Episode 8: Psychic Minigame Madness! Anabel's Challenge!
Out in the Pacific Ocean, the S.S. Volcanion was sailing on the high seas, promising a relaxing vacation trip to Hawaii for those onboard. There was a Pokémon Daycare for people to leave their Pokémon at for the day, games and activities for guests of all ages, and a special deck facility for battles to take place on.
Kris and Dylan were relaxing by the pool, Croconaw splashing in said pool with some kids while Aurora sat at the side, her feet dipping into the water. Ashton, meanwhile, was flopped onto a chair with a bored expression on her face. The blonde let out a groan, adjusting her sitting position before flopping back down again.
"What is it now?" Kris asked, looking up from her Pokégear.
"There's barely anything to do until we get to Hawaii," Ashton moaned. "The battle facility is the most basic one there is, and it's not like there's a gym on this ship."
"Excuse me miss," said a voice. Ashton looked up to see a man dressed in a fancy red suit. "I take it you're participating in the World Gym Challenge, yes? I would suggest looking at our event schedule to see about any upcoming special badges that we'll be handing out."
"Special badges?" Dylan questioned.
The man nodded. "We have some VIP guests on this cruise, and they have permission to take on challengers for gym badges."
"We've gotta check this out," Ashton said.
"I'm pulling up the schedule now," Kris said. "Hm… looks like the next challenge is happening in one of the party rooms below deck."
"Alright, let's go," Dylan said. "Come on Aurora, Alpha!"
Coming, Aurora said, hopping out of the pool.
As the trio went to where the event was being held, the man in the red suit eyed them strangely. "A talking Lucario, hm…?"
[***]
Down in the lower parts of the ship was a fairly large room where many people were gathered, with two women standing in the middle of the room. One was pale with purple hair and a black suit, while the other had short orange hair and was wearing the uniform of the S.S. Volcanion crew.
"Alright everyone, settle down," said the orange-haired woman. Her voice and facial expression made it seem like she was dead on the inside. "Today's VIP Trainer Challenge will be held by none other than International Police member Anabel. Let's give her a round of applause."
The audience clapped, with the orange-haired woman rolling her eyes before handing the microphone over to Anabel. The Interpol member smiled as she took the stage. "Hello everyone! It's so nice to see so many of you out here today. If you're here for the World Gym Challenge, you've come to the right place. Any questions before we begin?"
Ashton raised her hand. "What kind of challenge is this?"
"A good question," Anabel said. She tossed out a Poké Ball, calling forth an Alakazam from it. "The crew of the S.S. Volcanion have provided us with some fun Pokémon minigames to play, so you'll be competing with your Pokémon in a best of three against my Alakazam."
"Welp, I'm out," Ashton said, crossing her arms and sitting down. "You can have this one, Dylan."
"Quitting this early?" Kris questioned.
Ashton shrugged. "If there's not going to be any battling, then I don't see a point in participating."
"Your loss on an easy badge, then," Kris sighed.
"As if," Ashton scoffed. "Alakazam has an IQ of over 5,000. Trying to beat it in a mental game is asking to lose the second you challenge it."
Anabel, unaware of the conversation going on between the two girls, continued her speech. "If you look under your seat, each of you has a number. The number that Alakazam holds up will be the trainer that participates first!"
Alakazam used its psychic powers to levitate up a card with the number 448 on it. "That's me," Dylan said. He looked to Aurora and smiled. "Let's give it our best in these minigames!"
Yes, let's, Aurora nodded.
Anabel shook Dylan's hand as he came down to the main floor. "Nice to meet you, challenger. Now, to explain the rules, all you have to do is win one minigame against my Alakazam. However, you only have three minigames to do so, and Alakazam here is a verified minigame master!"
"Ala-kazam!" Alakazam said, crossing his spoons together.
It takes more than a high IQ to be good at something, Aurora said to the Psi Pokémon.
"It looks like the challenge is about to begin!" announced a Rotom Drone. "Let's spin the wheel of minigames to see what the first challenge will be!" A nearby wheel was spun, eventually landing on one of the games depicting an Igglybuff and a Cleffa. "The rules are simple: each Pokémon and trainer pair will count the number of a certain type of Pokémon that run across the arena. The one that guesses correctly will earn 10 points, though if neither gets in right, 5 points will be given to whoever was the closest to correct. The team that has the most points at the end winning the game!"
"This is already unfair," Ashton said. "A numbers game against a Psychic-type, really?"
"But Aurora can sense the aura of other Pokémon, so that should help out Dylan," Kris defended.
"Good luck, Challenger Dylan," Anabel said as she took a seat, with Dylan doing the same.
"First round!" Rotom Drone called. "Count the number of Gible!" A side door opened in the room, releasing a few Gible to run across to the other side. Dylan and Anabel studied closely, with Alakazam and Aurora doing the same. Both teams locked in their answers at the same time. "And the answer is… 5 Gible! Both teams get 10 points for this one!"
That one was very easy, Aurora said. Surely they all won't be this simple?
"Second round!" Rotom Drone called. "Count the number of Woobat!" The Bat Pokémon flew across the room at a fast speed, making it harder for the humans to count. However, both Alakazam and Aurora used their respective powers to easily distinguish how many there where. "The answer is… 12 Woobat! Both teams earn another 10 points!"
"Those things move surprising fast for being just a ball with wings," Anabel said.
"Third round! Count the number of both Scraggy and Pumpkaboo!" The Pokémon rushed across the room, with both teams focusing intently on counting. "The answer is… 22 Pokémon! And what do you know, it's a tie once more!"
"Anabel, what happens if we tie?" Dylan asked.
"Then we just move on to the next challenge," Anabel explained. "If we tie again, then it'll count as a win on your part."
"Fourth round! Count the number of Pichu!" A flood of yellow Pokémon crossed the field, which disoriented Dylan a bit. Aurora focused on the distinctly electric aura around the field, searching for the smaller pulse of a Pichu. "The answer is… 12 Pichu! We're tied for the final round, folks!"
"Aurora much have a great grip on her abilities to be able to sense a Pichu in all of that," Kris noted.
"Final round!" Rotom Drone called. "Count the number of all the Pokémon that pass through!" A horde of Pokémon ran through, with both humans being unable to track how many there were. While Alakazam kept a calm composure, Aurora furrowed her brow in concentration, eyes glazed over as her aura senses flared. "The answer is… 32 Pokémon! And oh, it looks like Alakazam and Anabel were the only ones to get it correct!"
The crowd cheered for Anabel, with Alakazam looking confident in itself.
I'm sorry, Dylan. The amount of Pokémon dulled my senses, leading us to lose, Aurora said, bowing in apology.
The boy looked at his Lucario with a smile. "We've still got two more chances to win."
"Indeed you do," Anabel said.
The wheel spun again, this time landing on a picture of a Scrafty. "It's Scrafty Says time! Follow the moves of Scrafty, and the first team to not follow the instructions loses!"
A Scrafty came out, holding a boombox on his shoulder and wearing a backwards baseball cap. The Hoodlum Pokémon set down the boombox, hitting play and nodding his head as a hip-hop beat started to play.
"What is this?" Ashton questioned.
"I think the Scrafty wants them to dance?" Kris speculated.
"Sc-af-ty," the Scrafty said, pointing at Aurora and Alakazam. It started bouncing on its feet as the music played.
Ah, challenge accepted, Aurora said in understanding, matching the Scrafty's moves.
Alakazam followed suit, and soon the two rival Pokémon were matching the Hoodlum Pokémon's dance in sync. As Scrafty brought the two through various hip-hop style dances, the crowd started to cheer on both sides as they danced. Alakazam perfectly matched Scrafty's moves, but Aurora flowed more naturally through the dance when compared to the Psi Pokémon.
Eventually the song ended, with Scrafty crossing its arms and nodding to the other Pokémon before picking up his boombox and leaving. "That was a fun match, but let's count up the footage for any mistakes!" Rotom Drone announced. It buzzed like an old computer before giving off a ding! "And the winner is… a tie! Both teams perfectly matched the Scrafty in dancing!"
"Oh come on, Aurora was clearly the better dancer," Ashton said.
"Are you a dance enthusiast?" Kris asked.
Ashton shook her head. "No, but where I'm from, moving in sync with Pokémon is a way of life."
"And where are you from?" Kris asked.
"Space," Ashton replied, getting an eyeroll from the blue-haired girl.
"Those were some great moves, Alakazam," Anabel complimented her Pokémon. "But with a tie, that means that you either have to tie again or beat us in the final round, Dylan."
The wheel spun for a final time, this time landing on a picture of a Sirfetch'd. "The last minigame will be Sirfetch'd Slice! You have one chance to perfectly cut through all seven pieces of bamboo. Whoever does the most precise slice, wins!"
A Sirfetch'd came out, wheeling behind it two sets of seven bamboo stalks. Alakazam and Aurora got in front of their respective group, with Anabel and Dylan backing their respective Pokémon.
"Find the right angle, and slice right through," Anabel said.
"If you feel that the time is right, then go for it," Dylan said.
"This is intense," Kris said.
Ashton nodded in agreement. "With something like this, it's more than just brainpower, but raw skill."
Alakazam closed its eyes, then created a Psycho Cut, slicing through the bamboo shoots in one go. Aurora closed her eyes, creating a force of aura between her paws before opening her eyes and slicing diagonally, cutting through the bamboo in one strike.
"Let's take a closer look at the results," Rotom Drone said. It scanned both cuts before floating up into the middle of the room. It projected an up-close look at both cuts for the audience to see. "The winner is… Aurora the Lucario!"
The crowd cheered, with Kris and Ashton running down to high-five Dylan. Alakazam looked shocked, shouting at Rotom Drone for answers. "While upon first looks it seems that both cuts were evenly made, Alakazam's cut has signs of splintering in the bamboo. Aurora, on the other hand, made such a clean cut that it was like the bamboo was always that way."
That is the power of aura, Aurora said, looking at Alakazam proudly. I felt where the bamboo was weakest and cut with the precision of a trained warrior.
While Alakazam stood in shock that it had lost, Anabel walked over and shook hands with Dylan. "Congratulations, Challenger Dylan, on your win in my challenge. Please accept this Cruise Badge to commemorate your victory."
Dylan accepted the badge, which was that of a silhouetted cruise ship. Aurora gave a nod as Dylan smirked. "Two badges down, so now we're a fourth of the way to the World Tournament!"
"After a match like that, I'm excited to see what you other trainers have to offer," Anabel said.
Before she could call out the next challenger, the ship suddenly lurched, making everyone stumble in surprise. The lights flickered as it became clear that something was wrong.
The orange-haired woman held a finger to her ear, a look of annoyance coming across her face. "Celosia, Bryony, what's going on up on deck?"
[***]
Up on the deck of the ship, two women in S.S. Volcanion uniforms stood in alarm, one with purple hair and the other with green hair.
"You're not going to believe this, Aliana, but it looks like a Camerupt-shaped submarine just crashed into our ship," said the purple-haired woman, Celosia.
"And there's a bunch of guys in hoodies coming out of it onto the deck," said the green haired woman, Bryony.
Indeed, climbing up onto the ship here men and women wearing black-and-red hoodies, with a stylized "M" on their chest. Leading this group of intruders was a large man, a smirk on his face as he stood in front of Celosia and Bryony with a Mightyena and Camerupt at his side.
"I'm Tabitha, leader of Neo Team Magma," the man announced, his Neo Team Magma Grunts performing a salute as he did so. "We're here to steal your Volcanion Engine, so surrender now or prepare to be burned!"
Author's Note
I imagine that the song Scrafty plays is "2.B.A Master."
The Neo Team Magma outfits are the original Ruby outfits but with the colors inverted. Tabitha is his Omega Ruby version but in a more Maxie style suit.
Tune in next chapter for when two evil teams collide!