody," Sora said.
"Thank you very much! It's thanks to you we have all of our Swinub back safe and sound!" Peggy thanked the older kids.
"Those Swinub are a lot tougher than I thought," Sora said.
"They may not be able to find hot springs like they used to, but they put up one heck of a battle," Rory said. The Swinub leaves Rory's arms and they sniff around, but for some reason, they are even more full of energy than usual. "Look! They found something!"
"Could it be it?" Karen asked.
"Pika?" Blossom added.
"Only one to find out," Rory said. He turned to the rock Pokémon. "Graveler, start digging!" Graveler starts digging after the Swinub moves out of the way.
"Is it a hot spring, this time?" Peggy asked.
"Let's wait and see," Rory said. They waited for a few moments as Graveler kept digging. After waiting a few moments, Graveler came rushing out and hot water erpupts out of the ground. Everyone were at awe and happiness that the Swinub had finally found a hot spring. "They did it! They finally found a hot spring! Yeah baby, yeah!"
"Isn't it great, guys? They finally found a hot spring," Sakura said.
"I think battling has made them stronger and improved their sense of smell," Tracey said.
"Sure looks like it," Sora said.
"Pika," Pikachu said.
"Su, Ein, Ub, you were great," Peggy said proudly.
"It's times like this that I'm glad I'm always carrying a camera," Todd said, snapping a picture.
Everyone returned to the spot Rory and Peggy were staying at, as everyone were preparing to depart.
"You sure you have to take off? It was loads of fun," Peggy said.
"We'd like to, but we have a mission to go back to," Sora said.
"I'm sure all of you will drop by once the resort is finished and try out the hot spring," Rory said.
"And that we will love very much," Sora said.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu chirped.
"Thanks, guys!" Peggy called out to the group when they started to take their leave. "Bye!"
"Best of luck on your journey!" Rory called out to the group.
"Thanks! And take care of yourselves and the Swinub!" Kairi called out. Todd turned and faced the mountain they were looking at earlier.
"Now I know Articuno is somewhere on that mountain! Nothing is going to stop me from getting it's picture!" Todd said.
"Then let's get the show on the road, guys!" Sora said.
Kairi, Karen, Tracey, Sakura, and Todd all agreed and they proceeded on with their journey to find Articuno. Will Todd get the picture he's been seeking? Just wait and see.