Episode 216: A Mudkip Mission!
A whole day has passed since Sora had caught a Treecko of his very own and in the meantime, Sora, Kairi, Pikachu, and Angel continue to go their way to Rustboro City. As they continued on, they came across a lake with a waterfall flowing down.
"This looks like a good spot to rest for a while," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu agreed.
"Such a beautiful lake," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"Yeah, but this lake is nowhere near as beautiful as you are," Sora said. Kairi could blush when Sora had complimented her.
"Sora," Kairi sweetly said she moved in to deliever a kiss to her boyfriend. Pikachu watched the scene quite sweetly. They parted their lips as the couple had let out their other Pokémon for some fresh air.
Meanwhile, there are a couple of Pokémon Hunters in the area lurking around searching for some rare Pokémon to put on sale to the highest bidder.
"Johnny, you sure there are some wild Mudkip living around here?" One of the hunters asked.
"Sure, I'm sure, Stan. There should be some Mudkip living somewhere in this forest. And the best place to look is around water since Mudkip are Water-type Pokémon," Johnny said.
"So, where should we start looking for some water to find some Mudkip?" Stan asked.
"There should be a lake somewhere around. And there's a rumor flying around about a lake filled with loads of baby Mudkip to find. And when we do find them, we'll snatch them all," Johnny said. He and Stan both shared a laugh. The two Hunters continued to patrol through the woods to search for the rumored lake.
Back to the couple, Sora and Kairi had called back Taillow, Treecko, Torchic, Plusle, and Minun. They approached a wall of a cliff next to a waterfall.
"How are we gonna get up there, Sora?" Kairi asked. Sora thought for a moment and he gets an idea.
"Maybe we could just run up the wall. Master Rei taught us how to do that just before we left for Hoenn," Sora said.
"Well, we did practice with that a whole lot, and this gives us a pretty good excuse to use it for real for the first time," Kairi said.
"Allright, let's get cracking. Pikachu, Angel, get on our shoulders. We're heading on up," Sora said. Pikachu and Angel climbed on their shoulders and they began to run up the walls vertically. It was pretty hard for them at first, but they eventually got the hang of it after a while. It took some practice to get it done. The couple made it all the way to the top. "After a while, it's pretty easy."
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"Look at this. The river is running very smoothly," Kairi said. Sora took out his PokéNav to see why.
"According to the PokéNav app, we're looking at the offshoot. And that's where we are. And if we keep going through here, I'm sure we'll find our way out of the forest," Sora said.
"That's good to know, Sora," Kairi said. They kept walking through the river offshoot's shore and they found a very muddy area. "Sora, this place is muddy."
"It'll be a very good idea if we just watch our step," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
As they continued onwards, they saw something in the area with them. It was a whole bunch of Mudkip and they were all smaller than the one Professor Birch had before.
"Sora. Those are Mudkip, aren't they?" Kairi asked.
"Yeah, they are," Sora said, taking out his Rotom Phone.
Mudkip, the Mud Fish Pokémon
Type: Water
In water, Mudkip breathes using the gills on its cheeks. If it is faced with a tight situation in battle, this Pokémon will unleash its amazing power. It can crush rocks bigger than itself.
"Don't those Mudkip look smaller than the one Professor Birch has?" Sora asked.
"Those must be baby Mudkip. They're so very cute," Kairi cooed as she watched the baby Mudkip play together.
"I think we should just leave them alone. We don't wanna scare any of them," Sora suggested.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
Just then a Mudkip that is much bigger than the other Mudkip came out right in front of the couple and fired Water Gun right at Sora in the face.
"Hey!" Sora yelped. "What was that for?!"
As the baby Mudkip were playing, one is accidentally hurled into the river and floats right to the mainstream. Kairi saw what happened and gasped.
"Sora! One of the babies is heading to the mainstream!" Kairi yeleped. Sora turned to see the baby Mudkip helplessly splash around.
"We've got to help that baby!" Sora said.
"You're right! We've got to!" Kairi agreed. She turned to Angel. "Okay, Angel, you go and help that baby!" Angel nods and she heads to the river to rescue the baby Mudkip. She swam over to the baby very fast in the water. Angel managed to save the baby, but she and the baby were still heading for the mainstream. "Angel!"
"Pika!" Pikachu gasped.
"I'm going to help her!" Sora said as he headed to the river, but the bigger Mudkip jumps in the water to save both the baby Mudkip and Angel. Mudkip reached them both in time and pulled on her by her front paws. Sora was impressed by the Mudkip's dedication and he thought his new Treecko was dedicated. He went over to the Mudkip. "That was a close one." The Mudkip stood defiently before him.
"Mudkip, Mud!" The Mudkip snapped at him.
"Take it easy. I'm not gonna hurt you. And I know why you attacked us. It was just so you can protect your baby, right?" Sora asked, showing the Mudkip he can trusted.
"Mudkip," the Mudkip said, growling.
"Sora!" Kairi called out as the Mudkip ran back into the bushes. She looked over Angel. "You did a great job, Angel." The female Eevee licked Kairi for the compliment she gave her. Kairi then picked the baby up in her arms. "And as for you. I'm sure you were very scared."
"Mudkip," the baby Mudkip chirped.
Sora, Kairi, Pikachu, and Angel heard some rustling in the nearby bushes and an old man's face looking like a Mudkip's hair came up.
"Aah! Heartless!" Sora yelped.
"Sora, it's a person," Kairi told her boyfriend.
"Who're you calling heartless?!" The old man angrily exclaimed.
"You just scared us, that's all, so I was just being jumpy," Sora said.
"If you two troublemakers think you can just waltz in here and steal all of the Mudkip I had worked s hard to raise, then you've got another thing coming!" The old man barked at them.
"Wait a minute! We didn't come here to steal any Mudkip! Honest! We were just passing by trying to get to Rustoboro City!" Sora said.
We were saving this baby here because she was in trouble," Kairi added.
"Mudkip," the baby Mudkip chiped as she nodded. The old man relented.
"Is that right? Sorry about that, kids. I had you figured all wrong," the old man apologized.
"It's all right. Anyway, I'm Sora and this is my partner, Pikachu," Sora introduced.
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Kairi, and this is my Eevee, Angel," Kairi said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"Kairi was the one who saved your baby Mudkip with Angel here," Sora said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"Howdydo. I've been in these parts for such a long time, just call me Swampy or just Old Man Swamp," Swampy introduced.
"I think we'll stick with swampy," Sora said.
"Pika," Pikachu said.
"Anyway, you shouldn't be tresspassing here, so how in the hay did you two get here?" Swampy asked.
"Like I said, we were looking for a way to get to Rustboro City, so we went up the waterfall to get up here," Sora explained.
"What?! You went up the waterfall?!" Swampy asked, surprised.
"Afraid so. And we're sorry we came here without your okay, so were going to leave here and we honestly didn't know there were any Mudkip here," Kairi explained. Swampy smiled and he could tell how honest she was being.
"Oh, don't worry about a thing. And besides, anybody who would go and save my little Mudkip is a friend of mine. Say, how about you have some tea before I send you on your way?" Swampy offered. He led his guests to his cabin and sat them down for some tea. Sitting in the cabin are some aquariums, holding four blue eggs with three orange spots on each one.
"Is this is where you live, Mr. Swampy?" Kairi asked.
"Yep. I've been living here in these woods and taking care of Mudkip for all these years, just like the baby Mudkip ya just saw today," Swampy said. Sora turned to the aquarium.
"Are these what I think they are?" Sora asked.
"If you're thinking those are Mudkip eggs, then you'd be right, sonny," Swampy said.
"Whoa," Sora said.
"Where did you get them?" Kairi asked.
"Some people from the Pokémon League association comes by and hands the eggs over to me and I care for them to hatch," Swampy said.
"Is that right? Doesn't Professor Birch do that, too?" Sora asked.
"Well, word on the street is, he actually catches them and raises them until they're ready to meet new Trainers," Swampy explained.
"Huh, I guess everybody has they're own way of doing things," Sora said. He smiles. "Just looking at these kinda takes me back, right Kairi?" Kairi turned to her boyfriend.
"What do you mean, Sora?" Kairi asked.
"You remember the egg you raised when it hatched into a Togepi?" Sora asked. Kairi fondly smiled.
"How can I ever forget? It was the most wonderful thing that could ever happen," Kairi pointed out.
"Right," Sora said.
"So, you had experience raising Pokémon right from an egg, huh? If you like, we can witness some of the eggs hatching," Swampy offered. He led the couple outside his cabin when he took the eggs about to hatch and placed them in a nest made of grass. All of the eggs had hatched into new Mudkip.
"Oh, so cute," Kairi gushed.
"Well, there's one thing we forgot to tell you," Sora said.
"Oh?" Swampy asked.
"We didn't save that one baby Mudkip alone. We had help from another Mudkip living around here," Sora said.
"A local?" Swampy asked.
"Yeah," Sora answered.
"The Mudkip who helped Angel save her was bigger than the other Mudkip. He attacked us because he was protecting them from us when we got here," Kairi explained.
"Eevee," Angel nodded.
Swampy smiled as he knew who she was talking about.
"Oh, I know that one," Swampy said.
"Isn't he one of yours, too?" Sora asked.
"I'm afraid not, Sora. He's just one of those wild and wooly Pokémon," Swampy said.
"Wild and wooly?" Sora asked.
"Yeah. He sometimes sneaks in here and he thinks all of the Mudkip here are all of his friends," Swampy said.
"Sounds like a good Pokémon to have around," Sora said.
"I don't doubt it, sonny. But the problem is because he's getting so big, it's getting harder to find a Trainer who would want him. And it won't be long before all of the Mudkip get big enough and then leave. So, I guess you can say he doesn't have any friends to speak of," Swampy said. Sora couldn't help but feel sorry for the Mud Fish Pokémon since he knew Mudkip will eventually be alone and wondered what would happen when that wild Mudkip will end up alone.
"I guess I understand," Sora said.
Back down below, the hunters search for some Mudkip.
"Okay Johnny. This has to be the spot. So, where are all the Mudkip?" Stanley asked.
"They're around here somewhere. The rumors said they're right here," Johnny said.
"I hope you're right, because I don't want to go back to being a bust boy for another year!" Stanley said.
"As long as we play our cards right, we won't have to work as bust boys again. And even if we don't play them right, we'd go to jail and serve at the prison cafeteria," Johnny said. They searched around for any signs of Mudkip, but somehow they have not found any. Johnny growled in frustration. "This is getting us nowhere! There aren't any Mudkip here!"
"I knew your so-called rumors were nothing but bogus," Stanley said.
"The guys who said there were Mudkip here sounded serious! I just don't understand how they could be wrong!" Johnny exclaimed. He then gets an idea. "Wait. Maybe we should have a look in the skies." Johnny has taken out a Pokéball and tosses it into the air. "Come out, Yanma!" His Yanma buzzes when it is let out. "Yanma, search for any Mudkip!' Johnny took out a photo of a Mudkip. "This is what we're looking for!" Yanma nodded and flew to search for the Mudkip. Yanma flew up to the waterfall and looked around. The dragonfly Pokémon looked around for the Mudkip and found one; it was the Mudkip that helped Sora and Kairi earlier and fired Water Gun at it. Yanma flew off, feeling soaked. Yanma flew back to Johnny to make the report. "Find any Mudkip?" Yanma nodded and pointed to the top. "They're up there?!"
"No wonder we couldn't find any," Stanley said.
"Come on! Let's find some Mudkip!" Johnny said.
The Hunters got out a huge rope and tied it to a rock and threw it to the same tree Sora and Kairi had used earlier. First, they made sure the rope was secured and used it to climb up the rocky wall. When they reached the top of the waterfall they proceeded to search and they found what they came for.
"Johnny! Look! Mudkip! Loads of 'em!" Stanley said.
"I see 'em, Stanley. There has to be more Mudkip than we can count. They'll sell like pancakes!" Johnny said.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's round them all up!" Stanley said, getting out a burlap sack to bag every one of them. Just then, the wild Mudkip came at the Hunters and tackled into Johnny.
"YEOW!" Johnny yelled. His yell is heard by Sora, Kairi, Pikachu, Angel and Swampy.
"What was that?" Sora asked.
"Someone is tresspassing on these grounds, judging by that yell," Swampy said. "Excuse me." Swampy ran to see what the fuss was about only for Sora and Kairi to join him. When they got there, they saw the Mudkip from before and a couple of men trying to get hold of Mudkip. "Hey you! Get off my land!"
"Buzz off, old man! This is our business!" Johnny barked at him.
"If you think you can just come here and steal all my Mudkip, then you made a very big mistake," Swampy threatened.
"They're not going to be yours for long, old timer! We came looking for Mudkip and we ain't leaving until we snatch them all," Johnny said.
"The only way you're going to get those Mudkip is through us!" Sora stated as he and Kairi had both taken out a Pokéball each.
"If you want to have a battle with us, then that's what you're gonna have one!" Stanley said, taking out a Pokéball. Johnny did as well. "Go for it, Zigzagoon!"
"Go! Electrike!" Johnny shouted.
Stanley had unleashed his Zigzagoon as Johnny has unleashed a green, canine Pokémon with yellow markings. It has a large head crest with angular, lightning-like markings on the side. Its snout has a yellow blaze, and four fangs are discernible when its mouth is open. It has a yellow stripe down its back. Each of its four legs has a spike, with the ones on its hind legs being longer. It has yellow crescent-shaped paw pads on its front feet, while the pads on its hind feet are circular. It has a small, pointed, yellow-tipped tail.
"Electrike?" Sora asked as he took out his Rotom Phone with his free hand.
Electrike, the Lightning Pokémon
Type: Electric
Electrike stores electricity in its long body hair. This Pokémon stimulates its leg muscles with electric charges. These jolts of power give its legs explosive acceleration performance.
Sora puts his Rotom Phone away and throws his Pokéball.
"Go for it, Treecko!" Sora called out as his Treecko puts his twig in his mouth.
"I choose you, Plusle!" Kairi called out as Plusle has entered the fray. "Plusle! Use Quick Attack!"
"Treecko! You use Quick Attack too!" Sora ordered.
Both Treecko and Plusle used Quick Attack to charge at Zigzagoon and Electrike.
"Zigzagoon! You use Pin Missle on that Treecko!" Stanley ordered. Zigzagoon fires Pin Missle from its fur. It heads right at Treecko.
"Electrike! You use Thunder Fang on Plusle!" Johnny ordered. Electrike charges at Plusle with its teeth emitting electricity.
"Plusle! Dodge and use Nuzzle!" Kairi ordered. Plusle dodges Electrike's attack and nuzzles Electrike on the cheek.
"Treecko! Fire your Leafage!" Sora ordered. Treecko unleashed his Leafage and used it to block Zigzagoon's attack. "Now use Quick Attack followed by Pound!" Treecko uses his Quick attack and slams into the Tiny Raccoon Pokémon and then smacks it with his tail.
"Electrike! You use Fire Fang on Treecko!" Johnny ordered.
"Zigzagoon! Shadow Ball on Plusle!" Stanley ordered.
Electrike comes at Treecko and lands a burning bite onto him as Zigzagoon fires Shadow Ball and strikes Plusle. In the battle, Yanma grabs one of the baby Mudkip and hands it to Johnny. Sora and Kairi weren't close to calling it quits.
"Treecko! Quick Attack!" Sora ordered.
"You too, Plusle!" Kairi ordered.
"I don't think so!" Johnny called out. Sora and Kairi saw Johnny holding the baby at the at the river's edge. "Call off your Pokémon or else this one goes for a swim; not that it's strong enough!" Sora, Kairi, and Swampy were appalled by the hunter's threats. "What's it gonna be?" Sora growls in anger, he didn't want to put the baby's life in danger so he and Kairi had no choice.
"Okay, you win. Just put the baby down and call your Pokémon them off, too," Sora said. Johnny smiled, at the surrender. Sora takes out Treecko's Pokéball and Kairi took out Plusle's Pokéball as the couple calls back their Pokémon.
"Thought you would see it my way," Johhny said, before dropping the baby in the river and it splashes about.
"Mudkip, Mudkip, Mudkip!" The baby Mudkip called for help. Kairi gasped as Sora became pissed.
"What's the matter with you?! We surrendered!" Sora shouted.
"So what?" Johnny taunted.
"No!" Swampy gasped as the wild Mudkip was starting to head for the water. Johnny and saw where he was heading.
"Electrike! Stop that Mudkip from getting in the water!" Johnny ordered. Electrike ran towards Mudkip, but Pikachu rammed into the Lightning Pokémon with Quick Attack. "Why you, little! Yanma! Sonic Boom!" Yanma flaps its wings to create a powerful soundwave, but Pikachu dodges and fires Thunderbolt shocking Yanma to a crisp. The dragonfly Pokémon fell to the ground. "Stanley! Do something!"
"Zigzagoon! Pin Missle!" Stanley ordered. Zigzagoon fires Pin Missle, but Pikachu easily avoids Pin Missle with his speed and fires Elctro Ball.
"Pika!" Pikachu said. The wild Mudkip dived into the water to fetch the baby Mudkip. The wild Mudkip reached the baby, but got caught in the main river, heading for the waterfall. The hunters tried to stop him, but they ended up being shocked by Pikachu's Thunderbolt.
"Sora!" Kairi called out. Sora saw the wild Mudkip and ran to the waterfall's edge when they went over. The wild Mudkip held the baby by the head fin and held on tight. Sora frantically looked around and he saw the rope left by the Pokémon Hunters.
"Hang on!" Sora said as he rushes over to the rope. He made sure that the rope was secured and used it to climb down. He reached Mudkip and reached out his hand. "Take my hand!" The wild Mudkip refused to do so and ignored him. "Come on! You know you can't hold on forever; I can't hold on forever either! Take my hand before it's too late!" The wild Mudkip ignored him some more and refused to comply. "I know you don't trust me, but that's only because we've just met! But I need you to trust me right now! Because if you don't, then both of you and the baby will take the plunge! So please! Take my hand!" The wild Mudkip could see how Sora was willing to risk his life for him and the baby and he knew he won't be hold forever. Seeing no other way out of it, Mudkip uses his tail fin to reach Sora's hand and he takes it. "I knew you would come around." He takes both Mudkip in his arms and climbed up. When he did, he saw both hunters and their Pokémon were tied up. Kairi's face lit up when she saw Sora with both Mudkip safe and sound.
"Sora!" Kairi said as she ran up to her boyfriend and hugged him tight. "I'm so glad you're okay."
"I did what I had to helf these two," Sora said. Kairi broke the hug to put the Mudkip down. He smiles feeling satisfied to see the hunters tied up. "I see you had things handled while I was below."
"Using the rope from your backpack," Kairi said.
"That's good," Sora said.
"Also, that is what they deserve for the dirty trick he played on us," Kairi added on.
"Now let's get these two hooligans over to the police. I'm sure Officer Jenny will be happy to see we have a couple of presents for her," Swampy said.
"Oh, I'm sure she'll be thrilled," Sora said. After waiting a half, Officer Jenny had taken the Pokémon Hunters into custody as she read them their rights for attempting to poach the Mudkip given to Swampy by the Pokémon League association.
"I knew I should have stayed a bust boy," Stanley said.
"Oh, shut up," Johnny said.
Swampy was just so happy to see that the Mudkip are all safe and it was all thanks to Sora, Kairi, and the wild Mudkip.
"I simply can't thank you kids enough. You saved all of my baby Mudkip from those vandals! Now I know my family's hard work wasn't for nothing!" Swampy said.
"You don't have to thank us," Sora said.
"We only helped out because we both love Pokémon," Kairi said. Swampy smiled.
"And that's okay in my book," Swampy said. He looked over to Sora. "Say Sora. I have just one more favor to ask ya before you and your girlfriend take off." Sora was taken aback by the request, but he had to consider what he had to say.
"Um, sure. What is it?" Sora asked.
"I was wondering if you would do me the honor of being this Mudkip's Trainer?" Swampy said, pointing to the wild Mudkip. "Seeing how you risked your neck for this one and for one of the babies is proof that you're good enough to be his Trainer and I know he'll go places with you with you training him." Sora looked over to the wild Mudkip and saw how he is smiling at Sora, knowing he had won over his trust. Sora smiles back to Mudkip. He bends down to Mudkip.
"What do you say, Mudkip? You wanna come with me and Kairi? I know how you're strong, but together we can be stronger. And you'll have loads of new friends, just like us," Sora said, holding out his hand. Mudkip smiled and placed his forefoot into Sora's hand.
"Mudkip," Mudkip agreed.
"Great! Now let's have a little initiation of joining us," Sora said, taking out a Pokéball and threw it. "Go for it, Treecko!" The Pokéball opens and Treecko comes out, placing his twig in his mouth. Mudkip starts up with Tackle. "Treecko! Stop Mudkip with Pound!" Treecko swings his tail and smacks Mudkip hard. Mudkip gets back up and fires Water Gun. "Dodge it with Quick Attack!" Treecko avoids Water Gun and dashes right towards Mudkip, landing a hit. Mudkip then hurls some mud at the Wood Gecko Pokémon and it lands a hit. Mudkip ran towards Treecko and lands another Tackle onto Treecko. Mudkip fire Water Gun and it lands another direct hit. Treecko was down, but not out. "Treecko! You okay?"
"Treecko," Treecko said.
"Good! Now use Leafage!" Sora ordered. Treecko fired Leafage right at Mudkip, but the Mud Fish Pokémon avoids Treecko's Leafage. "Keep sending out Leafage, Treecko!" And Treecko did keep firing and the leafs lands a hit onto Mudkip. "Now use Pound!" Treecko swings his tail right at Mudkip and he lands on his belly. Mudkip tries to get back, but falls back down. Sora takes out a Pokéball and hurls it right at Mudkip, making him flow inside it. The Pokéball wobbles around and around. They waited to see if the capture was successful. Stars swirls around the Pokéball, confirming the catch. He lets out his new Mudkip. "Welcome to the team, Mudkip."
"Mudkip," Sora's new Mudkip said.
With that done, they said their goodbyes to Swampy and to the baby Mudkip and continued on towards Rustboro City. Mudkip took one last look at the place.
"You don't have to worry about them, Mudkip. They'll be okay. And I know they'll be strong Mudkip just like you are," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"Mudkip," Mudkip said.
And now Sora has all three starter Pokémon once again, the journey in the Hoenn region continues with more adventures and more new Pokémon to meet. The only way to see what is else is coming is by staying tuned.