(Opening Song: Pokémon World)
So you wanna be the Master of
Pokémon!
Do you have the skills to be
Number one!?
I wanna take the ultimate step
Find the courage to be bold (Pokémon)
To risk it all and not forget
The lessons that I hold
I wanna go where no one's been
Far beyond the crowd (Pokémon) Yeah!
Learn the way to take command
Use the power that's in my hand
Oh hey!
We all live in a Pokémon world
(Po-ké-mon)
I wanna be the greatest Master of them all!
(Greatest Master)
We all live in a Pokémon world
(Po-ké-mon)
Put myself to the test
To be better than all the rest
Ungh!
So you wanna be the Master of
Pokémon!
Do you have the skills to be
Number one!?
We all live in a Pokémon world
(Po-ké-mon)
I wanna be the greatest Master of them all!
Got the power right in your hands
Po-ké-mon!
Our heroes have finally arrived at the City of Trovitopolis. Everything seems normal, but beneath the city…secret lurks.
"We finally made it." Ritchie sighed in relief. It felt like ages since they'd last seen a city. Now he can finally get something to eat.
"The city looks so big…" Molly stared out at the tall buildings from afar.
"Ursa (The buildings look like they reach the sky)." Teddiursa said.
"I'm just happy we finally made it to a city. Now I can finally take a bath." Misty smiled.
"Yeah, you definitely need one." Ritchie agreed.
"So do you!" Misty snapped.
Ash got in between them, "Okay, calm down. First we'll check into a Pokémon Center, then get something to eat. How does that sound?"
"No complaints here." Serena was eager to take a nice long bath.
"I'm a little hungry, too." Tomo said.
Before any of them could go through their plans, cracks appeared on the concrete ground. They realized too late and fell down the hole. Ash grabbed onto Molly and Tomo, while Serena and Misty held each other, and Tracey was holding onto Ritchie.
All of them blacked out when they hit the ground with their Pokémon being the only ones awake and trying to wake them up.
"Pikapi, Pikachu (Ash, wake up)!" Pikachu shook Ash's shoulder trying to wake him up.
Ash stirred awake finally, "Ow, I'm going to have a horrible headache later. Hey, Pikachu."
"Pikachu (Welcome back to waking world)." Pikachu smiled.
Misty woke up at the behest of Togepi, "Are you okay?" Her first concern was about Togepi.
Molly rubbed her eyes and woke up, "Hi, Teddiursa." The bear pkémon hugged her.
Everyone else started waking up, with the exception of Tracey, who was stuck in a clump of dirt. Ash and Ritchie pulled him out.
"I was really stuck in there, thanks guys." Tracey thanked.
"No problem, now get off me already!" Ritchie said from underneath Tracey. When they pulled him out the Pokémon Watcher fell right on top of him.
"Oh, sorry!" Tracey hurriedly got off his friend.
Misty stood up and looked to her left, "What's that over there?"
"Looks like a tunnel." Tracey said.
"We might as well take a look since there isn't any other way out." Ash said.
The group agreed and proceeded to walk through the tunnel. This turned out to be the right choice to make as they saw some light on the walls and a waterway.
"Are we in a sewer?" Ritchie wondered.
"Looks that way." Misty confirmed.
"We're in luck then. All we have to do is find a manhole cover and climb up." Tracey advised.
"That's right. Once we find it we'll be in the city." Serena smiled.
"Guess we should start looking." Ash suggested.
Splitting up wasn't a smart move, so they stayed together as a group. They walked a few steps before Ash heard a ringing sound from a bell.
"A bell?" Ash murmured.
"What's wrong?" Serena asked.
"It sounded like the ringing of a bell." He described.
"Are you sure?" Tracey asked.
"Maybe it's the ringing in your ears from when we all fell." Misty suggested.
"No…it definitely sounded like a bell." Ash knew for sure because he heard it again, "There it is again."
Ritchie tried to listen out for it but he didn't hear anything, either, "I really don't hear anything."
"I heard it." Molly said.
"Me, too." Tomo heard it twice, just like Ash.
Something poked Ash's shoulder, making him swipe it away. But it didn't like to be ignored so it tapped his shoulder again.
"What is it, Pikachu?" Ash asked. Instead of answering, his shoulder was poked again, making him stop and turn around. He was confused when there was nothing there when he turned around it couldn't have just been his imagination, there's something here.
"Pikapi (As)?" Pikachu called his name.
Ash looked back and remembered that Pikachu didn't get on his shoulder like he normally does, "If you were in front of me, then…" Does that mean something else really down here in the sewers?!
Something large waved through the air behind him and had the others flinching in fear. Just what is that?!
"Ash, look out! There's a giant monster right behind you!" Misty yelled, pointing.
Ash turned around quickly and saw something waving in the air in front of him. What the hell is that thing?! It's too dark for him to really see.
"That things huge! What is that?!" Ritchie yelled.
"Pika (A monster)!" Sparky said.
Teddiursa jumped out of Molly's arms to protect his trainer, "Ursa (Stay away)!" Molly understood Teddiursa wanted to battle it.
"Use Fire Punch!"
Teddiurs's fist becomes surrounded by red-orange flames and it punched the mysterious thing.
"You did it!" Molly cheered.
Teddiursa got back in front of her. That Fire Punch seemed to make it upset because it shot at them quickly. Before either of them could react, Teddiursa was grabbed and pulled away, "No!" Molly grabbed onto Teddiursa to try and pull him away, but the thing's grip was too strong and it ended up pulling Molly right along with it.
"Molly!" Ash cried out in horror as he tried to grab her, but she slipped through his fingers and was dragged into the water.
"Oh, no!" Serena covered her mouth.
"I'm going down there!" Ash was about to get in the water, but was stopped by Tracey and Ritchie.
"Ash, stop! You'll just get pulled down there, too!" Tracey told him.
"I don't care! Molly's down there and I'm not leaving! Let go!" Ash struggled against them, determined to save Molly. But the two wouldn't let go and Ash was about to get violent, "I said, let go! I'm not leaving her down there!" Before they tried to calm him down, some light appeared above them. Someone had opened one of the sewer covers above them.
"Do I hear somebody down there?" A familiar voice asked.
Tracey looked up and smiled, "It's Officer Jenny!"
"Officer Jenny, can you please help us out of here?" Misty pleaded.
"That sewer is very dangerous! I'll lower a rope down so you can climb up!" Officer Jenny said.
"Oh, thank goodness—wait, Ash! Where are you going?" Tracey saw him walk away.
"You guys go back up, I'm going to find Molly and Teddiursa." He said.
Ritchie sighed, "Ash, don't kill me for this…" Je looked over at Tracey and both nodded their heads. They had no choice but to use the rope to tie Ash up.
Misty shook her head. That's going to come back and bite them later.
And she was right.
Not only did they get arrested for no good reason, but Ash promptly gave both Ritchie and Tracey a black eye for them tying him up. Misty figured he would try to break the door down but he was being quiet in a corner, but knew he would blow up soon.
"You two got off easy. Ash could have beaten you both to a pulp." Misty said.
"You think? Ow!" Ritchie winced, placing the ice pack Officer Jenny gave him back over his eye.
Tracey was in the same state, "I never expected him to hit me, too…"
"I know, but look at it from Ash's perspective. Molly was taken away by something and he's worried something awful might have happened." Misty said.
"She's right. Just let him cool down for a bit, okay?" Serena said.
Ritchie sighed, "Yeah, I know." He wasn't even mad at Ash, just the fact they got arrested. He's also worried about Molly, too. Thankfully Tomo wasn't also taken, otherwise Ash would go ballistic.
The door to their cell opened, "Well, you're all free to go now." Officer Jenny said.
"That's a relief." Tracey smiled.
"Togephree (Yay)!" Togepi cheered.
"What took so long?" Ritchie asked.
"Sorry about that. We've had some strange things happening…" Officer Jenny didn't get to tell them everything because a cough was heard and a well dressed man walked in.
"I hope you're not releasing these three Officer." The man said to Officer Jenny.
Officer Jenny saluted him, but you could tell she didn't want to, "What a pleasant surprise Mr. Mayor."
"Mr. Mayor?" Misty, Tracey, and Serena all said.
Ash paid the man no attention and neither did Tomo.
"Sir, they told me they only arrived in town today and they're on their way to the Pokémon Gym on Trovita Island and their story checks out." Officer Jenny explained.
The Mayor didn't seem convinced, "I can't have this thing leaking out yet. Better keep them locked up till next week."
Ash glared at him out of the corner of his eye, and Ritchie flinched.
"I can't hold them of their not charged with a crime, Mr. Mayor." Officer Jenny put her foot down and the conversation was over.
He didn't look pleased but relented, "Hmmm, if that's the law, so be it. But I forbid you to say a word to anyone about that creature."
"You can't do that. Why can't we say anything about if its the truth?" Tracey demanded an answer.
Ash walked past him, "I'm not in the mood for this. I'm going back down there to get Molly and Teddiursa." He said, firmly.
"Now you hold it right there! If you so much as take another step, I'll—" A swift kick barely missed the side of his head. The man stood there frozen even when Ash put his leg down. Next to the man's head was a clear dent imprint of Ash's foot.
Ash stared right at the man with a cold gaze, "You'll do what?" Even his voice sounded emotionless.
The Mayor wisely didn't say a word.
"My sister is down there with that creature you want to hide so badly. I don't care about you or how this will affect your reputation. I'm going down there to get her, and if you get in my way…" He grabbed the man by his bow tie and yanked him till he was at the same eye level, "…I'll destroy you!"
"Eeek!" The Mayor let out a yelp and backed away from Ash.
Officer Jenny was impressed, "Wow, this is the first time I've seen the Mayor be threatened by anyone. It's oddly refreshing."
"Glad you feel that way…" Misty didn't know what else to say.
"Who Ash had a dark side to him." Tracey was even taken aback.
"You have no idea. Keep sticking around and you'll see more of it." Ritchie said then saw Serena was blushing, "Uh, why are you blushing?"
Serena fidgeted in place, "Um, well…"
Ritchie had a horrifying revelation, 'Please tell me she's not feeling some kind of way about this!'
"Anyway, you aren't the only ones who saw that creature." Officer Jenny told them.
"O—Officer, don't!" The Mayor tried telling her to be quiet, but flinched when Ash glared at him.
"Mr. Mayor, we can't keep this a secret forever." She said then looked at them, "We've recently had a number of people who reported encounters with a mysterious creature reaching out of the sewers."
"The same thing we saw?" Tomo asked.
"Yes. So far we've only had reports of food being stolen. No serious injuries." She explained, "But the Mayor here says people will panic if word gets out because we won't be able to capture it."
The Mayor went on a rambling tangent about the citizens being in danger when all the creature did was steal food to survive down there. What an idiot. Ash could tell the man was hiding something, which tells him everything he needs to know.
"If all it wants to do is eat then there's no reason to be mad at it." Misty gave her opinion.
Someone knocked on the Mayor's door and in came Nurse Joy, who looked angrier than Ash had ever seen any Nurse Joy.
"Mr. Mayor, I heard you intend to do! You can't go through with that plan!" Nurse Joy yelled.
"Go run your Pokémon Center and I'll run the city." He dismissed her with a wave of his hand.
"Watch your mouth when you talk to her." Ash warned him.
"What was that?" The Mayor frowned at him, only for Ash to crack his knuckles and shut the man up again.
Officer Jenny loved it.
"What's wrong, Nurse Joy?" Serena asked.
"Instead of trying to capture the creature alive, so we can study it and learn where it may have come from—the Mayor wants to send a SWAT team to destroy it!" Nurse Joy answered.
"That's cruel!" Serena yelled.
"Are you out of your mind?!" Misty yelled the loudest.
"You need to be locked up!" Ritchie glared.
"It could be a new species of Pokémon and you want to destroy it?!" Tracey was disgusted.
"He can't do that, right big brother?" Tomo asked Ash.
"He can't. It's illegal, in fact Officer Jenny can arrest him right now." Ash stated.
Officer Jenny stood up and faced the Mayor, "He's right, Mr. Mayor. If that's what you're planning then I'll arrest you right here and now."
"Enough! I am the Mayor of this city and I have the right to do as I see fit!" The Mayor yelled.
"Hmph, that's what you think." Ash left his office after saying those words. The others followed behind him, not wanting to stay in his office for another minute.
Pokémon Center
["Tracey's right. This mysterious creature could very well be a new species of Pokémon, or maybe a Pokémon that's gone through a very strange mutation."] Professor Oak agreed with Tracey.
"Convincing the Mayor is pointless. We should go down there and capture the creator ourselves, and get Molly and Teddiursa back." Ash voiced his opinion.
"I agree with Ash. The Mayor only cares about getting re-elected and won't let anything stand in his way." Nurse Joy agreed with Ash.
They left the Pokémon Center and saw a bunch of posters with the Mayor's face on them. There was even that symbol they kept seeing.
"Must be the Mayor's trademark." Tracey commented.
"Who cares? Let's find a way into the sewers." Ash said. Everyone agreed and went to a manhole cover but saw the Mayor there with the SWAT team.
"That son of a—he's seriously trying to kill the creature and Molly just so he can get re-elected!" Ritchie hissed.
"Don't worry about it, Ritchie. Cause once all of this is over, I'll deal with him myself." Ash promised.
Ritchie sweatdropped, "Uh…yeah…"
Who's That Pokémon?
It's…Zapdos!
"Screech!"
Nurse Joy was kind enough to lead them another way into the sewers. Bless this woman's heart. They wandered for a while before they caught off guard by some that came out of nowhere. Thankfully it didn't linger for long.
"Please tell me that wasn't Team Rocket." Ritchie really wasn't in the mood to deal with them right now.
"Oh, no! Togepi'a gone!" Misty panicked.
"What?! But he was just here!" Ash was concerned for the little egg pokémon.
"May's the creature grabbed him!" Tracey said.
"PiPiPi (Togepi)!" Pikachu called out.
Togepi wandered over by the edge where water was flowing out of a hole with a happy smile, "Togepi!" Misty grabbed him before he could fall in the water.
"You can't just wander off like that!" Misty scolded but Togepi was trying to reach out or something.
"Misty…look right there!" Ritchie pointed.
"Misty, right in front of you!" Tracey warned.
Misty looked back in front of her to see the giant green thing in front of her and screamed, but Togepi was giggling. It wrapped around Togepi, but Misty had a firm grip on the little pokémon, "Let go of Togepi!" She tried pulling Togepi away but like with Molly, it was pointless as she was pulled under water.
"Misty!" Ritchie yelled, but it was too late.
"Pikachu-pi (Misty)!" Pikachu also yelled.
"Pikachu pi pika (We're next! Aren't we)?!" Sparky was freaking out.
"What do we do?" Tracey was worried now, "We gotta save her!"
"We will. I sent Charizard back and asked for another friend. Muk, I choose you!" Ash sent out Muk for help.
"Muk (Ash)!" Muk hugged his trainer, who responded in kind, "I'm glad to see you, too. But we need your help. Molly and Misty have been taken away and we need to find them." Ash said.
"Muk? Muk (What? Leave it to me)!" Muk said, slinking down the sewer path. It looked like he brought them to a dead end but it was the opposite.
"Muk Muk (Down there)." Muk pointed in the water.
Ash leaned down and saw another way, "It looks like another tunnel way."
"That's probably where we need to go." Tracey guessed.
"Okay, then. Let's go."
They held their breath and jumped in the water. Following Muk's directions, they swam further before finding some light. They were blinded for a moment and ended up passing out.
"Big brother, wake up!"
Ash weakly opened his eyes and saw Molly hovering above him. Without hesitating he hugged the girl, "Molly! Thank goodness! I thought you were hurt!" He was so happy he could cry right now. His sister was safe!
Molly hugged him back, smiling, "I'm okay! We played with our new friend the whole time."
"Ursa (We had fun)!" Teddiursa said.
"New friend?" Ash felt something like his forehead and looked up to see it was a Bulbasaur, but it was bigger than your average one.
"Looks like we found the monster. But it turned out to be a Bulbasaur." Tracey smiled, "It's twice its normal size because it's been living down here for so long."
The Bulbasaur greeted them with a smile by waving its vines in the air.
"The mysterious creature was really a Bulbasaur just using Vine Whip." Misty added.
"But how did it get down here?" Ritchie questioned.
Ash noticed something around its neck, "I know. Someone gave up on raising it and threw it away down here."
"Pikachu (Yeah…)." Pikachu nodded.
"That's horrible." Serena felt bad for Bulbasaur.
"Fenne (Who could do such a cruel thing)?" Fennekin's ears drooped.
"It must have taken Molly and the others because it was lonely." Ash got up and rubbed the top of its head, "You had it hard living here all by yourself."
"Bulbasaur (That feels good)." Bulbasaur smiled at the warm touch. That only made Ash even more upset. How long has it been since this Bulbasaur last touched another living person? Too long. He noticed something on Bulbasaur's collar and became pissed.
The Mayor razed in his bath, feeling good after sealing up every tunnel in the city. Nothing else mattered but the election and he was going to win by a landslide now. Just as necessary celebrating his victory, a rumbling sound before water spewed out of his bathroom and sent him outside, with nothing but a towel to hide some of his modesty.
He looked up to see the kids from earlier staring him down in utter disgust, "Wh—What do you want…?" He asked, nervous.
"We found an old friend of yours down in the sewers." Ash spoke first, eyes cold as ice.
The Mayor looked at the Bulbasaur by Ash's side, "Bulba?!" He was surprised it was still alive after all these years. He remembers the day he had abandoned it as a child and sent it into the sewers. Back then he was upset his Baulbasaur wouldn't evolve, so he cut all ties and abandoned it. Not caring about what happened to it afterwards.
"This must be the Bulbasaur I let flow into the sewer when I was a little boy cause it wasn't evolving." He paled and realized that if what he did gets out there's no way he'll be elected again.
"Bulbasaur (You remember me)!" Bulba smiled, using Vine Whip to grab onto its former trainer and lift him in the air.
"Huh? What are you doing?" The Mayor demanded.
"How could you do such a terrible thing to your own pokémon?" Misty demanded to know why.
"And even though you threw it away all those years ago, its still happy to see you." Tracey frowned.
"Bulba had no choice but to keep taking food from the people here to survive down in the sewers! You ugly man!" Molly stuck her tongue out at him.
"Maybe your Bulbasaur should make you live down there in the sewers for years to see how you like it!" Ritchie sneered.
"Pika (Yeah)!" Sparky was all for it.
"How do you even live with yourself?!" Serena yelled.
"Fenne (Fat pig)!" Fennekin turned her nose up at him.
The Mayor didn't care about their opinions, more worried about what the citizens would think, "This can't come out now!" And sure enough the citizens gathered around and heard everything. They were muttering to themselves about what a cruel and awful man he was to do that to his pokémon.
"Make that thing put me down." He pleaded, embarrassed.
"If you want us to help, apologize to your Bulbasaur!" Misty demanded.
"I am the Mayor of this city and have to maintain my authority! I will not apologize to a pokémon!" He refused. The SWAT team appeared and he didn'T waste time giving them orders, "This pokémon is violating the law by holding the Mayor of this city hostage!" They got ready to fire, but Ash wasn't going to let that happen.
"Thunderbolt!" Ash ordered.
Pikachu electrocuted the SWAT team and sent them blasting off like Team Rocket. Bulba raised a brow at his former trainer and understands now just what kind of person he really is. Ash bent down and patted Bulbasaur's head, "Lower him, I'll do the honor in your place." He said.
Bulba was confused but complied and set the man down as Ash walked over to the former Mayor, cracking his knuckles. Ritchie and Misty already knew what was about to happen and covered the children's eyes.
"St—Stay away! Don't you take another step!" The Mayor couldn't crawl away otherwise his towel would slip off and everyone will see his lower area.
Ash was going to enjoy this, "Clench your teeth." He reared his fist back and punched the man right in the face, breaking his nose and making him lose some teeth. Satisfied, Ash walked back to the others with a pleased smile on his face, "That felt good."
"We know." Ritchie and Misty said, dryly.
Nurse and Officer Jenny offered to see them off. After everything went down, Officer Jenny arrested the Mayor on a multitude of charges, the first and serious offense being pokémon abandonment. He won't be getting re-elected any time soon.
"I want to thank you all, after everything we'll have a new Mayor elected very soon." Officer Jenny assured them.
"Good." Ash was satisfied to hear that, "And don't worry about Bulbasaur, Molly will take good care of him. After all, they bonded while in the sewers."
Molly was holding Bulbasaur's pokeball gently, "We'll be together for a long time."' She promised.
"By the way, we heard there was a gym around here on Trovita Island." Ritchie wondered if they knew something about it.
"You heard right, Ritchie. It will only take you a few minutes to get to Trovita Island." Nurse Joy pointed over at an Island nearby.
"I'll gladly take you there, you don't mind." Officer Jenny offered.
"Really? Thank you so much." Ash appreciated her kindness.
And so, with the case of the monster finally solved. Our heroes set their sights on Trovita Island and their next adventure.
Professor Oak was mulling about in his lab as he waited to hear back from his cousin, Samson Oak. Since he couldn't figure out just what kind of pokemon Ash caught, he did the next best thing and asked his cousin. He found himself agreeing with Ash about it aging the body of a bug type, but the way it stood there, staring him down screamed it had the aura of a fighting type. So it must be a dual type pokémon.
"Hopefully, Samson can figure something out." Samuel was about to go get some coffee when his telephone went off, "Oh, that must be him calling now!" He hurriedly answered the phone, "Samson, did you—" He reared his head back when his cousin yelled into the phone.
"Calm down! What in the world has you so worked up?" Samuel asked. His eyes widened when his cousin told him something he never expected to hear, "What…? Then what Ash caught is actually—"
Aboard a ferry, our heroes embark towards Trovita Island for Ash's next Orange Island challenge.
"Those rocks look interesting." Ash was staring at their design.
"Yeah they formed millions of years ago when Trovita Island rose up out of the ocean." Tracey gave them a little history lesson.
"I wonder what the Trovita Island gym leader is like. Are you curious, Ash?" Misty asked him.
"I'm sure the gym leader is skilled just like the others." Pikachu's ears twitched and he pointed at something in the water.
"Pika Pika (Over there)!" Pikachu turned their attention over towards a little girl and her Seal, both were caught in a whirlpool.
Tracey noticed the danger quickly, "She's drowning!" And that's not good.
"We have to do something fast!" Misty urged.
"Somebody please help!" The girl pleaded before drowning underwater.
Ash turned to Misty, "Misty, you can swim better than the rest of us! See if you can help her!" He suggested.
"Okay!" She gave Togepi over to Tracey and sent out Staryu. She jumped in the water and grabbed onto the star pokémon, "Let's go, Staryu!" They both went underwater.
Misty and Staryu quickly found the girl. She fell unconscious, as did her Seal. She grabbed the both and with Staryu's help, got them to safety.
"Misty, over here!" Ash was on Lapras' back and swimming over to them quickly.
"Staryu, let's give them both over to Lapras!" Misty said as they both swam over to Lapras. Once they got close enough, Ash grabbed the unconscious girl and held her in his arms.
"Just unconscious. Good work, Misty. You, too, Staryu." Ash said to them both.
"You helped out, too." Misty returned Staryu and grabbed Ash's other hand as he hoisted her up on Lapras' back. Now all they had to do was reunite with the others. Unaware their heroic actions were being watched by a young man, who blushed at the sight of Misty.
"She's amazing…" He said.
After that little scare was over they were swimming at a normal pace towards land. The little girl woke up and was surprised to see she was saved by two people, but still very grateful.
"That was close. What were you doing out there?" Ash asked her.
"I was swimming with Seal near the beach but the ocean pulled us out." She replied.
"You have to be careful in the ocean." Misty warned her.
"Huh?" The little girl was confused.
"The currents can be dangerous so always make sure you swim with other people around, okay?" Misty told her.
"Uh-huh!" She nodded.
"And Seal." Misty joked and both girls laughed.
Ash smiled and looked back over to land and saw a boy running towards them along with others, "Hey!" He waved them down. Ash guessed this boy might be her brother and lifted her up off Lapras.
"Mahri!" The boy called his sister.
Mahri jumped into her brother's arms, "Don't go swimming alone ever again." He told her.
"I won't." Mahri promised.
He put her down and thanked Misty, "I'm very grateful to you, and can't thank you enough for saving my sister."
"We were happy to help." Ritchie said.
He approached Misty, "May I ask your name?"
"My names Misty." She answered.
"Misty, you really are amazing." He said.
Misty blinked, wondering if she heard right, "Huh…?"
"Huh?!" Ritchie and Tracey were both confused. Where did that come from?
The young man snapped his fingers and his followers appeared with flowers to give to Misty. She was surprised at first but felt flattered by the gesture.
"Looks like Misty has an admirer." Ash stated the obvious.
"Is that what he's doing? He's acting too much like Brock to me." Ritchie wasn't impressed with the guy.
"Music, please." He snapped his fingers again and another follower brought out a boombox. Slow music started to play.
The boy got down on one knee, "Misty it would give me great pleasure…" Misty was confused by this action as he took Togepi out of her arms and gave the little one over to Ash. He then grabbed her wrist and they started slow dancing.
"Whoa." Tracey said.
"Seriously, who is this guy?" Ritchie was getting annoyed by his flirty behavior.
"I think it's sweet. He's just showing Misty how much he likes her." Serena smiled.
"And besides, Misty doesn't seem uncomfortable so there's no harm." Ash added.
"What is he trying to do?" Molly tilted her head, confused.
"Is dancing with someone on the Island their way of greeting people?" Tomo questioned.
'I hope you two never know the feeling of your "first crush." Ash knows thinking this is selfish, but he wants his siblings to stay innocent.
"Misty, from the way you saved my sister it's obvious to me you must be an excellent water type trainer. Would you do me the honor of staying here for a while to teach?" He smooth talked her into staying.
"Your gym? You mean your the Trovita Island gym leader?" Misty was surprised to learn that.
"He's the Trovita Island gym leader?" Ritchie could believe it, "Hey, lover boy! Could you stop flirting with Misty already? It's annoying!"
"The only one annoyed with it is you." Ash pointed out.
"Togi Togi (Annoyed! Annoyed)!" Togepi giggled.
"And your a great dancer, too." He ignored Ritchie.
"Hey!" Ritchie was really irritated now.
"C'mon big brother! One of them is here to challenge you!" Mahri stepped in to make her brother stop.
The young man stopped and smiled, "It's not polite to interrupt a private conversation. Your being very rude
"Me?! You're the one who's rude!" Ritchie snapped.
"I'm not rude, it's Rudy." He finally introduced himself. He did a little dance that made Serena wonder if he really was the gym leader, "What makes you think you can beat me?" He smirked.
"Not me. My cousin Ash! He's already won two badges and he got first place in the Indigo League!" Ritchie was tired of this guy's arrogant attitude.
"You didn't have to tell him that." Ash rolled his eyes at Ritchie being immature.
Rudy looked over in his direction, "You there, what's your name?" He asked finally.
"Ash Ketchum." Ash replied.
"What!"
"No way, it's him!"
"Yeah, he's the same guy that won alright!"
"I hear his pokémon are crazy strong!"
Rudy eyed Ash for a moment, "Okay, let's see what you can do."
Ash nodded.
"Good luck, Ash." Mahri encouraged.
"Thank you, Mahri." Ash thanked her.
All of them were on a speed boat and took off. Ruddy addressed Ash, who was standing still, "I'll agree to a gym match with you but only if you can get your pokémon to attack and knock down all the targets that come up at us."
"Sounds like fun." Ash turned to him and smiled.
Mahri was surprised by how calm Ash was and not worried at all. It looked like he was really having fun.
'He's…really cool…' She thinks.
"Here comes the first one! Go for it, Pikachu!" Ash said.
Pikachu destroyed the target with Thunderbolt. Rudy wasn't paying attention because he was once again trying to flirt with Misty.
"Your eyes are like diamonds. Only lovelier." Rudy flirted.
Misty was smitten, "Oh, Rudy…"
"Is this some kind of joke to you?!" Ritchie snapped at him again.
"Hey, don't yell at Rudy! Stop acting like this just because you're jealous!" Misty snapped at him.
"I'm not jealous, Misty! Your too love struck to realize what a rude jerk this guy is!" Ritchie snapped back.
"What did you just say?!" She yelled at him.
Serena and Tracey were starting to feel uncomfortable.
Ash meanwhile told Pikachu to keep hitting the targets. Mahri paid attention in her brother's place.
The sun was starting to set as they gathered in the Pokémon Center. Ash successfully knocked down all targets using just Pikachu. The little mouse was fast and no one will forget that.
"That was more fun than I thought it would be." Ash smiled.
"I can tell." Serena was glad he had fun, but found it rude Rudy wasn't even paying attention and focused all on Misty.
"I must say I'm a little surprised but you passed my test." Rudy said.
"Was that supposed to be a compliment?" Ritchie's eyebrow twitched.
"Just let it go, Ritchie." Tracey smiled nervously.
"Tomorrow we'll have a match and if you beat me two out of three I'll give you a badge. Pick whatever element Pokémon you want and I'll use the same." Rudy explained the next part, but his tone was a little rude.
Ash nodded, "Sounds good. I'll choose Electric, Grass, and Water."
Rudy quickly dismissed him in favor of Misty, "And as for you, would you care to have dinner with us this evening?" He offered.
"Oh, please say yes! My brother is a really good cook!" Mahri pleaded.
"Our's is better." Molly and Tomo said.
"It's not a contest, you two." Ash did not want to get in the middle of what was going on.
"I don't know…" Misty wasn't sure if she should.
"We both would like it if you would." Rudy insisted.
"Sure, let's go." Misty gave in and went with them. Leaving the others behind and making them feel like she just abandoned them.
"See ya…" Tracey said, feeling left out.
"Bye, Misty…" Molly looked upset and Ash didn't like that.
"Why don't we all call Professor Oak and eat something ourselves, okay?" Ash rubbed the top of her head.
"Okay…"
Ritchie was pissed by Misty's attitude, "You know what? Who cares about Misty, she can do whatever she wants."
"It does feel like she just ditched us for a good looking guy. Or maybe I'm just being too sensitive." Serena wondered.
Ash shook his head, "Come on."
Who's That Pokémon
It's…Scyther
"Scyther!"
["ASH!"] Professor Oak's voices bellowed through the screen.
Ash winced, "Yes, it's me! What's wrong?" The man looked like he was about to pass out.
["Thank goodness you called me! Send me your Pokédex! And hurry!"] Professor Oak sounded really insistent.
Ash hurriedly sent the man his Pokédex and it was sent back just as quickly. Okay, what's going on?
["Good! Now see if you can find that Pokémon you caught a while back!"]
Ash looked it up on his Pokédex and found the entry:
[Pheromosa, the Lissome Pokémon. A Bug and Fighting type.]
"That's all the Pokédex has to say?" Ritchie was expecting more information.
["That's more than enough! Listen to me Ash! You didn't catch a formal Pokémon—but an Ultra Beast!"] Professor Oak revealed.
"Ultra Beast…Ultra…" Ash muttered.
"I'm confused Professor. Just what is an Ultra Beast?" Tracey asked.
["I didn't have much information on the subject myself. Only from what my cousin in the Alola region was able to gather. You see he's been studying odd Wormholes that have been appearing there. That Ultra Beast came from those very same Wormholes. It's an extradimensional pokémon that's gone through Ultra Space!"] He explained.
"Wait, are you trying to say Ash caught an alien Pokémon?" Ritchie asked just to be sure he heard the man right.
["Well, when you put it that way…yes!"] Professor Oak confirmed.
"No way…" Serena couldn't believe it.
"An alien pokémon…that's so cool!" Tomo couldn't believe it.
"Wow!" Molly smiled.
"This could be part of a new discovery! Who knew there were extradimensional pokémon out there!" Tracey was getting excited.
Ash stopped muttering and focused, "Professor Oak. We can discuss more about this later. Right now I need you to send me Venusaur."
He'll sleep on what he learned today so he can focus on the battle tomorrow.
The next morning came quickly. Everyone was spectating the match in a hot-air balloon. Misty was feeling a little left out because everyone was ignoring her for some reason. She even tried talking to Molly but the little girl went over to Ash's side and refused to look at her. She looked so upset, too. Ash for his part nodded his head and walked away, Serena and Tracey were awkward around her, and Ritchie flat out ignored her.
Misty felt a little upset by the silent treatment, but she had a feeling it had something to do with Rudy. Sure he was a little rude but he's a nice guy underneath everything. He was also really sweet, too.
But…he was acting a little rude to Ash and dismissed him, even when Ash was just being polite. And she didn't call him out on his behavior towards him, and was instead smitten…okay, they have every right to be mad at her.
Misty hopes that when everything is over they can all be friends again. She hoped.
"Are you ready, Rudy?" Ash asked his opponent.
Rudy scoffed, "Sure, though you don't stand a chance of winning. You may have won the Indigo League, but that doesn't mean anything. Choose an electric pokémon and we'll start the battle." He dismissed Ash being a threat.
"I'll go with my strongest, Pikachu." Ash said.
Pikachu stood ready to battle.
"I choose, Electabuzz." Rudy sent out his Electabuzz.
"Electabuzz (This will be easy)!" Electabuzz declared.
Serena scanned it:
[Electabuzz, the Electric Pokémon. Electabuzz is the evolved form of Elekid. With powerful electric currents constantly coursing through its body, Electabuzz appears to glow.]
"Ash is not going to go easy on Rudy." Tracey already knew the outcome.
"Why would he? That jerk needs to be taken down a peg." Ritchie smirked, looking forward to seeing Rudy get his ass handed to him.
Mahri didn't understand why they believed Ash was going to win. Serena even put her hands on her shoulders, "We'll apologize to you in advance, Mahri."
"Beat him, big brother! That meanie's trying to take Misty away!" Molly cheered for Ash.
"Ursa (Destroy him)!" Teddiursa also encouraged.
Misty winced and the others looked even more uncomfortable. This is going to be a nasty battle.
"I'll let you have the first move." Rudy said, arrogantly.
Ash smiled as he grabbed the tip of his hat, "It's a shame really. But I suppose you not taking me seriously could be more fun."
Rudy was confused, "What are you talking about?"
"Iron Tail."
Pikachu did what Rudy didn't expect. The little mouse disappeared and reappeared in front of Electabuzz and slammed his metallic tail right into the other electric type's gut. Electabuzz was almost sent flying off the cliff.
Rudy was speechless, Mahri was speechless, even other members of Rudy's gym were speechless. What just happened?
Ritchie wanted to gloat so badly but opted to snort instead, "I like that expression on his face."
"Well he certainly will take this gym battle more seriously now. Although it might be too late." Tracey wondered just what kind of training he and his Pokémon had. Pikachu is far stronger and faster than your average electric mouse.
"Get him, Pikachu!" Molly was merciless.
"Calm down, sis." Tomo tried to calm her down.
Mahri couldn't believe what just happened. Electabuzz actually got hurt, "What happened…?" She sounded so confused.
Serena felt so bad for Mahri. While her brother was acting like a jerk to them he's still a loving brother to her. She hates this. Misty wasn't doing any better herself. She knew Ash was being ruthless with Rudy because of rude behavior and wanted to teach him a lesson.
"Electabuzz, can you get up?" Rudy called out to his pokémon. Electabuzz managed to stand back up but it was holding its stomach in pain. Rudy looked back at Ash, who was smiling at him, but it wasn't a condescending one. More like he was having fun.
Okay, guess it's time to take this more seriously.
"Electabuzz, use Thunder Punch!"
Electabuzz's fist glows yellow and sparks of electricity surround its arm. Prepared to punch Pikachu.
Ash never stopped smiling, "Use Brick Break."
Pikachu waited for Electabuzz to get close enough before jumping in the air, avoiding the Thunder Punch. Pikachu's hand becomes surrounded by yellow sparks and it karate-chops Electabuzz from above its head. Electabuzz swayed as it walked backwards while Pikachu stood there, calmly. Swaying one last time…Electabuzz fell to the ground, knocked out.
The commentator was shocked but called it, ["Electabuzz is unable to battle! Pikachu wins!"]
"Hah! One down, two to go!" Ritchie felt a little bad for enjoying this because Mahri was watching with them, but the guy rubbed him the wrong way.
"We already knew Ash would be ruthless. Rudy kind of brought it on himself." Tracey said.
"Yeah, now what?! Stupid petty boy!" Molly made her feelings for Rudy known
"Molly, please calm down…" Tomo didn't like the guy, either but still.
Serena was comforting Mahri, "Don't be upset, Mahri. Gym battles can be like this sometimes."
Misty felt sorry for the girl but kept watching the battle.
Rudy returned Electabuzz looking dumbfounded. Okay, maybe he made a mistake underestimating this guy, but he'll still win this! For Misty!
"I choose, Exeggutor!" Rudy sent out his next pokémon.
"Exeggutor (My turn now)!" Exeggutor said.
Serena scanned it:
[Exeggutor, a Coconut Pokémon. Also known as "The Walking Tropical Rainforest." Each coconut has a distinct face and its own character.]
"Come back, Pikachu." Ash said. Pikachu scurried back and jumped on his shoulder, smiling.
"Venusaur, I choose you!" Ash sent out Venusaur.
Venusaur (I'll deal with you next)!" Venusaur declared.
["Exeggutor vs. Venusaur! Begin!"]
Rudy made the first move this time, "Quick, use Egg Bomb!"
Exeggutor fires multiple egg-shaped balls of light from the top of its head at Venusaur.
"Protect."
A green force field surrounds Venusaur and protected him from the egg bombs as they made contact with the shield. Smoke covered the field, obscuring their vision.
"Giga Drain."
Green vines shot out of the smoke and grabbed Exeggutor and glowed, proceeding to drain the pokémon of its energy.
"What kind of move is that?" Ritchie asked.
"Giga Drain is a grass-type move that drains the energy of its opponent." Tracey explained, "It's a very useful move to have."
"No kidding. Exeggutor can't do anything." Ritchie observed.
"Exeggutor!" Rudy cried out. Which was all he could do and nothing else.
Venusaur removed the green vines from Exeggutor, who got down on one knee, unable to move properly. Time to put it out of its misery.
"Frenzy Plant."
Venusaur's body becomes surrounded by a light green aura and it stomps on the ground. Giant, spiky roots then come out of the ground and strike Exeggutor.
"Quick, dodge!" Rudy tried, but that didn't work. The attack made contact, causing smoke to surround the pokémon. Once it cleared, everyone saw Exeggutor was defeated.
["E—Exegggutor is unable to battle! Venusaur wins!"]
Ritchie crossed his arms, "And that's two. Might as well call it in Ash's favor cause Rudy's done."
"He put up a good fight. But I'm afraid your right, Ritchie. It's over." Tracey didn't feel good about this at all.
Molly couldn't care less, "Hmph!"
Tomo sighed.
Serena was holding Mahri, who looked ready to cry. Misty had to put a stop to all this negativity and made a decision right then and there.
"Ash! You don't have to worry about me leaving!" Misty yelled out, "I'll travel with you for as long as you want me to!"
Everyone was taken aback by her outburst. More so Rudy and Mahri. Ash was quiet for a moment then smiled up at her, "Okay, Misty."
Misty sighed in relief then turned to the others, who smiled at her. Yeah, she made the right choice. She was going to stay with her friends.
Ash looked back at Rudy, "How about it, Rudy?" Want to keep going?"
Rudy returned Exeggutor. He felt a little heartbroken, but smiled anyway, "Yeah, one last battle. You and me."
Ash returned Venusaur, "Sounds good to me."
Rudy sent out his last pokémon, "It's up to you now, Starmie."
Starmie was ready to battle.
"Blastoise, I choose you!" Ash sent out the water type.
Blastoise grinned (Let's go)!" Blastoise was ready to roll.
"Water Gun, Starmie!"
Starmie fired a Water Gun at Blastoise.
Counter with Hydro Cannon!"
Blastoise fires two powerful orbs of water from each of its cannons at Starmie. Hydro Cannon overcame the Water Gun and slammed right into Starmie.
"Don't give in, Starmie! Use Thunderbolt!"
"Take the hit." Ash ordered.
"What?!" Rudy's eyes widened as Thunderbolt hit Blastoise head on, but it was still standing and looked like that electric attack didn't even phase it.
Blastoise smirked, "Blastoise? Blastoise (That all you got? Pathetic)." He scoffed. Pikachu's Thunderbolts hit a hell of a lot harder.
"Hydro Pump!"
Blastoise fires two powerful jets of water from its cannons at Starmie. It slammed into the water type, "Finish it with Skull Bash!"
Blastoise's body becomes surrounded by a silver aura before slamming its head into Starmie. That Skull Bash was the finisher.
["Starmie is unable to battle! Blastoise wins!"]
"Ash won. And it doesn't leave a bad taste in your mouth." Tracey smiled.
"True. Hopefully that guy learns some manners after this." Ritchie said.
"He better." Molly still didn't like him.
Tomo nervously laughed.
Serena patted Mahri's back, "Don't be too upset. Rudy's strong, it's just that Ash is stronger." Mahri nodded.
Misty smiled.
Ash patted Blastoise shell, "Amazing as always." He complimented.
Rudy approached, "Ash, that was a great battle. I never should have underestimated you. I know better now."
"I should hope so. Also, be more respectful when you flirt with someone…" Ash was smiling, but Rudy could see how irritated he was with his rude behavior, "…understand?"
Rudy flinched and sweated a little, "R—Right…sorry…"
The two shook hands as the tension finally vanished and they could speak to each other more casually.
The sun set as they all left the Pokémon Center after Rudy got his Pokémon checked out. Same with Ash. He also called Professor Oak to switch out some Pokémon and ask for Pheromosa back. He was going to have a conversation with it at some point.
"This belongs to you, Ash." Rudy gave him his third badge.
Ash took it and inspected its shape. The Spike Shell Badge was shaped like a triumphant star turban with a small gemstone on it.
"My third one." Ash smiled.
Misty was happy for him and surprised that Rudy gave her more flowers, "And Misty, I know you already made your decision but these are for you."
Misty thanked him and took the flowers.
"Ash is really lucky to have someone like you traveling with him." Rudy knew the two didn't have feelings for each other, but they were very close, like siblings.
"I am." Ash smiled at her and smiled back.
The others were happy this had a happy ending and not the opposite. After saying their farewells, they left the island.
"If you ever change your mind and want to come back, we'll both be waiting for you here, Misty!" Mahri waved them goodbye. They waved back, "Hey, Ash! When I grow up I'm gonna ask you to marry me!"
…
…
…
"SAY WHAT?!" Everyone shouted.
Ritchie looked at Ash, the poor guys face was red, "W-Wow…children say the strangest things…" Ash mumbled.
"Uh, guys? I think Ash's brain short circuited." Ritchie said.
"Ash snap out of it!" Tracey shook him.
"She's so bold…maybe I should be more like her." Serena blushed.
Misty chuckled, "Good luck with that one, Ash."
"Pika Pikachu (Good grief)." Pikachu shook his head, amused.
And so, Ash finally won his third Orange League badge. But both Ash and Misty each won something else, too…a young man and lady's hearts.
Pokémon On Hand:
Ash: Pikachu (Male), Charizard (Male), Young Lapras (Female), Blastoise (Male), Gyarados (Female), Snorlax (Male), Pheromosa (Genderless)
Ritchie: Sparky (Male)
Molly: Teddiursa (Male), Bulbasaur (Male)
Tomo: Kangaskhan (Female)
Serena: Fennekin (Female), Rhyhorn (Male)
Misty: Togepi (Male), Goldeen (Female), Starmie, Staryu, Psyduck (Male)
Tracey: Marill (Male), Venonat (Male)
Next Time: Kumquat Island & The Power Of One!