Chapter 42: Overnight Celebrities
Now that Ash had claimed a victory over Heath and earned his first Area Crest it was now time for him and Nikki to continue their journey. This meant they would have to cross the remainder of the Red Sands Desert. Rather than let them traverse it on foot Heath offered to drive them across, which Ash and Nikki graciously accepted. Heath not only drove them across the desert, but he even dropped them off close to a Pokémon Center.
"Thanks for the ride, Heath," Ash said.
"Yeah. There's no telling how long that would have taken us on foot, or if we would have even made it on foot," Nikki added.
"Think nothing of it," Heath replied. "Farewell for now. May our paths cross again." They said their goodbyes to Heath and watched him drive back into the desert.
"Come on. We need to get moving too," Ash stated.
"Yeah. I want to hurry and get to the Pokémon Center," Nikki agreed. With Heath's instructions still fresh in their minds the group proceeded in the direction of the Pokémon Center.
Thankfully the walk to the Pokémon Center was a short one. Just a few short minutes after parting ways with Heath Ash and Nikki found themselves in the familiar comfort the Center provided to all trainers while their Pokémon were receiving the expert care Nurse Joy provided. While they waited Ash and Nikki decided to make some calls. While Nikki spoke with her mother Ash contacted Professor Oak to report on his successful Area Boss battle.
"I don't know how I would have won without Magmortar. He really came through for me in the end," Ash said.
"It seems like he played the part of MVP in that battle," the professor commented.
"He did, and because of that I got this." He then opened his badge case, displaying his newly-won Burning Blaze Crest.
"Just three more of these and I'll be punching my ticket to the Legenda League," Ash boasted.
"True, but don't you have to earn two Gym, badges before challenging an Area Boss?" Professor Oak inquired, even though he already knew the answer.
"That won't be a problem. My Pokémon and I are ready for whatever challenge gets put in front of us," Ash stated.
"That may be true, but try not to get ahead of yourself," Professor Oak warned. Right then a chime went off inside the Pokémon Center.
"Come on, Ash. Our Pokémon are done with their check-ups," Nikki called.
"I'll be right there," Ash replied. "I've got to go, Professor."
"It was good to hear from you again, my boy," he said. Ash ended the call and went to join Nikki at the front desk, where Pikachu and Buneary were waiting with the rest of their Poké Balls.
"Everyone is in perfect health," Nurse Joy reported.
"That's good to hear," Nikki said. She and Ash collected their Poké Balls as Pikachu and Buneary jumped onto their respective trainer's shoulder.
"Now it's time for me to make some changes," Ash announced.
"Giving your Fire types a break?" Nikki inquired.
"They all deserve one after that battle," Ash explained. Naturally Nikki agreed with him. The two trainers returned to the videophones. Ash dialed the number for Professor Oak's lab. After a few seconds Tracey answered.
"What's up, Ash?" the Orange Islands trainer inquired.
"I need to make some changes to my lineup," Ash explained.
"Well, let me know who you want to exchange." Ash sent over all his Fire types and in exchange he brought over Venusaur, Kingler, Swellow, Absol and Larvitar, along with reclaiming Pikachu's Poké Ball.
"I've got everyone on this end," Ash reported.
"Same here," Tracey said. Ash thanked Tracey before ending the call. He then turned to Nikki
"So, what's our next stop?" he asked.
"Let me check the map," Nikki responded. She took out her Pokécomm and was about to check the map when…
"Excuse me! Do you have a moment?" Neither of them were expecting someone to call out to them, but they were even more surprised when they saw a woman with a film crew approaching them.
"Can we help you?" Nikki inquired.
"Actually you can," the woman answered. "My name is Olivia. I'm a reporter for 'Legenda Lookout'."
"Legenda Lookout? What's that?" Ash asked.
"I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it. Not many people outside of the Legenda region have," Nikki said. "Basically it's a television program that highlights promising trainers that are trying to qualify for the Legenda League."
"Wow. So that means you must see me as a promising trainer," Ash assumed.
"We do," Olivia confirmed.
"I'm curious to know how you found out about Ash in the first place," Nikki stated.
"We were contacted by Heath. He told us you were a trainer we should be on the lookout for," Olivia explained.
"Heath said that?" Ash asked.
"That he did. He told us you gave him the type of battle he wished all challengers would give him. Let me tell you, getting that kind of praise form an Area Boss is quite the honor," Olivia said.
"(Well Ash did pull out an amazing victory back there,)" Pikachu stated.
"I take it this Pikachu is one of your Pokémon," Olivia assumed.
"Yeah. He's the Pokémon I started my journey with," Ash replied.
"I see. One can only imagine the adventures you've been on," Olivia commented.
"Hold on a minute. You never said why you were looking for Ash," Nikki said.
"Oh, that's right. Forgive me for not mentioning it sooner. Our intent it to showcase Ash in the next edition of 'Legenda Lookout' as our feature trainer," Olivia explained.
"M-Me?! You want to feature me?!" Ash stuttered, not believing what he just heard.
"That's right," Olivia confirmed.
"That's awesome, Ash!" Nikki gushed.
"What will I be doing?" Ash asked.
"Nothing different. All we'll be doing is showing what a typical day in your life is like, so you won't need to do anything outside your regular daily routine," Olivia explained.
"Umm, will I be included too?" Nikki wondered.
"Of course. We may be filming your friend but we wouldn't think about leaving you out," Olivia said. Hearing that she would be on TV sent Nikki into a frenzy.
"Oh my goodness! I'm going to be on TV! Quick, someone tell me if my hair is okay!"
"Calm down, Nikki. Your hair is just fine," Ash told her.
"That's not good enough! It has to be perfect! What if my mom is watching?!" While Ash tried to calm down Nikki the trio of Jessie, James and Meowth were watching from a distance, hidden amongst some bushes. They had heard everything that had been said, and while James and Meowth weren't too interested in Ash and Nikki's TV debut Jessie was quite furious over it.
"Seems like the twerps are ready to make their small screen debut," James said.
"Oh please. Why would that reporter want to waste her time on them when she could be filming a star like me?" Jessie spat.
"Maybe because you're here with us hiding in the bushes and she doesn't know you're here," Meowth stated.
"That's still no excuse for me being ignored in favor of the twerps," Jessie retorted.
"Then how about we make our small-screen debut by swiping the twerps' Pokémon on live TV," James suggested.
"Now that's a script I'd be willing to follow," Meowth agreed.
"It's time to close the curtain on their fifteen minutes of fame," Jessie added. The trio laughed mischievously as they disappeared to prepare for their scheme.
"Looking good, everyone!" Despite the fact his victory over Heath had just occurred Ash was already preparing himself and his Pokémon for their next challenge. Each one was paired off with another for individual training. Venusaur was training with Kingler, Absol with Swellow and Pikachu with Larvitar. So far Ash was pleased with all he had seen.
"Keep an eye on Swellow, Absol! His attacks are fast!" Ash advised.
"(Right!)" Absol replied.
"Venusaur has a type advantage over you! Look for a way to overcome it!" Ash said.
"(I'll do that!)" Kingler responded.
"Pikachu has other moves besides Electric he can use on you, Larvitar! Be careful!" Ash warned.
"(Okay!)" Larvitar said. As the Pokémon made changes to their training strategies Ash looked on, studying their strengths and weaknesses. While this was going on Olivia and her crew was filming from a distance, making sure not to interfere with Ash's training.
"His Pokémon are looking good over there," the cameraman commented.
"I'd expect nothing less from a trainer who defeated an Area Boss," Olivia stated.
"Do you think he used any of those Pokémon against Heath?" the cameraman inquired.
"He couldn't have. Heath only uses Fire types, and none of those are Fire types," Olivia explained.
"Good point," the cameraman agreed. They continued to watch Ash train his Pokémon, amazed by how powerful they were. Ash trained for a few more minutes before Nikki approached him looking rather excited.
"I found a town hosting a Pokémon Contest!" she exclaimed.
"That's great. Where is it?" Ash asked. Nikki showed him the map on her Pokécomm. She had highlighted a location not far from where they currently were.
"Kamillia Town. That's where it's going to be held," Nikki said.
"Then that's where our next stop is," Ash announced. Now that their next destination had been determined Ash recalled his Pokémon.
"I have to win this one. If I don't I might not make it to the Grand Festival," Nikki said.
"You'll make it. I'm confident you will," Ash told her.
"And we're confident you won't be going anywhere!" Before Ash and Nikki could determine who was speaking they were engulfed in a thick smoke cloud.
"H-Hey!" Ash gasped.
"Where did all this smoke come from?!" Nikki shouted. As they tried to get their bearings the frantic cries of Pikachu and Buneary filled their ears.
"Pikachu and Buneary are in trouble! We have to do something, quick!" Nikki cried. Ash was thinking one step ahead of her, having already grabbed a Poké Ball.
"Swellow, blow this smoke away!" he instructed. He tossed the ball into the air, releasing the Swallow Pokémon. Shortly after appearing he beat his wings and blew the smoke away, revealing its source.
"Out of the sky, falling with grace.
A spark in the eye, arriving with haste.
Ready and willing to put twerps in their place.
Jessie!
James!
Meowth's the name!
Team Rocket, burning a trail!
Blazing a path!
Kickin' some tail!
Wobbu Wobbuffet!
Mime Mime Mime Mime!"
"I should have known it was you three!" Ash spat once he saw Team Rocket.
"But you didn't, so boo on you," Jessie retorted.
"This was as easy as taking candy from a baby," Meowth bragged.
"Made even easier thanks to Weezing's Smokescreen," James added. Sitting behind them were Pikachu and Buneary inside a small cage.
"Use Thunderbolt to break free!" Ash called. Pikachu nodded and began charging up electricity for his attack.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Meowth warned. "That cage is designed to contain the Pokémon and reflect their attacks back at them, so if Pikachu uses Thunderbolt it'll be him and Buneary getting shocked instead of us."
"Come now. You should know by now we come prepared for your usual twerp tactics," Jessie stated. Ash growled in frustration. Meanwhile Olivia and her film crew were wondering what was going on.
"Do you think we should help them?" the cameraman wondered.
"How. We don't have any Pokémon of our own," Olivia replied. The cameraman let out a frustrated sigh once he realized that, once again, Olivia was right.
"All this is making me feel pretty useless right now," he groaned.
"Don't despair. It's not over yet," Olivia said. She pointed at Ash, who was making his move.
"Swellow, get in there and rescue Pikachu and Buneary!" he shouted. With a shrill cry Swellow darted towards his captive friends.
"Stop him, Weezing!" James ordered. The Poison Gas Pokémon floated in front of Swellow to block his path, but neither he nor Ash would be deterred.
"Use Quick Attack!" Ash called. Swellow's speed increased as he became a blur, speeding towards Weezing.
"Dodge it!" James shouted. As Swellow got closer Weezing lazily floated out of the way, letting the Swallow Pokémon pass by harmlessly.
"Again!" Ash shouted. Swellow reversed direction and used Quick Attack again, but just like before Weezing lazily floated out of the way and avoided contact.
"Use Aerial Ace!" Ash called. Knowing there was no way Weezing could dodge this Ash looked on as Swellow closed in for the attack.
"Use Sludge Bomb!" James countered. Weezing let Swellow get close enough for him to launch his Sludge Bomb without giving the Swallow Pokémon enough time to dodge. The poisonous blob exploded in Swellow's face, knocking him to the ground and causing considerable damage.
"Swellow, no!" Ash cried.
"Swellow, yes!" Jessie retorted.
"Looks like Wonder Bird is down for the count," Meowth taunted. Ash recalled Swellow and was about to send out another Pokémon when Nikki stopped him.
"What is it?" Ash asked.
"I have an idea," she said. She quickly whispered her idea to Ash. When she was done he nodded to let her know he knew what to do.
"Larvitar, I choose you!" he shouted.
"Ninetails, we need you!" Nikki called. The two Pokémon appeared and awaited their trainers' instructions.
"So you think those two can help you now, huh," Jessie said. "Well think again! They'll fail just like your last one did!"
"We'll see about that," Nikki retorted. "Do it, Ash!"
"You got it! Sandstorm, Larvitar!" Ash called. Within seconds Larvitar whipped up a powerful Sandstorm, obscuring Team Rockets' vision.
"I can't see!" Jessie screamed.
"I can't either!" James wailed. "Meowth, do something!"
"What makes you think I can see anything?! I'm as blind as a Zubat here!" the Scratch Cat Pokémon yelled. Thankfully for them the Sandstorm died out quickly, but when it did they quickly noticed something was missing.
"Gah! Pikachu and Buneary are gone!" Meowth shouted.
"What?!" Jessie and James whirled around and saw that, just as Meowth said, the cage containing Pikachu and Buneary was indeed gone.
"How did that happen?!" James shouted.
"Forget how! Someone find out where they are!" Jessie demanded.
"(Hey! Looking for us?!)" Though they were afraid of what they might see they looked towards the voice anyway. Not only had Pikachu and Buneary been freed from their cage but they were now standing alongside Ash and Nikki.
"How did they get over there?!" James gasped.
"With Larvitar's Sandstorm blinding you guys it was easy for Ninetails to slip in and rescue them," Nikki explained.
"There's no way your Ninetails could see them through that Sandstorm!" Jessie argued.
"(I didn't have to use my eyes to find them,)" Ninetails retorted.
"What are you talking about?!" Jessie demanded.
"Hmm… somehow I can't help but think we've fallen for this once before," James mused.
"Just great… we're victims of a repeat performance," Meowth groaned.
"Aren't we always?" James added.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt! Larvitar, Stone Edge!" Ash called.
"Buneary, Hidden Power! Ninetails, Flamethrower!" Nikki added. The four attacks were launched and quickly merged into one powerful attack. Team Rocket screamed in terror as they were engulfed by the blast, the resulting explosion sending them flying through the air.
"No fair! My fifteen minutes weren't up yet!" Jessie whined.
"I don't think it ever started," Meowth said.
"Someone call my agent! I want a different role!" James griped.
"We're blasting off again!" they cried as they vanished out of sight.
"Well, that takes care of them," Ash said.
"Good. They can be annoying sometimes," Nikki commented. Olivia and her film crew were also relieved to see that Ash and Nikki were able to take care of Team Rocket.
"Looks like we weren't needed after all," Olivia said.
"Good thing, too. I doubt if we would have been able to do anything," the cameraman commented.
"Well, now that things have calmed down we can get back to work," Olivia announced. Now that the danger had passed Olivia and her crew went back to filming Ash and Nikki.
The day seemed to pass rather quickly, and before anyone knew it evening had arrived. Olivia and her crew had gotten some great footage to use in their show, much to the delight of Ash and Nikki.
"As soon as I get this edited and sent to the studio we can air the program," Olivia said.
"That's awesome," Ash commented. "Too bad my mother can't see this. I don't think Legenda programming airs in Kanto."
"It doesn't, but we can send a copy of it to her," Olivia said.
"I'd really appreciate it," Ash told her.
"Don't mention it. It's the least we can do after you two gave us such incredible moments," Olivia replied. "This may be our highest rated show yet."
"To be honest we should be thanking you for this," Nikki said. "I mean, it's not every day that you get to be on TV."
"And I must say it was a pleasure to get the opportunity to film you for our program," Olivia stated. After a bit more talking the two groups said their goodbyes and went their separate ways, Ash and Nikki towards Kamillia City and Olivia and her crew to prepare their footage for television.
Now that his work with Professor Redwood was finished Professor Oak was allowed some downtime. It was still a few days before his ship back to Kanto was to depart, so the elderly professor decided to spend some time with the Legenda professor, assisting her with any work she needed done around her lab.
"It's moments like this that makes me glad I have such a dependable assistant in Tracey," the professor commented as he finished filing the last of Professor Redwood's papers.
"Whew… that takes care of that." At that moment Professor Redwood walked in.
"Thank you, Professor Oak. I've been meaning to file those papers for a while now but I never found any time to do so," she said.
"Have you ever thought about hiring an assistant to help you out?" Professor Oak suggested.
"I hadn't before, but I certainly am now," Professor Redwood replied. As they spoke something appeared on the television that caught Professor Oak's interest.
"That looks like an interesting program," he commented.
"It is. It's called 'Legenda Lookout'. It's a variety show that highlights up-and-coming trainers looking to qualify for the Legenda League," Professor Redwood explained. "They mostly focus on trainers that just recently won their first Area Crest, though."
"I wonder if Ash will ever be featured on there?" Professor Oak mused.
"That's right. You did say he just recently won his first Area Crest," Professor Redwood commented. They continued to watch as Olivia appeared on the screen to begin the program.
"Greetings, Legenda region, and welcome to another episode of 'Legenda Lookout' where we put the spotlight on hot new trainers looking to make a name for themselves in the Legenda League. Today, our spotlight is on a trainer who's traveled far from home in pursuit of his dream."
Moments later a picture of a trainer was put up on the screen. Both professors were surprised by who it was.
"His name is Ash Ketchum, a trainer hailing from Pallet Town in the distant Kanto region. Though relatively new here in Legenda he's already managed to earn his first Area Crest, and after what I personally witnessed I can say that won't be his last. In fact, we were given a look at a day in the life of this amazing trainer."
The picture changed once again, this time showing the footage Olivia and her crew took while following Ash and Nikki around for a day. Everything, from the numerous training sessions to their encounter with Team Rocket and everything in between, was shown. Once it was finished Olivia appeared on the screen once again.
"Well folks, I can safely say this is one trainer we need to keep an eye on. How far will he be able to go? Only time will tell. That's all for this edition of 'Legenda Lookout'. See you next time."
"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting that," Professor Oak admitted. "Still, I'm pleased to see him doing well."
"I wonder how he'll fare on the rest of his journey. After all, it's only going to get tougher from here on out," Professor Redwood stated.
"As the young lady said, only time will tell," Professor Oak answered. Truthfully he wondered the same thing, though as he said only time would tell. With that in mind he sat there and smiled, thinking about how much Ash had grown as a trainer since the day he and Pikachu first met.
From Pokémon trainers to television stars Ash and Nikki's lives are full of surprises. What new experience will come next for them? Find out in the next chapter of Search for Power!
Please review